Ayane watched the men surrounding her and Sumiko, all of whom who were either grinning at the possibility of a fight or leering at them with a lewd expression. Sumiko was gnawing on the gag in her mouth, the edges of the rubber cutting into the corners of her mouth.

The girl was red faced and panting, eyes a crystalline white with a diamond like texture and a navy rim around the iris. Ayane's ears twitched and flattened against her head, her eyes darting around the faces in front of her. Kala was smiling, and the woman turned to look at the bow of the ship.

"You know, I really do wonder what I should do with you," she touched a finger to her chin in mock thought. "Drown you? Torture? So many choices." She cackled. Ayane sighed mentally and wondered why Kala didn't do what she said she would. Was the older woman stalling?

Sumiko's eyes latched onto a flicker of movement at the back of the ship and she saw Freyr make a 'shhh' motion with his finger. Kidd was moving down the other edge of the ship, and Law was next to Zoro, who had moved behind the stairs in front of Kala's quarters.

An otherworldly howl breached Sumiko's throat as one of the men lifted her up and dangled her over the edge of the ship. Ayane hissed in response and Freyr groaned.

It is because there are so many males here? She's acting like a pretrans; almost…he stopped cold on that thought and counted on his fingers. Sumiko was about to be 20 and that was around the age when females of their race transitioned into adults. He cursed under his breath and gave Sumiko a level stare.

Don't. Not here. He sent the thought to the girl, who looked up at him and twitched in her captor's grip. She fought harder, but was unable to extricate herself. You don't want to hurt Ayane or the captain do you?

Sumiko's struggles lessened and she growled, the sound causing Kidd to stop walking, and Law to look over at her. Ayane noticed the others as well, but didn't make a show of it. Kala rambled on about how she planned on killing them, and how no one noticed they were gone, and didn't care.

A sudden chill swept over the ship, and the temperature dropped nearly 30 degrees. Ayane shivered and Sumiko glanced at Freyr, whose eyes were glowing from where he stood, hidden behind the stairs next to Zoro.

"Oh, it seems there is a rescue attempt." Kala scoffed. Ayane looked up to see Zoro, Law, Kidd and Freyr making their way down to meet Kala, who turned away to face the newcomers. Sumiko huffed and glared at the man holding her and once his attention was on the others, she went limp, all of her weight making the man scramble to hold onto her. Sumiko hit the ground, and she swiped a kick at the man, causing him to fall into another man. Kala glared at the girl and then turned to Kidd, who had moved beside her.

"Can I help you?"

Eustass grabbed her chin and glared, "Let them go. You can't afford to have more enemies than you already do." Kala turned away sharply and shoved at the other pirate captain's chest, though it didn't do much. She looked at Ayane and Sumiko, who were looking frustrated at being tied up, and then to Law and Zoro, both of whom where glaring coldly.

The actions of the men thus far struck Kala with sudden clarity, and she sighed heavily, turning to her crew. Eustass was right…I never stood a chance.

"Set them free." She said in a quiet voice. Kidd's eyes flared; he had not expected that. Of all the things that could have happened, Kala giving the order to let the two girls go seemed the least likely. Kala's men seemed dumbfounded, but obeyed their captain, untying Ayane first, and then releasing Sumiko, who licked the bloodied corners of her mouth.

Kala looked over at Law, a crestfallen expression on her face. She watched as Sumiko marched over to stand beside the raven haired man and was flanked by Zoro, who moved to stand beside Ayane.

"Take them and go." She smirked suddenly, and eyed Sumiko. "Just because I accept it, doesn't mean I'm giving up." Sumiko's mouth twitched and she nodded.

Kala walked towards her crew and waved of the others. "See you in the New World."

Freyr frowned and cursed under his breath as he, Law, and the others left the ship. He had been waiting for a fight to break out, and now he had all of this pent up adrenaline and no outlet. "What's she playing at, letting them go?"

Kidd had stayed behind, and was shouting at Law about them fighting and a bunch of things that the latter ignored. Sumiko and Ayane were quiet, and after they arrived back to the docks of Sky Harbor, they set sail for Marineford.

Law watched as his crew boarded the submarine, and counted them off in his head to ensure no one was left behind. Sumiko and Freyr were the last ones, the two Carpathians quiet and subdued. Once everyone was safely inside, the sub went under, and everyone went about their own business. Shachi and Penguin were talking evasive tactics in the event the Marineford scenario turned against their favor, Kaz was in a yelling match with Freyr about how stupid (or brilliant, in Freyr's opinion) it would be to join in the upcoming battle, and Sumiko shuffled around, eyes on her gloved hand, murmuring to herself.

It was funny, watching them all. Law had a special individual bond with each member of his crew, Shachi and Penguin were the first to join his crew, he and Kaz had a love/hate relationship, as Law often corrected the older man on his cooking just to annoy him, Bepo was his confidant, and Freyr was the one who provided comic relief whenever things got stressful.

Then there was Sumiko.

