Author's Note: Last chapter!! ENJOY! I REALLY WORKED HARD ON THIS ONE!! And before I get attacked, yes there will be a sequel, but it will probably be my final one with Hoshi in it... am I going to be attacked anyways?

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Chapter Thirteen: Not-So-Touching Goodbye

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!"

"NO! I'M NOT YOUR FOOD!"

Kakyou and Oso were chasing Chopper… again. They ran up and down the street at a breakneck pace, creating duststorms.

Robin chuckled as she watched them.

Sanji sighed. "Oi, oi, oi, how many times do they have to do this every day?"

"We're going to have to live with it for a while since they're sailing with us to the next island…" Usopp sighed.

There was a silence as everyone just listened to Chopper screaming and Kakyou and Oso laughing.

Nami sweatdropped. "Shouldn't we do something?" she asked.

"Leave them," the remainder of the kids chorused.

"That's just how Kakyou and Oso've always been," Neko yawned. He stretched out in a chair. "I'm going to take a nap."

"They're not really going to eat him," Uma assured the crew. "They just like the way he screams."

"Isn't that the truth!" Tokage laughed. "And they've never had something that fast that they could chase before. Must be their predatory instincts or something."

"I have a puppy at home," Sakura commented. "Will they try to eat it?"

"Probably," the kids chorused.

Luffy laughed while everyone else sweatdropped, and Koara slept in Kitsune's arms.

Hoshi hesitated before knocking on the door of the tea shop as everyone waited around on the porch. She had never had to knock before, not on this door. But now was different… somehow…

She knocked twice.

"Come in."

Hoshi opened the door cautiously. "Konichiwa…"

"Where have you been?"

That was it. Deadpan. "You ran off and worried all those so-called nakama of yours."

Hoshi smiled. "Well, they were able to find me somehow an-"

"Forget about them and stay here on the island if that's how much you care about them… I need someone to help me out with the shop."

Hoshi stared in astonishment. "Sensei, wha-"

"I'm telling you, it's going to be for your own good if you just stay here."

Hoshi was at loss for words for a moment, before her face hardened. "I thought we talked about this already. I'm going to go adventuring with them… so I came to say goodbye."

The old woman sighed and looked at Hoshi like one inspects a small child who insists that the sky is bright orange. "I'm the one who thought we talked about this: Since you obviously didn't understand, I'm going to make your punishment to stay on this island for the rest of your life, you hear me?!"

A cloud of blackness filled Hoshi's vision for a second, before she screamed, "I'm not staying on this island!"

"Such insolence! I won't accept this sort of behavior from my students!"

"I'm leaving with them, and there's nothing you can do to stop me! I said already, they're my damn FAMILY."

"And what am I?" the old woman snapped. "Are you going to leave me alone on this island to fend for myself in my old age?"

Hoshi's voice caught in her throat.

"Selfish kid," the old woman grumbled. "Hurry and wash these dishes."

Hoshi didn't move.

"What did I say? Come wash these dishes while I prepare some tea for our next cus-"

"No." Hoshi's eyes were hidden under her hair. "I won't."

"Eh?"

"I'm here to say goodbye Sensei. I'm leaving." Hoshi looked up, her eyes as cold as only her eyes could become.

The old woman just stared at Hoshi for a minute, meeting the aqua spheres of ice squarely without flinching… which was more than most people could do. "Taking those kids with you too, huh?"

"That was their own decision," Hoshi snapped. "I had nothing to do with it."

"You're going to go get yourself killed or something stupid like that," the old woman growled. "This is the GRAND LINE we're talking about."

"And I've survived for eight years already, I'm not planning to die anytime soon," Hoshi said.

"I don't care what you're 'planning' to do, you're still going to get yourself killed. Don't forget, you're more identifiable now, with that thing you've got poked onto your shoulder!"

"Live with the fact that I'm leaving, and I'm leaving for good this time Sensei!" Hoshi's eyes flashed. "If you can't accept that…"

There was a long, tense silence.

Finally, the old woman turned her back. "Then there's nothing more between us." She pointed her cane dead at Hoshi. "I am severing our bond as teacher and student here and now. Get out of here. You have no more place under this roof."

Hoshi bowed and left without another word.

When she walked out the door, everyone looked up. Tori tugged Hoshi's hand. "Can you teach me how to land better now?" she asked. "I've been practicing!"

