Dragging her feet tiredly across the frost-covered ground, Nayla held a gloved hand to her mouth and yawned as she looked at the grey approaching sea ahead, heaving its small grey waves that crashed into small grey sprays as they hit the shore. Everything always did seem so very grey and bleak this early in the morning, even more so on such a briskly cold one…Not that she hadn't found a new and peculiar fondness for the colour.

Stepping onto the recently cleared wooden planks of the harbour's wooden pier, she looked behind her at Law as he conversed quietly with Connor and Koush – apparently due to do routine maintenance checks on board today. In fact, quite a few members had gotten up early to do some checks and preparations for the Heart Pirates' departure from Ashibumi tomorrow morning, though she got the impression that some of them had gotten up at the same time as her and Law to see her off before she left for her 'super secret mission,' that they weren't privy to the details of, as they called it.

Glancing a few piers down, she could see the Shibumi Speedline ship she had booked a place on from where she stood, the dwindling queue of passengers on its attached gangplank indicating its nearly completed boarding. The vessel was due to depart within the next ten minutes.

Despite the point of her not sleeping well being pointed out by both herself and Law last night, she'd ironically gotten even less sleep than she had the previous two. Naturally her mind had run amok with thoughts of him that kept her awake as soon as she'd gotten into bed. They'd also made an unwelcomed appearance in the dreams she'd had during what few hours of sleep she'd managed as well. Her filthy brain had taken the liberty of depicting each and every scenario that it had suggested to her last night (and that she had promptly ignored) that would have resulted in Law having her in a public restroom in overly graphic detail…Dirty, dirty dreams…Hopefully she could sleep off her terrible night's rest during her twelve hour trip, without the dreams this time.

"Wakey wakey, lil lady!" Planting a heavy hand atop her thick hat, Jeff playfully ruffled it over her scalp, snapping her out of her daze.

"How can you be this lively this early?" She groaned, righting her woollen beanie as she stepped out of his reach.

"Mornin' person." He answered simply with a bright, toothy grin.

"Oi oi, don't provoke the savage little beast." Ichirou grouched, crossing his arms. Apparently, like her, he was not a morning person…and had already heard about last night.

"I'm not a-…" Trailing off, she shot Shachi an unimpressed look as he mockingly took a hammy, defensive kung fu stance as she turned his and Ichirou's way. "…I'm not a beast."

"Pfft, tellin' ya, she clocks the chick out cold, sees her twitch just a lil and was like 'oh here honey, lemme fix that' and starts reaching for another bottle." Penguin muttered to the grumpy chef, shaking his head.

"Beast." The man nodded in conclusion.

Opening her mouth to defend herself she halted the rebuttal on the tip of her tongue as Jeff approached her, reaching his hands to her face.

"Aww come on, this lil thing? A beast? More like an iddy biddy wildcat at best-" She deadpanned at him from between the two cheeks he pinched. "-and what a cute widdle kitty she is-Ow!" Pulling his hands away, he waved the one she'd just bitten the thumb of back and forth with a chuckle as he took a cautious step back. "Not saying it's a bad thing, lil lady…Not in my opinion anyway."

Scoffing at the mischievous wink Jeff gave her, she looked at the others as they caught up, reading the 'I'm not even going to ask why you just bit my crewmember' look on Law's face before he turned to speak to the rest of them.

"You know what needs to be done before we depart. Report any problems or overlooked stock issues that need to be seen to today before we set sail tomorrow."

"Aye aye, Captain!" Wincing a little at the volume of the eager responses from the crew, she focused back on Law as he turned his attention to her.

"And you know what you need to do too."

"Aye aye, Captain." Rolling her eyes as she adjusted the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder, she raised her hand in mock-salute before turning and beginning to make her way down the harbour towards the pier her ship was docked at.

"Take care, lil lady."

"See ya soon, Nayla-chan!"

"Try not to kill anyone whilst you're gone."

Laughing a little at that, she glanced back over her shoulder at Shachi, catching the look of amusement on Law's face as they shared the private irony of the comment. "I'll try my best."

"What, no goodbye kiss for Captain?" Connor mocked, grinning at Jeff knowingly.

"Aww, that's so cold, Nayla-chan." Penguin chimed in, smiling at her.

"Captain has feelings too ya know." Shachi said, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Told ya, heartless little beast."

Resting a hand to Law's shoulder, Jeff gave a heavy and dramatic sigh on the man's behalf. "Tough break, Captain."

Turning around with a sigh of her own, Nayla tutted when she saw the entertained smirk on the pirate captain's face as his crew poked fun at her. "Really, Law? You're not gonna say anything at all about your boys ripping on me?"

Getting nothing but a chuckle from him in response and wide, taunting, toothy grins from his crewmembers, she pursed her lips in thought before walking back towards them.

"Uh-oh, get ready boys. Here it comes, pint-sized savage on a warpath." Ichirou mocked.

Shaking her head a little as they got into childishly exaggerated defensive stances, she strode past them to their captain, resting her free hand to his chest as she tiptoed and kissed him gently on the lips.

Smiling at his stunned expression and at the dropped jaws of the crew, she readjusted her bag and walked back towards the other pier, smiling wider to herself as she heard the crew's delayed but loud uproar and wolf whistles in reaction.

"KNEW IT!"

"Lucky bastard…"

"Pay up you jerks, I TOLD ya!"

"No way, you still have no proof Cap was the one that left that hi-"

"How much more proof do ya need?!"

"Aww come on, what does one peck really mean? She's probably just messing with us."

"Oi, Captain, it was you wasn't it?"

"Hey, hey Cap. How long you and the lil lady been, ya know?"

"…Don't you have work to do?"

"No way, it can wait!"

"Come onnn Captain, give us the juicy details."

"Yeah! Don't leave anything out!"

Laughing as the crew's harassment of him grew quieter the further she got, she reached the now empty gangplank to her ship, climbing up the short wooden walkway and handing her ticket to the man standing atop it as the vessel's engines roared into life.

Taking it and her assigned cabin key for her voyage with a thanks she climbed aboard, looking back over at the Heart Pirates as they clambered for answers from their unimpressed-looking captain.

Walking over to the side of the ship nearest to the show, Nayla rest her chin to her hand as she set an elbow atop the railing, watching as Law finally seemed to lose his temper and order the men to leave him alone, pointing to the sub at the end of the pier they were stood by.

Their unified groan of disappointment at the order had nearly been audible even from that distance and over the noise of the ship she was on as they slumped away in defeat to do as they were told.

Adjusting his ruffled coat, and resetting his weapon to his shoulder, Law glanced over at her as he realised she was watching. Flexing her fingers at him in a small wave earned her a narrowing of his eyes as he turned to begin making his way back towards the street.

Laughing to herself as she heard the gangplank being pulled on board and the ship's engines revving more loudly, she watched as he reached the snowy road and looked over his shoulder at her one more time before beginning to make his way back to the inn.

Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder more securely, she checked the cabin number printed on the ticket stub in her hand as she turned to make her way inside, her smile widening as she thought of the small smirk Law had been wearing as he'd last looked at her.


Lingering at the ballroom window, Law began to get anxious when he couldn't see Nayla entering through the decadent double doors of this excessively luxurious hotel's function room.

According to the information she had been sent regarding this job, the charity function Senator Orlen was attending was to be held in an adjacent dining room with guest speakers giving numerous speeches outlining the devastating effects of a natural disaster on a distant island further along Grand Line, followed by a move to the 'Crystal Ballroom' for drinks, dancing and mingling. The guests had moved into this room some time ago now and Nayla had not been amongst them.

Law had worried slightly about the possibility of her immediately boarding another ship after landing in Kattou but breathing a small sigh of relief as she finally did appear at the doorway, he realised he'd been right in predicting that she wouldn't. He'd come to the conclusion that she would be unlikely to ditch her job this close to needing to do it because she didn't want to cause trouble or any compromise to the safety of that 'Marty' of hers by upsetting Joker again so soon.

