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

43. Chapter 43

I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe

So at first I wanted to make this Sabaody story a one chapter, but decided it would be too long so I broke it into two. I feel that chapters shouldn't be too long either because the people will feel it's just too much and get bored with reading. But I believe I'll write and post the next part soon since I have some time now. :D Thanks everyone for your patience and I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is a LawxOc story, rated T for blood, violence and language. I do not own One piece or any of its characters (sadly). But I own my OC Suzune Miyako. Also, this story may contain some One Piece spoiler so you have been warned!

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CHAPTER 43

Josh and Miyako were leaning on the railing of the submarine as the ship sailed slowly through the still waters. For the first time in weeks the weather was nice; calm blue sky, the warm sun shining brightly and a light breeze ruffling through their hair. The kind of day that would calm even the worst enemies and make them relax next to each other and perhaps that was the sole reason why this couple was quiet and not fighting for a change. But there was probably one more reason. The drastic change in weather meant they were in a climate of an island nearby and the crew already knew, which one; Sabaody Archipelago. Everyone was excited over the fact that they will be departing for the New World soon. Unlike most ships, the submarine, being a unique vessel as it is, didn't need to be coated, hence they only needed to restock their supplies and they could be on their way quickly. To Fishmen island. Or how most of the crew called it; The Mermaid island. Miyako didn't even need to ask why. Everyone in the Heart Pirate crew was excited for one sole reason; finally seeing the legendary fair maids of the sea every sailor dreams of meeting. Miyako didn't really find interest in that but even her interest was effected when thinking about a mysterious island thousands of meters under the sea and a completely different race living there. The first time Miyako saw a fishman was actually on Sabaody but at those times she didn't really have time to sightsee or look around much since she had problems of her own, being a slave and all. But now her heart was beating fast at the thought of such a grand adventure, going so deep under the sea and seeing a different civilization. However her heart had another reason to beat fast. Every time she thought about her awaiting decision of whether to return to Wano or stay with the crew, which will surely catch up to her one day. It never stopped haunting her ever since Law exclaimed they were going to the New World. Miyako knew she couldn't run forever.

"Saobody Archipelago huh? Now that I think about it, that's where we first found you." Josh remembered the events from over a year ago as he lazily stared into the sea, not even bothering to look at the girl beside him as he talked. "You almost got sold off as a slave, Bakaonna." He grinned and gave her a mocking look from the corner of his eye.

The girl ignored his smirk but made an annoyed face of her own at the memories. "Tch. Yeah, my choices were becoming a slave or a pirate..."

"Heh, don't tell me you regret your decision. You could've been doing who knows what for those perverts at the auction house as a slave by now. Isn't this much better; the open sea, adventures, fights! What more could you want from life!" The medic got excited and smiled one of his rare truly happy and open smiles as he spoke.

"Heh, no way. I was planning on escaping from the start. As soon as I was bought, I would've taken my buyer by surprise, overpowered him, stole the keys for my collar and escaped." Miyako's smirking face became a frown soon. "But then Law came and ruined all my plans."

Josh turned to look at her suddenly, with a genuinely surprised expression, his emerald eyes wide and staring. "Ha? Don't tell me you actually regret coming on board and everything that you've been through all these months?"

Miyako stared back at him and thought deeply. She's been through so much…they all have. She smiled at her friend. "No. I don't regret it." And she found that it was the truth. She really didn't regret that she came on this journey with them; she's seen so much, experienced even more and gotten stronger and wiser from all of it. However, if Josh had asked her if she wanted to come home to Wano, that wouldn't be such an easy answer. Nor if he asked whether she wanted to continue being a pirate like this, forever. She wasn't a pirate in the core like the rest of them. It was never her dream to become one. She had dreams of her own.

Josh nodded at the answer, pleased by it. He turned back to look at the vast blue ocean. "Of course you don't regret it. I mean, think about it; soon we will be deeper in the ocean than ever before and then we'll see the Fishmen island for the first time in our lives! Not every pirate gets to see that." Josh's grin never left his face.

"Hn, you're just excited that you'll see the mermaids like all the other guys." Miyako looked at the redhead with the corner of her eye, totally seeing through his excitement.

The young man blushed and made a slightly pouting face as he averted his eyes. He lowered his hat so the rim would hide his blushing face. "S-So what's wrong with that…It's not something you see often right..?" Uncharacteristically, Josh's voice was low and uncertain; the guy was obviously embarrassed.

It wasn't often Miyako saw this side of Josh. Usually the medic was confident, loud, arrogant and hard to deal with, in her opinion. Not to mention stubborn and a hot-head. But when it came to girls, the man was completely lost. He couldn't deal with them and would always get easily embarrassed in front of them. It seemed that went even for imaginary ones. Miyako couldn't miss this golden opportunity to tease the medic.

"What's that, what's that? Your face is almost as red as your hair." The girl got closer, staring intently at his face while grinning.

"S-shut up! It's none of your business!" The man yelled back, returning to his usual quarreling self, even though he was still embarrassed if his red face was any indicator.

"What's this, you two fighting again?" A new voice startled them a little and the couple turned to see Penguin walking onto the deck. Behind him were Bepo and Shachi, enjoying the bright, sunny day.

"Oh nothing, Josh was just embarrassed about all the mermaids he'll soon be drooling over." Miyako made a theatrically bored face, obviously continuing her good fun in teasing the medic while ignoring the fuming redhead.

"Oh riiiight….Mermaids~" Both Penguin and Shachi sighed in bliss, just thinking about it.

"You think there will be any bears on Fishmen island too?" Bepo asked hopefully.

Suddenly a picture entered everyone's minds even if they didn't want it; A picture of a half bear half fish; a female bear with a mermaid tail swimming around through the glittering water, a coconut bra covering its wide furry chest. Everyone's face went completely dark and disgusted, as they watched the picture in their head with horrified shock. The mermaid bear kept swimming around, laughing and smiling, winking at them. They soon regretted ever thinking about it and willed the scene away.

"NO WAAAAY! Don't destroy my beautiful mermaid fantasy like that! There's no way there are bears in Fishmen island!" Penguin was first to react, raging at the polar bear.

"S-sorry…" Bepo's head bowed down in apology.

"Oy, oy…Don't get depressed so easily…" Shachi said with a sweatdrop as he felt sorry for the bear. Then he walked over to the railing where Miyako and Josh were and leaned on it as well, staring at the bright sky. Miyako noticed he wasn't limping anymore; his ankle has finally healed completely. "But it sure is nice today…we must be close to the Archipelago if we're already in its climate. It's sure a nice change from the hot and dark machinery room where we were earlier.

"Oh, doing maintenance?" Josh asked.

Penguin and Shachi both nodded. Penguin finally gave up on explaining to Bepo why there weren't any bears in Fishmen island and joined the others. He was the one to answer this time. "Yeah, and not just that. We had to go over some blueprints of the submarine and have a talk with captain since we'll have a lot of work to do once we get to Sabaody.

Miyako looked at the mechanic in puzzlement. "Why? Aren't we just stopping to restock?"

"We need to do some work on our yellow beauty. She never sailed so deep before so we have to make sure she can take it." Shachi grinned but then proceeded to explain when he saw Miyako's still questioning look. "We're going to reinforce her, especially the glass windows. If something breaks under such water pressure, we'll be crushed by water in minutes."

The thought made Miyako rethink her excitement about going to deep underwater and she gulped. She heard the crewmates talking about numerous ships, which coating broke and they got crushed by water together with their ships. However, since they were in a submarine, she thought they were safe from such things and only had to worry about sea monsters. But obviously they had much more to worry about then just giant fish.

Seeing Miyako's uncertain face, Shachi laughed and put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Haha Don't worry, nothing like that will happen to us. After all, you're looking at the two best mechanics of at least North Blue!"

Miyako chuckled a little. "Well that is reassuring then."

"I hope that's true for your sake as well, Shachi-ya. Because drowning while your body is being crushed by gallons of water is definitively not a pleasant death." The group jumped in surprise when a familiar voice behind them startled everyone.

"Captain! Don't scare us like that. You always appear so suddenly; you're seriously gonna give me a heart attack one day!" Josh was the first one to complain, seriously worried about his heart by now. Law always seemed to appear out of nowhere, when they least expected it.

Miyako looked behind her and saw the pirate captain leaning on the doorframe of the metal entrance with his arms folded on his chest. The rim of his hat was casting shadows over his eyes, but she could see an amused smirk appearing on Law's face at Josh's words. The captain didn't answer the redhead but instead stepped onto the deck. A spiky blue hair appeared behind him and Cody walked in after Law.

The medic sighed. "Captain, could you not make such a mess in the infirmary after your experiments. I always have to spend so much time cleaning all the blood afterwards." He said that with closed eyes and a perfectly natural tone with an even calmer expression as if it was the most normal thing in the world. He was obviously unfazed by now by all of captain's doings.

"It's a relevant part of my research." Law answered, obviously not caring about his medic's complains. Instead he walked over to the railing and looked in the distance, thoughtfully.

"You say that but it's obvious you're just having fun…" Cody muttered, averting his eyes to the ground in slight disapproval but thankfully Law was too far away to hear him.

It seemed a pleasant and relaxed feeling overcame the group, as they all enjoyed the nice weather in silence for a while. However, one person's mood considerably dropped as a feeling around her suddenly became colder. Miyako had a serious expression that didn't show any emotion on her face as she hid her eyes behind her long bangs. Soon after Law and Cody appeared on the deck, the girl walked from the railing and towards the entrance into the submarine.

"Huh, Miyako, where are you going?" Josh looked at her back in surprise.

"Kitchen duty." The girl answered without even turning around or stopping. Moments later she disappeared inside the submarine.

