That Sunday morning, the rain hadn't stopped since the previous night. She was with Nami as they were talking with Dr. Clover inside his office.

Robin also didn't forget the ornate chest that Hiyori had given her back to Amazon Lily. Fortunately it was now in the hands of Dr. Clover, and not some other random person Hiyori didn't trust. He couldn't believe that this type of artifact still existed even though centuries of historic texts and information had said that Wano was in fact gone, and forgotten. But with how the archeologists of Ohara firmly believed it wasn't true, and the presence of the artifact, it proved that Wano still existed. The next few days would surely be tiring as examining it might even take months, weeks, or even years to come.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Robin, Nami." Dr. Clover came back after storing the ornate box in the examining room. "So, as Manuel said in his letter—"

"It's Marcelo, Dr. Clover. He said that you went to the ruins back in Rustbay?"

Dr. Clover gave her a nod as he looked for the map in one of his drawers. "Well, it's been years but we went there with a group of archeologists and a citizen of Rustbay and… it's something that I already forgot, actually…. Buried so deep in my memories that I already forgot what happened there." Dr. Clover rubbed the back of his head.

"Then, all of what we went through to get all the way here was just a waste of time?" Robin crossed her arms, taunting the doctor because she was sure he was hiding something.

Dr. Clover shook his head, no longer still looking at Robin. "Well, not really…"

Moments later, the room was filled by silence except only for the downpour of the rain outside. Dr. Clover didn't utter a word for the next few minutes. Then he finally found what he was looking for in one of his drawers, and plopped it down on his desk. It was a tattered map of Rustbay, full of markings.

"It's a horrible experience, Robin. I don't want to remember anything, however…. If you still insist on going there, I can't stop you. I know how stubborn you are, Robin, so all I can say is: trust what Soul King says and you'll come back in one piece." Dr. Clover handed Robin the map.

Robin noticed how Dr. Clover became tense when he mentioned Soul King. As far as she remembered, the Soul King was only a character of many folk tales, and it was a story widely told by the elders of Rustbay.

If Dr. Clover tensed that meant…

"So, Soul King is true?"

"Robin! You're giving me the chills…" Nami mumbled behind her back. "You know it's an unspeakable name in Rustbay…"

Robin muttered a 'sorry' to Nami. However, she wanted to know whether that mere 'Soul King' existed or not.

"Nami is right, Robin. We must not further speak about that, but if you still wish to go on your journey then…. I wish you luck going there. Make sure to come back, Robin, okay?"

Robin nodded before embracing Dr. Clover. Even though they reunited for only a few days, she would surely miss him again now that she and her friends would have to go back to Rustbay to transport the swordsman back to where he came from. In the afternoon, they would depart from Ohara and head back to Rustbay.

"Robin, you haven't told us what we're about to do there. I thought we're only escorting Zoro back to his home." Nami asked Robin.

"We are. That's why we're going back to Rustbay."

"That's…"

"Hard to believe, I know, but we're doing our best to take him back…"

"Robin…" Nami consoled her friend. She knew there was something wrong, but Robin could only give her a weak smile.

"It's for the best..." Robin said.

After talking with Dr. Clover, Robin had successfully retrieved the map.

"Even if it means someone will get hurt eventually, will you still continue?" Dr. Clover asked her before she completely left the room.

"There will be consequences of your actions, Robin. I know why you're going there. And if that swordsman goes back to where he came from, you won't be able to see him… forever."

Robin didn't know how to respond, so she only froze at the doorstep.

"Do you want him to leave or will you make him stay?" Dr. Clover's last question rang inside her mind.

Robin let her chin rest on her palm as she stared blankly outside. She and Nami were still in the lobby of Dr. Clover's office. Watching the rain fall down on the ground, it was so cold that she had to wear the old white knitted sweater she found in her closet, and a long skirt. She slowly stirred her coffee, perfect to reminisce about what happened the past few weeks, which started with a petty attraction towards the swordsman, only to have to end her feelings abruptly, leaving her once-full fragile heart like cracked glass.

