Something fierce roared to life inside Akiko, her flight or fight reflexes kicking in, adrenaline thumping hard through her veins as she visibly shook in anticipation. She could fight, she knew she could her grandpa, a formidable fighter himself had personally told her so. Still, her mind was reeling, palms sweating as she fought a battle within herself. The men and women she would come to stand against now would be Marines, and in doing so she would actively be going against her grandpa's wishes. His wishes for his only granddaughter and last grandchild to not fall onto the same path as her brothers before her, one that would pose risk to her life invariably.

Swallowing the bile that rose sickeningly slow up her throat, Akiko began the arduous task of pulling her herself together. If she didn't fight chances were she would die anyway, being associated with Whip, who – as she had recently learned – was a world renowned pirate. So, logically she had two options, both with outcomes that were less than desirable. If she didn't defend herself she would die for harboring a fugitive, if she did she could be killed in the conflict, or, the third and more preferred outcome, Akiko could help Whip take them out and wait for her grandpa to kill her himself. Although she knew of course he would never harm her, and if he dared berate her she'd need only to remind him who his grandson was.That would shut him up.

'Stop thinking. Just do!' She mentally screamed at herself, exhaling the breath she hadn't realised she was holding, her lips giving way to an exasperated groan.

The thundering sound of boots and heavy artillery edging ever closer, she dove for the chain whip tangled in the corner of the deck, snatching a shirt from the overhead line as she went. What little modesty she possessed was thrown aside along with her damp towel before she flung the shirt over her shoulders and rolled back to the space she had previously occupied. Without looking she hurled the heavy metal weapon at Whip, not stopping to see if he had caught it. She assumed he would since it was about the only thing in the world he loved more than himself.

A shrill whistle unleased itself around Akiko's forefingers as she made haste across the deck in hunt of her katana, that for the life of her she could not remember where she had put it. A sour little animal appeared but a few feet from her, responding to her call compliantly but ensuring Akiko knew she didn't want to. Without breaking stride she threw Nell in the same direction she had the chain whip, shouting orders at the airborne cat.

"Grow, use your tail and have Whip's back!"

After a full minute Akiko finally found her blade propped neatly in the corner of her bedroom, no where near its original placement, casually tossed over the small counter top in the galley. She cursed her ship mates undue need for her ship to be clean.

Making her way, hurriedly back outside she could hear the cries of battle, growing in intensity as she approached the railing. Stunned gasps, pained groans and desperate pleas reverberated through Akiko as she propelled herself from her nameless ship, overturning in the air. Her sword wielding arm extended, intending to maim any Marine that unknowingly be in her path of descent.

Landing lightly on the balls of her feet she was vaguely conscious that her blade had made contact with something upon her entrance. A fleeting glance behind her confirmed Akiko's initial suspicions and she was welcomed to the battle by way of a forlorn whimper, the male Marine having taken a severe blow to his abdomen. He wouldn't survive. There was too much of him splattered gruesomely over the walkway of the docks, up the side of her ship and Akiko herself.

If it weren't for the marines currently surrounding her, Akiko would have thrown up. She had just taken someone's life, and though that fact pounded with painful certainty in her mind, she found herself moving toward her assailants. Five of them, varying in height and build and all armed with different items in an attempt on her life. Stopping short a few metres, she studied them watching intently as they in turn studied her. One of them, an older male began to stutter, eyes widening, her observation haki made his disbelief obvious to her and Akiko knew only one reason he would gawk at her that way.

She did look like him after all, her fathers red hair danced, long and wavy around her lithe frame, the structure of his eyes made up hers and though the colour did not match, when your job was to know as much as possible about pirates, Akiko guessed he could be easily seen within her. Well, that had determined his unfortunate fate. She hadn't set sail hell bent on killing anyone, not even Marines, but it wasn't as if she couldn't justify her actions beyond his suspected knowledge.