That wasn't a total lie…She did have kitchen duty…but only about 30 minutes from now. She could've stayed there some more, she wasn't in any hurry, but she didn't want to be so close to him right now. Truth be told, Miyako and Law weren't on good terms right now, or more precisely she was mad at him. But since she wasn't allowed to disobey him on the ship, avoiding him was her next best thing to show her displeasure and anger. It all started not long ago after their adventure to Vegapunk's lab in Abney Cove. At that time she trusted Law and blindly followed him into the jaws of danger, sure that once everything was over he would properly explain why they had to risk their lives like that. The rest of the crew was interested in it as well and the topic soon came up. But all Law said was that it was an experiment Vegapunk was working on, with Devil Fruit, and that it was not yet complete. When Cody asked why Law wanted such a thing, the captain only answered that it was all a part of their future plans in the New World. He said it was a necessary step to take but Miyako didn't understand what that meant. "Just trust me, a time will come when you will understand. But for no, you don't have to think about it much. It's not time yet." That were his exact words. As always, the crew trusted him and didn't ask further. They had faith in their Captain that he knew what he was doing. However, Miyako wasn't satisfied with such a vague answer. She trusted Law and risked her life for him; that's what she decided to do before docking to Abney Cove. And she didn't even get a reason why. She wasn't some mindless puppet on a string that he could use and control when it suited him, without even telling her what she was fighting for. That's just not how she did things. So Miyako pressed on, trying to get a real answer from him. However, their discussion soon became too heated.

"Why won't you just tell me the reason?! What are you hiding?!" The girl all but yelled as she slammed her hands on his wooden desk.

The pirate captain was calm and collected until now, sitting on his chair and barely looking at the complaining girl. That's what got her so agitated in the first place; that uncaring attitude of his. But now, Law looked at her with dangerous eyes, slowly rising from his chair. "Have you forgotten your place Miss Miyako? What gives you the right to question me like this?"

That response only made her angrier. "Because I have a mind and will of my own and I do not appreciate being used like some pawn in your plan who doesn't even have the right to know what she's risking her life for." She wasn't backing down. She stared right back at Law with challenging eyes. His eyes were still dark and piercing, looking right at her, but she returned the stare with her own burning ones.

But Law wasn't backing down. Of course he wouldn't, he couldn't lose his authority as her captain. "I am your captain on this ship. I am not obligated to tell you anything and you are here to follow orders. Anything else would be nothing less than disrespect and treason. And do you know what happens to traitors on pirate ships Miss Miyako?" Every word he said was slicing the air like sharp steel, emphasizing it.

A truly angry Miyako was quite different from an embarrassed or displeased Miyako he was used to seeing over the past months. This was a threatened, angry Miyako Law hadn't seen in a very long time, at least not directed towards him. But now once again, the girl had shown him that expression. Her golden eyes darkened considerably along with the rest of her expression. There was a deadly glint in them now. Her voice was as cold as Law's. "Are you threatening me Trafalgar?"

The captain was a bit surprised by this sudden change, especially since he hadn't seen it in such a long time. It reminded him of the early days while Miyako still considered him her enemy. But Law was too far down to back out now. It was a matter of pride and principle as an authority on this ship, as a captain. His expression was as dark as Miyako's. "I am simply warning you, Miss Miyako. And I will do that only once. Don't test my patience."

Miyako lowered her head a bit so that her bangs were covering most of her face. He couldn't read the expression on her face but he could still see the serious tight line her lips formed. "So you will kill me if I ever disobey you, huh?" She didn't let him even answer that as she looked up at him again. Her eyes were different now. Was that hurt in her eyes? Or disappointment? Law couldn't tell anymore…maybe both. "So that's the man you truly are…" With that the woman turned around and left his quarters, slamming the doors behind her. She stopped in front of the closed doors for a while, tightly squeezing her fist so that her nails sunk deep into the soft skin of her palm. She felt used and betrayed and she even surprised herself at how much that thought hurt her.

Miyako sighed as she stared at the ceiling of her room. She was lying on her bed in her shorts and a tank top that were usually her PJs. She put her legs up on the wall, leaning them there and crossing her ankles. For a change, her hair wasn't tied by her red ribbon, which was now tied to the hilt of her katana. Instead, her long dark blue hair flowed everywhere on the bed. Her big golden eyes kept staring at the ceiling as if it will give her the answers to all her troubles. She knew it was quite childish to just walk away from the deck like she did just now, and she was sure Law knew she left because of him. But she just didn't want to be close to him right now. *Perhaps keeping my distance from his isn't such a bad thing….When I think about it, the fact that I couldn't make a clear decision about Wano was probably because his presence was clouding my mind…always effecting me. Now I can think about it in peace, away from his influence. Yeah…this distance will make me realize what I truly want.*

~…~

"Was there something wrong with Miya-chan?" Shachi asked, scratching his head as he stared at the opened entrance of the sub even though Miyako was already long gone.

Cody, who felt that there was a change in the atmosphere every times Law and Miyako were in the same room these past few weeks, sighed. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. *What happened between those two now…? Honestly, they're both so troublesome…* The medic sighed again and stole a glance towards his captain who was still leaning on the railing and looking far ahead at the open sea. He knew he couldn't ask Law himself, the man would never tell him and probably even got irritated by Cody asking. He tried to find any sign of emotion on Law's face when Shachi asked about Miyako, but the captain's face remained indifferent as always. Honestly, the man's mask was unbreakable...he was harder to crack than a diamond. But Cody didn't spend all this time with Law without learning to read under the surface. He knew his captain must be quite troubled even without the man himself showing it. Law had his own pride to preserve, but Cody knew it was far from him not caring.

Yes, Law was troubled. He had been troubled for weeks now, ever since that fight with Miyako. He was troubled, and irritable and moody…and that only made him more annoyed both at himself and everyone else…and Miyako. Especially Miyako. She would avoid him, ignore him, give him the silent treatment, and only answer in short, cold answers when he would ask her something or order her to do something. He didn't say anything because he thought she just needed time and that after a while she would just get over the whole thing and start acting normally again. But now as weeks passed and still no change, Law realized it won't be so easy. He should've known…ever since she showed him that look before storming out of his cabin. At this point he would rather have the nagging, arrogant Miyako from the beginning of their journey. The one who was displeased and openly showing it, annoying him in the process. But this Miyako was different; just cold and distant. In more than a year they traveled together, Law couldn't remember she was ever like that before. Law sighed and closed his eyes. Women. He knew how cliché that thought was as soon as his mind produced it but he just couldn't think of a better explanation right now. He remembered how one of his more superstitious crewmembers warned him about bringing a woman onboard, saying it was an ill omen, and now Law started thinking if that was perhaps partially true. Because he felt like he had nothing but trouble ever since she came on his ship. He felt like his thoughts have been messed up and in disarray for a year now, ever since she came.

The truth is, he knew what she wanted from him; answers. But he couldn't give them to her. Not right now. Because if he did, he would have to tell her about him. He would have to tell her about thirteen years ago, about everything….And he just couldn't do that. But a part of him, somewhere in the back of his mind, whispered to him that he was afraid…afraid of how she would look at him once she knew. She only knew him as a pirate who didn't take orders from anyone, only doing what he wanted, roaming the seas free and chasing his ambitions. But what if he told her the truth? That he was actually forced to answer to that man. That he was a lackey of the Shichibukai, Doflamingo and that they all had to risk their lives at Abney Cove just to please that man. Just to follow his orders. What would she think of him then? Law remembered Miyako's disappointed expression when she looked at him. Wouldn't she look just like that? How could you? You disgrace. You embarrassment of a captain. He could picture Miyako's voice in his head, saying these things while looking down on him; an expression of utter disgust on her face. But more than that, the scene that kept returning to Law's mind was Miyako's expression full of hurt and disappointment. That's the one that stung the most. And he knew why…because he behaved just like him. Law said things he would often say, because he never allowed insubordination. Trafalgar knew that well from experience. Law always felt disgusted by Doflamingo's mindset, listening to the cruel man when he said things like that, yet now he did the same thing to one of his crewmembers. Law didn't regret many things in life, but this one he did. Being anything like Doflamingo was something he wouldn't allow himself. That man had enough influence over Law already, but Trafalgar promised himself that Joker would never have an influence on his mindset and thoughts. That one thing, that one freedom, Joker could never take away from Law. So what the hell was he doing, acting just like that bastard?!

"-ptn! Captain!?" Bepo's voice startled Law a little, pulling him deep from his thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

The pirate captain looked at his first mate in question and noticed the bear was pointing at something. "We're here! It's Sabaody."

Law followed the group's gaze and saw the enormous mangrove in the distance. The trees were rising high in the air while their roots twisted and turned around each other. He could see the bubbles dancing in the air, going higher and higher until they would pop and disappear. "Here we are again…." The young captain muttered in thought. Law wasn't one to feel nostalgia at such times as these but he couldn't help but remember the slave auction and the whole situation at Sabaody that actually led him to feel troubled here today, thinking about the samurai girl they picked up. His troubles started here…and now, once again, an even harder journey towards and into the New World will start from here as well. Law sighed. *I'm thinking too much about all this…it's starting to be ridiculous.* He turned to go inside the sub, Bepo following him close behind with his long nodachi in paws, as Law went to the control room to get everything ready for docking. *No matter what, I'm a captain first so I need to act like one. I can't forget my duties because of my own personal troubles and I sure as hell won't let that affect me. It's enough wallowing in self-pity or whatever this is. It stops now.*

~…..~

The submarine docked to the Archipelago and Law stepped outside on the grassy ground, along with Bepo. Most of the crew stayed in the sub this time since they still had preparing to do for setting sail into the sea depths but he took a few of his man with him and sent them off to take care of restocking the supplies. This time, Shachi and Penguin had to stay in as well since they had a lot of work with reinforcing the sub. They had a group of their own who took care of getting materials for the sub while Shachi and Penguin discussed how the procedure will go on. Assigning everyone their duties, Law was free to roam the bookshops for some good new medical books. He also wanted to see if he could get some new information about the marines, New World, Fishmen island...anything that would help them be even a little bit prepared on their journey ahead. He also wanted to see if anyone had some new info or rumors about the infamous underworld broker, Joker. Law wanted to find out as much as he could about Doflamingo's new business deal with Kaido and Sabaody, being full of pirates, was a good place to start. However, he also had to be careful because he knew Doflamingo had eyes and ears everywhere and there were probably a lot of spies and people working for him undercover on Sabaody. He didn't want Doflamingo to find out Law was asking about him and get suspicious. However, he wanted to take one more person except Bepo with him in case they get into some trouble. These days pirate crews were everywhere due to everyone trying to get to New World and look for One Piece. However, he could see everyone was already busy and running around the sub with their jobs. He asked Cody, but the medic cut him off instantly, saying he had to prepare the infirmary just in case for when they set sail. The only person who seemed to be free and actually loitering around on the deck right in front of their captain's eyes, was the one he really didn't want to ask at the moment. The girl sat on the railing, swinging her long legs like a child and humming a tune, unaware that a pair of dark grey eyes were staring her way, seemingly troubled. A glint appeared in them for a second when the captain finally made his choice. Perhaps some heavy lifting on Miyako's part wouldn't be so bad for her. Law smirked a bit evilly. He didn't want to admit it but he really wanted to get her for how she was acting towards him these past few weeks.

