With their guest tested on his skills and powers, the rest of the pirate crew proceeded to question him about where he came from and how he got such strength, complimenting what he did already have in between. Toshiro was rather uncomfortable with it, not used to such praise. Normally he was looked on in fear when he revealed such power, or looked down on since he wasn't even using all of it. This utter fascination and positivity towards what even to them was considered an anomaly threw him off balance from what he was used to, so for the most part he didn't answer their questions, just staring at them in confusion.

Noticing this, Law asked his men to back off and give him space. He wanted the answers, too, but it wouldn't help to send the boy into shock. Answers would come slowly, everyone needed to calm down.

"My country is rather medieval, and therefore rather stubborn about their ways." He answered to the questions about his home.

"I got into a bit of a struggle with some powerful people, and in that struggle I found myself outside my country, I'm not sure what happened." The small figure responded to the men asking how he ended up in the New World.

"I've had powers for a long time, probably since birth, I can't remember, many of my people have various kinds, and since I can swim I guess it isn't a Devil Fruit. I'm not sure why we have them." Was the explanation of how he got such a power.

Law knew there was more, there had to be more, there were definitely lies among those words, and yet they were very convincing, he hardly batted an eye saying them. The child was either amazing at covering his tracks or potentially telling some truth amidst the lies in order to make them believable. But if it was the latter, what was truth? He kept everything so vague, which was actually something a child would do, as children didn't have the best of memories, so Law had little actual information to work with.

"Did someone put that darkness in you or is it an effect of lack of control with your powers?" He spoke up. Perhaps this question would give him a little more insight, he didn't care what the rest of his crew thought about this oddity, this darkness within their icy guest.

The men went silent and Law got his first bit of insight as Toshiro stiffened. The darkness was definitely a touchy subject.

"Darkness?" Book's head tilted, curious.

"Your ice turns black when it gets out of control." Law continued to Toshiro, though also giving out a little more information to the others. "The other day when you overheated, shadows came off of you. Is that normal?"

No answer, everyone looking at the small figure expectantly, curious. The only harsh stare was Law's, but Toshiro still felt like everyone was judging him intensely, suspicious, menacing. He was beginning to feel isolated again, biting his lip and trying to ignore the whispers of the shadows at his despair.

"Is there something we should know, Hitsugaya?" Law pushed for answers, not about to let him get out of it this time.

"What you're asking about is of no concern to you." Toshiro's voice had a chilly bite to it, and some took a step back, getting an odd sense of authority from the child, and a warning. Law didn't even flinch, a similar feeling emanating from him.

"It is if it's potentially dangerous to my crew." The doctor countered.

"I assure you, I'm keeping an eye on it, no harm will befall anyone." Standing, Toshiro let his Spiritual Pressure rise, a warning even his higher seated officers would heed and back down from, but at the icy flare Law just stood as well, refusing to bend.

"And yet you seem to fear it." He pointed out.

"I don't!" Toshiro flared angrily, turning a scowl to the tall pirate. The others backed away, not wanting to be nearby if the pair got physically aggressive. "I can control it, I can keep it back. I won't let it get to anyone."

"And if it happens while you're unconscious, like it did last night? You almost froze me, Dextra and Heinrich while we were trying to help you." Law reminded, the other three children looking at their siblings in surprise, the older pirates gaping in shock, a few turning towards Toshiro with a firm look, as if waiting for him to do it again.

Against the Captain's words and the stares at his back, Toshiro once again felt against the world, and now he didn't even have Hyorinmaru to help him. The emptiness where the dragon used to be was all that greeted him, an endless expanse of black ice that welcomed him with an evil intent, not the slightest bit friendly. The chill from it was nothing like the calming chill of his zanpaktou, if anything it set him even more on edge. His hands clenched into fists, his eyes hardening their gaze back at Law's yellow glare. He knew he needed to calm down, but he felt like the calm in this state would swallow him.

Now the fear did settle in, and his gaze moved down to the floor as he began to lose focus on reality. "I…I can keep it back…I know I can…" An echoing dark laugh in his thoughts, mocking him, as if saying 'really? Can you? Forget it!' He hated that voice. Hated the darkness. "I can…" 'You can't.'

"Toshiro?" Dextra dared get closer as the figure closed his eyes, hands moving up to fist in his snowy locks tipped in black, looking pained. Law's glare faltered, looking wary instead.

