The Dragon Chronicles

by Hitoshirezu Ryu

Having always stood out in the world, young Rei has always been determined to find out why. A journey starts with a single step, but the self-discovery is found within the journey, not the goal.

21. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. All plot and OCs belong to Volleys-chan and I.

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The Dragon Chronicles

Chapter 20 - Discourse

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"Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher."

-Parker J. Palmer

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The first thing that Rei had done after waking up in the guest room after speaking with Tetsuya had been to take a bath. The doctor would be called back to check on her later, but in the meantime, it was suggested that she take a bath to get the canal water off of her. While it was true that she had jumped in the canal before with Kaito, more like pulled along for the traumatizing ride, she had gone back to the hideout to wash off the stench of the canal. Most people couldn't smell it, but in some spots, especially where the market and vendors were, the water smelt foul.

She – while embarrassed a bit at the fact that she reeked and had been lying in his nice sheets covered in filth – was happy for the opportunity to get cleaned up. It didn't hit her fully until he led her to a large bathroom with a huge bathtub and shower that she wasn't going to have to wash in the waist high water of the lower tier of that decrepit, likely condemned building.

"Wait here and I will send Aria up to assist you." Tetsuya told her as he turned to leave her in the bathroom.

"That's not really necessary. I'm pretty sure I can bathe myself." Rei was more embarrassed at how filthy she was than she was at the idea of another woman seeing her naked.

She was no longer self-conscious of her own nudity thanks to living with the Mizu Mizu Tribe as well as being the only human on an all dragon island. She wore clothes as a protective layer from the elements, not for modesty or fashion. Hence why she never needed shoes until now. The only thing she wouldn't like dealing with would be any questions about her scars. The ones that littered her hands were taboo. She wouldn't speak of them, but how was she suppose to explain the rest? 'Oh I got that from a baby dragon when he nipped at me?' or 'That one? Yeah, I jumped off a cliff to try to learn out to fly. Don't worry, I didn't jump off too high a cliff.' Yeah, that'd be completely believable.

"I'd feel better if there was someone around to monitor you. You still seem a little shaky on your legs and I'd rather not risk you suffering another episode alone in a bathtub." He explained with a kind smile, his eyes looked at her with mild worry, letting her know that he wouldn't be open to debating the issue.

"Alright..." She breathed, trying not to feel too unsettled. "I'll wait until she gets here..."

"Thank you." He bowed his head, pleased she relented to his will. "It eases my conscious to know that you are not alone. While Aria is helping you clean up, I will send for the doctor to come look at you now that you are awake. He will be your physician from this point on, so he has some questions he wants to ask for his medical record as well as make sure there's no lingering issues from today's episode."

Rei wasn't sure what kind of questions he'd ask, but she had a feeling some of them might be awkward. She nodded, however, and stood there as Tetsuya departed to fetch his housekeeper.

It didn't take long before a woman with orange locks of hair pulled into a bun and hazel eyes behind her circular spectacles to sweep into the room. Her every movement was graceful, despite her boisterous disposition that alerted Rei of her arrival long before she had even seen her. She wore a pastel orange pinstriped soft pink skirt that billowed around her ankles, a long sleeve blouse with puffed sleeves that was properly tucked into her skirt, white tights, comfortably black flats, and a loose cream apron around her waist. She was, at most, five foot five in height and probably didn't weigh an ounce over 115 pounds. However, she was probably slightly older than Merryweather from the hair salon.

Rei discerned, just by how proper her outfit was and that nary a stick was out of place, assumed that Aria was a strict woman. She had that no-nonsense look to her as she peered at Rei with preened eyebrows shot upwards in a look of surprise.

"Are you Miss Rei?" Her voice was calm as she scanned Rei top to bottom with a critical eye.

Rei really wished that she still had her hat or maybe her sunglasses on. But she didn't see them anywhere and slightly feared they had been lost in her scuffle with Kaito. Damn. She had grown dependent on those glasses to keep people from seeing how brilliant her eyes were. Now the maid probably thought her employer to be mad, bringing a filthy street urchin into his home...

"You are absolutely adorable!" The woman's face brightened into a brilliant ten-watt grin as she came closer and placed her hands under Rei's jaw to better examine her. She scrunched her nose a bit at how Rei looked, but the kindness in her voice never disappeared. "A little messy, but completely understandable; you were living on the street prior and you took that spill into the canal, after all! But we can fix that!"

Okay... not as no nonsense as she originally thought. The woman quickly turned to close the bathroom door and ushered her to start stripping as she readied the bath. As she did so, Rei recalled what Tetsuya had told her at lunch. He liked to surround himself with people of like mind. That meant that his housekeeper would be just as kind as him and Hinata if she worked for him.

Rei watched her for a minute as the older woman started to prepare the bath, testing the temperature of the water before plugging up the bottom and standing up to go grab a stool in the corner for her to use. She looked at Rei for a second, blinking at her before putting her hands on her hips.

"What is the matter? Do you need help undressing?"

"No... I... um..." She had been startled by how kind everyone was to her. But that wasn't something she wanted to admit, so she quickly thought of another reason she would hesitate. "I haven't had a bath in a bathtub since I was eight..."

It was surreal to realize she'd be able to use one whenever she wanted once again. She could still remember bathing with her sisters when she was much littler, but the two younger girls always squabbled and it ended up easier for her mother to bathe them separately. She didn't realize how much she missed the luxury until now.

"Oh, you poor dear!" Despite being filthy, Aria apparently thought she needed a hug. Rei feared her ribs would crack within her vice-like embrace. "You've had such a hard life! Tetsuya-san was telling me that you might be a little unfamiliar with day to day things, but I never imagined not having the luxury to bathe!"

"I wash often. Just not in bathtubs." Rei felt like the woman was insinuating that she didn't bathe at all. She did. Just in creeks, river, and other places where it was shallow enough to where she didn't drown. Not in luxury like this.

"Well then, let's make this a little more pleasant for you then? I am pretty sure we have some bubble bath if you'd like that."

Why Tetsuya had bubble bath was beyond her. He didn't seem the type to enjoy something like that. Aria seemed to read her mind and chuckled a bit. "The bubble bath was purchased as a joke. One of his previous employees bought it for him because she personally got a kick out of it when his houseguest snooped through his bathrooms to see what he had available. Tetsuya-san never asked her to get rid of it because he found it humorous as well. That and he'd know when one of them were snooping by the look they'd give him later."

That made sense. But still... "No, thank you." She shook her head. "I just like the water hot." Scalding really, but she wasn't going to say that. Aria was probably going to insist her help wash her, so no scalding hot water this time.

"Alright-y then!" Aria gave her another brilliant grin as she sat on her stool and ushered the girl closer. The water was filling up nicely and needed no attention as of yet.

Rei obeyed and soon her clothes were discarded in a heap and she was lounging in the tub as Aria washed her. She felt damn near ready to thrum in her delight, but did well to withhold the sound in the presence of the woman. Damn, she couldn't remember the last time she felt like thrumming. As much as she enjoyed running around free with Kaito, there wasn't much she could thrum pleasantly about.

She was glad that Aria was here this time. Because she was so damn content that she practically dozed off, content to let the woman wash her as she soaked happily in the hot water.

"My goodness! Where did you get these scars?" Aria ran the soapy washcloth over her torso, cleaning off one of her thin, superficial scars.

"That one? I got that falling out of a tree. I wasn't very good at tree-climbing then." Rei told her. That one was an easy answer comparatively.

"And this one?" Aria asked, tracing a circular one. It was hardly visible in most lighting, but the bright light of the bathroom gave away the slight off color of the mark. "This one looks like something bit you."

Yeah, Akira. "Yeah... Something did." She agreed, but refused to say more.

Note to self: She should avoid being interrogated in a hot bath. She was more inclined to answer due to several factors including the heat of the water which pacified her Kasai dragon nature, the fact that water made her groggy because she was a devil fruit user... and the fact being washed was sooooo nice. She was an open book at this point.

"Oh, you really have had a hard life!" Aria sounded ready to burst out into tears, causing Rei to look at her in slight concern.