"Miss Miyako." The man called out, giving Bepo his nodachi in the process. "You're coming with us."

The girl jumped a little, startled, when he called out to her suddenly but didn't object as she walked over to Law and Bepo. "Yes, captain." However as she said that, completely indifferently, she gave Law a look that could be interpreted as 'I-hope-you-die-in-a-fire.'

Law bit back a replay or any nasty comment not wanting to lower himself to her level. *She's acting like an immature child. I can't believe she's actually pouting over that argument.* But the truth was, he could believe it. Because somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he wasn't guiltless in this situation either, even if he didn't want to admit it. He looked at her back as the girl walked off the deck and down below to the wet ground. What troubled him the most in this whole situation was not even hurting Miyako so much as the thought that he acted just like him. He actually threatened one of his crewmembers with death because of lack of obedience. That was something typical of Joker and Law played the same card as that bastard. The thought of resembling Joker was what really stung both Law's pride and soul. No matter how he sometimes threatened his nakama that he'll use his devil fruit powers on them, he never really meant it and the crew knew that too. He didn't think of himself as a good or awfully moral man, but even he drew the line somewhere and hurting his nakama was definitively it. Law closed his eyes momentarily as he felt frustration creeping over him. He didn't really mean it…But it was just bad timing. He was already awfully frustrated at the whole situation with Doflamingo…hearing the man's voice was enough to set Law's darkest emotions off that he kept deep inside, waiting for the right time to finally let them out. And then Miyako came and continued to pester him about the situation that was partly the reason of his current frustration. It was meant to end badly no matter what. But Trafalgar Law wasn't one to apologize lightly. Besides, he had the feeling that if he did, all the authority he had over Miyako who he finally tamed a little after a year, would crumble. He had too much pride for that to happen. He already had a feeling that he was being soft on her lately. *Maybe this will help to put some distance and reestablish the captain-crewmember relationship again. I need to set some boundaries anyway; she was still out of line that day. She needs to learn her place as a part of this crew.* As he thought that, Law had a strange sense of déjà vu.

Law, Bepo and Miyako walked through the familiar streets of Sabaody, much more crowded and rowdy than the pirate captain remembered. At one point they had to come to a sudden stop when a pirate fell to the ground in front of them. He soon came back up and continued his fight with the other pirate, both completely drunk and riled up.

"Is it just me or are there a lot more pirates than last year?" Miyako looked around suspiciously in case they got attacked by one of the pirate groups passing by.

"It's true. Ever since the War of the Best, there had been a lot more pirates sailing these seas." Law confirmed Miyako's suspicions but noticed she didn't answer or try to continue the conversation after that. Law didn't comment on that and let it be but he was glad at least Bepo was with them, otherwise there'd be a really awkward silence along the way.

"Are they all looking for One Piece?" Bepo asked.

Law looked at the pirates around them; they all looked third-rate and even if their intention was to search for One Piece at the beginning, it was obvious they were more interested in just plundering and drinking than anything else. "I doubt that…" None of them actually looked ready to risk their life for an elusive mystery such as the One Piece, even if Whitebeard confirmed its existence. They rather enjoyed things they could see and get now, things that didn't take such great effort obtaining. Law smirked at the rowdy bunch, an expression as if he was looking down on them.

"Hn, the new Era of pirates that Whitebeard announced was just an excuse for these people to become pirates and do what they want, unbound by law. They don't have any higher purpose or goals in it…" There was clear contempt in Miyako's eyes. Unlike Law she didn't look amused at all. As if saying; those disgraceful pirates. Or was she hating pirates in general now? No, he concluded, she still got along with the Heart Pirates, Law being the only exception. But as Law stared at her from the corner of his eyes, he noticed she looked more like the Miyako from over a year ago. Was all his work these 16 months gone to waste because of one fight? Law sighed irritably and scratched the back of his head, while his other hand was tucked away in the pocket of his jeans as he walked through the streets. *Dammit, this is all because I never established clear boundaries between us….No, it's her fault for getting under my skin. She's like a malignant tumor that spreads through your body and you don't even realize it until it's too late.* Law could feel the frustration returning in the pit of his stomach, but his mind wouldn't stop now, as he listed a few more sudden death diseases and symptoms in his head comparing them to the samurai girl. *And it's not like we ever defined this weird thing we have between us anyway, so it's hard to say what it is exactly that got ruined. We aren't a couple, but we sure as hell aren't just a captain and his subordinate either. I thought I was fine with just keeping the things as they were but now it's creating problems. Does she feel like she's entitled to more than the rest of the crew because of our….well whatever it is? Tch, no, I'm just fooling myself. I know that's not it and I already know what the problem is…and I already know the solution, I'm just avoiding it, because I would have to tell her everything then…explain it clearly. And I can't do that.*

Someone bumped hard into Law's shoulder, bringing him back to reality. A large man, almost twice the size of Law turned around and glared down at the smaller man .He was gruff and toned with a dark tan, but he didn't look that smart.

"Huh? Oy, watch where you're going squirt." The man turned to look at Law, but the young pirate simply ignored the man and continued walking. This seemed to irritate the man and his eye twitched in annoyance. He put a hand on Law's shoulder and roughly turned the man around to face him.

On better inspection it seemed the large man was a captain of a group of his own. Law could see three more men behind the large one. One was just staring at the empty space, looking even dumber than the large man, the second was snickering at the opportunity to get some action with Law and his group and the third was lazily reading the newspapers. "I told you something! How dare you ignore the great captain of Ape pirates, George "Dog Rough" Friggens!" The man said his name with pride, thinking that Law and the others would shake in fear before him. One of his crewmembers started snickering even louder.

*Ape pirates? Well now that I think about it, he does look like a gorilla a little…* Law thought as he looked up lazily at the large man towering menacingly over him. Still, he didn't even bother getting his hand from his pocket.

"Captain…" Bepo started but Law lifted his other hand and stopped the bear. Usually he would let Bepo take care of small fry like this but he was actually glad about this situation. He needed an outlet for his growing frustration and this was a perfect opportunity. A satisfied grin appeared on Law's face at the thought while he took his nodachi from Bepo.

"Ape pirates…? Never heard of you." Miyako cut the large man off, clearly unimpressed. There was no fear or anxiety in her expression or voice, only boredom.

The fact that the strange group, which even consisted of a talking bear, never heard of him took captain Friggens aback. What surprised him even more were their uninterested faces as if he wasn't even a threat to them.

"u-um…c-captain? One of the men in his group who was reading the papers a while ago started, stuttering and seemingly troubled. However, since he was behind Friggens' back, he didn't get noticed.

"Not now, Mirt!" He dismissed his crewmember. "Never heard of us?! Then, how about I teach you!" The captain of the Ape pirates took out the heavy axe he was wearing strapped to his back.

"C-Captain!" the man behind him tried again, this time even louder and more urgent.

"Oh, what is it already!" Captain Dog Rough stopped with his axe in the air, over his head and turned around to look at one of his men. The man was trembling and pointing at Law's group before them. But Dog Rough couldn't understand what the man was trying to say.

"Room." Suddenly a voice came behind the large man and he turned towards Law again just in time to see a blue sphere enveloping him.

"huh?" The large man stared at Law and his movement and didn't understand what was going on before Law took out his nodachi and did a slash.

~…..~

Miyako sighed as if troubled. "Weren't you the one who said to keep a low profile while on Sabaody?" She walked alongside Bepo, looking at Law's relaxed back while he strolled the streets with his nodachi resting on his shoulder. He looked a bit more content than before.

"Tch. Who's fault do you think this is…" Law muttered, more to himself, pretty sure Miyako couldn't hear him.

Three bodies lay on the ground in the middle of the street. They were moaning and groaning in pain as they tried to fruitlessly move and run but couldn't even do that. They're bodies were all mixed up among them and in wrong places, preventing them to do more than just roll around the ground in pain. Around them a crowd has gathered and everyone stared silently and in shock at the group already laving and the young man who showed his strange powers.

"W-what the hell? He cut us, didn't he? Why am I alive?! And where are my legs!?" The large man, captain Friggens, shouted but to no avail. Nobody could help him anymore. Nobody dared to.

"T-that's why I was trying to stop you captain! T-those guys, they're way beyond our league!" The man from before screeched in a teary voice.

"huh? What are you talking about, you fool!?" The captain couldn't process anything that was happening right now.

"Look!" The other man grabbed the newspapers that were beside him on the ground and showed them to his captain. Inside were the newest wanted posters and a familiar picture of a tanned man with a white spotted hat. Beneath the picture was the bounty number of 440,000,000 Beli. Right after it was another wanted poster with a woman, piercing golden eyes staring from the picture, with the bounty of 100,000,000 Beli. There were more wanted posters and it all said Heart Pirates. „T-those guys were the Heart Pirates, and that guy...that guy was the pirate rookie Surgeon of Death; Trafalgar Law!"

