As Zunisha came into view, Law packed up the belongings scattered around his room and was surprised at how much stuff he'd accumulated since leaving Mangrove. Then he packed up Maki's things in a separate bag—bottles, her Mink brush, her hair brush, her clothes and shoes and toys…she probably had more things than she really used, but he just shouldered the bags.

"You ready to go home, Kitten? Momo-kaa-san will be so happy to see you." Law said quietly as he picked her up. He noticed spots on her fur suddenly, identical to her father's and if he'd had any doubt, it was gone now.

"Momo-kaa-chin!" She said excitedly before mewling.

Smiling, he rubbed their cheeks together.

"Almost there, boys!" Corazon's voice echoed down the halls of the ship and he began blowing out the candles before heading up to the deck.

Up top, he watched as they neared the dock around her left hind leg. When they were close enough, Kid had a thick chain wrap around a hitching pole, fastening it to ensure the ship wasn't lost in the elephant's voyage.

"The island is a fucking creature?" Kid asked as they left the ship and peered up the wrinkled cliff of a leg. "The fuck we get up there?"

"This way." Law said with a smile as he led them down the dock to a hidden platform. "Using a system of pulleys, we have to lift ourselves up."

"Handy." Sengoku said as they got on and the two adults prepared to do the pulling while the kids sat in the middle and tried to keep as still as possible to avoid any accidents.

"So Zou isn't what the island is called." Law began with a smile. "Her name is Zunisha-sama and she's a thousand years old. She protects the Mink tribe from prospective Kings. In return, her constantly active Haki ensures they have the strength to defend her from poachers and the like. It's a symbiotic relationship and though she never SEEMS to take notice of what's going on, she's keeping track of everyone that mounts her back." But that was as much as he could tell them. "The kingdom itself is called the Mokomo Dukedom, ruled from 6 am to 6 pm by Inuarashi-ya and 6 pm to 6 am by Nekomamushi-sama."

"That's weird." Kid said.

"They've got some sort of feud going on. I don't know, I didn't pry." He shrugged. "Anyway, the kingdom is divided into six main sections starting with Whale Forest at the nape of Zunisha-sama's neck. Within is the Guardians' Residential District. They protect the forest from invaders. The third area is at the approximate center of her back and is called Kurau City. Most of the civilians reside there. Then, Right Rump Forest—which is exactly what it sounds like. Fifth is the Deep Dark Swamp, located on her hindquarters—"

"Ew."

Law shoved Penguin lightly. "Shut up, that's not why it's a swamp."

Penguin giggled.

"Last is the Right Flank Forest where Inuarashi-ya resides with the Musketeer Squad." He finished.

"Why do you call Nekomamushi '-sama' and Inuarashi '-ya'?" Kid asked. "Didn't you say his guards were the ones that helped you?"

Law smiled in amusement. "I do it to annoy him mostly. But since I was under Nekomamushi-sama's protection while waiting for a ship, he sort of earned my respect after a while. He's really fun to train with if he'd stop licking me all the damn time." He sighed in irritation.

"L-lick you?" Corazon asked in shock.

"He's a cat." He replied simply.

"Like Maki-chan?" Killer asked.

Law gave him a startled look. "N-no. No, he's—" He stopped, thinking. What was he? "A lion Mink, maybe? He's got a mane. And he's enormous! Taller than Tou-san and—" He shook his head. "You'll just have to see for yourself. We'll be meeting Inuarashi-ya first since Ojii-san said we're staying here for the year."

"Anything we should know?" Kid asked.

"Don't ruin their fur. They'll gut you. Also, don't ask to pet them—" He sent a side-long glance to Penguin who pretended he didn't see. "Think of it like someone asking to touch your face. But while they're human in some ways, they're all animal in others. Instincts mainly. Canine Minks like bones and tend to be overly affectionate with friends; feline Minks love catnip and cat toys—some stereotypes are pretty accurate."

"Haha." Kid laughed in amusement.

Killer gave him a wary look.

"Almost there, boys." Sengoku warned and they looked up to see the scaffolding was only a few yards away.

Law was the first to exit the lift and onto the loose skin surrounding the lift. He turned to watch the others stumble and slide in amusement. That never got old. "Lost your land legs already?"

Kid went red and glared at him. "Shut the hell up! You could've warned us!"

Law smiled serenely. "Must have slipped my mind."

"Anything else 'slip your mind'?" Killer asked dryly as they got their feet under them.

Giving a put-upon sigh, he said, "Twice a day Zunisha-sama cleans herself with what the citizens have dubbed the 'eruption rain'. It brings the Minks fish, sustains the life of the vegetation, and the water is purified through aqueducts for drinking." He waved it off in disinterest and they began to trek through the forest, Zunisha's skin giving it a very rough terrain and everyone but Law and Sengoku seemed to struggle with it. It took them twenty minutes to reach the city and he said, "Don't worry about getting washed away. There are some protections put in place to catch you—in the city." He pointed ahead at the gate.

"How many times have you been swept away?" Corazon asked curiously.

"Irrelevant." He said with a slight blush.

Penguin giggled again. "Don't be embarrassed, Sencho. Even the other Minks have been washed away."

He huffed and ignored him, readjusting the bags hanging from his shoulder. A few minutes later, they neared the gate of the city and the visitor's bell rang five times, then half.

