Starving

Arianna stared at the wall, bouncing her leg as she tried her best to pretend she was anywhere else. Her back was fully exposed to Law as he poked and rubbed her skin to check her bruising. "Does it hurt at all?"

"No. No…" she stuttered out.

"You sure? You're tense," there was a light tone to Law's voice that made it sound like he was smiling.

"I'm fine," she rushed out.

"If you say so." When he responded though he drew a line up her back just off from her spine. Arianna clenched her toes and fingers, hoping to prevent the shiver that escaped her body anyways.

She rolled her arms to slip her shirt back on. "OKAY! I'm pretty sure you're done!"

"I've been done."

She turned to see his smile, feeling mortified. "Why are you like this?"

"Because you're easy."

The girl whined as she slipped her shoes back on.

"Or rather, you're anything but…" he grumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. I'm officially clearing you of your activity restriction. Try not to hurt yourself too quickly."

She immediately jumped with a turn "Yay!" She then leaned down on the bed to get closer to his face. "When do you want to train?"

"Now."

Arianna was a bit surprised that he wanted to start so immediately but remembered he had been stewing about still not knowing how to use a Cloak for a little while now. "Alright. I just need to get some things from my room."

"I'll be waiting outside. Don't get distracted," he said harshly.

"Who's going to distract me in my room?"

"You tell me."

She started shuffling away on quick feet. "I'll see you outside."

Arianna ran down the stairs and tripped a little on almost the last step. She caught herself with a yelp and looked around to make sure Law hadn't seen that. He'd scold her for sure if he knew. "In the clear," she sighed.

She opted to walk the rest of the way. Once in her room she grabbed pulled out a pelt, put an assortment of bones, smaller pelts and branches from a drying rack on it, then wrapped it up and carried it back up to the deck. Law was talking to Penguin as he sat fishing with Shachi and Bepo. Can he even catch anything with the ship moving?

"I've got everything!"

"What can you possibly need for Haki training?" Penguin asked.

Arianna dropped her bundle, revealing its contents but grabbed the stick. "This can cause a lot of damage to Law's sword so I'm not going to use my weapons."

"Shouldn't I just use one of your bones then?"

"Nope. It's much easier to apply Haki to something that you know well," Arianna said in her best instructor voice.

"So what are we actually doing?"

She held up a stick with a wide smile. "Swordfight! You use Kikoku and I'll use this until you can cut through it."

"I just told you not to get hurt too quickly."

"I won't!"

Law's expression seemed stuck on annoyed. "Fine. I'm not patching you up today though."

Arianna giggled as she skipped closer to the center of deck while the man pulled his sword from its scabbard and handed it to Bepo. "Instead of expanding your sense of self out to track me, you are going to want to focus on pushing your will into your sword, okay? All you want to do is break my weapon," she explained.

"Fine," he sounded bored but she could see that he was focused. Probably waiting for her to do the obvious next move and apply her Cloak to the stick in her hand. She did with a smile and without any further warning rushed forward, swinging it wide towards his face. Law blocked with Kikoku, the impact surged through him but he braced before getting pushed.

She needed Law to take the offensive but knew full well if she made it easy he won't be able to really get into the fight. If he isn't taking it seriously there's no way he will Cloak his sword. The girl pulled back just enough to give him a kick to the abdomen that he backstepped and swung his blade like he was trying to slice open her stomach. She blocked but his raw strength threw her back a bit more than she anticipated and she stumbled getting into solid footing. She could hear cheers from the guys watching and couldn't help but glance over at them.

When she did Law dashed forward and stabbed his sword forward, again going for an abdominal attack. Her loss of focus prevented her from getting into a better position to counter with her stick so she Cloaked her leg and kicked the blade up then jumped back a few paces to get some space.

He stepped after her again and did a backhanded slash toward her ribs. She properly deflected it and countered which he blocked. He twisted their weapons out and created a clear opening to cut through her neck. She pivoted off her back foot and spun around his side to slam her right palm into the base of his skull before his blade reached its target. He stumbled forward but still turned and slashed widely after her. She wanted to dodge it but forced herself to block instead. Her stick remained undamaged but her arm was thrown by the impact and her whole body slammed into the floor.

Arianna was quick back up to her feet but passed the stick to her other hand and shook the tremors out of her left. Law was physically stronger than her and meeting his strikes head on was exhausting. Apparently her hit rattled him though, he was blinking and shaking his head. The girl ran back in and slid to the floor to kick out his legs while he was distracted.

"ROOM. Shambles," he activated his powers, coating the deck with his power and traded places with her, forcing her to a sudden stop. Law was now coming at her, sword slashing down. She rolled on her back and braced her stick with both hands to block. While there she could see him blink a few times but then focus on her; the stars he was probably seeing apparently cleared.

Arianna kicked out after his leg or ankle but was too short to reach. Law cracked a smile and huffed out a breath that probably would have been a laugh otherwise. Arianna puffed up her cheeks with a scowl and kicked again but pushed out her Cloak energy. It pushed his foot out and sent him to his knee, allowing her to drive his sword into the deck over her head and kick his sternum to throw him off.

He released his sword and as he was getting thrown back he reached a hand out. "Shambles," he commanded and appeared above Arianna's head in place of his sword. She tensed her abdomen and pulled herself up, turned on her hand to push herself backwards and be face to face with him. He opened a hand but curled a finger on his other hand as a beckon, flashing the word "DEATH" at her. "Takt!"

The sword that was previously flying away from her in Law's place made an abrupt stop and return trip with Arianna in its path. She turned and hit it outwards, off its' trail, but Law took a quick couple of steps to catch it and pivoted to slash at her.

