"Please talk to me as if you trusted me again."

~Unknown

The sky was a depression dipped, inconsolable indigo, with bruised purple unspeakables and shining silver tears littering its depths; but its crescent smile never dared darken, never dared let itself be covered by passing clouds. Despite the abuse, it prevailed. It smiles at its many viewers, greeting them with warm welcomings and promised peaceful endings.

Minette aspired to be the sky as she stared up at it in awe, strong and powerful regardless of its many wounds, its mysteries feared by many, and its constant happy demeanor. She aspired to be the dawn that provokes life and new beginnings, to be the dusk that embodies curious shadows and relieved rest. She aspired to be the sky.

It had been so long since she had seen its glorious colors from this close and it soothed her racing mind with its non existent change as she sat in her lookout post. She watched the stars at the horizon, bundled in newly washed clothes and thick blankets provided by Nami, and made sure to never let the brightest light drift from its spot.

She sighed out transparent wisps of vapor and wrapped the blanket tighter around herself, remembering how the whole crew seemed to bombard her with questions as soon as Miss. All Sunday was out of their sight. It was troubling, to say the least, in trying to convince the others that she truly didn't have a clue as to who the mysterious woman was and how she knew about her home island's past relations with the pirates. But what was even worse is when she found herself questioning if maybe she did meet her at one point in her life.

Minette's memory was a jagged, rocky cliff and crumbled little by little with every breaking wave. So much was already long gone, mostly fragments of memories broken and battered, leaving her to fill in the missing pieces at the shore line. Her internal hard drive was burnt to such an extent that she couldn't even remember what life was like before the fire that killed her parents - or even what they looked like. She could blame it on an unspoken trauma that was also long lost; but questions still wracked her brain.

Who was she before that time?

Was she loved?

Did they try their best to keep her out of harm's way?

Were they happy together?

Shi would know. Her younger twin was good at remembering, reviewing past actions and events; but she wasn't envious. She knew that remembering was not the gift it seemed to be as she recalls waking her crying sister from dreams and midday nightmares, or were those memories just fillers for her brain like many others?

Her head was pounding.

She can't remember.

Minette wiped her nose on the blanket before instantly regretting it and rubbed it on the wooden panels she sat upon. She sniffled, trying to suck back in as much snot as she could to keep it from running down her top lip before looking out to the horizon again. She would be lying if she said she wasn't cold despite the blanket.

Another thing happened when Miss. All Sunday left, as well, Minette had been avoiding Zoro. Even after trying to convince herself that Zoro wasn't anyone to be feared, she still found herself self conscious under his unreadable glare. Sanji's words passed through her mind every time she felt the swordsman's eyes on her small frame: "He's not our enemy," but regardless of their meaning, she couldn't help the uncertain feeling in her stomach. It's not like she could exactly say she doesn't trust him because she doesn't know him when she hardly knows the others as well, so perhaps this feeling is from hearing something negative and alarming about him. She trusts the others because she's only ever seen what they're like in present time, as soon as Zoro revealed he was a bounty hunter, all of who she thought he was changed in a snap.

She gave a small sneeze, rubbed her nose, and looked out to the horizon again.

Before she knew it, she found another thing to be uncertain about.

"Didn't know you could catch colds."

Minette jumped, quickly spinning around in her spot, and peered around the pillar to stare at the green haired man gazing back at her. Only his head and shoulders could be seen through the open hatch of the wooden lookout post as he stood on the ladder below.

She grew tense as she watched him lift a mug from his side and offered it to her. She quickly took it - immediately feeling the liquids warmth through the glass - as Zoro's attention was stolled by an unknown object below the hatch as he lifted it and rested a balled blanket to the side before pulling himself up and closing the hatch.

She stared up at him as he shuffled, unfolding the blanket before wrapping it around himself and sitting beside her with a sigh that filled the surrounding air with vapor. He didn't meet her curious gaze as he looked out at the horizon and locked his gaze with the star they were currently following.

"It's hot chocolate."

Minette blinked from her dazed stare, "W-What?"

Zoro glanced down at the mug in her hands and poked a finger out from under the blanket to point at it, "Hot coco."

Minette glanced down, just now remembering the warm object in her hands, and took notice to its brown, steamy surface. She faintly recalled spying on the village kids as they spoke about the very substance she was holding, and she gaped at it in wonder. So this was hot chocolate? Hesitantly, she brought the mug up to her pale purple lips and took a small sip, a rush of warmth washed over her tongue, startling her slightly before a thick flavor of what she suspects to be the chocolate over road everything else, leaving her taste buds tingling. She didn't realize she closed her eyes until she swallowed, breathed a hot sigh of content and suddenly couldn't see anything.

Opening her grey eyes she glanced up to find Zoro watching her out of the corner of his eye and she grew tense again as she shifted her gaze to the horizon once more.

He sighed, removing his gaze as well. "I thought you might be cold."