Obviously having had no actual invitation to this event, she had no place set for her for the dining portion of the evening and he had assumed she intended to arrive after it, blending into the crowd as they moved to a room where her attendance wouldn't have been an obvious anomaly or questioned, as if she had been there all night. That, he could see now, had only been part of her reason for arriving for only the latter part of this event.

The expression on the senator's face as he, amongst others, looked at the woman at the doorway as she walked through the doors alone – no one else to obstruct his view or distract his attention from her said it all: 'How did I miss her?'

It wasn't simply an avoidance of the issue of the set places in the dining area or her laziness to attend the full evening, it was a well thought out part of her work plan. Allowing her target to settle a few hours into the evening having thought he'd already glimpsed and rubbed shoulders with all the beautiful women the night had to offer amplified the impact of her first appearance on him greatly. She had his full attention, she was someone new, exciting and mysterious that he probably felt a compulsion to meet…and she looked absolutely stunning.

Donning the expensive, black evening gown that he himself had removed and checked from her suitcase, she caught the attention of many of the men in attendance as she walked elegantly on her matching stilettos, bowing her head slightly in demure thanks to the doormen that had greeted and ushered her inside politely.

The exquisitely fine beadwork on the figure hugging dress glistened attractively under the gentle lighting, as did the soft shimmer of her long, silk gloves – masking the small dressing of her injured palm, and the satin skin of her bare legs – an attractive slip of which peered out with every step she took from the long slit of her dress. The negligible inflammation from the minor scald she suffered last night long gone, only smooth, toned, tanned thigh apparent now.

She didn't own much formalwear and attending black tie events didn't seem to fit her personality at all. Law began to wonder if this dress, as well as the 'costumes' and other anomalies that stood out in her wardrobe were job-related….Apparently the silly, fuzzy items were just hers though…and he had to wonder what hospital would seriously hire a woman wearing a nurse's costume that looked like that…Perhaps the jury was still out on the peculiar nature of her clothing choices.

Coming to a stop beside the rich, oak podium beside the doorway as the host greeted her, she allowed her silk shall to slip casually down her shoulders as she pushed her hair back – the dark shimmer of it emphasising the fact she had dyed over her red highlights to give back her natural, solid, brunette colour.

The fall of the fine fabric down her arms and chest drew the host's gaze the wrong way as she pointed a gloved finger to 'her name' on the list in front of him. It was almost comical how smoothly she managed to abuse her assets. Law snorted in amusement as he watched the host belatedly realise he hadn't answered her, pull his eyes off her chest and cough into a closed fist as he gestured his hand politely to the large, suit-clad man standing beside him.

As she turned back around to face the security personnel stepping out from behind the podium to greet her, Law's own gaze was drawn to the glittering platinum and diamond cleavage necklace delving deeply into the crevice of her voluptuous chest. No need for a second guess as to how exactly the Senator would be meeting his end tonight.

Having been through the majority of her things, he'd noticed she had a fair amount of fine jewellery that again, didn't seem to fit her personality. The vast majority were different cleavage chains that he naturally assumed were for use with her chest brace but some, like this one, were part of a matching set. Watching the glint of the platinum and diamonds in her ears he wondered if, like that expensive belly button piercing and swimsuit, this particularly expensive-looking matching set was another 'gift.'

Rolling his eyes at the thought he observed the security guard briefly – very briefly, pat her down and check the inside of her clutch out of reluctant obligation to do so, apologising profusely as he bowed deeply and allowed her to proceed into the room. If he had felt it, then he'd understandably assumed the strap of her chest brace to be the lower border of her bra and not having the 'utter nerve to grope that deeply into a woman's cleavage,' she had slipped straight by with her weapon. The senator's personal security would do no different when he invited her back to his mansion.

Finding humour in the subtly smug look on Nayla's face as she took back her bag and strode confidently into the room, well aware of the number of eyes on her, she walked straight past her target on her way to the open bar, close enough for him to have caught the scent of her perfume.

Wondering if she were a natural born actress or if the accurately aristocratic mannerisms she was displaying tonight were something she'd formally had to learn, he made a mental note to ask more about those 'many schools' out there that apparently taught women to kill through manipulation of their sex appeal that she had mentioned. Her gait, gestures and body language were proud but demure, every bit as elegant and delicate-appearing as a woman of this social standing was expected to be…It was honestly hard to believe this was the same woman he'd seen so readily dropping to her knees on a dirty, wooden tavern floor last night in a fit of rage with every intention of punching the living daylights out of another woman in a lowly, dirty bar fight.

Smirking to himself, Law watched the elderly man take the bait. Closing his gaping mouth, he hurriedly offered polite nods and rushed handshakes as he excused himself from the small group of people he had been conversing with. Adjusting his tie the senator finished the contents of the glass he was holding as he made his way over to the bar Nayla was awaiting her own drink at, using his empty glass as an excuse to stand beside her.

The background information provided to her about Senator Orlen's behaviour had been a comprehensive read. Apparently, when the good senator was not indulging in the occasional 'lady of the night' he instead invited many people of influence to his mansion for a 'tour of his home' after occasions such as these. Something that he could play off publically as mingling, socialising and building better connections and friendships to those who also shared an interest in the topic of the event they had just attended…Though suspiciously those he invited back always seemed to be very young, very attractive women with similar…'build's to Nayla. The man wasn't very subtle about the side-glances he stole at her chest.

Placing his own order as the bartender returned with hers earned a slight glance of polite acknowledgement from her which he immediately took as his cue to introduce himself, extending his hand.

Chuckling, Law watched as she daintily lifted a hand to her cheek in 'embarrassment' as she shyly extended her other to the man as he bowed lowly and kissed the back of her gloved knuckles in greeting.

She was entertaining to observe, her and her peculiar array of acting skills. It was obvious she had done this kind of thing many times before and could understand why she might enjoy these 'Honey Pot' or 'Black Widow' jobs of hers. He wondered how many men had been fatally attracted to her so far...

Although he may have (very sensibly) tried to avoid engaging in a sexual relationship with Nayla and that she seemed to have been trying to do the same, it had become all too clear that they were both having trouble sticking to that, whether he liked calling his own self control into question or not.

Not only was he beginning to have trouble getting the thought of it off his mind, it had gotten to the point of becoming a hindrance and unnecessary distraction in general, including when with other women…and if it could happen when with someone of even Stravia's calibre than it was likely to be an issue with others he may choose to pursue in the immediate future…

Then there was the sheer discontent he felt at the thought of someone else having her when he was so vehemently denying himself the pleasure of it. Why should they get to enjoy her when he couldn't? It was especially irritant considering their heated entanglements and especially if it was going to occur in a bedroom right next to his own.

Frowning at the thought and as he recalled the unpleasant annoyance he'd experienced when watching that cocky little worm Miles flirt shamelessly with her last night, Law had come to the admittedly hopeful conclusion that perhaps allowing himself to sate his lust for her wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe it really wasn't.

Nayla had been so unaffected after their previous near miss, so perfectly level-headed and understanding of the nature of what he wanted from her – to the point that he was convinced she reciprocated the feeling and simply wanted a casual engagement as well…Perhaps he was being overly paranoid about causing upset with her by mixing business with pleasure…and he grew more and more confident she wasn't the overly emotional kind of woman that would backstab him in a fit of scorned fury if things, for some reason, did decline between them as a result of them having a sexual relationship…Then the more rational part of his mind would throw all of the above out and question which head he was thinking with exactly…

At this point, he didn't care. He knew what he wanted, he knew what she wanted and he'd be taking his ninety-nine point nine percent bet that things would be perfectly fine between them afterwards. Either way, he was going to have her, tonight.

