Rich, brilliant hues of morning peeked through the dark curtains of the siren's bedroom, filling the quaint and modest room with a comforting warmth and soothing illumination. Outside the window, birds sang their harmonious songs and expressed their merriment for the dawn in quick and detached chirps that fluttered up and down a melodic scale.

Reina had been awake for an hour or so, and she laid stationary in her bed. Her cheek remained propped against Law's leg, her body curled up like a child, and her eyes partially open as the glacial blue orbs stared at the wall opposite of her.

She hadn't had a nightmare. She hadn't been tormented by unwanted images in her sleep, nor had she been forced to endure bloody reminders of her former days. This was the first night she had managed to evade her night terrors in what felt like a lifetime, for she could not remember the last time she had slept peacefully, and she knew precisely why that was.

She was afraid. She would never admit to it, and she had her reasons for her secrecy. But it had been a long time since she had been in the company of someone who could chase away those fears. Who would have thought, the Surgeon of Death— of all people. A man that had utterly infuriated her the past two days had suddenly managed to become less of a sworn enemy, a feat that the siren had originally deemed impossible.

As far as she could tell, the dark doctor himself was sleeping for the time being. She figured that this must have been a rare occurrence given the heavy rings under his eyes that hinted at his nocturnal habits, and she didn't bother with waking him. She would kick his ass for sleeping in the same bed as her later.

Slowing plucking the odd symbol that was etched onto blackened paper from where she had safely tucked it away in the confines of her shirt, her softened gaze fell onto the emblem as she ran her delicate fingers over it shakily.

"Why do you keep that symbol, Reina-ya?"

The inquiry from the surgeon warranted a slight sigh from the siren. It would seem he hadn't been asleep as she had originally thought. There was a long silence as she stared at the marking emblazoned on the paper, her gaze entirely neutral and unreadable.

"...I don't know." She whispered after a moment of long hesitation. She fiddled with the edges of the aged scrap of paper, her other hand slowly balling into a fist as she could feel unexpected tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. But before they had a chance to fully develop, she blinked them away.

She didn't understand why she was getting so emotional over this. It had been twelve years since the start of the incident, and four years since she had removed herself from the situation.

"Find a way to deal with it, child. If you can't handle it, then block it out."

Her ability to create a blockade around her heart was well honed, and one of her greatest assets. She could shut herself down on the flip of a dime— at the mere flip of a switch. Any unwanted emotion she would simply tuck away into the depths of her mind, where she would smother it until it was no longer an issue. So why couldn't she do that now?

"You're still here." The siren changed the subject abruptly, mulling over the roughened texture of the symbol as she kept her gaze trained on it, rather than Law.

"Well, you were making a temporary pillow out of my leg, so getting up to leave would have been a bit of an issue. Besides, you seemed comfortable enough." He didn't miss a beat as he responded, and Reina mustered up a tiny smile, exhaling an amused breath of air in a sound similar to a chuckle. Even now, her head was still leaning gently against his knee, and she didn't bother moving. It was extremely odd not to have an urge to tear the Supernova's throat out, but despite this, she was far from being willing to bend to his will.

"What's this? Is the Surgeon of Death thinking of others before himself?" She drawled teasingly, turning the paper over repeatedly in her hand, though her gaze had migrated back to the wall. She could feel his leg shake a bit as the vibrations of his rich and deep chuckle rippled throughout his body.

Oddly enough, this warranted a faint coloring in the siren's cheeks, and the second she felt the heat rising to the porcelain skin, she frowned abruptly and smothered the sensation. Her head lifted from his knee then as she sighed, sliding off of her bed without a word.

She was well aware of Law's keen gray gaze following her every move, scrutinizing her intensely as she moved to her nightstand, gently plucking up the book that the surgeon had happened upon yesterday. She flipped to a particular page, sliding the symbol back in between the pages where Law had found it.

"Did you enjoy my book?" She asked nonchalantly, casually jumping from subject to subject, avoiding one in particular. She was sure that Law had noted this by now, but he didn't mention it, and she was glad for that. She didn't want to talk about what had happened last night, nor did she want to tackle why she had been so deeply upset that she had to face that symbol again.

