You were exhausted and the couch the crew had fixed up for you in the library was boarder line heavenly. The room was silent, the subtle smell of well loved books hung in the air, and night had settled in long ago, along with everyone else.

Dinner was hectic, as you assumed it would be. But that wasn't to say you didn't enjoy it. You'd starved yourself of proper human interaction for so long that the time with the Strawhat crew felt like a real luxury.

Somehow, over that meal, the awkward tension from before had begun to melt away and you allowed yourself to open up enough to really talk to them. Not about your life out of the city though, at least not in depth.

They'd filled you in on much of what happened after you left, given you information that you'd found very useful. And that was exactly what you were hoping for.

You had a good grasp on where the major gangs were now and what places could be considered "safe" or "dangerous." Kid had basically forced you out of your home and it would be a bad idea to risk going back there. Here wasn't a good choice either. The city had settled but with the Strawhat and Heart crews still here, it would be too much of a risk to stay. And it was a good thing you weren't planning on doing so.

Luffy had talked your ear off trying to convince you of the many reasons you should stay but you weren't going to. In fact, you didn't plan on staying till morning either.

With the information you'd gathered, you could look for new options to move to without the risk of running into undesirables. You didn't want to move in the first place but the second you were found, staying put was no longer an option, not with as high profile as you were.

And now that it was the dead of night and everyone was alseep, you could slip out the front without anyone noticing. They left things you could use within reach and you'd take full advantage of that.

It was nice seeing your old friends, but you felt too much had happened to be able to return to this city like nothing changed. The time spent with them wasn't to reconnect or think about joining them, it was you taking advantage of an unavoidable situation. In the past, you might have felt guilty about using the Strawhats but now, it was all about necessity.

You slowly pushed the borrowed blankets off of you and sat up, grabbing your boots from off the floor. When you got to your feet, you padded to the door carefully and cracked it open, peeking out into the hall.

The library was at the very end with the bedrooms lining the way to the center of the building. You were going to have to pass them quietly and then take what you could from the aquarium sitting room table. As tough as the Strawhats were, they weren't always the smartest. They left plenty of money for you to take and your choice of keys for vehicles. You'd also make a quick stop at the kitchen, grab a few food items, and then hit the road.

You were worried about making it through the hall quietly enough but it proved easier than you thought. You were silent on bare feet and were soon back by the aquarium. The first aid kit still sat on the edge of one of the seats, forgotten by Chopper. And lucky enough for you, you also spotted something new leaning against the table. A backpack.

It was probably Usopp's, though you didn't expect to see him leaving his stuff laying around. He was usually very well organized. You didn't question it though as you put your boots on and grabbed it, opening up the pockets to inspect its contents. Inside, you were happy to find a few MREs, a pocket knife, and a sling shot with a small pouch of pellets to go with it. The sling shot almost got a chuckle out of you. He loved unconventional weapons.

You zipped most of the pockets closed and began inspecting what was on the table. The money clips went straight into the last pocket of the bag you left open. As for the wallets, you pulled out all the cash and cards. You'd make a couple stops along the way and use the cards for a couple purchases, pull cash with them at any store that'd let you, and then destroy them before leaving the city. From there, you had your choice of keys for vehicles. Problem was, you weren't sure what kind of ride would go with each set.

There were three options and you knew one had to be Franky's trike. You had no idea on how to drive a motorcycle and were sure you wanted to avoid that one. With a resigned sigh, you snagged all three sets of keys. You'd leave the ones you don't use at their front door and hopefully they wouldn't get stolen.

You zipped up the last pocket and turned to the entryway. You got about three steps in and then realized there was a figure leaning against the door.

"I thought you agreed to stay till morning?" Zoro asked.

You pursed your lips and scowled at him. So much for thinking he'd be asleep too.

"You and I both know I can't do that. My days fighting gang battles are done, they have been."

"We're not asking you to fight our battles, we're asking you to join a team."

"My last team tore me apart Zoro. I'm not doing that again."

"This isn't the same." He growled in frustration. "You can't compare us to them, we aren't the same people."

"You do the same things." You hissed, fighting to keep your voice down. "You lie, steal, cheat, and kill. And for what?"

He stepped into the room slowly, hands balled into fists and anger written across his face. "We do. We do lie, steal, cheat, and kill. I know damn well the Kid gang has done the same. And you know what, you have too. But that doesn't make any of us the same. We do what we do for the sake of our survival and freedom, the Kid crew does it purely for enjoyment. The question is, what about you? Why did you take up that kind of life?"

You felt your own hands ball up in frustration but you couldn't tell who the emotion was directed at.

"I......"

"You what?" He leaned down over you aggressively, spitting the words out through clenched teeth.

