A/N: I do not own One Piece.

A/N: English is not my first language.


Don't open window.

Don't open the door.

If you hear voices in the hallways, don't make a sound.

Do you understand, Yue? Sure you understand; you are a good girl, right?

Even if the wording was different, it had been said over a thousand times since she could remember. With the same voice, with the same impassive tone, with the same amused grin; over and over and over again.

It had been long ago, too long to even remember exactly when, or to know when she started to pay attention to it, therefore, it was long enough to know the rules by heart. They were not many, but if you only had a room and a bathroom to walk in throughout the day, they tended to weight down a great deal more- Enough to make her hate them with frustrated intensity. But just as that hatred, she kept the questioning to herself. Yue assumed that at some point of her life she had had to try and break them, maybe when she still didn't know how to write, or the times the maids recalled as her 'worse phase yet' when she actually opened the door and walked on the hallway very often; 'You never got very far' they always added with a hush, and the girl didn't doubt it. Maybe those years far beyond the reach of her memory were the cause behind why Doffy insisted on reminding her of the rules so much, as if he thought she could actually forget about them anytime soon.

The first time she saw someone besides Vergo, the maids, Doflamingo or the four man dressed in clothes with the same pattern as the drawings on the deck of cards, she was ten, and it wasn't until years later that she realized the rules had the purpose of avoiding just that, for reasons her mind couldn't understand the first time they met. However, she had paid enough attention to the moment to remember every detail of what had happened inside that room, realizing how easy it was to break the limitations without even thinking about doing it.

Inside her room, there was a couch and a comfy chair, but the spot that had some years before belonged to dolls and wooden blocks now offered a more comfortable spot, not really mattering if it was on the floor and with a bookshelf to rest her back against- It still was better than the coach that allowed a clear view of the dark room. An ongoing game of cards rested in front of her, the constant tapping of the card in her hand against the box besides her feet the only sound that could be heard besides rushing of the window outside the window. If she raised her head just a little bit the light of the moon could be seen, trying to engulf the shadow of the shelf she was using as a back rest, and the light stretched enough to reach the metal door and everything in between. A box, a pile of books that would be picked up and placed on the shelf in the morning by the maids, and a closed door that wouldn't open until more than a couple of hours.

Tonight, it was not the door she wanted to open.

But even if she wanted to open the window, she wouldn't do it. Even if she was now able of lifting herself and reach it, there was no way she would actually do it. It had never actually been open, it probably was rusty and would crack, if move in the slightest. Birds always came to land on the space between the top of the wall and the ceiling, that long but narrow thing that usually did let sunlight and wind in, but it all pointed to the fact that she was in the top floor of a probably tall window, so what would she see if she peeked through the glass? Lights, land? Sea?

Sometimes the moon was high enough for her to see it if she sat against the door. That probably would be the sight to enjoy if she did shift from her place, for a few hours until it reached its peak. Surely, it would have been a really nice thing to see, the most interesting part of her day besides the strange looking dessert at lunch that had somehow tasted good, but seeing her unwillingness to move from her place that wasn't going to be the case that night. The tapping stopped when her eyes shifted to the cards once more, a deep breathe inflating her chest before it went back to its original state, the air coming out as almost imperceptible white steam. Winter had arrived earlier than expected, so soon it would be that time of the year in which the maids would let the candles on before they left for the night and a hot water bottle under her sheets, when coats would suddenly be delivered one morning and a somehow fancy dinner would be held one night deep into the month.

Until then, it would be her and her cards and the terrarium sitting beside her on the floor.

And it was because of that same determination on just focusing on the game and how the time would hopefully pass by faster that she was so startled at the sound of the door opening rather quickly. Had it not been the middle of the night, when everything was quiet and she was expected to make no noise at all, Yue would have thought the person to be one of the maids or Doffy, but since the man had already announced his absence for the next three days nullified the possibility almost immediately. The fact that, when the figure stepped into the light of the moon as it closed the door with upmost care, there was no pink coat on sight just unsettled her even more.

Doflamingo almost never went anywhere without his coat.

Also, the person was way too short to be one of those who visited her. Pale skin, paler than hears, was visible in a matter of seconds, bandages covering part of the arm and the hand, a dress up shirt that was tore in one of the sides and a white hat with black dots, all wore by someone about her same height and maybe, just maybe, her same age. A boy, Yue could tell by the short hair peaking beneath his hat as she lowered the card on the ground with her mouth hanging open, eyes both wide and focused on his back as he apparently panted heavily, resting his forehead against the cold material of the door. From her spot she couldn't possibly see his face, she couldn't see what expression he was making or what the colors of his eyes were; she couldn't see anything at all, but that didn't even prevent Yue from realizing that since she didn't know him, he wasn't allowed to be there, therefore, she would have been screaming by now. It was the way they had always taught her- If someone she didn't know came into the room, she screamed, and because Doffy's room was in front of hers someone was bound to hear it.