A quick flick of her wrist purged her blade of the burden of its first kill, making way for another. No sooner had she completed the action had the knowing man lunged for her, two more coming fast from either side. The older man brandishing a large, machete like sword and the two younger men each wielding a katana. Seeing through their attack she delayed her reaction a split second before leaping into the air, twisting unnaturally onto her side as she flew over the two who hadn't yet advanced, spinning herself into her landing behind them.

The two in front of her she suspected to be the more inexperienced of the bunch. They had barely registered her movement until she was between them, driving her elbows into their windpipes, stunning them into unconsciousness and sending them tumbling to the ground. Meanwhile the two that had been advancing on her from the side had succeeded in knocking one another out in their comical bid at attacking. Only the older marine remained conscious, staring at her, an amused smile playing the corner of his wrinkled lips.

"Tenacious, just like daddy I see."

That he dared speak of her father caused her blood to boil, waves of hot, unadulterated rage befalling her. This monster of the sea, this hypocrite that carried out senseless atrocities disguised as justice knew her father. She didn't even know him, she knew nothing of what she carried forward that wasn't physical and to learn from the likes of him that they were alike in spirit also, well that pissed her off.

Their swords clashed, the sound of metal echoing through the battleground as his larger weapon and frame thrust her backward. Akiko, used the momentum to twirl gracefully to the ground, keeping her katana extended at all times should any other Marine get too close. Although her haki was telling her otherwise she wouldn't jeopardize herself like that. Honing in on her self taught skill, Akiko felt for the next move of the chuckling Marine fast approaching. His ragged white hair and haggard features made him, aesthetically displeasing and his ominous aura made her uneasy.

Still angry, Akiko was sure that was hindering her haki, though she could sense those around her she was unable to get anything from the old Marine. On a whim, one that she would later come to regret, Akiko rushed him. Intending to take him out at the knees – by her logic he was old so they'd be an easy weak spot – Akiko skidded painfully across the ribbed wood, her own knees burning as she took aim and slashed before maneuvering herself to deliver a shattering kick to the fragile old bones.

She heard the large man drop hard behind her, bitter laughter emanating from him as he took in the state of his shattered knees, hauling himself onto his back, propped on his elbows. Breathing hard, Akiko swiped furiously at her sweat slicked hair, it was sticking uncomfortably to her neck and face as she turned to glare at the Marine. There was no way he could stand, his knee caps were shattered, bone fragments scattered around them, claret sporadically spotted up and down the dark wood.

"Figures I'd go out this way. If it wasn't that son of a bitch Fire Fist, it was likely to be another brat that we should have disposed of at birth."

Ignoring the mention of her brothers alias, Akiko stood upon quaking limbs, her chest heaving as she limped toward the broken man before her. She had every intention of taking his decrepit head off of his shoulders, taking what was left of his miserable life for herself. However, the dip in adrenaline brought with it searing heat like she had never felt before, her face aflame as she fell to her own knees, already bloody and burning as they took the weight of her fall. White spots darted across her vision as she clutched the side of her head in a futile attempt to stop the agony, her hand sodden with what she had previously assumed to be perspiration, upon closer inspection was blood.

Eyes wide, Akiko gazed at her crimson hand, confused. How had this happened? She hadn't even felt it, but sure enough, a quick glance toward the fallen Marines machete affirmed that he had cut her. When? She had no idea, but she was now all too aware of the extent of her injury as she inspected her throbbing face from the inside, her tongue failing to find the flesh of her cheek. Instead it was grazed lightly by the afternoon breeze. Nausea rose from the depths of her stomach and, unable to compose herself she violently threw up the contents of her aching stomach, made worse by the stinging sensation where her cheek used to be.

"You bastard." She rasped, barely able to hold her head steady.

"That's on you. You let your anger cloud your judgement. A rooky mistake that would have earned most a one way ticket to the grave, but you're not most are you?"

"Fuck off." She spat, along with the metallic fluid pooling under her tongue.