She shuffled back, retreating away from the first strike and blocked his follow-up. His strike was quicker than before but he seemed to pull back a bit on the power to do so, as her arm was not thrown around. She extended her Cloak into her hand and forearm and slammed her stick down straight to his face. He met her strike and pushed her back a bit, making her stumble.

She saw his eyes narrow at the opening and he yelled as he raised and slashed down on her weapon. She held it with both hands to brace for the strike and was still thrown to her back. Law stood there waiting.

Arianna sat up, feeling her arms tremble. "That's progress," she told him, releasing the Cloak to show the gouge he cut into it.

He sighed and rested his blade on his shoulder. "How'd you do that kick?"

She snapped the stick at its break and reversed her grip on one to better replicate her regular weapons. "It's the same type of Cloak release as Beast Soul. Kind of. It's just pushing the energy out like…" she stopped to think of a decent comparison, hands in her lap. "It's like breathing out from your body instead of face. I'm still not very good at it either," she stood as she continued to speak. "My Family's last Chief could knock down trees without touching them. If he did push his Cloak into it, he could make them blow up!"

"Can you do stuff like that?!" Shachi and Penguin crowded in front of her and shouted.

"Don't you think you'd already know if I could? Everyone who knew how died before my siblings or I could learn. We were lucky to know enough to train the kids on all the essentials, but the Family definitely isn't what it used to be."

Now the pair plus Bepo were looking at her with mouths pulled tight and bit lips. Waiting for something. Probably worried that she was going to become sad. Their worried faces weren't helping her keep positive. Luckily Law intercepted the situation. "Speaking of training kids, do you have a plan for these guys?"

The three had an immediate reaction, collectively yelling in annoyance, "Hey!"

"Uh… Kind of? It's a little tricky for me since we are on the ship. Also I don't know if everyone will play along."

"Why? Are you going to make us play tag or something?" Shachi laughed.

"You joke but that is the plan."

"Really? How is tag gonna teach us Haki?" Penguin asked.

"Well it isn't really tag; that's just a similar Worlder game. We are going to play a version of Lip Rihd. There are hiders and hunters-"

"That's just hide-and-seek," Shachi interrupts.

"But instead of just tagging the hunter has to deliver a kill strike to either the heart or the neck. Like the one I gave Law that made him see stars. If the hunter can't get the hit within a time limit then they get chased without a chance to hide, the time can be extended with hits to the hider that knocks them down. But if the hider isn't knocked down then the change happens at the hit. The problem is there isn't really anywhere to hide out here except the roof, and except for a few rooms, the inside of the ship is too narrow."

"So you're plan is to chase us down and attack us? That's not a game!" Penguin exclaimed.

"It's what my siblings and I did for fun when we were training. And it's how we played with the little ones. It's teaching you how to move quick and be aware of what's around them."

"We are set to reach a new island in the next few days… Did you decide if we are going to pass it Captain?" Bepo asked.

"We should port. It will be a good idea to give everyone a chance to relax and have fun before we reach our target."

"Wohoo!" Penguin and Shachi cheered.

"So you guys have until then to prepare to be hunted," Arianna grinned.

"Don't underestimate us Ari-chan! We'll beat you at your game!" Shachi challenged.

"Uh… Is there even a winner?" Penguin questioned.

"Last one standing."

"How aggressively are we fake killing each other?" Bepo asked.

"Depends on how much of a fight the hiders are putting up," she answered grinning.

"Let's go tell everyone we're going to dock in the next few days," Penguin suggested.

"Sure," Shachi agreed.

"I'm gonna stay," Bepo told them, settling down against the rail, still holding the sword sheath.

Arianna and Law stepped back to face each other again. Similar to the first round, there was no signal to mark the start, instead Law quickly shot into her space and slashed at her.

The girl jumped over it, and Law, with a yelp and swung down on her forward grip. He blocked and the sword in his hand rang out. His eyes narrowed on it so she used her reverse grip hand to break his guard upwards and Cloaked her foot to kick him in the chest.

To Law's credit, he barely reacted to her kick and was quick to reengage. She stepped forward to intercept before he got to his preferred distance and sliced with her backhand as she darted past. He blocked and turned to maintain the contact of his sword with her stick then reached out and grabbed her forward hand over her grip and threw her into the mast. The impact stunned her but she felt Law already in front of her, his energy tensed as he was primed to strike. Trusting her instincts, she crossed both sticks and slashed them together in an X to break his strike and on impact there was a push back of resistance. She could feel the energy brewing from his weapon but just as quickly as it was there, it was gone and Kikoku was left vibrating.

She opened her eyes and saw him staring at his sword in frustration. Bepo was 'ooh-ing" and clapping from his seat, earning a giggle from Arianna and a side glance and eye roll from Law.

"Let's go again!" she immediately shouted excitedly.

Law opened a Room this time Arianna was feeling down right giddy now. She laughed and felt herself bounce about.

"What are you so happy about?"

"I'm having fun! Aren't you?"

He didn't answer and instead he clenched his hand and drew it across the air, "Takt." Arianna's bundle of animal remains scattered about between them and she scanned across the parts, hoping to anticipate which one Law was going to switch with. Instead he surprised her by not switching with anything and rushed in as low as he could and swung across her and split her in half. At first Arianna stared down in horror, terrified that Law actually killed her. He didn't cut across the space, he cut her directly. She gapped, trying to find her voice.

"You're fine," Law said calmly over the sound of Bepo's panicked wailing which also abruptly stopped.