But there was a problem.

Yue realized it when she rose from the floor as quietly as possible, head tilting to one side carefully as he brushed the side of his face with his forearm, sweat and dirt mixing on the skin. By how he hold onto the knob, so tightly his knuckles probably were white, the boy was probably hiding from something or someone, maybe the reason behind why he was wearing bandages and looked like he was fresh out of a fight. If he was there, was it that easy then? To find her room? Or maybe was it hidden enough for him to think of it as a good hiding place? Was it really a fight he was running away from? Was he really her age? What was his name?

The questions piled up one after another in her head.

And the problem was getting bigger and bigger with each second that passed and she was left there without screaming, or making any effort to reach the mini Den Den Mushi sitting on the shelf.

She didn't want him to leave.

"Who are you?"

The way in which he jumped as the words left her mouth assured Yue that he wasn't expecting anyone else being in the same room, never mind being asked such a question. Almost immediately, the boy turned around to face her, equally pale skin glowing under the moonlight and gray eyes quickly taking in the room before settling on her frame, face showing an expression she found really curious, one she had never seen in the face of the people she knew. Not in the maids faces, nor in Vergo's, and definitely not in Doffy's.

Something new.

By the looks of it he was not much older than her, or at least he wasn't tall enough to be. But Yue only had herself to compare him with, so maybe she was wrong. Curiosity almost radiated from within her as his face contorted into a surprised expression mixed with more than a little bit of something unsettling, frozen in place with arms still raised in midair, to the point where she doubted he was even blinking or at least breathing properly. Maybe after a couple of seconds, his mouth opened and closed, as if he were looking for the words to express whatever he was thinking, but almost no sound came out as the boy frowned. She didn't precisely like that.

"I am Yue" She offered after a long moment of silence, waiting for an answer and his face to change into something she was comfortable seeing, although he looked cautious enough for anyone to believe he was facing a terribly dangerous situation "What are you doing here? Did you follow one of the maids? Is somebody else awake?"

Even with the almost complete darkness that surrounded her side of the room it was easy for her eyes to catch on the look on his eyes as he took in her questions, an eyebrow raising when he completely understood them. The boy lowered his arms, eyes still on her, like he couldn't quite believe she was being truthful and the questions were meant to be some kind of trap, but he looked even more puzzled when she stayed silent, waiting for his answer with itching fingers. There were white spots covering the side of his shoulder, uncovered due to the tore fabric on the zone, and a couple more going up his cheek, but it wasn't enough to take her attention away from the fact that his face took a more serious edge when he glanced around, looking at her books and her bed and basically every single thing on the room. The seconds stretched on until he finally looked at her again, taking in her clothes and bare foot, the cards on the floor and the terrarium besides her feet, until settling on her eyes once more.

"Who are you?"

One thing she had never liked and doubted anyone liked about being up so late, was how every single noise seemed to be ten times louder than it actually was. In this situation, the question that once more left her mouth wasn't an exception, the words ringing in the air with unnecessary pressure as she repented of saying anything and took a step back, the side of her feet touching the shelf and the books on it. It was such an awkward gesture even the boy blinked at it, side of the mouth curving into an indecisive expression, to the point she was about sure he would turn around and just walk out of the room.

So it was a surprise, eve more than a relieve, when he actually spoke.

"Law" His shoulders were tense enough to notice it regardless of not having proper light, but it was easy to see how his eyes never once left her person, as if examining everything about her little frame and secretly hoping she was as harmless as she seemed to be. Yue blinked, dumbfounded at the sound of his voice, a smile quickly appearing on her face without thinking of it- It's wideness seemed to unsettle him a little bit, but with shrugged, tense shoulders, the boy –Law- continued to speak "Trafalgar Law"

He said at last, standing with tense shoulders, but never letting his eyes leave her person, as if examining her and secretly hoping she wasn't as harmless as she seemed "Trafalgar Law

In ten years, it was the first time one of his gifts was forgotten. The cards were stepped on as she dared to walk forward, in the most literal sense, messing up the order and the game.

In all her life, that was the first time she forgot about to Doflamingo, rather than him about her.