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

53. Chapter 53

I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters but I do own the OC Suzune Miyako. This story is rated T for blood, language and suggestive themes.

Everyone, thank you for the wonderful reviews and comments as usual. :) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Have fun!

*NOTICE: Also a new, great info; 'I don't like you!' is coming in Spanish now thanks to Kuyen! Big thanks to you for taking your time to translate this story. :) So if there are people who can read it easier in spanish than english, I'll link to the story on my profile page. (It's called; I don't like you! ESPAÑOL)

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CHAPTER 53

Penguin was humming a soft tune as he started folding large overalls in the laundry room. It was laundry day and unfortunately the duty fell on him this time. He sighed, scrunching his nose in disgust as he had to go through numerous baskets of men underwear; definitively not something you should start your morning with.

Going through another basket, the mechanic suddenly noticed something that stood out in its pink color from the usual white shirts and underwear. He took it, already grinning at the idea of teasing the guy who wore pink boxers, only to realize those weren't boxers at all. His eyes widened and he choked on his own saliva, gulping painfully. In his hand were pink women's panties, small and soft under his touch with a cute small red ribbon in the front. A pressure appeared inside of Penguin's nose as he felt a nosebleed coming. He sniffed the blood back in, still staring at the panties in his hand, stretching them a little to take a better look as he went completely red in the face.

„This...must belong to Miya-chan..." He barely whispered as if afraid of someone hearing it.

Usually, Miyako did her laundry separately from theirs as she refused to let the guys see her undergarments. At best she would sometimes put in her clothes like shirts or pants with the rest of the laundry, but when it came to her underwear it was strictly forbidden for anyone else to do it but her. To be honest, the guys in the crew didn't really want her to do their laundry either since even they were embarrassed of a girl seeing their undergarments. So instead they made a deal that she would only be on laundry duty on days when the white overalls were washed and nothing else. That way the men and Miyako managed to keep their relationship without any awkwardness from knowing too much about each other. But now the foundations of that relationship were shaken! At least that's what Penguin thought as he stared at the pink undergarment. *Alright Penguin...you're standing at the crossroads of your life now. These are your choices; you can either leave them here and pretend you didn't see anything or...*

~…..~

A knock came to the shared quarters of Shachi, Sam, Penguin and Louis. Shachi was the one who opened the doors, tilting his head to the side as he saw Penguin standing there with an unreadable expression.

„What are you doing? Why are you knocking on the doors of your own room?" The mechanic stared at Penguin with a skeptical look but he got no answer. On his surprise, the other pirate didn't say anything but instead stepped into the room, still sporting that same serious expression.

Sam and Louis were on the floor, playing cards and losing to Shachi as usual when the other mechanic entered. They both looked up in wonder, seeing his silent form in front of them.

The tone of Penguin's voice was still serious as he started. „Close the doors Shachi and lock them...I…found gold!" With that statement, right out of the pocket of his white overall, Penguin took out a piece of pink undergarments and stretched it out for all to see. All the men in the room gaped with their mouths open, staring in complete shock at the women's panties in front of them.

After a while of silence, Louis stood up suddenly, letting out a pumped up cry from the top of his lungs. „Hoooooo! I knew you were a real man Penguin, nice going!"

Still on the floor, Sam was sobbing from happiness. „I...I wanted to see them for so long..."

Meanwhile, Shachi was just staring in disbelief; „Eh? How? Where? When!?"

~…..~

The men were all sitting in a circle in the middle of their quarters, staring at the undergarments lying there innocently in the middle. The Heart Pirates finally calmed down from their high but now everyone was at a complete loss about what to do next. They had an amazing thing in their possession but one wrong move and they'll all be dead if Miyako finds out.

„So? What do we do now?" Shachi was the first to break the silence.

„Should we just tell her we found them in the laundry room and give them back?" Louis shrugged his shoulders and scratched his head in thought.

„Are you crazy!? She would be so embarrassed, she would die!" Penguin protested instantly, with a loud voice. "No, first she would kill us for taking them, then she would die from embarrassment!" The mechanic gulped thinking how the scene would unfold.

„Then what do we do!?" Now it was Sam's turn to exclaim in slight panic. The mechanic started feeling nervous all of a sudden.

„Should we call that guy...?" Shachi muttered in thought, looking at his companions in the circle.

Penguin nodded, thinking over Shachi's proposal. „Ah...that sly bastard has the best knowledge and experience when dealing with women. He might know how to handle it." There was a bitter tone in Penguin's voice as he spoke about the one person who always seemed to know what to do.

The mechanics all looked at one another as if reaching a decision.

~…..~

Cody stood in the mechanics' room, staring at the small circle his comrades were forming on the floor and the piece of pink undergarments in the middle. A bead of sweat appeared on his face as he had no idea how to assess the situation. His face remained calm and stoic but there was an obvious glint of perplexity in his eyes. „And...? What is this all about?" He crossed his arms on his chest, a part of him feeling it was better if he didn't even know. His brain was screaming for him to not get involved in the situation and just turn back and leave while he still had the chance. That instinct proved to be completely right when Penguin finally spoke.

"We have Miyako's panties…they're pink," the mechanic answered in a blunt tone.

~…..~

The samurai walked down the dim hallways with a bottle of water in one hand and a bag of onigiri in the other. She was once again visiting the training room just like the past five days since she gave Law the kairoseki cuffs and told him to train his haki while wearing them. It was a dangerous way of improving for a devil fruit user but perfect for someone who needed to quickly get stronger like Trafalgar. He was right; in order to move forward in the New World from now on, they will all need to get a lot stronger. If they wanted to stand against a Navy admiral or Yonkou, Law needed to have haki on par with theirs. So the captain kept diligently training all the while, spending more time in the training room than the control room or his captain's quarters. He still carried out his everyday captain and doctor duties; giving orders to his crew, checking up on the situation of the log pose and their progress while sailing and treating the crewmembers in the infirmary when needed. However, any spare time he had, he would go back to the training room, missing his sleep and meals in the process.

*Even though I told him to take care while training.* Miyako sighed, turning around the corner and entering the training room. She wasn't limping anymore as her ankle was mostly healed but she still felt a barely noticeable numbing pain in her shoulder. Her hands were still bandaged but the cuts were all almost healed by now. On the bright side, her cold was completely gone. As she walked towards the room, she couldn't hear the swishing sounds of the sword but the reason soon became clear when she saw Trafalgar lying on the floor, motionless. The girl gasped, running up to the body. "Law!" Thankfully, as she crouched down next to him and turned him on his back, she could see he was still alive and breathing. She laid down the bag and bottle, helping the man to sit up.

Trafalgar groaned in pain and opened his eyes slightly. "Miyako…?" He could see the hazy picture of the girl above him.

"Come on," Miyako helped him up and they both staggered toward the wall where Law slid down the metal surface and sat leaning against it. He was breathing hard but his consciousness was slowly returning.

"Hn…I must have blacked out for a while," he muttered as if it wasn't anything strange. As if that was a reoccurring occasion during his training. When Miyako first told him she'll check up on him just in case he faints, he thought she was joking, but after a day of training he could already feel the sea stone draining his energy to the point of losing consciousness. He wasn't even sure how many times he fainted like this since he started this rigorous practice.

He heard the rattle of the handcuffs and saw Miyako unlock and remove them, before opening a bottle of water and handing it to him. "Here, drink this. You can't do much if you're dehydrated."

The captain silently took the bottle, taking long gulps of water which refreshed his dry throat. At this point, even simple water felt heavenly to him. He only started this training five days ago and he knew this was only the beginning.

Now that the sea stone handcuffs were off and he drank some water, the captain could feel some of his strength return. He was still breathing hard and drenched in cold sweat, feeling unbelievably weak, but at least his vision was returning and his mind clearing.

Miyako rummaged through the bag and brought out three wrapped up onigiri. "Here, I also brought you something to eat. Munk's been complaining that you've been missing your meals again and I know how tiring this trial with kairoseki must be. If you don't eat you won't have energy and that won't do you any good," she didn't really sound like she was reprimanding him, she just simply stated the facts. And she was right.

"Onigiri?" Law commented with askance in his voice, then groaned in pain again when he reached for one of the riceballs and the ache in his joints instantly returned. He ignored the pain he felt in his straining muscles and took the piece of food, unwrapping it.

Miyako smiled at him gently. "Cause you don't like bread, right?"

The captain stared at her for a while, silently observing her face as if searching for something in her expression. "You…" He started, feeling it was even tiring to talk. "You smile more now…then when you first joined the crew," he stated.

The girl seemed surprised by the sudden comment and she looked at him with wide eyes. "Eh?" Her surprised expression was soon replaced by a puzzled frown, hiding her slight embarrassment. "What are you saying? Are you delirious from exhaustion?"

The captain just smirked, ignoring her defensive tone. "Perhaps." He didn't say anything more as he took another bite of his onigiri. Now that he thought about it, Miyako would check up on him every day just like she said she would. Even when she still had a cold and injuries of her own, the girl would occasionally come down to the training room bringing food and water or just helping him when he was too weak to even move. It would result in the fury of the medical team who were treating her as they kept forbidding her from getting out of bed. But even then, Miyako would come at least once, even with an obvious feverish look in her eyes from the cold. At first, Law hated being seen so weak by his crewmembers; the sea stone cuffs were making him look pathetic. Yet, after a while he realized he didn't mind the short company of the girl. She didn't look at him with pity in her eyes because of his weak state, nor did she blabber some encouraging nonsense to make him feel better. She would just come, bringing him a meal to replenish his energy and give him a tip on how to focus his haki better while he's weakened. Since she wasn't fully healed yet, she couldn't spar with him but such a thing was too risky while in the submarine anyway. They had to wait for an island and by then Law wanted to be able to cut through all these training posts here.