"Robin, you need to rest." A voice said, knowing it belonged to her companion inside the house. She turned her back to see the swordsman peek his head in the door of her own library. She gave him a shake of her head as she dismissed his concern.

"No, you don't have to worry. I need to know if I can find the answers in these books—!"

She stepped on the ladder to get a book, and all of a sudden, she tripped herself on the second step. She tried to grip the bookshelf but it was too late. All she could do was close her eyes and brace herself to fall, head first, down on the floor. She even prepared her dying wish, and yet…

"Tsk, I told you to rest, woman." Robin heard his voice, stern but calm.

Robin slowly opened her eyes. It felt like a scene from a film she had seen before. It was as if time had cooperated to slow down, letting her savor this moment with him. Oh, how Nico Robin, who had been an independent woman for several years, had yearned for someone to pull her closer in their arms, their tireless arms.

What was it that her mother told her back when she was alive? 'Let time guide you'? Would this moment- Zoro catching her in his arms, be the one? Their bodies pressed closer, face only inches away, perfect for a kiss—

She sighed deeply as she aggressively stirred her own coffee, droplets splotching down on the table, trying to let her thoughts disappear yet failing to do so.

If they thought she wasn't around that time when he heard their accusations, they were wrong, she was there outside of the room.

It was understandable how concerned Robin's workers were for her, since someone new in her life had suddenly begun to live with her. When she was about to step in to correct them, she heard Zoro defend her name from their baseless accusations.

"If you keep on thinking like that, it's like you don't trust Robin at all." She heard Zoro scold them, defending her like that, as if he knew her. A brusque swordsman who she thought would be someone aggressive on the outside, yet clever enough not to resort to violence if it was unnecessary.

'How fascinating,' she thought.

Afterwards, they all returned to working and Robin decided to go inside the warehouse, pretending that she didn't hear anything from anyone inside.

Then there was the time at the drink fest, watching him with Law…

Even if she was seated with Law, far away from the swordsman, she could still see how big the swordsman's grin was— it was so infectious to the point where she couldn't help but smile as she nursed the wine in her hand. Watching him made her heart flutter. She didn't even know why.

It just happened…

Then, moments later, Zoro caught a glimpse of her, smiling as well. He raised his mug, too proud of himself that he was already outperforming Ben at the drinking game, and toast in the air, beckoning her to do the same. Robin's smile never left her face when she mimicked Zoro. Raising her glass in the air, she still couldn't quite forget how his grin turned into a gentle smile. Oh, how Robin wanted to see it every day… What a marvelous dream.

Then after he had won, he revealed how vulnerable he was. Cried in front of her, saying that he didn't try his best saving her and her friends back in Sabaody. She didn't understand him but it was the first time she had seen him show vulnerability.

Would she be called naïve when, at this very moment, she was falling slowly for the swordsman? Would this make Nami tease her if she happened to know her feelings? Well, she would like to see her try.

Then, at the cliffs where Zoro was the first person she had brought there.

His smile was still clear inside her mind at that time. She remembered wondering if the lapping waves would answer her wandering questions. Would the setting sun tell her that once she had helped him go back to where he came, she would feel at ease?

Then, back in her first and last voyage with him in the Thousand Sunny, where their hands almost touched… She knew it, but perhaps it was only her dream yet to come true.

Then, he went head-to-head against Zo. She really thought he wouldn't come back alive.

Where was he? Was he okay? She hoped that he was okay, hoping he would come back—

"Robin! I think Zoro's here already!" Koala shouted and Robin never moved so fast, all the way to Zoro.

"You came back…" She muttered as she embraced him tightly.

Robin clenched her fist. She acted so foolish that it even got to the point where she behaved as if Zoro would be staying with her. However, remembering that night back inside her childhood home in Ohara, she was much more foolish.