~…..~

Law gave a Beri to the kid selling newspapers and opened them. *Hn, as I thought, the Navy covered up everything that happened at Abney Cove, there's nothing about it in the newspapers. Well I'm not surprised, they can't possibly say pirates broke in a well-guarded marine base, stole important data and then disappeared without anyone being able to stop them. It would bring shame to the marines. However, the old geezers running the World Government must be seething in anger because of it.* The thought made Law smirk, quite pleased with himself. The smirk only got wider when he saw their new wanted posters. That little expedition into the marine base got him quite a bounty rise. It must be because of what he stole from the lab; the marines must've decided he knew too much now since he had an insight in a lot of top secret experiments done by Vegapunk. They wanted him gone and soon, before he could spread that info or sell the test vials he got from the lab. They probably think he still has it…They have no idea…That thought made Law think of Doflamingo and that brought forth quite unpleasant thoughts once again. *Those fools in the World Government can't see what's happening right under their noses. However our break into the marine base got a lot of unwanted attention from them…it'll be harder sailing these seas now.* That thought made Law think. He couldn't let marines stand in his way and ruin his plans.

~…~

"Piercy!? Piercy, where are you?!"

"Master Piercy? Young Master?!"

"Where did that boy go this time!?"

The whole palace in Mariejois was on its feet as the servants rushed around, looking for the young master of the palace, also known as Saint Piercy Q. Wingross, one of the Tenryuubito.

"He must've snuck out of the palace and went alone to Sabaody again…" Saint Roswald sighed, obviously troubled by the youngsters disobedience. It seems this was an often thing though, as most of the family didn't even look surprised anymore. On the other hand, the servants were out of their mind with worry, mostly because someone will have to take responsibility for not keeping their eye on the young master properly. And that also meant somebody is going to lose their head.

"Who was supposed to look after him!? You know that child disappears as soon as he gets the chance! Who was it!?" Saint Christiana, young Piercy's mother was losing her patience in anger as she grabbed the first servant girl near her by the hair. The young servant screamed in pain and surprise and fell on the floor after the woman threw her with force, releasing the girl's hair in the process. "I'm going to call the admirals to find him right now! And execute you all, incompetent fools!" The woman continued to scream at her slaves.

"Now, now, Christiana…You killed half of our servant last time this happened and then we had to buy new ones. Besides, you know we always find him. Let's just send some people to Sabaody and bring him back like usual." Saint Roswald tried to calm the woman with words but he didn't look shocked or worried by Christiana's outbursts, as if he was already used to them. He just kept lying on the soft couch in the palace, drinking some red wine lazily and reading the newspapers. It seems he wouldn't really care even if she did execute all the servants, he just looked troubled by the fact that he'd have to go to the slave auction to buy new ones, among all those common people and breathe their filthy air.

Suddenly the woman fell on the floor, putting a hand on her forehead and she looked like an actress in some kind of drama play. "Ohh…my little baby. Why does he always do this to mother….ooh, my heart.." The servants ran to take care of the woman, catering to her every need and being careful not to look Christiana in the eye. They just kept their heads down as they helped her to the snow-white couch. The woman kept moaning in a teary voice, demanding to execute someone.

~…..~

A young lad, about 14 years of age walked fearlessly through the forest of Sabaody Archipelago. However as he kept going through the groves, his step became less decisive and more unsure as a troubled expression crossed his face. It was hard to tell though, since he had a see-through bubble. But the bubble wasn't the only weird thing on the boy; his clothes seemed odd and unfitting for the scenery. He wore baggy, snow-white clothes and what looked like an oxygen tank on his back, attached to the said bubble.

The boy looked around him as he realized he was completely lost. There were no people or houses in this part of Sabaody. What the boy didn't know was that he had wondered off into the lawless part of Sabaody Archipelago where only slavers, pirates and robbers roamed. The other fact he wasn't aware of, is that the boy was being watched.

Not far from where the boy was standing, deciding where to go next, two thugs hid behind the big mangrove trees, observing the boy. They were both large and wore colorful robes, looking like typical ruffians.

"H-hey, those clothes...isn't that…?" One of them was too shocked to even speak properly as he stared at the boy.

"Yeah, there's no doubt, he must be one of the Tenryuubito." The other answered, more calm than his friend.

"But what is he doing here, all alone?! Aren't they usually accompanied with guards and slaves when they come here?"

"How the hell should I know?! But hey….don't you think this is a rare opportunity…?" A dangerous glint appeared in the thug's eye.

"huh? What are you talking about?"

"Tch." The man gave his partner an annoyed look since the other couldn't understand his plans. So he elaborated. "This is a golden opportunity; just think about how much ransom money we could get for one the World Nobles? We'd be set for life, I tell ya!"

The other man's eyes widened in utter shock and disbelief before he almost yelled. "You want to kidnap a world noble!? Are you crazy?! You know what would happen to us!? The marine admirals would execute us on the spot! The whole marine army- No, the whole World Government would be after us!"

But then before they could argue some more, a third person came from behind them and put an arm on each of the men's shoulders. "Not if we plan it right…If we plan it right, they will never even see our faces. Hehe. Now, haven't you two boys found something interesting and fun~"

"Boss!?" Both men turned to see the third one grinning at their surprised faces. They didn't even see him coming. He was much smaller in size and build then his two lackeys; he was tall and slender instead. He had messy black hair that hid most of his pale face. But there was a wide grin on his face and as he looked up at them, an eye uncovered from his hair, staring at them. A wide, black-pupil, eye that stared through them with a kind of madness you only see in certain kind of people.

"B-boss, are you serious?! You can't think that this is a good idea!" The one from before still tried to talk some sense into his boss, alas the younger man showed no sense at all.

"Good? What's a good idea…a fun idea is a good idea, no? And this will be such fun, I dare to say." The young boss grinned even wider if that was possible and nodded at an unsuspecting teenage boy. "You'll get all the money you want…and I'll get all the fun." The man giggled like a child about to open a present.

He's two lackeys looked divided in opinion. One still had a fearful and unsure face, totally against the plan, while the other grinned menacingly, thinking of all the gold and jewels he'll be getting. Besides, with this young boss; them kidnapping the kid and getting away with it might actually work. He just came one day to a group of lawless thugs and with his quick wit, smart plans and charisma made them all into an organized group. He was completely insane…but an insane genius.

~…..~

Bepo huffed as another thick medical book found its way on top of numerous others as they all ended up in the bears' paws. Bepo was stronger than an average human but even he had some problems with how much all these books weighted. And carrying them for so long has taken its toll on Bepo's arms. Law however, was totally into checking out all the new medical books and completely forgot about the fact that Bepo was the one carrying them, as he kept buying and piling one book on top of the other.

"C-captain." A slightly whiny voice came from the bear, bringing the said captain out of his thoughts. Law looked up from one of the new books while they stood in the bookstore and gave Bepo a questioning expression. "D-don't you think this is enough…I can't carry them all much longer. At least wait for Miyako to come back so she can help me…"

Law looked at all the large piled book in Bepo's paws and realized he indeed went too far. "Ah…sorry Bepo. You're right, it's enough. Take them back to the ship for me."

"Oh, are you going to get Miyako then?" Bepo's furry head tilted questioningly to the side. He wasn't aware that Law sent Miyako on a task of her own only to rest from the tense atmosphere between them. She was instructed to try and find any new info or rumors, especially on the Fishmen Island or the New World. Anything helpful for their awaiting journey. As always, the girl just silently walked away, doing her duty without any comments of complaints.

Law scratched the back of his head seemingly troubled as a thought. Even so, he still answered the bear. "Yeah…You just get the books back to the sub, I'll get Miss Miyako."

~…~

Miyako was sitting in a chair at a bar, drinking something that looked like orange juice but didn't taste like one at all. The whole place looked pretty old and run down, cracks in the wood everywhere with various bugs crawling from one crack to the other. The whole atmosphere in the bar was dark and gloomy. It was pretty silent, except from the murmurs of the pirates and thugs sitting around and drinking. The atmosphere was tense even though nobody started a fight, but everybody seemed to be prepared if one was to occur.

However, this kind of place was the perfect place to get some information, which was a sole reason why Miyako came here. There was no other way why she would step foot into this hole called a bar. Some of the men would look her way now and then but she just ignored them, and luckily nobody approached her yet. She turned to the big bartender in his late fifties. "There's a pretty gloomy atmosphere you have here. I thought pirate joints were cheerful and full of music." The girl just started unimportant chit-chat in order to get some real info through the conversation.

The man chuckled though his serious facial expression barely changed. "You've been reading too many pirate stories, missy. There's nothing bright and cheerful about pirates."

At that Miyako's mind wandered off to the Heart Pirates and all their numerous parties on the deck and cafeteria and she wasn't so sure if she could agree with the old bartender.

The man continued to clean a glass with a pretty dirty rag as he looked at the girl from above his pair of glasses. "I'd say the one who's strange is you. You seem pretty out of place here."

Miyako wasn't really offended by the man's direct words. After all she could say the same thing herself. Even so, she smirked at the man. "Hmm? Old man, you don't believe I can be a pirate."

The man huffed in a chuckle again, continuing to clean the glass. "I didn't say you couldn't be one or aren't. I just said you don't look like one." With that, his gaze fell on an open newspaper on the bar, where a few wanted posters laid. One of them, Miyako recognized immediately as she saw her own face with a 100 million Beri prize underneath. Suddenly, Miyako felt a dark aura of gloom around her as her head slumped down along with her whole form. She still couldn't get used to being a wanted criminal with a bounty on her head. The old man looked at her with slight wonder. "Whoa, that's some strong gloomy reaction." The whole scene looked like a certain pirate bear in his depressed mood.

Miyako was able to collect herself as she looked up again, but with a little less self-confidence. "T-then I can just ask directly…Did you hear anything about the New World these days? Or Fishmen island?"

"Hooo….You're going to the New World, huh? Quite daring…are you sure you're ready for something like that?"

Miyako thought for a second about his question, reminiscing about all the adventures and troubles they'd been through in the past 16 months. She smiled quite confidently at that. "yeah, we're ready."

The bartender smirked at her newfound confidence as well. She looked different than just a while ago…more certain. The old man looked down at the glass deeming it was clean enough and put it next to the others, taking another wet glass and repeating the process. "Well, New World seems more dangerous than before ever since the War of the Best. More pirates roaming and the Pirate Emperors seem to be fighting for Whitebeard's old territories. On the other hand, the marines seemed to be having their hands full and are tightening their hold in the New World to prevent from some new pirate rookies coming and throwing the world upside down…"

Miyako thought about that last statement of the man. "Like the Strawhat pirates…" She muttered but the man heard her and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. But I wasn't talking just about them….After all they disappeared and still haven't made any new havoc since Strawhat went to Marineford."