While Law ate, Miyako got up and walked towards the wooden pole Law was training on. She inspected the depth of the cut just like she did every time she would come here. Her eyes widened at the sight; the cut went all the way to the middle of the pole. True, it was wooden and Law hadn't even stated training on metal and stone ones, but seeing he only started five days ago, this was truly impressive. Miyako followed the cut with her fingers. *Even in his weakened state, he improved so much in only five days. Well no wonder when he's pushing himself so hard, training constantly. But still, to get to this point so quickly, it's pretty amazing. This guy…he's really no ordinary person.*

Miyako looked back at Law who was slowly gaining his strength back while eating. He looked a bit better than before; the color was returning to his pale face and his breathing returned to normal. If nothing else, Miyako was really impressed by the sheer will Trafalgar showed to improve his haki abilities. As usual, he didn't do anything half-assed, especially not when it came to preparing for the New World and getting to One Piece. Even in his fatigued state, Miyako could see steely determination in his sharp eyes as if he was focused solely on his goal, ignoring anything that could hinder him from it. Perhaps that's why he would shut himself in here for hours until he couldn't stand anymore.

She walked back to the captain, observing his state. Her eyes furrowed when she noticed he was unmoving again, the empty wrappers of onigiri on the ground beside him. His head was bowed down with the hat hiding his face from her view so she wasn't sure if he fell unconscious once again or he was simply resting. Kneeling down in front of him, Miyako tilted her head to see under the rim of his hat and noticed his eyes were closed as he took deep, even breaths. *Ah, he fell asleep.* Suddenly, his eyes fluttered half-open again and he gazed at her who was still peering underneath his hat and into his face.

Miyako chocked on air and moved away with blushing cheeks. "S-sorry, I thought you were asleep!" She started defensively, trying to avoid an awkward scene.

Law simply rubbed his eyes with his fingers and pinched the bridge of his nose as if trying to concentrate. "I must've dozed off…" He muttered, trying to clear his tired mind once more. He tried to stand up, using the wall behind him to prop himself to his feet, but stumbled half-way up.

"Whoa!" Miyako exclaimed, and quickly stood up to help him get some balance. He would have fallen if she didn't grab him in time, steadying him. "There's no need to rush, you should rest for a while longer. You're in no condition to start training again right now," this time she clearly did scold him with a harsh tone as she realized the captain was actually planning on continuing his practice in his state.

At first Law gave her a cold stare, not appreciating that she was telling him what he could and couldn't do. He knew his body and its limits better than anyone. However, knowing those limits, Trafalgar realized the girl was actually right. If he put on the kairoseki cuffs right now, he wouldn't even be able to move. The captain sighed, closing his eyes and sliding back down against the wall. "Fine." He pulled up a knee and rested his hand on it, tilting his head to look at Miyako with a sideways glance. "But I don't need a babysitter. I'll be fine even without you checking up on me every day. I won't die, I'm not that weak."

The samurai sighed as she situated herself beside him, against the wall. "I know that. It's not like I think you'll die…" she looked at him with half-lidded, skeptical eyes. "-though missing your meals and fainting isn't really proving your point either…" She ignored Law's glare and continued. "I promised to help you train but in the end I got hurt and sick and was unable to do anything for you…so the least I can do is watch over your progress and give you some advice when needed," she smirked looking back at her captain again.

The dark doctor only raised an eyebrow. "So it's guilt, huh? And here I thought it was because you liked me." He smirked when he saw her eyebrow twitch in annoyance. Did he hit a nerve? He still remembered that whole ordeal with Mayumi-ya; even if she wasn't Miyako, she copied her personality almost perfectly, which meant whatever she said, a part of Miyako must've meant too. Mayumi's answer to Munk's question was a clear 'I like him and he's important to me.' Well, even without Mayumi saying it, Law already knew Miyako thought that way but the girl never said it. He knew that she would never admit it in front of the crew as Mayumi did, but when they were alone, just the two of them, there might be a chance. Somehow he thought it would be interesting if he could make her say it at least once.

*Is he messing with me because he's bored?!* Miyako's mouth pulled back in a tight line. She was quiet for a while, then suddenly she grabbed Law's fuzzy hat and put it on her own head. The hat was too big and fell over her eyes. She held the rim down even more with both hands, staring at the ground without sparing a glance at Law.

"Oy-!" The pirate glared at her, surprised by her actions as he suddenly lost his hat. But before he could protest any further, the girl started talking, all the while staring at the ground in front of her.

"S-something like that…is obvious isn't it?! You already get it, so why do I have to say it…if I didn't like you then I would have killed you a long time ago the first time you laid your hands on me. I mean, if it was anyone else I would have already cut them up but…because it's you I…don't mind…that much…" She started muttering, tripping over her own words. There was an obvious blush on her hot cheeks, even as she tried to hide them from his view with the spotted hat. "I'm telling you this now so you better listen carefully because you won't hear it again!" She suddenly started again but louder as if she was suddenly angry, but once again her voice trailed off into a soft whisper. "I…like you. If I didn't I'd never let you do all those things to me so…you better remember what I'm telling you!" She was still holding the rim of that hat as low as it could go to cover her expression. She couldn't see anything around herself, not even Law. After a while of silence when she finally finished, she realized there was no response. It was too quiet but Miyako felt too afraid to look up at Law and see his expression right now. Still, when Law wasn't answering the girl got angry, furrowing her eyebrows. *Why isn't he saying anything?!* She looked up at him, ready to turn all her embarrassment into rage, but her eyes widened instantly at the sight of him.

The captain was resting his head on his shoulder, his eyes closed and obviously deeply asleep. *He fell asleep?!* Miyako's mind screamed and she almost yelled out the words out loud but managed to control herself in the last second, not wanting to wake him up. *That jerk…he taunted me to say all this embarrassing stuff and he wasn't even listening!* A part of her wanted nothing more but to hit this guy upside the head, but when she noticed his tired expression she just couldn't get the will to follow it through. He was exhausted and needed a good rest more than anything. Miyako's anger subsided as she watched her captain sleep and she sighed, suddenly feeling tired herself. Somehow, she felt as mentally exhausted as Law was physically, curtsy of the pirate doctor himself. He managed to rile her up without even noticing…or being awake for that matter! Suddenly, the girl chuckled, closing her eyes and shaking her head lightly. "Oh, whatever."

~…..~

Cody, Louis, Shachi, Penguin and Sam were now all sitting in a circle with a large piece of paper in front of them. The medic held a pen, drawing over the paper to affirm the plan they devised one more time. "Alright, so Louis and Shachi will distract Miyako and keep her out of her quarters. In the meantime, I will go with Penguin and put the…underwear where it belongs. I will keep watch while you do it," Cody looked at Penguin who gulped in response.

"Why do I have to go there? If she finds me in her room, she'll kill me," the mechanic whined, not finding the prospect of losing his head very appealing.

The medic and the rest simply glared at him. "Because you're the one who got us into this mess in the first place by taking her panties!" The exclaim instantly shut Penguin up but he still continued to grumble underneath his breath.

"Hey, if we're going to go in Miya-chan's underwear drawers, then I want to go too!" Louis was the second one to protest about the plan.

"We're not going there to create more trouble idiot!" Cody glared at the assistant mechanic as well. "Listen, we're going to do this as quickly and painlessly as possible. We'll go in, leave the panties, and get out before anyone can notice. Got it?" He stared at each pirate in the room, making sure they all know what do to.

"What about me?" Sam raised his hand, considering he didn't get a job for this plan yet.

Cody nodded. "Right. Well, besides Miyako, we don't want anyone else to find out about this either…especially captain. Sam, you keep an eye on captain and inform us of the situation in case something goes wrong. If something happens, call me on my den den mushi immediately. And remember; keep captain Law away from this." The medic emphasized every word, along with the importance of them. He didn't like lying to their captain but this time, keeping this awkward truth to themselves might be best, especially when it comes to the underwear of the girl the captain has a thing for. Something told Cody, Trafalgar wouldn't appreciate what Penguin and the rest did. The medic's gaze traveled from one pirate to the other, giving them all a serious stare. "Alright then, operation 'Return Miyako's Panties' starts now!"

~…..~

Trafalgar sighed in discomfort even before opening his eyes as he felt his back resting on the hard, metal floor. However, that's when he noticed an anomaly; unlike the rest of his body, his head was propped up on something soft like a pillow. Did Miyako bring him one? Opening his eyes slowly and rubbing them with his fingers, Law noticed he was staring at the familiar ceiling of the large storage that later became the training room. But there was one more thing above him and soon Law realized it was the samurai girl. Miyako was leaning against the wall with her head tilted on her shoulder and her hair pooling down and making a curtain around him. Law blinked a few times and finally understood that his head was resting on Miyako's lap, who seemed to be fast asleep. The pirate captain sat up, still confused as to what happened. *I was talking to Miyako but I must've dozed off again at some point. I have a feeling I missed something important…* He looked back at the sleeping girl. *More importantly, how did I get into that position? I distinctly remember I was leaning against the wall but…she couldn't have laid me down on her lap…could she?* He kept silently staring at the girl in wonder, still deep in his thoughts. These days Miyako seemed worried about him more than usual, ever since he started this rigorous training. She was probably feeling a bit guilty since she was unable to help him train as promised. Still, waking up in this position was unexpected as he didn't think the girl would find the courage to go that far…not that Law was complaining though.

With a sigh, he sat up and took one last glance at Miyako before standing up and rolling his sore shoulders. His back felt stiff from sleeping on the hard floor but he had no choice but to ignore it now. *More importantly, I should check on the control room to make sure everything is still alright with our course.* He picked up his black jacket that he sometimes wore over his yellow hoodie and took his trusted sword. Grabbing the black piece of fabric he looked back at the sleeping girl still leaning on the wall. The captain looked down at his jacket and then at the samurai girl again before sighing. *Well it's not like I need it now anyway and it'll be bad if she got a cold again right after getting better.* He carefully covered the girl with his jacket as to not wake her up, before exiting the training room.

Resting Kikoku on one shoulder while keeping the other hand in the pocket of his spotted trousers, Law climbed up the metal steps of the submarine to the second level as he slowly walked towards the control room on the first floor. On the second level where the pirates' quarters and the galley were, the captain stopped in his tracks, staring in front of him with interest. Cody, Shachi, Louis, Penguin and Sam were sneaking out of their own room, looking all around them. However, it didn't seem like anyone thought of checking behind them so they didn't notice Law standing there and watching them puzzled by their actions.

"Why are you sneaking around idiots, we haven't even gotten to the room yet?" Cody finally asked, noticing the rest were all making suspicious moves.

"You're the one who said to be careful!" Penguin retorted, feeling irritated by the medic's words.

