I don't like you!

by BloodyMarryMe

By pure chance and unluckiness Miyako finds herself at the Sabaody auction house as a slave. And of all the people, the one interested just had to be the most smug, egoistical and sadistic pirate she has ever met. So at least she can give him as much trouble as possible, right? LawXOC

38. Chapter 38

I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe

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Waah, I'm finally done! This took so long but I think I really wrote a lot this time. O.o

And I have all kinds of goodies in it for you! ^^ So yeah, sorry for the delay; once again I had bunch of work to do but thankfully holidays are near and then I plan on going on a writing spree! XD (Especially since the crew here we'll be going to the New World soon so there's a lot of work ahead of us. ;P )

Also, I've decided to put the answers to all the reviews down, at the bottom (after the story) because I wouldn't want any of my answers to spoil the story ahead (which can happen, especially since I can't keep my big mouth shut… ^^')

Okie, guys; as always have fun! I'm reeeally interested what you'll think of this one, though. ;)

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Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters, but I own the OC Suzune Miyako. Rated T for blood and language.

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CHAPTER 38

Miyako was sitting patiently, waiting for Cody to change her bandages. The tall medic just went to the back of the infirmary to get some new supplies and meanwhile Miyako passed the time by looking around the metal room. Finally, her gaze fell on the pirate captain who was lying in the bed, not far from her own examination table, reading a rather thick book in silence. *Some medical book no doubt.* Every now and then he would move slightly, but as he would, a barely noticeable expression of pain would cross his face. It was obvious Law was being a bit impatient and didn't like spending his whole time in the infirmary bed. But Cody wouldn't even hear it when Law suggested he was well enough to return to his quarters. It's been three days since the fight after all. But when it came to medical issues and his patients, Cody wasn't going to let even Law off the hook. His captain or not, Cody would let anyone feel his wrath as a doctor if they didn't listen and rest as instructed; after all he learned from the best...Law himself. So all Law could do was bring his work to the infirmary. Cody didn't approve of that either but Law wasn't going to compromise on that issue. After all, he needed to see all the stats about the injured, the state his submarine was in, their current position, future destination and so much more.

Miyako watched with amusement as Law kept squirming almost childishly and had to bite her lip not to break into a smile. Still, there was a pang of guilt in her chest when she remembered exactly how he became this way and bad memories she wanted to forget for now came back to her. Her smile soon disappeared from her face unconsciously. Especially after the thought that she was allowed to leave the infirmary while he had to stay there. For three days they lied in their beds next to each other. Miyako even started borrowing Law's medical books to read just to ease the boredom. But this was her last day and after her check-up and Cody replacing her bandages, she was finally free to go.

"Are you ok? You want me to bring you a glass of water or something?" She couldn't help but offer.

Law looked up from his book a bit distracted since he was into it obviously, but his expression changed into a slightly surprised one with his raised eyebrow. He was doing it on purpose, no doubt. "Hm…"

"What?" Miyako couldn't help but frown at his expression.

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering if Hell froze over just now."

Miyako looked at him confused though she already had a feeling where this is going. "Meaning?"

"Well it's highly unusual for you to be so kind to me." Law smirked.

Miyako's frown deepened. "Well my apologies for trying to be nice once in a while. If you want I can always tell you how horrible you look…" She smirked saying that last sentence.

It was true though. He had cuts and some burns visible on his torso and arms; there were even a few small cuts on his face. His stomach was bandaged and so was his forearm. His dark hair that grew a bit since his last haircut was rustled and Miyako found it strange to actually see it, instead of his fuzzy hat. But she heard when Cody told the captain that the hat was lost for good.

Law smirked at Miyako's comment. "Perhaps…but you shouldn't be the one telling me that. You almost look as bad as me." Just like Law, Miyako had some cuts on her face and body, her ribs were bandaged under her kimono, it was easier to wear it in her condition than a shirt, and there was a big bandaged cut on her upper chest part.

Miyako frowned once again at his words. "Don't remind me…"

"I don't have to; seeing your reflection should be enough for you." Law couldn't help but poke fun at her. After all, it seemed like the last time he did that was ages ago.

"Tch…" Miyako sighed overdramatically on purpose. "That's what I get for trying to be nice." She then looked at Law, leaning back on her arm and smirked at the pirate captain. "It seems you like it better when I treat you badly."

Law chuckled but even that little action caused him pain. "On the contrary, I'm flattered. And I'm glad you finally lightened up a little."

Miyako looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You had that dark look for three days already. You seem deep in thought and even more out of it than usual…I have to admit, I didn't find it possible but you proved me wrong." He couldn't help but smirk as he teased her again.

"Well I sure can't be happy right now. Besides…I'm not the only one; everyone seems to be down…you too."

"Mmm…you're right; we faced a great defeat." Law started and saw Miyako's expression getting darker again as if she was remembering something painful. "However…" He emphasized, loud enough to get her attention again. "…we fought much better than we would have 9 months ago on Saobody…we've improved. And the fact that nobody died is proof of that."

"Yeah, but someone almost died…." Miyako was staring at the floor with a dark frown.

Law almost smiled at her expression that looked like a child sulking. "Almost Miss Miyako…Almost." Emphasizing that word it sounded as if Law was reassuring her and surprisingly enough it helped her. Law smirked that devilish smirk of his that looked like he had some plan already in action. "Now all we have to do is keep improving…after all, One Piece is waiting for us."

She smiled at his words. That guy was cautious and always had a plan, but a strong will that would never let him give up, as well. "Yeah…"

For a while they stayed like that in silence, both feeling their energy and positive attitude rising again.

After a while, Miyako broke it. "So how does it feel being without your hat?"

Law obviously wasn't expecting the question and he looked at the girl in surprise for just a second, widening his eyes. But then he quickly remembered his fuzzy spotted hat, understanding what she was talking about. "I admit, it's strange. I had it for a long time." He went through his rustled black hair with his hand.

Miyako could understand it. Her thoughts flew to her red ribbon currently tying her long hair, and so did her hand and she played with it. That was a token from her deceased mother and the only this she had of her; she wouldn't forgive herself if she ever lost it.

"Was it very important?" Miyako found herself asking. After all, he always wore it so she thought he might have some special reason behind it.

It seemed like Law stopped to think for a while. "Well…I suppose it was. But there's nothing I can do about it. Perhaps, this is also just a change…a way for a new start."

Miyako looked up at the metal ceiling and smiled a little. A first real smile in three days…a first smile that didn't look bitter. Even Law couldn't help but notice it. "A new change, huh…?" It seemed she thought about it for a while. Then she looked back at Law, still smiling like that. "Well…you don't look bad like this either….So I guess it's fine." She winked.

For the first time Law didn't have a comeback as he heard the girl's words and saw her smiling face, looking right at him. For the first time all he could do was curve his lips into something between a smile and a smirk, closing his eyes. The girl's smile was still fresh in his mind and her words echoed in his head. *I must admit, the first time we met; I never thought I'd see that girl, always hiding behind her cold mask, smile at me like this or ever give me anything that sounds like a compliment. You sure exceeded my expectations Suzune Miyako. You're still full of surprises.*

For a moment there was silence again and both of them sat there in their own little world. Then Law's face changed as if he just decided on something and he broke the silence first this time. "Miyako-"

"Finally, I found them!" However Law was interrupted by Cody who finally returned with fresh bandages and new supplies. "Everything's been a mess since we crashed to that dinosaur island and it took me ages to find the new supplies in the storage room." The light-haired medic sighed tiredly as if he just battled those bandages he was holding. He smiled to the samurai girl seeing her sitting on the examination table. "Come on Miyako, let's change your bandages so you can finally be free from this place. I know you can't wait."

Miyako grinned. "oooh, it wasn't so bad. I had good company." She winked at Cody. Her friend had day shifts in the infirmary these days and often kept her company in here. Miyako was sure he made those working arrangements on purpose so he could care for his friends and the captain. She knew that beneath that calm and reassuring smile he always wore, Cody could worry a lot as well. And these days he certainly had.

"You'll hardly be missed…." Suddenly a new voice interrupted them and they all looked towards the metal doors where Josh stood. He was just closing the doors behind him and he must have heard their conversation when coming in.

Miyako's eyes suddenly narrowed and a disappointed frown appeared on her face. "On the other hand maybe getting out of here won't be so bad…." Then changing her mood, she smirked and lifted her nose, as if trying to literally look down on Josh. "What's up Shorty? You're so small we didn't even notice you come in? Maybe you should try becoming a ninja or something. I'm sure you're very light on your feet too, Twinkletoes."

"…..why you!" Josh only needed a second to erupt like a volcano. His face was as red as his hair and even his green eyes seemed as if burning.

"now, now…" Cody sweat-dropped and smiled as he held Joshua back, preventing him from attacking Miyako who just sat there and laughed at the enraged medic.

"Well I suppose I'll be nice to you this time since you worked so hard in the infirmary and helped with my wounds….Thanks." Miyako smirked at Josh who was so surprised by her sudden show of gratitude that he even forgot about his killing intent from just seconds ago. The girl smiled at him, both as appreciation and because of his priceless dumbfounded look but it was obvious she was sincere in thanking him.

"I mean, it must've been hard dealing with patients when you can hardly reach the operating table. Did you use a stool or something?" Of course, the touchy-feely moment couldn't last for long; not with Miyako's and Josh's relationship at least; and she couldn't help but tease him again. It was just too amusing sometimes and Miyako realized she missed those light-hearted talks and teasing she used to share with her friends. She hoped they'll be able to return to that state once again soon.

"That's it!" Josh yelled startling the other patients and medics in the infirmary, receiving a couple of 'shush-s' and reprimanding looks. Once again, Cody had to hold him back as Josh tried attacking Miyako, this time gripping a nearby scalpel in the process.

"M-Miyako-chan…." That was all Cody could say at the sight of raging Joshua and Miyako who had a pleased devilish smirk on her face and you could almost see the fox ears growing out of her head. But even Cody was glad since it seemed Miyako and everyone else returned to normal and the gloomy atmosphere from before seemed to lighten.

Law just watched and sighed tiredly. Why was there never peace and quiet on this submarine…?

"Well now, let's get back to business." Cody walked back to Miyako's examination table and put the supplies near it. He grabbed the curtain so that he could work in privacy and peace. Before Cody pulled it all the way, Miyako's exclaim stopped him.

"Oh right!" The girl turned to Law with questioning eyes. "You started saying something before…?"

Trafalgar was quiet for a while as if thinking, but then he just shook his head closing his eyes as if concentrating. "No…it's nothing. Forget it."

Miyako didn't dwell on it and just shrugged as Cody pulled the curtain all the way.

~…..~

"I fold …" Cody put down his cards on the table.

"Me too…" Josh grumbled, not long after.

Shachi stared at his cards, then looked up at the people around the table, then suspiciously at Miyako and Penguin who still had their cards in their hands, then back to his own cards once again. There was a long moment of silence, but finally he sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm out too."

"So it's just you and me now, Wano-girl." Penguin stared at the bright eyed girl sitting across from him.

Miyako raised an eyebrow and pierced him with her own stare. "Wano-girl?" She couldn't help put spit the word out as she repeated it.

Penguin shrugged. "Hey, we're adversaries right now. There has to be some trash talk in these kinds of situations, no?"

Miyako rolled her eyes at the mechanic's comment. "Whatever, just play will you."

Penguin looked disappointed but didn't say anything about the matter. Instead, he put a few chips on the table, in the value of 50Beli. "I rise for 50Beli!" He grinned at her, so sure of his win already. "You calling or folding?"

Miyako and Penguin stared at each other in perfect silence, both having a look of tension on their faces, cards firmly in hand hidden from the other's sight.

"Take him on, take him ooon!"

"Nah, just fold, it's Penguin we're talking about."

"Just shut up and watch!"

The guys around them were staring at the two, commenting on the game, but Penguin and Miyako never uttered a word, just stared at each other as if trying to see through the other.

*Is he bluffing or does he really have a good hand…Curses, I can't read his expression since he's hiding his face so well. Maybe that's why Shachi and Penguin always have their faces hidden…They're already known as the two pirates who are like professionals in poker and both of them are unreadable like this.* Miyako's mind was full with questions and possibilities, trying to choose the right one. Luckily, these trivial thoughts along with the trivial activity were an excellent distraction from the recent thoughts on her mind that were still bothering her. Such as her total defeat, the important friends she finally realized she had, the tough decision between the crew she got much closer to than she ever thought she would and her homeland which was drawing ever closer along with the day of making that decision….and one thought that was coming to her mind for quite some time now, but now more often than ever; The closeness she felt for a certain captain…a closeness she never expected and that somehow appeared despite her better judgment…and now it was too late to deny it. Miyako didn't want to admit one simple truth to herself, especially since she knew that if she did there would be no going back. And she knew that was something she certainly must not do….yes….certainly…Yet in her mind that one single realization kept coming to her and her will to deny it was slowly withering.