Take her off that desirable and forbidden pedestal he'd placed her on, get the craving to have her out of his system, get the yearning to take her out of his thoughts and then he, and likely she, could move on from it. Reality was always a far cry from the fantasy, they'd enjoy each other once, maybe a few times, lose interest - as he did with most, and then they could both move past it like mature adults without hard feelings. He wouldn't feel testy about other men having what he'd already finished enjoying and perhaps she would feel a tad bit more apologetic about inadvertently cockblocking him…Though hopefully she'd never end up doing that again…

Chuckling a little at the thought, he peeled his eyes from her as he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, guessing that the upped security detail that were patrolling the perimeter of the building to ensure the safety of the prestigious and important people in attendance there tonight were coming back this way again.

Reassured that Nayla was doing what she needed to do and deciding that he'd seen enough of her at work, he took his leave quietly, slinking out of sight through the shadows cast by the grand walls of the hotel and back onto the night street.

He had his own business to attend to anyway.


Having finished cleaning herself up, Nayla pulled the cord by the door of the luxurious En Suite, turning off its light as she re-entered the senator's master bedroom. Examining the minor signs of metal corrosion on her freshly wiped dagger's blade - the price she paid for keeping it in its leather sheath more often than not, she decided it would be due for professional maintenance or replacement in the near future. That probably meant the dagger still in its leather thigh holster in her duffel bag would probably need the same soon as well.

Sliding it back into its sheath carefully and fastening her chest brace closed securely, she walked back over to the end of the bed wondering how her main weapons were faring. They were due to have their blades oiled and maintained too, the last time she'd done so was after the mercenary job she'd done for Joker - well over a month ago now, she was far too finicky about keeping them in good condition to wait much longer than a month between taking care of them. Maybe she could ask Law to remove them from the safe so she could, he was a swordsman, he'd understand the importance of needing to do it. It would be a good way to get them back in her hands...if she went back at all tonight.

Stooping down to pick up her gown from the plush carpeting she glanced over at the senator, still exactly where she'd left him - slumped against the wall beside his bed and still very much dead.

Sighing she stepped back into her gown, pulling the snug fabric back up over her underwear. The poor man hadn't really seen it coming. He'd bought her false identity as the daughter of a prominent international company's CEO whose father couldn't make it last minute and who'd arrive alone in his stead without even remotely questioning it. He hadn't even cared that she'd played the role of a woman who was avidly interested in using him as a stepping stone to delve into a possible political career; he'd honestly seemed unsurprised by it and had probably fed the same false promises to and taken advantage of many naïve young women looking to use him in a similar manner before.

It hadn't taken him long to invite her back to this mansion and he'd wasted even less time in bringing her to his bedroom after the very brief 'tour' he'd given of the rest of the place. Not that she had needed it, considering the extremely detailed information she'd received about it already, but it had been a good opportunity to double check that yes, all the information she'd received was accurate. The rooms, security personnel and cameras were exactly where they should have been and it had made it easy to always be casually turned away from directly facing any of them.

Walking over to the mirror she zipped up her dress, smoothing out its silk and examining it and herself carefully for any telltale bloodstains. Having not wanted to ruin a perfectly good gown, she'd removed it and the poor senator had stood idly by, enjoying the 'striptease' as she'd turned her back on him, unzipped it and let it fall to the floor around her feet, her hair had easily covered the brace and before he'd even realised anything was wrong she'd turned around and done her job.

Other than needing to rinse her right glove and a few drops from her arm, it had been a clean kill; no footprints, handprints or the like. She'd be able to exit the mansion without leaving any trails behind. Not that it mattered much anyway; she'd be on a ship and off the island within the hour, long before she predicted the body would be found. The traumatising honour of that, she figured, would most likely fall upon an unfortunate staff member in the morning.

Looking around the room, Nayla doubled checked everything for any details she may have missed. False signs of a struggle, the body in an appropriate position for the 'accidental' death that had resulted from it, the window left slightly ajar to indicate her escape route and the photos 'accidentally' kicked under the bed beside the man - plausibly unseen and forgotten in her 'panic' to flee the scene and give context to the situation for when authorities arrived. Everything was in place.

The senator had unwisely dismissed the security on this floor until morning to appease her when she'd 'shyly' expressed concern that she was a little noisy and didn't want to be heard. Although she intended to leave by the first floor window to avoid a questionably long gap between the senator's time of death and her being seen to 'flee in a panic' on camera, she was thankful the security were now gone from the hallways, it would make the next part of her job much much easier.

Bidding the fallen man a silent goodbye, Nayla picked up her clutch and made her way to the bedroom door. It really was a shame but Law was absolutely right, this man had been marked for death by someone who would - and had the means to, keep sending people his way to get this done. If she hadn't done it, someone else would have been along to anyway.

Sadly, the senator was well aware his work had upset a lot of people that you didn't want to upset. That much was evidenced by the abnormal amount of security personnel surrounding a single politician. Unfortunately, the man's libido had ultimately clouded his judgement and gotten him killed. That she saw a lot of. Most men do find it too difficult to resist a pretty face and a seductive offer…Then there were men like Law who were so much smarter, more strongly willed and so used to beautiful women's attention that they almost had a sense of immunity and resistance to it…Which was exactly why she avoided men like him as much as possible...Well, when they allowed it.

Annoyed at the inappropriate train of thought, she roughly forced the man from her mind, refusing to think of anything but completing her job and getting herself out of the mansion safely because unlike Law, she couldn't dodge bullets like a superhero. 'God, damn hacks is what that is,' frowning at the unfairness of it all, she pressed an ear to the bedroom door and listened closely.

Ensuring she couldn't hear any movement outside she quietly left, carefully shutting the door behind her as she glanced up and down the spacious hallway to ensure she was alone before making her way a few doors down to the senator's study.

He hadn't shown it to her on their brief walk around this side of the mansion but she knew where it was from the floor plan she'd been provided and surprisingly, it only had a single surveillance Den Den Mushi outside it.

Spotting it up ahead, clinging to the wall above the doorframe, Nayla waited patiently for it to turn its eyes the other way before edging closer against the wall in the shadows. Waiting patiently a couple more times as it swung its vision her way and back again, she was soon close enough to sneak into the office quietly without being seen or recorded.

Keeping the room's lights off and steering clear of the windows so as not to be accidentally seen by any security personnel patrolling outside, Nayla crept over to the large filing cabinets on the side, reading the labels carefully before selectively pulling open the heavy drawer of her choice and sifting through the files.


After an uneventful escape from the senator's luxurious estate and picking up the duffel bag she'd hidden in the local park, Nayla had made a quick change back into her casual wear and was now making her way to the harbour, the mansion far behind her.

Yawning tiredly, she tugged her hood up a little more securely, more of the cold breeze sneaking beneath it than she appreciated. The weather of Kattou, an autumn island, was still chilly but much milder than Ashibumi, though the style of the town and architecture of buildings was very similar.

Understandable she supposed, they were proud 'Sister Islands' that shared a lot with each other. Senator Orlen's newest legislation had actually been to extend Kattou's new and successful security measures to the waters surrounding Ashibumi as well. With things already difficult enough for Joker to get his goods past one island, the proposition of making it difficult to get them past two adjacent ones – then three, four, even five if the security measures had been successfully propagated to the other neighbours had been the nail in the poor old man's coffin.

Honestly, she felt pretty dirty. At least if someone else had done it she wouldn't have had his blood on her hands, literally.

Sighing at her sudden feeling of entrapment and remembrance of the gravity of her situation with Law, she glanced at the few uniformed marines coming down the street the opposite way. 'Obviously just grunts, no one strong enough to help me even if I did stop them and explain,' she thought bitterly.

Watching them walk by, she wondered what Miles was doing about now. Did he know any of these men? Would he be brave enough to return to the inn tonight? What would Law do to him if he did?...Would Stravia go back to the inn tonight? Maybe looking for round two with her or…would she try talking to Law? He seemed concerned about the injury she'd inflicted on the pretty blonde…Even if Stravia wasn't there tonight, maybe some other beautiful women had gone to the inn, ones that had their eyes on Law too…

Scoffing in disgust at herself, Nayla wondered how in the same thirty seconds she could go from resenting Law for her prisoner status and forced hands to feeling unjustly jealous at the thought of him free to do as he pleased without her tonight.

