All right I was told that I made the last chapter to shippy. Sorry about that, I will work on it in the future. Also this is the time between Bravery 3 and Bravery 4. This has Faith in it, and has also unheard of stories. Enjoy.

Rose took no time at all to fit completely in with us. In fact, it wasn't much different from when she always came, only this time, she stays for good.

I was relieved. Now I didn't have to obsess about trying to get to know her over the course of a few days. I could slow down and get to know her thoroughly instead of rushing through.

The very next morning, bright and early, Rose asked me to train with her, both swordsmanship and weight training. In fact, she practically begged me. I couldn't say no, not to Rose, especially when I did say I would help her achieve her dream as best I could.

So we started training, and I wasn't the only one. Luffy trained her hand to hand combat, while Usopp trained her sniping ability, and Chopper for medicine. She went in rotation, all day everyday for about a week.

The only down time she had was when she ate, and she went to bed late at night, and got up early in the morning. If she wasn't training with us, she trained herself and worked on the skills we had taught her.

It was actually a little concerning. She put all of my training sprees to shame. It was also unnerving to see Rose in her focused training mode all the time. I missed how she laughed and joked around, but now she was serious most of the time. She was going to dig her own grave if she continued going on like this.

It was during my training with her, where we were both lifting weights. She was already moving up in weight because she had already conquered the lighter weights.

"Rose."

The girl in question looked up at me curiously.

"Yes Zoro?"

I settled down for a nap, hoping she would follow suit. Sure enough she sat beside me.

"You can slow down you know."

Rose smiled.

"No, I don't know the meaning of the word."

I sighed.

"Rose, you have to give yourself a break. You are going to run yourself into the ground going this hard."

Rose sighed, leaning her head back, and it was easy to see how exhausted she was.

"You don't understand Zoro. You all had two years to get stronger, and even before that you all had fighting experience. I have a lot of catching up to do, and we will be getting to Kaido's soon. I don't have time to screw around."

I sigh inwardly as I flick her in the forhead, earning a soft whine, and her undivided attention.

"True, but if I remember correctly, a girl just like you told me that I was training too hard and needed to relax. Take your own advice."

I see the gears turning, trying to make up some excuse or comeback, but I just leaned my head back.

"Go to sleep."

She needed some shuteye for sure. I waited, eye closed. I didn't care what she did, but I was napping.

She didn't leave, that was good. Was she going to take my advice? I almost winced when I felt her lean her head against my arm.

"Yeah, I guess you are right. Thanks Zoro."

I cracked an open to check on her, and she had her eyes closed, already dozing off. Good. I quickly follow suit.

Rose was gone when I woke up, and I found her talking and laughing with Nami and Robin. Good, as long as she relaxing again.

We were going to meet Law at an island near Kaido's. Rose told us not to tell him she was here, that she wanted it to be a surprise. I could only guess what she would do, but knowing Rose, it would be entertaining.

We arrived at the island and Law walked up on the beach from where his crew was around a bonfire.

"Oi, Mugiwara-ya. You are late. Let's go."

I had hoped for entertaining, and Rose provided it by taking a running start off the deck, diving head first off the ship, and tackling the Surgeon of Death into the sand.

"Tag, you're it Law!"

To say he was surprised was an understatement; the look on his face was priceless.

"Rose-ya, but you-."

She laughed, leaping up.

"I get to stay and bother you for awhile."

She pulled him to his feet, a fake innocent grin on her face.

"A pleasure to work with you. I expect a game of tag when we win."

She laughed happily at the deadpanned look on Law's face. He sighed heavily, calling up to Luffy.

"Let's go Mugiwara-ya, before Rose-ya murders me."

We got on our boats, or submarine in Law's case, heading off to conquer the Yonko. We gathered on the deck, preparing ourselves for the battle ahead. Robin was the one that asked the inevitable question.

"Rose you have a plan for this?"

Rose sighed, looking troubled.

"Actually no, not this time."

Chopper hugged her foot.

"But Rose, you always have a strategy."

Rose sighed awkwardly.

"Correction, I have a strategy when I know what I am going up against. You all have to remember my knowledge only extends to you all fighting Doflamingo at Dressrosa. I know nothing about Kaido except that he is the King of Beasts, and he is a Yonko. That's about it. I can't help you in strategy this time."

She grinned confidentally.

"No, I think I will follow the usual method you all follow, just run in and stir crap up. I am an official Straw-hat, might as well act like one."

Good, because sometimes Rose get's complicated in her plans, that I can barely keep up, and I know it goes against Luffy's religion to follow any sensible plan. Might as well just go in and raise hell.

We arrived at Kaido, and started the long and arduous process of beating a powerful enemy. He had some pretty strong fighters, and Rose was actually more of a help then she thought. Kaido could control all animals with his devilfruit, and depending on the different ones, Rose would give us a strategy to beat them. Also, she was killer with that new weapon of hers.

It was interesting to see. She was obviously not a master of the weapon yet, but she used it to the best of her ability, and her adapting ability proved quite useful.

And so, we defeated one of the Yonko. We all celebrated for days on end for that one.

That was where Rose got her first bounty. I had never seen the girl so happy. She was literally skipping and jumping up and down with excitement as she sprinted up to me, waving a wanted poster.

"Look Zoro look! I have a bounty! I'm a true pirate now! Isn't that great?"

She danced off to the next crewmate before I could even say anything. I just shut my mouth with a smile as her excitement remained kindled for hours.

After days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months, we all got to know Rose a lot better since she lived with us. We learned that she was exactly how she was when she came here, happy all the time take everything in stride.

We learned she was a writer. Many of us walked in on her, if she wasn't training, in the library with a quill and paper, writing. We also learned her writing was extremely sloppy. Nevertheless, Robin always read whatever Rose had written, no matter how sloppy. I mean the woman can read Ponyglyphs, I'm sure she could decode simple English.