Thankfully, just as the troublesome thoughts started appearing in her mind again, Bepo interrupted them as he walked to their table with interest. His pitch black eyes blinked in confusion as he sensed the tension at the table and the silence between Miyako and Penguin who still stared at each other. The white polar bear looked over Penguin's shoulder, which wasn't a problem considering how big he was, and looked at the cards with interest. His fuzzy head tilted a bit and he scratched his ear with a sharp claw. "So when you have three cards with the same number, that's a good thing right?"

Suddenly, there was absolute silence in the room. Even Josh, Cody and Shachi stopped commenting and everyone's stare turned to Penguin who still looked completely calm…luckily nobody could see the raising red color appearing across his face.

"I think you should call." Josh was the first to speak, looking at Miyako than back to her cards. The rest just had sweatdrops, feeling a bit bad for Penguin. By now the said mechanic was already shaking with rage, the cards falling out of his grip.

"BEEEPOOOOO!" The loud voice roared throughout the submarine.

Joshua, Miyako, Cody and Shachi just watched, still with a sweat-drop, as Penguin was trying to hit Bepo with a wrench. Josh took Penguin's fallen cards and showed them to the others. "So he was bluffing! That bastard! I even had a better hand than him and I actually folded!" The red head all but growled.

Miyako blinked as she looked at Penguin's cards, then looked back at hers and blinked again, then realization hit her; "Eeeeh?! Hey, that's not fair, I would've won if we went on playing"

"I think that's already impossible though…" Cody said with a sweat-drop and a nervous smile as he pointed at Penguin who was still trying to kill Bepo, and the big polar bear backing away from the enraged mechanic.

"Ah~ Poor guy…" Shachi sighed.

"Which one exactly…?" Miyako added.

"Should we stop them?" Shachi said a bit worried now when Penguin was very close to Bepo already.

Somehow even Munk got involved now, together with his big wooden spoon, trying to hold Penguin back. The big chef still had a bandage around his head and was limping since he busted his knee, a reminder of the bad encounter with Abaddon.

Just as the other mechanic suggested it, the doors of the galley opened and Garry, one of the medics, came in. He looked at the ruckus with confused eyes but didn't attempt to get involved. By now, he knew better than that. If you'd try to get involved in the other pirate's quarrel you'd just end up as one of the victims of either Law's fury or Munk's big spoon. And he definitively didn't want either of that to happen. Instead, Garry simply walked to the group still sitting at the table. "Hey, we're gonna be emerging soon, it seems we'll be coming to an island soon."

"Finally! I was starting to get claustrophobic in this tin-can already!" Josh stretched his arms as he sighed contently.

Cody just sighed at his words. "I still don't get you…a pirate who likes land better than sea…"

"Shut up." Josh just rolled his eyes.

"T-Tin can…? D-did you just call my work of art, t-tin can!?" Shachi's left eye was twitching, though it was hard to tell under his sunglasses.

But Miyako could see his left cheek moving upwards every time his eye would twitch. She tilted her head and stared at the shocked mechanic. *Wow…I've never seen this expression on Shachi before…this might be interesting.*

Garry's vein popped out a bit as he was being completely ignored. However, mature as he was, he just cleared his throat to get their attention and continued; "The captain wants everyone to prepare themselves, we'll be arriving shortly." He then turned to Bepo and sighed as he saw the scene. Bepo was holding his head with his fuzzy ears down, bowed down, as he kept repeating 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry' to Penguin who was still holding that menacing wrench but wasn't able to use it since Munk was holding him back. The old chef was as big as Bepo and as strong as a bear too, so he easily held the mechanic back, picking him off the ground in the process. Penguin kept trashing in his arms as his legs kept swinging in the air while he tried to break free. Garry just sighed once again at the sight, then called out to them. "Bepo! The captain needs you! He's in his quarters, getting ready."

Bepo's ears twitched at the word 'captain' and he suddenly changed. He stood upright and his eyes became more serious as his look sharpened. When it came to Law and his duty, Bepo, the first mate, knew no messing around. "Hai!" The bear responded quickly, completely ignoring the still enraged Penguin who was slowly calminging down now. "I'll be going right away!" The first mate then turned on his heels and left the galley quickly.

"Tch, he sure changes when it comes to Captain-san." Garry muttered a comment though nobody heard him. The rest of the pirates were already talking about the new island, guessing what kind it might be this time. Garry sighed once again as he was being ignored but he just shrugged his shoulders and started leaving. "Oh well, I said what I had to anyway."

~…..~

"Are we there yet?"

"No! Just like we weren't a minute ago when you asked!" Miyako couldn't help but remark at Josh's question…the question he had been asking for the past 20 minutes, ever since they resurfaced. And not only was Josh annoying but she was cold…very cold. The climate changed radically as they got closer to the island and it even started snowing. Miyako was never a fan of the cold, especially when she didn't have a lot of warm clothes. She had a pair of skinny black trousers, her black boots over them, and her white turtleneck underneath a black jacket that wasn't really meant for cold weather.

"Jean Bart said we should be able to see the island soon." Cody came through the doors of the submarine and looked at the horizon ahead of them. He had his usual white overall but he put a white scarf around his neck and there were white gloves covering his hands that looked a bit too big for him. They weren't the only ones on deck though. Most of the crew was, leaning on the sub's railing and waiting to see the island up ahead, all wearing some additional winter clothes but still in their usual overalls. It seemed those suits and work boots were thick enough to keep them warm even in this weather.

They had been traveling for some time now and everyone was excited to see some land again. Though, Cody was sure that what they were really waiting for were cheap drinks and even cheaper women if possible. Everyone needed some partying to leave their bad memories from the previous island behind and the medic was sure they'll forget all of them after a few bottles of watery beer and strong rum.

"There it is!" One of the crewmembers shouted and everyone followed his finger which was pointing at the first visible outlines of the island. As the submarine sailed on, the island grew bigger before their eyes and so did the grins of the excited crew. The island seemed big and thick, white clouds hovered over it. It was obvious it was snowing there as well and the weather just went colder and colder. However the icy weather didn't seem to discourage the crew; well most of them were from the North anyway. *This probably seems like home to them* Miyako thought a bit bitterly, trying to warm herself up more. She was from the South of Wano where snow wasn't that frequent and winters were mild.

"I hope they're pirate-friendly!" Sam grinned as numerous ideas already came to his mind.

"Haha! Idiot, there's no such thing." Garry laughed at his friend's comment, but Sam just ignored him as he leaned over the railing, as if he couldn't wait any longer to arrive.

"Wow, they look so excited." Miyako looked around at the grinning Heart pirates, in both awe and amusement. "What exactly are they expecting on that island…a mountain of gold?" But even though the girl looked at them as they were acting like idiots, a part of her could understand them. She was also somehow glad to get to a new island, start a new adventure quickly, get stronger and leave the past behind. And somehow she had a feeling that getting on this new island would be a start of that…of a 'new beginning' as Law called it.

"Well I don't know about gold, but it's been a while since we had some fun. Everyone needs to get their spirits up; that's what I think. And what better way to do it than visiting some local taverns." Josh grinned at the samurai girl, and so did Penguin, Shachi and even Cody behind him.

*Even you, Cody?!* Miyako couldn't believe that even the usually level-headed medic would succumb to such notions. But then again, Cody wasn't a saint either…far from it. He definitively had a way with girls; something Josh was secretly jealous off. And the tall medic would always mysteriously disappear during crew's parties…and usually the innkeeper's daughter would mysteriously disappear with him.

With a sigh she turned around from the 'dolts' as she named them in her head and her gaze fell on Bepo. He was on the deck with Law's sword in his paws, but there was still no sign of the captain. "Hey Bepo, where's Law?"

The bear's ears twitched and perked up when he heard his name and not a second later, Bepo turned to face Miyako. "Hm…now that you mention it; he said he'll be right there, but he's still not here. And we've arrived." The polar bear looked at the island, now clearly visible in front of them, along with a big port ahead. The submarine was slowing down as they maneuvered around the ships, looking for a place to dock. On the crew's surprise theirs wasn't the only pirate flag there. Actually, there were at least five more pirate ships docked at the port, not even trying to hide they identity.

"Wow…maybe it really is pirate-friendly…" Garry muttered not believing that Sam could've actually been right.

"I don't think there are any marine bases nearby so I guess there's no marine threat here." Penguin scratched his head though it didn't do him much good since the hat was in the way.

Miyako noticed there was still no sign of Law. She looked around one more time and hummed. The crew was already acting like little children waiting to enter a candy store and the girl decided it would be better to ignore them for a while. She was starting to hear some ideas and comments they had for this island and the local girls that she really didn't want to hear. "I'm going to get the captain." Happy to have a reason to get away from them for a while, Miyako started heading back into the sub before Bepo could stop her and offer to go in her stead.

~…~

Law was sitting in his chair at the big, oak desk filled with various books and papers; mostly medical or status reports from his subordinates. He was leaned back, staring at the metal ceiling of the submarine, tapping his finger on the newspapers sprawled on the desk in front of him. There was an article about the newest happenings in the world; especially interesting was the New World where new threats started to arise. The Supernova that Law met on Saobody, were all already in the New World, making their name for themselves….one in particular. Eustass Captain Kid seemed to become even more infamous as he flattened everything to the ground if it was in his way. He left behind seas of blood and ruin wherever he went. Personally, to Law, that behavior seemed completely illogical and just a waste of time. Law was all for destroying and removing anything in his way but he preferred to do it in a more…sophisticated way. Bathing in the sea of blood was definitively the redhead's style though. Law didn't know Captain Kid for long but it was long enough to understand his character.

However, what surprised Law more was the Navy's inaction in all of it. For some reason it seemed the marines didn't bother much with the Supernovas even though they were wracking havoc in the New World. Actually, Law was surprised that he didn't encounter any since they left that dinosaur island, either. He thought the marines would pursue them and surely try to finish the job; but instead it seemed as if they have completely given up. Law's eyes narrowed a little as he thought of that possibility and dismissed it right away. *No…there has to be something more. Akainu would never give up so easily, neither would he miss a chance to kill pirates. Especially Supernovas. He must be up to something… If the Marines haven't acted yet it must be because they have a plan.* But the million Beli question was; What plan? Right now the Heart pirates weren't at their best; physically nor in spirit. Everyone was still remembering the grave loss they went through; especially Law. And the submarine wasn't in its best shape and glory either. Penguin and Shachi worked day and night with their mechanics team, repairing it but there's so much they could do without new parts. In other words, the Heart pirates were full of weaknesses now. If the marines ever wanted a chance to strike at them, they wouldn't find a better one than now. So what was stopping them? Why wasn't Akainu taking advantage of this situation? *Except…Perhaps they aren't in a better situation either..? The War ended almost 10 months ago but they did lose a lot of men…And ever since Whitebeard died the number of pirates grows more every day, the marines probably have their hands full with containing pirate riots and robberies that are happening all over the world. * Trafalgar hummed at his own thoughts. *Could the attack on us have just been a desperate attempt to finish us before we enter the New World and become a new threat for them as well? But Akainu doesn't seem like a man that does things out of desperation…* Law sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a while to focus better. *What is the Navy planning…I have to find out. We're in a bad state now, but if I can find out about their plans maybe I can get us more leverage. We need the advantage.* Then his eyes opened and the metal ceiling reappeared before his eyes. *Perhaps I should use…him?*

Just as a plan was beginning to form in his mind, a soft knock on the doors was heard. Law's eyes darted towards the doors, though he didn't move and stayed laid back in his chair. *Ah, that must be Bepo coming to get me* "So we're at the new island already." Law muttered to himself before ordering a simple "Come in."