Silence fell around her as her body crumbled, and she used what little strength she had left to whistle for Nell, unsure if she was even able to in her current state. There was so much blood, more than she had ever seen, more than she had ever wanted to see gushing from herself.

"Ko!" Whip's voice, burrowed into the darkness befalling her, angst ridden and concerned. He was looking for her she knew, but she couldn't muster the energy to call out to him. If she strained hard enough, Akiko could just make out the rumble of oversized paws on the wood, could feel it reverberate through her slumped body as she lay on the deck drifting in and out of consciousness.

She was being lifted, strong arms enfolded her as she was simultaneously shaken lightly, her name but a whisper to her damaged ears. She knew these arms, only vaguely but felt at home within them. These were what she knew of the sea and of life on it. They were Whip's arms, he had found her. A little of the creeping fear banished, Akiko succumbed again to the darkness knowing he would do what he could for her.

~

The sound of her own beer smashing pulled Akiko, out of her recollection of events as well as out of her chair. For goodness sake, subtlety wasn't her forte. In her severely damaged state she had remained sleeping for four days, and had awoken with little memory of the events that day. She had remembered joining the fight and the Marine that had maimed her, but not why. She assumed there wasn't a reason. He was a Marine after all and as far as he was concerned she was a pirate.

Whip was beside her in a second, his large hand gently prying hers from her still healing wound. She hadn't even realised she was touching it. He made no attempt to conceal the concern that resided in his darkened eyes, not only in colour but the dark circles that had made a home beneath them. She knew he had put his all into taking care of her these last couple of weeks, both physically and emotionally, and it was taking a hard toll on him. He had barely left her side, changing the dressing that covered ninety percent of the left side of her face, holding her when she had nightmares of encroaching darkness and the inevitable disfigurement she would adorn once her healing was complete.

Without a doctor aboard and having to make a quick escape from Haven Island, Whip had sutured her gaping wound himself with what little they had to hand. Her cheek was gone, he had had to take skin from her back and graft it onto her face, subsequently she had one thick scar that split into smaller ones just below her cheek bone. He had told her that the fleshy part of the inside of her mouth should fuse back together in time, but she had heard the uncertainty in his voice. She knew he had done what he could and she knew of the guilt he carried, misplaced guilt that broke her heart.

Without the proper care her botched cheek would never heal. They both knew that.

"What is it? What's wro –"

"The Marine, the one that was unconscious when you found me. He knows who my father is. That's why he was so intent on my death and I on his. Whip if he lived then…"

"Hey, come here," Whip gathered the sobbing teen into him arms, her head tucked snuggly under his chin as his fingers worked through her hair, "if he's alive then it makes our situation no more or less dangerous than it already is. They're aware of my existence now and that's enough on it's own to sign our death warrants." His light hearted tone regarding such a perilous set of circumstances drew a breathy laugh from Akiko.

"You're not wrong I suppose."

"Never am, kid."

She stayed there for as long as he would allow, the slow and steady beating soothing her own erratic heartbeat. She had been so sure of herself when she had flung herself off that railing, too sure of herself. She had allowed her emotions to hinder her strength and ability to fight competently. That was the first thing she had learned from her grandpa. Moron.

"You fight well you know." As if he could read her mind.

"Not well enough clearly." She replied bitterly.

"No, really. I was watching. Its odd, ironic really that you move so nimbly, like you were dancing, one with your blade."

"What's ironic?"

"Well, as normality would have it you're a fucking cluts." His chest rumbled under her good ear, his laughter loud and genuine. Jabbing him in the ribs she untangled herself from his reassuring presence, taking herself below to grab something to clean the glass strewn deck.

Once thoroughly cleared, Akiko took back residence of her fallen chair, kicking her legs over the wood of the table. She had been deliberating for a few days now that perhaps it would be beneficial to train with Whip between island stops. She quite clearly needed help managing her anger in confrontational situations.

"Will you train me?" She side glanced at him, although she couldn't see him beyond the bandage that obscured half of her left eye.

"Absolutely not."