"Y-yeah," Hoshi smiled. Tossing Tori into the air, she pulled out her own wings and quickly followed, calling out tips and pointers.

Nami sweatdropped. "What sort of a goodbye was that?"

Zoro walked into the shop and watched the old woman wash the prementioned plates.

"What the hell do you want, kid?" she growled.

"Are you alright with her leaving like that?" he asked.

"I hate mushy goodbyes," the old lady grumbled. "And if we did have one, then she might end up staying on this island for life to take care of me. I don't want her to do that. If she was able to leave after that, she would always look on this as something sad, when it's actually the best choice she's ever made. She can deal with pain better than emotional encounters. She's got that sort of personality, you know?"

Zoro waited.

"I never want her to come back to this island," she continued. "She has too many painful memories here…"

"She told me what happened… with her ototho and everything."

The old woman sighed. "She's the last person to deserve something like that." Looking around the shop, she sighed again. "I guess it's going to be a lot quieter around this shop with eighteen less people."

He chuckled. "We're a pretty loud group."

The old woman pointed her cane at him. "Now THAT, my boy, is the understatement of the century."

Zoro sweatdropped. "I get that a lot."

She sighed again. "Take care of that girl for me," she ordered him.

"Don't worry about her," Zoro grinned. "We'll take good care of h-"

"I asked YOU, moron. I wasn't asking your whole damn crew." The old woman grimaced.

"We talked about this already," Zoro growled.

"Say it again, just to humor me," the old lady cackled.

"…fine. I'll take care of her."

"Good boy."

It was a rather beautiful afternoon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and it dyed the sea a deep blue. The waves lapped gently against the side of the Going Merry with a soothing lullaby.

"LIFT ANCHOR!" Luffy yelled.

Zoro pulled up the anchor and set it onto the ship's deck with a grunt.

"SET SAIL!"

Hoshi and Sanji let down the sails… and the ship started to sail away. The kids gathered at the tail-end of the ship, watching the island grow smaller.

"It's a bit difficult, isn't it?" Usopp said consolingly. "Leaving the only place you've ever known."

Panda smiled. "Sort of…"

"I never want to see this place again," Raku whispered fiercely.

"Me neither," chorused Kitsune and Oso.

Hoshi perched on the rigging, watching the dock grow smaller and smaller with expressionless eyes, trying to figure things out. Zoro watched her carefully, wondering what she was thinking. Usually the girl could be read like an open book, but now…

"You okay, Hoshi?" Nami asked.

"Yeah…" she answered absentmindedly.

As the island disappeared from view, Kakyou stretched. "Oso!"

They grinned at each other. Chopper started backing away… slowly…

"TIME TO HUNT!" they roared, punching one another's fists.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Chopper screamed.

Hoshi sat in the crow's nest. They had sailed for the rest of the afternoon. By dinnertime, Kakyou, Oso, and Chopper had all collapsed in an exhausted heap. Sanji had cooked up an amazing dinner as usual, and Usopp had kept all the kids entertained with a story about fighting a giant flying pig when he was only about as old as Koara. All the kids were laughing, but only Panda and Chopper had actually believed it.

Then Sanji had kicked Usopp over the head for telling such a stupid story.

There had been disastrous a post-dinner game of tag. When Luffy had been 'it', he had run so fast, he had tripped and fallen, and everyone had fallen into ball that had rolled across the deck and smashed into the mast.

THEN there had been a party in honor of the kids. Raku had accidentally drunk a cup of beer… and had gone on the ultimate hyperness-rush. She ran around at supernatural speed, knocking everyone over while screaming her head off.

The day had ended with Hoshi piping a happy tune on Daini which made Luffy, Usopp, Chopper, and all the kids (excluding Neko) do the stick-chopsticks-in-your-nose-thing and dance around while laughing. Koara had laughed and clapped her hands as Robin held her and tapped her little button nose.

All in all… it had been a pretty regular day, even though she had mostly sat back and watched it pass by.

Leaning against the wall of the crow's nest, Hoshi looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, neither the stars nor moon were visible in the slightest. Hoshi sighed and closed her eyes, trying to think about the future… but only a grumpy, old, wrinkly face would show in her mind.

A thousand little memories hit her...

Nine-year-old Hoshi had fallen and cut her knee down to the bone on a sharp rock. Gritting her teeth, she had refused to cry and pulled the rock out. For a while, she had just sat there and tried to stop the bleeding with her hand, but suddenly a hand holding a roll of bandages.