"I wanted something better for myself!" You snapped, glaring up at him. "I lived a shit life, in a shit home, with no friends, and no real fucking life! I spent my time fucking up other's lives on a daily basis just so I could make ends meet. I hated myself then and I hate myself now but with the gang.....with them I felt like I had something to look forward to. For that short amount of time, I felt okay, with myself and what I did. At least I did until I realized how much I was just being used."

His gaze softened and he backed off.

"Fine." He sighed. "Keep the keys with the sheep keychain, gimme the rest."

"What're you....?"

"It's to the car. I'd rather you not take the van, or Franky's bike, he'd mope all day if it was gone. Take good care of the car though, Usopp loves that thing."

"So you're letting me go?" You hesitated for a moment and then handed him over the two sets of keys.

"Only if you do me a favor."

"What favor?"

"Spend some time in town. Spend some of that cash on whatever you want, check out anything that interests you, maybe go to some old favorite spots. Think things over. Dinner will probably be around six as that annoying cook is good for being on time at least. Be back by then or Luffy will have eaten everything, you know how his appetite is."

Zoro stepped to the side and you walked past him slowly, only to pause with your hand on the knob.

"Zoro?"

"What, change your mind?"

"Why'd you cover for me? When they asked about my...job?"

"You didn't want to share what you really did and they didn't have to know. It's none of their business."

"And why are you so sure I'll be back?"

You could practically feel him smirking behind you. "Because you miss us."

"Right." You failed to keep your lips from turning up into a smile. "That's why."

----

The city at night was just as you remembered it. Driving it was different though. You didn't have a ton of experience behind the wheel as you tended to fly or ride the subway where you went in the past. When you were with the Kid crew, Killer usually drove you around too.

So needless to say, you were glad to shake off the rusty feeling at night when the traffic was much more slim. The car you got to borrow was a slick, white one, clean like it had just come from the car wash. The cream colored seats on the inside were a nice leather, the controls were a little dated but worked well, and there was an oddly placed sticker on the glove box with "The Going Merry" written across it in bold, black letters. The Strawhats loved naming their possessions and you assumed that was what they called the car.

For most of the night, you just drove through the streets. The tank was full on gas and if you needed to fuel it up again, you had the cash for it. You turned on the radio at some point after noticing the car was silent and decided to make it loud enough that you couldn't hear yourself think, even if you wanted to.

When the sun began to peek over the horizon, you made your first stop. It wasn't an easy one but you figured it was the best way to start your day, especially since you were sleep deprived. You pulled in to the rustic little coffee shop parking lot and put the car in park, letting it idle as you stared at the building.

Killer took you here on many occasions but the one time you always remembered the most vividly was the first time. He'd given you a phone and expressed his interest in dating you then. The interesting part of it was you were never quite sure if his feelings were genuine or not at that point.

You took the key out of the ignition and stepped out into the cold air. The car had excellent heating and it almost made you forget winter was a thing. Inside, the shop was exactly as you remembered it. Not a single thing had changed. The many table were sparsely occupied as it was too early even for the morning folks and you were happy to see one table in particular was still empty.

You took your time perusing the menu, making sure you really knew what coffee you wanted in case you didn't get to come back again. When you'd ordered that and something to eat as well, you scampered over to your table, facing the large window in front of you.

"Best view in the city." You murmured. And it still was.

Even after driving around all night you could say that. There wasn't a single spot around that offered such a picturesque view. For about an hour, you took your time with breakfast, really taking it slow.

It almost hurt to stay in the shop but you thought it'd be worse. The pang you figured you'd feel the entire time never came. Killer stayed in the back of your mind but he was almost an afterthought. It was strange but welcome. Maybe you were finally beginning to move on.

When you had finished your drawn out breakfast, you decided it was time to move on. There was no reason to linger and the shop was beginning to fill with people finally. As you went out to the car, you were already planning the rest of your day, not even realizing that you were doing exactly as Zoro had asked of you. At first you'd only planned on driving around and sticking nearby until after your coffee shop visit but now you were wanting to explore the city like you had so often in the past.

You couldn't deny it, you missed it here. You missed how it was before shit hit the fan, before work with the Kid crew ruled your life. Now you had all the time in the world to enjoy it. You figured the next stop would be an absolutely necessary one; you were well overdue for a visit to Delilah's grave. The chances that her biological family visited her were slim to none and you'd done a poor job of dropping by occasionally as well. Since you were here, you'd be sure to do that.

Afterwards, you decided you might as well wander through the local museum and check out the botanical center, maybe visit a couple other spots you used to frequent. With a game plan figured out, you pulled out of the parking spot feeling better than you had in a long time.

Much better.