He had just swallowed down his tweflth banana when he sensed someone shifting outside the dorm before several tentative knocks sounded. Kale opened the door to Sanji's and Zoro's dormitory to reveal a nervous looking Nami outside.

"Hey,"

He greeted the navigator as he let her in. She looked around almost pensively.

"Where's...?"

She began, and stopped as though in hesitation. Kale raised an eyebrow.

What's eating her? He thought.

"Zoro went to class. I think he went to Physics? And Sanji went out for some photo-shoot."

Nami nodded slowly before walking toward the table and setting down a plastic bag onto it. It tipped over, a couple of oranges escaping the contents.

"You guys don't seem to eat any fruit, but I see you've been eating bananas--"

She began, then sweatdropped as Kale nodded eagerly with a mouth bulging with orange peel,

"Yesh! We don't! I had to literally beg Zoro to get the bananas. Thank God you brought some nourishment--"

He was interrupted rather abruptly by a very sharp thwack over the head as Nami snapped,

"You're not supposed to eat the orange peel!!!"

"Why @#$%ing not?!"

Kale asked annoyedly as he swallowed three slices at once. He spat the seeds out onto a napkin as Nami shook her head with a sigh and pulled out a chair for herself. She sat there quietly watching Kale eat two more oranges, silently reviving her dreams the previous night that had woke her again and again, dripping with pespiration and gripped with a unfathomable terror...

"Guess I'll do a better job with the girl, then."

She saw the intruder's sinister smile as she struggled to come to terms with the fact Usopp had gone... had his blood all over her clothes... had said goodbye for the last time--

And then-- amidst the rain she could see his sweet and boyish smile through the haze of pounding rain before the white light sealed him away from her vision...

"Save for your pathetic captain - he was most pathetic... and the long-nosed man and blonde man were even worse."

A searing heat of anger shot through her veins and her mind, blotting out the horrifying images that were clinging to her eyes.

"DAMN YOU!!!"

The anger transformed her voice to a point of hatred she herself was almost surprised to hear, unable to recognise her own pitch of anger... And then-- Zoro grabbed her, yelled something to her, but she couldn't hear--

"Z-Zoro, L-Luffy-- U-Usopp-- th-they're--"

She tried to tell him, tried to make him understand. He didn't look like he understood at all--

"Look, I know, but this isn't the time,"

He said--

"Bad dream?"

Startled out of her reverie and caught by surprise, Nami spluttered,

"B-bad d-dre--?"

Kale chewed a slice thoughtfully as he mumbled through a mouthful of orange,

"You look pale and you have bags under your eyes. Like you slept badly. Really badly."

He reiterated when she self-conciously ran her fingertips below her lower-lashes.

"....I keep getting nightmares."

She muttered grudgingly, not wanting to admit it but feeling that she had to,

"Replays of that day... that day our past lives ended."

Kale shrugged.

"I'm not surprised. You were pretty traumatised."

Her eyes flashed dangerously at the nonchalant looking boy.

"What the hell's your problem?"

She demanded angrily,

"If you know so much about the painful predicaments some of us have to endure, why the hell do you have to act as though we're being babyish?!"

He looked stonily back at her.

"As I said before, the whole thing would go much more easily for you guys if you'd just get over your denial."

"What am I denying, exactly?"

Nami folded her arms across her chest, her eyes challenging Kale's. Kale's eyes narrowed.

"Don't tell me you don't know."

He said irritatedly. She rolled her eyes.

"Great. Is this one of those annoyingly stupid statements like 'I won't tell you if you don't know'?"

Kale didn't answer, and Nami snorted.

"I guess it is. How stupid -- you don't know what I'm denying, either. Maybe I'm not denying anything at all. See, maybe, sir angel, I'm just getting bad dreams from those stupid visions you gave us that night."

A small smile seemed to be growing on her lips as she spoke, her eyes strangely unfocused as she rushed on,

"And maybe you just need some random people to help you, just like I said before, and you're the one denying that fact. Sanji-kun doesn't seem to understand the fact that just because our past selves may be close doesn't mean our current lives have to be."

She lowered her gaze to the table-top, her gaze still listless as she continued,

"He doesn't understand, just like you don't understand, that our past and current lives are separate. Certain things will happen as a result of the past, but only the past from our current lives. Similarities could just be coincidences. God just chose us out of convenience. We all used to know each other and we're within vicinity of the other, after all."