The darkness beckoned him, demanded he release the last of himself to become wholly of the nothing, promising freedom from pain and despair…but only because he would no longer be able to feel it. He didn't want that. Pain was horrible, yes, and despair crushing, but it only made happiness that much sweeter…his problem was just that happiness was hard to come by. Maybe…just maybe…it would be better to feel nothing. All he ever felt was despair…to be free of that.

"No!" This he shouted aloud without realizing, pushing back the traitorous thoughts of giving in. Still the emptiness beckoned him in. "Leave me alone!"

Outside his mind, the shadows now made themselves known to the whole crew, lifting off his body in light wisps, the lights flickering, black frost creeping over the floor, walls and ceiling. Creeped out, the crew huddled together for warmth and comfort, worried about the odd phenomenon. Dextra seemed to grow feathers over her body, turning vaguely bird-like to keep warm as she refused to move away, trying to bring the boy out of his fearful state.

"Toshiro, no one's hurting you." She spoke, raising her voice a bit to try and be heard over whatever might be happening in his head. "But you have to keep the darkness back, remember?"

He shook his head viciously with a panicked whimper, looking deeply in pain at this point. The shadows were beginning to crawl over his own body, and clearly not in a friendly way as he fell weakly to his knees, his hands moving from his head to hug his torso tightly in a sign of pain and fear.

"Dextra, back up." Law demanded as he himself got closer, shifting his sword to his left and settling his right hand on the hilt in case he needed it. The feathered child obeyed, moving back to the other children to let their Papa take care of whatever was happening to the boy, her twin grabbing onto her to make sure the ice didn't get on her. Luckily it didn't. "Hitsugaya…can you hear me?"

There was no sign that he did, only a sharp hissing that seemed to emanate straight from the darkness, cold and evil, making the small figure whimper again as whatever it told him struck him deep. The more the child shivered the louder the whispers seemed to get, until even those outside his mind could hear. Cruel, relentless insults, doubled with the tendrils tightening over their host painfully.

"Leave him alone already!" Dextra snarled at the darkness. This was too painful to watch, to see someone tortured in a way…it was something she had experienced as well, albeit from an outside force rather than from within. This seemed almost worse than her treatment, and she wouldn't stand for it. "Papa, can't you help him!?"

Before Law could try to come up with anything, Toshiro jumped to his feet, startling them all, even more so when light crept over his left hand. It seemed to dispel the darkness, the hisses and black tendrils dispersing, but the figure had no conscious control over this 'cure', teal eyes expressionless as if in sleep. A reflex? Where did the light come from, when he seemed so lost to darkness?

"I can't…lose yet…" He stated hoarsely. "Not yet…please…"

"Hitsugaya?" Law attempted to get the boy's attention, doubting he could at this point though.

Toshiro collapsed.

They thought that meant it was over, but while the shadows had left due to the light, the black ice was still spreading, now over the thin form unconscious on the ground.

"C-Capt-t-tain, what-t-t's going-g-g on?" Shachi asked with a shiver, the air reaching freezing as Toshiro's odd power continually rose, feeding off his energy even as he remained unconscious. It seemed dangerous for not only them, but the small figure himself.

Law didn't answer the mechanic at first, kneeling next to the figure and ignoring the ice to turn him onto his back, feeling for a pulse. His eyes widened as he noticed with a twinge of horror Toshiro didn't have one. He leaned his head down on the boy's chest, jaw clenching as the cold bit at his ear, and after a moment picked his head back up in surprise.

"He doesn't have a heartbeat." He said aloud. "He's breathing…but he has no pulse."

"What, that's impossible!" One of his nurses exclaimed, the young Puffin looking startled.

"That's what it was." Dextra realized in horror. "Why he felt so empty. When I listened for him with my Haki, I never heard a heartbeat!"

As if wanting to be sure, Law put a hand over the boy's chest and used his ability in an attempt to grab the heart. Nothing came to his hand. There was literally no heart inside him. In reaction to the invading power, Toshiro lashed out in his sleep, eyes opening but dull as he wasn't really awake, ice threatening to overwhelm the doctor if he wasn't quick to jump back.

Gasping for air, Toshiro's eyes came back into focus as he did begin to wake, looking fearfully at the ebony frost creeping over his form and around him in the room. It was like back in the jungle all over again, his control had slipped, but at least this time it hadn't consumed everything in a thick layer. The frost he could get rid of, and he did so quickly, drawing his power back in before anybody could freeze. He felt tired, though, drained, and now a little apprehensive. That damned pirate Captain had to hit a nerve; he hated the idea of losing to this darkness, especially with other people at risk. He was unaware of the secret Law had uncovered, but there was no doubt it was going to be mentioned.

