Disclaimer: I Do Not Own One Piece or Axe

Chapter 39: BONUS CHAPTER (Skipable)

"IT'S HUGE!" Aro and Kit shouted together. Aro looked around the cabin-styled room that the three were to share. In one corner was a strong, bold, and warm fireplace where the fire crackled, heat pulsing from it in a soothing manner. In the center of the room, a roundtable stood with four chairs, four plates with silverware, four cups, and a pitcher of water. The floor was hardwood, dark in color but smoothed down to perfection. Aro couldn't help but give a little yip of joy at the sight of a large, fluffy chair with a welcoming seat. It was abnormally large, all the better to curl up in. Kit looked at the tapestry that hung on the far wall between two queen-sized beds. Aro and Kit rushed into the room, Aro pouncing into the chair, and Kit jumping onto the bed. Axe hesitated in the doorway of the room and looked around.

"Interesting to say the least."

"Come on, Rocky, you can't say that you're not impressed with this place!"

Axe grunted and closed the door behind him. "Two beds, three people."

"You two can have the beds. I can sleep on the chair if you want." Kit offered.

"No way, I like it right here." Aro said, hugging one of the fluffy but small pillows that gave the chair more of an appeal look. "It's like my bed back on the ship…" She buried her face in the pillow, falling silent as she though of her crew and ship.

"If you say so, Aro, and you, Mr. Axe? Are you ok with that?"

"I don't see why not." He said with a shrug. He headed to the other bed and sat down, taking off his shoes. Aro looked at the fire and felt her ear twitch. "Something wrong?" Axe asked, not even looking up at her.

Aro didn't answer; instead, she got down and moved the chair closer to the fire. "Just thinking…" She curled up again, and felt her own need for rest gripping at her, urging her to rest. "Just… tired…" She slowly fell asleep.

Kit smiled slightly and looked at Axe. "I think I liked Aro in her Cub Mode. It would be so cute like that!" She giggled. Axe rolled his eyes and plopped back on the bed. All three had put their things by the door so they could do as they wished in here. Putting his hands behind his head, he relaxed a bit. Kit looked from him to Aro and sighed. "You two aren't really talkative company…" She grabbed a pillow, hugging it gently as she curled up with the other large and fluffy pillows on the bed. An hour passed and she rolled over, still not asleep. Her and Kat always shared a bed; even when they were babies, they were always together. She hugged the pillow, feeling the guilt and sorrow slowly creep up her throat, choking her from swallowing it, keeping it hidden any more. "No…" She started, sniffling, "No one's watching now… it's… it's ok to cry… right Kat?" She put her face deeper in the pillow, moaning slightly, "Right?" And the tears continued to come, unable to stop from her grief.

Seconds stretched on to hours, and Kit thought her tears would never stop. Keeping her face in the pillow, she continued to cry. She didn't dare risk waking either of her travel companions from their much-needed sleep. Companions… the echoed in her thoughts, ringing and pulling up a few memories.

"Kit, come on… we're sisters, partners, companions in this life. We have to look out for each other, ok? You watch my back, and I'll watch yours." "Kit! Hey! Come on, Lil Sis! Some one said we could join their crew and be pirates! Isn't that what you wanted? Adventure on the high sea with a companion other than me? No, don't cry! I love being your partner! I promise! I'm ALWAYS going to be here for you… what good would I be if I wasn't?" "Kit! Look! We're wanted! Isn't that cool? And our bounty is only good if they get the Serpent Companions! See? It's right there in the small print. See it? See? I'm so excited!" "Kit… We only need each other… no one else can replace you for me, and hopefully no one can replace me for you… After being together so long, working only with each other… wouldn't it be wrong to have a different partner? A different companion?"

"Sis…" Kit coughed, hugging the pillow tighter as she talked along with the particular memory, "Some changes are good… I haven't… I haven't replaced you… I promise…"

"I hope so Kit… I don't want to be forgotten… I want… I want to be part of something big… bigger than these waters, bigger than… bigger than One Piece! Something that I can be remembered as my own doing, my own crown of fame… you know what I mean? Look at me, rambling when you have some sleep you need to catch… good night, Sis, sweet dreams…"

"I … I can't sleep, Kat… not without you here… I feel like half of me is missing…" She hugged the pillow tight enough to where her arms started to ache. She let out a shaky breath, letting out a small moan at the end. "It hurts, Kat… you being gone hurts so much…"

"Kit?" Aro's voice made her jolt out of her trance, and stare at her with a tear streaked face.

