Author's Note: This is an original ending, it will branch off into a new original story sometime soon. It's the same as the other ending, except that the ending of this chapt is different. Planning on more HoshixZoro in the sequel, so look for it! Hope you all like!

Disclaimer: Don't own One Piece

Chapter 10: Learning How to Live

Hoshi gasped for air and her body felt like it was about to fold and collapse in on itself, but the deed was done. Neither the cracked skull nor the blood staining the commander's robes were a pretty sight. She let her whip disappear, before dragging her feet to the body. Somehow, she summoned moisture in her mouth, and spat on the corpse.

"That was for the mayor, you bastard," she whispered, before she passed out. She fell backwards, but Zoro caught her and placed her gently on the ground.

Sanji blew another smoke cloud. "With their commander gone, I'd say that they have no more need to attack us."

Indeed, the attacks had actually come to a halt when ship six had been sunk, and a large percentage of the soldiers were on the casualty list.

"Yosh. Let's go back to the ship then." Luffy looked out at the Going Merry, about 100 meters away. "Heh, it's going to be harder to get there with three people," he muttered to himself. Then he happened to look up at the World Government flag snapping in the breeze on the mast. He grinned.

Zoro and Sanji, following his eyes, both knew what was coming.

"Dammit, it's like this every time," Sanji grumbled.

"Zoro, pick up Hoshi! Sanji! Let's go!" Luffy yelled, running to the back of the ship.

The stunned soldiers just watched them go. Zoro piggy-backed Hoshi to where Luffy was, and then held her under her shoulders with one arm around her back. He placed his other arm around Luffy, who had stretched his arms and grabbed the very top of the mast. Sanji grabbed Luffy's other shoulder, and they both hung on for their lives as Luffy took off

Nami, pacing the deck, heard Zoro and Sanji screaming in the air, and Luffy laughing like crazy.

"It seems that Sencho-san is returning," Robin noted, turning a page of her book.

Nami squinted up at the sun, trying to see which direction they were coming from. The one place she didn't look… they came.

She screamed as they came directly out of the sky and all landed in a spectacular heap on the deck… as usual. Only this time, they had missed her by about two feet.

"Welcome back, Sencho-san," Robin said, turning another page.

Luffy laughed so hard that tears leaked out of his eyes when he saw Nami's face. Sanji rubbed his back and groaned. "Dammit, I think I broke my back this time."

"AHH!! YOU GUYS DAMAGED THE SHIP AGAIN!" Usopp yelled. It was true… the floorboards had been cracked and the banister was broken. He hit Luffy on the head. "BE MORE CAREFUL WITH MERRY!"

Chopper came out on deck in his cute little reindeer form. "I'm glad you guys made it back!" he said cheerfully.

"I think we were in more danger getting to and from the ship than when we were attacking the World Government soldiers," Zoro grumbled, a huge bump on his head.

Hoshi sat up, having been jarred to consciousness by the impact. She sat rubbing the back of her neck. "Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch… I've got a damn crick in my neck…"

Robin smiled to herself.

"DAMMIT YOU GUYS, ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?" Nami yelled, hitting Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy on their heads. "I'm not blaming you," she told the wide eyed Hoshi.

Later, after Chopper had supplied medical care, Luffy sat cross-legged on his special seat. "YOSH! LET'S GO TO THE NEXT ISLAND!" he screamed, punching one fist into the air. Everybody yelled "AYE!!", and they sailed away, turning their backs on the World Government ships. Hoshi faced the horizon ahead with determined eyes, wings pulled in, her hands balled into fists at her sides. Whatever the world could throw at her now, she was ready for it.

"SANJI!"

"Shit."

"FOOOOOOOOOD!!!"

"NO! It's not lunchtime yet, and you know you have to wait until the ladies have eaten first!"

"But I'm hungry! I WANT MEAT!"

"NO means NO!"

"MEAT!"