Hearing the surgeon shift around a bit warranted a brief glance in his direction, and Reina watched with an unusual pang of sympathy as he stretched his long leg out before him. It must have been stiff from having remained in the same position for several hours, supporting the weight of her head.

"You mean your collection of legends and lore on sirens?" The doctor drawled passively, leaning back on her bed now as if he were right at home. He crossed his now stretched out leg over the other, leaning his head against his arms that he placed behind his head. His laid-back disposition and attitude warranted a scoff from the siren, but she opted not to waste her breath on her scolding him for now.

"Why did you take an interest in that book?" Law's follow up question didn't surprise Reina, and she hummed in thought as she removed her hair from her messy bun. Her ebony tresses had been neatly piled on her head the previous night, but now there were strands sticking up and out every which way. She didn't even need a mirror to confirm that.

"I suppose I just wanted to know how sirens were depicted, and to see how different I was from them." She explained, grabbing a brush from the bedside table as she began to gingerly pull it through her knee-length hair. The sunlight shone on her charcoal hair, highlighting the deep blue sheen it possessed when brushed out.

"Turns out, I'm nothing like them." She murmured, more so in thought to herself rather than aloud to her guest.

Sirens were creatures of stunning beauty, and here she was, standing in front of the Surgeon of Death sporting baggy sweat pants, an oversized tee-shirt, with her hair sticking out every which way. Oh yes, she was the epitome of seduction.

Wincing a bit when she reached a tangle in her hair, the Zoan user grunted a bit, picking up her lengthy locks of hair in order to better brush them. It was certainly hard at times, given how long the strands were, to brush from the crown of her head down to the ends. But she managed, and once the troublesome tangle was dealt with, she smoothed her fingers through the silken tendrils and discarded her brush.

"I'm going to take a shower," She noted bluntly, swiveling on her heels as she began to pace towards her bedroom door. Law was removing himself from her bed now, and his arms stretched high above his head for a moment before he rolled his shoulders, the muscles rippling beneath his hoodie as he flicked his attention to his host.

"You're not going to tell me to leave?" He mused, his lips curling upwards into a smirk as the siren paused, her slender neck craning so that her head turned in his direction, and she raised an eyebrow at him with a teasing smirk that matched his own.

How cute. He thinks I'm going to let him stay. She drawled silently to herself in amusement as she slipped into the hallways, retrieving some lavender towels from a linen closet.

"No, I am. Just not before I cut your throat for sleeping in the same bed as me." She fired back saucily, her hips purposefully swaying in a defiant manner when she walked— not that it was visible beneath her excessively baggy clothing.

There was silence on Law's behalf for a brief moment, and the siren was content with herself for having left him scrambling for a response, even if it was just for a mere moment. Not to be outdone, however, the dark doctor quickly collected his sarcasm about him and fired off another witty retort.

"Well, you certainly seemed to enjoy my company. I don't see what the problem is, Reina-ya. Besides, you were the one who put your head on my knee, and it's not like we did anything." He stated confidently, and the songstress scowled to herself.

"Of course we didn't do anything. Don't start getting ideas, Trafalgar." She dismissed his teasing remark quickly, tossing the towels she carried onto the bathroom sink. He had followed her out into the hallway and was now propping himself against one of the walls.

"I would never, Reina-ya." His smirk was almost unnerving, and the glint in his eyes as his lips curled upwards prompted the siren to slam the bathroom door shut so she didn't have to look at him. She knew he was just messing with her, but she was a timid girl as he had already found out, and even the mere mention of certain things could fluster her.

Quickly stripping of her clothes, the Zoan user slipped into her shower, spreading the curtain out so that it shadowed her figure and obscured her from view. Not that she was worried about anyone seeing her; no one in their right mind would walk in on her bathing, and they certainly wouldn't walk away from it alive.

Reveling in the feeling of relaxation the warm water brought her, she swept her hands through her long hair, going through the tedious process of shampooing and conditioning it before she moved on to simply washing herself down in vanilla scented body wash. She lingered, leaning into the steady stream of water and smiling faintly to herself as she allowed her thoughts to drift a bit.

