Law looked down at Katya before he exited the room. The brunette was fast asleep, her head resting on the end of Straw Hat's bed. Aside from combat training, she had barely left the young man's side. Jinbei, the former Warlord and fishman, had spent many hours in there too. The two had talked about their experiences of the world frequently, and when Jinbei had spoken of fishman karate, she expressed a desire to learn it.

Jinbei had walked her through the basics verbally and corrected her poses and techniques. When she had struggled to master the basics, he had remarked that due to her small size, it would be more beneficial to her to learn how to use an opponent's weight against them.

Bepo, Shachi and Penguin had helped significantly and the two men showed her how they could use Bepo's weight against him in a sparring situation. Katya had been up late the previous night trying to perfect a technique of disarming an opponent with Bepo, and she was now fast asleep well into the morning. Most of the crew were outside the sub on land getting lunch, and Law was planning to join them. He smiled down at the sleeping woman and put one of the blankets in the medical room over her.

The two had been flirting back and forth somewhat over the last week or so and it was beginning to drive him insane. Law headed onto the grass covered area where the men were being served lunch and took a bottle of booze. It was too early to be thinking about potential feelings.

"Umm..." a voice shyly asked as he took a swig. "Has Luffy woken up yet?" A young blonde Amazonian stood by him, a green snake over her shoulders. Law shook his head.

"If he wakes up at all, it will be because of his own willpower. It depends on whether or not he's got the will to live."

"I see..." the woman looked back at the submarine. "Is Katya-san with him again?"

"Mm."

"Margaret, we're leaving!" A call came from one of the other women shouted.

"Pardon me. Please keep looking after Luffy as you have, and please may you pass a message on to Katya-san?"

"Oh?"

"Tell her the weapons she asked for are ready. We'll bring them down later."

Weapons? Law was about to ask further questions, but the woman had run off. What had Katya asked of them?

"AHHHHHH!" A huge crash came from inside the submarine and Law looked at Jinbei, both thinking the same thing. They raced towards the ship but a large figure burst through the metal hull and into the air, before crashing down onto the island.

"WHERE'S ACE?!" The heavily bandaged Luffy screamed. Law spotted Shachi, Penguin, and a frazzled looking Katya make their way onto the deck.

"Luffy!" The freckled woman cried out. The distressed young man was running around screaming and a large group of Heart Pirates began to chase after him, Katya included.

"This is dangerous! Calm down Straw Hat!" Shachi panted as the man continued to run away from them.

"What'll happen if we just let him be?" Jinbei asked Law, now sat back down on the ground.

"Well, to put it bluntly, like I said when we came to this island, if his wounds reopen, he'll probably die." Law replied gravely as he watched Luffy punch away a group of his crew that had attempted to tackle him.

"AAAAACE!" The man ran into the forest screaming hysterically.

"I'm going after him!" Katya shouted.

"Katya-ya, stay here. That's an order." Law said firmly. The woman froze in her tracks.

"I'll go to him, Katya-san." Jinbei said and rose to his feet. He places a hand on the woman's shoulder, who looked to be on the verge of tears. "If he hurts you in his distress, none of us would forgive ourselves."

Katya sniffled before nodding. Jinbei let go of her and went into the woods after Luffy. The young woman let out a small sob. The pain that the pirate was going through, losing his brother in such a horrific way.

Law's eyes widened. Shit, she was going to cry.

"K-Katya-chan, don't cry!" Shachi and Penguin waved their arms frantically. "Look!" The two began tickling Bepo, who let out cries of laughter and indignation. Katya felt a tear slip from her eye either way and soon she was sobbing openly.

"Oi." A hand grabbed her and pulled Katya's face into their chest. Law's embrace was warm and strong. Katya wrapped her arms around him and cried gently.

"Calm down, Katya." Law murmured to her softly. "No-one likes to see you cry." He released her gently and pulled a tissue from his pocket, handing it to her. She used it to wipe her face, before sitting down on the ground. Law joined her and put an arm around her.

Katya leaned into his touch and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Lucky bastard..." Several of the men muttered. Law shot them a look and they immediately ran to the ship to repair the damage.

"We need a girls day out," Ikkaku sighed as she watched the men talk.

"You know, I heard that if men enter the island of women, they turn to stone and never come back, but it might be worth risking our lives for." Penguin mused, starting at the woods beyond the canvas that the Kuja Pirates had put up to separate the men from the rest of the island.

"According to Aphelandra-chan, at the port we only saw a small proportion of the women living on this island!" Shachi said dreamily. "The kingdom of women I've always dreamed about. I'd like to take one quick look at it."

"You're gonna die. You sure are dumb." Penguin replied, but with the same goofy expression on his face.

"Oh, yeah, they really would." Katya and Ikkaku sat by Law. "Don't you remember what happened with the barrage of arrows? If that Warlord hadn't called them off, you'd all be skewered!"

"I wonder if there are any female bears..." Bepo brought his hands up to his heart.

"It's the island of women!" The two responded and Bepo apologised immediately. "Human girls only! Human!"

Katya picked up the Straw Hat from where it was on the grass and looked at it with concern. "I'm going for a walk. I won't go far. I just need to clear my head." She got up and walked past the barrier and into the woods. She paced around the edge of the island and sat by one of the cliffs.

"Who dares- oh, Katya-san!" One of the Amazons, Ran, carrying a pink snake on her arm and a bow and arrow on her back, came over to her. "I was just on my way to bring you the weapons you requested."

"Katya-san!" Margaret joined her and ran over, waving.

"Thank you..." Katya said half-heartedly, before looking back at the horizon. "Ran-san, Margaret-san," she asked quietly. "How long do you think it would take me to master?"

"With those men?" Ran scoffed. "Years."

"They're special knives, Katya-san," Margaret said. "They're made only on this island as far as I am aware."

"I can't be as weak as I am entering the New World." Katya's fists curled into the dirt next to her. "I can't rely on my powers anymore. I need to learn, and learn fast."

Ran crossed her arms. "Hm. I have an idea, but I don't think you will like it."

Katya's gaze moved from the horizon up to Ran, and she got to her feet. "I'll take any suggestions at this point."

"I could teach you how to use those blades within a year."

Katya's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"It would be intense training. I would have to gain the permission of the Snake Princess, but it's possible to master this in just under a year."

Katya's brow furrowed. It was a tempting offer. She would be safe from the Warlord Doflamingo here whilst she trained, she'd have the ability to defend herself in the New World. But leaving Law and the crew...

She chewed her lip. "I will think about it."

The walk back to the ship weighed heavily on her. One year.

One year...could it be enough?