Two days passed, and Hoshi found herself with lots of free time. Often, she would fly and go scouting to make sure that there were no enemy ships that might attack the Going Merry. Her days were happy, but something had woken up in her mind when she had found out that she had phoenix DNA… it had fiery feathers and glowing red eyes, and whispered to her, trying to talk to her, but she ignored it. She was scared of what might happen if she listened to it. Hoshi wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but the fear was eating her mind, and if she didn't do something about it, she was going to explode… Fueled by sudden inspiration, she got up and walked over to the end of the deck where Zoro was sleeping.

Going up to Zoro, she leaned down and flicked him sharply on the forehead to wake him up. He slowly opened one eye.

"What is it?" he asked her blearily.

"Wanna spar?" she asked him.

She had caught his attention. He sat up straight, and grinned wolfishly at her. "What do you have in mind?"

Five minutes later, the Straw Hat pirates were all gathered around the main deck, watching Hoshi and Zoro spar with swords. She dodged an attack aiming for her head by ducking down, and counterattacked by slicing up from underneath him. Zoro blocked it. He was using Nitoryuu, or two sword style, against Hoshi. Both of them were using their real swords. Even Robin had put down her book to come and watch.

"OI!! You guys better not damage Merry!" Usopp called while hanging over the banister. Neither one answered him, focusing all their concentration on the battle, and Usopp fell into a desolate heap.

"Nitoryuu…Nigiri!" Zoro yelled, rushing to attack. Hoshi blocked it easily. She grinned wolfishly as he growled. "Nice to see you're getting serious," she informed him.

"Hirameiki!"

"Shishi Sonson!"

"Tourou!"

"Outourou!"

"Samon!"

One by one, Zoro rushed into the attack, and one by one, Hoshi blocked them with graceful ease. There was a pause, a lull in the battle. Zoro looked Hoshi over with new eyes. An evil grin crept onto her face. "My turn." An electric jolt sped up Zoro's spine at the look on her face, and he instinctively took a defensive stance.

Hoshi brought her sword up, holding it completely still. "Chouchou Deba no Butokai."

Zoro suddenly found himself being assaulted by a series of flowing attacks, coming so quickly that it was all he could do to block them…

His swords flew out of his hands, and Zoro fell down on his butt. Hoshi gently laid the tip of her katana at his throat. With that small action, she claimed victory.

Zoro felt himself shaking. This was just like when he used to battle Kuina… Then he met Hoshi's gaze. Her aqua eyes held no mocking laughter, like Kuina's did after she beat him… her eyes held something different. She took away her sword and let it disappear. She then smiled, and offered a slender hand to help him up. He took it.

"SO COOL!!"

A shout from the sideline made the pair of them look up. Luffy was yelling at the top of his lungs… as usual.

"Wow… Hoshi's strong," Chopper said to no one in particular.

"I'll tell you something Zoro," Hoshi said, speaking over Luffy. "'Chouchou Deba no Butokai' and blocking are the only things I know how to do with a sword, so I don't doubt that you'll be able to beat me once you find out the secret." She smiled a little regretfully.

"HOSHI-CHAAAN! YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL WHEN YOU BEAT THE SHITTY MARIMO-HEAD!!" Sanji called, hearts in his eyes.

"SHUT UP, you Love-Cook!" Zoro yelled, stress marks appearing on his forehead. He was annoyed in more ways than one…

"Eh what was that!?" Sanji took a puff on his cigarette. Hoshi sweatdropped… how many times did those two need to fight per day? As the pair continued their shouting match, accompanied by Luffy laughing and Nami screaming that they were both morons, she looked out over the ocean. It was quiet and peaceful….

Robin watched her, smiling.

Suddenly Hoshi turned her eyes to Robin's, and smiled. "Ne, Robin-san, can I talk to you for a second? I promise it won't take very long," she said.

Taken aback, Robin said, "Sure." They walked off together into Nami's mikan trees.

Hoshi looked a little uncomfortable. Robin waited for her to start the conversation.

"Um, Robin-san… can I ask you a question? Don't think I'm taking this lightly."

"Of course."