However, he was surprised to see someone else entirely at his door. Of course it was impossible to notice Law's surprise or any other expression on his perfectly masked face, but right not even Law wasn't sure if he was pleased or not by this guest. One thing Law was certain of is that ever since Miyako came to his submarine and joined the crew he was acting stranger and stranger. At first he was just having some fun with her and it was always entertaining to see her usually calm demeanor broken and her face flushed with embarrassment or anger. But somewhere along the way he realized Miyako wasn't the only one changing. He was becoming…strange; and Law didn't like it. The word 'soft' crossed his mind but he didn't even want to consider it. He was not becoming soft. Especially not for this girl or because of her. And yet he couldn't deny the fact that his behavior started to change whenever she was near him. And Law didn't like that change…not at all. He couldn't let himself get distracted from his goal, which was One Piece. That was all that mattered and he couldn't jeopardize that in any way. He wouldn't! And so when he caught himself a few days ago almost saying something to Miyako that he could've regret later, Law had made up his mind. He needed some distance between them and he needed it fast. *I can't let this go on any longer…I need to kill these distractions right away. This is no different from any other obstacle and I will easily overcome it.* At least that's what he has told himself and it was actually going according to plan the last few days; he barely ever saw her and avoided her as much as possible. When he couldn't avoid her though, he would act cold and calm with her. He could see the girl had noticed something was wrong and that there was a new, cold air between them but she didn't say anything. Actually she seemed to have accepted it quietly and went along with it, pretending that nothing was out of the ordinary. That only made Law wonder even more. Miyako wasn't the type to just let things be if something was wrong. She would surely confront him; or at least that's what Law thought. A small voice echoed inside his mind; *Perhaps she simply doesn't care?* That voice was annoying Law the most. Mostly, he kept it inside and hidden, but sometimes it would resurface and whisper in his mind, bringing out uncomfortable feelings along with it that Trafalgar tried hard to ignore. *I should be happy if she doesn't care…Doesn't that solve all my problems?* And yet, he didn't feel happy. All he got was that irritating voice still whispering doubts in his ear.

And just as he thought he was finally starting to settle things with himself, he found himself in the worst situation possible. Alone with the person he tried so hard to push away.

Miyako opened the doors of his quarters and he knew it was her even before he looked away from the ceiling and towards the doors. He would know those soft, barely hearable footsteps anywhere. She was so light on her feet; you would think she was training to be a ninja instead of a samurai.

"Law?" When he heard the girl call his name, Trafalgar moved his gaze towards her and looked at her with the corners of his eyes. She was the only one of his crew that called him by his name. Even Shachi, Penguin and Bepo, his childhood friends, started calling him Captain once they founded the Heart Pirates. At first, she called him that because she refused to acknowledge him as her captain and superior but he knew that wasn't the case anymore. Now, she called him that more out of habit…and perhaps some newfound closeness over the months. Even though it was still rare for her to call him 'Captain' but he knew it meant something when she did. It was a rare but a meaningful thing for her to call him that. That's probably why Trafalgar never insisted on it nor did he mind that she called him by his first name. At least that's what he thought…Though that little voice whispered in his mind; *…Or perhaps it's because you like her calling you by your name.* Once again, the thought was extinguished as soon as it appeared.

"What is it, Miss Suzune?" Suzune….he never called her that and it sounded weird, even to him, but he wanted to get some distance from her in any way possible. Even if it was simply using her family name instead of her first name. He watched her expression close to see any changes or discomfort but her face remained as calm and neutral as before. There wasn't even a twitch of surprise…nothing. A part of Law felt disappointed by it but also intrigued. She was completely disputing all his expectations and it confused him, even if he would never admit it.

"We've arrived at the port. Everyone's waiting for you." Miyako's eyes darted across the room, focused on one of many Law's bookshelves, then moved to the newspaper on his desk filled with the newest wanted posters. It seemed her eyes went everywhere but on him, whose gaze she avoided. It seemed she was trying to remember something as her eyes focused on one of the wanted posters. "I remember this person; he was on Saobody when the marines and Kizaru came." She was looking at Kid's poster, the man glaring daggers out of the picture right at the photographer. Miyako was surprised they even got to his picture and were able to send it to the headquarters before Eustass killed them on the spot. The girl saw him fight at Saobody and saw what he could do…he wasn't someone Miyako wanted to get into a fight with carelessly.

"Eustass 'Captain' Kid." Law's voice brought Miyako back from her musings. "He's done some big damage in the New World…it seems he even went against some of Big Mom's men…he's got guts, I'll give him that."

"Big Mom! One of the four Emperors? Is he crazy?" Miyako couldn't restrain her surprise as she heard the infamous name of one of the Four Emperors. To pick a fight with someone like that…he was either really brave or really stupid. Miyako guessed 'both' in this case.

Law smirked at the girl's outburst. "I would think so, yes. But also very confident. Well, he's still alive for now and he got himself a pretty big bounty…so I suppose things are going rather well for Mister Eustass." Law smirked again with amusement as he remembered the gruff-looking, tactless man he once fought side by side with. But he also remembered their promise that the next time they meet it will be as enemies; Law had no doubt about that. However going against Big Mom seemed like an interesting course of action for Law. And he was interested to see how that will progress in the future. *One thing is for sure; we can expect a lot more surprises like this from Mister Eustass…I'll be looking forward to them.*

A clearing of Miyako's throat brought him back from his thoughts. "He seems strong though…You sure he won't get to the One Piece first while we're still training here in the first part of the Grand Line?"

To Law it seemed as Miyako asked such a question on purpose, just to get a reaction out of him, to sting him a little. Perhaps she was mad at him after all? However, Trafalgar ignored her attempt. It'll need much more than that to unnerve him...though, this girl succeeded in that even without trying sometimes. Instead, the captain smirked as he pierced the picture on the poster with his stormy eyes. "Don't worry, Miss Suzune…the One Piece isn't going anywhere."

Miyako's eyebrow raised though he didn't know was it from the statement or the fact that he was using her family name again, which was unusual. "How can you be so sure?"

Law sighed as if he was getting bored with all those questions. "Trust me…I know."

The girl 'humped' sarcastically, as if showing her amusement. "Now you're asking a lot…" She wasn't looking at him, but instead found interest in one of his pens made from a big black feather. She took it and observed the silky texture of the feather before trying it out with her long, delicate fingers. There was a distinctive contrast between her pale fingers and the pitch black silk in her hand.

Now it was time for Law's eyebrow to rise, though this time it didn't disappear underneath his fuzzy hat as before. The Dark Doctor leaned on his elbow and rested his head on his hand, tilting it slightly and smirking with amusement. "Oh? I thought we were already passed that."

"Hmph." Miyako just huffed with a frown as if thinking of something, but she didn't share her thoughts with Law. Instead, she completely changed the subject. "Seeing all these posters and this talk about Saobody, it reminds me of him…"

Law didn't have to ask who she was referring to. It was clear.

"Still no sign of him? It's been almost 10 months since the War already…" The girl continued, staring at the newspaper now as if she'll find the answers in there.

"Not a word…But I'm sure he's alive and well. He's not someone to just disappear and stay hidden forever. He must be up to something. I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later." Trafalgar didn't seem interested in this new subject, but he was actually wondering about Luffy as well. What was that pirate doing all this time? Resting his wounds? Law doubted it; after all he went back to Marineford only a few days after his escape from that place with his injuries still fresh. Monkey D. Luffy wasn't one to just wait and rest. Then perhaps some kind of training? Yes, that was probably it. Law doubted Luffy was wasting any time these past 10 months. *And I shouldn't either…We need to get even stronger before going into the New World, especially since I plan to do that soon. Yes, very soon…And I'm sure we'll meet again there; Mugiwara.*

"Well, I better be going up and so should you. I'm sure we're already at the port." Miyako broke the silence as she put the pen back where she had found it. Law just nodded without a word, and the girl turned around to leave. When she was already at the doors, opening them, she stopped for just a second standing at the door but not quite going out yet.

Law noticed it and something awkward nestled in the pit of his stomach. As if an alarm had gone off in his mind; warning him about something that was to come. Something that he must stop at all costs. Before Miyako could say anything Law asked in a completely cold tone, just like a captain talking to nothing more than his subordinate; "Is there something else you needed?"

The girl stiffened only slightly at his voice, as if she wasn't expecting it…or perhaps as if she was expecting something else. However, that only lasted a second and soon she shook her head without even turning back. "No…that is all." With that she left and the sound of closing the heavy, metal door echoed through the silent room.

Law sighed, suddenly feeling very tired and leaned back in his chair again, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his eyes.

~….~

Miyako got off the ship along with most of the crew and saw her friends waiting for her. Penguin was holding some papers in his hand and debating vigorously with Shachi as he scribbled down on the papers now and then. *I guess they're talking about the parts for the sub.* Meanwhile, Cody was talking to some of the medics, giving them instructions on what supplies they needed to buy. Some other crewmembers were harnessing the ropes of the submarine to keep it in place even though the port was calm and without waves in sight. Jean Bart was sitting on the deck, with his own papers in front of him, probably calculating their next destination already.

Miyako walked over to her friends and as soon as Josh saw her he put his arms on his hips and looked at her disapprovingly. "Where were you? We were waiting for you!"

"She went to get the Captain, did you?" Bepo jumped in with his comment to everyone's surprise. They didn't even notice him, which was surprising considering his size.

Shachi's eyebrow lifted. "So where is he then?"

Miyako shrugged, feeling annoyed with all the questions…or rather; with all the questions about Law. He was the last person she wanted to think about right now. "I don't know. He's on his way I guess." Her answer was sharp enough to end the conversation at that, but also enough to tell her friends that something was wrong.

"What happened? Did you and Captain have another fight again?" Penguin asked with a tone that sounded as if he was asking a child who had a fight with her older brother.

However, that only earned him a glare from Miyako. He almost heard the growl of an angry lioness, though the look was enough as it is.

Cody, perceptive as he was, but also knew when it was wise to let a person be, quickly changed the subject. He cleared his throat before saying; "In any case, we should hurry and get all the supplies and anything personal you might need. According to the locals, the log pose will set somewhere around tomorrow morning."

"Which doesn't give us much time to relax and party…we still need to find parts for the submarine, which is never easy." Shachi sighed, sadly. Penguin was right there beside him, with a sigh of his own. The two were looking forward to some relaxing times, preferably with a glass of rum in their hands and a pretty lass in their lap.

Suddenly they heard the metal doors opening and everyone looked up to the deck, where Law now stood with a long, black coat over his usual clothing. However, even the coat bore the Heart Pirates logo. As soon as he went out, he walked over to Jean Bart probably asking about the island and Bepo, who was until now happily rolling around in a pile of snow, went up to him quickly.

Miyako, however, couldn't help but frown as soon as she saw the captain. Definitively not someone she wanted to see right now. Their little talk, if you could call it that, in his quarters left a bad aftertaste in her mouth. For some reason, ever since she left the infirmary, Law was acting differently towards her…colder, more distant. She didn't know why but it was starting to bug her…however, prideful as she was, she refused to succumb to her worries and demand an explanation since Law would surely say he had no obligation to give her any. So instead she quietly went along with it. A part of her was actually glad…somehow she had a feeling this was for the best. They should be just captain and subordinate, and nothing more. This was much safer for her as well…she knew that…she knew that and yet…A part of her felt pained and betrayed by the sudden change between them. That part feared that perhaps it was because she wasn't good enough...because she failed on the last island. What if I'm not good enough after all? What if I get abandoned? Those doubts and fears came up sometimes though Miyako assured herself she was just being paranoid and irrational. However, after they spent those few minutes alone in his quarters it became clear to her that he was indeed different and colder and it only made the fears stronger. She didn't want to feel that way again; yet she knew she would if they end up in a situation where they are close to each other again. Before, she could reassure herself that Law was just being busy with everything that happened so he was just distracted and not intentionally pushing her away. But after today she knew that wasn't the case after all. *It's fine...it's for the best. But I just don't want to see him right now. I can't…*

She looked up to see Law giving orders to his men, as the crew ran around getting supplies and doing whatever he ordered them to do. Without even thinking, Miyako quickly turned around and started walking towards the town.

"huh?" Josh was the first to notice Miyako was walking away quickly. "hey, where are you going? Miyako! What-" He called after her but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

It was Cody, who just stood there quietly, looking at Miyako who was leaving quickly. "Just leave her be for now." The taller medic looked a bit troubled himself but he still wore his usual, calm demeanor.

Josh looked at his friend skeptically, as if trying to understand what the other was thinking. Finally he sighed, giving up. "Why do I always have a feeling you know more than me about what's going on."

Cody looked at him with the most natural look as he said in a matter-of-fact tone; "Because you're a blockhead who doesn't understand anything."

Josh was actually surprised by those insults since they didn't go along with the calm face that was looking down at him. "Wha..-? Hey!" When it finally hit him, Josh started shouting at Cody, but the other medic just smiled with a sweat-drop as he tilted his head so the redhead would stop shouting in his ear. He didn't even look like he was listening to Josh as the short man continued, already forgetting about Miyako.