Not surprisingly, they wandered almost immediately to her unwanted house guest. His presence still persisted even after she had warned him to be gone by dawn of this day. The scene that had unfolded between them last night had chipped away a small fraction of her distaste for the Surgeon of Death, but it wasn't nearly enough to get her to accept his offer. She was still going to make him leave her home, and she wouldn't be accompanying him on his way out.

Washing the remaining soap from her porcelain skin, she cut the flow of water off before sweeping the curtain aside, rubbing the water from her eyes. About the same time, a noise caught her attention, resulting in her head snapping up and her eyes opening wide.

A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth, muffling her ear-splitting shriek as she stumbled back, clawing for coverage. She finally managed to grab her towel, and she wound it hurriedly around herself, her face as red as a cherry and burning hot to the touch from sheer embarrassment.

She shouted obscene curses and violent threats into her captor's hand, her vision wobbly— she was quite literally about to pass out from embarrassment, and she didn't even have to see her reflection in the fogged up bathroom mirror to know that her blush had probably conjured up entirely new shades of red by now.

"We have a problem, Reina-ya."

Oh, the gruesome things she was going to do to this man. No one would recognize him when she was done with him. Whatever this problem was, he was about to have an even bigger one.

"Marines are surrounding the perimeter of your house. Two of them just broke inside." His breath tickled her ear; he was close— far too close, and she worked to soothe her heart that was about to leap straight out of her chest, and to control the heat that rolled off of her face. At this rate, all of the blood in her body was going to rush to her cheeks.

Grabbing his wrist, the Zoan user jerked his hand off of her mouth, whirling around on him and delivering a swift blow to his jaw, which made him stumble backwards into the wall and grunt. His eyes briefly blazed with anger, but the siren quickly cut him off by snapping at him.

"So you thought it was a good idea to barge in here while I was showering?! Are you serious?!" She shrieked, though her voice was a hushed whisper. She was pissed, but she at least recognized that if enemies had infiltrated her home, she needed to be quiet. Law growled at her then, his hand clutching at where she had punched him.

"There was no other way I could warn you before you stumbled upon them yourself or I was seen!" He spat back heatedly, his voice a vehement whisper. Reina fisted one hand in her hair in disbelief, the other hand clutching so tightly onto her towel to keep it pulled up that she feared she might puncture her palm straight through with her nails.

"You're the Supernova here, why didn't you just take them out when you first saw them?!" She questioned, and Law looked exasperated with her, as if she should have known the answer.

So much for that brief period of time where they had gotten along.

"Because, Reina-ya, there aren't just a few of them." He hissed, and although he wasn't willing to admit, the siren could read the real reason why he was trying to play it safe as if he were verbally blurting it out to her.

Having fought two of those Kuma-look-alikes, he wasn't likely to have fully recovered from that quite yet. His body was still littered with slices and bruises, and he needed to avoid another major battle if he wanted to recover quicker. Opting for a more stealthy plan of action was the smarter route to take, but nonetheless, the siren wasn't any less furious with him for barging in on her.

"Kotone Reina, this is the local marines! We know you're in here, please come out— we need to ask you a few questions!" A booming voice of a marine sliced through the pair's heated argument, confirming Law's warning that there were indeed marines present in her home. But why were they here?

"You don't have a bounty, do you?" The surgeon asked, his eyes straying to the door as Reina attempted to collect herself. Her face was still blood red, but she was slowly recalling how to breathe properly and not drop to the floor like a fly.

"N-No," Now that she had gotten over the initial high of sheer fury, her more timid side was taking over, and she inwardly cursed, "No. I- No. I don't have a bounty. But I was at the Auction House with you, you moron, they probably think— "

The door just outside of the bathroom creaked as it was opened, and both persons present in the bathroom snapped to attention. The threat was getting a bit too close for comfort.

Law's brows took a steep dive then as he turned his gaze towards the door, and in the hallway closest to them there was the sound of shuffling footsteps. They needed to act quickly.