...

'No input?...You're still mad at me, aren't you? - … - Look, just say it already. You told me so, bla bla bla. - … - Fine, be that way. Not like you ever contributed anything useful anyway. – …You could have slept with Law last night. - Yeah but - You could have. Slept with. Law. Last. Night. – Yeees, but – Now you're worried about what he might be up to? I mean are you fucking INSANE?! - …Just gonna give up and let you rant it out of your system. - Do you have ANY idea how many women would KILL to have that man invite them into his bed?! I mean, have you not seen the way women everywhere look at him or just me? WHY do you do this to me? – Digni- – We've been over this! FUCK YOUR DIGNITY! –…Alright, my mistake. Go back to the silent treatment.'

Adjusting the strap of her duffel bag with a huff, she wrapped her fingers around it more tightly, her fingertips idly running over the back of the dressing pad still on her palm as she rounded the corner towards the docks.

There weren't many ships sailing this late, she had checked her travel options when she'd arrived earlier. The only other ship leaving tonight other than the return trip to Ashibumi she was booked on was another heading to Sabaody…which was a place she wasn't in any real hurry to revisit. Nothing but bad things had happened to her there and it was probably more overrun by pirates flooding into the New World than ever before.

Coming to a stop atop the hill, she looked down the street towards the pier at the bottom of it, scanning the busy docks until she spotted the 'Shibumi Speedline' - due to depart for Ashibumi in ten minutes, and the large cruise ship boasting a safe tour to and from Sabaody for its delightful, natural, bubble-related beauty and amusement park - due to depart in about thirty minutes.

After last night, Nayla hadn't really allowed herself much time to dwell over whether she still wanted to go through with an escape at this point or not, choosing to think it over later - after she didn't have to focus on work anymore. She really hadn't found much time to do so but had been functioning on the assumption that she would be leaving the crew behind for good tonight…she'd even managed to sneak one last kiss under the guise of getting under Law's skin.

Chuckling a little under her breath as she recalled the shock on his face, Nayla tucked her other hand into her hoodie pocket, gripping her ticket stub in thought as she glanced between the two ships.

The Heart Pirate's Log Pose would be ready by tomorrow morning and they were due to set sail straight afterwards…Law wouldn't realise she hadn't gotten on her ship until tomorrow morning when it arrived without her and then it would take him a minimum of twelve hours to get to Kattou to chase her down (if he wanted to). So, she could stay in Kattou overnight and wait until morning to see what other destinations would be available, she'd even be nice enough to figure out a way to leave behind what she'd picked up for him tonight. It would be a nice parting gift, aside from the one she'd left for him at the inn this morning…

Humming in thought she leant against the well beside her, weighing her options. 'Escape now and never have to deal with Law again…but lose all my belongings and weapons...but be free to get off the Grand Line and not have to deal with this shitty unpredictable sea anymore or pirates or Joker…but never see those adorable Heart Pirates again…but I wouldn't have to do crap jobs I don't want to do anymore…but I wouldn't get to see Law again…wait was that a pro or a con…'

Narrowing her eyes in thought she stiffened as she suddenly heard movement shockingly close behind her. Wondering if she'd been sloppy, spotted and followed from the mansion, she reached for the hip she used to carry weapons on as she turned around to face the person right behind her – throwing a punch at the hooded figure instead when her fist grasped air.

Gritting her teeth as she read the D-E-A-T-H across the backs of the fingers that had caught her wrist in an overly perfect and annoying manner, she glanced up at the overshadowed face of the tall man hovering over her as he tugged back his hood slightly, revealing familiar, white, spotted fur and a finely arched brow under the overhanging streetlight.

"YOU!"

"Keep your voice down, Nayla-ya." Law calmly responded, releasing her and tugging the black fabric back over his characteristic hat.

"WH-What the fuck are you doing here?! How did you get here, the security in the waters around Kattou is tight, did you destroy a bunch of marines again?" She hissed angrily, feeling her heart strain to settle against the upsurge of panic he'd caused.

Ignoring her he glanced behind her, curious as to what she had been staring at so intently that she'd failed to notice his approach, his features morphing into an expression of mild amusement as he looked back down at her. "Are you having trouble working out which ship you're supposed to board?" Watching her refuse to answer his mocking question, he leant in closely, smirk widening. "Do you need a hint? It's the one that has 'Shibumi Speedline' printed in large letters across its side."

"Fuck off."

Chuckling as she turned on her heel crossing her arms, he followed after her as she began making her way downhill towards the harbour. "Hmm and here I thought absence made the heart grow fonder. You've had the whole day to yourself and you're already this angry with me?"

"Because you fucking stalked me, again. What, are you here making sure I come back?" She spat in annoyance side-glancing at him as he walked alongside her.

"It's not always about you, Nayla-ya. I had my own things to do here."

"I don't even belie-…" Furrowing her brows in confusion when he took her hand and slid it into his coat pocket, her eyes widened when her fingers contacted the flat surface of something pulsating.

"Who's-?..." Trailing off as she realised there were two inside, she turned and used her other hand to pull open his pocket for a closer look.

Raising a brow at her peculiar awe and curiosity, Law tugged the material of his coat away from her. "Unimportant. Though had you been following the news as 'keenly' as you'd been doing on board the sub Nayla-ya, then you'd probably already know which pirates were laying low on Kattou right now."

Scoffing and sulkily rolling her eyes at that, she refocused on the docks ahead of them. She hadn't found much fun in reading the morning paper since they'd started staying at the inn. There were always multiple copies of it available at breakfast, far too many to deface his picture in all of them and no way of telling which he'd be picking up. Her only other reason to pay attention to the news at the moment was for any information about the Straw Hats but she already knew the crew would have mentioned anything about them to her if they saw anything during their read.

"Was that bounty poster your intention of a parting gift, Nayla-ya?"

Feeling her lips pull into an uncontrollable smile, she chanced a look at him as they reach the bottom of the hill and hit the wooden planks of the pier. "Other than the loving farewell kiss I graced you with? Yes, did you like it?"

"Why a vampire?" He honestly had no idea when she'd had the chance to take a marker to his bounty poster on the board of the tavern's wall. Returning to the inn today after seeing her off, he'd found the bartender hastily trying to remove it as he walked through the door, apologising profusely and swearing he had no idea who'd done it.

"Aside from being a blood-sucking parasite, it was just a delayed thought from that whole demonic-doctor that can be repelled with apples thing. You'd look quite cool with fangs though, you should consider a vampire costume for next Halloween."

"…I'll bear that in mind." He deadpanned, coming to a halt a few feet away from the gangplank of the ship back to Ashibumi, prompting her to stop and turn to face him. "I assume your job went well."

"Yeah." She sighed out miserably, glancing up at the top of the wooden bridge at the few travellers hurrying on board last minute, suddenly feeling very tired. Surprised to find herself feeling so exhausted despite getting a decent amount of sleep on her way there and still waking up in time to do something about her hair and makeup to make herself black-tie-event-presentable. "I'm guessing the lack of pervs in boilersuits and giant yellow sub means you got here the same way I did. Come on, let's get on board."

Ignoring the reappearance of the small, nagging guilt he felt in his gut as he watched the cheeky smile fade from her lips, Law followed her silently, watching as she gave her ticket stub to the man at the top of the gangplank who greeted her warmly, checked it and handed over her assigned cabin's key as he stepped aside for her.

Turning his attention to him, the man's eyes fell to the nodachi resting on his shoulder. "Uh sir, we don't allow weapons on bo-…"

Visibly gulping as he glimpsed the pirate's familiar face beneath his hood, Nayla watched the man numbly trail off as Law placed his ticket stub onto his open palm, prompting him to look down and read the cryptic threat printed across the back of Law's knuckles. "I'd appreciate it if you'd be kind enough to make an exception, Chief Purser-ya." Nodding silently, he moved aside as Law stepped onto the deck. "I'd also appreciate it if you kept my presence here to yourself. We wouldn't want your crew or the passengers on board to have an unpleasant trip, now, would we?"