~….~

As Miyako walked through the streets she looked around the town. It was pretty big and everything was white with snow or decorated with colorful lights. She heard a noise behind her and moved just in time as a small sleigh passed by, a man standing on it, as it was dragged by four strange animals Miyako had never seen before. They were the size of ponies, with long white and grey fur and black hoofs. On their heads there were two big horns that branched out. Miyako blinked as the sleigh passed by, and then two more after it. Just as she gazed in wonder, something caught her eyes. In a window of one of the stores there was a pretty, check coat with black and red colors. It even had a hood to match. Miyako walked up to it, putting her half-frozen, bare hands on the window glass. *Whaa~ It's so pretty!* But then she looked at the price. "Expensive!" But at that moment something else caught her eye. "Eh?" Miyako looked at the item next to the coat. It was a hat…a fuzzy white hat with black sports and a brim. It was so similar to Law's old hat, Miyako could hardly believe it…Actually what she really found hard to believe was that they would make more hats like that. The girl almost laughed at the irony. *Really…I can't go anywhere anymore without something reminding me of him. This is really ridiculous…*

She would still be laughing at herself or rather her bad luck if someone hadn't grabbed her arm and turned her. Miyako was surprised to see an old man, almost half her size, looking up at her. He had a white, comical looking beard that reminded Miyako of those mountain goats and even more comical, snowy white pointy mustache which was split into two and that stuck unnaturally outwards. On top of it all, he had small, round glasses. "Ah, so you're finally here! I was waiting for you; you're late!"

Miyako blinked a few times, feeling completely confused. "huh?"

The man put his hands on his hips and looked at her disapprovingly. "Don't just 'huh' me, I have a shop to run. Don't you know how important this time of year is? The people shop more than ever now, we need to be open and prepared. Come on, help me get the new items out on the shelves." Before Miyako could protest, the small, old man grabbed her arm again and dragged her inside of the shop. The warm air of the inside hit her frozen skin, instantly soothing it. Miyako looked around the small shop. It was decorated with the same bright, colorful lights as the rest of the town; and everything else inside it was colorful as well. There was so much stuff here Miyako didn't know where to look. Clothes, toys, some strange machines Miyako has never seen before, candy, furniture…and everything lying all around the shop making it hard to move. The place was filled with stuff but Miyako noticed most of them looked really old or were simply junk.

"What is this place?" The girl frowned as she tried to walk but almost stepped on a toy-mouse which was wound-up and moving around the floor.

The man looked at her as if she was crazy. "What do you think; this is my shop of course! Didn't you see the sign; Mister Crock's World of Stuff!" He said the name with so much pride. "And I'm Mister Crock! Hahaha!" The man laughed full-heartedly, though Miyako couldn't understand why. Instead, she was still thinking of what he just said.

"Mister Crock's World of Stuff?" She repeated, spitting out the last word in disbelief. *What kind of a name is that!?*

"Yes, because I sell stuff, you see! Hahaha!" He laughed again as he moved his hand gesturing at all the stuff around them. There were so many things that it was indeed hard to focus on just one category of items, hence the word stuff in the name, Miyako supposed.

"And you are here because of the add are you not? For the job. I was wondering when someone would come…you're the first, so you're hired. Hahahaha!" The old man, Mister Crock, played with one of his mustache as he stared at Miyako with a grin. "You're name, child?"

*C-child?!* Miyako was about to object but Crock started talking once again, making it impossible for her to say anything.

"You see, every shop is the busiest at this time of year so I thought I could use some help. You'll be paid of course. "50 Beri per hour, it's quite a lot isn't it? Well of course, I'm not a cheapskate after all. Haha. But to tell you the truth it's not very busy this year…actually this shop isn't very busy any year. Haha. Ah~ I guess people rather go to one of these fancy stores than here, even though everything in this store is hand-made and there are a lot of antiques too…"

Miyako couldn't do anything but stand there silently as the man continued to talk without stopping. *Antiques…No matter how you look at it, it just looks like old junk though…*

"Hey! You just thought that all this is old junk, didn't you!?" The exclaim of the old man startled her though she was more surprised by how right on the mark he was.

"N-No that's…" She tried to defend herself but the man had already cut her off.

"As I was saying, you'll need to get some more stuff from the storage and put them out and clean the whole shop and be at the counter while I'm out (which is a lot) and…" Once again the man was talking non-stop,

Miyako just sighed tiredly. *Why do I always get involved with these weirdoes..?*

"Hey! You just thought I was weird, didn't you?!" The man exclaimed again, surprising the girl once again.

*Seriously, is he psychic or something?! How does he do that!?* However, Miyako just had about enough of everything. She was in a bad mood to begin with and this was certainly not helping. "Anyway, sorry but I-"

Once again she was interrupted. "How about we make a deal?" The old man grinned and then pointed at the window of the shop. There, on the hanger, was the beautiful winter coat Miyako had her eyes on earlier. "I saw you looking at that earlier. So how about this; instead of payment, you can take that for yourself once the work day is done. Doesn't that seem fair? Aren't I great?" The man grinned, full of pride.

Miyako thought about it for a while but then a smile appeared on her face. "You've got yourself a deal." Suddenly, this turn of events didn't look so bad after all. She'd get the coat she wanted and besides…this was a small shop. How much work can there be?

~….~

Miyako got an answer to her question soon enough; Plenty! Mister Crock kept ordering her to do this and that and she didn't have any time to rest. However the coat was on her mind the whole time, urging her to continue with the hard work. And luckily, she didn't even have time to think of some other things, especially her recent problems that were bothering her; such as Law's odd behavior. However, every time she would pass near the window and see the white cap, her thoughts would become filled with the captain once again and that bitter taste would reappear. However every time, Mr. Crock would call for her and give her another job, making her forget about her problems and think of new ones.

After a while, Miyako remembered something from their conversation earlier. "You keep talking about 'that time of the year'. What do you mean by that?"

Mister Crock suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at her as if she just announced snow was hot. "Y-You don't know? How can you possibly not know?!"

Miyako suddenly thought she was in for something bad and tried to think of a good explanation to get out of this situation, but it was already too late. Once again her words were interrupted by Mr. Crock. "It's Christmas of course!"

"Christmas…?" Miyako repeated in an unsure and soft voice. The word was foreign to her.

"Child, don't tell me you don't know what Christmas is? Where have you been living up until now!?" The old man was red in his face from all the disbelief.

"Umm..well I'm….new here…" Miyako decided it wouldn't be a good idea to say she was currently a pirate, traveling with the Heart Pirates led by the infamous Surgeon of Death. On her surprise, Mr. Crock didn't ask her much about her origins anyway. She didn't know was it because he didn't want to pry or simply didn't care…or maybe he was just too absorbed into his own stories to remember to ask; either way, Miyako was grateful for it.

"This is a Christmas Island, whether the island was named after this special day or vice versa, I don't know; but I know one thing; Christmas is definitively the most important time of the year here!" The man cleared his throat as if preparing for a very long story, and Miyako sighed tiredly, already regretting that she asked. "This town, Laponia, has celebrated this event for as long as we remember. It is the time of joy and happiness and celebration, where people give each other gifts to represent their love for each other. Whether it's something simple, something you made yourself or something you bought, it's precious as long as you were thinking of the other person…." The old man continued, explaining the tree decorating, the colorful lights and candy, the presents and so much more. Miyako listened carefully and as she did she realized more and more that she liked this Christmas thing. It sounded lovely. But then Crock sighed sadly. "However, it seems people here are starting to forget the true essence of Christmas."

"True essence of Christmas?" Miyako repeated, her golden eyes wide with wonder as if she was a child listening to an exciting story.

"Yes…Christmas was about giving and sharing your love and happiness with others...but it seems people forgot the joy of Christmas. Now it is only about buying the best and most expensive presents or having better decorations than your neighbors. As if it has become a competitive sport. " The man looked around the store now and his gaze fell upon an old clock on the wall. "That's why people don't come here anymore I guess. Now they go to those big stores in the town, everyone buying the newest doll models for their daughters, or the same jewelry that they sell everywhere. But here.." Crock pointed at the things in the store. "Every item here is unique…the only one and with a certain story behind it. Perhaps you think it's old junk, but to me…these things have soul. A soul that the numerous things in those big stores don't have. Each of these items was made with care unlike those manufactured things in fancy stores." Crock sighed tiredly. "But I suppose there's nothing we can do about it…times change."

Miyako looked at the man whose spirits suddenly fell. She felt bad now, for thinking all of this was junk, to him it obviously had a lot of value and she could understand him. In a way, it reminded her about her Yawarakai-Te which was fastened securely around her waist. That katana had its own essence as well. It had a story, a connection with her and it was one of a kind. That's why it was so special. Miyako knew it wouldn't be the same if that katana was made in some factory and only one of thousands that all look the same, feel the same, and everyone else has them as well.

The girl bit her lip as she thought this. She didn't owe this man anything, but she still felt as if she wanted to help him. She felt bad for him. "Isn't there something we can do?"

Crock looked at her in surprise. "Like what?"

Miyako thought for a while, trying to think of a plan. "Can't we…bring Christmas back? Make other see what you see."

The man smiled a bit, taking of his glasses and cleaning them with his sleeve, before putting them back on. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it. The people are just not interested anymore. It's only a matter of time before I lose my business too…"

But for Miyako that wasn't enough. She was a stubborn person and when she got an idea she wanted to see it through till' the end. She wasn't the one to give up before even trying and she knew her master wouldn't want her to, either. Miyako shook her head with a smile. "Don't give up yet! I have an idea."

Mister Crock looked at the girl with confused but interested eyes as she smiled at him mischievously.

~….~

The town's square was truly a magnificent sight. At the middle, there was a huge Christmas tree decorated with colorful lights and other decorations, from snowflakes and little angels to Christmas balls of all colors and sizes. The rest of the square was covered in lights and decorations as well. The picture was complete with snow everywhere, sparkling like million little crystals.

However the people were just passing by, too immersed with their Christmas shopping problems to pay any attention or notice the beauty of that simple picture. Instead all they were thinking of was what to buy, what to cook, how many people they needed to invite to their house for the Christmas party and so on. Suddenly, a big sleigh arrived, decorated with bells which chimed while the snowyaks, as Laponians called them, pulled the sleigh. At least that got their attention as the people around stopped and looked at the sleigh in wonder. On them were two people, dressed in red and white.

"Eeeh? Isn't that Crock?" "What is that crazy old man doing now?" There were whispers and comments in the gathering crowed.

The two figures ignored them though as they stood up to be seen. One was the old man, dressed as a famous character from the legend, a man who was said to be the one who started this whole holiday by giving people his gifts accompanied with love and joy. The other was a young, woman in similar clothing, red and white, but instead of a jacket and pants she had a red dress that went just above her knees, and her usual knee-length, black boots. Miyako was freezing but that didn't matter now as she fixed the red and white hat on her head. Unfortunately these were the only kind of costumes Crock had and it was a surprise that he even had one for a woman in the first place. However Miyako didn't want to ask why he had it since that would surely lead to another hour-long story.

Mister Crock stood on the sleigh getting everyone's attention. "Everyone, can I have your attention please!" The old man cleared his throat as he looked at the gathering crowed. "It seems to me that we have forgotten what this special day is all about!" He eyed everyone in the crowd and finally his gaze stopped at one little boy who was no more than 7 years old, looking up at Mister Crock and the new lady with interest. "In the old days all we needed was each other, the presents were just a token of our love for our family and friends! And now..? Now, there's a big store at every corner that sells the same stuff, everyone just buys the most expensive appliances, the shiniest jewelry, the biggest toys…! Have we forgotten what Christmas is all about?! Have you all lost the Spirit of Christmas?"

It was clear on the faces of people there was annoyance and disagreeing. Miyako wasn't surprised, after all, she didn't expect them to just stand there and listen to Crock's words so casually...even though he was right. But people can't always admit to themselves when they are wrong, when they know they've done wrong. It's much easier to disagree and burry your head into the sand…or snow in this case. By now, the crowd was full of mutters and mumbles, none of them good, Miyako supposed.

Still, Mr. Crock didn't give up as he talked on. "A long time ago, every toy, every gift had a story, just like this holiday! There was importance in every gesture. Our presents weren't just for show, they were there for a specific someone…for a special someone, to make them happy. Remember!"

"What are you talking about? We don't have time to listen to your silly, long ramblings. We still have a bunch of things we need to do before Christmas arrives!"