"Go out there and find out what they want." He spoke quietly, leaning his head down so he could whisper to the siren, and she cringed away when his lips nearly brushed against her ear. He was much too close for her liking.

"In just my towel? Have you lost your mind?" Clearly he had, if him barging into the bathroom while she was stark naked hadn't been enough of an indication. But without warning, the dark doctor grunted in vague annoyance, lifting his arms up as he suddenly tugged his hoodie up and over his head, leaving his bare chest in plain sight.

The first thing she couldn't help but to notice— she really couldn't, her eyes just naturally gravitated towards the coloring— was his tattoos. She had seen the ones on his hands, fingers and arms, but she hadn't been aware he possessed even more. From his clavicle down to his mid-abdominal area, there were a variety of swirls and a heart shaped pattern with a circular smiley situated in the middle, and on his shoulders down to his forearms there were large heart designs.

"Then wear this." His statement elicited a sound of disbelief from the female, and she stared up at him with gritted teeth and a solid red face.

"I don't want your hoodie!" She spat furiously, "And besides, it's got your jolly roger on it! They would arrest me on the spot!"

"Then are you going to walk out in your towel?"

"Give me the damn hoodie!"

Snatching up the article of clothing, she snapped her eyes purposefully to him for a moment. She stared at him for a few heartbeats before her silent demand finally clicked with him, and he let out an exasperated groan before he turned his back to her so she could discard the towel and slide the hoodie over her figure. He mumbled something under his breath that she didn't catch, and she kicked him in the shin, warranting a hiss from him before she scrambled to the door.

She had turned the hoodie inside out so that the jolly roger wasn't visible, but she wasn't sure if the marines would accept that she was wearing Trafalgar Law's signature colors just by mere coincidence, and the jacket just so happened to be super baggy on her as if it belonged to a male, and she just so happened to have been seen in the company of the Surgeon of Death as of late. Yeah, this was a fool proof plan if she had ever seen one.

"Dammit, Trafalgar. This is what I get for being nice to you. I swear I'm going to...!" Her thoughts trailed off as she cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the two marines that were in the process of searching her house.

When they turned to face her, she opened her mouth to speak, before the realization that they were not immune to her voice like Law was washed over her like arctic waves. It was astounding how quickly she had fallen back into the habit of speaking aloud to someone, but now she quickly paced over to the kitchen counter and picked up her notepad that had remained unused for the past two days.

"Is there something I can help you with, boys?" She quickly scrawled out as she blinked innocently at them, attempting to ignore the fact that a good portion of her gazelle like legs were completely out in the open for them to see, and she wasn't wearing anything under this hoodie.

They seemed almost surprised that she had come out and openly revealed her presence to them, and their cheeks turned a bit pink when they noticed the casual attire of the siren and the fact that she had obviously just finished taking a shower. They were armed, and this was something the Zoan user definitely noted.

"We need to speak with you, ma'am. It's in regards to your association with the Auction House incident. We have record of you being present and in the company of the pirates charged with attacking the Celestial Dragons."

Without missing a beat, Reina quickly wrote down another note, holding it out to the two men as the message promptly read, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

The marines stared at her for a brief moment, before one of them spoke up.

"There's no sense in lying, ma'am. We have solid evidence that you were there, and that you even struck down a marine."

Ah yes, the marine that had charged at Law. The one that had met an early end at the introduction of her talons.

"And not just that, but an outside source has told us that the Surgeon of Death has been spotted entering this house after the incident. We're here to bring you in for questioning."

The siren's pen stilled against her notepad as her eyes immediately flicked up, honing in on the marines. So, they had reason to believe that Law was here— of course, why else would they have brought as many soldiers as they had? She should have guessed. No one really knew who she was, nor what she was capable of, so bringing more than five soldiers to arrest a petite and dainty woman wouldn't have made sense. But the fact that they were aware of a Supernova's potential presence in this home— a Supernova that was involved in the Celestial Dragon incident as of late— explained why there was a whole squad sitting at her front doorstep.

With this knowledge, Reina decided that feigning innocence would no longer serve her any further purpose, and cut straight to the chase.