She looked up at him as he used his hand to control her and slide her body pieces back together. Once in one piece again she realized that the cut wasn't painful and she was indeed, fine. She collapsed on the floor. "E druikrd E fyc tayt," ("I thought I was dead,") she whined out then looked up at him. "Law if I made you mad you could have just told me!"

"Did you actually think I cut you?"

She pulled her mouth taut and tried to contain another whine.

"Get up. Let's start again," he instructed.

()

Law and Arianna continued their sparring but it was to limited success. Despite his best efforts and Kikoku's cries at the impacts, Law never successfully used Busoshoku Haki. He felt sore and bruised, body and pride. For all her certainty on the matter Arianna was wrong; this wasn't coming naturally to him. He looked over to the woman, she was slumped forward crouched on the balls of her feet, utterly exhausted too. However long they were sparring, it caused them to miss lunch; by a lot. It was almost dusk.

Arianna leaned sideways and then rolled to her back, limbs splayed out. "Do you think Bepo would carry me inside?"

"He left over an hour ago."

"That's not a no."

Law laughed a bit despite himself. "If you want to wait for him to wander back out here to ask, go ahead."

"Think he will in time for me to get to my dinner shift?"

Law grabbed his sheath from against the wall and put his sword away. "I'm not convinced you aren't already late."

She sighed and dragged herself up. "Right…"

"Don't forget to pick up you scraps," he instructed.

"You're the one who threw them all over the place," she argued.

"You're the one who brought them out to begin with," he countered and left so she couldn't continue to deny having to do it. He returned to his bedroom and dug out his bundle of sharpening tools. What she was right about, was that the training was hard on Kikoku. It was a strong sword but it wasn't unbreakable, and going up against Busoshoku Haki for such an extended period of time was bad for the blade. He unsheathed and looked down the length of the edge. There was rolling and nicks, he could only imagine the amount of dulling that it built up. He removed the grip from the handle, then the pins and tsuba to make it easier to sharpen.

The process was messy, and a little tedious, it was why he decided to do it before showering. He loved having the nodachi; its long blade was excellent for facilitating his powers, but it also meant more work when maintaining it.

The grey mixture of water and metal dust being shaved from the edge swirled on the work mat he kept his whetstone on. He dried the sword with a cloth and looked down the edge. Nothing obvious. He swung it listening for the light whoosh of a sharp blade cutting through the air. Satisfied, Law applied a drying powder to the sword and put the handle back together. He cleaned up his work area as a knock came.

"Come in," he answered, arranging the stones to let them dry. Arianna entered.

"Since when do you knock?"

"I thought you might not be dressed," she answered, pulling his attention to the fact that her hair was damp and she was wearing clean clothes.

"I wanted to sharpen this first."

The woman went to the sword and ran her finger along the flat of the blade, near the edge. "It is pretty," she said softly, like she just realized it.

Law looked at the sword that he just spent who-knows-how-long inspecting. The steel was impressive sure, but unlike a lot of swords the hamon was a straight edge instead of a more ornamental wave pattern. He liked it just fine but it wasn't a traditionally "pretty" sword. "It's a good blade. Try not to break it."

"Sorry but that's on you."

"Don't you have a dinner to help cook?"

"Not for a little bit. Apparently, Austin and Kai were scrubbing down the kitchen after lunch so dinner is going to be late," there was a complaint in her tone.

Despite himself, Law's stomach growled in protest to the delayed meal.

"Same. I got kicked out when I tried to swipe a snack."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"I was told to go back in an hour."

"Is Thomas there?" he asked, hoping he could just go and get food himself.

"Yep," her answered ruined his hopes.

He grumbled as he sheathed Kikoku and put it away against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm hungry," he answered shortly.

"Same but, I mean about today. You were getting really close but…"

"But I couldn't do it. Thanks for rubbing it in."

"Every time your sword was getting stronger it would go away. What's wrong?"

Law's eyes narrowed a bit but his back was turned to Arianna so she didn't see. "Nothing's 'wrong.' I'm still learning, that's all."

He could hear her hum then shuffle. When he turned around she was sitting on the floor, beckoning him. "Come here. I have an idea that might help."

"I'm tired-" he started.

"Me too," she answered and continued to gesture.

He sighed and sat with her.

"Why do you want to be strong?" she suddenly asked.

"What is this about?"

"I'm thinking you have a mental block more than an ability one. So… You want to get to the end of the New World and beat up the Yonko, yeah, yeah. Why?" she pushed, ignoring his question.

*Cora-san,* his mind reflexively answered. "That's none of your concern."

Her expression fell a little but to her credit she didn't push. "You know why you want to get stronger then. When you are fighting are you focused on the end or why?"

Law was getting more annoyed each time she spoke. "I'm not. I'm focused on the fight."

"What about when you are training?"

"Is there a point to this?"

Arianna's frown deepened and she hunched a bit, looking hurt. "I mentioned it a while ago. Cloa- Busoshoku Haki is about the will to protect." She took his hands and he could feel a gentle flow of energy caress his skin. The black coat of Haki covered not just her hands but his as well. "The will to protect your why is the heart of it. Focus on why you want to be stronger, why it's important. Then pull that feeling to the surface and turn it into protection."

Law closed his eyes pictured Corazon. The anger and regret flooding his mind. His heart roared for vengeance, for blood. The life of a Donquixote for a Donquixote.

"Have your Haki follow mine," Arianna instructed with a feeling of her energy receding from his hand.

He focused his feelings into his hands and opened his eyes. The only sign of Haki was still the woman's which currently only covered his fingers and her own hands.

"Did you seriously think it would be that easy?" Law growled, yanking his hands away. The loss of her gentle warmth felt a little startling so he scratched one hand through his increasingly unruly hair, though he forced the other to rest in his lap.