"Yeah, we need to finish shopping too!"
"You're just promoting your run-down, old store. Just go back to your garbage you have there and leave us alone!

"Yeah, who do you think you are, preaching to us?!"

The townspeople of Laponia raised their voices in anger, glaring and yelling at the poor old man. Miyako couldn't stand to watch, but it wasn't something she wasn't already expecting. People don't change their ways and minds that easily. Mister Crock still wouldn't give up though as he tried to remind the townspeople what Christmas used to be all about and he tried to tell them the old legend of how a mysterious man in red and white, and black boots appeared out of nowhere one night when the people needed him the most.

Laponia used to be a poor town. Since this was an island where it was winter all year long, nothing grew here, the land was barren and covered with ice. Many people would die from the cold every night. At that time of need, suddenly a man appeared. Nobody knew who he was or where he came from and through the generations as this story was told, he had many appearances. Ones say he was 3 meters tall at least, others say he flew to the island on magical sleigh pulled by snowyaks, the strange animals Miyako saw earlier in town, coming down from the thick, wintery clouds…But they all had one thing in coming; the red and white suit, a thick, snowy white beard that looked like the clouds above Christmas island and a deep, cheerful laugh that rang across the island. The man came one night just as Laponia was being attacked by some pirates. Even though the townspeople had nearly nothing, the pirates wanted to take even what little they did have. He defeated the pirates all by himself, using his large broad sword. But that wasn't the only thing he did. He had an enormous bag full of treasures and other presents which he gave to the townspeople; food, clothing, toys for the kids…everything. Taking the pirates' ship, the people redecorated it and used it as a merchant ship to trade with other islands and little by little, the town became prosperous, since it had contacts with other towns on the Grand Line now and all the treasure and goods the people needed. The mysterious man became the town's protector, but as quickly as he came, he went away; leaving one night without anyone noticing. The people didn't know anything about the generous man who didn't just save the island but bring the people hope and joy as well; however some say the man's name was actually Christams and that the island was named after him.

Miyako wondered how much of that story was true and couldn't help but stop and think what a strange name Christmas is anyway. But as she was deep in her own thoughts, the situation out there on the main square worsened. Mister Crock couldn't even finish the story since people were now openly objecting and disapproving.

"We know that story already, we all heard it as kids! And it's just a legend!"

"Yeah, Christmas is just a name for a holiday, this man never existed! This is just tradition!"
"Yeah, Christmas isn't real you idiot!"

"hahaha The old fart must be senile already!"

The people laughed or yelled at old man Crock who didn't seem to want to give up. "B-But…NO! That's not true! I….Christmas…" The old man obviously lost any will or hope to continue now, as he couldn't find the words anymore. This was the first time Miyako saw him at a loss of words…for a man who always had a story to tell, this said something. The girl couldn't look at the scene anymore. Soon people lost interest in Crock and the crowd dissolved, everyone going their own way again, leaving Crock at the middle of the square.

"Mister?" Suddenly, Crock and Miyako heard a voice and they looked down to see that 7 year old boy from the crowd. "Who is this Christmas?"

Miyako could see some light coming back to Crock's eyes behind his glasses. He was obviously happy to be able to touch at least one person with the story. "Well you see boy, he was-"

"Tommy!" But before Crock could continue the boy's mother walked to them and dragged the child away. "Don't talk to that old man or you'll become just a dreamer like him!"

Miyako put a hand on the old man's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Miyako….You know, when you told me to try and reason with them, you actually gave me hope…that maybe, just maybe they would listen. That they would understand. But it was no use after all. Let's go …" The two sat in the sleigh and rode back towards the shop. "It seems Christmas is really dead...and so is my shop."

"Will you really give up so easily? Maybe we could-" Miyako tried to find another way.

"No...that's enough, child. I'd like to be left alone for a while...I'll leave you here in town." The man sighed sadly. "And to think tomorrow is Christmas…Though I don't know what I am even celebrating anymore. It's obvious mine is not the same Christmas they're thinking of." He almost spat the word "they" in anger.

"Crock-san…Why do you care so much about this? I mean, I understand you want to stay true to the real Christmas and you don't want your shop to close but…why do you care so much what others think about this?"

Crock sighed. "I was there…"

"what?" Miyako blinked as she heard Crock mumble, but couldn't understand him.

"I was there that night. The night Christmas came to this island and saved us all."

"…How old are you exactly, Ossan?"

"Shut up, don't make fun of the old!" Crock yelled at the girl almost comically as his glasses fell further down his nose. "Besides, I'm the oldest person in this town…How else would I know all those stories. I have wisdom you youngsters haven't even experienced yet!" He fixed his glasses before continuing. "That story didn't happen so long ago as everyone thinks. I was only a child though, no more than six years old, but I still remember it like yesterday. I remember joy and happiness that came to this island with him…the kind that we didn't feel for a very long time before that. I was born and raised in that poverty and he got me out of it…out of the darkness. And I saw him the night he went away and disappeared…I'll never forget that night. He saw me peeking from my window and grinned. He wasn't just any man…"

Miyako could see that spark in the old man's eyes again. It was clear he was sucked in his world as he remembered his childhood.

"I just…wanted everyone else to feel that joy…I don't want them all to forget that man who saved us all." Crock's eyes became sadder all of a sudden as his gaze blurred a bit. That fire in his eyes died out again.

~….~

The snowyaks ran along, pulling the sleighs with old Crock in it as Miyako watched him drive off. She bit her lip thinking and trying to hide her irritation. *Honestly, these people have no values anymore!* She didn't know Crock for very long and he was surly a little weird, but Miyako also saw he was a good old man and she wanted to help him. *He looked so sad…*

"ooooooy!" A familiar voice brought Miyako out of her musings and she looked up in surprise to see some familiar faces. Sai, Cody and Josh were walking towards her and Cody was waving to Miyako to get her attention. It's not like she couldn't spot them easily in the crowd of moving people as they all had their colorful unique hats and white overalls that blended in with the whiteness all around them. Her eyes stopped on the yellow, smiley marks of their jolly roger on their suits. Suddenly, as she started at that grinning face, an idea popped up in her head. Her lips almost mimicked the Heart pirates jolly roger as they moved into a grin of their own. *If we can't make them see their folly with words…we'll have to do it with actions.*

"Where have you been, woman?! You just ran off without telling anyone where, you know how long we were looking for you!?" Josh already started with the preaching as soon as they walked up to her.

"Hey, Miyako! What do you think of this place, huh? It's so cheerful and colorful and all this snow…it reminds me of my hometown up north. Ah, the nostalgia…and meeting our crew for the first time…the memories just keep coming back to me." Sai kept talking as he drifted off into his little memory world.

Meanwhile, Cody looked at the crowded streets. "But they all seem in a rush…must be that Christams thing tomorrow that we heard about."

"You think they'll have a party then…Maybe we can see some of it before we go." Sai commented obviously finished with his reminiscence.

"Will they have booze?" Josh questioned.

Cody sighed looking at the shorter medic. "Is alcohol all you think about?"

"Oh, excuse me Mister I-mysteriously-disappear-with-a-woman-at-every-frickin'-party-we-go-to!" Josh countered.

"That temperament of yours must be keeping you warm in this cold weather…" Cody mumbled innocently, though purposely loud enough for Josh to hear. Cody was always passive-aggressive like that…and good at it too.

Miyako just sighed and rolled her eyes but she ignored their little bickering since she had an important idea in mind right now and she needed them to see it through. "It doesn't matter, look, would you just stop and listen for a second. I need you to act like pirates right now!"

The last sentence was enough to bring everyone's attention to her as they looked at her as if she just announced she had two horns and a tail with hoovers instead of feet.

"What?"

"But you never like us acting like pirates?"

"Yeah, you always give us crap when we steal things too! Like last time when I-"

"Well I want it now!" Miyako interrupted Joshua before he had time to digress again. "Listen, you've already heard of this holiday tomorrow right? And the whole Laponia is preparing for it."

The men nodded without a word. "Yeah, Christmas, so?" Josh asked.

Suddenly, Miyako's smile and gaze became devilish as she looked at her friends. "We're going to steal Christmas."

"waaaah?!" Sai, Cody and Josh all sang in unison with surprise.

~…..~

As fast and clear as possible, Miyako told her friends about the things that happened today.

Cody sighed. "How do you always get yourself in these kinds of situations…?"

"So…who exactly is this Crock and why are we helping him?" Josh asked as he folded his arms on his chest and looked at Miyako, his forest green eyes holding a skeptical gaze as they watched the girl under the brim of his hat.

Miyako sighed. "You should've seen him, he looked so disappointed. Besides, I'm not just doing this for Mister Crock."

"Why then?"

"Well…these people really pissed me off!" The girl put her fists on her hips.

The three pirates sweat-dropped. "So it's more about getting back at them…" Cody muttered.

"More importantly….I think we're not addressing the main problem here…." Josh started and everyone looked at him in suspense. "Why the hell are you dressed like that!?" He pointed at Miyako with disbelief on his face and his tone a few notes higher than usual.

Everyone sighed disappointed.

"And I actually thought you'd say something useful…" Cody grumbled.

"Actually I want to know too…" Sai added looking at Miyako's Christmassy dress. "Just don't let Shachi or Penguin see you, we can't have them in the infirmary for blood loss now, they need to work on the sub."

"Damn perverts…" Josh muttered just imagining what would happen if the two mechanics saw Miyako in this new edition.

"It's a costume…something related to Christmas….I'm not sure myself…" Miyako scratched her head, fixing her ribbon in the process as she tried to remember Crock's explanation of the costumes. Something about how those were the colors Christmas wore and it was supposed to make people remember of Christmas tradition. "In any case, are you with me? Come on, you're pirates aren't you, you should be glad about this!"

Cody fixed the bandana holding up his hair and bangs "Listen, I'm not one to spoil the fun…usually that's Josh's job-"

"Hey!"

Cody ignored the redhead as he continued. "But it could get a bit troublesome. We need to fix the sub, Shachi and Penguin are going all around town looking for needed parts and the others are around buying supplies. It's only night time and we still have hours to go before the pose sets. It would be troublesome if we have an angry mob coming at us before we can set off."

"And we're kinda standing out in these Heart pirates' uniforms…" Sai added, pointing at the jolly roger on his overall.

Miyako thought for a second. *They're right...Then how about-!* "So…What if we wear disguises?"

Once more the three men looked at the girl in wonder and interest; she was obviously plotting something.

Miyako smirked amused at their expecting faces. "If I remember correctly, Crock-san has more of these uniforms for both men and women in the storage of his store…He said he was going home now so we could sneak in and…borrow them." Miyako smirked devilishly again.

"Eeeeh? Wear stuff like this? But…why does that guy have so many of these uniforms anyway?" Josh tilted his head as he looked at Miyako's dress, imagining what the male's suit would look like.

Miyako shook her head with a confused look. "I don't know…and not sure I want to. The old man is a good guy but…a bit weird."

Sai, Cody and Josh looked at each other in wonder at her words.

Miyako sighed, a bit impatient now. "Come on! Where's your Christmassy spirit!"

The guys were still looking at each other as if communicating mentally and trying to decide whether to go through with this or not. Sai grinned suddenly; "Well, we are pirates after all. And this sounds interesting."

The guys looked back at the awaiting girl and she could see by the looks on their faces that they decided to do it.

"But….how do you steal a holiday?" Cody asked what the other two guys were thinking as well.

Miyako grinned and that devilish gleam in her eyes was back again. "Leave it to me…I have a plan."

~…..~

"Are you sure this is a good idea…?" Josh fixed his hat pulling it down, almost over his eyes just to make sure he isn't recognized. He was wearing a red and white suit, similar to one the old man Crock had earlier that day. The others didn't look much different as they snuck to steal the big sleigh Crock had also been using a few hours ago. Sai and Miyako were sitting in the back, carrying big empty bags with them, while Cody and Josh were sitting in the front and the taller medic was handling the reins.

"No, but those people need to learn...one way or the other." Miyako answered as she tried to warm up by puffing hot breath into her frozen, bare hands.

Sai looked at the girl beside him skeptically. "Aren't you just pissed off and want to get back at them for what happened earlier?" By his tone it was obvious he wasn't buying the whole Teach-them-about-true-values reason Miyako gave them.

And by the expression she gave when asked this, it was obvious he hit the mark.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Miyako answered in a complete even tone with a mask of pure innocence on her face. She didn't even blink while saying such an obvious lie.

