The last dark day for Zolo, will there be a light at the end of the tunnel or will he end up in someone else's arms?

Maybe nothing will happen and the straw hats will be one swordsman short of a crew… you'll just have to find out won't you?

Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece.

"Zolo!" He called to me,

'Zolo?' she asked of me… to keep that promise, but my promise I can't keep.

"Zolo! What are you talking about?" He asked, I must've said all of that out loud. Who cared?

I was going down or maybe even up to where she lay. Our swords can lie too, in the grass where we trained.

"Zolo, Jeese are you okay?" Sanji waved his hand in front of my face, but I didn't care.

"I want to go, and play with my friends, go back to when I was young." I whispered letting my eyes close. I could feel the grass under my feet and even the wind from the east when we would train in the morning.

'Zolo, we can afford a break I think.' Kuina put down her sword and took a breather, I had done the same, agitated and annoyed because I still couldn't beat her. She looked so pretty with the morning dew sparkling around her as she perched on the rock underneath the old weight training tree.

'Umm Kuina? Why don't we ever really talk? I mean you know cuz we hang around so much.' I asked her one time. She just laughed at me as if to say I was an idiot. I didn't ever understand so I jumped her and wrestled her to the ground.

She was strong like me back then; and she fought back. I liked that about her, she was a girl who could kick my ass. I asked her again but she did something weird. She made her lips touch my cheek. I know now that she kissed me… I was so scared when I was young.

'Ew, Zolo has girl cooties!' the boys teased me, and Kuina was bright red. I got off of her and just went to train some more… after beating up the guys of course. They couldn't kick my ass, but they always ganged up on me.

"Zolo, what's the matter with you?" Sanji had kicked me in the face and winded me to get me to come back to the Merry Go.

"Get lost Sanji!" I pushed him as if I was pushing Kuina, hard but not too hard or I'd hurt her.

There was a pause in the air, a deadly stillness even from the waves. We had entered the eye of the storm. But when it passed everything would be the same as before. Maybe it would be the same if I decided to go.

The crew would be upset but after a while they would find a better swordsman. Heck there was always someone better out there… and if there was someone better than Mihawk then I was in some deep shi-

"Zolo, what are you doing?" Sanji asked for the umpteenth time. I had 'awoken' slightly to realise I was at the mercy of the ship.

I had walked onto the unstable part of the ship and stood on the railings. If the waves were kind I'd live, if the waves were cruel like they were going to be…

Then I'd see her again. And we'll play and train, and maybe she'll give me another kiss. A sweet and innocent little kiss like that time,

"Sanji, I'll jump" My voice spoke out over the oceans' eye. "I'll jump and show the sea that I can live through its harshness." I closed my eyes and pretended that I was jumping on to Kuina like the morning of my kiss.

I jumped… I felt the splash of the impact; I also felt something holding me, like an octopus with only two arms. Oh of course the guy who rescued me a long time ago, he was so kind.

"Zolo, why are you here? I can't play with you, you're too old. You'd hurt me with those muscles of yours. After all…" The faint sound of crying "…I'm just a weak little girl here, I'm too young to train with you now. Go train with the older boys!"

"Zolo you damn bastard! Wake up or I'll get my knife and use you as the next main course." Sanji awoke me from a dream, a dream in which I had lost it completely.

Why the hell would I give up on my dream to be the best? I had to train my mind more than my body if that was the impact it was having on my sleeping patterns.

Damn Sanji, why'd he wake me up? Then again I think I wanted to be awake.

"Thanks love cook." I got up and saw that we were in his kitchen, his damn haven from the destruction of Luffy.

"What the hell for crappy swordsman?" he asked. I just smiled at him and came close, taking his tie off of him and wrapping it around my skull. "Hey give that back!"

"For making me realise my true feelings, and for waking me up from a nightmare" I grabbed his shirt and kissed him sweetly and innocently on the cheek.

Just like that time when we were training.

R&R please: I kind of messed it up didn't I? Aw well, its over and done with! Bet you didn't see that coming did you? It was just a dream! hahahaha