Nami slowly turned her eyes to meet Kale's face, bowed low in a way his fringe covered his eyes. She smirked at the sight.

"So maybe these dreams are just a way of pushing me. Pushing me into doing something I actually don't have to do. Making me face something I don't have to face at all. These dreams and visions - despite how disturbing they can get -- you're going the wrong way with it, Kale. You're not pushing me into doing something I don't want to do."

"What makes you think I'm giving you the dreams?"

Kale asked lowly, his voice sounding half-hearted.

"Yesterday, me and Sanji-kun had a talk. A pointless chat, I suppose, but during it I discovered the pains seem to be getting less... especially because I was considering him as someone who I didn't know in my past. But you see, that night the dreams got worse. To an unbearable extent, almost."

Her smirk grew twisted.

"You're the one who wants everyone to concentrate solely on getting the dimension back, right? You sure you aren't just in it for the money? Or in terms of angels, just in it for whatever award God plans to give you once this is all over? You'd be the only one who'd give me these dreams in an act to remind me of who Sanji-kun is. No, who Sanji-kun was."

Her tone dropped several notches as she glowered at the angel and said,

"Like I said, it's not going to happen. I'm not going to bend to you, Kale, no matter what sort of crap you try to pull on me. See, I've been thinking far ahead of you. And I know that I can stand these dreams. Because I don't want to have to do this. I don't want to have this stupid dimension hanging over my head. So who cares if I don't comply? The dimension will freeze forever, right? No skin off me."

Kale had stopped eating, and was quietly looking at the table-top, looking forlorn. Nami couldn't help but feel rather triumphant. Kale abruptly cut the silence with a very harsh voice.

"Nami, what's wrong with you?"

The navigator blinked.

"...Luffy?"

She said, surprised. The eyes of the small boy were bright and definitely Luffy's, but Nami found herself leaning into the back of her chair, away from his livid face.

"I don't understand how Kale can stand you when you're like this. Don't you want to go back, Nami?"

Nami narrowed her eyes as she snapped,

"I just said that our past and current lives are separate. Even Kale didn't have anything to say to tha--"

"That's because he's completely depressed at just how little effect the dimension is having on you. Or should I say, too much effect."

"What are you talking about? All I'm saying is that I don't think I'm indebted to my 'past life' in any way whatsoever."

Luffy folded his arms across his chest looking defiantly at Nami with a twinge of anger in his voice.

"If Kale won't say it, I will, you know."

Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Say what?"

"You're denying everything, Nami. You're in complete denial. You're denying the fact that you died. You're pretending you aren't connected to your past life. You're acting as though the pain doesn't affect you because you're separate, when you're tormenting your own soul because of your denial. It's the worst thing you can do, Nami -- you're denying your own soul."

She was so surprised by the ferocity in the young boy's voice she failed to fill in the small pause Luffy offered. He continued on when she did not say anything.

"Don't you get it? This isn't a coincidence. Until you allow your soul acceptance and stop denying the fact you are your soul, there is no way out of the pain or denial. Don't you understand why you get those dreams? It's because your soul wants you to remember. It has to act separate because you struggle to keep your very core away from yourself. Get me now?"

His eyes bored into her own as he said clearly and firmly,

"You're ripping yourself apart."

He called her name in surprise as she stood up suddenly. Her eyes were filling with unwanted tears, and she gave him a piercing glare before stalking out of the dormitory and slamming the door shut.

Angry at him for breaking through her barriers so easily, just like he had in her previous life.

In the dormitory, Luffy stuffed more oranges into his mouth, giving a grunt of annoyance.

'I didn't know you had that in you,'

Kale mused at him. Luffy sighed out loud as he spat seeds out.

"She's still not used to being my partner. She's such a difficult person."

'How'd you know she was tearing herself apart?'

"I thought it was obvious."

Kale gave a small sigh inside of him. Luffy continued to devour the oranges, but had to stop when someone started knocking on the door.

"Sanji? Zoro?"

"Usopp!!!"

Luffy exclaimed excitedly, and happily bounced over to the door to bang it open. The engineer looked torn between surprise and amusement as the boy shot back to the table like a bullet to continue demolishing the small pile of oranges.

"Where's Sanji and Zoro?"

Usopp asked as he entered.