"Just act natural," Louis proposed. It would be good advice if his own actions weren't contrasting it as he kept hiding behind Shachi.

The brown haired mechanic struggled to get Louis off of him as the other clung on his back, hiding there. "Get off, stop pushing me!" In his struggle, he bumped into Sam who stumbled to the side.

"Hey, you're the one who's pushing!" Sam exclaimed, pushing back at Shachi.

Soon, the group fell into chaos as they started pushing in the narrow corridor, arguing with each other. That's why nobody noticed the pirate captain walking towards them casually from behind. That is, nobody noticed until it was too late and Law was right behind them.

"What are you doing?"

The calm, familiar voice of their captain, one person they were definitively trying to avoid, sounded from behind them and surprising each person there.

"Gyaaaaahhh!" The pirates screamed in shock, not expecting to hear the voice of that person all of a sudden. They whipped around quickly, staring at Law with wide, scared eyes.

"C-c-captain!" Shachi exclaimed, not sure what to say.

"Where did you come from?!" Penguin exclaimed, choking on his own words.

"Please don't scare us like that, captain Law," Cody sighed, being the first who was able to calm down and grasp the situation.

After the pirates relaxed a bit, they all looked at their captain in front of them who was staring back at them with a skeptical gaze. "What's going on here?" Law demanded an explanation for his crewmembers' unusual and definitively suspicious behavior. When the pirates opened their mouths but then gaped without a word and glanced at each other, Trafalgar's suspicions were only confirmed. There was definitively something going on here. The Dark Doctor narrowed his eyes when the silence prolonged, warning them to give him an explanation soon. He didn't like to be made to wait and he hated even more when people were hiding things from him; especially his own subordinates.

"W-we…" Penguin started stuttering an explanation in a soft voice, feeling everyone's eyes on him. But the ones which burned the most were Trafalgar's as he pierced the mechanic with his sharp gaze, awaiting Penguin's explanation. "We're going to steal Joshua's porn stash from his room while his away!" The mechanic proclaimed in a loud voice, feeling that he would never get this lie out if he didn't put everything on the line and exclaim it with every fiber of his being. The group around him bulged their eyes in shock as they stared at him without a word.

Even Law's eyes widened as something completely unexpected came out of his mechanic's mouth. Porn stash? It took him a few moments to return back to his collected self and continue this ridiculous conversation. "Porn stash?" He repeated his thoughts out loud, uncertain how to proceed with this. He knew his crew could act like crazy idiots sometimes, so usually he tries to avoid being a part of it. Only when things look like they will get out of hand does he step in and intervene. Yet right now, he wasn't sure how he should intervene or should he just pretend he didn't see or hear anything and just leave them be. It was never a good idea to get sucked into their crazy antics.

The group all looked at Penguin for an explanation since they were as clueless as Law about what was going on right now. The mechanic adjusted his pompon hat and took a deep breath as if preparing for his finishing move. His voice was still loud and full of strength as if he truly believed everything he was saying. "That's right! Because Josh has an awesome porn stash but won't share any of the magazines with us, and that's just not fair! So we rounded up this team and will steal it! It should be a man's duty to share his happiness with other men, especially on a sea vessel with no women around! It's unfair, captain!" Penguin explained everything so quickly, he was panting at end, trying to catch his breath. Every eye was now staring back at Law, awaiting the captain's reaction with complete tension and silence.

The silence seemed to last forever as Law kept staring at Penguin and the group, and the Heart Pirates kept staring silently at their captain. Nobody knew how to act and everyone was waiting for someone to make the first move. However, Law didn't act nor did he say anything; he just kept standing there in silence, observing Cody and the mechanics.

Then suddenly, Law moved. He stepped forward, then again, and kept walking down the corridor without a word. Still silent, he passed the group by and just kept walking away before disappearing around the corner and heading for the stairs of the upper level.*I didn't see anything.*

The Hearts just silently followed the captain with their gazes, watching him leave and disappear around the corner. Just like him, they didn't say a word until he was gone; then suddenly they all sighed in relief. *Just now…he ignored us completely.* They all thought of the same thing, feeling depressed by the notion.

"That was close…" Cody sighed, shaking his head.

"Wait, did captain just pretend nothing happened?!" Penguin exclaimed, realizing they were completely ignored by Law just now. The captain must've decided dealing with this was too much trouble and that it would be easier to pretend he didn't see or hear anything. Law just didn't want to get involved in this. Somehow, the thought made Penguin depressed and he leaned against the wall with both hands and his head bowed down. "Somehow I have a feeling captain Law will be looking at me with different eyes from now on…"

"He's not the only one. What the hell was that?!" Louis screamed in anger after the coast was finally clear. "He'll think we're some kind of perverts!"

Sam sighed. "I'm not surprised. Of course if it's Penguin's idea, it will be a perverted one. Nothing else ever comes from his brain."

Shachi nodded in agreement and shrugged his shoulders as if there was nothing they could do about it now. "Girls and machines are the only two things he thinks about, after all."

"Shut up all of you! It worked, didn't it!?" Penguin yelled back, feeling attacked by his comrades. As if completely embarrassing himself in front of his captain wasn't enough. They don't have to kick a fellow when his already down, dammit!

The only medic in the group sighed again, this time out of mental exhaustion rather than relief. "Let's just get on with it. Miyako's quarters are on the other side of this floor, so let's get to them fast and finish this."

The others agreed with a nod and followed after the medic, but just as they turned around to continue their quest again, another new voice stopped them.

"Hey guys," a sleepy mumble came from behind them.

"Hyaaaa!" And once again the pirates screamed in shock. However this time, after the yell of surprise, came a chilling horror that sent shivers down the men's spines. The Heart Pirates all stiffened, afraid to turn around.

"Uuuh, you ok?" Miyako, who was standing behind the group, gazed at them with puzzled eyes. She had her hands behind her back, bowing forwards while trying to peer at the men's faces. They were all hiding behind their hats, still turning their backs on her. Then finally, Shachi turned to face her, his body still completely stiff.

"M-Miya-chan…where did you come from?" Shachi tried to smile, but it looked plastic and strange, as if he was barely able to keep that expression on.

The girl obviously noticed something was up with them but only shrugged her shoulders. "I was in the training room with Law and I want to return this to him." She lifted Trafalgar's black jacket that was in her hand. There a slight blush on her cheeks when she remembered the implication of that jacket she was covered with. "Have you seen him?"

The Hearts glanced at each other and as if a silent agreement was made, Louis and Shachi stepped forward. "Yes, yes, sure, we'll take you to him!" Louis stated and both mechanics suddenly appeared behind her, taking her by her arms and pushing her forward.

Miyako blinked in surprised, looking from Shachi to Louis who still got a hold of her and were relentlessly pushing her away from the rest of the group. "Wha? No, that's ok-whoa!" She stumbled, unable to finish her sentence, as the mechanics kept leading her away. "If you just tell me where he is I can...on my own…" She tried to struggle out of it weakly, but it was no use. She looked back at Cody and the others, who were waving at her and shouting something that sounded like 'Take your time!' as the two mechanics led her around the corner and towards the first floor.

Cody, Penguin and Sam followed the trio with their gaze. "That was close…" The medic muttered, shaking his head. Then he looked back at Sam. "Sam, you too, go with them and keep an eye on captain so he doesn't come back. Just like we planned!" The medic reminded him staring at Sam's completely covered up face.

The mechanic nodded and gave the two remaining pirates a thumbs up. "Good luck, men!" Like a soldier going into battle, the mechanic gave them one final firm nod and then ran away towards the stairs leading to the first floor.

The medic put his hands on his waist, happy how the plan was progressing for now. Both the captain and Miyako were away and there was no one in sight to hinder them. They just had to go in and out of Miyako's quarters undetected, leaving the…goods where it belongs. "Alright, Penguin, we should go too. You have the-" Cody turned towards Penguin who was still standing behind him, only to be stopped mid-sentence at the sight.

The mechanic was smiling with an unnerving grin on his face, some drool leaking from the corner of his mouth. His cheeks were bright red and his eyes hidden as usual under his hat. But it was obvious he was staring at the pink undergarment he took out of his pocket, with a lewd gaze. In his hands were Miyako's panties, in clear view for any passer-by to see. Penguin didn't even seem to hear the other pirate as he kept admiring the silk underwear, but he sure felt the hard hit in the back of his head that came afterwards.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!? Do you want us to get caught with those in plain sight!?" Cody shouted in bewilderment, unable to comprehend that his friend was being that careless at a crucial time like this.

Penguin nursed his pained head but put the panties back into his pocket. "S-sorry…I got distracted."

The medic closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to restrain the numbing headache that was starting to attack his temples from all this nonsense. *Maybe this won't be as easy as I imagined.*

The two pirates started their plan again, walking to the end of the second floor as casually as possible. They walked around the corner and continued forward, passing by numerous quarters of the Heart Pirates. One more turn and they will be on the other side, where the small room of Miyako's quarters was. Just a little more…

"Hey, guys!" Cody felt a strong slap on the back accompanied by Garry's cheerful voice.

The medic had to take a deep breath and calm himself so he wouldn't lose it and just yell at the unsuspecting assistant medic. *Honestly, how come we're bumping into everyone now of all times!? Why must he appear at the worst moment possible? We were so close.*

The mechanic, however, didn't have as much patience as Cody. "Dammit, Garry, not now!" Penguin yelled back, startling the poor assistant medic.

Garry blinked a few times in surprise, eyeing Penguin carefully. "Um, if you're looking for Miya-chan, she's not here. If just saw her getting dragged to the control room not long ago."

The only mechanic stepped back, suddenly becoming defensive. "W-who told you we were looking for Miya-chan? I-it's not like we need to go to her room or anything!" However, he instantly shut up after seeing the warning glare the blue haired medic gave him.

Cody smiled to the other medic innocently. "More importantly, shouldn't you be in the infirmary right now, Garry? You're shift already started…don't tell me you're slacking off again?" The smile stayed on Cody's face but even with the friendly expression, the air around them suddenly became freezing cold. Garry was well aware of Cody's true nature that wasn't always as cheerful as it appeared to be.

