Today was Saturday, sweet Saturday~

The entire table burst out laughing after hearing you narrate what happened last night.

After the little-"incident"-with the kiss, you and Kaku continued eating your dinner in awkward silence. Your eye still hurt like hell but now you had a patch over it which you had to keep on for over the weekend.

Koala clutched her stomach while laughing, rolling on the floor, and banging her hand. Kaya and Vivi covered their mouths while giggling. Ace was rolling on the floor with Koala while Sabo...yeah, he was snickering with his head down.

"Don't underestimate the power of giraffe man's nose." Aze sneered at you. "Although I already promised to not ruin the date, you pretty much screwed it up yourself, (Name)."

"HIS NOSE WAS FREAKISHLY LONG, OKAY?" You retort with a scowl, "What the hell was I suppose to do?!"

Sabo coughed, eyes still watery from laughing. "So, what happened afterwards?"

"I ate my baguette," You replied.

"You ate your baguette?" He echoes.

"Yes, I ate my baguette." You confirm, shrugging, "It was a pretty delicious baguette."

Sabo slammed his head on the table and started laughing again, your face was steaming red. The only one who wasn't laughing was Usopp, he just looked at Kaya like he just realized that they were going to have the same problem.

Breakfast was over within minutes but since you didn't have any classes, everyone decided to finish preparations for next week's festival.

"Hey, (Name), Sabo," Nami called from one of the booths. You and Sabo walked over. "Can you guys get something for me?" She holds out a small list of ingredients.

"Where do we get these?" You inquire after reading the list. "Sea fruit? Shellfish meat?"

Nami grins at you, something told you that this was not going to be easy. "You can ask the stuff from Mermaid Cafe."

"Which is where?" You gave her a this-better-be-worth-it look.

"It's located in the lake." She replies. You and Sabo look at each other.

"The lake?!"

"Mhm, that's right."

"How does a cafe even end up in a lake?" Sabo asks, giving a small sigh. Nami just smiles sweetly at the two of you.

"Fine, fine." You both agree in unison, then left for the lake where you had camp a few days before.

The lake was large but had no signs of a cafe anywhere nearby. You searched low and you searched high. After a few minutes of walking around aimlessly, you collapse.

"WHERE IS THE STUPID CAFE?!?!" You yell, but your screams were muffled because you had your face on the ground.

"Maybe it's underwater?" Sabo inquires, rubbing his eyes then squinting at something in the water.

"That's impossible, Sabo," You murmur. You roll on your back and stare at him as he continued to squint his eyes. What's he looking at?

You stand up and press your cheek to his. "What in the world-"

Beneath the water and stationed on top of colorful coral reefs was a shell-decorated cafe. What surprised you even most was the people swimming around inside it, which you could catch a glimpse of through the windows.

"MERMAIDS?!"

Dozens of human/fish women swam around, holding up trays of coffee and cakes, their flawlessness was breathtaking. You frown, glancing a peek at Sabo's face, he was smiling at them.

"I thought Nami was kidding but there really is a cafe in the lake," Sabo chuckles and walked towards the water and started to take off his shirt.

"W-What are you doing?!" You blush, politely averting your gaze from him. You could hear him chuckle again. Teasing bastard.

"Well I don't want my favorite shirt wet." He pouts and stares at you, as if he was waiting for you to do something.

"What?" You narrow your eyes warily. He points at your shirt and throws a questioning look.

"Aren't you going to take off your shirt too?" He inquires bluntly. You stare back at him, blushing like mad, waiting for him to realize what he had just requested of you.

"Oh! No I didn't mean-" He sighed, rubbing his temple in annoyance of his innocent stupidity, "Nevermind. I'll go, you can wait here." With that, he took the note from you and memorized the ingredients, then dived down under.

Once he was inside the cafe, you fan your heated cheeks. Damn, he's hot. You stop fanning and frown as a familiar laughter echoes in your head. Can't believe I thought that. You slump down on the wet lake shore, shoulders drooping a bit in frustration.

"Well you sure have taken a liking to him." Aze rumbles, eyes glinting mischievously, "I wonder, will he be the one to break down your walls?"

You watch Sabo in the cafe, he was signaling something to one of the mermaids behind the counter, the beautiful purple haired woman then smiled and lead him to the back door. Your heartbeat started pounding a bit faster and an uneasy churning feeling was in the pit of your stomach.