"A-Aro? Did I wake you?" She rubbed her face, "I'm sorry, I'll be quiet, I promise…"

"No, it's ok." Aro crawled into the bed and sat beside her. "You two really were always together… Does it bother you to sleep without her near?" Kit only nodded. Aro looked down at the tear soaked and sorrow choked pillow. "I know how you feel…" She slid up to the headboard and put her back on it, hugging her knees gently. "I had someone so close to me, the first time him and I were separated, it was the last time I'd ever see him."

Kit sat up some, watching her. "Did it hurt this much?"

Aro laughed, but it was cold, "I don't know… but knowing I'd never see him again, no matter how hard I tried to find him, it made me feel like I died… like I left my body and it's on auto pilot."

Kit sat up more, sitting beside her. "I feel like part of me is gone…" She looked at the pillow, trying to flatten it back to what was left of the fluffy remains. "And I feel like, by thinking you and Mr. Axe are my… companions, I feel like I'm betraying her… Kat, I mean…"

"I know how you feel." Aro put her arms around Kit and gave her best smile she could manage after opening her own unhealed wound. "You shouldn't worry though… we can never replace Kat in your mind—nor will we ever try to do so. Her spot, her love, and her loyalty from you are hers and hers alone for as long as you both shall live. That's what family is." Aro looked back to her warm spot in front of the fire. "No one can replace that bond, or break it." She gave Kit a small hug as she saw the tears coming back. "I don't remember telling you yet, but I found Kat."

"You did!"

Aro put a finger in front of her mouth, "Sh." She jabbed a thumb in Axe's direction and then continued, "I got her free from the tree, but then she bolted."

"Why did she run…?"

"I don't know… that's when those snake-guys first jumped me, and bit me." She rubbed the bandage absent-mindedly. "I told her you were looking for her, but then… I don't know… neither of you struck me as the run-and-hide-before-more-come type."

"She's not… I am…" Kit looked down at her feet, "I'm afraid of everything…"

"Not true. You and Axe rushed to my rescue, and you nearly got eaten and didn't even falter."

"I couldn't move after I got free…"

"It happens to everyone."

"Mr. Axe had to save me."

"Kit, as much as you're trying to deny it, you're braver than more people I know."

"Brave?" She gave a cold laugh, "I'm not brave."

"There's a difference in the brave you're thinking of, and the brave that you're comparing yourself too. There is brave as in fearless and then there is brave as in stupid. I'm the stupid brave, and I'm not afraid to admit it." She smiled at her; "You're the brave as in fearless. I mean, would you rush into something and fight if you knew you were out matched?"

"Of course not—"

"I would. That's what makes me stupid." Aro knocked herself lightly on the head, "You and Kat are different, smarter, and a whole hell of a lot braver." She rubbed Kit's shoulder, smiling at her, "Now, let's get some sleep. Heaven knows what Axe will make us do later…" Aro put her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered to Kit, "He won't admit it, but he's got a whole category of brave all to himself."

"What's that?" Kit asked, in the same volume.

"Cocky kind of brave. He thinks he's invincible." She smiled as Kit giggled a bit, "But he's still mortal, as we are, so we all have weaknesses. He's not stupid; I know that for a fact. He's just cocky, you know?"

"Yes, he is."

"I'm not asleep, you know." Kit and Aro froze at Axe's comment. "Now both of you go to sleep before I knock Aro out for not shutting up…"

"Well, you're a grumpy bear…" Aro muttered.

"You're a spoiled Cub." He muttered with a small trace of something in his voice.

"Shaddup." Aro grumbled, lying down in the bed. Kit tilted her head in a questioning way. "I know what you need to fall asleep. Someone near you that you trust, right? I needed that as well for the longest time. I'll stay here for a while, until you fall asleep, then go back to my chair, ok?"

Kit stared at her and gave the barest of nods, "Ok… thank you, Aro… again…"

Aro smiled at her as Kit bundled up in the blankets, "No problem." After a moment of silence, she added, "Just like a sleep over…"

A pillow fell on Aro's face and she jumped slightly. "Go to sleep, Panther-Chan."

A muffled ok came from under the pillow Axe threw, along with a small laugh.

Authors Note: I had to put this chapter in… o.o please forgive me if you didn't like it.