The assistant medic choked on air, taking a step back unconsciously. A drop of cold sweat appeared on his forehead as he smiled at Cody sheepishly. "N-no, of course not. I was…just about to go there now!" He was still staring at Cody's unchanging smiling expression, not being fooled by it in the slightest. The other medic just kept smiling back, taking another step towards him, which only made Garry take another step back. Suddenly, Garry turned around as if he suddenly heard something. "Ah, d-did you hear that…I think Ben just called me! Gotta go!" With lightning speed, the pirate turned around and disappeared from their sight, pretending to reply to the mysterious call that only he heard.

Penguin sighed as he relaxed once again. "This is giving me way too much stress."

The medic just patted the other's back and pointed at Miyako's door. "Never mind, look, we're here."

Glancing at each other with a grinning expression, the two pirates rushed towards the room. Penguin hurried to open the doors, grabbing the knob and turning it.

Click. Nothing happened.

The two Heart Pirates looked at each other in confusion before Penguin tried again. He tried to turn the knob and push the metal doors open but they wouldn't budge. "It's locked…." Both said in unison, with the same tone of mild desperation. They just stared at the locked doors for a second, unable to react, before the mechanic completely lost it.

"Open dammiiiiit!" He yelled and started turning the knob with force, banging on the doors that just wouldn't even budge.

He was stopped by the medic's hand on his shoulder as Cody tried to push him away and calm him down. "Stop it, Penguin, that won't help!"

The mechanic was breathing hard when he finally stopped and calmed down. The two stood there, trying to collect their thoughts. "Alright, pick the lock Penguin!" Cody motioned to the doors, getting a good idea.

"Yosh!" The mechanic crouched down, looking straight at the lock in front of him. He reached for the lock on the doors and- "Like hell I can do that!" Penguin jumped back up, turning to glare at Cody. "How am I supposed to know how to pick a lock!?"

The medic just rolled his eyes in irritation. "Don't you have any skills?"

"Then you try it! We don't even have anything to pick the lock with!" Penguin argued back, defending his honor.

The blue haired man rubbed the unshaved patch on his chin and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "Hmm…well I saw them do it with a bobby pin once...oh! and a card!"

"We don't have any of that with us…" The mechanic bowed his head, the red pompom on top happily jiggling in the air. "And even if we did, we don't know how to use them," he finished, shaking his head. He looked as gloomy as a polar bear in an orange jumpsuit.

That's when a small mischievous smirk appeared on the medic's features. "Maybe we don't but I know someone who does."

~…..~

"So as I was saying, there is no way Marco the Phoenix would lose in a one on one fight against Admiral Kizaru."

"The incident at the War of the Best proves differently!"

Ben and Josh walked down the hallways towards the infirmary in a heated discussion along the way.

The larger medic shook his head in disapproval of Joshua's words. "Only because he was distracted and the pirates were completely surrounded. But you have to remember, he didn't actually get hurt even with all those marines. I'm telling you-"Ben turned to the redheaded medic who was walking by his side, only to stop mid-sentence. The spot next to him was completely empty, Josh gone out of sight. The large medic blinked a few times, turning around to see if there was any sign of his friend. "Uh…Josh?" But the dimly lit corridor stayed quiet and void of all life.

Further behind, where one corridor of the submarine intercepted the other, three pirates were standing behind it, hiding. Or rather, two were standing and holding onto the third, who was struggling. Cody held Josh in his grip with one hand on the redhead's mouth, silencing him. Both Penguin and Cody were holding Josh from behind, disallowing his escape while the shorter medic panicked from being kidnapped so suddenly.

Finally, the mechanic put his index finger to his mouth, signaling Josh to stay quiet. "Shhh!" He begged and finally Josh managed to calm down.

However, as soon as Cody released his mouth, the redhead glared at them, his surprise turning into rage. "Have you two lost your minds!?" He exclaimed a bit too loudly.

"Shhhh, lower your voice!" The mechanic warned again in a strained whisper, gesturing fiercely for Josh to calm down and stay silent.

"We need your help with something," Cody was also whispering as he spoke.

"Why are we whispering?" The redhead blinked in confusion, but even he was lowering his voice now.

"Because this is a top secret operation," Penguin answered with a warning tone, indicating for Josh to stay quiet and alert. If this travels to the ears of wrong people, they'll all be dead meat.

The two pirates could see a glint of interest appear in Josh's green eyes when the words 'secret' and 'operation' were mentioned. Even he couldn't stay unaffected by a prospect of adventure and danger. "What's all this about?" He finally asked, lowering his tone even more.

"You used to be a petty thief, right? We need your skills." Penguin explained.

Josh's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Don't say 'petty thief!' And what exactly do you need?"

"We need you to pick a lock," Cody answered in complete seriousness.

The mechanic looked even more serious as he explained further. "Listen, Joshua. Our very lives depend on this…on you! You can't fail!"

By now, Joshua was completely hooked by the notion of a dangerous operation where everything depended on him. He was flustered from being flattered so, his eyes shining with confidence. He chuckled coolly, waving a hand in front of the two pirates. "Now, now, come down. Joshua-sama is here now, so everything will be fine. You can count on me." He glanced from Penguin to Cody with a grin on his face. "So…what is this big secret anyway?"

Completely serious, Penguin took out a pink piece of fabric from his pocket and showed it to Josh. "We need to get this back to Miyako's room, unnoticed."

The short medic kept staring at the fabric in Penguin's hand. He was completely stiff and silent, staring at the panties with a blank expression. Finally, a forced smile appeared on his features as he spoke, still staring at the underwear. "So what is this dangerous operation that we have to do, Penguin?"

The mechanic blinked in confusion at Josh's words, when the reason was clearly in his hands right now for all to see. "Didn't you hear me? We have to return Miyako's panties to her room without anyone noticing. Louis and Shachi should be with her now, keeping her occupied. And Sam is keeping an eye on Captain and anything else that might uncover us. Now is the time to move, you just need to pick the lock on Miyako's door so we can get in and out unnoticed," taking a deep breath, the mechanic finally finished his long explanation of the plan.

Still, Josh just stood there unmoving with a frozen smile and dead eyes that stared at the panties, though it looked more like he was staring right through them. Through Penguin's hand and even thorough the floor. As if he's consciousness was miles away right now. "So as I asked Penguin what is this secret operation you're talking about?" He asked weakly once more.

The mechanic just stood there silently, completely puzzled by the medic's actions.

"Ah….it appears he's in denial. He doesn't want to accept the reality of the situation," Cody finally explained, realizing why Josh was acting so strange. "We might have broken him," he added, seemingly worried as he bit the nail on his thumb and observed the shorter medic who was still unmoving.

Josh suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and Cody turned him around so he could look him in the eyes. The taller medic gave Josh a serious expression and put one thumb up. "Don't worry Josh. Afterwards, I'll work on making a medicine to cause amnesia…for both of us." It was Cody's way of trying to reassure Josh that everything will be fine and that he knew exactly how his redheaded friend felt. After all, Cody didn't want to be a part of this either but was dragged into it and now there was no escaping it. They were in this together and had to get through it somehow.

The redhead stared back at Cody, some of his sanity returning. Is he really doing this? Is this really happening? Is he really supposed to join these perverts? No, more importantly…what the hell was going on? Was he swallowed up in some parallel universe where even Cody lost his mind and went around with these perverts? Was he in some kind of Twilight Zone right now?! The questions just kept swirling in Josh's mind, but he wasn't able to voice any of them. His lips trembled as he tried to speak, the voice coming out soft and barely audible. The other two pirates leaned forward so they could hear what the redhead was trying to say. Joshua opened his mouth slowly and finally his voice came out.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?"

~…..~

Sai, Jean Bart and Law all looked up from the maps on the desk, staring at the doors of the control room.

"Did you all just hear something?" Sai asked as he strained to hear.

"It sounded a little like Joshua," Bart answered furrowing his eyebrows in thought.

Suddenly, Trafalgar remembered Penguin and the group and their ridiculous plans he had the misfortune of hearing before coming here. If that really was Joshua then perhaps he caught the others in the act. Law's eyes widened in sudden realization. *Dammit, I almost got caught up in those thoughts. It will be bad if I start thinking about it too deeply.* The captain sighed in relief as he stopped himself on time. That train of thought could've been dangerous. *It's better to just ignore it.* He looked back at his two navigators and shook his head. "It's nothing, just ignore it. Let's get back to work." He gazed back at the maps in front of them, firmly deciding to pretend he didn't hear anything.

~…..~

"I'm telling you, you don't have to help, I can just go on my own. And stop pushing me!" Miyako protested as she walked, still followed by Shachi and Louis.

"Nonsense, we are only trying to help," the main mechanic answered with an innocent smile.

Suddenly all three of them stopped as they heard something that sounded like a muffled shout coming from the floor below. What was that? The three Heart pirates gazed at the path they came from and then at each other, all wearing perplexed expressions.

Finally, Louis shrugged and continued to push Miyako forward.

"Hey, I'm telling you to stop!" The girl continued to protest and so the three pirates moved, struggling with each step.

~…..~

"Just hurry up," Penguin whispered in a fierce voice, full of impatience already.

"Shut up, don't rush me," the redhead muttered, too focused on his task to even get angry.

"Guys, it's only a matter of time before someone passes by. Quickly now," Cody was keeping watch, his tone also sounding edgier than usual.

They were in front of Miyako's quarters again but this time, Josh was kneeling in front of the lock, using all his tools and skills to open it. Luckily, the lock was nothing special so it wasn't very complicated to crack it. Still, the constant complaining and hurrying words from his friends weren't helping even as he worked with steady hands. "Just a little bit more."

"I can't believe you kept your lock picking tools from your younger days," Penguin commented remembering that Joshua was nothing more than a punk on the streets, stealing what he could to get by, before he joined Law's crew.

"You never know when it can come in handy," Josh smirked in response.

"You mean for the time when you would have to break into a girl's room to return her stolen panties?" Cody asked in a flat tone, knowing perfectly well what effect those words will have on his redheaded comrade. Perhaps he was a bully at heart after all.

Josh's hands stopped working for a second as his whole demeanor turned into a gloomy one, while his shoulders started to shake. He looked completely defeated. "Please…don't even say it…don't say it ever again." The reason behind their actions today was too harsh to even think about. He just wanted to get this over with and forget it…forever. Perhaps, he'll assist Cody in making that amnesia drug.