Their gazes met. The air was tight and she needed to breathe, when her hand strayed along the scar on his chest. Were they about to kiss? Was this the moment she had been waiting for? She was about to graze her lips on his own, inching closer until…

"Zoro? Robin? Where are you?"

Robin had never moved so quickly in her life than when she backed away from Zoro. She muttered an excuse before she went to bed. Perhaps that wasn't the right time to desire a kiss, she thought to herself.

And the morning after the incident with her aunt, he hugged her closer as she cried. Stayed, when she was vulnerable before they went to the gardens with the others.

Robin sighed deeply as she kept staring at the rain outside the foggy window. Those moments passed by like the clouds in the sky, like flowers wilting on uncatered soil. Why was she thinking of all these at a time like this? Still, it bothered her how just one kiss would let her forget that he was about to leave.

She believed that her feelings were one-sided, until that time when their bodies pressed closer, Zoro held her as if he was hers and kissed her beneath the pouring rain.

Yet, one question made her pull away from his grasp: Why was she still holding onto her feelings as if he would stay?

"…We're like sunflowers growing in the winter season— extremely too good to be true…" Robin let go of his hand but Zoro grabbed her wrist. She tried resisting the effect of his enthralling eyes, like a glimpse of him would pull her back to him. She wasn't the one leaving him in a few days, but it felt as if Zoro was the one who was begging her to stay. This is what she had to do, the right thing. She needed to end her delusion right away before it got worse, even if it would mean breaking her own heart.

"I'm sorry, Zoro…" She ran away from him, despite the pouring rain.

"Robin, is there something wrong?" Nami held her hand across the table, making Robin quickly jolt back to her senses, waking up from her silent daydream.

"Yes…" She nodded her head in response. She only now realized that they were still inside the lobby of Dr. Clover's office. Her coffee had also gone cold, when earlier she was just stirring it, still so hot it pricked her tongue.

"You haven't seemed okay since yesterday after we went to the gardens… Did something happen? It's only the two of us right now, you can tell me anything, you know." Nami gave Robin a worried look.

The rainwater trickled down the leaves, like tears falling to the ground, leading Robin to do the same. The tears building up in her eyes streamed down from her cheeks to her lap, Robin unable to hold back her emotions once more.

"Robin… Is this about him going away? Maybe he'll come back again."

"It's not that easy, Nami…" She mumbled under her breath.

"Is it wrong that I don't want him to go even though I already know that he has bigger responsibilities?" Robin continued on. "I already knew that this would happen eventually but I still chose to do it despite stopping myself from falling for him. Even though it's been such a short span of time, I do enjoy my moments with him. But… would it be so selfish of me if I don't want him to leave? It's just…" Robin whimpered as she trailed off her words.

As her friend, Nami settled beside Robin, consoling her when she hugged Robin comfortingly.

"You really like him, don't you?" Nami asked.

Robin looked up at her, and slowly nodded her head. "I don't know what's gotten into me…"

"It's not wrong to fall in love, Robin… You don't have to feel sorry for being human, it's normal to feel that way."

"But Nami… I don't want him to leave yet at the same time, I want him to go after his dreams. It's complicated, even I can't understand myself. But if it means seeing him happy, then I don't want to end up hurting him if I make my own choice to make him stay." Robin balled her fist on her friend's back.

"So, you're letting him go?"

Robin couldn't form a word after Nami's question.

"Would that be the right thing to do?" Robin thought out loud.

"It takes more courage to let go than to hold on. Whether we like it or not, that's how life works. You either get what you want, even be destined for it, or sometimes, fate will just swiftly slap us back to reality, letting us know that sometimes the best choice is to let go."

"But would that ever be the right thing to do?" Robin repeated her question.

"I'm not completely saying that you have to choose the latter. It's still up to you whether you follow what I said or not. But one thing that I know for sure, Robin, is that you should guard your heart and deep inside, you know what's right and wrong." Nami offered a weak smile, while her hand consoled her friend's back.