The woman pulled his hand out of his hair but released him when he glared at her. "No! I mean… Obviously it takes practice! But it's tricky. This is what we do when someone is having trouble."

He wasn't sure what expression he was making so he looked away, but he couldn't get his jaw to unclench even after noticing he was grinding his teeth.

"I had to relearn it after the Reapers showed up." Her voice was quiet and hesitant. It made him look at her again. "I lost control of my Beast Soul and was scared of myself. I couldn't trust my own Haki. Every time I tried to use it… I felt so angry; and then I was afraid of that anger. That anger made me hurt my Family. Kara wasn't wrong, it's still there." She rubbed her thumb over her other hand. "I don't know how everyone uses their Haki. All I know is, I didn't get mine back until I was able to focus on what I had left to protect instead of what I lost. Maybe that isn't what you need though," she sounded utterly dispirited. "I'm sorry."

He exhaled. It wasn't fair to expect her to know exactly what she was doing when his situation was so different from everyone else she trained. It made him feel a little ashamed. "It's not your fault. I'll get it. Just not right away."

She nodded.

"While we are on the subject, we should work on your Beast Soul too."

She shook her head. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Or even risk it."

"Tell that to my sternum," he quipped, earning a short laugh from her.

"Yeah but I know what I'm doing then. It's different."

"Tomorrow we will test out the how far we can push your Haki before we start sparring. I'll even remove your heart for it, like the good old days," he decided, not letting her back out.

The woman smiled slightly and looked up at him.

Feeling like he successfully averted a brooding session from Arianna, Law stood and stretched his tense shoulders before pulling off his foul smelling shirt. "I'm going to shower. Unless you plan on joining me, find somewhere else to hang out."

Her face perked up, eyes opened a bit wider, and cheeks taking on a pink color.

Law tilted his head slightly with a smirk to match. "Oh?"

She shot to her feet, hands up and fidgeting. "No, no! I'll leave!"

He considered how sensitive she was earlier when he was inspecting her back; maybe he wasn't as far from winning her over as he thought. Law tossed his shirt on her head before she could get away. "If you insist."

She pulled his shirt down, exposing bright red skin, but more importantly her expression wasn't as panicked as before. She looked at him more steadily, eyes fixed to Law's. Her leg leaned forward, indicating that she was actually going to walk towards him.

Like a spell breaking though, she dropped the shirt and bolted backwards, out of his room. Through the door he could hear her yell something in her other language and he couldn't help but laugh.

Law went into his bathroom and ignored the blooming bruises that decorated his body while he turned on the shower and finished undressing. The hot water running over his shoulders and back was relieving. He pressed on the crook of his neck and leaned his head away, stretching the tense muscle. His fingers slid on the space of healed skin that used to have a bite mark, courtesy of his feral subordinate. Girlfriend? Non-fucking fuckbuddy? Maybe not for much longer?

He was starting to question how long they can keep up their relationship. She was a great distraction from his own mind. Too loud and forceful to not occupy the forefront of his attention when she was present. But he was never going to be able to put in the same level of commitment as she was. Everything they were doing was temporary and he was worried she didn't understand that. Talking about it would feel awkward but letting her think they might stay together for effectively ever was just cruel. "Maybe I'm overthinking it… She doesn't exactly talk about having a future either," he mumbled to himself as he scrubbed the dried sweat from his hair.

After his shower he returned to the bedroom area to dress and was almost disappointed that she didn't return to steal the stinky shirt. He scrunched his nose when he plucked it off the floor. Maybe it was too foul even for her weird interests? It was good incentive to collect his clothes and go clean them. He had at least an hour and a half to kill until he could finally get something to eat. While he was in the laundry room he encountered Kalas sketching as he waited for his clothes. "Hey Captain. How's it going?" the man said in a friendly tone.

"Fine. Anything interesting happening?"

"Not terribly," he admitted. "I'm thinking about designing new boilersuits for the crew but its hard to improve on perfection."

"If you say so."

"Maybe just a pallet change? What do you think?"

"As long as they protect you guys from getting burned too bad by the engine do whatever you want with them." Law truly had little interest in the crew uniform. He wasn't the one who came up with it, that's why he never wore one. Normal clothes were plenty comfortable.

"Okay but, hear me out," Kalas seemed to listen to his captain about as well as everyone else. "What if I made a version with shorter sleeves for us to wear off the ship. For when we are on a warm island?"

"You can just wear normal clothes…"

"Don't be like that! Wearing the uniform makes us look good as a unit. So, short sleeves or just a color change? Or both?"

"Just stick to a color change then. They'll look weird without full sleeves. If it's that important to you guys to always show that you are a crew you could just add the Jolly Roger to the crews' clothes."

Kalas waved his pencil. "Good point. Now to narrow down complimentary colors…" he ignored Law's last point. "Black is always a great choice but purple is would work well too. Not sure how many of the guys would be open to wearing mostly purple though," the man thought aloud.

The drier buzzed, attempting to signal Kalas but he completely ignored it.

"Maybe if the suit was yellow though and the Jolly Roger was purple? No, that much yellow on a crowd could be harsh on the eyes."

"Kalas," Law spoke, attempting to get his attention.

"What if I added a pattern?" he mumbled as he started scribbling again.

"Kalas."

The scribbling stopped, but only because it was now being erased. "No that's bad."

"Kalas!" he yelled now.

The man looked up. "Yeah?"

"Your clothes are done."

The mechanic looked over. "Oh. Thanks Captain." He closed his sketch book and pulled out a pile of several identical boiler suits with the occasional khaki pants and patterned shirt. "I'll let you know if I settle on a new design," he told him as he carried the load out.