"N-No sir."

"Ninety four."

"Oh! R-Right." With some fumbling, he removed the cabin's key from the hook board sat upon the small table set up behind him and held it out for the dark captain to take.

Shaking her head as Law took it, glided past the nervous man with a sinisterly amused chuckle and caught up to her, they began walking towards the entrance of the ship. "So that's how you got here without raising the alarm and making a scene. If you were just gonna bully your way onto the ship then I'm surprised you'd even bother buying a ticket in the first place."

"Twelve hours is a long time, I wanted to be sure I had a room…Although, I'm not opposed to sharing mine with you, Nayla-ya. It'll be just like old times."

Cracking a smile as he looped an arm around her waist, they entered the ship and began walking down the narrow, dim corridor towards the guest cabins. "As tempting as that is, I really just want to sleep tonight."

"You'll sleep a lot better when I'm done with you." He purred into her ear, tightening his hold.

"I also have a terrible headache." She laughed, amused at his persistence as she read the number of her own cabin coming up on the right.

"I'll have you know that medically speaking, sex is actually good for relieving headaches."

Giggling as she felt his goatee tickle her neck and his teeth tug her ear lobe playfully, she came to a stop outside her door, turning to face him as he pulled her in closely.

"Is that right, well I'm still gonna take a rain check on that." Glancing up at his raised brows as she fiddled with the fabric of his coat, she bit her lip guiltily. "Sorry, I'm just...really not feeling up to it at the moment."

Asking what was bothering her was on the tip of his tongue but Law had a feeling he already knew what it was and didn't particularly want to hear the answer, lest it provoke that unpleasant sensation of guilt in his gut again.

Looking her over carefully under the bleak, pale overhead lighting of the ship's hallway she didn't look like she'd done earlier in that ballroom. Lively, seductive, bright and full of subtle mischief. Right now, she genuinely seemed tired and drained.

Huffing in amusement at his silent, analytical gaze as it flit over her as a whole, Nayla smiled, tugging him down slightly by the fabric in her hands. "You think too much." Pressing her lips to his reassuringly, she was relieved when she felt his stretch into a smile of his own. "Don't look so serious."

Chuckling as she tried moving away he kissed her again, this time granted entry to her mouth more readily than he had been last night as he pushed her back against the door of her room.

Feeling his lips leave hers to kiss her neck she placed her hands to his shoulders with a silent sigh of satisfaction at the sensation. "You're only gonna aggravate yourself…" She warned, glancing up and down the hallway to make sure they were still alone in it. "Oh, I nearly forgot."

Reluctantly reigning in his lust and pulling away from her as she unzipped her duffel bag, he took the moderately-sized stack of papers from her as she held them up for him.

"Seeing as you're already here, you may as well have these now. Some night-time reading for you."

Glancing through the text, his brow raised as he nestled his nodachi more comfortably to the crook of his neck and used his other hand to flip through the pages in interest. "You took these from his home?"

"No, those are photocopies. I left the originals where they were so that no one would notice anything missing. I'm guessing he kept more at his main office rather than his home one, but maybe you'll find something useful in there." Releasing the pages and allowing them to fall back into their stack he stared at her silently with raised brows and a questioning look. "What? Didn't you say you wanted everything? Every detail I could find about you-know-who?"

"Yeah…I'm just surprised you brought this back. It wasn't part of your job."

"It wasn't a part of my job for him. This is part of my job for you." She clarified, tapping a red nail to the papers in his hand.

"…I'm impressed."

Scoffing in mild offence at his growing smirk, she dug around in her pocket, pulling out her room key. "Don't be, I do my jobs well."

"Take it as a compliment, not an insult." Law chuckled, leaning against the doorframe as she unlocked and entered her cabin, tossing her bag carelessly to the floor.

"…Nayla…" Turning back around at the suddenly serious tone his voice took, she watched him seem to internally debate with himself over what he wanted to say before he finally spoke again."Are you alright?"

Feeling her brows raise a little, she looked at him more closely, only now noticing his level of concern as he seemed to scrutinise her. Realising she hadn't responded yet, she shook off her surprise, smiling as she took a step back towards him.

"I'm fine…I really am just feeling tired and headachy. I'm sure I'll feel much better after a good night's sleep…Thanks though." He hummed in response, unconvinced as she leant up and kissed him on the cheek. "Goodnight, Law."

"…Goodnight."

Standing upright as she softly closed her door, he stared at the wood for a moment before turning and making his way further down the corridor to his own room, unable to shake off his peculiar feeling of mild worry.

She really did seem off to him…It was probably just a bit of upset over her job. If that were the case then he had to believe that she was far too soft and sensitive to be working within the field she was. If one kill affected her that much than it was entirely her fault for choosing this kind of career in the first place, not his own…for making her take a job she'd never have done otherwise…

Biting the inside of his cheek, he looked back down at the papers she'd given him, flipping his way through the pages as idle distraction as he turned the corner to the hallway containing the higher room numbers.


Everything had played out better than he'd expected. Things had gone smoothly on Nayla's end and she'd done her job as asked. She could have been lazy and omitted these and he'd have known no better but hadn't and had taken her job for him seriously…he appreciated the respect that demonstrated she had for him, though he wasn't sure if he deserved it.

Either way, having glanced through the information she'd given him last night, Law could already tell that having her work on Doflamingo's behalf could turn out to be far more promising than he'd initially hoped for.

Looking up from his desk as he heard the door to his bathroom open, he watched through the archway as Nayla stepped out of it, notably wearing the fresh set of night clothing he had leant her and towel drying her hair lethargically.

Without glancing his way, she trudged out of sight to his bureau, her disappearance followed shortly by the sound of the hairdryer she was using.

She'd been like that all morning. Since she'd left her cabin on the Shibumi Speedline, when standing beside him on its deck to watch the ship dock and when walking down the harbour to board the sub - she'd barely mustered the strength to return the energetic and excited greetings his crewmembers had offered her when they'd been spotted approaching. The latter in particular had been worrying. He could understand her being moody and silent around him but had thought she'd have at least perked up and smiled more when being welcomed back by the crew.

Not saying a word, she'd dragged her feet to his quarters ahead of him and he'd found her talking to her agent when coming in a little while later after giving his crew departing instructions and ensuring everything was in order. Apparently 'Marty' was working on lining up her payment and one, possibly two more jobs for Joker in the near future. They were to expect a call from him later in the week when they were closer to their next destination and when he had more information available for her.

Turning his attention back to the papers lay out on his desk, Law resumed inspecting their contents, trying to decide if there was some information that would prove useful or at least put him on track to finding something that would be.

These papers appeared to have been part of a file pertaining to Kattou's successful interference of criminal activity at its docks and in its surrounding waters. It seemed Nayla had sifted through it and removed only the records that were related to Joker's thwarted dealings.

Doflamingo had lost everything from drugs to weapons to human slaves and every detail of it had been meticulously kept. The type of ship commandeered, the number and names of the crew on board, those associating with the vessel at the harbour (if it had made it that far), what was found on board and ultimately confiscated, their intended delivery points and recipients…It was all there and Joker had lost a lot of business.

It was understandable why the senator had been taken out…but this was only one island and the cost of the wares lost was chump change to Doflamingo overall. So what was important enough here that had caused the man to act? Was there something of more than monetary worth taken from him? Was this particular island or routes of travel around it important to him? Or maybe there was nothing important at all. Maybe Joker had simply nipped the propagation of these security measures to other nearby islands in the bud to save himself more hassle in future. Maybe it had been even simpler than that and he'd just been annoyed by the senator so brazenly meddling with his business and had acted on a whim - flexed his muscle to ensure no one else got any bright ideas like the late Senator Orlen…There were a lot of possibilities to sift through and it wasn't easy to understand or predict the motives and moves of such an eccentric but admittedly intelligent man…

Absentmindedly registering the sound of Nayla finishing with her hair and setting the dyer back atop his bureau – against his wishes, again, Law rubbed a finger over the facial hair of his chin as he wondered how many subtle and unsubtle warnings Joker had sent the senator to cease getting in his way before he finally had him killed. By the looks of the dates on the paperwork, it seemed the senator had been persistent for some time and had valiantly stuck to his efforts...and paid the price.

