I sat on Ki's bed with her that weekend. Luffy was spending time with Yue and his Dad. I actually did get to meet Dragon. He was a very stoic man, but he really seemed to care about his children.

Luffy told me that he was going to figure out how he got separated from his family in the first place. I knew he would tell me later when he knew the whole story.

"Zoro and I applied to go to a professional swordfighting school in the East Blue. We also sent applications in to one in the West Blue, and here in Grandline." Ki told me.

"Really? Have you heard anything back yet?" I asked.

"Well, I got my letter from the East Blue today. I was rejected." She said, sounding a bit dejected by it.

"Well, you still have West Blue and Grandline. Which schools are they?" I asked.

"There's Akagami in the West Blue, Santoriyu in the East Blue and Camelot here in Grandline." Ki said. I gave her a wide eyes stare.

"Those are the top three of the world..." I said. She nodded. I blinked.

"Wow. Those are tough schools to get in to." I said. She nodded again. Her phone pinged. She picked it up and looked at the text.

"Zoro is on his way. He says he got a letter from Santoriyu." She said. She let out a rough breath.

"It's been his dream ever since he was a kid to go to Santoriyu. This is a make-or-break thing for him. When we were applying, he said that he knew that Akagami and Camelot were better than Santoriyu, but since he was born in East Blue, he wanted to go there and prove that a Santoriyu student was just as good as any Akagami or Camelot student." She said.

"What happens if he gets accepted?" I asked.

"He'll most likely go." She said with a shrug.

"I meant what happens to the two of you? You were rejected by Santoriyu. If you get accepted by one of the other schools, I know your going to go because of your dream. This will put you and Zoro on two different seas." I said. Ki sighed.

"I've thought about it." She said.

"And?" I asked.

"And I'll wait for him. If he still wants me when he's done at Santoriyu, then I'm all his." She said.

"Will you be able to handle the separation?" I asked. Ki sighed again.

"We can always video chat and we have text and call. I'll be okay." She said. I nodded.

"As long as you've thought about it." I said. There was a knock at the bedroom door. Zoro entered not long after.

"Hey babe." Ki said, shifting over so he could sit down on her bed.

"Hey, babe. Hey, Aisuru." He said, sitting down and crossing his legs.

"Have you read it yet?" Ki asked. Zoro shook his head.

"I wanted you to be with me when I read it." He said. Ki scooted closer to him.

"Well, I'm here, I can see the letter in your pocket, what are we waiting for?" She asked. Zoro swallowed hard. He pulled out the letter. Ki rested her head on his shoulder. He stared at it for a second, then looked away.

"What's wrong, love?" Ki asked. Zoro drew a shaky breath.

"What if they rejected me?" He asked.

"Then they're stupid and they just lost the next top swordsman of the world as their student." I said. Zoro and Ki looked at me, then looked back at the envelope. Ki rubbed his arm.

"Aisuru's right. If they rejected you, then you'll just have to go to Akagami or Camelot and show them what they missed out on." Ki said. Zoro stared downwards.

"But... I doubt they rejected you, Zoro. You're the best swordsman in the area. Even Coach Dracule acknowledges it." Ki said. I wanted to point out that Uncle Mihawk also said that Ki was the best swordswoman in the area but she got rejected by Santoriyu, but for Zoro's sake, I kept my mouth shut.

Zoro nodded. He drew in a deep breath. Ki rubbed his arm again.

"Here goes nothing." He said. He opened the envelope. He pulled the letter out and read it.

"What does it say?" Ki asked after a moment, moving to kneel behind Zoro.

"... I got accepted.... on a full scholarship..." He said. Ki's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, Zoro! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" Ki said and kissed his cheek.

"That's fantastic! Congratulations, Zoro!" I said.

"There's more." He said and read more. A look crossed his face that told me he wasn't too thrilled.

"What is it?" I asked.

"If I want to go.... then I have to leave the day after school ends." He said. Ki and I froze.

"What?" She asked.

"They won't even let you graduate?" I asked.

"They'll let me get my last high school credits there. The program I'll be in is two years long." Zoro said. We were all quiet.

"What do I do?" He asked. We both looked at him.

"I want to go to this school... But I'd be gone for two years... Not seeing any of my friends or my girlfriend... What do I do? Do I say goodbye to everyone and go? Or do I stay here?" He asked softly. Ki looked down to the ground. I stared at Zoro, wondering if he actually wanted an answer from us or not.

"Zoro..." I started, deciding I needed to say something. He looked up at me.

"You can't give up on your dream. Go to the school." I said. He stared at me with wide eyes.

"You... Want me to leave?" He asked. I sighed.

"None of us want you to leave, but... as your friends... we want you to reach your dream. We want you to go far with your life and we want you to be happy. If going to this school is your dream, then you have to go and follow your dreams." I said. He blinked, then looked at Ki.

"Ki?" He asked. She looked up at him, as if he had pulled her from a deep thought.

"Hm?" She hummed. He stared at her.

"If... If you want me to stay, then I will. I'll stay for you, Ki." He said. Ki blinked and bit her lip. I could see tears welling up in her eyes. I knew she was conflicted. She closed her eyes for a second. She drew a deep breath and Zoro grabbed her hands.

"Zoro... I love you... So you have to go to that school." She said. Zoro stared at her with wide eyes.

"But... Ki... What will happen to us?" He asked. Ki cupped Zoro's cheeks and looked in to his eyes.

"I'll wait for you. You go to that school. You follow your dream. And if you still want me when you're done with school, Then I'll still be here for you." She said. He stared at her silently. She kissed him.

"Follow your dreams, Zoro. I'll wait for you." She said. Zoro pulled Ki in to his lap and kissed her. I slid off the bed, deciding that now was a good time for me to go home. I sighed softly as I went home.

So, we'd be going through senior year without Zoro.