"I liked how my life turned out, Aria-san." Despite whatever hardships had happened. "I owe the person I am to all that I've been through. I wouldn't ask for it to happen any other way." Well, aside from Gin's death. She still wished that hadn't needed to have taken place... that she didn't have to lose her. Regardless, she'd honestly say now that if she had known back then what she knew now, she would still get on Captain Mizushima's boat and get abducted by those wretched pirates. She abhorred them – That would never change – but she got to meet Gin, meet Drake, meet Tatsuo, Ayane, Toshi, Akira, Katsumi, as well as Kaito and Tetsuya through the series of events. She learned a lot of things about herself. She learned not to be afraid and how to be bold and confident.

No. In her heart, she knew she would keep everything the way it was.

"Oh~!" She cooed at her with a teary smile. "You are no doubt the sweetest thing! I am so happy Tetsuya-san is taking you on as his student! I can see why!"

Rei gave her a quick smile before relaxing once more into the hot water, allowing Aria to continue her washing. She must have fallen asleep at some point because soon she felt the light taps of the maid's hand as she gently roused her from her sleep.

"Rei, dear, let's get you out and dried off, okay?" She was already draining the water and Rei could slowly feel more energy stir from inside her. She gave a quick yawn, nodding as she moved to stand while Aria fetched a towel and wrapped the young teen up in it.

"You sit on the stool and start drying off and I'll go fetch you something clean to wear." She looked at her with a critical eye. "You're so small. I might not have anything for you to wear that will properly fit." The woman let out a sign as she waved off that issue. "I'll go get something clean that will work temporarily. I'll get your measurements later tonight and pick you up something tomorrow."

"My clothes could just be washed..." Rei didn't know how she felt about money being spent on her. Until now she really hadn't given it much thought; but hearing Aria talk about it like it was an expected notion made her slightly uncomfortable.

"Nonsense." Aria gestured at the clothes. "These poor things have seen better days. I don't think I can get them looking nice even if I wash them ten times. No! I'll just pick you up something tomorrow when I go shopping."

Rei wanted to argue, but could see that Aria was going to be stubborn about the subject. Having no intention to displease the older woman, she relented. There was no way she was going to win even if she did argue. The housekeeper gave her a pleased smile, knowing she had gotten her way, before quickly departing to find something for her to wear temporarily.

Rei dried herself off with the towel and was towel drying her hair as much as possibly (with hair as short as hers, it was easy to do) when Aria opened the door and reentered the room, closing the door habitually afterwards.

"They'll be a little big, but these will have to do for now. I can just safety pin any extra width around the waist. Luckily, I kept a few of clothes that my former co-worker wore. She was itty bitty, though she was definitely taller than you. Thankfully this one was short on her. But I can hem the skirt a bit if you find yourself tripping over it."

"That's ok." Rei didn't want to tell her, but she wasn't too keen on skirts. It made it harder to climb things, even though she had managed when all she had left was a skirt. Well at least this one was a pretty shade of red and not pink.

Getting dressed was a little awkward, especially since Aria refused to let her use her bindings to wrap her chest. She wasn't very developed, but it was a force of habit since Ayane had taught her how to use them and she felt odd without them. Aria finally pacified her by going out and digging up a set of silk wraps that had been left be a guest.

"I hadn't know what they were used for, but they looked expensive, so I just put them away to give to her if she came back." Which, apparently, she hadn't. "I'll wash yours, but proper undergarments is just another thing I'll need to pick up."

That puzzled Rei. She had never thought much on that. No wonder Kaito and the other kids had always looked at her funny when she was using her bindings to wrap up her chest after a bath. It was foreign to them.

Aria didn't give her a lot of time to muse on the subject, helping her dress, combing her short locks of hair into a loose semblance of submission, and and helped Rei put her necklaces back on. The blouse was high collared so it hid the leather thong with her dragon scale charms, but Aria thought that the other one was pretty and insisted she wear it over the shirt so it was visible. She had also dug out a new toothbrush for her to use, which Rei did with much delight. New things were a luxury to her as well. She had gotten a new toothbrush when she had come to Water 7, but other than that, everything she owned, other than her swords and most of her jewelry, was all second hand.

Once she was clean and acceptable looking in Aria's eyes, she was eagerly escorted by the maid to a new room where Tetsuya and the doctor were conversing. Tetsuya was the first of the two to notice his maid and his new student, his eyes widened a bit before he smiled brightly.

"My, you look very elegant, Miss Rei." His compliment caused her face to flush in embarrassment. She wasn't use to such words. 'Elegance' wasn't exactly a word she would generally associate with herself... unless the words 'lacking in' were preceding it.

The doctor did nothing but fuel her embarrassment by agreeing with her new teacher. She really didn't know what to do with all this attention on her, so she said nothing and played nervously with her hands. Tetsuya caught on to her unease, moments before the doctor made his comment, and quickly directed the conversation back onto the matter at hand. Rei was thankful. She had forgotten what it was like to be praised by adults. She use to beam at the praise Toshi or Ayane or Tatsuo would give her, but that had been all for her hard work and apparent talent. It wasn't because she looked pretty or something so... superficial.

She realized that might have to be something she would need to get use to, especially if she was going to stay with Tetsuya. Aria and Hinata seemed to think she was 'adorable' and, no doubt, it wouldn't be the end of her hearing about how much they thought so. Aria didn't seem the type to keep such things to herself.

The doctor was soon introduced to her. His name was Kyukyu and, though she wanted to giggle at the irony of his name, she held a straight face as she gave him hers in return. Soon he was pulling things out of his bag, snapping on latex gloves as he gave her a quick, informal examination. She sat on the couch next to him while Tetsuya kept an eye on them from his spot on the opposite couch. Aria had gone to get some tea for the lot of them.

He checked first her reflexes, which surprised him at how fast they were. Then, he examined her ears, noting aloud how they had a slight point to them, while looking inside to make sure she had no ear infection of any sort. He checked the back of her throat, humming a bit at how sharp her teeth, excluding her incisors, seemed to be or how her tongue had a slight split almost barely noticeable to the inexperienced eye. Of course, he also marveled at her eyes. He claimed never to having seen red pigmented eyes before. She had to be careful even when he used the stethoscope to check her heartbeat and her lungs. If she inhaled too deeply, she'd trigger her second pair and she did not want to explain that to a doctor.

So far, her experience was slightly nerve-wracking with how much her change had altered her body. She knew she had never had two pairs of lungs or pointed ears or even a slightly forked tongue before eating the Atae and Devil fruit.

She could tell that he also wanted to know about her scars, but luckily Tetsuya seemed aware of her discomfort and managed to get the doctor to relent in his examination of them. Though she had a strong feeling that he could deduce how most of the ones from her hands had originated, if the unpleased frown on his lips was anything to go by.

Soon, after checking a few more things, all he really needed to finish up was to ask her about her medical history. She was able to give him her birthday, her first name (feigning ignorance to her surname since she had forsaken it years ago), that she had yet started her menstrual cycle (which he attributed to the fact that she was malnourished from her time living on the streets), that she wasn't allergic to any known medication or food, and, to her dismay, she was sorely behind on her vaccinations. He decided to first allow her to recover from being malnourished and was back to the picture of health before starting to get her up to date on any needed shots.

"Now, just one more question I'd like to ask." He was jotting down illegible notes. His handwriting was chicken scratch compared to Hinata's or Kyo's. Rei nodded, allowing him to proceed. "Have you suffered any ailments or had to be hospitalized for any reasons at all?"

Damn it. "Yes. For about two weeks." Rei answered truthfully.

"Oh? And what was the reason for your hospitalization?" He looked very interested in knowing the answer.

"Um..." Rei tried to remember what it was called. She couldn't really remember what Kureha had called the condition, but she remembered what the bug was called. "I had been bitten by a Kestia tick when I was... nine? Ten? Possibly eleven..."

The man dropped his pencil as he looked up to stare at her in complete disbelief. "You... you got bitten by a Ketsia tick? Where? Those ticks have been nearly extinct for centuries save a few more prehistoric islands!"

"They are?" Oops. What was she suppose to say? 'Oh, I know, I lived on a prehistoric island with dragons'? No thank you~.

"Never mind that! Who treated you? There hasn't been a need for the Five-day disease's cure for nearly a century! Nobody remembers the treatment anymore!"

"Ohhhh..." Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT. What had Kaito told her about if she wanted to avoid lying? Be as vague as possibly when telling the truth? "I was taken to a woman named Kureha-sensei on Drum Island. She told me to call her Doctorine."

"The Kureha?" He blinked in shock. "Then you must have been ten, child, because it has been illegal to be a doctor on Drum Island for nearly four years."