"I don't know."

Luffy replied. Usopp picked up an orange as he took the seat Nami had left untucked, setting down a plastic bag next to the oranges. Several apples spilled out.

"I bought it in mind that you guys weren't eating any fruit, but I guess I was wrong."

He paused as his eyes passed over several orange and banana peels strewn over the table. Luffy started attacking the apples with vigor, and Usopp started to peel his orange. There was a companionable silence as the two ate, though there was a considerable difference in their speeds, and it was a while before Usopp took a deep breath before saying,

"I sort of came to talk to Kale."

"Eh? Want me to bring him back to control?"

Luffy asked, spraying bits of apple and juice onto the table. Usopp nodded apologetically.

"Well, then, engineer. What's the problem?"

"Well, last night's attempt was a complete disaster,"

Usopp said with a hint of embarassment edging his voice, and Kale snorted.

"No kidding."

"Well, uhm, I was analysing the situation yesterday, and I came up with some specific problems."

"Specific problems?"

Kale repeated, an eyebrow raised as he watched Usopp pull out a notebook from his pocker. Flipping several pages around the ring binder, the engineer nodded as he pressed the pages down.

"See, Luffy gets thrown off the ship, right? I know he struggled to no avail in yesterday's attempt, so I see the problem as he's not trying any offensive moves. So maybe he could try an offensive attack."

Kale frowned as he said hesitantly,

"I don't know... it's a really dumb position to try getting any momentum from..."

"Well, we could just try it,"

Usopp said, his eyes passing down the page before he continued,

"I'm... uh, pretty good at hiding, so maybe I could hide before he has a chance to target me or something. Nami'll hide with me. And Zoro and Sanji can try to come up with a... combination attack or something. Anything to hurt the guy. After that, they can improvise, which they're both pretty good at doing."

"Hmmm. I guess it's worth trying out."

Kale said, looking amusedly at the detailed doodles of Luffy punching the intruder.

"Uhm, Kale. You never got around to telling us, but... who is this guy, anyway? Why is he so strong?"

"Devil's intervention. I told you that."

"No, I asked who this guy was, not what his problem is."

Kale scratched his head, frowning.

"Well, I don't know his name, but he was a freaky murderer or something. Had a problem with painting pictures with his victim's blood. He was captured later, but the devil freed him and a load of others. This guy happened to enter the Grand Line, and killed off a heck load of people because he ate a fruit the devil conjured."

"A Devil's Fruit?"

Usopp said, surprised,

"Which one?"

"He didn't eat a Devil's Fruit. He ate one of the fruits Valkrief put around the planet in the Oda Dimension. The guy who attacked you guys ate one of those fruits. Up There,"

Kale lifted a finger up to the ceiling,

"They refer to 'em as Forbidden Fruits. The intruder of the ship ate the Power version. So he's got both visible and invisible Power in its purest form, and what's worse, he can control any way like a Devil's Fruit eater can control his or her own powers."

"....Eep."

Usopp said with a squeak. Kale sweatdropped as Usopp made to hide under the table.

"Oh come on. God chose you guys out of the rest for a reason."

The engineer gulped as he bit into an apple nervously.

"I hope He knows what He's doing,"

Usopp mumbled, when his cell-phone started to ring loudly from its place in his bag. He looked hopeful as he answered,

"Hello?"

Then he visibly deflated as he said,

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Ella. No, I'm free... what?!"

His eyes widened as his jaw dropped open. Then he groaned.

"Not again! Okay, I'll be there in a jiffy. No, it's okay-- I told you, I'm not busy... right. See you."

Hanging up, Usopp hurriedly stood up, swinging his bag strap over his shoulder.

"Gotta go somewhere urgent? What's up?"

"A couple of kids fooled with the wiring and were throwing things up at the ceiling fans, and one of the kids got caught on it and now it's going at high-speed and they can't stop it and-- argh, I just gotta get there quick! I'll see you sometime,"

The engineer shut the door with a snap as he hastily ran towards the Matilda Charity House.

Kale had just barely finished another apple when the door opened with a bang on its hinges. Sanji, looking extremely pissed off, stomped in and threw his bag and jacket on his bed. He carefully set down the plastic bag in his other hand, however, onto the table next to the oranges and apples. Kale found out why as he sifted through the bag to find several packages of strawberries. Apparently rage didn't take over the priority of not bruising the fruit.