Miyako remembered the dark days of Luffy's unstable condition at their sub and how much he grieved when he finally woke up. However, after seeing the boy in the newspapers she knew he would be ok. Besides, he had both the ex -shichibukai Jinbei and ex-pirate Silvers Rayleigh to take care of him. With such people around Luffy, how could he become anything less than a great pirate? The thought made Miyako remember her own pirate captain and her face twisted into a slight frown. She better not start thinking about him. She tried not to these days. Luckily, the bartender continued his talk, pulling Miyako out of her thoughts.

"But I was talking about the pirate rookies and their crews roaming the New World seas. Especially that red-haired one, Eustass "Captain" Kid. He got himself quite a reputation in the New World."

Miyako remembered that man from her first time at Sabaody and afterwards she read about him in the papers. He was quite a fearsome one, not to mention cruel. He left the highest number of civilian casualties after his raids, a man Miyako knew would never get along with if they ever met. She thought the same thing about all the pirates and Law in the past…But then again, Law was pretty cruel to his enemies but not to the civilians. The scene in Law's questers a few weeks back passed Miyako's mind and she remembered his harsh and cold words along with his dark expression. It seemed like a different Law. The Law who was usually dealing with his enemies, not with her. The last time that expression was directed at her was during the whole thing with that insane puppet maker, when she went off on her own, and that time Miyako had to admit Law had a point. This time however, she felt he was totally in the wrong. And she won't forgive him that easily. For the nth time that day, Miyako sighed.

The old bartender didn't seem to realize Miyako's mood as he continued talking casually. "There's also Scratchmen Apoo, Basil Hawkins…all of the pirate rookies that were here during the Sabaody incident with the Tenryuubito. They've been creating quite a havoc in the New World. Well…everyone except Monkey D. Luffy and…" The man looked up from his glass at Miyako, with a meaningful eye. "….and Trafalgar Law, the Surgeon of Death."

Miyako pretended not to notice the man's stare. "Oh? Well...I guess even pirates need vacations sometimes." The girl answered nonchalantly. If the man was expecting for her to spill something about the Heart Pirates and Law's plans, he'll be disappointed. Besides, even she didn't know what her captain's plans were. That thought just made her more irritated.

The bartender chuckled seeing the girl had no intention commenting on any of her pirate crew's moves. He could take a hint. He knew she was a part of the Heart Pirates, she's been quite the talk these days after all. The newest Heart Pirates member, under the Surgeon of Death, a samurai woman from Wano. Nobody knew much about her but she seemed to quickly rise in the pirate world with her bounty in only 16 months of being a pirate. This seems to have gone unbeknown to the woman herself however.

"So? Is there anything else?" Miyako decided to wrap up this conversation quickly before the man pried even more in her business. She was there to get info, not vice versa. Also, she noticed stares coming from some men in the bar with the corner of her eye. She wanted to get out of here before some drunken idiot decides to start anything.

The bartender thought for a while, as if trying to remember, a small smirk playing on his lips. Miyako rolled her eyes, taking the hint, and put some Beri coins in front of him. There were more than what she needed to pay for her drink. The man grinned satisfied and took the coins. "Well there was this one strange incident….As you probably already know, a lot of ships that go to the New World end up back here in pieces. Most of it is because of bad coating that breaks under water pressure, and some of them from being attacked by the creatures of the sea or smashed into the ocean floor by the strong currents. However, these days there had been a lot more ships stranded here, and some of them didn't really look that damaged either. The weirdest part was that the whole crews of those ships went missing. Usually, at least a few bodies come back floating along with the ships, but this time there were no bodies at all."

Miyako thought about this for a second. "Maybe the currents took them away further from Sabaody? Or the creatures down below ate them?"

"Maybe…but…not even one body found?" The man seemed unsatisfied with Miyako explanation. Miyako, herself, wasn't so sure about it.

"So…What do you think it's about?" The girl asked after a while, not thinking of any other option.

The man just shrugged, putting down the glass from his hand. "Who knows…I'm a bartender not an investigator. As long as there's business on Sabaody, I'm content."

That reminded Miyako of the rowdy and crowded street outside. "There seemed to be a lot more people than before, on Sabaody…." She looked around the dark bar, seeing it was quite full as well. As she examined it, she caught a man piercing her with his eyes. She pretended not to notice and looked back at the bartender.

The old man chuckled. "Yeah, everybody wants a piece of the prize nowadays…One Piece that is. Everyone suddenly decided to become a pirate." There was an obvious mocking tone in his voice, but Miyako understood that feeling perfectly. Half of these guys were just in it for the money or some short-lasting glory but nobody really wanted to work hard to obtain their goals or dreams, and going for One Piece was only an excuse to pillage and raid as pirates. They were completely different from the Heart Pirates.

Miyako was about to say something else but her expression soon dropped into a frown when she noticed a man coming to the bar next to them, ordering some whiskey. Two other men were standing behind him, grinning as they leered at Miyako. The man kept checking her out, from head to toe as she looked up at him irritably.

"Hey thar missy…I heard you were talkin' about t' New World. Are you seriously plannin' t' go thar?"

Miyako's cold expression didn't change as she stared up at him uninterested. "I am…" Her expression was clearly asking; So what about it?

The man's grin got wider and he licked his lips in an obnoxious way. "Well, we just happened t' be goin' thar ourselves, along with our crew." The man didn't point to the rest of his crew so Miyako deducted the rest were probably somewhere else on the Sabaody or preparing the ship for the voyage. "Why don't t' lil' missy join us. You be a pirate too, no?"

Miyako thought of the most tactful way of refusing the offer and getting the lads off her back. She doubted all they wanted was for her to sale with them, especially by their stares and glances across her body. The man talking, probably their captain, spent more time talking to her chest than actually looking her in the eyes. The girl tried to smile kindly, though it never reached her eyes. "Sorry, but I'm already a part of a crew." Deciding that her work here was done and that she got all the information she needed, Miyako stood up, about to leave. However, she had to halt when the man stood in her way.

"Now, now, lil' pirate missy. Where be t' rush, eh?" The pirate captain grinned, still leering with a disgusting expression of want on his face.

Miyako was silent for a while, seeing that most of the men in the bar were now staring at the scene, watching intently. She didn't want to cause too much commotion here and bring any attention to herself. But it was too late now. She smirked, not even looking at the three pirates surrounding her. "I'm in a really bad mood right now, boys. So I suggest you don't agitate me further."

The man narrowed his eyes at this. The girl didn't even act frightened or threatened, as if they were only bugs, annoying her on her path. The captain's voice turned a shade darker and more serious, and so did his expression. "Hey now lil' missy… That's quite rude o' you, no? Ye best be happier when such a fine pirate crew as ours gives ye such a kind invite." The man was still holding a bottle of rum in that hand as he pointed a finger at her, right in the center of her chest.

Miyako had just about enough of pirate crews and pirate captains for today. In a blink of an eye, she unsheathed her sword before the guys could even realize what happened. In the next instant, the man's bottle of rum split in half from a clean cut, the lower part falling and shattering on the floor, while the red liquid spilt everywhere. Miyako's katana was out and in her hand, a mischievous look on the girl's face. She was smiling slightly while a devilish glint appeared in her now burning eyes. "I already kindly refused your offer. And I'm kindly letting you keep your lives. Aren't you satisfied with that?" The girl intentionally emphasized that word as if mocking them.

"Aah…what a waste of good rum…" The old bartender muttered behind them, watching the scene with an uninterested expression as if he was already used to all of this.

Miyako's action, of course, made the three men pissed and they pulled out their weapons. Now all across the bar were curious looks, staring at the scene unfolding before them. However, as soon as the three pirates pulled out their weapons, Miyako moved again and in an instant she moved with a cutting motion, suddenly appearing behind them. She didn't stop as she casually walked towards the exit of the bar. "Thanks for the info old man~" She chimed in a lighthearted tone. Behind her, the pirates' weapons all got cut into pieces, unusable anymore. Not only that, but their clothes got cut too leaving the three men in nothing, naked as the day they were born. Miyako didn't turn around to see the sight and she ignored the snickering from the other men in the bar. She just walked out on the street of the Sabaody, sheathing back her katana and looking up at the clear sky with a sigh. She then noticed Law from the corner of her eye, stopping in front of her.

"Did you find out anything?" Law asked, walking alongside with Miyako.

"Yeah, this and that…." Her tone became more monotone and less cheerful than before. It was obvious to Law that she was purposely stalling with her answers, making them vague, just to irritate him. Once again he remembered the beginnings of their journey together.

They could still hear a strange ruckus and angry yelling coming from the bar. "What happened in there?" Law asked, rising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Oh, nothing. I just showed them how kind I am~." There was once again a devilish glint in Miyako's alive-looking eyes as she smiled. She seemed more cheerful than before so Law concluded, whatever happened it had to be something good for her. However, he didn't understand much of the meaning behind the girl's explanation. Her mischievous expression didn't fit her words at all.

Law sighed as he looked at Miyako with the corner of his eye, a bit strictly and warningly. "Don't bring any unnecessary attention or trouble upon us."

Miyako looked away, her expression showing irritation at being scolded by him. "Tch. Whatever." She muttered, pouting a little.

Law didn't feel like going into a debate about it with Miyako, as long as she followed through her orders. So he just let the girl be as they walked back to the submarine.

~…~

Bepo was walking through the forest with the medical books securely towering in his hands. They were clouding his vision and he had to strain himself to see the numbers of the grooves. "Hmm…this is number 13 so…I'm pretty sure were are docked at 23. Just a bit further then." Muttering to himself, the bear continued to slowly walk back to the submarine.

Suddenly, the bear felt something coming and spun around, delivering a block with his pawed palm to whatever it was, dropping the medical books in the process. "Hiya!" With a yell, he deflected what looked to be the end of a Manriki chain. The thing flew back to its master who yanked the chain and spun the end next to him. The man wielding it was big and looked like a thug in cheap clothing. There was a skinny and shorter man beside him, who was crouching on the ground. He looked wild and stared at Bepo with wide eyes and a grinning face. His messy hair was contained underneath a head kerchief.