"I-illegal?!" Rei gawked at the thought. She wondered if Kureha and Hiluluk was still doing alright. She had a strong inclination to believe both were too stubborn to quit their practice (or malpractice in Hiluluk's case according the Kureha) just because being a doctor was suddenly illegal.

"Last I heard, they managed to get one of their more pesky 'rebel' doctors," Kyukyu-sensei rolled his eyes at that term. "But I hear that Kureha-sensei is still out there, undeterred by their threats and plots. She dances circles around them with how cunning and sneaky she is."

She was relieved to hear that Kureha seemed to be avoiding any danger, but she worried about Hiluluk. He was not a man that could see through devious ploys. Even though she had only spoken to him briefly, she knew him to be... naive...

Speaking of which, she also hoped that Tona was doing well and suddenly felt guilty for not being able to visit him.

"Well," Kyukyu-sensei distracted her from her thoughts as he finished writing his doctor notes. "You seem alright, no lingering side effects of having such a serious disease, so Kureha once more lives up to her reputation. However, I want you to rest for a few weeks. What you experienced was known as a flashback. It can be a symptom of PTSD... Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or Shell Shock as it's better known by with Marines." He turned his gaze over to Tetsuya as he continued to give his diagnostic. "I would suggest taking her to a psychiatrist to get her properly diagnosed or at least to see how minor or major her case might be. Work with someone on that if more symptoms start to arise. But for now, no strenuous, physical exertion." He looked back to Rei as she looked ready to protest. "Your body is malnourished. Not severely or I'd hospitalize you, but enough that I don't want you exerting yourself. You need to eat right for a few weeks before I consider you back in good health. I will be back to check up on you and clear you. Until then, she stays inside and rests her body properly. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Tetsuya nodded his head. He turned to give Rei an apologetic smile. "It seems that we will have to wait a bit until you can begin your kendo lessons. However, this allows us to get a head start on your academics, no?"

"I... I suppose..." She was a little downtrodden that she wouldn't begin to learn kendo. However... "No physical exertion at all?" She was going to die of boredom.

"None." Kyukyu looked like he wasn't going to budge on that matter, but when he saw how Rei's eyes widened in horror at that thought, he relented a bit. "You may stretch and do light exercises in about a week. That's as far as I'm budging on this subject. Other than that, make sure she gets plenty of sleep, three meals a day, including the proper amount of snacks throughout the day, and keep her inside the best you can. Her immune system is low right now and there is a flu going about. Your garden is fine, since some sun would do her well. But that's it."

"Understood." Tetsuya gave another serious nod of his head.

"Thank you Kyukyu-sensei..." Rei managed, despite how little she liked his orders. She played with her fingers as the old doctor patted her on her head and slowly got up. She forced herself to give him a kind smile, though she wasn't really happy, before going back to thinking as she fiddled with her hands. Tetsuya got up as well so that he could escort the man to the door.

"Would you like a tour of the house? Or would you prefer to be escorted to your room to rest until Aria is done with dinner?" Tetsuya's voice startled her a bit as she suddenly realized he was standing before her. She had been thinking about all that had occurred today and was trying to let it sink in.

"A tour please." She was a little tired, but she didn't feel like going to sleep yet.

"Excellent! Do forgive me if we end up a little misplaced. I think my guest are normally more familiar with my home than I am. In fact, a handful can give better tours than I do and I supposedly live here." He teased as offered her his arm as she stood and she hesitantly put her arm around his. "But Aria will most likely find us if we do lose our way."

Rei quickly learned that, while Tetsuya was teasing about getting lost, he was hardly familiar with about a third of his estate. Most of what he wasn't familiar with was the guest wing and employee quarters. Those were rooms he didn't visit due to either respecting Aria's privacy or because he really didn't have a reason to enter the impersonal rooms of the guest wing. And yes, it was a guest wing. Calling it a "house" was hardly indicative of how massive it was in its entirety. The estate was built in a rectangle with a garden in the middle of the property.

However, the man was quite versed in the parts of his house relevant to his every-day operations. He showed her the waiting room, his viewing room (he had all sorts of artifacts on display there as entertainment), the living room (his less formal area for relaxing), his home office, the wing of the house of where his room was as well as where her room would be. Hers was down the same corridor as his, but his was at the end of the long hallway.

The two largest rooms, however, were both on the ground floor. She suspected that one of the rooms bled up into the upper level as well, almost like a self-contained house within a house. The first room was his dojo. It was a large wood-panel room designed to resemble a traditional dojo, but the wall facing the garden actually consisted of two large sliding doors that could be pushed all the way to the end of either corner so that the room was completely open to the garden. It took up an entire side of his home and had plenty of room for more than two people to spar spaciously.

The largest room by far was the library. Considering how knowledgeable Tetsuya was, she really shouldn't have been as surprised; yet the scale of this cathedral-like cavern of literature dwarfed what even her loftiest expectations for the space could have been. It was filled to the brim with books and as she may have expected, there was a staircase leading upwards to a second story of books. She would explore the library later because it was just that big. She liked the library. The solemn silence here would make for an excellent place to retreat into isolation when she wanted to collect her thoughts.

He had saved the kitchen for last, knowing that was where dinner would be eaten, but he did mention that he had a formal dining room if ever there were guest. Tetsuya didn't particularly fancy it; he said that it was too lonely and rigid. He preferred the kitchen because it was less formal and cozy. Rei certainly agreed. While the small wooden table was not as handsome of his dining room table, it felt more friendly. More like home.

Aria had prepared a simple dinner, unaware until after Rei asked for seconds, thirds, and even fourths how much the young girl could eat. Tetsuya had a large appetite as well, but Rei noticed he curbed it and was satisfied with merely a second helping. He was used to doing so, she found out. Aria wasn't really a chef, and cooking interfered with her usual duties. She now understood why Hinata fretted over the man's home diet. However, he urged her not to do so because she was the one who needed the substance of the meal, so she hesitantly obeyed and gave Aria an apologizing smile whenever she requested more. Aria was warmly accommodating without fail.

By the end of the night, she was contently full for the first time in... well, she could scarcely even recall at this point. But a long time, definitely. She was escorted to her new room by Tetsuya, where her meager belongings (rugsack, leg pouch, and swords) had been put. He bid her goodnight and retired to his office to complete some remaining work before he too called it an evening. She undressed herself from the borrowed clothes and quickly changed into Gin's shirt that she used as her pjs. Aria came in later to get the girls measurements as well as offer her something more like a nightgown, but Rei wasn't about to budge on this keepsake. She slept in this shirt since she was little; it was her favorite shirt and she had no intention of parting with it. Eventually Aria caved and – after getting Rei's various measurements – wished her a goodnight.

Rei tried to sleep in the bed, but it was far too soft. The feeling of having a comfortable place to sleep had become an unfamiliar sensation which kept her on edge and unable to relax. She ended up digging out her fur pelts and making a nest at the foot of the bed, pulling the bed a part a bit as she took the pillow, sheet, and blanket for her own little makeshift bed. It was only a matter of seconds after she had settled down again that she dozed off. She hoped tomorrow wouldn't feel as long as today had been.

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"I quit." The words pulled Tetsuya from the paperwork he had been reading to look at his long time employee in complete shock. He hadn't even heard her come in and she blindsides him with this?

"I beg your pardon?"

"Not quit quit." She corrected now that his attention was fully on her. "I will still do the job I was hired to do, but I will not cook another thing for this household after breakfast this morning."

"Aria-"

She cut him off with a single harsh wave of her hand before placing both hands on her hips and giving her employer a fierce look. Tetsuya shrunk back a bit, knowing that look was on her face. He almost groaned at the notion that he was getting scolded by his housekeeper.

"I am not a cook!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "I was hired to clean your house and manage your household! Not to cook! I don't have time to cook with all the chores I have around this monstrosity you call your abode! And don't misunderstand, I think that young girl is absolutely darling; but she eats far more than I can even begin to keep up with. Now, I didn't mind making you a meal since I had to cook for myself anyways, but I draw the line here, Tetsuya-san. I know you don't like having a large staff of employees invading your privacy, which works fine with me. I can handle the workload and deal with any guest you might have visiting, but I do not cook. Not anymore. So since you seem to believe that it is my role as your employee to cook, I resign as house chef." She threw down her apron in an exaggerated gesture of protest. "Go hire a real one."