Law waved him farewell as he settled against the wall so his legs could stretch out and lean comfortably, arms crossed, trying to relax. He took a deep breath and winced slightly. "ROOM." He opened a field just large enough to cover himself and inspected his internal organs to make sure he and Arianna didn't get too rough in their training. There wasn't any sensation of bleeding from within him. Probably just bruised then.

He decided to expand his Room to encompass the various cleaners and his clothes basket. He started circling his fingers, entertaining himself with toying with the objects in the room. He pulled the mop and bucket out and put a pair of detergent jugs on the floor, bracing the mop and allowing it to stand up right. He put the bucket on the head of the mop. He glanced around the laundry room to see if there was anything he could use to give the bucket a face.

The door opened and in a flash of surprise and embarrassment he threw his arm sideways, slamming the mop dummy into the wall. Shachi looked at him with a blank expression then grinned. "Shut up," Law grumbled at him.

"Put it back," he encouraged.

Knowing it was just Shachi, the captain did rebuild his creation. Once it was complete Shachi gave it his sunglasses and nabbed the other man's hat to put it on the bucket. "Perfect! The long lost fifth founding member of the Heart Pirates!"

Law couldn't resist the slight smile that tugged on his face as he closed his Room.

The man then turned back to the captain on the floor. "You growing your hair out on purpose?"

He put his hand his head, thinking. It was longer than he usually allowed it to grow. Maybe the extra thickness was why his hat fit a little snugger than is preferred. "Hadn't really been paying attention is all."

"Well, we've got a bit of time. Want me to cut it? If you wait too much longer you might start looking like me," Shachi joked.

"Sure."

He put his clothes basket down. "You'll take care of that while I get scissors, yeah?" he asked and left without waiting for any form of agreeance.

Law mentally threatened to yell out at him but it wasn't worth it. Not like it would be the first time he did his friends' laundry anyways. Luckily, Shachi had preemptively separated his colors and whites, so Law put the colored clothes in the machine. Sacrificing Nameless Heart Pirate Number 5, he grabbed the detergent off the floor and added it, starting the machine. He also went ahead and put the rest of his mess away, keeping Shachi's glasses on his shirt collar and putting his hat on the chair while he pulled the other one out into the middle of the floor.

His friend returned with a wrapped up nylon bundle that held his scissors and combs. "You want the usual cut?"

Law settled into the chair as he answered. "You can leave it a little longer actually."

"Sure thing! About time you finally gave up the childhood haircut," he laughed. Shachi got to work snipping off the excess length but he fell silent. That was weird; normally he would insist on talking, or at least hum.

"What's wrong?"

"Were you…" he hesitated his question. "Do you still check yourself for lead?"

"Shachi-" he growled.

"I'm just asking! I can't remember the last time you used your powers just to mess around. It's been kinda stressful and it stirs shit up."

Law sighed, understanding his friend's worry. "I haven't done that in years. I was just bored."

"That's good," he said, the relieved smile audible.

"What about you?"

The hands shifting his hair around paused but not for long. "I was reading the paper earlier. There was an article about a Celestial Dragon purchasing a new slave from some up-and-coming auction house. The island wasn't listed but the article was going on about how no one bid against the noble and he got some poor Longleg lady for 1,000,000 Beri."

Law didn't have anything he could say to that. Knew there wasn't anything to say. There was nothing they could do about it. Especially not when the Celestial Dragons were involved. They were criminals sure, but not crazy-dumb enough to attack a resident of Mary Geoise, not like Strawhat.

"It's such bullshit," Shachi grumbled.

"No doubt about that."

"Done," Shachi said, punctuating with a final snip of scissors.

Law held up the sunglasses and rubbed the shortened hair that previously tickled the back of his neck. "Thanks."

Shachi took them. "Any time. Honestly, I should ask around and see if anyone else wants a trim. You aren't the only one that is terrible at paying attention to it. Who knows? Maybe I can finally convince Ari-chan to let me give her a new style. I'm sure you like it, but short hair and side bangs can be improved on."

"And when did I say anything like that?"

"Law," he used his name like a disappointed dad. "You're sneaky but I know you. A good ass and cute face have been your weakness since the beginning. I'm actually a little hurt you haven't told us anything."

Law frowned and got up. "There's nothing to tell."

"Don't forget who helped you with your injuries. One wasn't like the others," he teased.

"Fuck…" he ground out quietly as he put his hat back on. It did fit a bit better but still not as comfortable as it once was.

"You don't want to tell me, that's fine. I'll just ask the one who can't lie."

Law grabbed him by the back of the collar. "No you won't. Because there is nothing to ask about."

Shachi put his hands up. "Alright fine." Law let him go. "I'll just get it out of you on the island," he challenged and escaped the laundry room.

Alone again, a machine buzzed. Law's clothes were washed and ready to start drying. He moved them. Shachi's were due to be done in the next 15 minutes or so. He left them. "I hope they mold," he said as he left to see if dinner was close yet.

()

Arianna continued stirring the pot of stew, practically drooling. The mixture of meat, vegetables, potatoes and seasoning smelled amazing and her stomach was terribly empty. It was ready. It was so ready that she could just dunk her head in it and drink until she popped. Hungry and tired. She was dreaming of the moment she gets to curl up in bed with Law and a full belly.

"Looks good. Let's start feeding people," Thomas commented, looking over Koma's cuts of fresh bread.

The girl blinked out of her wishful thinking and turned off the burner then started scooping the stew into a line of bowls.