Law watched as she turned a corner out of the medical amphitheater and she walked slowly towards the storage closet she worked in. Law followed her, watching as she moved through small boxes of broken glass, metal, and other odds and ends.

She hadn't spoken a word since leaving Kala's ship, and her eyes had changed color again, they were a dark green color, and Freyr had asked her why she was so depressed, so Law figured it meant she was sad.

That bothered him. A lot.

His eyes followed her as Sumiko pulled the black and red dagger out of a box and then scrunched her waist-length hair in her hand, shearing the thick mass off with a quick slice. The hair disintegrated into nothingness, and the dagger went into the holster across Sumiko's chest. She pulled her glove off, the glowing appendage going to a lead pipe that she's taken from Sabaody; fusing it to a large chunk of glass. She started to grin, and her eyes returned to their normal mismatched state. She hadn't noticed his presence, or if she had, she wasn't showing it.

Sumiko was a strange one, probably the oddest of them all. She had random mood swings (which were normal for a female) but the severity of them was insane. She went from goofy, to angsty, to sadistic in a matter of seconds, depending on the situation and he loved the quirkiness of her regular attitude, especially when she was around her cousin. He loved the fact that she was eager to fight for them, for him, loved…her? Was that what had happened over the years? Had he fallen?

As his eyes met the mismatched gaze of the smaller pirate (who had finally looked at him), he felt that unfamiliar rush of affection. It thrilled him and scared him at the same time.

What did it mean?

The night was calm, and everyone had gone to sleep around sunset, since they'd be arriving at the HQ around noon the next day and needed as much rest and energy as they could get. Th sub was just a few miles away, and had stopped on the sea floor while other ships went ahead on the surface.

Kaz was in his room adjacent to the kitchen, Freyr was sleeping in the boiler room, Penguin was in one of the hallways, while Bepo and Shachi were asleep on the stair case leading to the medical bays. Law was leaning back against the wall of his office, the thick volume of Sumiko's medical file in his lap. Said girl was in the storage closet, twitching in her sleep.

It was as though the world had stopped, even though the people kept moving. Talking. Sumiko didn't hear a word that was said, didn't see anything other than the blood that was on her hands, her shirt. Her vision dimmed as tears flooded her eyes, and they fell down her dirt covered cheeks into the sand as she bent over the lifeless body in front of her. Blood covered the body, seeping into the hair and clothes, the skin already losing its healthy glow, lips a light paler color than was normal. The hole in the man's chest was the size of her fist, punctured through by a pike from one of the ships.

/Oh, God. Please don't take him from me./ Sumiko prayed in her head.

"Freyr," his name left her mouth on a sob and she jumped up suddenly, running away from it all. Dimly she heard someone call out her name but she kept moving, even as her legs screamed in protest against the burning pain that shot through her muscles.

By the time she stopped, she'd wandered into a part of the area she was unfamiliar with, not that she was familiar with Marineford anyway, but this definitely wasn't where the sub had docked, and she was, as far as she could tell, the only one there. The rubble from the intense battle was scattered around her, and she looked around wildly, turning to face a partially crumbled wall. Without hesitation, she slammed her fist into the concrete, the crunch of cartilage and bone snapping not even registering.

"Sumiko, stop!"

Sumiko saw Law move out of the corner of her eyes and she snarled, punching the wall again in sorrow. Blood welled up from her busted hand and she heard Law curse. He grabbed her from behind and hauled her away from the wall, but she wrenched away. "Stop it, what are you doing?" she pulled away from him and screamed in frustration.

"Sumiko, Sumiko, stop!" he grabbed her arms and pinned them to her side and he held her to his chest and backed up until he hit the wall she'd been abusing.

"Don't!" She shoved against him, "Leave me the fuck alone!"

Law's eyes hardened and he shook his head, "I'm not going to do that, Sumiko."He tightened his hold on her and as they slid to the ground Law glanced at Sumiko's fingers. A thick silence vibrated around them for a few minutes, save for Sumiko's harsh breathing.

"I'm sorry about Freyr-"

"What the fuck do you know?"

"Not a damn thing, but you can't say I don't care." Sumiko tried very hard to maintain her composure, but that emptiness as Freyr's soul left him made her curl up and cry harder than she ever had in her entire life. The loss hurt more than anything.

Law never loosened his hold.

Mismatched eyes shot open and Sumiko sat up, heart pounding against her ribcage as though trying to escape. She got up, running out of the closet and racing to where she knew Freyr would be. The freak always slept under the boilers, absorbing the heat. She darted through the darkened sub, jumping the stairs and pivoting around corners until she came to the heavy metal door leading to the bottom of the sub. She turned the crank and walked inside, grimacing at the wave of moist, hot air. She saw Freyr passed out next to the door, under the stairs that went farther down.

"Freyderick Bellandrake-Dubrinsky!" she smacked the blond, and he sat up.

"Wddufk?" he blinked sleepily and looked up at his younger cousin. "Wuzzup?"

Sumiko sat down next to him, and frowned, glaring at the floor and willing the nightmare away.