Tetsuya gave her a groan as he plopped his head onto the desk, using his arms to bury his face in. Aria wasn't surprised by his sudden, childish act. The man was brilliant and responsible, but that didn't mean he necessarily loved his job. No, Tetsuya preferred anything over actually working, but he was too responsible and disciplined to slack off. So every once in a while, especially when he was overworked and tired, he had a tendency to be a grouch. The more stressed and exhausted he was, the more he was prone to complaining and being a stubborn, childish grump.

"Isn't it proper etiquette to give your employer two weeks notice?" He complained while his face was still buried in his arms. "I have this impossible meeting in three days with that imbecilic, gluttonous king and his collection of sniveling sycophants. Not only have I that short time frame to read through all of his prior proposals but I have to finish collecting enough evidence of malignant misuse of our resources so that the other members of my board will agree with me to repudiate our association with him once and for all. Then there's also the Cipher Pol proposal for which I must come up with good evidence against in order to turn it down."

He lifted his head a bit to rest his chin on his arms as he gave Aria a tired look. "I hate politics. I hate the World Government and whoever they hired to write this damnable proposal. He writes like he's a nine-year-old who has partaken in far too much sugar."

"Tetsuya-san, when is the last time you actually slept?"

"Slept?" He blinked in a confused manner at the idea. "You think I can afford that luxury when all these deadlines loom over my neck like a guillotine? I've been working on my case against Wapol for weeks."

"Tetsuya-san."

"I slept for an hour or two in my bed the day Rei came to live here. I may have dozed a handful of times in between now and then. Honestly, the days are blending together at this point. I'm losing perspective on what the concept of 'time' actually means. Except of course within context of the waterfall at the end of the river that are these bastard-spawn deadlines!"

"For the love of all that's-" Aria cut herself off as she stomped her foot, pinching the bridge of her nose as she tried to refrain from lecturing her employer again. "She's been here for nearly a week!"

"A... week. Week? Yes. Yes? It feels simultaneously longer and shorter than that length of time. I'll take your word for it." Tetsuya tiredly lifted his head and began to work once more. "Now don't worry, I haven't been neglecting the young lady. To her credit, however, she is an excellent self-starter, quite apt in regards to such things. So much so, I mainly only have to make myself available for when she has questions on the weekly material. She will be turning in her assignments for me to grade..." He glanced at his planner. "In two more days. Two?" He studied the planner carefully to ensure the date was accurate. "Fine, let's go with that."

He was about to return his attention back to his work when a book was suddenly slapped on top of his reading. He looked up at Aria in mild surprise. "Aria?"

"Go to bed." She told him as she walked around his desk and began to pull at his arm. However, he was six foot five and weighted nearly 400 pounds of muscle. Tiny little Aria couldn't even make him budge.

"I'll sleep when I am finished. Or dead. Whichever comes first. I am not bias towards one over the other at this juncture." He lightly tossed the book aside to continue his work.

Aria slammed her palms on the table and lowered her gaze to Tetsuya's eye-level."Go to bed now or I will call Hinata." The threat came out in a near whisper to keep her composure from erupting into an insane flurry of expletives.

Tetsuya gave her a flat look, narrowing his eyes as he spoke. "You wouldn't," he asserted. Aria was well aware of the tinge of fear behind his veiled eyes.

He had been telling the truth when he gave Rei his reason for not hiring Hinata back at the restaurant, but there may have been a second, more uncomfortable reason. Araki Hinata was the only man that could cow him into doing what he wanted, by force, if the chef so deemed necessary. That man was a mother hen ten times worse that Aria, who usually minded her own business (which was keeping care of his house and making him pancakes at breakfast). Hinata ignored such boundaries whenever he damned near pleased (and there were no pancakes for breakfast, just healthy, good-for-you food).

Aria didn't even argue, she just turned on her heel, hands on her hips as she marched out of the room to go find her Den Den Mushi, Tetsuya scrambling to stop her.

"That will hardly be necessary, Aria." He quickly ushered her back into his office by placing his hand on the small of her back and his other hand on her shoulder.

"Are you going to bed?"

"It's six in the morning-"

"Are you going to bed?"

"After I finish-"

"Fine." Aria huffed, raising her hands in a gesture of surrender. "I don't need to hear your excuses. I won't call him."

Tetsuya should have known not to breath that sigh of relief until Aria left because she added in right afterwards, "Because I already called him about the available position and he's coming over to talk to you about it."

The door bell rang right then, Aria beaming. "Oh, that's probably him right now! And look how disheveled you are, Tetsuya-san! You aren't going to be able to fool him by attempting to freshen up in the small time it takes me to answer the door~!"

"I swear you are the devil sometimes, woman!" He bemoaned. He was instantly gathering up his hair and trying to put it in a decent ponytail before attempting to straighten his wrinkled clothes.

"No, I've simply worked for you long enough to know how to outmaneuver you when I deem necessary." She even had the gall to stick her tongue out at him as she turned to go answer the door.

Tetsuya was too flustered, trying to straighten his tie and tucking his shirt back into his pants among other things to right his disheveled state, to even think of stopping the woman from her task. When he finally realized her missing, he quickly attempted to chase her down and stop her, buying him at least five more minutes, but the experienced maid was fast. He swore she could get to the door in less than one minute from anywhere in the house without even breaking into a trot. By the time he managed to catch up with her, she was already opening the door and exchanging pleasantries with the tall chef. A brazen smile on her lips as she glanced over her shoulder to look at him.

One look at Hinata and he could see the man's elated grin turn into one of annoyance as he looked at his employer-to-be. The violet eyed man had been in this situation before that he knew what came next. Either he went down fighting (an option that gave him some chance to continue working), tried to escape (another option that lead to him being able to return to his work) or give the man an easy surrender (which meant he lost time he could be spending finishing his work on time). So with quick glance at Aria to give her a look of utter betrayal, he did what any responsible adult would do... he bolted.

His escape was doomed to fail. He was tackled to the ground before he could even make it down the hall to try to give the man the slip. If Hinata had no inclination to be a chef, he would have made one hell of a bodyguard. He had been practicing kenpo since he was three. The kenshi had always had a hard time physically overpowering the taller kenpo master. It was possible though, but not when he was running on fumes. Tetsuya actually groaned as he struggled to get back onto his feet and run. Hinata was not light despite how lean the man looked and he knew there as going to be a bruise there come tomorrow.

"Damn it, Tetsuya!" Hinata growled in his ear as he fought to pin the older man underneath him. "I did not dress for a fight! If you so much as tear this shirt, you are buying me a new one!"

"Then let go!" Tetsuya bucked as he tried to get free, but to no avail. His energy reserves were not high enough to actually win a confrontation with the well-rested chef.

"No, you look like shit. When was the last time you've slept?" Tetsuya managed to get one of his arms free and nail the other man in the ribs with his elbow, getting a few choice words in French from the irate man.

"SLEEP DOES NOT EXIST. My deadline is in three days! Unhand me and let me return to my work." He managed to twirl just enough so that Hinata's back slammed against the wall, but it was of no use, the chef had him in a spinal joint lock by then.

"Ugh. You are a damn near obsessive workaholic at times, do you know that?" Hinata asked rhetorically as he waited for Tetsuya to tire out. It took a while, but eventually he had gone completely limp under the younger man's hold and had quit struggling due to his exhaustion. The only sound between the two of them was heavy breathing from their exertion.

"Damn, for being exhausted, you sure can put up a fight." Hinata breathed as he tried to catch his breath, he risked slipping a hand out of his joint lock to touch his injured ribcage, testing to see if the kenshi had just bruised the area or fractured a rib with his harsh blow. Bruised. Merveilleux. "Old men fight like they have nothing to lose," he stated, with intentional emphasis on the word 'old.'

He was sure that Tetsuya had something to say about that, but before the man could give him a comeback, both had their attentions redirected to the new party within the hallway.

"What are you two doing?"

Both men whipped their heads towards the voice to see the young girl in a floral patterned long skirt and cream blouse looked at them rather perplexed. It seemed that Aria had gotten bored of the two of them grappling on the floor and went off to start her morning chores. Hinata blinked in utter confusion as he stared at the young teenager, trying to place her.

"You are the demoiselle from the other day!" He finally recognized the young girl and quickly pieced together what was going on.

"Un. You are Araki Hinata, correct?" Rei hoped that she had remembered the man's name correctly.