"Come and get it!" Thomas shouted out to the galley. The waiting crew members instantly crowded the window. They can handle a fluctuating breakfast time, but dinner was dinner and a late dinner made for a very hungry ship. Arianna and Koma set out their respective items, though they each swiped portions for themselves to be stashed while they started cleaning. "Austin and Kai worked hard to make my kitchen sparkle. I expect it to look like that again," Thomas said sternly.

"E zicd fyhd du ayd," ("I just want to eat,") Arianna whined quietly.

"What?" the chef asked.

"Uh… I'll just get to work," she quickly corrected.

He nodded and she started scrubbing away the char blemishes from the stove's fire. Koma was having to wipe away the leftover flour from the counter. He finished that first so the man was forced to start on the dishes used to prep the ingredients but seemed to hesitate. He then approached Arianna. "Trade? I just added a new tattoo to my hand and can't have them soaking in water yet."

She glanced at his hands but couldn't identify a new image among the crowded patchwork of drawings. He turned it slightly over to the other side, revealing a thin rose that was still red with irritation. "Pretty," she complimented, admiring the little precise lines. "Yeah, no problem," she agreed to his original request.

She also brought her share of the dirty prep ware with her to clean. Unfortunately, that did mean that Koma was finished and taking his meal, while she still cleared off food bits. But she kept on going and finally was released to eat her own meal.

Arianna arrived to her regular table and wedged herself between Marcus and Law. "Scoot," she demanded.

They both moved slightly, dragging their plates and Law's hat to create an opening; giving her just enough space to sit. Before she even greeted the men at the table, she shoved a bite of bread in her mouth and just enjoyed the feeling of eating. While she chewed she waved to the others.

"Hi Ari-chan," Oliver sounded amused.

"That's what you get for skipping lunch," Connor teased.

Normally she would throw her second piece of bread at him but at the moment the food was too precious to waste. Instead she shoved the rest of the first bread slice in her mouth all at once and pushed the second one off the rim of the bowl and into the stew.

"Chew your food you animal!" Marcus exclaimed.

She swallowed it instead and stuck her tongue out at the man, pretending like it didn't hurt going down her throat in one large chunk.

"Don't worry, Captain's not much better," Penguin commented.

She looked over and saw that Law seemed to be mostly ignoring the words and was chewing with the next spoonful ready. Arianna took a smaller bite of her stew-soaked bread but continued to look at Law. His hair had been cut, mostly the back of his neck cleaned up and everything was a bit shorter. She wanted to feel the difference like a reflex but was aware enough to not; instead she squeezed her toes and flexed her ankles. The girl peeled her eyes off and looked over to Shachi. "Haircut time again?"

The man brightened. "I'm glad you brought that up. I was thinking-"

"No," she immediately cut him off.

"Maybe just grow it out longer so I can-"

"No."

"Why not? Something different could be an upgrade."

"What's wrong with how I look?"

He pulled his mouth. He had an answer but wasn't saying. He sighed, "Fine. I'll give you the same cut as always."

"Thank you!"

"You're the worst female ever," he said as he shoveled a bite of stew into his mouth.

"I've had long hair before. I look even smaller when it's down. If I'm going to keep it tied up all the time its better to just have it shorter."

"It's possible for you to look smaller?" Penguin laughed.

"I bet if you looked smaller you would look even cuter," Shachi said with smile that seemed more teasing than serious.

"No thanks!" That he was pushing it was starting to get annoying.

"Fine! I'll get you next time,"

"Good luck," she accepted the challenge before taking another bite of stew.

"Anybody got plans for when we dock?" Bepo asked.

"Ollie and I are overdue for a date," Connor said excited. Oliver was smiling despite the slight pink to his cheeks.

"A date… Should I ask Law out on a date when we are on land?" Arianna wondered to herself, uncertain since she didn't want a repeat of what happened in Frosthead. Just remembering the childish tantrum she couldn't control still left her embarrassed.

"Speaking of date, I've got something new on my to do list when we get there," Shachi said, grinning.

"What's that?" Marcus asked.

"Shachi," Law growled threateningly.

"Captain and I have a date of our own," the mischief was just dripping from his voice.

"Is this about our bet? Can I come?" Penguin started grinning now too.

Law groaned, "Of course you two have a bet."

"Hell yeah!"

"What's the bet about?" Oliver asked.

"Nuh-uh. Original crew only! For now anyways," Shachi declared.

"I'm invited then, right?" Bepo asked.

"You got it!" Shachi and Penguin answered together; causing Bepo to squeal excitedly.

Arianna couldn't contain her curiosity. "I'll see if I can spy on them," she whispered to Marcus who nodded slightly, also wanting to know.

"No, you won't!" Law snapped.

"Aw!"

"In fact, you are going to be on ship duty first night we port."

"Mean…"

"Guys, don't we still have a few days to get there?" Oliver pointed out.

"It could be sooner. Depends on if we get good winds, or maybe if we used the engine instead of just the sail," Bepo answered.

"Marcus, you didn't say if you had plans," Connor prodded.

"Nothing really. Depends on what kind of town it is."

"Hoping for a summer climate?" Penguin asked.

"Or at least spring," he answered.

"Spring would be best. Spring islands usually have thick forests. Perfect for Lip Rihd."

"For what?" Connor, Oliver and Marcus asked.

"This weird version of hide-and-seek that she plans on using to start training us in Haki," Penguin answered.

"Everyone is invited!" Arianna announced.

"FINALLY! Once the whole crew is using Haki we will be unstoppable!" Connor cheered excitedly.

"You're assuming we can all get the hang of it," Marcus said, earning a boo from Penguin and Connor.

Arianna shrugged as she lifted her bowl to shovel the remaining remnants of stew down her throat.