Law looked up at the thought of the falsely benign-looking woman as he caught sight of her shuffling past the archway towards the sofa she slept on. She honestly looked worse than she had yesterday. The bags under her eyes were beginning to rival his own, he wondered if she'd gotten any sleep at all last night.

To be fair, he wasn't feeling all that lively himself, though he'd put his own tiredness down to thumbing through these numerous photocopies and the thoughts thereafter of how he could translate them to good use that had kept him awake last night.

Overall he'd consider her first job a success, despite her expected and slightly roguish behaviour at the docks of Kattou last night. If each job she did yielded large chunks of information about Doflamingo like this one, hopefully getting progressively more sensitive as she earned the man's trust and did more intimate work for him, then there was a lot of potential to be exploited here.

"Nayla-ya." He watched her stop and turn her attention to him though she said nothing, just waited tiredly for him to continue. "Don't go to sleep. Dinner will be soon."

"I'm really not hungry, I just wanna lie down."

"No one on board skips meals without good reason, you're no exception."

"If you insist on it then just have it brought up again." She sighed out unenthusiastically, leaning her shoulder to the side of the archway.

Tossing the paper in his hand back to his desk's surface as he removed his feet from it, Law sat up with a sigh of his own. She had skipped the menial breakfast options served on board the Shibumi Speedline, choosing to remain in her cabin until they arrived - which he had expected and allowed to slide, considering she appeared to need the sleep more than the food.

However, the sub had set sail a little before lunch and she'd turned down that meal as well, claiming no appetite. Having decided to take his own lunch in his quarters he'd simply ignored her and asked Bepo to bring her one up from the galley as well…Which she had picked at and pushed aside before snoozing on his sofa. She'd barely been awake for half an hour since they'd gotten back to his vessel and had spent the majority of that thirty minutes in the shower she'd just taken.

"This isn't a restaurant or a hotel, Nayla-ya. My crew aren't here to bring food to you in bed."

"I didn't ask them too, I don't even want it." She grumbled quietly, running a hand through her haphazardly blow dried locks, bringing his attention to her red highlights, apparent once more now that she had washed out the brown dye.

There'd been so much junk in her suitcase that he hadn't really given much thought as to why a natural brunette would be carrying around a few sachets of wash-out brown tint, simply putting it down to one of those…'things,' that women just did for all sorts of peculiar and trivial cosmetic reasons that he wasn't going to spend time deciphering any deeper meaning behind.

The dots as to why she had them connected when he'd seen the absence of her highlights at the ballroom. It made sense. The last person seen with Senator Orlen when he was alive – the one people would soon be looking for after his body's discovery, was a young, slender, female brunette. A physical description vague enough that many women would fill it effortlessly. Far more vague then a distinct physical characteristic such as an unusual colour of highlights.

Narrowing his eyes as the off-tangent thoughts entered his mind and triggered a newfound suspicion, he observed the red shimmer to her hair with a critical eye. "…If you feel the need to temporarily mask your highlights when doing your jobs, why do you put them in in the first place?"

Stilling her hand, she opened her eyes and looked back at him, seeming to contemplate her response for a moment before grudgingly giving up with an exhausted huff and giving him an honest one. "…I don't have them on purpose."

Furrowing his brows slightly in thought and annoyance – partially because she hadn't bothered to mention it to him earlier and partially because he'd failed to notice it sooner, he quickly pieced it together. "Another omission, Nayla-ya? How long has the pigment been fading?"

"Pretty much since I got the ability, gradually over the last few years." She replied blandly, not surprised he figured it out so quickly from her minimal response.

"And your nails?"

Blinking off her confusion as she realised where his mind had gone so rapidly, she looked at them at their mention. "Oh, well the opposite problem actually. Losing pigment in my hair, gaining it in my nails for some reason."

"Black, linear deposits that correspond to times that you've used your ability extensively - after prolonged mercenary jobs."

Raising her brows in surprise she looked back at him, admittedly impressed. "...Yeah, how did you know?"

The number of times he'd seen her touching up small chips on her nails here and there, the time she'd sat across the room from him entirely to repaint them…it all made more sense now. Here he'd just dismissed her behaviour as her being overly finicky and girly about her nail varnish when in fact she was concealing discolouration that he knew already would turn out to be the same black substance in her blood getting deposited into the keratin of her nails at times of high concentration…The hair issue was strange though…

Ignoring her question and wrapping his fingers across the wood of his desk in thought, he finally replied. "You'll be removing your nail varnish at your next medical examination and I'll want a few strands of your hair."

There was a: 'Why? Keeping a lock of hair of your beloved?' or a voodoo doll joke in there somewhere, but she was just too tired to summon it. Rolling her eyes slightly, Nayla pushed off from her lean on the wall. "Sure, right after I get my results from the last week's worth and the medical lessons you promised me that never fabricated."

"You can go have one right now."

"Really?"

Feeling a small tug at the corner of his lips as she halted in her steps towards the sofa, he watched with amusement as she looked back at him with excitement and nodded in affirmation.

Glancing at the door to the quarters, as if contemplating the infirmary across the hallway her expression fell a bit as her headache and tiredness reminded her of its presence. Sighing at her luck to be offered one now of all times, when she really wasn't feeling up to it or having to deal with Kotta's rudeness, she looked back at Law in disappointment. "I'd love to but…maybe tomorrow or something…I'm gonna go back to sleep."

Raising his brows in surprise as she walked away he stared at the spot she'd stood at for a moment before feeling his annoyance resurge.

The petulant princess act was getting old. He'd been patient, given her space, allowed her to pout, left her alone to rest and had dangled something he knew she'd want and she was still moping like a child about last night feeling sorry for herself. It was irritating and the fact it made him keep feeling that very small glimmer of guilt was even more irritating.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Law got up from his chair and strode over to the archway, peering into his darkened bedroom, as she curled up onto his sofa with her back to him.

"Don't you think you're being just a little too melodramatic, Nayla-ya?"

"…What?"

"This, this sulking. Haven't you killed plenty of other people that didn't 'deserve' it?"

Utterly confused, she turned to look at him over her shoulder slowly with knitted brows. "What on Earth are you talking about? I'm not sulking, I haven't even thought of my last job once since we left Kattou. I'm just really tired."

Crossing his arms in wary disbelief he leant against the archway as she had done. "You've been sleeping all day, have been exceptionally moody and refuse to eat anything."

"...I know, sorry…I don't feel very well." She admitted, turning back over and resting her head.

Brows relaxing, Law uncrossed his arms as he strode over to her. "In what way?"

"Like I have an annoying and persistent case of Pirate-itis. Go away and let me sleep." She mumbled, trying to swat away the hand he'd rest to her forehead.

"Nayla-ya."

Sighing at his warning tone, she lowered her hand in defeat and allowed him to rest his back to her skin as he crouched beside the sofa. "I feel exhausted. My headache from last night never left, painkillers haven't touched it. My muscles are really starting to ache and a hot shower didn't help at all. So I'm guessing I managed to get a flu."

"Why didn't you say anything earlier?" His annoyance at himself for simply assuming she'd been emotionally upset and at her for not mentioning her symptoms carrying through in his tone as he noted the slightly clammy feel of her warm skin and mildly elevated breathing rate.