"Oui!" Hinata gushed as he quickly stole a look at the older man still stuck in his grasps. He couldn't help be grin as he spoke. "Vous l'avez pris dans votre maison!"

"Oui, comme mon étudiant." Tetsuya muttered, his face resting on the floor again as his long fringes hid his face from view. "Maintenant descendez de moi, si vous le voulez."

"Um," Rei couldn't help but shift uncomfortably. "Why are you two... um... what were you doing?"

It suddenly hit Hinata as why Tetsuya had suddenly become a bit more listless under his hold. He was mortified. The man had a very prestigious reputation and, while chef knew that the man was truly laid back, lazy individual, this was probably not how he wanted his new student to see him. Even Hinata wanted to look suave whenever Kyo was around. So, to be nice despite the new bruises he had just received, Hinata attempted to salvage what he could of the other man's dignity.

"I was teasing him and got a little carried away." Hinata quickly explained as he released the older man from the joint lock and easily pulled himself up. "I was simply excited that from today onwards I get to work here! My dream come true~!"

"Really?" Rei's eyes brightened at that. She really did like Hinata from the little time she had gotten to know him and she was happy that he finally got what he had always wanted. Aria was an adequate cook, but it obviously wasn't her passion. Rei had always felt bad because it wasn't really the woman's job, but the young teenager couldn't really cook in a kitchen so she was forced to be dependent on whoever could.

"Let us be clear, you came for an interview. Do not get ahead of yourself." Tetsuya groused grumpily as he got up, dusted himself off and tried to straighten up what he could of his disheveled clothes. He gave up when he realized that it was impossible. The shirt was too wrinkled from the abuse.

"That is simply a formality and you know it, mon cher." Hinata waved him off as he smiled sweetly at Rei. "Now, since I am officially the new chef, let us go to the kitchen and start your day with a nutritious breakfast!"

"Wait a moment, Araki." Tetsuya looked at him with the utmost concern. His pancakes were on the line. "Aria said she'd make breakfast."

"Oh, pish-posh." Hinata began to walk away towards Rei to usher her to the kitchen. "I'm already here, I'll just start work now."

"But..." His pancakes. Tetsuya suddenly felt like crying.

"Besides, you were going to go to bed since you pulled an all-nighter, isn't that right?" Though there was a smile on Hinata's face, the glint in his eyes warned Tetsuya that there would be consequences if he didn't comply. He was already covering his ass on this one and he wouldn't do it again if there was any noticeable defiance from the businessman. He'd throw him over his shoulder and haul him up the stairs and to his bedroom right in front of his student if he had to.

"Yes," Tetsuya grudgingly agreed. "I was about to do so as soon as we completed your interview."

"Well, I will save you the time. I'm hired! You can head off to bed now." 'Or else' was the hidden threat of that tone.

Tetsuya's mouth opened to attempt to protest. He shut it without a word. He was outnumbered and his adrenaline was spent. If both Aria and Hinata could get the better of him within the span of an hour, he definitely needed to go to sleep and rest. He watched as Hinata placed his hands on Rei's shoulders and ushered the young girl to the kitchen, rotating his shoulders stiffly only after he was out of the girl's line of sight. He slowly made his way to the staircase half listening to Hinata and Rei chat on their way to the kitchen.

"Un, Aria-san usually makes pancakes in the morning." Rei told the chef amiably.

He winced as he heard Hinata give an appalled gasp. "Inacceptable! There is no nutritional value in pancakes. No. Let's get you some nice warm oatmeal, eggs, yogurt, and whatever else I can find. I will probably have to take inventory and see what is even in the kitchen. I'll go grocery shopping after I make you something good to eat."

Tetsuya heaved a heart-broken sigh as he continued to climb up the stairs. One day he and the love that was his pancakes would be reunited. One day.

He had a feeling that when he woke up, he was going to be scolded again. Only this time for all the sweets he had hidden around the kitchen, not about his poor sleeping habits. Though the man would cook anything for him while at his restaurant, Tetsuya knew that when it came to being his personal chef, that privilege would be thrown out the window and smashed into tiny pieces. Hinata was extremely health conscious due to his previous lifestyle prior to meeting his late wife. He knew he was going to put him on a strict diet at home after he realized what the older man snacked on consistently (he had a sweet tooth, so sue him).

On the other hand, it was definitely beneficial to have the man as his household cook due to Rei's current residency. He would have her eating well and keep on top of her dietary needs throughout her development from a malnourished young girl to a robust young woman. And he had already raised Kyo through her teenage years by himself successfully. So he knew what to expect from the budding teenager. That was a undeniable plus.

Oh well, He decided as he finally made it to his room- though Hinata would crack down on his eating habits here, at least he still ate out most of the time, where he got to order what he wanted.

Yeah. He gave that a week or two before the chef caught on.

He was doomed.

---

It felt like a slight waste of a good sea train ride when he was currently suffering a migraine. He had wanted to enjoy the final hours traveling by the odd form of transportation with her. However, with his migraine, the best he could hope for was that his dose of medicine would keep him from suffering too badly, especially since he wasn't suppose to even take any sort of drug unless he absolutely had to. Migraines fell under that category.

"How's your head?" She asked, her voice soft and saddened by his affliction.

He didn't say anything, just squeezed her hand. They had long since started this method of communicating when the sound of his own voice echoed violently throughout his head during a migraine.

She sighed sadly, taking the cloth off of his forehead slowly, so he was ready for the blast of light that tried to shoot through his eyelids before he heard her gently wringing water from it. The cool makeshift compress was put back over his eyes, easing his agony, if only by a bit. She held his hand once more, lacing her small fingers through his bigger ones.

There had once been a time when her dainty hands had been so much bigger than his, but now he could cover her fists with one hand.

Despite the agony thinking caused, he quickly was able to remember how to sign with his one free hand. 'How much longer?' He barely managed to ask in his condition.

She squeezed his hand once.

One hour.

Damn.

She was probably silently crying. She was such a crybaby at times, but this time was to be expected since this was the last time she was going to see him in a long while. He fully expected her to bawl when he finally had to part ways with her. He had worn one of his lesser favorite shirts today knowing she was going to cry all over him and hug him and rub her face into his shirt as she fought to collect herself.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

He couldn't let this last hour be him lying on her lap in agony while she worried relentlessly. He breathed a heavy sigh as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before forcing himself to sit up and pull the cloth away from his face.

"It's going away." He lied smoothly, able to hide his pain behind a stoic expression. Each word felt like a stone being slammed around inside his skull.

"Oh, that's a relief. I know how severe yours tend to get, so I'm glad it was a mild case." He peered down at her through tired eyes, looking at her gentle expression.

He wasn't sure if she truly believed him or not. But she had been crying from the looks of her eyes. Damn it.

She tugged at his hand and gently reached her other hand over to his shoulder, softly pulling at him. "I like it when you lay your head on my lap. Stay there a bit longer, okay?"

He sighed, but allowed himself to be pulled back down. His eyes ached from how sensitive they were to the light and he was slightly startled when she placed the cloth back over his eyes. So she had seen past his lie. Damn it. Nothing got past her, regardless of how good he had gotten at lying. Then again, could one really hid the emotions he emitted subconsciously? He'd need to research that on a later date. Preferably when he didn't have a migraine trying to implode his head.

"I know you said you were feeling better, but I don't mind. Don't push yourself for my sake. Okay?"

"Do what you want." That was all he could give her. She was too good at seeing through him. Too good at knowing when he was faking a smile or acting like he wasn't in pain or suffering from an attack. All she could do was hold his hand and take care of him when he couldn't take care of himself. She deserved to do whatever she wanted, whether it be to pet his hair like she loved to do or cuddle up with him as he lay sick, holding him and whispering words of endearment. Anything. She was his angel in times of darkness, lighting his path in the most unusual of ways.

She had been his mother when no one else had wanted him. When he hadn't even wanted to be loved, she had found him alone on that island, taken him up into her arms, and held on as he struggled against her until he submitted to her tender care.

She had taken a small, sick little boy and tended to his every need and his every reasonable desire. She had nursed him to health, fed him as she was instructed, dressed him as he liked, and protected him far better than he had even imagined someone so small could.