Suddenly, a set of footsteps was heard somewhere on the far side of the corridor, steadily coming closer.

"Someone's coming, hurry!" Penguin was jumping in his spot nervously, unable to take the pressure anymore.

Josh just kept working silently while the steps echoed louder with each step, coming towards them. Cody clenched his fist, already thinking of the best plan of action while Penguin shifted his weight anxiously from one leg to the other. A barely audible click was heard and the short medic tried the door knob, smirking when it turned effortlessly and the doors opened. "I still got it," he muttered in his own praise.

"Alright Josh! Now let's go before someone comes!" Penguin celebrated their success, but it was too early after all.

Just as they were about to go in, the red lights in the corridor started and the alarm went off, alerting the entire submarine of the upcoming danger.

"What?" The redhead looked up at the spiraling red lights, confused by the sudden interruption.

"Noooo! Not now!" The mechanic wailed in despair, holding his head with both hands. *What's with this bad luck, today of all days!*

The footsteps that were coming closer started going faster and were joined with even more steps as the Heart Pirates started running around the corridors of the submarine, running to their positions.

"We have encountered a sea king, everyone get to their positions and get ready for emergency surfacing," a voice belonging to their captain sounded from the pipes along the submarine used for announcements.

The three pirates looked at each other, already knowing what will happen next. With a sigh of defeat, Penguin closed Miyako's doors and shook his head. "Let's go," in a half whine, half determined tone he urged the two to go to their stations. The three Heart Pirates could already see others running towards them and they had no choice but to join them. Their duties came first after all.

~…..~

The submarine took a sharp turn to the side, avoiding the open jaws of the sea king, which instead swallowed everything in its path; from sea water and smaller fishes to large rocks and boulders. In front of the colossal sea king, everything else seemed as small as a pebble.

The yellow vessel emerged from the waters, but the sea continued to foam with strong waves, as something else emerged right after the submarine. In front of the vessel a long black, slippery neck stretched itself into the sky, like a snake rising into the air. At the end was a large head of a beast with yellow scales glaring in the afternoon sun. The gills of the best were wide, with fins on its head and endless rows of sharp teeth in its maws. The two front teeth were so big they came out of the beast's mouth in full view and could easily crush a ship in one bite. However, what surprised the pirates even more was that the exact same head appeared behind the submarine as well. There were two pairs of green eyes staring down at the ship as two heads came out from the sea from both sides; in front and in the back.

Sai's eyes widened as he saw the readings on the radar together with the view in front of him. "Two sea kings?! But how? The radar is clearly detecting there's only one."

Jean Bart turned and stared at the back window of the control room. "It is only one sea king. I've heard about it before; the two headed sea king, so both heads are connected with one snake-like body."

The younger navigator clicked his tongue in annoyance. "This New World really is scary." Even though he said that, he didn't look that frightened by the sight. Rather, he just seemed annoyed that their smooth sailing was interrupted so abruptly.

Meanwhile, Bepo ran from the control room and stumbled onto the deck to get a better view of the sea king. He regretted it instantly as he saw the beast in all its large glory. "Gyaaaa! It's huuuuge!" The hair on the polar bear's white fur stuck out as shivers ran down his spine. He was clearly panicking now as he called for Law's help in loud shouts. "Captaaaain, what do we do?!"

The front doors of the submarine slammed open one more time. This time Trafalgar Law came out, holding his nodachi. He still looked a bit pale from his earlier training but most of his strength returned to him by now. Still, fighting a sea king was no small matter; especially when this one could clearly count as two with both heads leering at them dangerously from each side. The captain unsheathed his nodachi, narrowing his eyes in the process. "Bepo, I'll take care of this one so you go and take care of the one in the back," he gave the order before stepping forward and creating his Room in one fluid motion. The blue sphere instantly circled the whole submarine and the sea king with it.

Behind Trafalgar, more of the Heart Pirates ran on the deck. Miyako finally escaped Louis and Shachi and came running, instantly stopping in her tracks when she noticed the enormous creature before her. Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Huge…" She barely mumbled, completely taken by the sight in front of her.

"There's another one!?" Shachi yelled loudly, pointing to the head behind the submarine.

"Let's go!" Penguin yelled and dashed forward, throwing a few throwing knives at the monster but it hardly had any effect. The blades simply deflected from the hard scales.

"Dammit, its skin is tough. Try the neck!" Shachi yelled again and a few Heart pirates started aiming their blades and weapons at the neck of the beast.

It roared loudly but rather than hurt it just seemed more irritated by their assault. A shot echoed through the air, as Sai fired from his rifle right into the beast's eye. This time the sea king took more damage and its head pulled back as it roared even louder this time.

"Take your guns and aim for the eyes!" The young navigator shouted to the rest of the crew who took on arms. He aimed again while keeping the rifle steady, but the beast's head was pointed upwards now so its eyes were protected. Suddenly the sea king launched forward with unexpected speed, closing in.

"Whaa, it's gonna swallow us whole! Captaaain!" Bepo shouted in sheer panic, forgetting about his duty to take on the other head behind them. Everyone just stared at the incoming doom which was about to crash right into the submarine with widely open jaws full of large, sharp teeth.

Trafalgar didn't say anything but instead prepared his nodachi and stood in a stance. A confident smirk spread on his features as he watched the sea king attack them with open maws. Law's full strength was still not back and he could feel the pain in his muscles, but the nodachi he was holding felt lighter than ever. Even as he summoned his haki with the Room of his devil fruit powers still on, he didn't feel the exhaustion he would usually sense. Focusing his haki seemed easier than ever before and now that he didn't have his strength sucked up by the kairoseki cuffs, his whole body felt lighter than ever. With ease he sliced through the air once, using both his ope ope powers and haki to cut through the sea king. The cut went right through the beast's jaws, splitting it in half along with the whole head. The upper part of the head fell down and back into the sea while the lower part pulled back, making pained gurgling noises and flapping its still intact tongue around. The whole image looked eerie and amazing at the same time.

Even the captain was slightly surprised by the fact he managed to cut such a large monster in one clean swoop. It seemed his training was really working and he could feel it as haki now coursed through his body. *Next time, I'll try it without the devil fruit powers.*

The Heart Pirates cheered but the celebration was soon interrupted by a hiss behind them. That's when they remembered there was still one more head of this sea king to worry about. And they realized it too late. The whole submarine suddenly rose completely out of the water as the sea king twisted its snake body which was in the water beneath the vessel. The submarine was standing on top of its slick body, helpless and out of the water. They couldn't move nor sail away, they couldn't do anything, even when the monster tipped its body and the submarine started slipping on its wet surface towards the other head which was awaiting them with its mouth open.

*Tch, I won't make it in time.* Law turned to stare at the other head, trying to move closer to the other side of the submarine but it was too unsteady to walk. If he fell into the sea it was over for him and everybody else couldn't do much but hold to the railing either as the vessel slid across the monster with high speed. Even so, the pirate doctor held onto the railing with one hand and lifted the nodachi with the other, trying to steady himself enough to cut down the monster. However, if he stumbled from the speed he could very well accidently cut down the submarine instead.

That's when Law noticed something moving forward. On the railing of the deck, steadily running forward, keeping balance even with the speeding submarine, the samurai girl was rushing towards the submarine's stern. Miyako was holding her unsheathed sword which was safely in the covers up until now ever since they left the last island with the doppelganger girl. But now, Miyako's both hands were free from bandages, and the sword once again gripped in her right hand as she ran forward on the metal railing.

"No way, is she planning to take the sea king by herself!?" Shachi exclaimed, noticing Miyako's intentions as she charged forward.

She ignored the quick speed of the sliding submarine and the sharp movements it would take. She ignored gravity itself as she moved on, balancing on the small space beneath her feet. The haki pooled inside her stomach before flowing to her hand, giving Miyako's body pure energy that the girl could control as she wished. When she finally reached the stern of the submarine, the gaping jaws of the sea king were right in front of her, closing in on the yellow vessel. Miyako took a stance with her katana in front of her, grasping it with both hands and still balancing on the sub's railing. Ittouryu Secret Technique; Bamboo Grass Dance! She sliced the air only once with a swift motion. A gentle wind passed by the giant creature, seemingly without any effect. In the next moment, the sea king hissed one last time as the large head separated from the body and fell back into the water, creating waves around it. The body wriggled and twisted before falling into the sea as well, but not before it threw the submarine off of it. The vessel started falling down from the air and into the sea with great speed.

"At this rate, we'll fall upside down!" Sai warned seeing as the submarine was slowly turning in the air on its side. He was gripping the railing for dear life just like the rest of the Heart Pirates who had to find something to grab on so they wouldn't end up in the sea as fish food.

Miyako gasped as she lost her balance on the railing and started falling backwards right into the wall of the cabin. However, before she could feel the hard metal wall on her back, something soft stopped her flight and secured her in its arms. She looked up in surprise and smiled instantly.

"I got you," Bepo exclaimed, holding Miyako from behind in his large paws.

"Thanks Bepo," the girl smiled, happy to see him and even happier that she didn't experience the uncomfortable landing overboard. That's when she realized another thing; Bepo was holding her with both arms but in that case, how was Bepo secured from falling? "Ah!" It was the only comment she had time to voice out. In that instant, both of them were pulled back by gravity and the polar bear slammed his back into the wall behind them but was then sent flying to the side as the submarine started to turn to its flank.

"This is bad! This is very bad!" The first mate chanted as both of them went flying towards the railing. The bear turned to the side so he wouldn't crush the girl against the railing but that just made him hit his hip on the railing instead. The pair instantly started toppling over and almost fell overboard when suddenly the submarine stopped midair.

Miyako and Bepo blinked in puzzlement, looking at each other. The girl furrowed her eyebrows and gazed around seeing that the rest of the Heart Pirates had similar confused expressions. That's when she noticed Law standing there on the deck, holding one hand in the air. His Room was still enveloping the submarine and he singlehandedly kept it in the air, saving it from falling into the sea. The captain turned his hand and at the same instance, the submarine turned back in its rightful position, slowly lowering itself back into the sea.

Bepo, who was still holding Miyako in his arms, sighed in relief. "We're saved…thanks to captain."