We learned she liked to talk to herself, usually to think out loud. It apparently helped her organize her thoughts, but she was extremely vocal, but embarrassed about it, always stopping when she thought we were listening. I heard her talk to inanimate object, or animals mostly like they were real people. More of her playful childishness, that only made me smile.

I learned specifically her coping mechanism. After the hard fight with Kaido, she was extremely injured. When Usopp carried her to Chopper, she kept saying she was fine, ok, all right. Repeating the same words over and over again. It was strange, so later, when she was recovering I asked. She winced.

"Oh, that. If I tell myself I will be ok, I will."

As we continued on our journey, the coping mechanism she had revealed itself less and less, as Rose became stronger, and didn't get hurt as much.

We also learned more about her gift.

It was a curious phenonmenon. Whenever we stopped at an island, we would all fall into the same routines and jobs. Ero-cook would search for food, Franky for shipwright supplies, Chopper for medicine, Nami for clothes, Robin for books and clothes, Luffy would explore and cause a ruckus, Brook would play his music for money, Usopp would find joke shops or go with Luffy, and I would either gaurd the ship or check out swords shops.

Not Rose. She would take off from the ship, just like us, and dissappear, only to reappear about an hour later, with no indication to where she went.

We went through several islands like that, with my curiosity only growing each time. What could Rose possibly do, without us, for an hour?

The night before an island, with Rose out of the galley because she finished supper first, I brought it up.

"Hey, do you all know where Rose goes to on these islands?"

Everyone shrugged.

"No, I haven't even seen her around time."

"Yeah Nami I haven't seen her in any bookstores."

Luffy frowned in concentration.

"Haven't seen her."

Ero-cook spun on his toes.

"I haven't seen the darling Rose-swan."

Chopper looked at me.

"Do you know?"

I shake my head. Luffy banged his fist on the table.

"I say we ask her tomorrow. Who knows, she could be having fun adventures."

The next day, we all dock at the island. We all stay on the boat however, waiting. Sure enough, Rose with her hair pulled up in a ponytail walks out of the cabin and over to the railing to jump off.

"Oi Rose!"

She freezes, looking back at all of us standing there.

"Oh hi guys. You are usually already gone. What's up? You need me to get something?"

Nami crosses her arms.

"We were just wandering what you were going to do."

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"It's not a secret or anything. You can come with me if you want."

Oh really? Then why has she been so secretive about it so far? Luffy grinned, hopping forward.

"All right."

Rose smiled secretively.

"I have to warn you though, it's not fun, in fact it is quite boring, and it's hard."

Everyone glanced at each other. Luffy, Ero-cook, and I were the only three that accepted the challenge. Everyone else bailed, saying that time on land is precious and shouldn't be wasted. Whatever.

Rose smiled kindly at the three of us, and her eyes sparkled with mischief.

"All right, let's get started then. We are going on a run. Let's go."

She leapt off the ship, and hit the dock running. I followed, with Luffy and Ero-cook taking off sprinting. I almost went with them, when I noticed Rose. She was way behind, and since she knew what she was doing on this mysterious outing, I decided to trust her judgement and hang with her. I slowed down until I was running beside her.

"What are you doing?"

Rose looked up at me easily, a look of innocence on her face.

"What do you mean?"

Something was off.

"You are faster then them. Why are you running so slow?"

Rose couldn't keep her cool demeanor. She grinned.

"Ah, them? I think they are missing the point of this exercise."

I cocked my head to one side, still running.

"What do you mean?"

Rose glanced at her watch that she kept on her wrist.

"Ah, give it five, ten minutes maximum. You will see."

I jogged at her side, waiting with her, while still keeping Luffy and the idiot in sight. What confused me was what we were doing. What was the point of whatever this was?

Sure enough, about five minutes after we started this exercise, we came upon Luffy and Eor-cook. Luffy was laying on the ground, and ero-cook was bent over. Both were panting for breath. Rose laughed.

"What's wrong guys, tired already?"

Ero-cook sighed.

"What the heck? Why aren't you tired Rose-swan?"

Rose patted his back.

"Because I didn't sprint to get here. You have to pace yourself on these types of things."

Luffy groaned.

"Need meat!"

Rose chuckled, and helped him stand.

"Are you all done?"

Ero-cook waved.

"Sorry Rose-swan."

Luffy nodded.

"Too boring."

Both took off in another direction into the town. Rose sighed.

"And then there was one."

She turned to see me standing behind her.

"Are you leaving too?"

I considered it. It wasn't that hard, the pace she was setting now, and besides, I was the one that brought up and was the most curious about where she went. I was going to see this through to the end.

"No."

Besides, I would never leave Rose. Rose's eyes lit up.

"Really? My apologies, and then there were two. Come along Zoro, we got some ground to cover."

She took off running again, with me right beside her.

"Are you going to tell me what we are doing?"

Rose tilted her head, skipping along almost, a little pep in her step.

"I suppose you can call this training."

Training? Really? I wouldn't say that this was training, but what do I know.

"This is training?"

Rose smiled up at me.

"You train with swords and weights. This is my own kind of training."

"What does it train?"

Rose winked at me.

"I will tell you at the end all right? Just keep up and don't get lost."

We continued on. It wasn't bad at first. The pace was comfortable with Rose being the one pushing it most of the time. I kept right on her heels to follow her orders, not losing her.

It wasn't bad, until it gradually became harder. The pace which at first felt like a piece of cake slowly felt like I was trying to run up a mountain. I would have been convinced I was actually doing that, except for Rose. She was just jogging along, humming whistling, and talking like she was sitting on the deck sipping one of ero-cook's fruity drinks. After what felt like eons of near silence, I asked with a raspy breath.

"Rose, how long are we doing this for?"

Rose glanced at her watch.

"Hmmm, we have been running about twenty five minutes, so another thirty five minutes? We are almost halfway done if it makes you feel better."

Almost halfway done. I'm surprised this torture hadn't killed me already. Rose gave me a sympathetic look.

"I know, I told you it was long and boring. I could tell you stories if you want; it makes the time go faster."

I panted.

"Go for it."