"Listen, boys," She spoke aloud now, tucking the notepad casually into the front pocket of Law's hoodie. Her voice was lower now, spoken at a more seductive decibel as she casually sauntered up to them, and the sway of her hips was blatantly visible this time. The two men tensed, but remained otherwise unaware of just what they were dealing with. They had no explanation for the sudden haze that laid thick over their mind and sent chills down their spines.

The effect was immediate. They swayed a bit on their feet, teetering dangerously and threatening to topple over as their gazes glossed over with a flicker of desire. The siren nearly cringed as she was reminded of the effect her voice had on people who weren't as strong as someone like Law, but she pushed on anyways.

"I assure you," Her fingertips swept under both of their chins as she gently trailed her nails against the flesh, leaving goosebumps in their wake, "That there is nothing to question me about. So be good boys and run along now." She cooed, leaning in closer to them as she tilted her head to the side, her eyes shimmering with a sultry yet dangerous light.

Their lips parted and they let out a faint breath simultaneously, and the dark haired female bit back a chuckle.

"We can't...we have orders to..." One of them managed to muster up, and he swallowed when the Zoan user's eyes immediately swiveled to him, honing in on him like a predator poised to pounce, "— to take you in."

So, they persisted still?

"So be it." Her whisper was faint, sensuous, but before they could react her feet began to alter into something darker, and her feet changed into that of a bird, with ebony talons of alarming size positioned at the tips. She curled the sickle-like daggers before plunging them into the abdominal area of the two men.

With a sharp twist and a merciless rip, she spilled the blood of the marine duo and they fell to the floor, their eyes rolling back in their heads as the crimson liquid spurted out and onto her flooring. This warranted a faint sigh from the woman— this was going to be a pain to clean up, and she hated messes.

But for right now, she had to deal with the other marines that were stationed outside of her home. She knew most certainly that they would come and investigate soon enough once the two scouts they had sent forward didn't return, so she had to act quickly.

Whirling around on her heels, the songstress hastily fled to her room, knocking her pillow aside and grasping for something beneath it. The shiny, metallic weapon glinted in the morning light as she tucked it away safely into the sleeve of the yellow and black jacket before pausing by the bathroom on her way towards the front door.

"I've dealt with the two marines that were inside, and I think I know how to handle the rest outside as well." She spoke confidently, and this caused Law to swing open the bathroom door and peer at her as if she were crazy.

"Reina-ya," He hissed, "The entire point of alerting you about this was so that we could take a stealthier approach— "

"Who said I wasn't going to take a stealthy approach?" She quipped back with a bit of a frown, shooting him a sharp look before she flicked her attention to the front door, "I need you to back me up if this gets shot to hell."

Law said nothing, and she didn't stop to see if he was even listening to her at this point. She knew he didn't like being ordered around; he had made this abundantly clear back at the Auction House. But she would need him to cooperate if this was to go smoothly.

She had a plan. It was a risky one, but it was a plan nonetheless.

Slowly cracking the door open, Law tightened his jaw, his eyes flickering with discontent before he finally swung the door fully open. He was greeted with clicking of loaded guns as they honed in on him, each marine standing stiffly. There was at least thirty of them wrapped around the front and back of the house, and had he not had to deal with that robotic Kuma-look-alike, then he would have tackled this problem head on. He was not to be outdone, but more so than anything, he was curious to see just what ace Reina was waiting to play in this scenario.

Putting his hands up in a lazy and nonchalant manner to signify he meant no harm, the marines regarded him stiffly, afraid to even blink lest this pirate turn the tables on them, and Law chuckled to himself. What a scared bunch this was.

"Get the sea stone cuffs, now!" The Commodore barked to his underlings, who saluted him and immediately produced a pair of kairoseki cuffs, to which Law regarded with extreme displeasure. Seastone was always hell for a Devil Fruit user to deal with, although he should have expected them to have it on hand.

"Trafalgar Law, you are hereby under arrest for acts of piracy and traitorous actions against the World Government, and for being directly involved with the Auction House incident and holding Celestial Dragons as hostages."