Sai had to admit he was a little impressed by her perfect mask. *You're good Suzune…you're good.* However he didn't comment on it. Sai didn't really have a problem about their plan anyway; Hey, they'd get a bunch of free stuff out of it. Besides, it was about time for Miyako to start acting like a pirate more. The navigator was actually quite pleased with the plan. He just hoped it worked because if they get found out and the whole town comes after them, they'll be in trouble…Sai wasn't really worried what the townspeople would try and do to them; oh no, what he was worried about was something much scarier. What the captain would do to them if they messed up his plans for fixing the sub and departing with the log pose set. Thinking of Law's punishment was much scarier than the rage of the Laponians. Just thinking about it, a shiver ran down Sai's spine and it wasn't from the cold.

Everything was completely still and quiet in town. The lights were out in all the houses, everyone sound asleep. Even the children who awaited Christmas morning with impatience. The only things moving were four shadows of the Heart pirates, carrying large, empty bags on their shoulders. They tiptoed from house to house, from street to street, across all of town.

"The townspeople here only think of this holiday as something material. It seems they can't even have Christmas if they don't have shiny lights and big presents. So let's see what they'll do once all of that is gone. That should teach them that it's not about the material stuff, but something much more important." Miyako spoke in a whisper before jumping onto the wall of one house, then springing off it towards the house across and unsheathing her katana in the process. As she was in the air, she sliced a few times with her katana in such speed that it was barely visible. As she did, she landed back on the ground and quickly opened her bag. Only a second later, all the colorful Christmas lights from the house fell apart and fell right into her bag.

Meanwhile, Sai was working on another house, stripping it from all the Christmas decorations as well. Josh was opening the lock on the window with his skillful fingers and entered soundlessly putting everything related to the holiday in his bag. Cody was standing guard, sitting in the sleigh and ready in case they needed a quick escape.

Miyako snuck into one of the houses, tiptoeing across the wooden floor and putting everything in her bag along the way. As she came to the Christmas tree, she sliced it into little bits, putting even them into the bag until there wasn't even one splinter left.

As the night progressed, the Heart pirates used their warrior and thieving skills to take everything Christmassy from every house in the town. It took hours, but somewhere around dawn, the pirates successfully erased any sign and evidence of Christmas there was. With bags and sleighs full of decorations, presents, cookies, and lights, the pirates drove off out of town and buried the bags in a nearby forest along with all the evidence of their misdoing, under heaps of thick snow.

~….~

The townspeople of Laponia rose with the first rays of sun but what awaited them was quite different from what they expected. From every house, Miyako and the others who observed everything from a distance, could hear disbelief and racket. First shock, then anger. The people ran out in the vast streets that were as bare as their houses, completely stripped from any Christmas decorations.

"What the hell is going on here?!" A man yelled, expecting an answer. But nobody could give it to him because everyone was just as surprised and confused.

"All the decorations…."

"Where are my presents, mommy?"

"E-even the big Christmas tree at the town's square is gone!"

"Who could've done this?!"

"There are a lot of pirates in this town too…maybe one of them?"

"Hey, don't ya ge blamin' us now!" A captain from a certain pirate crew jumped in when he saw they were starting to accuse the numerous pirate crews that were staying at the island.

Soon, the whole town was at the main square, arguing and yelling, everyone accusing each other.

"This could get ugly Miyako…" Cody warned as he saw what was stirring.

"They'll just have to accept it!" The samurai girl said stubbornly, even folding her arms on her chest as if to emphasize her point on the matter. She obviously had no intention of giving up and giving back all the stuff to those materialistic people. However, beneath her firm exterior, Miyako was starting to feel a bit guilty. Especially after hearing the children and some of them even started crying.

But then something caught her attention. It was Mister Crock who was also wandering around, confused as rest of the townspeople. Miyako and the others returned both the costumes and the sleigh after using them so the old man didn't suspect a thing. Miyako even took all of his decorations in and on the house but it was for a different reason than the others. She wasn't mad at the old man but she knew it would be bad for him if his house was the only one left untouched. That could make him seem guilty for the whole thing and get him in serious trouble. The girl strongly believed that he was the only one in this town who actually deserved all those presents and decorations but she had to put practicality before her emotions. And now, she saw him running as fast as he could on the snowy ground, towards his shop. Miyako wandered what he was up to and by the determined way he fought against heaps of snow in his way, it was obvious he was up to something.

~…..~

Crock couldn't believe it. Everything….gone! When he woke up it was as if Christmas had already passed and he slept through it; for a short moment that was exactly what he believed. That or he must've gone insane! But after seeing the whole town in no better state he knew this was for real…Everything was gone! He saw the shocked and confused looks on everyone's faces. For them, it was as if Christmas was really gone. Crock didn't feel that way though. You don't need presents and decorations to have Christmas! That's what he was trying to say and make them see all along! And for a short while, Mister Crock actually felt glad for this strange occurrence. He felt glad that the people lost all those materialistic things they connected Christmas with. But then children started crying, adults started despairing…and Crock's glee turned into pity. However this was a perfect chance to show the people that they can really enjoy this holiday without anything material, just like it used to be. Now he really got the chance to show them what Christmas was all about.

He ran back to his shop, taking his big sleighs and putting all of the items from Mister Crock's World of Stuff in them. The shop was almost completely empty now.

~…~

The crowd of people turned towards the coming sleigh. There, on top was Mister Crock, once again wearing his Christmas costume and a giant bag beside him. The people watched in even bigger confusion and some even in annoyance as they realized the old man was up to something again.

"There, are you happy now Crock? It seems your wish came true!"

"We won't have Christmas this year! Look at our town…it's all…it's all….gone!"

The people were once again calling out in panic and desperation. However the old man ignored their cries as he raised his hand in the air to silence them. It seemed the townspeople were interested enough to actually obey and the crowd fell silent. "Good people of Laponia! Listen to me!" Crock begun. "We all know the legend how this holiday began. We all know of a man who gave everything to this island when we needed it the most!"

"That's just a myth Crock!" A young man in the crowd yelled back.

"It is not a myth! I've seen him!"

The crowd looked at the old man in shock, but soon their gazes changed and they looked at him as if he was completely insane.

"It's true! I was only a boy…Nobody of my generation is left and I know nobody can vouch for me…but please, believe me! And even if you don't, even if you don't believe that Christmas was indeed real, you should all know this; That our island had nothing! How poor and cold and miserable we were! Think about it; this island is always covered in snow and ice, we can't grow food on this land…nothing grows here except pinewood. Yet, this island is prosperous! We even have enough money to build greenhouses to grow our food and flowers in them! Why do you think that is!? How could this island suddenly evolve so much?!"

The people looked at each other, obviously trying to find a logical explanation but failed.

Crock didn't wait long before continuing. " But right now I don't want to make you believe in Christmas…what I want to give you know is hope! We had nothing…no money, no food, no firewood….but the most precious thing that man did for us…it wasn't giving us the money or even saving us from those pirates. No…what we all remembered him for was something else. He gave us hope! And most of all he taught us that even if we were poor, we were never alone! We had each other and we always helped each other out! We were strong and we were happy because we had the ones we loved by our side! Money wasn't everything and for that short time that Christmas stayed with us, he showed us that!"

Crock needed to pause to get his breath back and meanwhile observed the crowd. The people were looking at each other as if trying to decide what to say or do in this situation. They still seemed skeptical but at least they were thinking about his words this time.

"I…I don't need this after all!" Suddenly a small voice echoed in the crowd and everyone made room to see who it was. It was the small boy from before and in his hands he had a Christmas decoration, a lovely snowflake. The boy saw it on the Christmas tree and was so charmed by it that he took it with him to bed and put it under his pillow. "Mister Crock…even if I don't have this, I still have Christmas right?" The boy walked up to the sleigh and handed it to the old man, who smiled at the boy.

"Of course youngster! Nobody can take it away from you! For example, you still have your voice don't you?!"

The boy blinked at the man confused. "My voice?"

The old man grinned before clearing his voice and starting to sing a cheerful Christmas song that everyone knew. The child smiled and started singing with him. Then the other children started too. It seemed a light bulb lit over everyone's heads as they realized what Crock meant. Soon, everyone was singing with him. The old man laughed as he saw everyone holding hands and for the first time in a long while, nobody was thinking of presents, of shopping, of trying to be better than their neighbors...everyone was just celebrating this holiday. Laponians realized; everything they needed was right here.

"Come everyone! I'll make some hot chocolate for everyone to warm up! Then we can put another tree at the town square!" A man said. Ironically, he was the one to own one of the biggest stores in town, filled with industrial merchandise Crock so hated. Later, that man will build his own workshop to make custom made toys to every child's liking.

"Yeah, and we'll make the decorations!" The children of Laponia said eagerly.

Crock laughed as how enthusiastic everyone was and a tear appeared at the corner of his eye. A tear well hidden under his round glasses. Then he remembered something! "Ah, before we go! There is something I want all of you to have!"

The people looked back at the man who was still standing on his sleigh. "What is it old man? You already changed our minds, you don't have to-"

But Crock just shook his head to stop them. "Christmas is a holiday of giving after all…giving to your loved ones. And this whole town, you, are my loved ones. And so…I want you to accept at least my presents for you." He opened the big bag and started taking out items from his shop. There was so much various stuff in it that there was a little something for everyone. "This colorful fan was said to be owned by a certain Wano princess who was sailing through this waters with her followers and visited this snowy island, on a white Christmas just as this one. The woman fell so in love with the ambience and atmosphere that she wanted to stay here forever…She also fell in love with a certain Laponian, but since her duties forbid her to stay here with him, she gave him this fan as a token of her heat. That's how the legend goes at least…Oh, but it's such a sad story." He gave a big decorated fan to one of the townswomen. "Oh and this clock is actually-" Crock continued to hand out his shop items, always telling the story that went with every item he handed. Every present had an interesting history to it and Crock handed it to a person who he thought it fit the most.

~….~

"It seems your plan failed...They got their Christmas after all." Josh said to Miyako rather gloatingly as they looked at the townspeople all happy, cheerful and singing Christmas songs.

Miyako smirked as she kept her gaze on the Laponians as well. But she didn't look angry or upset…she looked glad actually. Her golden eyes had a soft gleam in them as she looked at the people's happiness with nostalgia. "No…I think everything ended perfectly."

The rest of her friends looked at her with confused looks , well everyone except Cody; for some reason it seemed that guy knew every step before it even happens. He knew her too well already and knew exactly how and what she would think. He smiled at the people and put his gloved hands in the pockets of his overall. "Well, we should go back now…it's already morning, the log pose must be set already."

"Yeah…I wonder if Shachi and Penguin found everything they needed to fix the sub." Sai was in his own musings.

"Heh, I feel kind of guilty for letting everyone work while we had our fun here." Miyako muttered.

"AHA! So you admit this was fun! Even though you were stealing!?" Sai had a grin on his face as he finally caught her.

"Well…I'll admit it was a little fun doing this with you guys…" She said with a smirk and a devilish gleam in her eyes. But soon that smirk disappeared and was replaced by a serious face and tone; "Though you'll hear that now and never again, understood?!"

"Yes, mam.." Everyone said with a sweat-drop and a nervous smile. Miyako could sure look scary when she needed to.

Then Josh remembered something. "Hey, what about all that stuff we took then?" With a little less enthusiasm he continued; "Do we give it back….?"

Miyako shrugged. "Nah, they don't need it anymore. Besides, we wouldn't want them to change their minds again. You can do what you like with it for all I care."

"….What should we do with tons of Christmas decorations…?" Cody said a bit disappointed. Now if those were medical book they stole, he would be the first to take all those bags with him even if he had to carry them by himself.

"But we can take the presents, right?" Josh grinned mischievously and with his short stature he really looked like a child getting ready for christmas morning. Cody, Miyako and Sai were all thinking of that exact same thing but they all decided to let it slide this time….well, it was Christmas after all.

~….~

"Aaaah! Where were you guys! You've been gone for the whole night! Don't tell me you partied all this time!" Bepo ran up to them as soon as they came back. He was guarding the sub while happily enjoying this cold weather while he still could. Bepo never really like the sub, or rather the small, metal, unnatural space with no breeze or cold temperature to cool his furry body. That's why he always spent his time outside as much as he could when he had the chance and this island was surely heaven for the polar bear.

"Is Captain pissed?" Josh wanted to test the territory to know what to expect once they entered the submarine.

"Well..hehe….How bad can it be?" Sai couldn't help but laugh nervously. He knew already though, it could be bad…very bad. Depending on Law's mood of course.

