SO SORRY!!!! It's taking me a long time to write now due to the piles and piles of HOMEWORK, curse that dreaded word and noun, but I'm trying my best to update more often. It's been killing my brain and giving me writer's block and so many other problems. My other slow to update story, My Destiny, has kind of hit a stop in the road, and it'll probably be a while before it's back on track. Battle of Romance will conclude soon, and I think that's about it. Now enjoy the chapter!

Key:

" " - Dialouge

' ' - Thoughts

OoOoO - Scene Change

Flashback (Dunno if it will ever come up, but just in case)

Chapter 3

Zoro woke up normally the next day, a Sunday, and sat up on his bed. He rubbed his head and looked at the clock. It read 9:00 am. He got up and opened his door, noticing that Sanji wasn't awake, like always on Sundays. He went about his morning routine and went back into his room.

'I guess we'll be going to the hospital again, so I might as well change," he thought, grabbing a white t-shirt. He pulled it over his head and slipped on a pair of jeans afterwards. After going out of his room again, he headed towards the kitchen to grab his car keys. When he was slipping on his shoes, Sanji emerged from his room, tired and his hair a mess.

"Oi, Marimo, what are you doing this early?" he grumbled, rubbing his blonde hair. Zoro scoffed and answered, "I'm going out for a little bit. I'll be back later."

"You better not be out getting drunk at 9:30 in the morning. Don't forget to get back before Nami-san comes for breakfast, or we're starting without you," he reminded, closing his door to get cleaned up. Zoro rolled his eyes and opened the door, a splash of sunshine hitting him.

'You don't have to nag me, Ero Cook,' he added in afterthought, closing the door and heading towards the parking lot. He got in his car, started the engine and began driving down a not-so-busy street on his way to the shopping district. After a few minutes of driving, he parked his car in front of a swords shop. He got out, and locked his car, walking up to the viewing window which displayed three white sheathed swords, all the same kind.

'Just wait. When I get enough money, I'm buying one for myself… just like I promised Kuina,' he thought, remembering what had happened to his friend one day in their childhood. 'Just wait.' He continued down the sidewalk and found a book shop open early since the owner was atheist. The green haired man entered the shop and looked at several sections before finding the one he wanted.

"Let's see here," he muttered, pulling out one book to look at. He opened it and glanced at the pictures. Zoro shook his head and replaced the book for another one. Again, he flipped through it and glanced at the pictures, still not satisfied. After looking at one last book, he finally decided to buy it. He placed the book on the counter as the owner ran it through the cash register.

"What's this for?" the man asked, interested since no one really bought books from that section.

"Just something for a friend," Zoro answered, grabbing the bag and paying the man. He returned to his car after glancing one last time at the white swords. When he got back home, Nami was just about to enter the apartment complex.

"Zoro, what a surprise to see you up this early," she said playfully. Zoro just glared at her and the two went to the room. He opened it up with his key and the two were greeted by a strong waft of the smell of breakfast.

"Good morning, Nami-swan!!!" exclaimed Sanji, hands clamped together under his chin. Nami smiled at him, took off her shoes, and proceeded into the kitchen. Zoro did as well, placing his keys back on the counter and the bag too. Sanji passed out the food while Zoro filled the bowls with rice; the same routine everyday.

"Itadakimasu," they said, Nami picking first. This time, Zoro wasn't tired, so the chef and he went into their food fighting brawl. During the fight, Nami asked, "What's in the bag you brought in, Zoro?" He paused and answered, "Oh, that. Just something my hospital patient wanted me to buy for them." Nami glanced over at the bag, but just ignored it for now.

After breakfast, the three of them went out to the car and drove down to the hospital again. The traffic was slow, so they were about ten minutes late, not that it mattered much. The other two would still have to endure the dreadful torture from their patients. They split their ways again and headed to their rooms. The nurse led Zoro again, just in case he would get lost. The plastic bag crinkled against him as he walked down the white hallways.

"Here we are," she said. He entered the room, finding Yukiko stretching her arms out. She turned her head towards the door and her face brightened up. The nurse was pleased with this, and left the two to their time.