"Now, that's no way to treat a wound," the old woman chided. "You're hands can do lots of things, but not instant healing."

"Get up!" she barked during yet another training session. Hoshi gingerly stood, clutching her head. The old woman pointed her cane at her. "You'll never survive in the world if you don't know how to defend yourself or to attack! Up! Come at me with full intent to hurt me, or else you're going to bed with no supper!"
"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch the teapot while it's boiling?!" the old woman exclaimed.

"I didn't touch it!" Hoshi retorted. "I touched the glowing stuff under it! It was pretty!"

"THE HELL? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, STUPID KID!!"

"I'm severing our bond as teacher and student right here and now. Get out."

Suddenly, Hoshi was aware of someone climbing into the crow's nest. Without opening her eyes, she grinned. "Yo Zoro."

Zoro grinned. "Yo. Doing well?"

"Yeah," she answered automatically.

He thumped on her head. "Liar."

"Ouch!" Hoshi yelled, more from surprise than actual pain. She opened her eyes. "What was that for?"

"You haven't really been acting yourself today since we left the tea shop."

Hoshi sighed. "I was thinking… she's taken care of me before I had to leave the village. Some whitecoats came asking around the village for me, so I had to go. But until then, she took really good care of me."

Zoro was quiet. He didn't have to ask who 'she' was.

"I'm going to miss that grouchy old woman," Hoshi sighed. "But…"

"You have no more place under this roof."

"It wasn't really what she wanted to do, you know," Zoro said.

Hoshi snapped her head up. "What?"

"She wanted you to stay on the island… because she cared about you. But she didn't want you to have to choose between us and her, so she pushed you to us."

Hoshi didn't know what to think. Zoro could see the confusion swirling behind her eyes.

Tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. "Sensei..." she whispered.

The old babba was right… Hoshi can deal better with pain than emotional issues… Zoro thought.

Her shoulders shook ever so slightly. "She didn't have to do that," Hoshi said.

"Would you have come with us if she had just outright asked you to stay with her and keep her company?" Zoro asked.

"I would have still come with you a-"

"Think about it."

Hoshi considered it. Then… "Probably not…" she admitted.

"There you go." Zoro put an arm around her shoulders.

She leaned into him and touched the crystal around her neck with two fingers. "I wish the mayor could've met her… they'd have liked each other," she said.

"Mayor?"

"The one who gave me this crystal. He gave his life for me… to let me escape from the World Government."

Zoro was quiet for a while. "Well… both that babba and the mayor would be happy to know that you're happy with coming with us. So just let yourself be happy," he advised.

Hoshi let a small smile creep onto her face. "That's better," Zoro said, noticing it.

She leaned her head on his shoulder as tears started to stream down her face. "Sensei… Ototho… Mayor…" she whispered. Zoro pulled her a little closer, letting her know that he was there. She chuckled a little. "And now you're being so kind… you baka."

Zoro smiled.

For a while, they stood like that with no more words spoken.

Suddenly, Hoshi stood straight and wiped her eyes. "Ah sorry! I've been getting your shirt wet a lot lately," she apologized.

"No problem," Zoro grinned, and she relaxed again.

"I forgot to show everyone my new tattoo," Hoshi said regretfully, craning her head and looking at her shoulder. "Do you want to see it first?"

"Sure."

Hoshi pulled up the sleeve of her T-shirt. On her shoulder flew a fiery orange phoenix rising into the sky, wings outstretched, outlined with a golden glow, and a tongue of fire running down her shoulder blade marking its path. On its back, there was a small black symbol in kanji… 'star'.

Zoro grinned. "I like it."

"Thanks!" Hoshi smiled. "It's sort of weird that the first tattoo shop we went too was willing to do a design like this special. They gave me a brush and colored pencils and told me to do whatever design I wanted."

"There're stores like that."

Hoshi raised an eyebrow at him. "How would you know that? Do you have a tattoo?"

"No, but-"

Hoshi silenced him with a look. There was a moment of silence, then they both started laughing.

Thank you Sensei… thank you everybody, for giving me a chance to be happy.

A patch of sky suddenly cleared, and a single brilliant star twinkled down.

AND THAT'S THE END!!! XD Did you like it? If you did, please review! SEQUEL WILL BE COMING! I'm going to post a preview soon if you'd like!