"Denial…I thought I was just tired at first, then figured it was just a migraine…" She murmured, secretly enjoying the feel of the backs of his fingers as he gently pressed them to her cheek. "Hey, wait a sec…"

Raising a brow as she seemingly perked up and rolled over to face him, he rest his arms onto the sofa. "Can't you get rid of it for me? With your Devil Fruit?"

"What would make you think that?"

"That previous user's notes said he could remove microscopic things like poisons and toxins, so what about small things like bacteria and viruses?"

"...It's possible, though not particularly easy. It's relatively simple to remove a collection of bacteria from somewhere in the body but influenza virus resides inside the epithelial cells that line your nose, throat and respiratory system. You don't really want me to slice you into pieces just to skin your airway raw to remove them do you? I don't think it'll leave you feeling much better." He chuckled.

"What, no! Can't you just…I dunno…teleport-thingy the virus out of the infected cells?"

"You want me to meticulously vivisect you, examine your entire respiratory system's lining, identify each and every virus-infected epithelial cell and remove microscopic influenza virus from them all for a simple, harmless and self-limiting illness?"

"…Yes?"

"No."

"Aww come on, please? You have no idea how sick I get with flus, why else would I bother going to get that apparently completely useless flu vaccine?" She whined, pouting and placing a hand over the tattoo of the bare forearm in front of her.

"You'll live." He chuckled, glancing at the fingers she was softly running over his skin in an attempt to convince him.

"Barely." She grumbled.

Grabbing her hand before she could pull it away in annoyance at his refusal, he held it as he leant down and planted a gentle kiss to her lips, smirking at her surprised expression. "You'll be fine."

"Aren't you worried you're gonna get sick?"

"It's already far too late for me to worry about coming into contact with your virus now, but I'll ask you not to leave my quarters until you're well. I don't want the entire crew to be unnecessarily exposed, I can do without a sub full of men suffering flu." He sighed.

She pursed her lips in amusement at his expression as he obviously recalled an unpleasant memory off a previous incident. "Let me guess, they're all big babies that suffer from 'man flu?'"

"Some of them." He grumbled, his eyes resting back onto hers as she laughed a little. "I'll have Bepo bring up some soup or something similar for you at dinner - eat what you can of it." He added, seeing her open her mouth to protest the fact she wasn't hungry.

"Fine." She agreed, watching him stand and her hand slip from his.

"In the meantime, get some rest. Use my bed, it'll be easier on your back if you're beginning to experience muscle pain. I'll place some water and more effective painkillers on the cabinet for you, you seem to be developing a fever so take them regularly to keep it under control."

Watching him start to make his way back to his living quarters, she sat up. "…Alright."

Pausing at the archway at her unsure tone, he turned back to her, almost reading the question on her mind as she looked at him. "Providing you with the finest medical care available during your time with us was part of our agreement, Nayla-ya."

Huffing in amusement at his smug smirk, she pushed up from the sofa. "So it was, though I'm thinking cell- by-cell-Devil-Fruit-flu-virus-extraction would be the finest you could offer." Peeling back the cover of the side of his bed nearest to her as he chuckled, she looked over at him. "…Thank you."

Reluctantly enjoying the warmth of her sincere tone and genuine smile, he turned away as he felt his own grow wider. "Go to bed."

"Yes, Dr. Trafalgar."

Scoffing a little at the playful tone she used on his title, he made his way back over to his desk, knowing without looking, that her smile had taken on that teasing edge to it that he'd come to have seen so many times already.


Swivelling around in his chair, Law quietly mulled over his next steps as he gazed out at the night sky through his window.

He'd spent the most part of the evening going over the wad of papers Nayla had given him, had taken some time off in the middle to finish the book she had gifted him and had then resumed generating possible avenues of interest from the information on his desk, though it was getting more and more difficult to remain focused on it.

Truth be told, he was a little bit worried about the woman next door. It had been far more difficult than it should have been to stir her from her sleep to eat when Bepo had brought dinner up for them both and she'd seemed a little drowsy and confused. She'd managed very little of the soup Jake had made especially for her, though she had smiled when Bepo had passed on his 'get well soon' message.

That had been about the only positive sign from her since she'd laid down to rest in the late afternoon. Since then, she hadn't stirred nor moved; every time he walked past the archway and glanced in at her he found her in the exact same position. Even when he went in to check on her she didn't wake and each time he did, she looked worse and worse.

Despite the medication, her fever was continuing to rise and she had begun experiencing chills in her sleep at some point during the evening. The shudders were violent enough that it had prompted him to place the blanket from the sofa over her in addition to the one already on his bed that she had pulled up to her chin in her grasp.

She hadn't been exaggerating when she said she got very sick with flus…It was to be expected he supposed. Among the array of medical results he'd collected from her was a low-normal white cell count, borderline deficient really. Although that on its own hardly meant her immunity wasn't as good as it should have been, in the context of her numerous other mildly low, mildly high or peculiarly non-specific, abnormal medical parameters, he was certain that her immune system was one of many systems that her ability's presence negatively impacted.

Making a mental note to remember to ask her if her illnesses became more frequent and/or more severe since having it or if she'd always been a little on the vulnerable side, Law rubbed his face tiredly, blinking blearily at his board, focusing - though not concentrating, on the deranged, greyscale grin of Doflamingo in the recent article about Warlord vacancies.

Out of precaution, Law had kept himself confined to his own quarters as well, not wanting to spread Nayla's virus around his vessel and unsure if he were going to become ill himself yet. He'd been hopeful that he wouldn't but he couldn't help but think he was going through the prodrome she had experienced last night. He felt awful. Unbelievably fatigued and a headache that the painkillers he had taken earlier hadn't improved much. If she had felt even half this bad aboard the Shibumi Speedline last night then it was no wonder she had turned him down…Not that he had taken it personally or anything.

Sighing at that, he glanced tiredly through the archway at the part of his bed that he could see. All attitude, bravado and ensuring that Nayla knew he was firmly in charge aside, he wasn't actually all that sure about crawling into it with her occupying it. It had been a short-sighted offer on his part, he hadn't expected her to become so unwell and to still be in his bed by this time of night…It wouldn't have been much of an issue if she were at least coherent and wakeful enough to realise he was getting beneath the blankets beside her, so that she could protest or move if she chose to…He was pretty sure she probably wouldn't mind, though Law didn't want to deal with a potentially very negative, very volatile and very loud response when she rolled over in the morning to find herself face to face with a man who'd been a litt-…lot inappropriate with her recently…He could just sleep on one of the sofas…

Eyeing the leather one across the room he contemplated the idea a little before his pride shot it down, deciding that Nayla would probably taunt him mercilessly for finally giving up his bed to her and taking the sofa like a 'gentleman' or whatever. He didn't want her to think for a second that she had actually won something or 'taught' him how to behave in a way that suited her…Rolling his eyes at the thought, he rest his arms over his chest as he leant back in his chair comfortably.

Most annoying of all was the unshakeable feeling of disappointment he felt. Of course it wasn't her fault that she'd gotten sick and sex should have been the absolute last thing on his mind but it was very much there, nagging at him…though he imagined that if his own symptoms worsened to the point of hers that it soon wouldn't be.


Unsure of how many times she'd briefly woken already, Nayla opened her eyes a little, looking around the room. It was still dark and there was no light coming from behind the thick curtains drawn across the porthole of Law's bedroom.

Looking at the bedside cabinet tiredly, she wondered when the last time she took a painkiller was and how long she had been asleep. Was it still the same day or had she slept through into the next? It was difficult to tell the time in this bedroom.

The more time she had spent in Law's quarters, the more it had become apparent that everything from the dark, soothing colour scheme, to the thick curtains and the lack of clock were purposeful design choices conducive to peaceful sleep. Something the designer who had been so fond of Law had decided he needed apparently. It made her wonder how long ago he had earned those bags under his eyes and how long he hadn't been sleeping as well as he should.

Deciding she didn't care when the last time she took a tablet was and deciding the fact she'd woken because of painful aches was enough of a reason to take another, Nayla tiredly sat up a little, reaching for the blister pack and half empty glass of water.