"Who are you people? What do you want from me!?" Bepo was already in his kung-fu stance, ready for the battle.

The man in the kerchief laughed maniacally. "Hahahaha It's true! It's a bear, a real walking, talking bear! Hahaaha!"

"And he's wearing clothes…" The other added, scratching the back of his head in confusion, with the hand that wasn't holding the thick, heavy chain weapon.

"S-sorry.." Bepo bowed his head down in shame.

"Whoa, he looks really depressed all of a sudden! Hahaha This is fun!" The man with the kerchief gave them one of his high-pitched laughs again. Suddenly, without warning the skinny man threw hidden knives at Bepo, but the bear swiftly dodged all of them. "Whoa, his fast too! Just think how much the slavers will pay for this one!"

"Yeah, a real talking bear must be a small fortune!" The big one exclaimed happily and jumped high in the air, attacking with his chain at the same time as the skinny one threw a new set of knives at Bepo.

Bepo jumped, as the end of the chain broke the ground where he stood only seconds ago. At the same time, the bear blocked some of the knives, then bent backwards to do a summersault and avoided the rest of the knife attacks. He landed on his feet and looked at his two attackers. *Are they after me to sell me to the auction house?* Bepo remembered the scenes from the auction house more than a year ago. His fur stuck out as goosebumps appeared beneath it. He saw those poor people and how some even preferred death then being sold as slaves. He definitively didn't want that happening to him. Once again, the chain came flying at him but Bepo dodged it, tilting to the side and then grabbed the chain, using his bear strength to pull at it until the thug lost his balance. He saw knives flying at him from the corner of his eyes and jerked the chain so it moved sideways, blocking all the incoming knives with it. Then, with a loud grunt, he swung the chain along with the big man on the other side, sending the said thug flying as he slammed into his smaller companion.

"There is no way you will defeat me." Bepo said with found self-confidence to the two moaning men on the floor. Suddenly he heard a shot and felt a prick in his neck. The bear's eyes widened in shock and he looked behind him where the sound had come from. He saw a grinning young man with messy black hair covering his eyes. One hand was deep in his pocket as he stood there lazily, while the other held a rifle resting on his shoulder. Bepo could still feel the pain in his neck and felt as if his whole body was going numb. He reached behind and pulled out a dart from his neck, looking at it with confusion. He dropped to his knees as his vision became blurry.

"Boss!" Both thugs yelled in unison, both surprised and happy to see the young man.

The man looked back at his two subordinates. "It seems you had quite a trouble with this one. Come on, take him and let's go back…Mick and the others found something pretty interesting too." He turned back to Bepo and strolled to the bear that was barely holding on to his consciousness. The boss crouched down, still resting the rifle on his shoulder. His grin got wider and his hair moved a little, showing one black eye. Bepo stared into that eye and it's as if he could see wild whirlpools of insanity inside that blackness. "Don't worry…We'll take good care of you Bongo." That's the last thing Bepo heard and saw before he fell down on the soft grass and lost consciousness completely.

~….~

"What do you mean, he's not back yet?" Law looked at Shachi while narrowing his eyes. The mechanic was busy with hammering some new metal plates on the submarine's hull at the moment but he stopped for a while to look back at his captain. Shachi shrugged. "I dunno. But he didn't come or we would notice him, right?" He looked questioningly at Carl who was handing him another metal plate.

Carl nodded in agreement. "Bepo didn't come through here, captain. I mean, he isn't exactly easy to miss."

"Tch." Law made an annoyed sound and went inside the sub to search for his first mate. He met Cody on his way out, with a sandwich in his hand.

"Hmpf?" Cody noticed something was wrong and wanted to ask, but had a mouthful of bread and meat, so all he managed was to make some puzzled, unrecognizable sound.

Meanwhile, Shachi and Carl looked at Miyako who came soon after Law and heard their conversation. "What was that about?"

Miyako didn't answer however, and just looked the way Law went inside, with a serious gaze. Why hasn't Bepo came back yet? He headed here before them so where is he? Did he get lost? Miyako had a bad feeling about this and she knew Law had it too. The captain was obviously worried even as his demeanor stayed calm and collected. Finally, she decided to go into the sub after Law.

"What's all this about?" Shachi looked at Carl and the assistant mechanic looked back at the brown-haired man. They both shrugged, still looking at each other with confusion.

~…~

Cody and Miyako walked through the grooves, looking for any signs that would indicate what happened to Bepo. The pirates split into pairs, looking for Bepo across Sabaody. The taverns and people on the streets didn't know anything and haven't seen him, even though a polar bear in an orange suit isn't easy to miss. Law even went to the auction house asking around but they said they didn't have him either. Law deemed them pretty honest after he gave the owner a presentation of his ope ope powers on the auction guard. However, after a while of searching, the Heart pirates finally got a clue.

"Captain, here!" Shachi called out for Law and a group gathered around the items on the ground. "Aren't these yours?" The Shachi looked at his captain questioningly and Law nodded in agreement.

"My medical books Bepo was carrying." They were currently scattered on the ground. Law gritted his teeth; not because it was a waste for perfectly good books but because he knew what this scene meant. Bepo wouldn't just throw away the books if something hadn't happen. The bear was obviously attacked and taken away.

"There are signs of a fight." Miyako was the one who spoke as she examined some cut marks in a tree. There were some crushed bushes as well. The girl saw something glistening in the grass and crouched down. "A throwing knife…" She muttered and turned to the rest of the group to show them the weapon.

Penguin looked back at Trafalgar. "What do you recon captain?"

Law thought for a while. "There are two options; either this was a work of bounty hunters – they could've recognized Bepo from a wanted poster. In that case he could already be on his way to the marine base. The other possibility is that someone attacked him to sell him at the auction house."

"But there was no sign of his in the auction houses we visited…" Cody countered.

"Not yet…but that doesn't mean there won't be…" Shachi said darkly, fearing the worst.

"But how do we know where they're keeping him? And do we wait for him to be taken to the auction house?" Josh took of his hat and scratched his head, before putting the hat back on.

"No." Law instantly answered the medic's question. "We can't risk Bepo being sold to a Tenryuubito or something. I don't want a repeat of what happened to Strawhat pirates last year."

"So what do we do?" Miyako put her hands on her hips. Everybody looked at Law for answers after her question. He was the captain after all, the final decision was his.

Law looked at the number of the grove on one of the trees. It said grove 13. "This is where they took him away. It's hard to not notice Bepo so if they went too far from here, someone would surely see them. Since that isn't the case, I believe they are still close by. Their hideout can't be far away." He then turned to Shachi and Penguin. "You two, go to the nearest auction houses and check them one more time just in case." Then he turned to Josh and Cody. "You two, try and ask around this area. Use any means necessary." He then turned and realized Miyako was the only one left. Momentarily he had forgotten about their current state. If he hadn't, he'd have told her to pair up with someone else. But it seemed only them two were left and now wasn't the time for childish quarrels anyway. Even Miyako didn't react sourly when Law looked her way as she usually did, but instead kept a serious expression on her face, awaiting Law's orders. Even she knew how serious this was. "Miss Miyako, come with me. We'll try and find some information about suspicious groups or gangs running this area. We will meet here in an hour."

"Yes captain!" Everyone said as once again they left, all in their own direction.

~…..~

Law and Miyako didn't walk far before they stumbled on a small but tall bar.

"Shakky's Rip-off Bar" Miyako read out loud.

"Let's ask inside." The captain suggested and before Miyako could answer, he walked to the entrance and opened the doors. The bell chimed, signaling there were customers entering.

The place was completely empty, except for a woman sitting behind the bar and reading newspapers. She lazily looked up with one eye, not moving from her position as she propped herself with her elbows on the bar, and rested her head on the palm of her hand. The air was slowly cloudy from her cigarette that was resting on the edge of an ashtray. The woman was quite beautiful even as she looked about in her mid-thirties. There was an aura of elegance around her and a person could see she was someone worth respecting by only one glance. "Ooh, customers. How lovely. We didn't have any for quite some time."

Miyako sweat dropped. "You might rethink the name…" Noting that was obviously why people rarely came in here.

The woman smiled at the girl but there was a glint in her eye, as if she was sizing her up. Finally, she stood upright, showing her tall and slender frame. "Welcome to Shakky's Rip-off Bar, I'm the owner Shakky. Now, how can I help you two….Trafalgar Law and Suzune Miyako?"

Miyako blinked in slight surprise when the woman said her name. The girl wasn't used to strangers knowing her, even though it happened more often with every new bounty she got. Her wanted posters were everywhere now. Law, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all. And if he was, he gave no reaction to show it. Instead he went right to the chase, not wasting time.

"I'm looking for a talking polar bear in an orange jumpsuit. Did you see him?" He said it completely blunt and with a straight face.

Shakky was speechless for a while, staring at Law with wide, bilking eyes. Miyako saw the shocked face of the woman and was just about to explain, when the woman btrst into laughter. Law's eyes narrowed in irritation; one thing he disliked was being laughed at.

Shakky noticed Law's displeased expression and managed to contain herself, though a few giggles escaped her. "Sorry…sorry…It's just…you don't hear something like that every day...and you said it with such a straight face…so seriously." The woman wiped a stray tear from her eye.

"I'm not joking." Law said, in a complete serious manner. After all, one of his nakama being attacked and taken away wasn't a joke to him.

Shakky smiled, but got a bit more serious. Miyako was surprised how the woman didn't look intimidated by Law at all. She had to respect the woman for that but Miyako could feel the aura around Shakky and knew she wasn't just any other civilian. Miyako wondered what Shakky was in her past life, before becoming an owner of this bar. Meanwhile, the said Shakky took her half-burnt cigarette and sucked the smoke from it. She savored the taste for a while, before letting the smoke out. "I know…He is a part of your crew isn't he? I saw his wanted poster too." Once again she put down her cigarette and took out two glasses along with a bottle of some brown liquid. She poured the alcohol into the small glasses and put the bottle away. "Here, sit down."