Miyako gazed back at the captain at work. *He managed to control the whole submarine and save it from falling. He's powers are really something. But he was already tired from training from the start, at this rate even if it's him, he'll….* As if confirming her thoughts, when the sub was securely on the waters again, Law fell down on one knee, barely keeping himself up with his nodachi.

"Captain Law!" Penguin yelled and ran up to his captain, helping the weak man back to his feet.

Cody also came up to them quickly, checking on the captain. Trafalgar's dark skin seemed paler than usual and he breathed heavily. "It's just exhaustion…" The medic sighed in relief, helping Law up from one side while Penguin helped on the other. "Let's get him to infirmary so he can rest," the tall medic proposed, walking slowly.

Law shook them off casually, standing up on his own and shaking his head. "I'm fine, don't worry." He hated looking so weak in front of his crew. He should be the strongest one among them, one that they could always rely on. He couldn't show them his weaknesses so easily. At the very least he wanted to keep his pride as their pirate captain intact and walk to the infirmary on his own, with his own strength.

The mechanic and the medic looked at each other with uncertainty, however they had no choice but to let him walk with his own two feet as he asked. Penguin nodded to Cody, quietly signaling to let Law go and they just stared at the captain's back while he pulled himself together again and stood upright.

Law turned back to his crew who were already awaiting orders. All eyes were on him and he'll be damned if he'll let them see this pathetic state now of all times. Just as he was about to give everyone their duties, Jean Bart came from the control room.

"Captain, we have a reading on the radar," the navigator announce loud enough for all to hear.

Some of the Heart Pirates stepped back in suspense. "Another sea king!?"

The large navigator shook his head. "No, it's unmoving. It's too small to be an island, though. We'll have a visual in about 10 minutes if we keep up this speed and this course."

One of the Heart Pirates ran up to Law with a spyglass in his hands and handed it over to the captain. Trafalgar walked up to the bow of the vessel and looked ahead with the spyglass. At first there was nothing on the horizon but as the sub continued forward, a silhouette came into view. It looked like a small island but Jean Bart clearly stated it couldn't be so. Soon the submarine was close enough for everyone to see and the Heart Pirates started gathering on the railing, staring at the piece of land on the horizon.

Law removed the spyglass and gaze ahead, narrowing his eyes and blocking the rays of sun with his hand. Finally, they could see what it was that was lying before them. Coral reefs. So large and so many that they really could make an island altogether. The captain turned back to his navigators. "Is there a way to dock there?" The corals were known to be sharp and dangerous but if they could find a way to get close and dock the submarine, they could rest there and examine the sub for any damage the sea king might have caused.

Sai observed the coral isle, estimating the chances. "I'll see what I can do," he finally said, turning back and running into the control room.

The submarine got close, sailing carefully along the shore line made entirely of corals. It needed a great navigator to be able to sail there and not damage the hull of the deck on the sharp corals under the water but Jean Bart almost made it seem easy with his skills.

Meanwhile, the Heart pirates stood on deck and marveled the beautiful sight before them. This coral isle was so big that they couldn't see the end of it. On the corals there was sea grass and sea weed, making a soft grassy surface like a meadow would. Deeper inside, there were large corals rising into the air, making a whole colorful forest. The corals were in various colors; from orange to bright red and they were entwined everywhere. Their glittery surface gleamed in the sun, casting bright colorful lights around them. Indeed, it was a sight to behold.

Slowly, the vessel stopped not far from the shore of the isle. Jean Bart came out on the deck again and headed straight for Law. "That's as far as we can go without endangering the submarine."

Law nodded in agreement. "We'll have to use the life boats to get to shore." He turned around to his men who were still staring at the isle with amazed smiles. "Alright men, we'll take the boats to the shore. Shachi-ya, make a team of mechanics and check the submarine for any damage that could have happened during our fight. Bepo, Cody-ya, Penguin-ya and Miss Miyako, come with me; we'll scout this place just in case. We need to be sure there's nothing dangerous in that coral forest. The rest, start unpacking some supplies and get the camp ready. We'll stay here until we make sure the submarine isn't damaged and that we can safely continue." Law ignored the fatigue he was feeling, giving orders with his head up high as usual. He didn't have time to rest now. The captain turned towards Sai again. "What about the log pose?"

"It's fine. This isn't actually an island so it doesn't possess a magnetic field. The log pose won't change," the navigator answered.

Meanwhile, the lowest level of he submarine opened on each side and two large boats came out with most of the Heart Pirates already inside. Law casually gripped a rope tied to the mast and jumped down, still holding onto it, right into one of the life boats. The smaller vessel rocked for a while, before steadying itself and the pirates rowed towards the coral isle shores.

~…..~

"Wow, it's amazing. So glittery!" Miyako commented in awe, looking around the colorful forest made entirely out of corals.

"It looks like it's inhabited, though," Bepo added poking one of the sharp ends of the coral which branched out into the air at least ten meters tall.

A seagull flew from the sky and situated itself on top of the coral, quacking and staring down at the pirates. However, other than a few birds, there didn't seem to be any fauna on this isle. The place was big but there was nothing but corals and sea grass around, which wasn't suitable for any life to exist.

"We'll go a bit further, just in case. I already sent Sai-ya and another scouting team in the other direction. They should mark the end of their territory search so when we reach their mark, we'll know we searched the whole isle," Law explained his plan that he made earlier with the young navigator before heading out into the isle's forest.

The mechanic and the medic of the team were a little further in the back, walking after the captain and the others. Penguin seemed especially nervous as he headed on.

"Cody, what should I do?! I'm carrying them right at this moment. If they figure it out…if Miyako sees them…" The mechanic seemed completely out of his mind with worry, biting his fingernails.

The medic sighed, feeling sorry for his crewmate. "Don't worry, just keep them hidden and you'll be fine," he whispered back, mindful of the people around them. The medic turned around to look at Penguin only for his eyes to widen in bewilderment. Penguin had the panties out again in full view, staring at them with an obvious nosebleed flowing.

"The hell is wrong with you!?" The medic yelled despite himself, completely out of character and grabbed the underwear, trying to pry them from Penguin's grip and hide them instead.

The mechanic still held onto the other end, making the panties stretch. They were lucky that the pair was behind the rest of the group or else everyone would have already seen what the two had in their hands.

"Oy, don't pull!" The mechanic protested, unwilling to let go of the soft material in his grip.

Miyako heard the commotion behind her and turned in wonder. "Huh?" What were those two up to? She turned to look at them but was only met with the duo standing motionlessly next to each other with their hands behind their backs. *What are they doing?* Miyako blinked in puzzlement, but shrugged it off, not wanting to get involved in their antics. Seeing that the two calmed down, the girl turned her back to them again, hurrying to catch up with Bepo and the others further ahead.

Cody and Penguin sighed in absolute relief as they let out all of the air from their lungs. The medic leaned forward feeling sudden exhaustion hit his entire body. "That was close…"

Meanwhile, the head mechanic held the panties behind his back before quickly putting them back into the deepest pocket of his white overalls. "Indeed, way too close…we need to be more careful," he stated matter-of-factly. He glanced at Cody by his side who was silently staring back at him with an unreadable expression. Just as Penguin was about to ask what the other had on his mind, the medic suddenly stood upright and delivered a roundhouse kick right into the mechanic's jaw. Penguin was K. in a second, falling onto the ground with a last sigh of pain before lying on the ground unmoving.

The medic just ignored the half-dead pirate on the mossy surface and walked on forward, all the while murmuring something under his chin in irritation.

After another half an hour of walking the group reached what looked like a clearing in the middle of the coral forest. It had the same grassy-looking surface beneath their feet and was surrounded with high corals. The clearing was large enough for half of their submarine to fit there.

"Captain, look," Bepo pointed at a simple yellow rag tied to one of the smaller corals. It was the mark of Sai's group that was sent to scout the other side of the isle. So they met, which meant they searched the whole isle with obviously nothing interesting or dangerous around.

As if on cue, Sai's voice rang out from the forest as his group pushed through the corals and towards the clearing. "Captain!" The navigator walked to the clearing with Garry, Sam and Ari in tow.

"Sai-ya, do you have any news?" The captain walked over to his navigator.

"Not really, everything looks clear and peaceful. There's not even much wild-life among these corals," the navigator fixed the rifle hanging on the back of his shoulder as he gazed around the clearing.

"Same here. I'd say it's safe to camp here until Shachi-ya and the others check the submarine but stay on guard just in case. Let's head back for now. I'll set a few men to watch the parameter around the camp when we get back," the captain answered.

Sai nodded in response to Law's words and turned to head back into the coral forest.

As Law turned to leave he felt a hand on his arm. Turning around he could see the samurai girl walking next to him. She looked up at him with piercing golden eyes and a worried expression on her face. "Are you ok? Are you still tired from earlier?"

The captain kept silent for a while but then just shrugged her hand off, walking ahead of her in long, fast strides. "I'm fine. I just need to get some food in my system, that's all," he muttered in haste before walking ahead of her without sparing another glance.

The girl's expression soon turned into a frown as she watched her captain leave in a hurry. She knew he didn't want to seem weak in front of his crew but having too much pride also had its down points. His stubbornness could prove to be dangerous for his own health. The girl glanced back at the clearing that was now shrinking behind them as they left back for the coast. An idea appeared in her mind and she glanced down at her trusted katana by her side with a smirk on her features. Well at least they could utilize the spare time they had on this coral isle before returning back to the submarine. They might not get another chance to be on the open for a long time before they reach a new island.

~…..~

"Alright, we're back. Now let's quickly go to Miyako's room and put that back," Cody whispered to the mechanic as the two stood in the now-set up camp of the Heart Pirates.

"Ok, I'll take Josh too in case the doors are locked again," Penguin nodded with new-found determination. After all, they survived this long even though something constantly kept getting their way whenever they tried to put Miyako's panties back into her room.

The medic looked around at the working pirates. "Now that I think about it…where is Miyako?" The two pirates stared at each other for one moment before they both cursed in annoyance. They lost her. "I told Louis and Shachi to keep an eye on her but both must be busy with the submarine right now," Cody shook his head in agitation.

"Never mind that, listen Cody, let's go check it out. If there's no one there we'll just quickly leave it and get out. It'll work!" Penguin gripped Cody's arm and pulled him towards one of the boats so they could get to the submarine.

At first the medic didn't look so convinced but finally he nodded and went after the mechanic.