She stopped herself from asking why when she found herself shaking, back aching, and teeth chattering from the frigid night air. She took another sip and shifted the chilled blanket to keep the newly found warmth within her slender frame.

"I'm not a bad man."

At this, she couldn't stop herself from peering up at him only to find his eyes still on the horizon star.

She didn't dare speak.

"I'm just trying to keep a promise."

"We'll make it out alive. I promise."

"I'll protect you forever. I promise."

"I'll save them, all of them. I promise."

"I won't let you die. I promise."

"I'll find our stolen happiness. I promise."

Minette looked down to the brown liquid in her mug and sighed, "Y-Yeah," her teeth chattered, "Me too."

It was silent then as they both stared out towards the guiding star. Minette's figure growing less tense in Zoro's presence but still rigid from the frigid night. She couldn't make up her scattered mind, couldn't find a way to solve her paranoid thoughts about Zoro. Obviously he's not the same man that was given such a barbaric title as Pirate Hunter, but he's so hard to read. What is he thinking? What is he feeling? His cold glare is piercing, his stone face is threatening; but his actions are nothing but soft towards the young girl.

Peeking up at the swordsman, Minette's teeth chattered harder as she spoke, "W-What are you doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Oh."

All was quiet again and Minette took a sip of hot coco, calming her cramping jaw momentarily before it started up again and she could suddenly feel his gaze on her shivering stature.

"You don't have enough fat on your body."

She almost choked but was able to escape with only a few coughs once she swallowed. "W-What?"

She watch him extend his arms out, unwrapping the blanket from himself, and fully exposed his crossed legs and torso to the chilled night air. "Climb in."

She immediately found herself leaning away from the strange man before her, not at all understanding what he was doing or what "climb in" was supposed to mean.

"N-No."

"You're cold."

"I-I don't want-"

"It's alright"

"S-Stop it."

"Now you're making me cold. Stop refusing and just hurry up."

Minette's posture was tense again, uncertainty and fear flashing in her eyes like high beams. She could stop herself from yelling, "W-What are you g-going to do?!"

Realization could be seen striking Zoro like lightning. So quick and sudden it took him a moment to fully assess the situation and finally understand why Minette was keeping away from him since she found out he was what he once was. He understood her fear now; sure, pirates were scary but she was now one so that means the next thing to be frightened of are bounty hunters, and they're sometimes worse than the pirates they hunt.

Minette watched as Zoro lowered his arms, not bothering with wrapping himself again as he kept eye contact with her. She could see his eyes growing less guarded, a hint of slight concern flashing across them before they disappeared and only showed true intent.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

She only stared at him.

"I don't think I ever could, actually."

Her curiosity got the better of her, "W-Why?"

"Apples are fruits of pure trust."

She only stared again.

"And when someone does this," he lift his arms again, a smirk pulling at his lips, "It's their way of wanting to protect something important to them."

Her tense muscles relaxed but she still shook from the wind as she stared at him in shock, "S-Something important?"

Her heart pounding against her chest, she thought it was going to jump out. No one's ever called her important, no one's ever told her they wanted to protect her. It was always her making those promises. She's had such a lack of human contact, she's never seen so much wholehearted truth in someone's eyes.

Zoro moved swiftly and before she knew it, she was sitting in his lap with the blanket around them both. She felt him shiver against her cold frame before instantly becoming frightened again, and started to struggle. "W-What are you doing? Let go!"

"When I thought you were hurt by one of those bounty hunters, I couldn't control myself."

She continued to struggle, but he held her own blanket closed, trapping her arms within it.

"I was so enraged that someone had hurt you, but I was even more so at myself when I thought I didn't protect you when you needed me the most."

Minette continued to fight against him.

"You remind me of her so much, I can't describe it," Zoro held her tighter, "and if something were to ever happen to you too, I don't know what I'd do. I can't lose her a second time, Damn it!"

Minette froze, this wasn't just about her anymore. It was something else entirely, something beyond her comprehension.

"We were in the same dojo, we were supposed to look out for each other but I was so stupid, all I wanted to do was fight her! I couldn't save her and I'm not making the same mistake with you!"

Minette's chin was pushed over his shoulder as he smothered her in a tight hug, his head hanging as he spoke.

"I can't go through that again. I'm going to protect you. I promise."

So that was it, Minette thought, He's scary because he's gone through the pain of losing someone too.

She felt a smile pull at her lips as her arms found their way around his broad chest and hugged him back. His warmth melting through the ice that seemed to form around her skin, leaving her with a small stinging sensation before it became comforting.

I know, Zoro, Minette thought, I can trust you now.

Over his shoulder, Minette found her gaze in the sky again, the crescent moon smiling down at her with the same hollowed sadness and bruised masterpieces; but also with the same kindness and welcoming warmth Zoro has her captured in.

Staring up at what she aspired to be, she suddenly realized something: The sky aspired to be Zoro.