"It's not easy to learn," Law pointedly stated.

"Is it hard or is Ari-chan just a bad teacher?" Connor jeered.

She swiped his uneaten bread as payment for his rudeness. "I helped train all the little ones with the Family," she declared. "Though, I think it's easier to learn when you are surrounded by Haki."

"Really?" Law questioned.

"Yeah. I was thinking about it, and a lot of the little ones start using it without much trouble. I'm starting to wonder if its because all the adults are using Haki around them all the time."

"Exposure learning, huh?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means exactly what you just said," Marcus spoke with a frank voice.

She puffed up a bit, not liking being spoken too like she was stupid. Though she was the one who asked the question.

"This island we are going to is just a pitstop right? So, where are actually headed to?"

Law was paused with a frown. "I'll explain when we get there island. It's best if the whole crew learns at once."

"Sounds fair," Oliver said.

"Hey Arianna!" Thomas called from the kitchen.

She leaned back to see him.

"If you're done eating get in here and start working on the dishes."

She groaned with a whine. "Right… Alright guys, pile on the bowls."

Upon her invitation everyone at the table stacked their empty bowls into Arianna's and she carried the tower with her back to the kitchen. Luckily Thomas was helping her with cleaning the tableware, especially with Koma excused from it. Though that did mean the artist was relegated to doing most of the cleaning in the galley solo until the pair was done in the kitchen. The more the pirates finished and returned to their own business the more the bowls piled up.

Thankfully there was an end to the work and Arianna and Koma were released from their duties and ran off; she didn't know where the cook went but she went to her room. She had a small stack of papers gifted by Marcus that she was using for her drawing, though he wanted her to practice her writing. She decided to do something simple and started with the crew's Jolly Roger. Then she tried to draw the head of the bear skin bundled up on her floor. Oliver said that it was easier to draw something you are looking at than from nothing, though she was lacking any real interesting things in her room.

The bear face was rough looking, but it easily put the cat she attempted when she first held a pencil to shame. Looking for more simple shapes to work on she decided to take the pages outside. The deck was as simple as can be, basically just a ledge and the railing. She took her time trying to make smooth straight-ish lines. After twenty minutes the picture was done. The rails still looked wobbly and messy. If the ship actually looked like her version, just looking at it might make someone dizzy. "Syopa e cruimt cdelg du Marcus's letters," ("Maybe I should stick to Marcus's letters,") she sighed disappointed.

Admittedly, begrudgingly, she was improving in her letter work. Her reading had also been getting easier as she learned to write the words. It seemed there was something to having reading and writing as a pair.

The door opened and Law walked out on deck. He looked a bit surprised to see her there. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Practicing. What do you think?" She held up her sheet of the alphabet for view.

"Congratulations. You've accomplished something I learned at five."

"I can say the same for your Haki," she snapped back.

He growled and frowned. "And that?" he asked pointing to her other used papers.

She quickly covered up her terrible art. "Noth-ing…" she said the word in an elongated manner.

Law's focus became obviously entirely narrowed at the lie. She scooped up the pages and tried to run off but he scooped around her stomach before she could begin her escape and pulled the papers away. She reached for them but he held them high above his head, entirely out of her reach unless he let her go. Was she cold outside? He felt shockingly warm to her.

He looked up to the images. "This is terrible."

"I know," she sadly agreed.

He let her go and she just stood there, missing his arm around her. It's not like she can make him unsee her drawing anyways.

"Why can't you draw a straight line? Your hand should be steady enough."

"It's a weird way to hold my hand!" she argued.

"Just a single straight line, not a bunch of scribbles."

"What do you know about drawing?"

"I know how to draw a line."

She took the pages away in annoyance and was tempted to toss them out into the ocean but didn't want a fish to choke on her terrible art. "What are you doing out here anyways?"

"Checking the moon."

She looked up. It was at half-empty.

"How long do you think until it's full?" he inquired.

"20, maybe 21 days."

"A little longer than I'd like."

"What do you need a full moon for?"

"Do you know anything about the Mink transformation?"

"No. Bepo's the first one I really spent any time with."

"It's triggered by looking at the full moon. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to line up the plan with that, just in case."

"This plan that you won't tell anyone, but involves body switching and a full moon. Should we be worried?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"Don't you trust us?"

Law sighed, "I don't want to present a half-formed plan to the crew. It'll cause confusion."

"I get that but it would be nice to know what we are doing. It's obviously something big."

"Like I said to Oliver, I'll tell everyone what's going on at the island."

"Okay." As she spoke a bit of wind blew into her face, making Law's scent more prominent to her. It made her fidgety. "I'm going to throw these away," she said, holding up the pages.

"I'm going to bed now so just toss them in the garbage in my room. Or were you planning on stay up for some reason?"

"It's late?"

"Not very but late enough."

"Uh, sure. I'll go get changed and come to bed." For some reason the words felt weird to say, as if they hadn't been sleeping together for months. She started to worry that Law could see her being weird and walked a bit faster to keep ahead of him.

She changed and walked herself over to Law's door. Before she could open it her brain unhelpfully pulled up the sight from last time she was there. Law's smirk after he took off his shirt. She nearly turned around and returned to her room. "What the heck is wrong with me?! I've seen him shirtless. I've seen men naked before! It's just Law. Just Law and we are just going to sleep, like we do every night!" she attempted to force away the unusual thoughts.

She gave herself another minute to calm down and walked into the room, thinking about the story she was currently, by force, reading. Law was wearing is usual cotton pants and shirt for bed, rubbing his freshly cut hair, reminding her of her wish to feel it.

"Arianna, I have a request. Can you do anything to make my hat wider?"

