It took Banchina several seconds to realize her mistake. She had been so charmed by Ford and surprised by his sudden appearance that she had completely forgotten that she'd gone on a rampage and made a large mess.

Her heart sank a little as she watched him walk in and take a good look around. She hardly knew the man, but didn't want him to think she was a slob when, in fact, she was one of the most anal people she knew when it came to things being clean and in place.

"Do you mind if I have a seat?" He didn't even bat an eye. 'Is he just being nice?' Banchina nodded her head. "I'm sorry about the mess. I sort of…went a little crazy with the redecorating." 'Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! A messed up house and a terrible joke!? He probably thinks I'm weird now.'

Ford laughed at the joke, which he honestly thought was quite funny. He moved across the room and picked up some pieces of overturned furniture. He sat down at the table and gestured for Banchina to sit in the chair across form him.

After slowly taking a seat and watching him smile patiently at her, she gave an unsure smile back. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've come. But before I tell you, I need to ask. Are you expecting anyone to show up? Any friends, family, or guests?"

An odd question, but not something she was opposed to answering. And that was more than likely Ford's greatest edge in this conversation. It was a little mean, but people from small villages and towns were usually naïve enough to place their trust in strangers.

Growing up in an area where everyone knew everybody else had made them complacent. They didn't have a strong sense of caution and were thus easily manipulated for the most part.

"Um, no." A sudden look of anticipation appeared in her eyes. "Actually, my son Usopp usually comes back around dinnertime."

Again, how trusting to let him know how long it'll be before anyone would come and see the two of them. 'It's like she's begging me to take advantage of her right- Agh! No! Bad thoughts. Go away! Focus on the task at hand you moron! You're trying to save her life!'

Now, if Ford had to say what the hardest part about living in this world was, it would be a tough question to answer. Not because he didn't know, but because he didn't like the answer he'd have to give.

Back on Earth, there was an old saying that he thought correctly mocked him and his predicament. A saying that became his unofficial mantra in times of significant turmoil. 'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.'

When he first came into his new life, he was fresh from Earth, where the majority of the world lived by modern day morals. 'Don't do what's bad or easy, do what's right.' It was how he lived his new life for the first few months.

And while he had always trodden the line carefully on Earth regarding what was right and what was wrong, he managed to do the right thing most of the time. That was when lived on Earth.

But eventually, he felt those morals leaving him slowly but surely.

He soon felt just how much of the eighty-three-year-old man of his old life had truly been forgotten when he found himself feeling happy that his grandfather had taken him to the auction house to buy his first slave.

It was the most painful experience he had ever faced in either lives. He almost lost himself in the years he spent living in the lap of supreme luxury and entitlement. But he didn't. He managed to remember himself before it was too late.

Living for nearly ten years as a World Noble, a Celestial Dragon, had almost robbed him of his humanity. It shook him to his core.

That was when Nadine came into the picture. A helpless child who needed him to save her. A frightened, helpless little girl who had been thrown into the deepest end of the pool without anything to keep her afloat.

Without Ford, she would have been another person's slave. Most likely one used for the sexual needs of some old man, and perhaps even for the purpose of being used as a punching bag by said old man's wife.

A slave instead of the amazing person she lived long enough to become and for him to love.

And much like Nadine, there were times when Ford needed to keep himself in check. Except rather than dealing with panic attacks and the subsequent personality change that followed, he dealt with keeping his desires in control.

It was not easy to remind himself that while he may have every right in this world, as a Noble, to have his way with Banchina at any moment, he still had no right to do so as a person. It was one of the things he never liked to discuss with anyone. Not even Nadine.

Deep down, he was scared of her finding out he had to keep himself in line. She would be with him for the rest of her life, they both knew that, but he would lose his mind if during that time she grew to hate him.

There were times when he considered telling her. However each and every time ended the same way. The two of them in bed lying naked in bed: her curling into him and him keeping his mouth shut about the whole thing.

He just couldn't help it. Every time he tried to say something to her it was like the words decided to run away from him. And in their absence he would notice how amazing Nadine looked in whatever she happened to be wearing and the cycle of silence would begin anew.

He let out a breath. "I don't suppose your son knows about you being sick, does he?" She froze. The smile on her face being slowly replaced with confusion and dread. How was it possible for him to know about something only her and two other doctors knew about?

Did they tell him? "I-I-I…what?" Ford leaned forward in his chair and held Banchina's hands with his own. "I may be able to help you, Banchina. But you must tell me what the doctors say you have."

"Y-you can…help me?" Tears pooled in her eyes.

Help her? 'How- No. If he can help me, then I won't question it. Fuck it. I need to be here for Usopp and I'll do anything at this point…' She looked at their touching hands and then worked her way up to his still smiling face. 'Anything and anyone.'

"They say I have something that they haven't seen before." Her heart skipped a beat. What if he needed the name and she couldn't tell him!? What if- "That's perfectly fine, Banchina. Just tell me how they described it."

He counted on this happening and memorized the descriptions of each and every disease she may have contracted. And while it took forever, was tedious beyond anything he could have imagined, and made him seriously contemplate jumping into the ocean more than once, it was well worth it to know that he would save a life with that knowledge.

And besides, the list only had about twenty or so diseases and sicknesses on it. The list was much shorter than it could've been.

It seemed that while it was the weakest blue, it was also the healthiest in comparison to the others.

The two spent the next half an hour working through the list Ford had memorized until they narrowed it down to something neither of them could pronounce. Taking out three bottles of pills, he placed them down on the table and slid them to her.

"You, my dear, are as good as cured. Just follow the instructions that are on the label and in three to six months you should be as good as new." Silence. "Banchina? I know it's a bit overwhelming but feel free to jump for joy and all that...It's all over now. You're going to live."

Her reaction was not at all what he expected. There were no tears or a smile, no shouting or muffled cries into her hands. Only a questioning stare. "This," she gestured to the bottles in front of her. "isn't something I can afford. And I have nothing to offer you in return."

"Actually, you do have something I want." Did he mean…sex? She hoped not. She would if he demanded her body as payment, but prayed he didn't.

'It'd be sad if that's what he was after the entire time.' SHe thought to herself. 'That the first person I meet from outside the East Blue would be so cruel.'

"You see, I'm not in the East Blue too often, and the times that I am are far and few between. As a result I often miss out on the island to island rumor mill."

As it turns out, the people of Syrup Village already knew that a Celestial Dragon was sailing around in the East Blue. They didn't know what he looked like, when he was coming, or to which of the islands or villages, but they knew before it happened.

Information networks like that would be helpful when trying to make plans. Ford figured that Banchina would be perfect for the job. The conversations he'd overheard in the town painted her in a very unassuming light.

She didn't have any close friends or relatives to speak of, but she was considered to be quite friendly with those she did talk to. If anything was clear, Banchina was really only close with Usopp.

In other words, she was perfect to be his informant in the East Blue. Still unaware of who he really was, related to a main character, and now owed him a debt for saving her life.

The only issue with her still being alive was how it would effect Usopp deciding to leave the island to join Luffy. But he'd cross that bridge when he got there.

"And I believe you can help me out with that." He paused, waiting for her to take it in.

"…Okay. I can do that. But, what exactly would I be doing?" She was unsure if the job was what she thought it was, but if it was, then she already had an answer for him.

As if on cue, there were several hard knocks on the door. Banchina jumped slightly in her chair, attempting to get up, but remained seated as Ford held them down.

Ford merely smiled at her. futile attempt to get up. "I'm so glad you asked."