So she started to talk, while still acting like she was doing nothing. What was this girl made of? I know running was her art, but this was ridiculous.

She talked about her world mostly, about how she learned some fighting moves from her cousin. How this was a sport in her world, and that she does it. How she has a family. She talked about so many things that I forgot. I think she was just trying to fill the empty space, and it did help. The next time I asked how much longer, she said ten minutes left.

By now I was a mess. I don't know what enchantment she did, but I don't understand how I could be this weak. I thought I was stronger then this.

"This is also a good practice to scout out the town. I have found marines and enemy pirates alike on my runs, and I have seen escape routes too."

Is that what she trains, her observation and strategy skills? I was about to ask, when Rose shot that idea out of the sky.

"It is helpful, but not the true purpose of this, if that is what you are thinking. Hey look, it's Sunny."

Sure enough, all the way down the street is our ship. Rose grinned at me.

"All right, we don't have much time left. Let's race back to the ship. Ready go!"

She took off sprinting before I could even wrap my head about what she proposed. Wait a second...all right, racing got it. I took after her as fast as my legs could carry me, which wasn't very fast right now because I had been running for an hour. Rose however was acting like she had just started a game of tag.

I tried to catch her honestly. I caught up to her and raced with her neck and neck. I thought that would intimidate her, but she chuckled under her breath.

"Oh, you are resisting? Fine by me, but how long can you keep it up?"

She sped up until I was for sure I had reached my limit, but I still stayed with her. I couldn't lose to her, a girl, in something like this. But she was barely breathing hard. She glanced over at me, grinned and with less then a block to go sped forward, going at a speed I could only dream to compete with.

She beat me by a few feet. She hopped onto the deck, I collapsed on it, searching for air against my burning lungs. I heard Luffy shout.

"Oh my gosh, Rose killed Zoro!"

Rose replied with a laugh.

"No, not yet. Sanji, can I have a glass of water?"

"Right away Rose-swan."

I gritted my teeth. I lost, and that hurt more then my legs right now. I sat up and heaved a deep breath. Everyone was gathered around. Chopper almost rushed off to get some medicine for me, but Rose reassured him.

"I think he is fine Chopper."

I closed my eye, trying to recover my breath back to normal pace. There it is finally slowing down.

"Here you go."

I look up to see Rose smiling kindly, holding out a cup of water. As good as that sounds right now, sake sounds perfect. I ignore ero-cook whining about his dear Rose-swan not drinking the water he brought and I wave the cup away.

"No, I will take some sake."

Sake will dull the pain dealt to my legs, and my pride. Rose ignored me, thrusting the water cup back in my face.

"Sake and alcohol will dehydrate you more then you already are. Water will be better promise."

I take a sip, basking in it's refreshing coolness, before gulping it down. Rose stepped back, observing me.

"Hmm, you did better then I expected. Most people can't do that, especially at the pace I just set."

Ok Rose, you did say, as soon as it was over, you would tell me what it was for.

"Are you going to tell me what the purpose of that was?"

She nodded.

"I am glad you asked."

She pointed to me.

"This was not training speed, even though we were running. The purpose of this was to run for a long period of time, for a not sprinting pace, but a decent pace."

Luffy looked confused.

"So what does that do?"

Rose smiled knowingly.

"It was training endurance."

Endurance? I suppose that could be handy. Rose sighed.

"All right, what is a fight? In its simplest form, it is a test of endurance, to see out of two people, who lasts the longest through pain and fatigue."

She pointed to me.

"Look at you Zoro. You are dehydrated, red in the face, sweating, and exhausted. You would probably cut me to pieces if I asked you to go with me again."

She pointed to herself.

"Me on the other hand, have been trained to do this. I could run for another hour if I needed to. Hour runs like the one I just did, I used to do every day in my world. I have gotten significantly slower now because I don't run as much, you know hard to run on land when you only visit it every few weeks. If you all ever wondered how I can run for hours during tag, or seem to have endless energy, this is why. I have trained my endurance up so that it is a skill I guess."

I was still confused. Why did I struggle so much? Rose grinned.

"There is a difference between running toward something, and running recreationally. You all running before now, was toward a goal, mostly saving nakama, or a fight. Running without motivation is a lot harder. Besides, as I said, I have trained my body to run; you have trained your body to fight. A lot of people in my world can't run with me for ten minutes, let alone an hour."

She patted my shoulder.

"You should probably stretch too. You might be a little sore tomorrow."

Then she sauntered off with Robin and Nami to shop for new clothes.

And so, Rose explained where she went during her island adventures. Ero-cook gave me crap by being beat by a girl, but since it was Rose, and I at least went all the way with her and didn't drop out like him, I didn't care.

Another thing, Rose was never alone on her long runs again, and I could definitely tell a difference in my fighting. I feel like I could fight for days sometimes, and it was all thanks to Rose. I never imagined that after all the training I gave her, Rose would actually train me in something.

I saw Rose blossom and grow in strength in the New World. With every fight, I saw her confidence grow and her bravery. She became more comfortable with her custom weapon, mastering all of its functions easily. Often though, I would see her practicing with a knife, or anything else she could find around the ship, mostly Franky's shipwright tools, to use as a weapons.

Whenever we went up against someone in a fight, and an opponent picked up her to fight, I always weighed them on a scale against her in my mind; they always came up lacking.

It wasn't that they weren't strong, goodness knows. Rose just had such a repertoire of skills that she could choose from.

First, was her adapting ability, that she fine tuned so well. She used her own weapon yes, and it was an extension of her body, much like my swords were to me. Also, if the enemy had a weapon and did something horribly offensive to the fiery girl, she would take and use thier own weapon against them.

Next was her strategist part. Despite not having knowledge, she was sure to use Robin as an information source to find out about our enemies, and plan for attacks, even if she didn't have that much info. In a fight against a devil fruit eater, she would strategize a way to counterattack thier power. She would also strategize the best use of her weapon, or unique ways to defeat the opponent.