"But it's hard…" Robin started. "It's hard to accept, and it's hard to pretend, Nami. I don't want him to go away…"

There, she said it. If only she could tell that directly to Zoro. If only she could muster up the courage that she needed to tell him— she was outspoken, she could do and say what she wanted, but with Zoro… With Zoro, standing outside in the rain with an umbrella in his hand, she couldn't just easily tell him all of those bottled-up thoughts inside her— Wait, what was he doing outside?!

She thought that she was only dreaming, until she turned her head for the second time at the window, confirming whether the swordsman standing outside was only a figment of her mind or not. However, the Zoro outside was not a dream, not just a thought, but it was really him, and her mind wasn't messing with her. Zoro was there as if he read her mind. He was waiting outside, umbrella in hand. She couldn't handle seeing him right now, but she still opened the window.

"What are you doing here?!" She asked him.

"It was raining so hard I decided to bring umbrellas for you and Nami." Zoro said, showing the umbrellas in his hand.

"You can leave it outside, thank you, Zoro." She said in an icy tone. She was about to close the window but Zoro spoke once again.

"I'm not just here to give you the umbrella. I want to talk to you, Robin."

Robin tightly gripped the window sill, and took a deep breath. Nami gave her a worried look but Robin muttered 'it's okay,' and smiled at her friend. Robin then went out of the room so that she could meet Zoro outside. Standing on the porch, Zoro was still there where she left him. He hadn't moved an inch from his place.

"Why do we need to talk?" Robin crossed her arms. She still couldn't bear to see him even if it made her heart pound so quickly. She couldn't even gaze at his face anymore without wanting to caress his cheek with her lithe hands. She couldn't even—

"I'm sorry, Robin." Zoro started.

Robin let out a bitter chuckle, crossing her arms. "Why are you saying sorry? You didn't even do anything."

Zoro raised a brow, and crossed his arms, matching her stance. "Okay then, but why have you been avoiding me since last night if I didn't do anything?"

"Do I have to tell you?" Robin scoffed.

Zoro slowly nodded his head in response.

"I really don't know what's gotten into you, Zoro." Robin huffed as she started.

"You're leaving and not coming back, so why did you have to do something like that back in the gardens? You're making things complicated. Leaving without a trace is better than giving me signs that will make me fall in love with you." Robin said without stuttering. She had been very calm everytime she was with him, but now was the first time Zoro had made Robin raise her voice even with a composed face.

Zoro could only blink at what she said because it was the first time he heard her raise her tone at him.

Meanwhile, the rain was still falling, containing the unbearable silence between them, several moments passing before Robin spoke once again.

"I hate that I'm slowly falling for you, Zoro."

She was frustrated now that she wanted to cry and be angry at the same time, just by looking at him. Heart pounding so loudly inside her chest, Zoro might have heard its faint cry of pain and grief — everything rushed inside her feeble heart now that she had confessed her own feelings.

How could liking someone be this hard?

"I don't want you to just remain as a memory. I want to know you more, I want to spend more time with you, and I want to be with you and everything, but… we know the circumstances. Before we get ahead of ourselves, we need to stop this once and for all. We'll end up hurting ourselves if we keep going on with this. You know we weren't meant for each other."

Robin tried her best not to cry in front of him, not today. Zoro was the last person she wanted to see her cry right now. She needed to remain strong even though every word she told him was another overwhelming weight inside her chest. It was constricting, now that she wanted to end this before it was too late— before the heartache would swell her aching heart, lasting for a lifetime.

"I like you, Zoro, but please… stop ." Her voice cracked as she spoke those last words, before she decided to head back inside. Just as she was about to open the door, a hand clasped her wrist, and she looked back to see Zoro, who had thrown away the umbrella, standing in the rain right in front of her.

"Would you believe that I'll also be hurt, knowing that I'll leave you here? I didn't want to get attached to any of you in the first place, but I ended up breaking my own promises— what if I told you that I'm falling for you, Robin? "