"Does it not fit now?" The request kicked her mind off the previous train of thoughts and she picked up the cap, tossing her garbage on the way. "I thought one of those spots was lining up weird. Maybe the damage actually took a bit out, not just cut it?" she wondered, finding the misshapen spot along her repair line.

"I guess it really it time to retire it…" he sounded incredibly sad. She didn't know the story about it, but always assumed that it was something akin to her bear vest. A treasure to keep in good condition.

"Sorry," she said quietly to him and the hat.

He seemed to take a deep breath and then wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'll get a new one."

Barely giving her enough time to put the hat back in its place, he turned and pulled her not just on his bed but around until she was on her back beneath him. He kissed her and she reveled in it.

When he pulled off he moved down to her neck and slipped his hand beneath her shirt, rubbing a thumb along the bottom of her ribs. "I promised a reward once we were healed," he said quietly.

"Reward for me or you?" she questioned to herself, not that she could complain. She took the opportunity to finally run her fingers through his cut hair, enjoying the rare feeling of the sharp end to the strands. She pulled and he followed, bringing himself back up for another kiss.

A hand traveled down to her butt and stayed there while the one under the shirt moved to her back and started rubbing over her spine, over one of the 'T's carved into her skin. There was a fire in her stomach that made her feel hungry again. She moved her hand that wasn't his hair down to his hip. Her lower abdomen tensed and a rumble built in her throat. She was feeling too much.

Without warning him, she wrapped her arms around his torso and hunched down to bury her face in his shirt. The smell of him filled her awareness. Everything was Law and it scared her. "No more right now," she said in a voice so small she wasn't sure it was aloud.

Law took a deep breath within her restraint. "Fine. Let go, I need to brush my teeth."

It took some convincing to herself, but she successfully released him. He lifted off her and went to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. "He already brushed his teeth," her mind informed her, along with the lingering taste of toothpaste. "He's doing it again?"

She buried her face in his pillow, the man's smell agitating the buzzing feeling within her. Her mouth watered and she swallowed, only to realize her own teeth felt gross. She smacked herself in the face. "I didn't brush my teeth. He probably thought my breath was gross…"

Without waiting for him to get out, Arianna got out of the bed and left the room. She went up to crew bathroom to scrub out her mouth. When she opened the door Clyde and Koma were both there, naked and drying themselves off, apparently after a shower. Huh, Koma had tattoos completely covering his torso and thighs too. "Get out!" Clyde shrieked when she didn't feel any immediate need to leave.

"I just want to-"

"Out!" they yelled together.

She turned and left, waiting outside the door. While she stood there it occurred to her that the overwhelming feeling that she got seeing Law on his way into the shower was completely absent after seeing two of the guys completely naked. "I always bathed with my brothers… Maybe it's because they were just showering but Law was flirting?" The image of him popped up again and she could practically smell the heavy musk from his sweat soaked shirt that was thrown on her face. The tension came back to her abdomen and she buried her face in her hands, grinding her teeth.

The door opened and Clyde came out complaining. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I don't think she's any happier about it than we are," Koma said.

She looked up at them, her face still feeling intensely hot from her thoughts. "Sorry guys. I was thinking about something else and didn't check if anyone was there."

"Please be more careful," the cook sighed.

Clyde stomped away, grumbling out complaints that weren't worth hearing and Koma followed his roommate.

She entered the bathroom again and successfully brushed her teeth.

Her task done she returned to Law's room. When she opened the door he was already completely asleep. She tried to step in but was distracted. His scent seemed stronger and sharper than when she left. Before she could be overtaken by it, the woman closed the door and returned to own room. Arianna threw the bear pelt over the deer fur that she was already using as a blanket for her bed, then burrowed herself beneath the weight of the layers. She grit her teeth again as she curled herself and squeezed her toes. She had to face it; she was horny. As a dog in heat.

Specifically for Law at least, but still. She wanted sex and that was not something she can ever remember thinking. She tucked her legs further up towards her stomach and her traitorous body focused on the friction it caused. Arianna clenched her jaw so tight there was a squeak noise as her teeth ground against each other. She unclenched and checked her teeth with a swipe of her tongue to make sure she didn't break one. She didn't.

Should she sleep with Law? Not sleep, but sleep with Law? He'd be happy about it; the man wasn't shy about the fact that he wanted more physically. But…

She started grinding her teeth again; when she realized she bit down on her hand instead, afraid of doing damage to her fangs.

Did she love Law? She still wasn't sure. Could she have sex with someone she didn't know she loved? It scared her. Did Law love her? "I don't think he does…"

That was the thought that seemed to calm the buzzing a bit. She wasn't as close as she wanted to be with him, and despite that he was an important attachment in her life. Her friends in Manx talked about how attached some of their customers would get after a session and about how they too occasionally got an interested in some. They said it was an unfortunate part of having sex with people for a living; emotional attachment. Whether they wanted it or not, sometimes there was a "pesky feeling of bonding" as they called it. Especially with men they saw regularly.

She clenched her jaw harder on her skin and there was a coppery taste growing in her mouth. She caused herself to bleed. It wasn't that bad so she got out of bed and used one of her black shirts as a rag to hold over the wound while it clotted. "I can't do it…" she concluded sadly.


A bit of a buildup chapter but it's kind of nice to just focus on the character interactions for a bit. Give your opinions, I love to read them! See you guys again next time!

Sarge1130: Honestly, I don't use him much but Connor is becoming my favorite character to write. Maybe it's because he comes up sparingly but I get happy whenever I get to include him. Yeah, everything has a learning curve, especially Devil Fruit powers from what I've seen.