"We don't have time for-" Law started, already about to leave, feeling he was wasting time here. But the woman cut him off.

"I think it will be worth your while." She gestured to the two empty seats in front of her.

Both Miyako and Law looked at each other cautiously but in the end, decided to go along with it and sat down. "Do you have any information about Bepo?" Miyako couldn't help but ask as soon as they sat down but Shakky just gave her one of those mischievous smiles. She sucked in another smoke of her cigarette and put her newspaper aside.

"There has been talk." Shakky finally started. "You see, this area is under the control of a certain group, a gang if you will. They have become more popular recently; they kidnap, steal, kill, nothing is off limits for them. They don't care if you're a noble or a pirate; if you're their target, they'll do it. They call themselves Men of Mayhem. I suppose it's because they pretty much cause Mayhem wherever they go."

"Then they aren't very smart. Do they not know how close the marine base is? Threatening nobles…" Miyako started, frowning at the thought of an obviously moral-free gang.

"You'd think that but…they haven't been caught yet." Shakky answered. She saw Miyako's confused face so she continued to explain. "This gang didn't even exist a few months ago. Their members were all just lowlives, working alone or in small groups, committing petty crimes. "But then they started working together and they became surprisingly organized. And it's all thanks to one man, who united them, the one who plans all of their work; Koji. They say he's plans always work, however he is as crazy as he is smart." She sucked in another breath of her cigarette before continuing. "He is actually very random and insane. Also, very cruel and unmerciful. He just walked in one day, deciding to start a gang, and it was born. It's still a mystery to me how he managed to actually make those wild guys work together and listen to him, making them their leader. He must have a silver tongue."

Miyako took a sip at her drink while listening to Shakky. As soon as the liquid touched her lips and tongue, Miyako's expression turned into a frown. It was bitter and the liquid burned down all the way to her stomach as she drunk it. It must've been some strong alcohol. "But what does this have to do with our crewmate?" She finally asked. With the corner of her eyes, she looked at Law and noticed he had a dark thoughtful expression on his face. Then she understood as well. This gang must've kidnapped Bepo.

"I've heard the Men of Mayhem caught a big fish in their web. However, I don't know if it's about your friend or not. But everyone seems tight lipped about it. Consequently, people have also said that the young master of Mariejois has disappeared. He does that sometimes and comes here…looking for adventure they say. But they haven't found him yet, which is unusual."

"So what you're saying is, Men of Mayhem definitively kidnapped someone but you don't know if it is Bepo or the Tenryuubito. But who in their right mind would kidnap a World Noble?" Law took a sip of his own drink, but unlike Miyako, his face stayed the same as if he was used to strong liquor.

"Koji would…he's crazy enough." Shakky answered, her face becoming more serious all of sudden. "He doesn't care as long as he has his fun."

Miyako understood what Shakky meant by that statement. It meant, if they had Bepo, the bear was in real danger from the obviously crazy gang leader. Who knows what he would do to her friend. She looked at Law from the corner of her eye, interested in how he was holding up due to that fact. But the pirate captain looked calm as always. His mask of collectiveness never left his expression. But Miyako knew Law was the most worried for his long-time friend and first mate. Knowing that, Miyako had trouble comparing this Law to the one she saw and had an argument a few weeks back in his quarters. Was she the only exception? Was she the only one he could kill if necessary and not bat an eye for it? A shiver went down her spine and a slight sting appeared in her heart.

"So? Where can we find him?" Law's voice brought Miyako back from her thoughts and she looked at her captain again. He looked different now. Determined. Serious. She could tell he already decided his next course of action and nobody was going to stop him. That was what made the Heart Pirates trust Law. That expression of his, so determined, as if he knew exactly what to do and his crewmembers knew they could trust him and truly believe that everything is going to be alright.

Shakky wrote something on a piece of paper and gave it to Law. He looked at the instructions. "I can't be sure but they should have their hideout somewhere around that area."

Law nodded. "Thank you." It was rare for words of apology or gratefulness escape Law's lips but this time he was indeed grateful on the information Shakky provided. He took his glass and gulped the remaining liquid in one go as he stood up. Miyako didn't really want to drink it but didn't want to be rude to their host either, so she did the same, regretting it instantly as the hot alcohol burned her body all the way down. He was glad there wasn't much to drink. She stood up as well and both pirates turned to leave but stopped when they heard a subtle clearing of the throat.

Miyako turned to look at the bar owner and only needed a second to remember that they needed to pay for the drinks.

"That would be 500 Beri each." Shakky said simply.

"That's way too expensive!" Miyako's jaw almost dropped open in shock. This wasn't some high class alcohol they drank and it wasn't a lot either. Shakky just shrugged innocently with a smile and that made Miyako remember the name of this bar. It was indeed true to its name.

Law, however, didn't complain and instead pulled out two 500 Beri coins paying for himself and Miyako. "It's fine. It was worth the information." He simply stated. He tipped the rim of his spotted white hat as he nodded towards Shakky to say both his goodbyes and thanks to the woman, before walking out the door. Miyako stayed one second more as she bowed down to Shakky, the way she was thought to do in Wano. "Thank you for your help. We are truly grateful." With that she quickly turned around and ran out the door, catching up to Law.

Shakky watched the two disappearing figures as the doors slowly closed, before they completely blocked her view. All the while, there was an amused smile on her face.

~….~

A group of pirates stood outside of what looked like a big storehouse. It looked like it was barely standing with its rotten wood and old age. It looked completely run down. The Heart Pirates didn't really care much about its appearance. They cared about its contents inside. Law, Miyako, Shachi, Penguin, Cody and Josh all stood together, almost glaring at the building.

"Are we ready?" Law asked. This time there wasn't some detailed plan to follow through. It was easy; attack hard, ask questions later.

"Let's do it." Shachi simply said.

"If they did anything to Bepo…" Penguin growled, uncharacteristically for him.

Miyako simply put a hand on her katana and pulled the hilt with her thumb, opening it a bit and getting ready for the attack.

Law lifted his hand and a well-known blue sphere circled around the area and the big building. "Room." He proceeded to take his nodachi, unsheathing the long sword and then swung it in one clean move. For a while everything was silent and unmoving, but then wood started crackling and metal creaking as the old building started moving. Or at least its upper part did. The building slit in two, diagonally, and the upper part slowly started sliding down, crashing into the ground. The pirates could hear the sounds and yells from the inside, surely by the Men of Mayhem, but ignored it as they walked closer to the building. Some of the gang members ran outside to see what happened, only to be met with attacks from the rest of the pirates. The first one lost his head as soon as he walked out, as it was cut clean off by Miyako's sword. The rest of the unknowing members got a similar fate, be it by the pirates' weapons or their fists and martial art moves.

Penguin kicked one of the thugs hard in the gut just as he was about to exit through the main entrance. The thug was sent flying back inside, across the room, and crashed right into a table."Wah?" The thugs all looked towards the entrance with shocked expressions. The dust and pieces of wood were still falling down as the upper part of the building crumbled down. The ceiling was replaced by a clear blue sky above Sabaody.

One of the men, who didn't look as toned and big as the rest, stood up from the couch he was lying in. He had a lean figure and messy black hair, covering his eyes. He tilted his head to the side like a curious child. "I know you…Surgeon of Death." His voice sounded quite cheerful. Then suddenly his mouth formed a wide grin, showing white gleaming teeth. "That a pretty rude way of entering someone's home." He sounded calm and relaxed, as if he wasn't surprised or angered by the pirates' sudden entrance.

"You captured a polar bear, didn't you? Where is Bepo?" Law ignored the man's comment. His voice sounded harsh and demanding unlike the other's.

The man tiled his head to the other side, now seriously looking like a curious puppy…except he wasn't cute at all. His appearance looked disturbing more than anything else. "You lost a bear? But how can you lose a bear, they're so big?" His voice contained nothing but curious and innocent surprise, but Law knew he was mocking him and he didn't like that one bit.

That must be Koji, the leader Shakky mentioned. A man not to be underestimated, she said. Law thought for a while and came to one conclusion. Screw that. He had no time or intention to play, so he'll just dissect them all. Without any further notice, Law lifted his sword and made a few more cuts, slicing up unsuspecting gang members. "Kill them. But leave the leader…we'll need him for questioning."

"Whoa, how rude. Trafalgar Law can't even talk civilly with people? I thought you were different from those wild pirates like Kid. Koji looked surprised, but he was obviously mocking them as he still didn't look worried by the situation at all. It made Law think what makes Koji have such confidence. Did he have some kind of plan they didn't know about? But before he could do anything else, Koji's men attacked them and the Heart Pirates counterattacked, running passed Law and straight into the group of thugs.

Miyako moved quickly through the group of gang members, cutting one on the side, then swirling around to avoid another's sabre, cutting his head in the process. A spear zoomed right passed her eye as the girl turned, dodging the metal sharp tip by an inch. Her attacker was holding a two meters long spear and was just about to attack her with a piercing thrust again. It was hard to get into his zone without getting pieced but fighting spear-wielders wasn't anything new for Miyako. Spear was a common weapon in Wanokuni and all samurai had to be prepared for fighting a spear-wielder. However, they say in that battle, spear triumphs over the katana in most cases. After all it has the advantage as the spear-wielder can get to the samurai while the samurai is unable to get close enough to kill his opponent. However, the key word was that spear wins in most cases, which meant there was a change for the katana. And Miyako was taught how to seize that chance, by her master. She stepped forward, luring the man to attack as she charged at him. The man attacked her again with a thrusting move, sending the sharp point towards her. But in the last second, when the man thought his spear will pierce her stomach, the girl made a step to the side, still moving onwards. She dodged the metal point and continued to move forwards, now blocking the metal body of the spear with her katana, so that the man couldn't move it sideways and knock her off her feet. The friction of the sword traveling along the metal body of the spear made sparks fly while the samurai traveled closer to the man. The whole things only lasted a few seconds and soon Miyako was close enough to the man while he was still holding the spear wide-eyed, trying to realize what happened. When the samurai was able to come into the spear-wielder's zone, then it was game over…and the sword-wielder wins. Miyako moved her katana from the spear quickly and trusted right into the man's neck, ignoring the blood that started to spray from the wound. Her eyes were cold and merciless voids, as she showed the man her dark expression. She moved the katana to the side, sliding it easily from the man's neck as that only caused a bigger wound in his neck and more blood to spill out. The man fell on the ground with a loud clang of his spear falling beside him. Miyako didn't stop to ponder about the fight or the man she just killed. Instead, she just turned, a few blood drops on her face, and already found her next target in a thug who was about to attack Cody from behind.