Next was her strength, and especially when she was angry, she was as strong as I was. I trained her in weights, and while she still kept the wirey build, she was still strong. Speed was something she also used, for obvious reasons. She kept her speedy fighting style, that relied on speed more then strength, but her hits were definitely harder.

Endurance was also a factor. There was once a fight where they were both evenly matched, but Rose just walked away because after four hours, the other passed out from exhaustion while Rose was still going strong.

Bravery of course was always a factor. Rose continued to be brave, doing anything to win, much like my thoughts. She would almost sacrifice things in fights, nothing major like cutting off feet, but she once sacrificed someone cutting her arm almost clean in half to get a good hit. No hesitation, and no fear.

She continued to grow in power, and Rose changed a lot too. She gradually came to me less and less for insecurities and about her weaknesses. She would come up to the crow's nest and ask for a spar, that way she could work out the moves that she felt weak about. She grew into someone extremely powerful, just as I saw her potential the first time I trained her.

Yet, despite this, Rose didn't change. She still lived every day like it was the last day here. She still smiled and laughed, spending equal time with each crewmate. She still laughed during fights. She dragged everyone into shipwide games of tag, and god help the crew if she got bored. She could be as bad as Luffy.

She would have unreserved enthusiasm and excitement with every island we came across, every new fight, and when we met someone famous like Shanks and other, she would have to explain who they were and become excited at meeting them.

Another thing, that even though her confidence grew, she never was cocky. She still always underestimated her strength, and was always pleasantly surprised when she won a battle even though I knew she would.

So training, fighting, visiting islands, and having adventures, all led up to one place for me. I finally got the chance to redeem myself from those years ago.

It was an island where we had just kicked the butt of many marine, when I felt it. With my haki, my being, my sword. He was here.

I left my crew and found him waiting for me, on a grassy plain. I feel the crew standing off to one side, watching waiting for the inevitable rematch.

"What are you doing here?"

Mihawk drew his black blade. Oh I remember it well. It gave me this scar on my chest, and the one on my eye.

"I thought you were ready to challenge me again. Was I wrong?"

No, I think I am ready. I have trained all that I could, fought all the difficult enemies I needed to. Yes, it was time to challenge my old master again.

I ignored the stares of the crew and drew my swords. No, I wasn't that arrogant young swordsman who thought he could conquer the world. I was a lot stronger now; I could beat him.

I am grateful that this time Mihawk draws his black blade first, instead of his puny butterknife. That must mean he is taking this seriously, that he considers me a threat. Good.

We clashed, neither one of us holding back. We couldn't afford to. I remembered how training with him was, and my body and mind remembered his old habits, only this was a thousand times deadlier.

I had no time for doubt in myself, or fear of losing. If I am not completely confident in my ability, I will lose this battle, and I cannot afford to lose again.

We coninuted to fight, and I countered and dealt attacks like no one's business, feeling him out, feeling where he was weak. He was human, and all humans felt weakness and defeat. He was no exception. I could do this.

We finally broke apart, and I was panting rather heavily, but Mihawk was breathing hard too. We are both equally matched.

I see his golden eyes gleam as he swung back his sword. Here it comes, the strongest slash in the world. I ready my swords, ready to counter it.

The green blast hit me head on, and it was insanely strong. I pushed back against it with my swords as hard as I could, but I couldn't keep it up at this rate. My swords will break again at this rate. A whisper, from months before popped into my head.

You are stronger then me, so I have to parry your swords in a way that it isn't a contest of strength.

I remember a certain brave girl, wielding a sword on me and managed to use her wits instead of strength to try to win a fight against me. That's right, this isn't just a contest of strength. I have to be able to win this fight.

I slide to one side, shifting the beam so it rushes past me to cut the mountain in half instead of me or my swords. I heave out a breath. Ok, I can counter it. Good. Now to beat him.

Mihawk actually looks like he is impressed at my skill, but I don't give him time to dwell on it as I leap forward trying to slash at him.

We both go at each others throats swords swinging wildly yet controlled. I could do this, I could win.

We clashed, he trying to slash and once again I parried, but this time, I didn't set my feet strong enough. I felt the my foot slip against the dry dust, and just like that my stance fell apart. I felt it, and I know Mihawk felt it too.

Shit.

Within a fraction of a second he laid in a deep cut in my shoulder. I stumbled back, pain paralyzing my arm. I grit my teeth. Crap, that was stupid. Screw stupid, that was careless. I thought I learned last time that Mihawk pounces on carelessness like a hawk.

I stand back up, ready to fight again, when Mihawk slashes my other shoulder. I can't hold my swords like this. I was missing two, but I still had one. I couldn't be stopped here. I had to continue forward, no matter what.

Yet, as we stood there in a stalemate, my body started to send doubt creeping into my mind. I didn't know if I could hold my swords, let alone fight with them, and Mihawk was uninjured. I was barely able to hold back against him while I was in perfect shape.

Gosh darn it, I don't want to lose, to be humiliated. Didn't I promise I would never lose again? That was the only thing keeping me going at this point.

"Zoro!"

I tensed. That sounded like...Rose. Did she sense it? My doubt? What could she possibly want?

I was not the ony one distracted. Mihawk felt my lack of concentration in the fight and glanced back at my crew. I didn't care about him, not right now. Rose would only speak up to say something important.

"Be brave. You are stronger then you think you are."

I recognize them, those words. They are the ones I have repeated to her time and time again on her journey to become stronger. When she faced Z and the World Nobles, when she was scared and felt weak and helpless, I told her that because I wanted her to see that she was indeed strong and brave.

And everytime I have said those words to her, she has succeeded.

Through thick and thin, pain and fear, she has pushed through to overcome any challenge she is faced, and I believed that she could do it. I backed her because I had faith in her abilities. She just needed to be reminded, and once she was reminded, she could conquer anything.

Is that what she is conveying to me now? That she overcame all obstacles because I said that to her, that I could succeed when she says it to me? That she sees the strength in me that I couldn't feel myself at the moment, and she believes I could win this fight?