She wasn't sure if the sway she felt was the ship on the waves or if she were dizzy. In her haze, she wasn't even sure if they were submerged or sailing on the surface. Looking at the amount of pills missing from the sheet of foil, she couldn't even remember taking that many as she popped one into her mouth and sluggishly registering how empty the glass of water was as she lifted it to her lips, she wasn't even sure if she'd been the one to drink that amount…She wasn't sure of a lot of things.

It had been a while since she'd had such a rough flu, she felt deliriously tired and horribly cold, despite knowing she was feverish. Everything around her felt fuzzy and barely there, going unacknowledged by her senses and her silent, uninterested thoughts.

Placing the glass and medication back to the cabinet's surface, she watched her hand linger on it for a moment trying to recall why it seemed like a familiar sight in her exhausted haze. She vaguely remembered a tattooed hand placing it there for her…and reaching for it a few times afterwards actually…'I think? Maybe Law refilled it for me?'…Realising that if he had that it wouldn't have been near empty, her eyes trailed to the excessively empty blister pack beside the glass then around the room for him, seeming to only just remember his existence and trying to think of when the last time she saw him was…She could remember the gentle touch of his tattooed hand to her forehead a few times…more than a few times actually. Though it had seemed dreamlike and short-lived between her bouts of sleep and fever.

Law wasn't in the room or in the bed even though she was more and more sure it must be late at night. Looking over at the light spilling in from the archway leading to his living quarters, she vaguely remembered hearing the turn of pages the last few times she had briefly woken, though there was no sound at all coming from that room now.

Had he left? Was he working in the infirmary or was it not as late as she thought and he'd ventured to some other part of the ship? Maybe the rec room? Feeling a mild pang of betrayal at the thought of him and the others leaving her there to suffer all alone whilst they enjoyed themselves without her (completely selfish, ridiculous, childish and unjustified she knew), she got up, wobbling slightly due to a wave or imbalance - hard to tell.

Shuffling wearily over towards the archway against the protests of her aching back and legs, she wrapped her arms around herself as she felt a violent chill shake her. Somehow feeling that the effort of calling out to see if he were there was more taxing, Nayla pushed on, wondering if Law's bedroom had always been this big as she finally reached the opening of the dividing wall and peered into his living quarters.

Not expecting him to have been there, considering the silence in the room and knowing that if he were that he'd probably have heard her moving and said something to her by now, she raised her brows in surprise when she saw him, her mental fog clearing a little at the sight.

The side of his chair against the edge of his desk, his elbow set on its surface and his cheek propped up against his fist, his long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles as he leant back in his chair.

Watching Law's chest rise and fall steadily in his sleep, Nayla quietly approached as her gaze lifted to his peaceful expression, surprised to find that his eyes didn't open as she carefully stepped around his legs to stand by his side.

Glancing at his desk, she saw the photocopies she'd given him spread out across the wooden surface, his own neat, cursive annotations around the edges of their printed text, his elbow inadvertently crumpling the one it leant on and his hat tossed carelessly atop the others.

Looking back at him, she leant down and rest a hand to the side of his face, calling his name quietly as she ran a thumb over his cheekbone…She couldn't help but admire his features, he really was unbelievably handsome.

It was difficult to tell with her own fever but even to her, the skin beneath her hand felt too warm. Lifting her fingers to his forehead, she pushed the stray, thick, black locks clinging to the clammy skin back, raking her nails through his scalp gently to comb them out of the way as he stirred. Cracking open one eye, Law looked up at her as she placed the flat of her hand to his cleared forehead.

Feeling a deepening ache of guilt as she confirmed he was definitely ill, she caught his gaze silently as he opened his other eye and assessed her. The intensity of her guilt amplifying when she realised he wasn't just doing that intellectual picking apart thing that he did when he seemed to be carefully scrutinising her behaviour, he was taking a critical, medical eye to her physical well-being despite his own condition. She'd gotten him sick, kicked him out of his bed and he seemed more concerned about her than himself.

Wondering when exactly he had gotten this considerate or if he had always been this way and she'd just never noticed, Nayla sighed and stood straight, placing her hand over the one he was resting his head to and pulling on it gently as she stepped back.

Finally, resignedly agreeing to her unspoken beckon, Law got up from his chair gingerly to accommodate his increasingly sore muscles, allowing her to tug him gently to his room, too exhausted to put up a fight or a front about it.

Leading him to the side of the bed she had been sleeping on, she silently let go of his hand, picking up the blanket she usually slept under on the sofa from atop the bed's covers as he sat down on its edge.

Turning and beginning to lay it onto the sofa's cushions, she stopped and looked back at him when she felt his hand clasp around hers.

Pulling her gently back to the side of the bed, he kicked off his boots and swung his legs up onto the mattress, moving back a little and making room for her to lie down.

Seeing her hesitance and questioning look as she contemplated the offer of resuming her sleep on a real mattress, Law tugged more firmly, causing her to rest her weight onto her knee and free hand as he pulled her past the bed's edge.

Tiredly climbing back onto it with a moan - part defeat, part relief, Nayla took the insistent invitation and lay down, turning onto her side and facing away from him with a pained noise as her tender muscles took her weight once more.

Law watched her immediately curl back up, pulling the covers up over them as if she were cold, her shoulders tensing as another shuddering chill ran through her.

Sliding a hand between the curve of her waist and the mattress, he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her to his chest comfortably as he draped his other over her beneath the covers.

Sighing in a strangely comfortable content as she felt his warm embrace and his hand rub up and down her arm, she smiled as he rest his face to the crook of her neck. "…I'm sorry I got you sick."

"It's fine." He managed out quietly, his voice a low, croaky rumble as he nestled against her skin.

Closing her eyes tiredly and wrapping her own arms over his around her torso, she found herself focusing on the soothing array of sensations he provided. His familiar scent, the warming glide of his hand back and forth on her arm, his secure hold, the steady beat of his heart pressed against her back - his chest meeting it more firmly with his every breath and those exhales tickling softly over the flesh of her neck and shoulder.

Feeling the way his lashes brushed against the hair he had trapped beneath his cheek with each tired blink as they got further and further apart, she smiled wider as she felt it finally stop as he fully relaxed and closed his eyes with a small sigh.

"…Well, you finally got me into bed with you."

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind." He murmured tiredly.

Smiling despite himself as he heard her laugh a little at that, Law pressed his lips to her skin in a soft kiss, nuzzling more comfortably as he drifted to sleep with her in his arms.


Author's Note: Very very sorry for the late update, I'm currently living in a hotel out of boxes with on/off net looking for a place to move in to so things are really hectic for me and will be until I manage to settle into a new home. Hopefully there's no slip in quality because writing and proof-reading has been so disrupted and often done when utterly exhausted, did my best though.

Anyway, triple upload this week! Partly to make up for the delay of this update, partly to (hopefully) tie you over for the likely delay next update but mostly to celebrate hitting 50 chapters.

I expected to end up finishing this off as something much shorter, (which is why the summary was, and still is, so heavily focused around the first chapter). I honestly didn't see this fic going beyond 50k words or 20 chapters…*352k words and 52 chapters later.*

Hadn't expected much interest but was pleasantly surprised, so thanks a lot for the reviews and support, they've been really encouraging and motivating and has made writing this so much more fun and enjoyable than I thought it would be.


Wouldn't it just be awesome if Law could really cure your common cold or flu with his Devil Fruit? I'm just taking a guess for fun on how that would work, who knows if he can really use 'Scan' on viruses and things…if he can remove traces of drugs and poisons then maybe he can.

Chef Purser – Difficult to pinpoint the name of the occupational role of the person who checks tickets before boarding a ship but apparently the people that do it hold this title and have other responsibilities on board as well.

94 - Useless random detail of the chapter: 9 (kyu) torture, 4 (shi) death, so 94 seemed like a fun and fitting cabin number for our sadistic Surgeon of Death.