"Hello, Zoro-san! How are you today?" she greeted. He took a seat on the chair again and smiled a small smile.

"I'm good today. You feeling any better?" he asked. She nodded happily and spotted the bag in his hand.

"What is that, Zoro-san?" she asked. He lifted it up and handed it to her, answering, "It's for you. I thought you might like it." She grabbed the bag, placed hand inside and pulled out the book inside. On the cover was a lush forest in the winter while the sun rose from behind it. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at the cover. She placed a hand on the cover and ran it down the picture.

"Wow…thank you, Zoro-san!" she said gleefully.

"It's no problem. I thought I bothered you yesterday, so I got this for you," he answered. She looked up at him and asked, "Bothered? How so?" He shrugged and just waved it off. Yukiko turned her attention back to the book and opened it up to the first page with pictures. It was a plain sunrise over a horizon, but she pointed to it with her delicate finger.

"What is that?" she asked suddenly. He looked at her, nervous and worried. How long had she been here?

"Umm…" he started. "Well, that's called a sunrise," he answered nervously. She blinked a couple of times and looked intrigued with the image. The sky was clearing up in the dawning, bright light. It was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen since her being trapped in the white building prison they called a hospital.

"What is one like when you see it out there?" she asked, looking up at him. He was confused, not knowing what to tell her. He never saw a sunrise himself because he was never able to wake up that early. Or at least bothered to look up at the sky when he did occasionally wake up at that time.

"I've never seen one because the sun rises way too early for me," he answered. "The sunrise happens at the very beginning of the day, so I'm still sleeping then." Yukiko turned back to it, and turned the page and the picture was the same horizon, except the sun wasn't quite the same.

"These colors are darker than the other one, but it's still the sun at the horizon. What does that mean?" she asked again.

'All these questions… how long has she been here? It must have been crazy to live like this… yet she's so normal,' he thought. "Well," he said aloud, "this one's a sunset." She slowly nodded, and asked, "So this one happens at the beginning of the evening?"

"Kinda. It happens before night gets to us," he answered. He felt like he was talking to someone who grew up in a box… which was sort of the case with Yukiko. She sighed and lay the book down for a moment, looking out the window. "What's wrong?" he asked, thinking he reminded her too much of what she was missing out on.

"I just wish I could see the outside world again, even if I could see it only for a day, or a minute… See this… sunrise and sunset," she said idly. She turned back to Zoro and sheepishly smiled, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Zoro-san. I shouldn't be burdening you like this."

"Hey, It's fine," he answered, holding a hand behind the back of his neck. The only thing really bothering him was the fact that she almost knew nothing. How would he be able to bring her the outside with pictures and bad explanations? But, she didn't seem to mind much. She didn't have anything to compare it to.

"It's so beautiful, this sunrise and sunset. Maybe we might see them together, Zoro-san," she said, smiling. He blushed and cleared his throat, standing up to get a drink of water. She picked the book back up and continued to look at the pictures. She didn't ask about anything else in the book, only those first two with the sun.

'I wonder why she likes the sun pictures the most…' he thought. The nurse came in and walked over to the two of them, noticing the book Yukiko had.

"Oh! Did you buy that for her, Roronoa-san?" she asked, taking out a thermometer. He nodded and watched as she placed it in Yukiko's mouth. The nurse looked at the results with surprise, saying, "This is amazing! Yukiko, you're fever went away from yesterday!" The two smiled with each other while Zoro sat, struck with surprise.

'She had a fever? Yesterday? But she was just fine when I got here. Was she really that sick that she really couldn't feel anything?' he thought, wondering how he had no idea at all that she was ailing during their last visit. The nursed finished up things with a shot and Zoro left with her, his time up.

"Good bye, Zoro-san!" she said happily, clutching the book with both her hands. He smiled back at her, and left, leaving her in the room by herself. She glanced out the window again; her blue eyes bright and filled with happiness.

Chapter 3 down! Not that long, but not to short. Now, I know what I'm going to say, and you know what i'm going to say , but you know what? I'll say it anyway: Please Review! I'll try to update sooner next time! That's about it for updates for me, and see you next chapter!