Just for a second, one second, I send out my haki. To Mihawk, and to the crew.

Mihawk is curious, but he is confident; he thinks the fight is crew is doubtful; they also think Mihawk will win.

Except for one person.

Rose is faithful; she believes I can win this fight.

I can barely pick up my swords, and I am crippled with pain, but she still believes. Her trust in me, and my abilities is unparalleled. She has not one ounce of doubt in her heart.

That is all I need.

Because it doesn't matter how many people disbelieve I can do this, even myself, I only need one person to believe in me, then they must be right, and I will win this fight.

That's right, I cannot go back to square one, training and fighting. I might not get another chance like this. I have to do this for Kuina, and the crew. I cannot lose here. I will not allow it. I have not become this strong to act this weak now.

My fighting spirit rekindled like a roaring forest fire, I grab my swords proudly. Mihawk will have to cut all the limbs from my body if he hopes to defeat me. I have to do this. I have to win, and I will not stop until I do.

We continue to fight, and it hurts like hell, but I continue. I think of Rose's words, them becoming a mantra in my mind. I am strong, I am brave enough to overcome pain. This is nothing compared to last time, where he humiliated me at the Baratie, or almost cut my head in half but let me off with losing an eye. No, this is not bad.

Then Mihawk seems like he is done playing around. He slows down actually, lulling me into a false sense of comfort, and just when I accept the pace, he changes speeds so quickly I could not pull my lethargic pace into gear fast enough. My chest exploded in pain and I fall on the ground, gasping for air and convulsing in pain.

Relax, calm down. Rest a few seconds before standing back up. Mihawk is done with me it seems, going over to talk to the crew. No, if you hurt them you bastard, I will cut your head off with your own sword.

I send out my haki, feeling surprise from the crew. Their doubt has dissappeared into reality, already sensing that I have lost.

Rose has not lost faith. Even with me, lying on the ground bleeding to death, she still has the hope that I will stand and win.

Either she is crazy, hoping for a god given miracle...or she is right.

Right Rose respects me. She has faith in me. I cannot let her down, my image to be torn down in her eyes. I have to be someone worthy for Rose to look up to. I can't do that if I leave her hope unfulfilled, crush her faith like glass. I don't want to dissappoint her, not when she believes in me so much.

Now stand up. You can't let Rose down, you can't let Kuina down, and you can't let the crew down. This is your dream, and it is worth nothing if you don't fight tooth and nail for it.

I slowly push myself to my feet, gauging my pain and my endurance of it. Right, endurance. All that endurance training with Rose, and this is a test of endurance, and I know for a fact, I have endured more then Mihawk could ever dream of. He doesn't have a scar down his chest, or is missing his eye. He has never almost chopped his feet off, or had to take on a captain's pain that was far greater then his body could handle. I have endured more. He cannot hope to win.

Mihawk glances behind him to see me standing up ready to face him again. The smirk on Rose's face was quite worth it. Mihawk nods to Rose, and walks back to deal with me.

"Zoro, let is all go. Unleash your demon."

Lay everything on the line, break your body into pieces, whatever it takes, and we will be here to pick up the pieces. Do not give up on your dream. I think that's what she is trying to say, and I gladly accept it. I trust my nakama to pick me back up when I win.

I nod at her as I concentrate. I haven't called on my demonly power in a long time; I hadn't needed to. I felt my awareness shift from not one head but three, not two arms but six. I poured all of my determination to win and bloodlust into my last resort. This form didn't last long, so I had to finish it here, and quickly.

I threw my body, soul, heart, and mind into my work, my job to finish Mihawk here. I could do this. Rose told me so. I have nothing to fear. I sense with my haki on a totally new level, observing Mihawk three steps ahead of when he will make a move, but just because I sense it doesn't mean I can stop it.

Faster, stronger, better, I push my body past it's limits. Come on. I sense Mihawk fading, with each new injury inching closer and closer to fatal. We draw back for a split second before we throw ourselves at each other with our respective finishing moves. I feel my Asura dissolve, my body get torn to shreds by pain and blood and blade. I crumple to the ground, falling flat on my face.

Oh man, everything is screaming bloody murder for me to stay down, but I can't. I know I have to get up, and face Mihawk again. Come on, not much longer body. You have to give everything you have.

So painstakingly, inch by inch, I push myself up on my destroyed arms, grabbing my faithful Kitetsu, Shuusui, and Wado Ichimonji. Just one more time. I won't fall again until this is over, I vow to myself.

Wait, Mihawk isn't moving. I say hoarsely to him.

"Get up."

The sooner he gets up the better. It's a race against time now to see how long my body lasts. I hear a faint chuckle.

"No Roronoa Zoro. You win."

I win? I won? I smile to myself, barely believing it myself. I sheath my swords barely, before my knes give out. My body is finally done. It can no longer move.

I expect a face full of dirt but feel strong arms grasping me instead. I groan in pain, but crack an eye open to see who it is.

"Shh, it's all right."

Oh, it's Rose. I only hear half of what she says, but I get the gist. The crew will take care of me, just like she promised. I couldn't say it to her outright, but I breathed.

"And you will be there to brighten up my day with your smiles and encourage me right?"

I feel her chuckle against me.

"Of course I will."

That is all I need to know. I can finally relax. I slip into an semiconscious state, only to be jostled out of it when someone, I think Chopper, grabs me and starts to run. I expected Rose to be there, but surprisingly she isn't. I open my eye to peek behind us.

Rose is croached next to Mihawk unfurling some bandages. She is going to treat him? I smile faintly. That girl is hopeless. That is the last thought that runs through my head before I fall unconscious.

I woke up to clean white sheets and a rolling environment. I was back on Sunny, in the infirmary probably. Figures. Oh man, this one is going to be a doozy to get over. I haven't even moved yet and I am in pain. This sucks so badly.

I pry my eye open to look up at the cieling. Then, I feel something move on the bed. I know it wasn't me because I was not in any shape to move at the moment. I slowly turn my head to the right, and almost chuckle.