Bepo tilted his head as if thinking. "I don't know, he's been in his quarters since yesterday." The polar bear seemed to be in thought.

However, Miyako ignored them as her friends kept talking about what they missed. She didn't really want to even think about Law right now. Luckily, she was occupied most of the time while they were here so she completely forgot about the awkward situation between them. But now, the time of confrontation was growing near with every step towards the sub that she took. That made her slow down even more while her friends were already going inside through the metal doors. And just on cue, as if her prayers to prolong the inevitable were answered, a familiar voice stopped her.

"Miyako!" Old man Crock called out at the girl as he drove towards the port in his sleigh.

The samurai turned around in surprise as she saw Crock coming. "Crock-san? What are you doing here?"

"heh…So you were a pirate. I figured as much." The old man smirked as he saw the big painted jolly roger on the side of the sub. "And quite a famous crew, aren't you..?" He didn't look angry or scared though.

"A-ah…well…" Miyako wasn't sure what to say. Technically she didn't lie to him but she didn't tell him the truth either.

"Oh it's fine, it's fine. I know how to deal with pirates." Crock grinned then took a package that was beside him. He tossed it to Miyako with surprisingly good strength and the girl caught it with one hand. "A promise is a promise."

At first Miyako didn't know what he meant but then a flashback came to mind. She made a deal with him; if she helped around the shop he would give her that coat she was looking at. A bright smile came to her face and she opened the package eagerly. However that smile soon turned up-side down into a confused frown. Inside, wasn't the nice check coat but instead a fuzzy white hat with a brim and black leopard spots. "Wait..but this is…."

"What you were looking at." The old man continued her sentence even though that wasn't what Miyako was thinking. "I saw you…you were looking at it and thinking of someone, weren't you? So this must be meant as a present for someone no? Hehe, even if you never heard of Christmas before, its spirit is in you as well." Crock looked proud and pleased with what he said.

However Miyako still planned to protest…at least until she heard his words. Then, she closed her mouth and just smiled, giving up. It wouldn't be of any use anyway. The samurai girl just closed her eyes and chuckled to herself before looking at Crock and nodding a thanks.

"Come on Miya-chaaaan! We're submerging!" It was Penguin's voice as he called for her.

The girl cast a last glance at Crock, before turning around and running inside the sub. "Comiiing!"

~…..~

*I won't give it to him!...Or maybe I should….The hell with it, he's been acting like a real jerk so why should I even care?! But would Crock-san be disappointed in me…He said I had a spirit of Christmas in me…Aaah, the hell with christmas spirit, I'm from Wano! We don't even have Christmas!* Miyako was torn to say the least. She didn't even know what to do but she was starting to annoy herself with this indecision. She was finally warm and alone in her quarters but she couldn't even relax.

"Gaaah! When did I start acting like some in love school girl!?" She kicked the metal wall of her room hard enough to make a small dent. " ...Wait! What did I just say; In love!? Have I gone completely insane!?" The samurai girl grabbed her head as if to shove all those thoughts back in, deep in her brain, where they belonged. "No, no, no…That was just…just a mistake. Right…hehe…" She comforted herself as she tried to justify her outburst just now. "And what the hell is a school girl anyway?" Miyako was even more confused than 20 minutes ago when she started this whole debate with herself. *Great, now I'm even talking to myself. I really might be going crazy.*

Just as she was about to give up and have a nap for a few hours in hopes she'll be more clearheaded after a rest, a knock was heard on her door. "Oh what now…." The girl muttered as she dragged herself to the door and opened them with a clear frown on her face.

"Well it's good to see you too." Cody said sarcastically, with a smirk, as he saw Miyako's expression.

Before she could even decide whether to let them in or not, her friends were already walking inside as if they owned the place. Over the months, they've become totally at home in her room, going in and out as they pleased, which irritated Miyako immensely...or at least that's what she always complained about. But what she didn't want to admit neither to them nor herself was that she actually didn't mind the company...at least most of the time.

Cody, Penguin and Bepo were the ones who came and Cody was holding something underneath his arm. Bepo had a bit of trouble entering her small room but somehow all four of them fit inside, though it suddenly became a lot more claustrophobic there.

"What are you all doing-" But before she could even finish the question, Penguin already began talking.

"I heard from the other guys what you did on Christmas island! Haha I can't believe it...and here Josh always called you a Stuck up."

"Here…" She finished her question though it remained unanswered. "What! He did!?" Miyako almost growled at that piece of information she didn't even know about. Oh she'll get the redhead back for that later.

"Umm…But I wonder if that was okay. Next time, first ask Captain about things like that, Miyako-chan." Bepo scolded her as a proper first mate should.

"Oh shut up Bepo." Penguin commented though it sounded more like out of habit than any actual anger.

Miyako smiled at the big bear. "It's fine, it's fine…Everything went perfectly smooth, according to plan, so there's no reason to worry…or get Law involved in that, right?" Miyako smiled sweetly at Bepo, scratching him behind one ear which he always enjoyed. It was obvious to both Penguin and Cody, she wanted something from Bepo, but the bear didn't suspect anything as he happily twitched his ear. "So…there's no reason tell him about it, right Bepo?" She continued smiling sweetly as she played with his white fur.

*Ah, there it is…* Both Cody and Penguin thought in unison with a sweat drop.

"Eeeh? You want me to keep this from Captain!?" Bepo called out in utter surprise and disbelief. The bear was the most trusted companion to Law and he could never lie or betray his captain. Just the thought of it was unbelievable to Bepo.

"Oh come on….there's no harm in it…." Miyako said sweetly and innocently while she put all her scratching skills to use on his head.

And for a second Bepo seemed won over, unable to think under Miyako ministrations but then…"Hmm…But…I actually already mention to him…what I heard from Shachi." He managed to mumble half asleep from the good feeling Miyako's fingers were providing. But then suddenly they stopped.

"Shachi…?" Her sweet voice was completely gone and so was the innocent look in her eyes. Then that icy glare turned to Penguin. "And how did Shachi know about it…?"

Penguin unconsciously took a few steps back when he saw Miyako turning towards him. Surprisingly, her smile was back on and she talked in a calm, sweet voice but they all knew things weren't as they seemed. "Penguin?" Miyako asked, knowing he was behind it already. She took another step towards him and he took another step back, slowly backing in the corner.

"W-well you see Miya-chan…I didn't think he'd talk about it with the others too. When you think about it, it's actually his fault right?" Penguin smiled at her nervously, putting his hands in front of him as protection though it didn't do him much good and now his back had already hit the wall behind him. He had nowhere to escape.

It was common knowledge on the sub that Penguin ad Shachi just couldn't keep anything to themselves. They were horrible at keeping secrets and it was an impossible task for then. They had to make all those boring hours down at the engine room more fun for them, right? At least that's what Penguin thought. You quickly run out of topics when working for hours down there and now they had so much work to do with fixing the sub. So what better way to spend it than talking about new, hot topics like Miyako planning and raiding the whole Laponia last night. Yes…Shachi and Penguin were total gossipers.

"Oh come on! You know I can't keep a secret!" Penguin tried to defend himself as he saw Miyako, still with that fake smile, coming towards him with her katana. Luckily, it was still in its sheath.

~…..~

"But it's actually strange captain didn't call us to his quarters yet and scolded us. Maybe he doesn't mind after all…" Cody thought out loud.

"See!? You have nothing to worry about." Bepo said with a strange optimistic attitude.

"In any case, I wanted to give you something, that's why I'm here…and these guys just tagged along." Cody explained, pointing with his thumb back at Bepo who was sitting on the floor and Penguin who was sitting on the bed and mumbling something while holding his bruised head with a new bump on it. Cody gave her the package he was holding.

Miyako unwrapped it and gasped with surprise. It was the coat she had her eyes on since they arrived at Christmas Island. "Wah-? How did you…?"

The tall medic smiled at her. "Well we saw it in that Mister Crock's World of Stuff shop and I remembered that you didn't really have a winter coat and I'm sure this wasn't the only winter island we'll come to. Josh actually suggested to give it to you, I think his exact words were; 'I don't want to waste my time curing her from frostbite in the infirmary every time we encounter some snow.' You know Josh…"

Miyako laughed a little. Indeed, she knew Josh, and she knew he was a good guy thought both of them would never admit it. But the redhead was becoming more and more like a brother she never had.

"And Sai mentioned you had that check skirt so we thought you'd like this." Cody finally finished his explanation but Miyako was still silent. "Uhh…Miyako?"

The girl raised up her head and looked at him with a smile. She had a touched expression on her face like he had never seen before. "Thank you, Cody. It's wonderful." She said and hugged him. At that moment Cody was so surprised that this girl would hug him, a girl that barely had any physical contact except when hitting them. Hell must've frozen over. A small smile appeared on the medic's face while Penguin and Bepo blinked at the scene in disbelief. They couldn't believe it either. *You've really changed Miyako. I'm proud of you.* His thoughts went back to the first time they met, her first day on the submarine. She was quiet, antisocial and gave everyone a cold look who even dared to look her way. However he was brought out of his musings when she said;

"Thank the others for me, ok?" Before he could answer she picked something out of the closet and opened the doors.

Cody blinked in confusion. "Where are you going?"

She turned to look at him with a small smile on her face. Her golden eyes looked more gentle and softer than usual. You wouldn't believe those were the same eyes as ones who stared coldly at their enemy without mercy. "You helped me more than you think…I need to do something. Spirit of Christmas, you know." She winked at her friend before going out. Cody could still hear her fast footsteps echoing through the hall further and further away.

~…~

The doors of Law's quarters opened and the captain walked in carrying a book with him. *I can't believe I forgot this in the infirmary. Maybe I should really listen to Bepo and take a break for a while…?* But as soon as he thought he, Law decided against it. There was still too much to be done to let something like fatigue waste his precious time. But when he came close enough to his desk, Trafalgar stopped suddenly, watching the item on his table with surprise and confusion.

There was a hat lying there on the middle of his desk. Law was gone for only a few moments and there wasn't anyone near his quarters, so who could've left it? But as he observed the hat, it was rather to his liking. It was similar to his old one, but this one had a brim and a slightly different shape. Still, he liked the white color and black spots printed on it. It didn't take him long to notice a note next to the hat and he opened the folded paper to read what it said.

Even though you're a jerk I'll give this to you, since it's Christmas after all. Merry Christmas!

There was even a drawing on the note; a small drawing of Miyako's face (it was actually recognizable) holding a V sign with her fingers and a smiling face with one eye closed and her tongue stuck out, looking right at him.

Law stared at the note silently, his expression a complete mask of calm and cold, before folding the paper again and leaving it on his desk. Without a word he turned around and headed for the doors again, the hat still in his hand.

~….~

As Law walked hastily through the hallways he bumped into Sam who was walking in the opposite direction.

"Sam, did you see Miss Miyako?"

The mechanic seemed a bit surprised at the quick question but it didn't take long for him to get his wits together and think about it. "Yeah, actually I saw her not long ago." Sam chuckled, remembering their short conversation. "She said she can't find any peace and quiet in her room cause it's always filled with people so she went to take a nap in the infirmary."

"Hmm.." Law just hummed to himself and walked on without a word. True enough, the infirmary should be empty right now and Miyako still had some time before starting her duties in the kitchen.

Law walked in the infirmary, quietly closing the doors behind him. He didn't have to look long to find Miyako in one of the beds, her eyes closed and breathing evenly. Trafalgar leaned against the metal wall, next to that bed, both his hands deep in his pockets. He put the hat on the bed where Miyako was sleeping.

"I always thought of myself as a strong willed person…I still do. Yet, somehow I always felt you'd be the death of me…I know you will, because you're the only one who is able to throw me off my game." As he spoke, Law just kept staring in the distance, in front of him, talking slowly and calmly as usual. He didn't look at Miyako once, but he didn't have to. "You're awake, aren't you…" It was more of a statement than a question.

The sheets next to him rustled, but Law still kept looking ahead instead of the figure that was now sitting in the bed.

Miyako had her head down a bit, her bangs hiding her big eyes. Her bluish, dark hair was loose and flowed down her back and sides, pooling around her on the bed. The red ribbon was tied around her katana, which was leaning against a chair next to the bed along with her clothes. Meanwhile, Miyako was wearing a big blue T-shirt with a grinning, yellow jolly roger of the Heart pirates. The same T-shirt she wore the first time she woke up in this submarine, all those months ago. She completely forgot that it was actually Law's shirt that somehow stayed with her all this time. It reached down, a bit under her waist, reveling most of her long, pale legs. However, as Miyako sat in complete silence, her expression still hidden from view, she didn't even bother covering herself up.