"What are you?" Law said none too kindly upon noticing the small figure had come to his senses, the ice dissipating.

Toshiro flinched as if the words were painful. In a sense they were, stark reminders of his past, and one of his present situation that he hated with everything he had left.

"Nobody." He said. He was saying the truth, knowing full well the word would not give them the same meaning that he meant while still not lying. "Just…a Nobody."

"What nobody can survive without a heart?" Volpe spoke with a guarded tone.

Their guest stiffened, eyes wide.

"How…did you…?"

"You had no pulse." Law explained. "You collapsed after your little panic attack, and when I checked for a pulse, there wasn't one. You don't have a heart."

Now it was Toshiro who looked guarded. He couldn't tell them, wouldn't, not just because they would never believe him but because if he told them the balance would be upset, the world would be a prime target for the threats outside of it.

"I have a feeling there's more to the term Nobody when you say it than what we think you mean." Law continued.

The small figure's demeanor changed entirely, the air deathly cold as he leveled a glare on the pirate Captain, expression hard, standing to his full height even if that wasn't much. There was no child left in his posture, and everyone grew wary, Law frowning a bit but holding his ground.

"What I am is of no concern to you." Toshiro spoke harshly, tone bitter and authoritative, someone used to giving orders. "I'll be gone at the next island and trouble you no more. I can hold the darkness back until then, if you can avoid provoking me as you have been."

"Provoking you?" Law bristled a bit. "Twice now you have almost unconsciously frozen me and several others in my crew, it is you who have provoked me, and in that same line that is plenty for me to be concerned about."

"The first I will admit was on me, I was unaware of the rising heat due to submersion, but this second bout was definitely a result of you sticking your nose where it shouldn't be."

"How many lies have you told since you arrived here? How much are you covering up? I was curious about your ability, but now it is a risk, and as Captain it's my responsibility to make sure you don't harm my crew. Naturally that means I want to know what the Hell kind of dangers you brought with you."

"Not everything was a lie." Toshiro sighed as if the conversation was exhaustive. "I am Hitsugaya Toshiro. I am lost here, unaware of my surroundings, and I have had my powers for a long time. I am a swordsman, a warrior, and my people are far away from here. My powers are unstable and I am having trouble with them, but I mean no harm to your crew, and I am dealing with a rather difficult situation the led to me escaping to this place.

"The only lies were I don't know what my powers are, as I in fact know them perfectly well, and that I don't have good control of it. It's the darkness I can't control well, my powers I have long since learned to use."

"You were just being vague then?"

"I have to be, if I were to tell you everything you wouldn't believe half of it and all of it would put you in far more danger than my being here does." Toshiro's eyes narrowed. "There are dark forces at work beyond what you know here, it's not a good idea to jump into the middle." His gaze fell a bit. "If I had been given a choice I never would have gotten involved at all, but unfortunately my participation was forced."

"Participation in what?" Law tested.

"You can't trick me into giving answers, Trafalgar." Toshiro lifted his gaze again with a chilly glare. "And torture won't work either, I won't speak."

"I'd rather not torture a child if I can help it."

Toshiro smirked just slightly, a knowing smirk, almost mocking, but didn't explain the reason behind the look. The Nobody so wanted to say his actual age, say he was a good two or three times the age of the other Captain, but that was still within the information he couldn't give, wasn't allowed to explain. He was definitely the oldest here, but he'd keep that to himself.

"I will answer what I can, but no more than what I'm allowed or feel comfortable telling. I have no obligation to explain more than that." He said to them all instead, tone sharp so they knew he would not budge at all on the topic.

"I have a feeling the majority of my questions will be ignored then." Law scoffed, clearly irritated.

"Most likely." Toshiro agreed casually.

"Then I won't bother. I will, however, ask you warn us if your control over that darkness slips. I'd like to keep my crew out of harms way."

Toshiro looked somewhat appreciative of that comment.

"I will." He promised. "You allowed me onto your ship knowing practically nothing of what I am or can do, the least I can do in return is make sure my problems don't become your problems."

"Glad that's settled." The Captain nodded before his head tilted a small smirk forming. "Don't think I'm going to give up trying to get information out of you, though."

Instead of angered, the small figure seemed a tad amused by that.

"A challenge? It'll keep my mind off the heat and darkness, I suppose."