"Why'd they cut it off?" Penguin asked in confusion.

"I don't know." He replied with a frown. Shrugging, he made to pass through the gate.

"Well if it isn't the little pup!"

Law leapt back when Inuarashi landed a foot away from him and was caught by Corazon before he fell. Wow, he was MUCH bigger than Law remembered. "Inuarashi-ya." He greeted.

The dog Mink scoffed as he straightened up. "Still a punk." Then he grinned, showing off his teeth. "We didn't know you were the one coming." He looked over the group before focusing on the adults. "Why don't you pups return that little one to her parents while we talk business?"

Law only hesitated a moment before he started walking into town, the other three following.

When they were a fair distance away, Kid asked, "Are all Minks that freaking huge?"

"Not all of them. Bepo wasn't that big." He replied before considering it. "Maybe because he left so young, but it could also just not be in his genetics."

They talked about the Duke all the way into the residential area of the town. The Minks looked at them with bright smiles but didn't approach them and Law felt the back of his neck prickle. A large group was tailing them and felt his unease grow. What if he started to cry?

He did his best to lock down his emotions. He couldn't allow himself to make a big deal out of it. It was just like returning the other kids. Strangers to strangers.

His heart hurt.

Too soon the familiar house came into view and he straightened, schooling his expression as he walked up the steps to the front door. Raising his hand, he knocked loudly.

"You ready, Maki-chan?" He murmured to the girl. "Just like we practiced."

She nodded as the door opened revealing a jaguar Mink in her late twenties. Law didn't allow himself to notice any more as he held up Maki.

"Momo-kaa-chin!" The girl crowed brightly and the woman gasped in shock, hands covering her mouth.

"M-Maki-chan…" She whispered before she was carefully taking her from Law's hands. She scented the girl before rubbing their cheeks together and starting to cry.

Law took off Maki's bag and gave them a moment before he held it out by the strap. "Here's her stuff, Ma'am."

"Ma'am?" She asked and through her tears he was confused to hear…amusement? "Is that any way to address your mother, Kitten?"

Law looked up at that with wide eyes, feeling like he couldn't breathe. Her brown eyes were as warm as he remembered and he could see that—"Y-you remember me?" He felt like he was on the edge of a precipice, vertigo threatening his precarious balance.

She got down onto one knee and with her free hand she pushed his hat out of his eyes so that she could hold his gaze as she said, "Zunisha-sama remembers everyone that steps foot on her back. And through her, so do we."

Law didn't understand. He couldn't think, his mind was blank.

Laughing, she pulled him into a warm hug and he began to cry uncontrollably. He'd been so prepared for her to not recognize him. Weeks and weeks of preparation for the emotional blow…he couldn't handle the RELIEF.

"Oh, my sweet little Kitten…" She murmured. "Don't you cry." She picked him up like he didn't weigh a thing and stood. "Boys, would you like to come inside? The rain will start soon."

"Thank you." Killer said as he picked up the dropped bag and they followed her into the cozy house.

"So you remember too?" Penguin asked as he went to perch on his favorite table.

"Not as much as you probably think." She said as she sat in her armchair, alternating between petting her purring daughter and the now-silently crying Law. "Zunisha-sama wouldn't give us important information like who became King or whether the dukes killed each other—just the small stuff. I remember helping raise Law-chan, but not much until your group's arrival."

"That's really clever. Enough for you to help but not enough to make you interfere." HE mused thoughtfully. "But does this mean that whatever brought us back is centered around Sencho?"

"Looks like it." Kid said. "I know we're amazing and all, but why'd we get brought back too?"

"Maybe secretly Sencho LIKES you." Penguin scoffed. "Ever consider THAT?"

"But he's not the one that did it, even if that made sense." Kid huffed in annoyance. "That leaves bear or one of the Strawhats."

"I doubt any of the Strawhats knew enough about Sencho to know about your relationship." He denied.

"They got pretty close after you lot kicked the bucket." Kid replied. "Mugiwara was probably the only reason he got through that."

"Shut up. Don't ever talk about that." Law said quietly, looking up to glare at them with red eyes. "It never happened!"

Momo started to purr and it set him off again.

"So where is your husband, Momo-san?" Killer asked politely.

"He's on guard duty at the bell tower right now." She replied, purr curiously unbroken. "If we'd known it was today, he would have requested time off. I can't believe you found Maki-chan…" She began to cry again as she hugged both close.

They were saved from the silence becoming awkward as the eruption rain started and they ran to the window, watching in shock as the street they'd just walked down turned into a raging river.

"Oh no, there goes miss Anuki." Penguin giggled as the cackling raccoon Mink floated by only to be fished out by one of the neighbors a few houses down.

"Now the levels of the houses make sense." Killer mused as the rain began to die down. "It's to keep the water out."

"Cool." Kid said in awe.

After a moment longer of watching the river, Penguin asked, "Cards?"

"Yeah."

AN: Okay, so since the chapter was more than 4,000 words, I decided to chop it in half. So you get two chapters tonight!

A little side note, while reading another story, I made the realization that a hand-and-half sword is actually a longsword. I was using it as a description of the blade length…so no, Law can't fit a freaking longsword in his coat. Sorry about that.