"Don't you think it's time we stopped this game…I'm already tired of playing it." Law continued.

Suddenly Miyako looked up at him, but her serious expression from before was completely gone. Instead she had an innocent smile on her face. "What do you mean?"

Law's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the girl in the bed. "Why did you give me this?" He gestured at the hat which was still on the bed.

"I got it from the old man in Laponia and thought you might want it…It's similar to your old one. But if you don't want it, you can just throw it away." She explained completely emotionless and indifferent as if she didn't find anything odd about what she did nor special.

Law's grey eyes became colder as they narrowed slightly again, watching her. She was wearing that perfect mask again…that mask hiding all her real thought and emotions. But it was in vain because she couldn't hide them from Law any longer. He knew her too well. He knew exactly what she was trying to do and what she was thinking.

"This won't go away even if you pretend nothing's wrong. Not this time." His voice was quiet and calm but there was a sharp edge underneath it. As if he was losing his patience with the topic.

"I don't know what you're talking about but I don't have time for your games this time. I have work in the galley." The girl got up and was about to take her clothes and leave, when she felt a hard pull on her hand. Before Miyako could even react she was back, lying on the bed, Law on top of her. He was propped up on his knees and hands, looking down at her with those icy, grey eyes that would pierce her very being every time. One of his hands was firmly holding hers against the bed, making sure she wasn't going anywhere.

But Miyako was returning his icy gaze with her own. There was no burning left in her golden eyes, just a silent, deadly warning in case he made a wrong move. "What are you doing?" A completely serious and cold, but still a calm voice.

"You're a liar Miyako….we both are. How long do you plan on keeping it up?"

"I should ask you the same thing, Law. You're the one who can't decide what he wants so you keep changing your mind any way the wind blows." Miyako spat back, losing both her patience and cool a little but she was still remaining calm…for now at least.

"Hn, true. I wanted to push you away, it's the most logical and practical decision after all."

"Then why are you here?"

"You're a nuisance." A short reply from Law, but it was enough to make Miyako's blood boil. How dared he?! First he plays with her and her emotions, then when she finally accepts him he pushes her away like there was nothing between them, and now he was here and she didn't even know what he wanted form her anymore. Was this supposed to be some weird confession?! Is she just supposed to yield to him because he had her pinned down on the bed?! That just made her more determined to protect her pride!

"What is that supposed to mean?" She answered with narrowed eyes.

"It means all my efforts have failed but I won't let you get in the way with my goal; to find One Piece. As long as my mind is filled with you and this ridiculous dance we've been dancing together for the past few months I can't concentrate on important things and I want my mind clear for a change."

Miyako made a mocking smirk at this. "So what, I need to succumb to you so that you can be a better captain and find One Piece? That's ridiculous."

Law smirked but his smirk looked more evil than anything else. His grey eyes were still piercing her. "I was never going to wait for you to succumb to me anyway. I don't have that much time." Suddenly, his hand gripped Miyako's wrist tighter while the other rested on her neck, putting a little pressure into the grip. "I told you you'd be the death of me…but I can't let that happen. I won't let anything get in my way…not even you." Another smirk as he watched Miyako's surprised expression with amusement. He lowered his head a little until their noses were almost touching. He could feel the girl's hot breath on his skin and he knew it was the same for her. "Maybe I should just get it out of my system…let all my desire out now and then kill you afterwards. That way it won't be a problem for me, right?"

Miyako's eyes were wide with disbelief now as she felt his fingers grip her neck even tighter. It was seriously getting harder to breath now. *Is he serious? He's really planning to kill me?! And what does he mean 'his desire'…he couldn't mean….!* Miyako would gulp if she could, but it was hard to swallow while Law was gripping her neck. She was trying to pry the hand from her neck with her one free hand but it was useless. Her eyes darted to her katana which was still leaned against a chair, far from reach. Her icy glare moved back to Law who never stopped staring at her. But right now, even for Miyako, it was impossible to know what he was thinking. She didn't know if he was serious or not, but his expression and the grip in both his hands seemed serious. Even that amusing smirk was gone, replaced by a serious expression as he kept watching her while her breath slowly left her lungs.

Suddenly the doors of the infirmary opened. "C-Captain?!" One of the medics called in shock as he saw the compromising position his captain was in, with Miyako underneath him. The medic became red with embarrassment in an instant.

"Get out." Trafalgar Law didn't even raise his voice as he ordered. He didn't even look at his subordinate. He was still piercing Miyako with his cold gaze, never breaking eye contact with her. However, the deadly tone he used was enough to give the medic a shiver and the man retreated without another word, closing the doors behind him.

Law lowered his head even more, until their lips were brushing and suddenly Miyako fell completely still. She couldn't even move…all she could do was stare deep into those stormy eyes. Yes, there was definitively a storm coming her way, in more ways than one.

"And the worst part is; I can't even kill you." As he said that, his grip on her neck lessened and Miyako took a deep breath. But before she could get her thoughts back in check and put herself together, Law closed the remaining gap between them, closing his mouth over her soft lips. Miyako didn't even have time to relax and once again her eyes were wide open with shock.

*Wh…What's going on?!* That's the only thing that went through Miyako's head but then she was able to calm down a little and she tried to push Law away. However with him holding her like that and being on top of her, he had an unfair advantage and she couldn't do anything.

Miyako's struggling became weaker by the second as she was once again losing her breath, but from a completely different reason this time. Law deepened the kiss, not letting her go, and the girl's mind was becoming fuzzy. Soon, all she could do is grip Law's hoodie tightly and hold as if holding for dear life. The captain used this little moment of distraction and easily slipped his tongue in Miyako's mouth. He was skilled at this...too skilled. But Miyako had no time to think about where he might have picked all this up. Instead, she was trying to fight a new sensation that was slowly coming over her. She thought that having another person's tongue in her mouth would be gross and slippery but surprisingly it wasn't so. It was hot. That's the only way she could describe it as she felt her whole body burning.

"Un…Umm…!" By now she didn't even know whether to push him away of pull him closer anymore. If she was confused about her emotions towards him before, Miyako was completely baffled now. And just as she was about to decide on one or the other, Law released her lips though he still refused to let her go.

He couldn't help but smirk with amusement as he saw the girl. She was nothing like the usual calm, level-headed samurai girl she always tried to be. She was breathless, trying to catch her breath while she still could, her pale face was completely red and flushed, her eyes slightly watery and her lips parted a little and swollen. Damn, it was like she was inviting him to kiss her again with such a look. But Law kept himself under control as he gave the girl time to recover herself…not much though. He liked having her confused and flushed like this; it gave him certain advantage over her.

"You…*pant* sadistic bastard *pant*" Miyako said slowly, almost in a whisper, when she finally caught her breath.

Law couldn't help but chuckle at her comment though it was barely hearable. However, the amusement in his eyes was quite clear. "Yes. Yes, I am." He said, putting the hand which was on her neck under her chin and lifting her head up for better access, before he teasingly brushed her lips with his own. "Though, by your eager reaction I'm inclined to think you're quite a masochist." Even now, he couldn't help but tease her.

Law was rewarded by a crimson blush across the girl's face. "M-M-Masochist!? I am not!"

But Law ignored her protests as he got up and already started walking away. Miyako wanted nothing more but to get up, take her katana and slice him into million pieces but she couldn't even move. Her body wasn't listening to her at all and she just kept lying there, still in too much shock. Before Law walked out of the infirmary he turned around to smirk at her…that devilish smirk of his that so obviously said 'Ha! I've won!' The one Miyako hated the most. "I'll see you later…Miyako."

Miyako could feel her heart skip a beat as she heard her name being called. For the past couple of days Law not only avoided her but even avoided calling her by her first name. And now he didn't even put the usual Miss before her name. It sounded so personal…it sounded….*Embarrassing!* Miyako's mind screamed as she became bright red in her face again. She heard the metal doors close behind Law who had already walked out, but the girl stayed lying there for a long time after he left. *But…it doesn't sound bad…* She thought as unconsciously her fingers went to her lips where the captain's touch still lingered.

As she finally sat up, Miyako noticed the hat was gone from the bed. Law must've taken it with him. At that realization, a small, mysterious smile appeared on the girl's face as her long bangs once again hid her eyes and face from view.

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Waaah, it's done, it's done aaaand…Miyako/Law finally getting together (kinda, yes…Their relationship will definitively change from now on, if you know what I mean. ;) ) I know it probably isn't very clear from the story that they are together now, but I think you can see that Miyako doesn't have a choice anymore, anyway. XD (She should just accept it cause it's obvious she wants it too! ;P) One of the reviewers once wrote that the long suspense between the couple can lead to very big expectations from the readers once the moment for finally getting together comes…So I've decided to meet that expectations head on! And I hope I did; I'm really interested in what you think so please tell me. :) I really wanted the moment when they finally come to this be as realistic and in character for both of them as possible (and I thought of this!).

(But writing love scenes is sooo embarrassing! /)

Also, I kind of went ahead and put the Christmasy chapter early (cause I'm in that spirit already and everything is white and snowy here and there are christmas songs on the radio all the time). I also wanted to dedicate it to my favorite christmas movie, I'm sure you realized which one. ;) (Btw am I the only one who loved the evil Grinch more than when he became good…?)

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And now enough of my ranting! Let's see some reviews and answer some questions! :D

Aiko Yamazaki: *dodges the raccoon* Sorry, for the long wait…again. ^^' Ah, but I do like raccoons so it's not so bad..XD

Zoro et Robin: Sorry for the long wait, but I hope it was worth it (and your wish came true ;P) You know, I always have an urge to start learning French when I read your reviews. XD

SeaDevil: Yes, I wanted that defeat to be kind of a turning point. (You also need to know defeat to be able to become stronger, right?) So from now and I'm going to make them stronger and stronger. ^^ (Need to prepare them for the New World which is coming soon. ;)

Izzie: hahaha XD I thought about that angsty way of getting them together but then I realized…Naaah, I just can't picture Law in that kind of situation. He's more of a take charge of things and just do what you want to do kind of guy, right? Hehe and yeah, when the crew finds out…I think that's gonna be fun to write. :D Especially Josh's reaction. XD

DrainaPurpurne2412: I agree, even though One Piece is full of ridiculously funny situations, I also want to picture the realistic part of being a pirate (and I think Law and Kid make that possible more than Strawhats since they're just more serious and evil). Thanks for all the good wishes, I can't wait for winter breaks to start. :D And Law's hair…even exceeded my expectations! :) Though I must say, I looked messier than I thought it would (not a bad thing though)….but that could be because of the hat. ^^'

Hesmus: Thank you. ^^ Hm, I don't know yet but quite long since we haven't even come to Punk Hazzard yet and I still have to make an Arc where the Heart Pirates and Miyako finally come to Wano (which is probably a long way from now) Right now I want to get them to the New World and see some explanation Oda will give in the manga about Law's crew and joker (It's hard having to sync your story with the original manga when you have so little info :/)

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Yep, I wanted the whole life-death experience to be a an eye-opener for both of them (especially since they're both so stubborn) and also so that Miyako could see how important the whole crew actually became to her. And of course to realize what's really important to her and that it isn't just strength alone that she needs.

.just: Ah, I know, I know, cause I suck at naming my stories…I think I'm gonna hire someone to name my stories for me. XD But I'm glad you decided to read it anyway. ^^ About the bounty thing, I guess I didn't express/write what I meant clear enough. What I meant is the same as the bounty Luffy had (before the whole Marineford case). I fixed it now…I think. Thanks for pointing it out. :) About the haki, yes, I know he has Busoshoku Haki, but I haven't given it to him yet (in a sense that he can use it; I will though, before they enter the New World too.) First I wanted to give him Kenbunshoku Haki (even though I don't know if he has it ^^') cause as I was building his strength it kinda seemed more logical to me for him to first gain and control Kenbunshoku Haki and then Busoshoku Haki. However if it turns out that he doesn't have Kenbunshoku, I'll see what I'll do, though I might just leave it as if he does have it? I'll see…

About the 690...right!? He's awesome! (but yes, deciding between Zoro's and Law's awesomeness is too hard XP) And yes, ever since I saw Law with a new hat I thought to myself; I just got to involve Miyako in that one! It was the obvious choice. So I made it so! ;D

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Ok, I think that's it! I've covered everything I wanted to say and now it's nom nom time for me, so excuse moa! Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, comments or propositions, put them in the reviews or message me!