"Where did that darkness come from?" Dextra tried to ask.

Toshiro didn't answer for a moment, and in that moment they all thought maybe he wouldn't answer, but with a heavy sigh he spoke, to their surprise.

"An enemy, one I wasn't prepared for." The regret and self-loathe in his tone was clear. "I let my emotions cloud my judgement and now I'm stuck like this." He seemed to remember something then, looking curiously at the ship's Captain and doctor. "How did you know I had no heart? My lack of pulse could be explained as the intensity of the cold I made slowed it, but to jump straight to me not having a heart…"

"I'm a Devil Fruit user." Law stated simply as a reminder before explaining further. "The Op-Op Fruit is the one I ate. Within my Room, I can perform any tricks I want. I am the surgeon, those trapped inside are my patients. Removing a heart is one such trick I have, but when I tried to take yours, nothing came out."

Toshiro looked a little put off by his explanation, as if reminded of something unpleasant. In a way he was, knowing another who would gladly want such a power to perform his experiments easier, not to mention the idea of removing a heart so easily was a little too close to the Heartless for comfort. Obviously this power was a little different, more technical rather than magical, but the result was the same and creepy.

Wait, if Law could so easily remove a heart…

"Can you give someone a heart who doesn't have one?" The Ice Nobody finished his thoughts aloud as a question towards the surgeon.

Law looked confused for a moment, wondering where it came from and why Toshiro looked so eager when just seconds ago he'd clearly been repulsed.

"…It would still be someone else's…" He replied, frowning and brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what the boy was on about.

Toshiro's mind was working rapidly, realizing a potential breakthrough with his problem.

"What if it was technically mine? If it was…well, more of a spirit form?"

"I don't understand." Law stated truthfully. His crew practically had question marks over their heads, even more lost than their Captain.

"Forget what I said earlier, I think you can help me." Toshiro looked almost desperate. "If I explain my situation, will you help me become whole again?"

"Whole again?" By this point Law was in the same position as his crew, at a complete loss. Even the draw of promised information wasn't helpful, he had no idea why Toshiro had changed his mind just by learning what his powers can do.

"I'm only half a person, a Nobody as I said. I'm…missing my other half. My heart, my spirit… But, if your power can do what you say it does, maybe you can fix it." Toshiro knew this was dangerous, that he was jumping at a chance before learning if it was really possible, but the darkness was getting closer by the day, he didn't know how much longer he could wait. Not by himself.

"Did you not just say such knowledge was dangerous?"

"I did, and that's still true, so if you don't want to risk it I'll stay silent as I earlier promised. But you may be the only person who can help me before the darkness takes away everything I am, everything I have left of myself."

"Your situation is so dire you'd go against everything you stated earlier to fix it?"

"My situation…is very complicated. If you can really help me, I can use the power I get back once whole to keep you and your crew safe from the outside forces I mentioned. I may be desperate, but I'm not blind, I can take measures to ensure the lowest amount of risks."

Law was clearly thinking about it. He had wanted nothing more than to learn the truth, but now that it was being offered he was wary, mostly because Toshiro had made it clear he would say nothing of it but now was practically throwing it out.

"You do realize you're trusting a pirate?" Law wanted to make sure Toshiro knew what he was getting into, he owed the boy that much if he was going to put his own existence on the line.

"I have far worse people as my allies where I come from, compared to some of them you pirates would be considered heroes, and yet I still trust them…to an extent." Toshiro retorted easily. He had no problems asking for the help of a pirate, he'd rather that then ask something of Kurotsuchi, and he had to do that all the time.

"I suppose I'll get to learn about that at some point?"

"Perhaps, I'd prefer to keep my personal story out of things. I only wish to tell you what you need to know to fix my situation, maybe more, the less I tell you the less risk there is."

"I suppose you better start talking then." Law shifted his sword back to its casual stance over his shoulder, having been holding it ready to draw for some time. That was enough for Toshiro to know the pirate had accepted the terms. He would still keep an eye out for betrayal, the other had a point about trusting pirates, but for now he had hope that maybe he'd been lucky to come here, meet these specific pirates in a world full of them. His mad dash for an escape had brought him to someone who could be the answer to returning him to normal, to beating Xemnas.

He knew he'd be in huge trouble with the Soul Society and the other Keybearers, but there was a lot more at stake than some pirates knowing about their existence if he stayed a Nobody in reach of the darkness.

Just curious, do any of my readers live in Texas? If so, are you going to San Japan?