~…~

"Sam!" Cody called out when they saw the assistant mechanic on the deck of the vessel.

The said pirate was holding a small crate when he turned to watch the two approaching men. Before he could even ask what was going on, Penguin grabbed him from one side and Cody from the other, pulling him into a huddle. "Listen up Sam, the time has come. I'm going in! You keep an eye on Miyako, we're not sure where she is. Oh and don't forget about the captain, keep an eye on him too. And anyone else who might cause a problem to our plan," Penguin explained whispering to his friend.

Sam sweat dropped looking at the two completely serious pirates. "I don't think I can keep an eye on so many people at once guys…"

"Dammit, Samuel!" Penguin suddenly exclaimed, holding the other mechanic by the collar of his white overall. "Are you a man or aren't you!" He kept shaking the poor pirate, almost choking him. "This is your time to shine! Do your duty right and all mankind will be grateful. And when I say mankind, I mean all the men! All the men on this submarine that dreamed of the day when they'd have Miyako's panties in their hands. Don't let these brave soldiers die when they are so close to their dreams dammit! Samuel!"

Cody just stood on the side, looking at the fierce Penguin and poor Sam blankly. "What are you even talking about…?"

Sam was slowly starting to get sick from all the shaking. He could feel his vision clouding as dizziness overtook him. With the last of his breath the man managed to squeeze out his words. "But…my name…isn't Samuel….it's just Sam." With that Sam fell to the ground, panting and coughing. With watery eyes behind his thick glasses he saw two brave soldiers heading inside the submarine, onto the battlefield. The most he could do was to wish them good luck with all of his heart.

However, Sam's peaceful moment didn't last long when he saw his captain walking on deck. The assistant mechanic followed the dark doctor carefully with his eyes, watching Law's every move. That was his job in this operation anyway, wasn't it?

Trafalgar appeared to be looking for someone and finally walked over to one of the Heart Pirates. The assistant mechanic was close enough to hear their brief conversation. "Did you see Miss Miyako?" Law asked the pirate with a slight furrow of his eyebrows. The girl suddenly disappeared after saying she wanted to check out the isle a bit more, yet the captain couldn't find her on the shoreline.

"Aaah, Miya-chan? Yeah, she came back to the submarine but I don't know where she is exactly." The Heart Pirate answered, scratching his head as he thought it through.

It was enough for Law. At least he knew she was on the submarine and far away from any danger or trouble she could cause.

With a nod, the captain went inside the submarine. Seeing that, Sam paled under his high collar and thick glasses. It was good that nobody could see his covered-up face as they would think he fell deadly ill all of a sudden.

*Why? Why of all times does captain Law need something from Miyako now when Cody and Penguin went to her quarters. He'll see them and they'll be totally busted!* The brown haired pirate gulped, thinking frantically. He needed to do something and quick! But what could he do? Without having any time to think, Sam simply threw himself into action. Well, he also threw himself literally in front of the captain before Law could enter the submarine.

Trafalgar blinked a few times, trying to understand the situation. Sam just appeared out of nowhere, blocking his way. "Sam-ya….what are you doing?"

The heat from the flustered mechanic rose to his cheeks, but the redness was thankfully hidden from view. Even before he had time to actually make a plan, he acted. But now he had no idea what to do or how to explain this to his captain. The mechanic opened his mouth, but no words came out so he simply stood there gaping like a fish. When he tried again, he was stuttering from nervousness. "S-Stomach…" He muttered the word so quietly it was barely heard.

Law narrowed his eyes as he tried to hear what his assistant mechanic was stuttering. "What?" Not having much patience, he asked in a harsh voice, trying to hurry things along.

The mechanic noticed this and only stiffened more as he realized his captain was slowly starting to get agitated. So he pushed himself to take a deep breath and say it clearly, no matter what. "S-stomach!" This time he started louder. "I have a stomachache!" The man exclaimed in a loud voice, suddenly grabbing his stomach as if he was in pain.

For a while Law just stood there, unsure how to react. After all, there should always be someone from the medical team on infirmary duty so Sam could just go there and get treated. What's the point in coming to Law and announcing it like this? The reasonable Trafalgar just couldn't find a logical explanation behind Sam's actions. Unless it was so bad that he wanted Law personally to examine him?

Suddenly the pirate in front of him started convulsing, gripping his stomach in pain. "Aaaah, aaah, it hurts! It really hurts!"

Law's eyes widened at the sudden urgency and quickly beckoned another Heart Pirate over. "Kai-ya, help me get him into the infirmary!" He turned back to Sam, feeling his forehead for a fever. *I can't really tell what's wrong from the way he's holding his whole stomach, but it sounds bad.* The captain frowned, gripping Sam's one shoulder to steady him. "Sam-ya, can you walk by yourself? We'll get you to the sickbay right away." The mechanic didn't answer, just kept wailing in pain in front of them. The other pirates all stopped their work and were curiously watching the unusual scene. Meanwhile, Law and Kai helped the mechanic, immediately leading him towards the infirmary.

As they arrived at the infirmary with an almost boneless Sam, which made the trip all the more difficult and slow, Josh was already there on his shift and stared at the trio in wonder when they dragged the mechanic to the bed. The redhead instantly approached them, examining the mechanic in front of him. "What's going on?"

"Sam just suddenly started groaning in pain and talking about a stomachache," Kai explained, staring at his mechanic friend worriedly. That's when he turned back to the captain, remembering his true duties. "Uh, I should be helping Munk with dinner over at the camp. We have curry stew tonight." He glanced at Law, awaiting his approval so that he can go to Munk. There was no reason for a chef to stay in the infirmary, especially since Josh was already here to help.

Law was already at the metal table full of tools, examining some medication and syringes he might have to use. He gave the chef a disregardful nod for the other pirate to proceed with his duties, still only focusing on the task at hand. Kai nodded back and excused himself before leaving the infirmary.

Meanwhile Josh was helping Sam to take off the top part of his overalls and lift his white T-shirt underneath so they could look at his stomach. The mechanic was still moaning in pain but every now and then he would glance at Law's back nervously while the pirate doctor prepared for the examination. Sam's eyes darted from Trafalgar to Josh, hidden behind his thick glasses. Still, Joshua noticed something was off and stared at Sam skeptically. Something didn't seem right. Before asking anything, the redhead poked harshly at Sam's stomach where the man was holding it. A small grunt of surprise was heard but there wasn't any instant reaction to the pain that was supposed to come from the jab. Instead, only a second later when Sam realized it, did the mechanic yowl in pain. But it was already too late to fool the pirate medic.

The redhead widened his eyes before glaring at Sam and lowering his head, whispering so the captain couldn't hear. "Why are you faking a stomachache?"

The assistant mechanic gulped and answered back in the same low voice. "Penguin and Cody went to return Miyako's underwear to her quarters and captain was just about to go there. I had to think of something to stop him." He answered in a hurry, before pulling off a few fake groans again.

"That's right, Cody and Penguin said you and Louis were also a part of that stupid situation…Wait, now's not the time for that! When Captain Law examines you, he'll know you're faking it right away! And then he'll make you spill everything and punish you double for wasting his time." Josh was still whispering in a hurry, carefully watching Law's back so he wouldn't turn around and suspect something when he sees the two pirates whispering conspicuously.

"Then you have to help me! Do something," Sam could feel his nervousness rise at the thought of being punished by the captain. He didn't want to go down because of Penguin's stupid perversion! Even though he wanted to see Miyako's panties too…

"What am I supposed to do!" Josh slightly raised his voice in disbelief but still mindful of the volume so Law wouldn't hear.

Before Sam had a chance to answer, the dark doctor turned around, walking briskly towards the patient lying on the infirmary bed. "Alright Sam-ya, let's see what's bothering you."

The mechanic and the medic glanced at each other, gulping in suspense. There was nothing else they could do.

~…~

"What if it's locked again?" Penguin asked as they arrived in front of Miyako's doors. Unfortunately, Josh was on his shift at the sickbay and there was no way he could join them. Also, he really really didn't want to have anything else to do with this.

"We'll just have to think of something on our own. Josh is on sickbay duty so he can't help us now," the medic sighed as he reached for the doorknob of Miyako's quarters. This is it…

Before he could open them, the doors suddenly opened on their own. As the crack got wider the two pirates found themselves face to face with the samurai girl who was staring back at them in wonder. "Oh it's you guys, I thought I heard voices…I was just leaving, so what's up?"

"Uh….we…" Penguin started but had to stop and look back at Cody for help.

The medic didn't have anything better to say either, since they were both taken completely off guard. They didn't expect Miyako to be inside. At least they were lucky and she opened the doors herself before they just stumbled inside with the girl right there on the other side of the doors. "Well we wanted to…see how you were doing?" The statement sounded more like a question than anything else, but that was the first idea that came to Cody's mind. He saw the girl's confused expression as she obviously didn't follow. Hurriedly, he went to explain. "You know, since you were sick and injured. We just wanted to check if you're all healed now," the medic quickly explained, his confidence raising a little as he continued to explain. This wasn't a bad lie actually. *Not a bad excuse if I may say so myself.* He was feeling good about himself for all the wrong reasons.

"Right," Penguin added with a determined nod. Still, he was unable to say something more productive.

The girl chuckled lightly, staring at them with an amused expression and one questioning, raised eyebrow. "Uh, I'm ok. Thanks for your concern?" She wasn't quite sure how to reply to this. "I'm pretty much all healed. See, I'm not wearing my bandages anymore." She showed them her hands, which were now bandage-free and luckily unscarred. "Anyway, I don't have time for your tomfoolery, shenanigans and foolhardiness this time, I have something I need to do." She smiled at them mischievously and stepped into the hallway, locking the doors behind her.

The two pirates could just stand there in shock and despair, staring at the doors that once again became locked. Now they'll have to do it all over again. Also, once again they missed their chance and now they were in the presence of one person they wanted to avoid today at all costs.

"Well then, shall we go back to camp?" She grabbed their arms and pulled them along with her, all the while in a suspiciously good mood.

~…..~

Law put a hand on Sam's bare stomach, pressing three fingers into the right side. After some more pressure the mechanic winced in pain. The doctor was serious and focused as he kept probing the patient's right side, slowly traveling towards the left. His eyebrow would furrow now and then but it was unclear whether he suspected something or was simply so focused on his task.