"Jealous?" Aze teased. You close your eyes and took deep breaths.

"No," You mutter, forcing a smile. Aze gave you a hmph and rolled his eyes. Gosh, he was getting on your nerves more than usual lately.

"You liar," He scowls at you.

You wanted to tsk at him but knew he was right. He can see through you, feel everything you feel, see everything you see. More than often it was a pain in the ass, no doubt about that. But he was the only one who understood what you've been going through.

You recalled the days in your childhood where you were alone in that big empty mansion. The walls separated you from society, your parents saying it was for the best, but you would sometimes wish that you could take a glimpse of the outside world.

Sonora.

That name. That girl. She was your first real friend. The meeting was accidental, yes, but it was the best accident of your life. She snuck in your home and found a four year old (Name) sitting in the topiary garden. You remembered how she walked up to you and saved you from a life of loneliness.

"What's your name?" She asked, pulling a strand of honey golden hair away from her emerald eyes.

"(N-Name)." You sniffled, harshly rubbing away the dripping snot from your nose. She giggled. It was a melodious sound, a pleasant ringing to your ears.

"Well, (Name)," She holds her hand out to you and smiles brightly. "My name's Sonora! Wanna be my friend?"

"F-Friend?"

You then started wailing, panicking Sonora, and trying to calm you down. Ever since that meeting, she would come over and visit you and tell you stories about life on the outside world.

"She was such a curious child, wasn't she?" Aze mumbles. His tone sounded sad which meant he knew what you were thinking. You nod and gave a sad smile.

"She died trying to protect me...and I was lonely again..." You bit your lower lip and balled your hands on your lap, fingernails digging into your palms.

Sonora visited you and wanted to play with you again. You woke up diligently every morning to wait for her in the topiary garden at the same time as always. However, this time, you were not alone.

"What do you want from me?" cried a five year old (Name). She was shaking in alarm as the large man in a black suit stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm. "Let me go, you jerk!"

The man frowned, clearly not happy about her uncooperative attitude. His hand gripped tighter to her arm and she screamed.

"(Name)!" Sonora gasped. The man looked at you with bored eyes as she thwacked him with a broom. "LET HER GO, YOU STUPID BULLY!"

He grunted in annoyance, releasing his hold on you and turning his sights on your friend. A deep menacing growl escapes him, his eyes turning green and full of bloodlust, he lunges forward and his sharp teeth sank into her neck.

You gave out a high pitched scream and fall backwards, eyes never leaving the cold and lifeless stare of your friend as her body began to drown in a sickening red color.

You pale as the man continued to bite her like an animal, crunching her bones and tearing her flesh. A husky voice repeatedly calls your name but you were too afraid to speak. Your throat ran dry just from watching this monster maul the only friend you had.

If it weren't for Smoker that day, you might have been dead too,

But you were never the same.

"You locked yourself in your room and wouldn't come out..." Aze murmured, grimacing at the memories that scarred you.

For an entire month you sat alone in that mansion again. With the events that just happened, your parents left Smoker in charge of you until they returned home, which was highly unlikely.

You would just sit in your room and stare blankly at a wall, never speaking, never moving, just staring idly as the days come and go. It was like you were dead as your eyes were dull and lifeless as Sonora's.

"It was depressing seeing you like that," Aze comments, frowning at the memory, "Really depressing..."

Then one afternoon, from a dark corner of the room, stood a boy around her age. He watched the dispirited young girl from the shadows, observing her as she wastes her life away. He knew that she was getting thinner by the day, downcast by the hour, he had to do something.

"Are you alright?" He asked, peering out from his hiding place. (Name) turned to the sound of the voice, her somber (E/C) orbs studied her visitor.

"Yes, I am," She easily lies, presenting the mysterious stranger with a sad smile.

The boy scoffs at her. "Liar."

"Huh?" She blinks. Something was familiar about him, but what?

"I can tell you're lying," He murmurs. "And I'm sorry about your friend." He apologizes, cautiously stepping out into the light and proceeding to sit beside her.

"Who are you?" She asks. His eyes showed the same compassion of her dead friend. She reached out and poked his cheek.

"My name is Azazel," He answers. "I'm your new friend."