The seastone was clasped forcefully around his wrists before he even bothered to react, and he cast the marines a lazy look before his ashen gray eyes narrowed sharply as they pushed him forward to urge him to walk. He took satisfaction at the way they turned nearly blue in the face at the look he gave them, and immediately backed off. Soon enough he was surrounded by armed marines on either side, and the dark doctor strolled along ever so casually, without a care in the world it would seem.

"Commodore, what about Kotone Reina?"

"Leave her," The higher ranking officer grunted to his subordinate, "Detaining Trafalgar Law is our main priority. We will retrieve the woman later."

Listening in on the conversation out of sheer boredom, Law counted down the seconds in his mind before he lifted his gaze to the trees that enclosed the area, his gaze hunting for a particular figure. Eventually he located her, poised in the shadows, seated calmly atop a tree branch. He sure hoped whatever plan she had concocted was good, because now he was stuck in seastone cuffs that drained his powers. He had to put his utmost trust in the siren because of this, and he knew it was a risky gamble. He also knew she wouldn't desert him. She might have been irate with him at several different points of time, but in the end she wasn't a traitor.

"Keep moving!" The Commodore barked, and Law frowned, his brows furrowing a bit. He hadn't been aware that he had slowed down. What the hell was Reina waiting for?

A flicker of moment snagged his attention, and he watched as she disappeared into the shaded areas of the trees. He lost sight of her for a moment, before he honed back in on her. She was closer now, and he was confident she was about to make her move.

But the siren looked him dead in the eyes, turned on her heel, and began to walk composedly back to her house.

Law's footsteps faltered, and his eyes stretched a bit wide as he watched her stroll up her front porch ever so casually, her hips swaying in his hoodie.

"Witch!" He spat in distaste, causing the marines to startle and jerk their heads in the direction that the pirate now stared. They were greeted with the sight of the siren leaning against the railing of her porch, a smug and amused smirk furling onto her roseate lips. She raised a hand mockingly, winking to Law as she waved goodbye to him, saluting him tauntingly with a snicker.

"Well, it seems your little friend wasn't the ally you thought she was." The Commodore mused slowly, his hand still placed firmly on the Supernova's back to push him forward. At the slightest sign of foul play, they were ready to shoot him, and he was stuck in sea stone cuffs now. The use of his Ope Ope no Mi was not available to him at the moment because of this, and while he was good at close combat, he didn't fancy taking a bullet to the head before he could tackle all thirty marines that swarmed him.

The click of the front door closing practically resounded in his ears, despite the distance he now retained from the house. He stared at it, a rare spark of fury lunging into his eyes as he glared at the door.

They really should put in that lore book of hers that sirens were apparently beautiful, manipulative snakes.

[A/N: HesperideIsis: Yes, bonding is always a fun time, isn't it? You know, when the two bonding aren't at one another's throat such as these two always seem to be! Ah yes, the siren is full of surprises; she's a clever girl. (; Thank you for reviewing!

ZabuzasGirl: Well, the new chapter wasn't posted immediately, but I hope I didn't keep you waiting too terribly wrong, kindly reviewer! D:

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Hmm, what an interesting theory. (; If you're implying that Law is going to pester her non-stop, then I do believe you're on the right track, kindly reviewer!

10th Squad 3rd Seat: The mysterious symbol; who knows what it could be? Yes, even the Surgeon of Death can have his sweet moments, and I have to admit it felt almost odd writing them being nice to one another for a change at the end of that chapter. You know, seeing as how they've been absolute brats to one another since chapter one, haha. I'm glad you like that he isn't immune to her singing! Reina's definitely going to be a tough one for him to reel in. Thank you for reviewing!

Lucy Jacob: I guess we'll just have to wait until her past is revealed to find out, won't we~? Don't worry, she'll definitely be showing off more of her abilities in the future, and I'm so flattered that you like them! Oh my goodness, you spent your cousin's wedding reading my update?! My goodness, that is quite possibly the single most flattering compliment ever, thank you so much! Really, I'm blushing under that praise, it means so much to me! TToTT I hope I can continue to please with my updates!

I'm so honored with all the reviews I've been getting lately, thank you guys so much, you're all so sweet!]