"What's up?"

Kale asked, only to be shot down with a glare.

"I--hate--my--manager,"

Sanji seethed, tearing off his shirt and looking for a new one,

"Stupid--@#$%ing--red-head--"

"Red-head?"

The model blinked, turning to see the young boy staring at him curiously.

"Yeah. He's a real dumbass, always putting me through the paces, as though I'm some sort of show dog."

Slinging on his tie easily, Sanji started to calm down as he pulled out of a tray of mini muffins from the oven which he had evidently left to cool. The sight of his cooking made him feel loads better.

"I think he enjoys the pain I'm getting. Sadistic bastard..."

He was washing a package of strawberries as he muttered, and drying several with a paper towel growled,

"I am not doing another photo-shoot for the rest of my life if I can help it..."

"Why don't you just quit?"

Kale suggested, and immediately regretted it as Sanji snapped angrily,

"Don't you think I'd've stopped ages ago if I could have?! Unfortunately for me, I couldn't pay for the university without the job. I wish I could get one cooking, though."

He shook his head as he pulled out a plastic bag of icing from the refrigerator and started squeezing generous dollops onto each muffin.

"But nooooo, I get landed with a bloody stubborn manager who, by the way, is extremely nice but also extremely scary when he wants to be. And always annoying."

He started a long string of muttering that seemed to include the word 'sadistic' in it a lot as he pressed strawberries into each muffin, nestling the fruit into the icing.

"Hey, I see you and Zoro bought a lot more fruit than I expected. Here I was, thinking we didn't eat enough fruit."

"Uhm, actually--"

"As I was saying-- stupid red-head. He was especially annoying today during the photo-shoot at Horlock's Street."

He folded several muffins into tissue paper and, looking satisfiedly at it, picked up a jacket off the back of a chair and looked at it closely.

"Is this Zoro's?"

"I think so."

"Urgh. I don't think he's put it through the laundry yet."

Sanji tossed it into the increasing pile of clothes in the duffel bag near the door, which served as a laundry bag. He grabbed another jacket from his drawers and walked over to the door, muttering,

"Poor Kaya -- I think Shanks was trying to be nice, but he should know those scars on his eye probably scare her."

Kale's eyes widened.

"What did you just--?"

"Be back later, I'll see you,"

Sanji said, now happily bright and cheerful at the prospect of meeting the navigator, and patting a small lump in his pocket and shutting the door quietly practically skipped off to the girl's floor.

Kale hosed the strawberries down by the sink and began to eat the strawberries. Around twenty minutes later, he flopped onto Zoro's bed on his stomach and groaned.

"I'm full."

He whined,

"And bored..."

He ended up falling asleep.

Zoro returned from the closest supermarket to find a very round-bellied Luffy snoring away on his bed. He set down a plastic bag onto the table with a sweatdrop as he surveyed the banana peels, oranges seeds and peels, apple cores and strawberry leaves and centres littering the top of the table amidst crumpled tissue. Sweeping the whole lot into the bin, he settled down and found that Luffy hadn't demolished everything -- there were still lots of fruit left to his surprise.

He pulled out one of the packages of cherries he had bought, and bit into a cherry as he thought,

'And here I was thinking Kale would get mad at me again for not purchasing enough fruit...'

He spat out the stone with a sweatdrop as he realised,

"I forgot to wash it. Oops."

Then as the full taste of the cherry dissolved on his tongue, Zoro made a face.

"And this is way too sweet."

He amused himself for the next half-hour by eating more fruit and decorating Sanji's leftover muffins with bits of cherry and icing.






A/N: As I'm sure you'd have done. ;;; ^_^;; Gomen ne... I'm overflowing with happiness right now because of... of... well, you'll see when I stick up next chapter. *huggles Nik-san* Maaah. XD *hugs everyone who has ever reviewed* I love you all! T_T* You're all too kind to me. If it weren't for you guys, this story would never have reached this far. *Sobs hysterically into hands* I'll make it up to you one day, I promise. T_T* Arigatou. *bows*

In relation to this chapter... Lame ending. =_=;; Uhm... it wasn't supposed to be like this, but I got bored and I wanted to try writing a chapter a little differently. ^_^;; Thank you for bearing, as always, with me uptil now. ^_^* Next update plan: Next Tuesday, darnit.