She had helped him when he underwent treatment for his disease. When he had went into remission, she had kept him from relapsing, and when he finally had enough control of his powers to completely cure himself, she was there with him, celebrating. Though he was supposed to have died at the age of thirteen, he had survived to the age of eighteen and was expected to live out a full lifespan.

All because of two stubborn, big-hearted individuals – both of whom loved him too much, in his opinion.

When his migraine mercifully began to rapidly recede, he quickly squeezed her fingers harshly, growling at her as he did.

"Don't, ja." She was not allowed to do that.

"Don't tell me what to do." She snapped at him childishly. "Besides, you said I could do what I wanted."

He managed to pull the cloth away from his eyes to glower at her without flinching at the harsh light. "I don't want you to do that."

Damn empath. Her kind were rare, especially one with naturally occurring abilities, but they had met a lot of interesting people throughout their travels and an empath was one of the least odd comparatively.

"But you're hurting really bad. Please?"

"No," he exhaled harshly. His pain was not something she should ever have to experience.

"Too bad." She gave him a strained but cocky grin as she continued to do as she pleased. He shot up, pulling his hand away, and distancing himself from her. His migraine came back at full force, nearly causing him to retch the contents of his stomach with how badly it hit him.

"Law…" She looked ready to cry again. Shit.

Today was a bad day to be in any sort of pain. She was already emotional from him leaving her company. She honestly didn't cry as much as he made it sound- only when her emotions were at their highest. Being an empath usually made it easy for her to have tight fisted control over every situation she encountered, but when he was in agony or in pain, physically or mentally, she looked ready to cry.

Perhaps she was always prepared to cry for him because he had cried himself dry when Cora-san had died. He had not truly cried since that day, regardless of how much emotional pain he suffered.

Suddenly she was next to him, tugging at his sleeve as she pointed out the window. His migraine was receding again, but this time he knew she wouldn't be deterred by him pushing her away. She wanted to show him something without his head pounding and making it difficult to focus.

"There it is! That's Water 7!" She excitedly pointed her jeweled pointer finger at the dot in the distance. He looked out the window to see the city. It was truly as unique as she had told it would be. She smiled as she leaned against him, her cheek touching his as she syphoned more of his pain away from him as she fought to keep him distracted. He had to admit, for one prone to shedding tears when upset, she never cried about being in pain, only when she was emotionally compromised.

He stared at the slowly growing city on the horizon before the train took a turn and the city was pulled from sight. He didn't bother to move, instead lacing the fingers of his left hand into hers. He studied their hands, noting that even with all the sun he had gotten from their constant travels, her skin was still a hue darker than his. Not only that, but she was wearing all her finest jewelry today. The silver ones. There were at least three bangles and eight bracelets all of different designs on that one hand alone as well as about six rings, two on one finger. Her other hand probably had about the same amount of decorative.

Now that he thought about it, this was one of her favorite outfits as were the earrings, the necklaces, the toe rings on her bare feet (she had a thing about shoes most of the time), and the mass amount of anklets she was wearing. Hell, even her wild mane of hair had been pulled into a messy braid (with how wild her locks of hair tended to be, that was as good as it got).

"Alright, who is he?" There was no way she was looking this pretty just to flirt with the ticket master for the train. In fact, she had brazenly flipped the guy off earlier when she was sure he was looking. Then again, he had made some rude comment about her people group.

Yup, that was his role model for the last five years. She was utterly brilliant sometimes in his opinion.

"Eh?" She blinked in confusion, almost releasing her hold her ability at how blindsided that question caught her. Her face flushed a bit as she began to fiddle with the sleeve of his shirt. "What do you mean?"

Her amber eyes looked anywhere but at him. Busted. This was why she probably should have let him keep his migraine. He was in too much pain prior to notice all these little details until the haze had cleared.

"Nanami." The way he said her name left no room for her to try to weasel out of giving him a straight answer. He would not be conceding.

She sighed as she pouted at bit, poking his cheek with one of her fingers agitatedly. "I'm the parent here. Don't confuse your role in this relationship."

"Nanami." He gave her a stern look.

"He's an old friend." She finally told him, looking away again to compose her blushing cheeks.

Another pro of her taking on his migraine was she couldn't hide her feelings very well. She was too busy syphoning his pain to be able to give him her normally irritatingly stoic poker face. He could interrogate her now and she'd be helpless to whatever emotion the questions elicited from her.

"Uh-huh." He watched as she gave him a flustered expression. It probably didn't even occur to her to let go and distance herself from him to regain control over the situation again. That was usually why he didn't let her do this. She was too selfless in this regard to think about her own benefit.

"He is! I've known him for years! Whenever I come through here, I go visit him!" She was blushing brilliantly again. "It's not like I think he's handsome or delightful or want to run my fingers through that silky looking hair of his!" She flustered herself with that admission before adding, "Okay. Maybe I do a little."

Law gave her a raised brow. It seemed more like a lot in his opinion. "And I am going to be staying with this man?"

"Yeah. I'll owe him a favor, but he won't abuse it. He can be a little strict, but mostly he's sweet, patient, gentle, and playful…" She blushed at that one. Though most would assume that she was thinking of something lewd, Law knew her well enough to know she was attracted to men who loved children. Being playful meant he was willing to stoop to a child's level and literally play with them. And that meant he would be a good father, which was what Nanami was attracted to in a potential male.

"Alright, alright. He sounds wonderful, ja." He was starting to slowly pull her away from him, allowing what remained of his migraine to slowly come back to him. He was surprised at how it had almost completely receded in the short time Nanami had stolen his pain. Damn empath.

"He is." She frowned at him, not liking his sarcasm in this matter.

"We'll see." The train let out a loud bellow as the steward of this box announced they would be at their destination in ten minutes and to remain seated.

The attendant shot Nanami a warning look, causing the woman to properly sit in her seat with her hands folded in her lap as she huffed at the man in slight exasperation. She hated sitting like a normal person, often perched on the balls of her feet or criss-cross or anything that wasn't just sitting with her feet out in front of her with her back in a straight position.

She was sure to flip off the man again as she narrowed her amber yellow eyes and scrunched her nose in as she scowled. The attendant just glowered at her before muttering angrily under his breath 'damn gypsy'. She sneered at him once more. When she was out of his line of view, she pulled a wallet out of underneath the skirt of her dress and started filing through it. He had to withhold the bark of amused laughter that threatened to escape his throat, seeing as he had never even seen her pinch it, too distracted by her flipping the man off with the other hand.

She pulled out a couple beli bills and handed it to him without even glancing at him, which he discreetly put the stolen money in his boot (where he had learned to keep his money to avoid pickpockets like her from pinching it) with an entertained smirk, while she put the rest of the beli in her bra. Masterfully, she slipped the empty wallet back into the man's pocket without even him noticing as he walked by a while later.

Damn, he adored this woman sometimes. He honestly would miss her and her loving but cheeky attitude, despite how big of a crybaby she could be.

As the sea train slowed to a complete stop, both he and Nanami were gathering up their few belongings and preparing to exit as soon as they were allowed. While he was interested in seeing Water 7 for himself and learning a bit about the place he would be staying in for the next few months, Law knew better than to take his eyes off the small wanderer. She had a talent for disappearing despite how exotic her bohemian apparel made her at times.

Once the two of them were on the street a little ways away from the station and out of the crowds, he decided to speak up.

"So, what's the plan?" It seemed like there were two tiers to the city and he wasn't sure how they were suppose to get to the second tier at all. It was surrounded by a ring of water from what he could see.

"Well, we're going to rent a Yagura Bull for the day, then, before we go to my friend's house, we need to find a big box. Preferably one with a lid." Nanami informed him casually, nodding at her own plan as she plotted it out in her head.

While curious, he didn't bother asking about the box. Knowing her, he'd find out soon enough. He also had a feeling that it'd be as entertaining as always. No one said that growing up around the gypsy woman was dull.

---

Rei was starting to get fidgety. It had been nearly three weeks since she started living with Tetsuya and, though she was grateful for absolutely everything, she desperately needed to get outside. The basic 'non-strenuous' exercises that she was allowed to do were not enough anymore, not with all the energy she had now. She was going utterly stir-crazy. However, she knew that her teacher would not budge on the matter, regardless of how obvious it was that she was in completely perfect health. At least, not until she had her appointment with Kyukyu-sensei in two more days. Until then, the most exertion she was allowed to do was a few of her more difficult acrobatics. Kyo had started to teach her yoga when she dropped by to check on her father, but the ambitious young adult was often too busy with the restaurant to visit.