Rose is sitting beside my bed, leaned over with her head resting on my arm, sleeping like a baby.

I smirk. Even now, after all this time and she knows I don't have a blind spot, she still comes in on my right side. I don't want to disturb her, but it was too late. Rose opened her eyes and yawned loudly, glancing up at me. She gasped, her face losing it's tiredness instantly, transforming into elation.

"Zoro!"

She clapped her hand over her mouth, glancing over at something. I say.

"Hey how-"

She held a finger to her lips.

"Shhh!"

She pointed to Chopper, who was hunched over his desk, also sleeping. She held up a finger and whispered.

"I will be right back. Don't move."

Yeah right, as if I could move in this condition. She tiptoed out of the room, only to return a few minutes later carrying a plate of food, and a tankard of water. She sat it down on a table next to the bed.

"I will feed you in a minute, let me change your bandages."

She gently sat me up, mindful when I winced or tesned in pain. Her care was gentle and kind, and didn't hurt me. She talked to me as she unwound and rewrapped the clean white strips of cloth.

"Sorry about earlier. I just got him to sleep a few hours ago. He hadn't slept since your fight. he's been running himself ragged."

I glance at the dark circles under Rose's eyes and the paleness of her face. Her excitement and normal enthusiasm is there, but fake, not as bright. Chopper wasn't the only one to run himself ragged.

"How long was I out?"

Rose bandaged my shoulder, her eyes carefully observing her work and my face for any sign of pain.

"Three days. We were starting to get worried."

That reminded me.

"Where is everyone else?"

Rose raised an eyebrow.

"It's three in the morning. Everyone is sleeping. You could have chosen a more convenient time to wake up you know."

She grinned, finishing her bandaging job.

"There you go. Not Chopper, but it will do."

She grabs the plate of food, laying it flat on my lap.

"Here, I know your arms are injured. You need any help?"

No, I could handle this. I shook my head, grabbing the cup of water. My throat felt like Alabasta. I lifted it up to my lips, but my arms shook with the strain and the pain that tore through my shoulders made me wince. I almost dropped it when Rose swooped in, steadying the cup with her fingers.

"Woah, easy there."

I gritted my teeth. Gosh darn it, I felt so weak. Rose smiled kindly.

"Zoro, you are injured for goodness sakes. Let me help you. No one will know."

I dropped my head. Fine, just this once. Rose would keep this a secret. She wouldn't tell anyone about this.

She lifted the tankard to my lips and I drained it in a few gulps. She grabbed the water pitcher beside the bed, filling it again.

"Easy, don't make yourself sick."

I wanted to eat and drink everything in sight. I felt like Luffy. To be expected, I had slept three days after all, and a barrel of beer wouldn't be too bad either. But Rose kept it slow, each bite of food was slow and delibrate, making me chew and swallow. While she fed me she filled the empty silence.

"Sorry, I just grabbed the leftovers from supper. I should have made something that would speed recovery, something with lots of vitamins or something, but I don't know what that would be. I should have asked Chopper. Anyway, about your injuries. You have torn muscles in both of your shoulders, and they won't heal for awhile."

She gave me a pointed glance.

"That means no training."

I swallow my food and give her an incredulous glance. Really, since when has that stopped me? She sighed.

"Look, Chopper has a rehabilitation plan going, and it will only be a few weeks, but if you try lifting weight with your arms the way they are now, you might injure them in a way we can't fix them back, and you will never wield a sword again. You don't want that right?"

I guess not. Hard to be the world's greatest swordsman without swords.

Oh yeah, I am the world's greatest swordsman.

I had totally forgotten. I smiled calmly, glancing at my hands. I accomplished my dream, my ambition, and Kuina's too. I had fulfilled her wish.

Rose noticed my face and grinned happily.

"Yeah, you did it. I'm sure Kuina is very happy."

She fed me the last bite of food, and slid the plate to one side, and pulled out a small bottle and two cups. She smiled, pouring the sake into the tiny cups.

"I thought we could celebrate. Just us."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You are drinking?"

She laughed softly.

"This is a cause of celebration. Of course I am drinking."

I took the cup, with it's small wieght and my desperation for some sort of alcohol in my system, I could hold it. Rose clinked our cups.

"To the greatest swordsman in the world. Roronoa Zoro. Kampaii!"

We both downed our drinks in one go, to which Rose promptly started coughing, and I chuckled. As usual, she can't handle her drink. But it was touching that she cared enough to break her own world's rules to celebrate with me. I prefered this, just us drinking at three o'clock in the morning, then the gungho parties that are fun, but not as meaningful. I'm also glad that she cared enough to do this.

We sat quietly for awhile. I thought about all my journey to become the greatest swordsman. The people who helped me, trained me, fought me, and made me into the swordsman I am. I thought alot about Kuina, and old man Koshiro. Man, I have changed a lot from that punk that challenged them. Rose broke the silence as she glanced at her cup, smiling.

"Did you know, if you drink sake together, you become brothers?"

"What?"

What nonsense was she spouting now? Rose glanced up.

"Oh nothing nothing. Sorry."

She lowered her cup, her eyes transforming into stars.

"Wow, you are the world's greatest swordsman Zoro. I knew you could do it. You were so cool."

Oh yeah, that reminds me. Several flashbacks of the fight came back, and most included Rose supporting me in some way. This needed to be done.

"Thank you."

She cocked her head in confusion.

"What for?"

I clasped my hands loosely.

"I thought about giving up many times. You gave me the strength to move forward."

Rose patted my head gently, ruffling my green hair.

"Of course Zoro. I knew you could do it. You supported me whenever I was in trouble, it was only the nakama thing to do to return the favor. Besides, I didn't want you losing to him again."

"But how did you know? How did you know I would win?"

She grinned happily at me.

"Because Zoro is Zoro, that's why."

Oh she does that too? Whenever Rose something that I just can't explain, I just say Rose is Rose. Does she do that to describe me too? I sigh, smiling at the girl who had proven to me that not all women were bad. Rose took the sake, and poured me another cup.