"Well, I've noticed that you seem to be very comfortable on this ship. I know some things about your background. Growing up in a World Government lab, I hear things," Hoshi said with a grin to Robin's startled face. "I know that you are a highly wanted criminal for something in your head that the Government wants. You've survived until now by joining criminal organizations and using them as your shields when the Government came for you. My question is… why would a person who's been through so much like that place her trust in a group of pirates like this?"

Hoshi seemed to be forcing the words out of her mouth. Apparently, personal affairs weren't an easy spot for her to touch.

Robin considered the question for a minute before answering. "Why do I place my trust in Sencho-san and the others? I guess it's because they accept me for who I am."

Hoshi and Robin both turned their eyes to the captain, who had somehow wedged himself between the Zoro-Sanji fight, and was now being chased around the deck by the two of them. He was laughing like a maniac as he ran around the deck in crazy patterns. Robin chuckled.

"It's hard not to be comfortable and relax. Also… Sencho-san doesn't ask me to do anything, and he accepts me for who I am. He doesn't want me to make his goals my goals, but instead lets me harbor my own dream to work towards instead of forcing me to help him make his dreams reality. If he lets you onto this ship, you can just relax and be yourself, and he won't tell you off for being human. You're allowed to make mistakes. All he asks for is loyalty, but that's about it. Anything else you want to do, you can do. I like that. Is that enough answer?"

"Yeah… thanks Robin-san." Hoshi mulled over Robin's words for a moment, and then jumped out of the grove. Right before she landed though, Luffy ran into her. He yelled and fell on top of her, when Sanji and Zoro ran into the both of them. They all disappeared in a cloud of dust, with fists and heads and feet occasionally jutting out. It was one big mass of chaos. Somehow, Usopp also managed to get himself into the fight. Robin chuckled.

Hoshi fell out of the cloud and hit her head on the cabin wall. "Damn," she grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her head. Looking up at Robin, she asked, "Is it really like this all the time?"

Robin smiled down at Hoshi. "Yes, I believe so."

The aqua eyes continued to follow the dust cloud around the ship. Nami stormed over and followed the dust cloud around, yelling at it and its occupants while Chopper hid on the wrong side of a barrel. Suddenly, Hoshi started laughing. "Man, I sure picked one hell of a crew to be on," she laughed.

After the day had passed rather peacefully (excluding a disastrous game of tag, Hoshi accidentally eating a one of Usopp's Tabasco Bombers, Nami yelling at the seagull that brought the newspaper, Zoro being punched overboard by Nami for no good reason, Hoshi unknowingly eating one of Nami's tangerines and being caught, Chopper's workbench getting upturned when the game of tag entered the entrance to the cabins, another random dust cloud that somehow happened when Luffy tried to stop Sanji and Zoro from fighting, and Luffy raiding into the refrigerator with Sanji yelling at him later), the crew retired to bed. All in all, it had been a regular day.

Hoshi played the crew to sleep with a soft melody on her flute. It reminded Zoro of a flying bird as he lay in his hammock, listening.

Robin had the first watch. Zoro was not quite asleep when the historian called down, "You play very well, Gakushi-san."

Hoshi laughed. "Thanks Robin." She stretched. "Usopp has the second watch tonight, just letting you know. I have the third watch afterwards."

Robin smiled. "I'll be sure to remember that. Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" Hoshi called, waving cheerfully before going into the women's quarters. She lay down on her cot and sighed. This time… this ship… this crew… this was going to be different from others. Hoshi was absolutely sure that these people would never leave her behind… an assurance that she had missed since she was eight years old. The first few years of her life that she could remember had been spent in torment, constantly being poked and tested in a laboratory. A small golden time, perhaps about six months, when the mayor had taken her in had followed… then there was nothing after that but run and run and stay alive. But not anymore. These people had given her a place… a place where she belonged and could be herself, learn to live, and most importantly, be free.

"Goodnight everyone," she whispered, before falling into a peaceful sleep… something that had not happened in years.

The End

Original Sequel: Adventures on Kiken Island

Look for it!!