"Why?" His quick denial had offended her, and she made it clear n her raised voice.

"Because you're hurt and you'll be out if action until we can find you a proper sur…" He trailed off, Akiko turning to look him quizzically in the eye. They were wide, practically beaming and she wondered if she had ever seen him look so pleased with himself.

"What's wrong with you? Is this a senior moment?"

"Do we have a den den?"

"No but we can get one at the next island."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. Why?" She asked, more than a little bothered by his blatant ignorance of her.

"I don't want to get your hopes up, kid but I knew a surgeon back in the New World. He might be willing to help."

A surgeon? How did a pirate know someone of such caliber? Surely surgeons weren't prancing around befriending pirates in their spare time.

"How do you know a surgeon?" She asked pointedly.

"You'd be surprised by the people I know, kid. I've been around."

"Care to elaborate?"

She was genuinely curious to know who, in the infamous world of piracy, Whip had met in his ten years at sea before her. There was no doubt in Akiko's mind that he had a staggering amount of stories to share and she wanted to hear all of them. Now, sitting beneath a marbled sky, the sun dipping behind the horizon, which she and her crew mate gazed upon, would be as good a time as any. To share just a few before she took herself into a night of terror below deck would calm the nerves that had recently become restless at the mere thought of sleep.

"Well, there's your brothers. I had my fair share of scuffles with your grandpa too," He laughed quietly around the brim of his glass, "Buggy the clown, hopeless idiot. Whiteboard, Marco – the phoenix guy – Blackbeard, Big Mom, Red Hair Shanks, the list is endless, kid."

At the mention of her father, Akiko stilled, wanting to hear more but knowing if she asked it could lead her down an unwanted road. Punching the question firmly back into her throat where it belonged she yawned, cursing when her the makeshift skin of her face pulled sickeningly.

"You want to head below?"

She did. The mundane events of the day had clearly taken their toll on her, though she had no idea how since normality had become being cared for around the clock, and having a mind numbing amount of absolutely nothing to do. She nodded her agreement, leaving her bottle upon the table as she trudged away. She'd fetch it in the morning.

Whip, having grown used to her undaunted attitude toward her own nudity, followed behind as she clumsily kicked her pants off. She fell heavily onto the mattress, the coiled springs creaking beneath her weight as she crawled under her thick hoard of blankets, smooshing her favorite pillow lovingly into the side of her face that was whole. Whip, taking his place on the floor, a shirt folded under his head and a thin blanket pulled lazily over his hips.

Hoisting herself up on her elbow, Akiko guiltily eyed the man on her floor. He had been nothing short of amazing to her and she had allowed him to sleep on the hard wood while she reveled in the comfort of her large bed. He would end up there anyway when she woke sweating and petrified in a few hours, and if she were being honest with herself the absolute tranquility his presence brought her was quickly becoming something of a craving she didn't want to deny herself.

"Will you stay here with me?" She asked in a small voice, surprised he had hear at all when he replied.

"I am staying with you." He replied, a confused brow cocked as he gestured to himself.

Sighing heavily, Akiko buried her face in her pillow, throwing back the corner of her blankets. Hell if she would ask again.

"Get in the bed Whip." She mumbled.

He didn't answer, but the bed springs dipped as he climbed in beside her. She was quickly pulled into his arms, her head taking it's usual place upon his shoulder, arm slung languidly over his torso as Whip traced patterns in her shoulder blade. This routine had become an imperative part of her healing process and was how she would overcome her post nightmare delirium in the darkest hours of the night. Maybe having Whip here from the start of her slumber would ease the images that haunted her? She hoped so, they were both in dire need of a night of uninterrupted sleep.

It didn't take long for her to drift off, her body relaxing under the soft snores that graced her good ear, the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the rhythmical thrumming of his heart, all like music to her ear. As if they had been personally picked and composed together solely for her sanity. A fleeting image of her mother - god, she missed her - was her last conscious thought before she was consumed by darkness that, for once, wasn't so scary.