"Hahahaha! Wonderful!" A loud voice of Koji traveled through the room where a little war broke out. His grin got even wider and his messy hair moved to show one wide black eye, while the other stayed hidden by his hair. It was staring at the chaos with an insane glee and he didn't care one bit that his men were dying. He just grinned and laughed harder as if the whole thing was amusing. And then suddenly he whistled. Whether it was to get the Heart Pirates attention or as a signal to his men, it was unclear, but as he did, a group of his men came with shoulder cannons. He was holding one too, already resting on his shoulder. There were at least a dozen and they were all aimed at Law. Koji's eye got even wider. "Alright. Die now." He didn't even care that the cannons might hit his own men. All of them fired and small cannon balls flew with great speed towards Law.

However, none of the Heart Pirates looked worried. More worried looked the gang members around Law who couldn't defend themselves from the incoming cannon balls. It seemed that neither Koji nor the other Men of Mayhem realized this whole building was inside a thin film of a blue sphere, made by Law himself. And they didn't know that Trafalgar Law possessed a very particular power of the devil fruit called the ope ope power. The captain saw some cut off heads and body parts floating around, due to his work. He smirked as the thought came to his mind and with a simple twitch of his fingers, the cannon balls disappeared. "Shambles" The body parts replaced the small cannonballs while the heavy metal items appeared near the groups of thugs, exploding in the process. Only more screams and yells from the gang members ripped through the air. This time, even Koji looked truly surprised, as his grin fell and he looked at Law with a confused expression, blinking. "huh?" Was the only thing he could say to the scene.

~….~

The ground of the gang's hideout was filled with bodies, blood and weapons. There was rubble of wood, stone and metal everywhere. The dust was still in the air, slowly settling down. Koji was standing in front of the Heart Pirates. Law, Cody, Shachi, Penguin and Josh were all glaring at him, preparing their weapons or fists. They all had dark, serious expressions. Those were the expressions of someone who just had their friend messed with. And the said bully was right in front of them.

Meanwhile, Miyako went to search for Bepo, checking every room that wasn't destroyed already. She opened the wooden doors of one and found Bepo inside. "Bepo!" She couldn't help but call out when she saw the polar bear, lying on the dirty ground, his snow-white fur defiled with sot and blood. He was chained and beaten up. They must've made sure he wouldn't use his bear strength and break free. Miyako went to him and knelt down, shaking him awake.

"Unh….hnn….Miya…chan?" Bepo slowly opened one button black eye and looked at the girl confused. "What are you….?"

Miyako smiled gently at him and put a hand on his big head, silencing him. She didn't want him to exert himself. "We came to help you, of course. Everyone is here."

"C-captain?" The bear asked hopefully and quite surprised. He felt bad for worrying Law and everyone, and bringing them trouble. If only he didn't get knocked down by that sleep dart. If only…" The bear sighed, trying to keep his emotions under control.

Miyako saw this and smiled again. "Of course." She knew what to say to the bear to settle him down, and even if she didn't hear it directly from the captain's mouth, she knew it was the truth. "Law will be glad you're ok." She stood up and took out her katana once again. "Don't move." Her expression became serious again as she concentrated. In a few swift moves, Miyako cut the chains pinning down Bepo's body and freed the bear. She had a bit of trouble helping the bear up as he was much bigger and heavier than her, but somehow managed to help him move. Luckily, the bear wasn't in as bad of a condition as she previously thought and he could walk and stand on his own.

~…..~

"N-No way….what are you people?!" Koji's face was quite different than before. He looked seriously shocked now, as if he couldn't believe he could be defeated.

The Heart pirates didn't say anything. Cody, Josh, Shachi, Penguin and Law all just walked closer to him while Koji continued to step backwards until he bumped into a wall behind him. There was no way to escape anymore. For the first time in his life, Koji's intelligence and all his planning couldn't do him any good. The Heart Pirates caught them all off guard and even though he thought he was prepared for such a case, in case the marine's or some other group in Sabaody surprise attack them, he wasn't prepared for the power of Law and his crew. He underestimated them. Koji always thought he could get out of every situation with his genius, but for the first time, his skill failed him and it couldn't help him anymore.

"Y-you…you can't just come in here and ruin everything! Don't you know what you did?! This is not how it works!" He was obviously losing it now. His eyes were wide but there was no grin on his face. Instead, his pale shock was slowly turning into anger. Like a spoilt child having a tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted. "You ruined all my plans! Don't you know what we were gonna do?! You don't even know! I'm much smarter than all of you! I'm a genius! This can't end like this! You can't just come and ruin everything like –"

"I-don't-care-about-your-problems kick!" Miyako seemed to fly out of nowhere, both legs in the air as she flew horizontally towards Koji. Both her feet connected with Koji's face, her boots leaving a red mark on the pale cheeks. The young man's eyes and face distorted into an ugly, and almost comical expression of shock as he made a noise that sounded like "Bluh," with his tongue out, before he was sent flying into a heap of rubble by Miyako. He wasn't the only one with a shocked expression. The faces of the rest of the Heart Pirates looked priceless, with eyes wide and mouth hanging open at the scene before them. It was totally unexpected and it took them off guard. Even Law's eyes were wider than usual. The pirates all stood next to each other, in a shock, looking at Koji who was sent flying. Their heads turned, following the flying villain with a sweatdrop appearing. The girl landed on her feet effortlessly and was still glaring at Koji, who was now lying unconscious, with his legs and arms sticking out while he was stuck in the heap. Miyako put one hand on her hip and the other pointed with its finger right at him, as she looked more annoyed than usual. "Who cares about your ruined plans! Don't try to give me some sappy story after you hurt one of our nakama. You dare complain after what you did!? I'll kick your ass you spoiled brat, just try and complain again!"

*N-No…I don't think he can say anything anymore…* Everyone thought as they still stared at the pissed girl with slight surprise and a sweat-drop. Miyako wasn't one to mess with when she was mad. And seeing Bepo in that condition obviously made her fuming with anger. But then Penguin blinked with confusion as he noticed something. He elbowed Shachi and nodded in the direction behind Miyako. Soon everyone was looking behind her. "huh?"

Miyako noticed the strange expressions her friends were making and she quickly turned around, her hands still on her hips. She had to look a bit down at a short person in a strange white suit with a bubble around their head. It seems, deep inside of it all was a young teenage boy with curly orange hair and freckles on his nose and cheeks. His wide blue eyes were staring up at Miyako in a strange look of adoration and wonder. "huh? Who are you?" Without any tact or consideration, Miyako demanded while there was still some annoyance in her voice from before. Her hands were still holding her hips while she tilted her head to the side and raised one eyebrow questioningly.

The boy just kept staring up at her in wonder while the Heart Pirates stared at the strange boy in surprise and confusion. What was a kid doing here? Was he a part of Men of Mayhem too? Law was the first to recognize him, or rather he recognized the clothing the kid was wearing even if the face was unfamiliar to him. His eyes widened in shock and the tanned man paled slightly. This was bad. This was very bad.

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Bakaonna – Foolish woman, stupid woman

Manriki - The Maniriki Ninja weapon is a simple weapon that consists of a steel chain with heavy weights at each end.

Bongo - Bongo the Bear is the protagonist of a Disney, 1974. cartoon. (Let's say this cartoon exists in One piece :P)

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*Fun fact: When I was deciding on the grove numbers of Bepo's attack (grove 13) I just picked a totally random number. Then afterwards, I wanted to involve Shakky in the whole story so I went to check the grove number where her bar was and whadda ya' know; it was grove 13! It must be destiny! :D

So there we go and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If proof-read it but if you notice any grammatical mistakes, feel free to point them out and I'll correct it. Reviews, messages, constructive criticism and anything else you want to tell me are all welcome and you can either leave it in the review or pm me. (But please don't ask me about future plot development because I don't want to write any spoilers of the story XD) To everyone who reviewed, a big thank you and I read every last one of it. :D Thank you for your constant patience with me and support. *bows* Here are some answers to your comments~

Velonica14: Thank you and welcome to fanfiction then. I'm glad you enjoy the story. ^^

ChanChan: I'm sorry. *bowes head* (I feel like Bepo right now XD) But I love this story too much to stop writing it no matter what, so don't worry. :D

Windheartyuki: Wow, you were right. :D

Zecrea: I think that would be awesome too. :D I think Zoro and Miyako would actually get along (on the most part…maybe she would be irritated by him constantly getting lost XD). Maybe at one point, but for now he's always the polite Law who doesn't use nicknames :P

JustChan: Well knowing me…After all it seems I can't write about any island without something happening on it. XP At first I thought they'll just rush through Sabaody and start the journey for Fishmen island…heh, naive me. Haha yeah, it would be cool to see Miyako in Oda's One Piece one day. :P

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Yeah, I like him too. I think he's one of the more likable marine characters I made. :)

Animagirl: I've been kinda neglecting the 'romantic' part of the story, but don't worry, I plan to make up for it. :) Also, the crew already knows, though they found out by accident. (Law didn't really care whether they knew or not). But I don't think Law would be someone to give Miyako privileges just because they're a couple.

Cassius Valens 06: I'm really flattered that my story inspired you, I'm glad. ^^ Good luck in your own story and do your best! :D

VodkaThief: Thank you, I really appreciate it. :) A beta reader is a good idea; I've been thinking about it myself actually. I try to proof-read it every time but I still miss some mistakes and sometimes it could just be lack of knowledge on my part due to the fact I'm not a native English speaker. And I seriously want to work on stepping up the quality of the story and the writing style in general. Hopefully, through experience, writing and just reading good books, I will attain it as well. It's a good idea and it is indeed something I want to work on. Thank you for reading and I always appreciate ideas and critique. :)