In order to try to distract herself from her need to move, she tried to bury herself in her academics. It usually worked because she always felt so far behind. She hadn't realized how rusty she had gotten in reading and writing until now. She had no issue with reading comprehension. She had read almost everyday on Soshi Shima, but after a while, it had ended up more like reciting what she knew had been on the pages when the ink began to fade away. Her writing was another matter. Her calligraphy – if she could even call it that – was horrid and she worked hard at regaining her ability to write legible. She had forgotten many of the fundamental grammar rules and how to even spell more difficult words- even if she could recognize them if she saw them.

That wasn't even to mention her other subjects. Six years had been far too long to neglect her schooling (dragon education was extremely different than human education) and it was backfiring hard on her. She had once been on par with students twice her age when she had been eight, but now, she felt stupid far more often than she would prefer. Especially when it came to mathematics. She had been fine with right up until the curriculum started throwing letters and negative numbers into the concoction. Now she just felt lost and embarrassed. Even French was a breeze for her to learn comparatively.

That was why she was lounging in the living room on the large daybed sofa waiting for Tetsuya's help. He had gotten home only a matter of minutes ago and had gone upstairs to put his brief case in his office and more than likely throw his suit jacket on his bed before he returned downstairs to help her with her work.

Rei didn't like bothering him, but had long ago learned to ask for help when she didn't understand something. That was what he was there for. That was why he brought her into his home- so he could teach her. She would be doing both of them a disservice by not asking.

"Okay," Tetsuya breathed out as he came down the last stair of the south side staircase and began to head towards her in the living room. He was loosening his tie a bit as he tried to relax. "So where are you currently in your studies today and are there any subjects causing you grief?"

The light tap of his dress shoes allowed Rei to know how close he was to the daybed. She glanced up right when he was about to sit down and noted that he was still wearing his black suit pants, white dress shirt, suspenders mostly hidden under the black vest, that violet tie that matched his eyes wonderfully, and his hair swept back into a formal ponytail and his fringes pinned back. His hands were working on removing his cufflinks as he sat next to her.

"Big meeting?" Rei guessed. He looked a little tired to her.

"I had a meeting with a Cipher Pol agent." His smile melted down into a frown as he mentioned it. "I will warn you now, Rei dear, do avoid dealing with the government as much as possible. They wear on you with how many times you must reject their aspirations before they manage to comprehend the incontestable insinuation that you are not interested in assisting them in obtaining their disreputable goals."

"So, the agent was an idiot?" Rei summarized easily.

"That's putting it leniently. But that is indeed the case, there is no doubt within my mind about that." Tetsuya grumbled as he reclined against the back of the couch to try to unwind. His eyes were closed as he rested his head on the back of the couch as well. "Now, let us concentrate on you and your studies. What subject do you wish to begin with?"

"Algebra."

"Alright, your thoughts on it thus far?"

"It should die. A horrible and agonizing death. Possibly involving fire."

"I am interested on what your feelings towards geometry and calculus will be if you think so poorly of algebra this early into it." He chuckled lazily beside her, eyes never opening despite the lethargic grin on his lips.

"If they are anything like algebra or worse than algebra, that they should be eradicated from the face of the Earth. With fire."

His brilliant laughter and handsome smile she earned with her comment warmed her heart. If she could manage to at least give back a little of what he had given her through this amazing opportunity, then she'd be that much more content. He was still chuckling as he opened an dark violet eye to look at her, putting a hand on her head and ruffling up her hair a bit. "Hey!" She grinned as she playfully swatted at the offending hand. Her hair was short and wouldn't be messed up by his actions, but it didn't mean she was about to encourage him to continue.

The unabashed playfulness of her actions must have triggered something within the adult male because, suddenly, for the first time since she had started to live there, Tetsuya openly began to play with her. He had a smile on his face as he effortlessly batted her curricular books, pencils, and notebooks to the floor, and quickly pinned her to the couch before beginning to tickle her sides mercilessly. She tried to break free of his grasp, giggling maniacally as he continued his onslaught of tickles. She even tried to wrestle him off of her or even return the favor, but he hand her wrists between the fingers of one of his hands while he used the other to make her laugh. While not exactly the same, it was something that resonated familiarly within her. They were playing as she use to do with the dracos and how the adult dragons would play with their young. She could hear his deep chortling as he continued to play with her, and again she had the urge to thrum. It had been the first time in a long while that she had felt like she belonged.

"Ticklish, hmmm?" He teased her as she started playfully kicking at his arms with her bare feet in order to pry him off.

"S-s-s-st-toooop!" She managed to say between her bouts of giggles, tears rolling down her eyes from how hard she was laughing.

"Concede?"

"Y-yes!"

He released her, a pleased look in his eye as she fought to catch her breath and calm her rapidly beating heart down before attempting to do anything. He went back to lounging, waiting for her to compose herself.

It was then that there was a knock at the door. It wasn't loud, but they were further into the house, so it was weakened by the distance. Tetsuya lifted his head, with a thoughtful look on his face. Obviously, he wasn't expecting anyone, if his look was anything to go by. He waited a moment, listening for Aria's quick steps, but none came.

"You should probably answer that. Aria went out to run errands." Rei told him as she peered towards the hallway that led to the entry way. "And Araki-san probably can't hear that from the kitchen. Not when he's cooking, at least."

"Then I believe you are correct." Tetsuya grunted a bit as he got up. "I should answer it, less our surprise visitor leaves under the notion that we are not at home."

Curious, Rei followed him to the front door, a bit back so that she wasn't in full view of whoever was at the door, but could still see what was going on. Tetsuya opened the door widely, ready to speak to whoever was at the door. From where Rei was, she could see a young man standing a ways back but his eyes were glued upon a large white box with a lid with some sort of writing on top at the foot of the door.

She blinked in confusion as did Tetsuya when he glanced down to see the package that the lad was staring at in mild uncertainty. He looked back up at the young man with a questioning expression. The other shook his head as he gestured to the box with a nudge of his head. 'Find out for yourself' his motion seemed to say.

So again, Tetsuya looked down at the box, which had written on top in kanji 'For Tetsuya'. Though he was slightly suspicious, he crouched down to better examine the box. He cast a glance at Rei, shrugging before returning his attention to the box and slowly began to lift the lid, in case it was some sort of trap.

The lid suddenly lifted off and in one fell swoop, lips met his in a giddy fashion, causing him to rear back in shock. The owner of those lips giggled whimsically as he lost his balance in his sudden movement and fell onto his backside.

"Na-nanami!" He stuttered out in his shock. His face completely flushed, even the tips of his ears glowed a hue of red as he stared at the woman before him.

"Surprise!" She laughed as she gave him a big, endearing grin.

The young man behind her box sighed as he shook his head and Rei stared in complete awe at what she had witnessed. It took a lot to throw Tetsuya off guard and never once had she seen him the least bit flustered by any situation (mortified, yes; flustered, no). He quickly gained some of his composure, enough to quickly snatch the lid that had fallen to the wayside and, with lighting fast reflexes, he had pushed her head back into the box before snapping the lid back on top. He kept his hands on top to prevent her from popping out and escaping.

"Hey! Tetsuya~!" Whines could be heard from inside the box as he kept the lip in place. His face was still flushed and he looked completely ruffled by her very presence.

Once he had recovered a little bit, he slipped one of his hands under the box and with only the strength of an active athletic man, lifted the box into the air. There was a slight yelp hear from inside as he made sure he had a good grip of both ends of the box. He spun around to bring the box inside, but turned his head for just a moment.

"Are you with Nanami?"

"Y-yes..." The young lad was staring at the box in mild shock.

Tetsuya nodded, looking over to his student. "Rei, please escort our guest to the kitchen and have Hinata bring up some tea. I think I have a few things I need to discuss with my dear friend in private. We will have to look over your curriculum at another time."

"U-Un..." She was just staring as well, not moving as both her and the slightly older boy watched as her teacher, with every ounce of dignity he could muster after such a... scene, headed up the stairs with the box still closed on Nanami.

Once he was upstairs and out of sight, Rei glanced at the older teenager who was still staring with a blank expression. She didn't know what else to do but try to remember her manners. "Would... would you like some tea?"