"Now then, this is the last one, then you need to go back to sleep. Sleep is essential for healing you know."

I snorted.

"Fine, but can't I just have the bottle?"

She chuckled.

"No silly. I am sure today you will get inebriated enough. You just gotta wait a few hours."

I pointed to her cup.

"Not going to get a refill?"

She sighed.

"No Zoro, I am not a drinker, and I can't take care of you when I am stinking drunk."

I sipped my sake, trying to make it last.

"Oh, but seeing you drunk would be interesting."

It's true. People act completely different when they are drunk. I wonder if Rose would act differently. If she would be an angry firecracker type, ready to jump on anyone with anger. I wonder if she would be the aloof type, the one that was airheaded and acted stupid. Or the one that was happy all the time. I didn't know, but I wanted to know.

Rose just shook her head.

"Now Zoro, I do not want to ruin my image of me. I only got one reputation you know."

I finished my cup. Rose slowly laid me back down in the bed.

"All right go back to sleep, greatest swordsman. Shouldn't be a problem with the way you nap."

I grabbed her wrist, ignoring the tingling pain in my arm.

"Thank you Rose. For everything."

For taking care of me, for helping and feeding me, for giving me my private celebration, for supporting me in the fight. Rose has turned out to be an amazing nakama, more then I could have ever asked for.

Holy crap, I forgot one thing.

"Rose, where are my swords?"

I had forgotten about them in the whole food and drink ordeal. Rose smiled kindly.

"Hold on a sec."

She got up and walked to a corner of the room, where my swords were leaning against the wall.

"They are not broken, or harmed. They are still intact and ready to fight by your side. Oh stop it Kitetsu, I'm giving you back to him. Hello again Wado."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Why are you talking to my swords?"

She smiled widely.

"What? Kitetsu was throwing a fit because I was carrying him again. And Wado was happy to see me again is all. I had to get Kitetsu off of you because he wouldn't let anyone else hold him."

She senses the voices in my swords? Does she have haki? Maybe I should try to train that as well. But that's for a later date.

Rose lays my swords by my left side.

"Here you go, right there."

She sits back in her seat, and places her cool hand on my forhead.

"Now, go to sleep Zoro. Everyone will be here for you when you wake up again."

I nod, closing my eye. I do want to go back to sleep, but I want to check something first. Sure enough, after a few minutes, I feel something hit the bed softly. I open my eye and glance over. Rose has resumed her vigilant position, her head resting on my fingers as she goes back to sleep.

I don't mind. It's obvious to see how tired she is. She must have stayed up with Chopper to make sure I was ok, and she looks more relaxed now. Was she worried about me? I smile as I close my eyes, hug my swords to my side, and allowing the thought of Rose to lull me back to sleep.

She was right. When I awoke next, everyone was gathered around the bed, staring at me. I sigh.

"I'm alive guys stop worrying."

"Yay Zoro is awake."

I hear Luffy laugh, Ero-cook grumbled something, but I could tell he was happy in his own pervy chef type way. Robin and Nami were both relieved. Usopp said it was all thanks to him I recovered so well. Chopper was frantically trying to medicate me and check my injuries, spouting all sorts of medicinal nonsense. Brook started fiddling a happy tune, and Franky slammed his forearms together.

All of them talked about a celebration later that afternoon, Sanji discussed food, Luffy insisted meat, and I commented about the drink situation.

All the while, Rose sat in the corner, nibbling something to eat. She looks a lot healthier now, and when she caught me looking, she gave me a smile.

The celebration of me achieving my dream went on for awhile, and it was fun, but it was not as good as the celebration just between Rose and I. Nevertheless I enjoyed it.

In the next few weeks that I spent recovering, Chopper had me on a strict physical training program to try to help my arms. Rose wasn't always there, but she made sure to visit everyday, telling stories about the day, a new joke, laughing and encouraging with smiles galore, just like she promised. I looked forward to her visits because it would interrupt the boringness of the day. It wasn't long before I was back training and sparring with her.

One by one, we all started achiving our dreams, and none was happier then Rose. Out of the entire crew, Rose was the one that showed just as much interest into our indivdual dreams as us. Whenever Robin found a new Ponyglyph, she was there, ready to hear another piece of history. Whenever Nami found a new island and marked it on the world map, Rose was the first one to see and comment. Whenever a dream was completed, Rose would celebrate like she was the one who had achieved her dream, and when the person was working on a dream, she offered positive, kind encouragement, like Luffy becoming the pirate king, or Usopp becoming the brave warrior of the seas.

Until it was her dream that needed completion. She had risen in power, strength, and reputation, earning herself her own name in the four Blues. Many a girl came and tried to win against her, all of them failed. She had won against pirates, marines, bounty hunters, and the odd miscellaneous fighter. Now she was fighting the self proclaimed strongest girl in the world.

I glanced over at her. She was hopping on her toes and spinning her weapon of choice in her fingers busily, waiting for the challenger to get to the arena.

"You nervous?"

I ask. She shook her head.

"No, not nervous. Impatient."

Yes, her eyes held energy and excitement, but no fear. Brave Rose was ready to conquer the world. One more push. I lean down and whisper in her ear.

"Be brave. You are stronger then you think you are, and you are stronger then her."

Rose nodded determinedly.

"Of course. Thank you Zoro."

There, the woman sauntered into the arena, scoffing and acting all cocky. Rose just walked forward coolly, confident yet with a hint of doubt that she would lose. Not cocky, but confident in her abilities.

"You are Rose? You are about to die."

Rose tilted her head, and I could tell she was carefully analyzing her, strategist part already in place. Then she grinned.

"Yes, I am Rose. It's nice to meet you."

The girl looked annoyed.

"You are about to experience the worst pain in your life you upstart punk."

Rose just smiled politely at her.

"Is that so? How interesting. I just came here to have some fun is all."

I wouldn't have known what she was doing, if I didn't know Rose very well. She was sly. She was trying to psyche the girl out, break her mental focus by acting like this was a social event. In the same instance, she was making the girl underestimate her by acting like herself. I smiled. This woman was going to get the shock of her life. She snorted.

"Hmph, you seem to have something wrong with you. I will end this quickly and be merciful. You should be grateful."

I could tell this woman was getting on Rose's nerves, but she continued to smile and be freindly.

"It's ok, you can drag it out if you like. I wouldn't have fun if it was short. By the way do you have a weapon, or do you have a devil fruit?"

In reponse the woman drew what looked like a mace. In that instant, Rose's eyes went from bright, happy, and unfocused to focused pretty quickly, but the smile only increased on her face.

"Ah, there it is. Let's begin shall we?"

The woman charged, and I could tell she was surprised when Rose blocked her attack and started to fight her. It was obvious in my eye who would win, but it was going to be close.

They continued to fight, Rose flowing her skills into a continuous stream of attacks or defences. She would switch weapons constantly, and she even stole the mace at one time, using it against the other woman.

I vowed to myself before this fight even started that no matter what happened, I would believe in Rose's abilities. She did the same for me, and it was time to return the favor. No matter what.

Rose spun and moved, and with her speed dodged every attack. She laughed and teased the larger woman.

"Sorry, but there seems to be a lack of dying on my part. I am sorry I am not fulfilling your expectations."

The woman screamed.

"Shut up!"

Rose whistled.

"Whew, what an ugly face. You should make it prettier with a smile."

The woman slung the mace at Rose, who dodged it.

"I will be happy when you are dead at my feet. Hold still."

Rose seemed to contemplate it, leaping to stand on top of the mace, swinging her quarterstaff at the woman's face.

"But if I did that, you would hit me with this giant pulveriser thing, and that would not be good for my situation. You are perfect for me. You are based on strength instead of speed."

And so the fight continued, the woman screaming at Rose to shut her mouth, and Rose talking and laughing and throwing the woman completely off guard. The swings became wilder and less controlled. Rose was really working her over.

Our fighting styles are completely different. It is interesting to see. I am so serious, making sure the job gets done. Rose fights differently depending on her mood, or what her opponent is like. If her oponnent has a short fuse, or she is feeling happy, she fights like this. But if it's a serious fight, she is offended or something has upset her, she fights like I do. It's like a switch.

I watch and wince when I see the woman trick Rose, making her dodge only to trip her. Rose skids across the ground, and the mace slams down on top of her. I tensed, but noticed how Rose blocked it at the last second with her quarterstaff. She was trapped, but uninjured for the time being.

The woman smirked.

"I got you now, you annoying little twerp."

Rose for once didn't answer. She squirmed underneath the mace for a minute, before letting go of the quarterstaff holding it up. She gritted her teeth in pain as the mace smashed into her shoulder, but gave her enough time to swat hard at the woman's ankle with her staff, knocking her over.

"Have to admit that was a good one. I managed to keep you from injuring my legs, that's good."

That's right. In a fight, I know Rose would prioritize her legs safety over her arms. Because speed is such a main part of her fighting style, she would prioritize movement then to attacking strength.

I see Rose glance at me. Blood is covering her shoulder, and I could see the doubt in her eyes. I just nod, my arms crossed. She can handle it.

The fight continues, Rose getting mild to serious injuries and every time she doubted herself, she would always glance at me. I didn't have to acknowledge it most of the time, before she was up and running again. I guess I was just a reminder of the words I spoke to her, of the training she had endured, of who she really is.

Rose won, finally, but she was injured quite badly. Her arms were wrecks, and even her legs and torso got scrapes and cuts. Nevertheless, she limped over to us with a triumphant smirk on her face. She walked up to me first.

"Zoro, I-"

She fell forward, gripping my shirt in between her fingers to catch herself. I didn't allow her to. I just scooped her up in my arms as she passes out and brought her to Chopper.

"Here Chopper fix her."

He started to bandage the wounds, and I was grateful they weren't anything as serious as mine.

She woke up a few hours later in the infirmary, I stayed by her side, until she awoke. I made sure not to get in Chopper's way however as he fixed the finishing touches. Then he left her in my care.

She woke up slowly, yawning innocently like she didn't cause the crew worry. She blinked blearily, smacked her lips, and sat up, looking at me. Then she smiled.

"Oh hey Zoro."

I held up what I brought, a small container of sake, and two cups.

"I thought we could celebrate, just the two of us."

Rose eagerly held up her sake cup.

"Of course Zoro."

She chinked her glass against mine.

"To two bests in the world! Zoro and Rose."

I said with a congratulatory smile. Rose gave me the biggest grin.

"Thank you."

I blinked and suddenly she was embracing me.

"For everything. I couldn't have done it without your support and training, Zoro."

I hesitated for a second before I slowly wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. How could such a tiny body hold such power and bravery?

"No problem, Rose."

She continued to recover, and get better.

We started to all achieve our dreams, until it all suddenly ended. At Raftel. We all knew it would come, ever since the beginning of our adventures. We found the lost history on the final Ponyglyph, and we found the One Piece treasure.

We celebrated for an entire week, before Rose busted the news.

"I'm sorry guys. I have to go now. I have lived my adventures out with you guys, and lived my dream. I have to go back to my world."

I understood, and I had had a feeling it would be soon. I had forgotton for a long time that Rose was actually not part of our world, and that her stay was temporary. So I shed no teatrs like most of the others did. Rose comforted them, and gave me a warm smile. She seemed grateful she had one less person to comfort.

Rose dissappeared into the glowing dissolve, saying her goodbyes. She tossed her weapon at me telling me to keep it. Only after did she leave did I go off somewhere on Raftel on my own. I had lost a training partner, a true friend. I broke down and wept the loss of the smiling girl

But I didn't greive too much. I had a feeling that brave girl would make an appearence again. I didn't know when, but my instincts were telling me so it must be true. If that was the case. I will wait. I will wait however long I need to, to have Rose by my side once again.