"Please," was all he said as he finally tore his eyes away from the staircase to look at her with those storm grey eyes of his. His expression was still rather disconcerted by what had happened. He had no doubt expected the absurdity on his companion's half of things, but not for her teacher to stuff her back into the box and carry her away. Then again, she had only expected to be doing algebra at this point, not... this...

It was about five minutes later when both of them were able to fully snap out of their daze and actually go to the kitchen (even then, they almost forgot to close and lock the front door). One thing she knew for sure, Rei had no clue what she was going to tell Hinata about this whole situation.

---

"So now that you understand the situation, will you let him stay?" Nanami asked with a serious look upon her face. She was sitting criss-cross on the leather couch in Tetsuya's office as he sat behind his desk, elbows propped up and fingers laced together as he rested his chin on them. She picked up her tea cup, admiring it for a moment before sipping at her beverage. It had cooled down during the span of her explanation.

His eyes let her know that he was deep in thought, but her empathic abilities let her know that he was very concerned about what she had told him. After all, she had spent the last five years evading the entirety of the Donquixote Family while taking care of her wards and her own private family affairs.

"You've spent so long in nurturing him personally, why chose now to leave him in the care of another." His words came across almost more of a statement than a question. His thoughtful tone different than his usual lackadaisical one. This was the protective side of him. The fatherly figure simply waiting to be let loose within the man- the side that made him the perfect candidate to watch over her adopted sons.

She gave him a coy smile as she played with one of the bangles upon her wrists. "I would prefer to keep Law under my watch. With his health and his special needs, I don't like the idea of trusting him to someone else..."

"But something has changed." Tetsuya noted aloud for the both of them.

"Yes. My mother is finally stepping down." She gave a weak grin as she shook her head, still in disbelief. "My brothers and sisters have named me as their candidate to take up her mantle."

"So the treacherous and frigid gypsy queen of the Raiun clan is finally being ripped from her throne? I should attempt to break out the good sake in celebration of such an occasion as this."

"You speak so highly of my mother." Nanami snorted at his words, not at all offended.

"If my memory recalls correctly, you were the one rifling through my library to try to come up with new ways to insult your mother."

"It worked. Can't tell you how pissed she was at me, but I don't think she's spoken to me since. Which has been really nice." Nanami said with a pleased smile before turning back to the real matter at hand. "However, because I am taking up her mantle, I can't watch over my latest wards. Leon can handle himself and he will take care of Law once he joins him at the university, but Law... Law is a danger to himself. He has times where he can manage himself just fine, but he can also be very destructive to himself." She frowned as she shook her head, sad as she spoke the next words. "I won't lie to you. As much as I have come to love that boy, it took damn near everything to get him to this point. And he still has so much further to go until he can fully move on with living his life free of all the things that haunt him."

"Which is why you want him to stay here for the summer, oppose to sending him over to his surrogate brother who knows how to properly care and monitor his various conditions?"

"Leon needs a break from him." Nanami said with a sigh, getting into this always made her feel tired. "He denies it, but I feel like ever since I brought Law under my care that's all he and I have been doing- caring for Law. His diet is delicate; his sleep is erratic; he has severe headaches and migraines; he suffers from episodes from time to time; his bones are more breakable than an average human's; his injuries take longer to heal; and he damn nearly died of various small colds because his immune system is wrecked. The kid will never be able to drink or be near smoke without possibly keeling over dead- not with his liver, kidneys, and respiratory system all shot to hell." She buried her face into her hands as she shook her head a bit. "He survived Hakuen-byō but the damage that came with it looms over him like a wraith. It's all-enveloping. He has to live carefully or it will kill him. And he wonders why I want to cry. It's heartbreaking."

"I don't mean to sound uncaring or discourteous towards your efforts, but you mentioned he ate the Ope-Ope no Mi? Why not simply switch out his failing organs for healthier ones?"

"He has a rare blood type and he needs the organs to be nearly one hundred percent compatible in order to make it work in his favor. If he has to keep switching out organs to stay alive, someone is bound to notice and take advantage of it. Besides," she lifted her head up and moved her hands so her chin was resting on them. "He hasn't gotten the technique quite right just yet. Sending him to school will hopefully help refine his surgery techniques and possibly teach him how to better operate his devil fruit powers."

"I believe I understand." Tetsuya nodded, sighing as he reclined back against his desk chair. "Nanami, this is a huge favor you are asking of me. I am not uninterested in your plight, but you must understand my hesitations to accept it as well."

"Yes, I know. The girl and your godson. Both have already had difficult lives. Especially the girl from what I can sense. Being exposed to someone as potentially volatile as Law might hinder any progress she makes with her own healing. Or, it could be just what both of them need to propel themselves forward. In the end, it is a huge gamble for you to take." She looked at him somberly. "I am, however, more than willing to repay it in any way you deem necessary."

"A favor specifically from you or from your family?"

"You would be able to utilize any of my family's contacts, inside and out, at any time you decide to actually use said favor."

"If you throw in an empathic reading of Rei, I will agree. Also, in addition to the favor, I want your daughter to start digging up any information she can on Rei. She's my student, but I know next to nothing about her other than what I can physically observe. I need details before I can continue further with my personal plans for the girl. It is not my intention to encroach upon her personal matters, but there are things I must know before taking the proceeding steps."

"Deal. Give me a dossier on the basics of what you do know about her before I leave and I'll get the brat started on it. She's been complaining that she's got nothing to do. Damn girl has been fishing again."

"Please tell me she has at least quit claiming it to be the 'ultimate sport'."

"I wish I could but I'd be lying." She rubbed her temples at the very thought of having to deal with that one. "Just be ready for her to storm through here like a hurricane when she's finished collecting that information for you."

"I'll glue down the decor."

"Nail it down. But there's no guarantee that'll be enough either."

"As long as she doesn't break anything, I suppose I won't mind her touching everything."

"No promises. I am not liable for whatever that girl breaks, by the way. You are the one inviting trouble if you are asking for her services."

Tetsuya let slip a controlled smile.

"I am well aware."

---

French translations:

Vous l'avez pris dans votre maison - You took her in your home

Oui, comme mon étudiant - Yes, as my student

Maintenant descendez de moi, si vous le voulez - Now get off of me, if you would

Japanese translations:

Hakuen-byō - Amber Lead Syndrome

Ope Ope no Mi - Operation

---

A/N: Thank you again for your patience with us. We deeply appreciate your support in following this story.

So onwards to what has happened to this chapter! Well, how many of you guessed that Law was to be our special surprise cannon character? If you did guess him, virtual cookies for you! We had plans for him to appear in this arc and, after seeing his back story, our plans for somehow tied in well to (spoiler alert!) seeing him cry over Corazon/Rocinante's death at the end of the flashback. (end spoiler)

In regards of his Amber Lead Syndrome, Volleys-chan has done extensive research of how ailments of similar diseases and conditions have profoundly negative effects on the body, meaning that Law wouldn't have been able to travel around by himself like Robin after making his escape. Volleys-chan used the One Piece wiki page on Amber Lead and there were several conditions posted there that were said to be close to what Amber Lead was in the One Piece world, just so you know. So, as the story progresses, you'll get to see Law's health develop bits and pieces at a time.

Beside's Law introduction, we have introduced another OC, Nanami. She's going to get a little more screen time next chapter, but unfortunately she's not staying long. Both Volleys-chan and I adore her very much and we hope you guys do too. More and more of her background will be revealed, but know that she's a someone very important to Law. As you already realized, she is someone Law considers a savior. One that he desperately needed after losing Rocinante.

There was mention near the end of the chapter by Nanami about Tetsuya's godson. While he hasn't popped up at the estate yet, he is someone that will eventually show up to visit his godfather.

Few of you might have noticed the genre has been changed to adventure/family over adventure/romance. As we write and continued to do so, we've noticed we're emphasizing family element quite a lot, which is fitting relation to the Straw Hats and the reason why 'romance' has been switched out. We assure that the story will still have romance involved, but it isn't the encompassing point, yet it's part of the adventure for people to fall in love, so Rei and the others are not immune to it.

One last thing, Volleys-chan created a tumblr account called 'title pending' that she's now using for her one picture a day challenge. Most of the time, she's featuring Dragon Chronicles One Piece fanart. Possibly even some fun sneak peeks to our story. So for those who are curious or wish to support her in her attempt to draw one thing a day, you may visit Volleys-chan's tumbler on my page.

Thank you for reading my unexpected long author notes. See you in the next chapter.