*Aaah, dammit, he'll figure it out. After the examination I'm sure he'll figure it out!* By now Sam was panicking so much he was actually starting to feel some stomach pain from stress and nervousness.

Law stayed silent as he finished his examination, an unreadable expression on his face just like usual. Josh quietly watched from the side, beads of cold sweat appearing on his face as he desperately tried to get some clue out of Law's expression. Did he figure it out or not? It was impossible to tell. Sam had the similar tense expression as cold sweat dripped down his shivering spine. Finally, Law moved away from the patient and looked at Sam with a completely serious expression. "It seems we'll have to operate."

Both the redhead and the medic chocked on their own saliva from the shock. Sam barely managed to get his words out. "W-what?" He was even paler now if it was humanly possible.

The pirate doctor kept that same serious expression as he elaborated, not even blinking. "Yes, there's definitively something there but…I just can't figure out what. So we'll have to cut you open to get a proper look at your inside organs." Without waiting for a response, Law was already putting his surgical gloves on. "Joshua-ya, prepare the operation room and the anesthesia."

"Y-yes?" The redhead wasn't sure what to say at this point. Should he keep quiet and just proceed as he was told? He was completely dumbfounded at Law's surprising decision.

On the other hand, the mechanic was in full-on panic mode by now. He quickly sat up on the bed and started shaking his head and arms defensively. "Wait, wait, wait…actually, you know what…I feel much better now. Honestly, the pain is completely gone…It's a miracle! So there's no need-"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sam-ya. The pain couldn't just disappear all of a sudden like this. Now, lie down quietly and behave," the doctor cut him off in an instant and turned around with a large syringe in his hands. "I mean, sick patients don't just suddenly get all better…right?" A smirk appeared on the captain's face as he walked towards the mechanic, pushing the syringe a little so that some clear liquid sprayed out. He was testing it.

*He's about to use that on me! Somebody help me!* Sam looked pleadingly back at Josh but the redhead seemed at the loss just as he was. Joshua was just standing there in surprise, unsure of what to do. The mechanic tried standing up but Law was quicker and he easily pushed the horrified pirate back onto his back, raising the sharp needle before his eyes.

"Wait! I was faking it! I don't actually have a stomachache!" Sam yelled through panicked tears, his gaze solely focusing on the approaching needle.

Finally the tool in Law's hands stopped and instead a wide, satisfied smirk appeared across his face. "Is that so…?" The captain answered casually as if he knew the truth all along. He just needed Sam to admit it and what better way to do it than scaring him out of his mind. "And why would you do something like that?" The grin never left Law's face as his eyes pierced right through the assistant mechanic.

Sam was scared stiff, his body unmovable and his mind blank. *After all I can't lie to captain. I just can't! I'm sorry…Penguin…everyone.* He opened his mouth, deciding to come clean about everything, when suddenly the doors of the sickbay opened again.

In came the smirking samurai, followed by two curious pirates, Cody and Penguin. Law and the others stopped, awaiting what was about to happen. The sight inside the infirmary didn't look quite right either. A crying Sam was forcefully lying on the bed with the doctor leaning over him, a large syringe in his hand. Meanwhile, an equally shocked Josh stood on the side and watched the scene in horror.

Penguin sweat dropped at the sight. "Did we….come at a wrong time?"

Surprisingly, it was Josh who spoke up first. "Sam was just trying to skip work by pretending to be sick so captain was about to teach him a lesson," the medic lied once again to protect his friend. There was no way they could admit the real reason why Sam was pretending…not now when not only Law was here but Miyako herself. Penguin was also present with the very incriminating proof of their wrongdoings right in his pocket. This was the worst time possible for them to tell captain Law the truth so once again they'd have to try and lie themselves out of it.

Trafalgar looked back at Sam questioningly, not entirely convinced with the explanation yet but the mechanic started timidly nodding his head in agreement. The dark doctor scowled, still holding up that syringe if need be.

Meanwhile, the redhead stared back enquiringly at Cody who gave him a subtle signal with a shake of his head and crossed his two index fingers to make an X sign. The posture indicated both Penguin and Cody failed at their operation of returning Miyako's panties, which wasn't so odd since she was right there with them. However, it was obvious she didn't know what was going on yet since she was in a cheerful mood and both pirates still had their heads on their shoulders. So there was still time for success later, but only if they get a miracle now and escape this pinch they found themselves in.

For once it seemed luck was on their side, though. "Law, if you're done torturing Sam come with me….and take Kikoku!" Miyako suddenly exclaimed, interrupting the strange scene before her.

The captain frowned in suspicion at Miyako's ever-present smirk on her features. "Why?" was the only simple question he asked.

The girl pierced him with large, mischievous eyes as she looked directly at him. "Because we're going training."

~…..~

"You're in a good mood," Law commented as he walked after the girl into the coral woods while holding his nodachi on his shoulder.

Miyako was a few steps ahead of him, leading the way. She seemed more familiar with the territory now as if she already checked it out even after their scouting mission. Perhaps she was looking for the best place to begin their training. After a while, she finally stopped and Law found himself standing at the clearing they found earlier. "In the end, it has to be here. It's the best place," the samurai girl commented, more to herself than her captain. She turned back to Law, examining him up and down.

"We'll be training here? What, am I to cut corals instead of poles now?" The captain looked around the area, not impressed. He didn't look as psyched about this training as Miyako seemed to be but only because he was already spending most waking hours training by cutting unmovable things in front of him so this was nothing new to him. Besides, he wasn't even able to cut all the poles in his submarine's training room yet, so how was he supposed to cut these thick corals? They were obviously harder than any training gear he was practicing on until now.

The girl didn't look put off by his unenergetic behavior as she continued. "Training on poles is all nice and well but there is something else you need to do as well. I told you that I'll help with your training once I'm healed and that's exactly what I'm going to do now. You've been training your haki in the training room all this time and now it's finally time to show what you've learned. You need real-battle practice with your haki more than anything since your enemies definitively won't be unmovable poles, just as you said," the samurai explained and unsheathed her katana slowly. "So…let's see how much did your haki improve."

Understanding what Miyako meant, the captain unsheathed his nodachi and let the sheath fall on the grassy ground. In other words, she wanted to spar with him to see his progress in using haki. That also meant one more thing; no devil fruit powers. Otherwise, this training would be useless. So it was only up to his haki and his skill with the sword, just as he practiced all these days. "Very well," finally getting into it, Law took a stance with his sword and watched Miyako do the same. She stood sideways while holding her katana with both hands, pointing it at the ground in front of her. He could feel the pressure and true fighting spirit coming out of her, as he recognized her warrior's spirit awaken. But that wasn't all that awakened. The pressure around her intensified and Law could feel it even from where he was standing. Her haki. It was so strong he could almost see it swirling around the samurai girl who was still standing there motionlessly. Her eyes were piercing him, sharp as steel and serious. This might have been a training session but she had no intention of messing around. She was taking this seriously and so was Law. He had no intention of losing to her either so he released his own haki, surprising even himself as it was much stronger than he imagined it would be. So all that training up until now really wasn't for naught.

Both swordsmen came at each other at the same time with lightning speed and they clashed their swords in the middle of the vast clearing. Along with it, their haki clashed as well. Law's eyes widened slightly in surprise as his hands trembled from the force; not by Miyako's sword but the force of her haki behind it. Yet Law doubted she was even using full power now; she was probably only assessing his own power through this, still testing him. The thought made him grit his teeth in annoyance and he put more force into his arms as he intended to push her back. Right now, Miyako had the advantage since he couldn't use his devil fruit powers, so he had to keep a cool head and fight smart. Instead of pure force, he needed to use his brain for this just like the first time they fought each other at Sabaody.

However, Miyako intentionally gave him no chance to act as she stepped aside when he was about to push her back. She slid her katana on his nodachi, stepping forward towards him and sliced at his head without hesitation. If he wasn't able to dodge even that much, he had no place in the New World anyway. Law suddenly disappeared from her line of sight as she crouched down to avoid her slice and instead went to pierce her in the stomach. Just like hers, his hands had no hesitation in them either.

The girl had to step backwards, bringing her katana down to block his nodachi and push it sideways. She then proceeded to attack instantly, not wanting to give Law any time to stand and defend. However, her previous step back gave him some time to collect himself and get up again so he easily blocked her next attack. Miyako's attacks got quicker as she moved forward, pushing the captain back. However he pared her every movement with his own, blocking her attacks no matter where they came from or how quick. He was still holding his own, controlling his haki and not feeling the fatigue that would already hit him half a year ago when fighting like this. However, they both new Miyako could endure it much longer than he could and if he didn't make his move soon he'll just tire himself out and become too slow. At that time, it would be a certain loss for him.

Law's eyes widened again when he felt an especially forceful surge of power from Miyako. He dodged her next attack and it was a good choice as her haki flew forward, slicing everything behind Law. Behind him, the large corals that were in the way easily split in half with a clean slice and fell on the ground. As he dodged to the side, some of the pressure nicked his face and a thin line of blood appeared on Trafalgar's dark cheek.

"Perhaps we should've taken a medic with us," Miyako teased with a smirk.

"The winner will just have to drag the loser back to the camp then," Law answered, not showing any signs of being bothered by her words.

The samurai girl kept her smirk on. "Oh now, I don't know if I'll be able to do that after the match. You give me too much credit," she joked, intentionally trying to taunt Law into losing his cool. But it wasn't that easy to break Law's concentration and instead of responding he simply rushed towards her again, focusing his haki. He clutched his nodachi and swung with it, which she blocked.

Miyako's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion when she realized he didn't put as much force into that swing as it appeared at first. Almost as if he planned on her blocking it. Before she could understand why, Law disappeared from her sight again as he crouched down and swiftly round kicked towards her legs, trying to trip her. The girl was fast enough to notice it and quickly jumped into the air. However, that was exactly what the captain was waiting for. Standing up swiftly and focusing his haki into his next attack, Trafalgar aimed the tip of his nodachi right at Miyako so he could stab her. The power of the thrust was additionally laced with his haki as he tried to pierce her.

In response Miyako quickly put the katana in front of her for protection while still in air. She held the hilt with one hand while putting the other on the flat part of the sword so she would be able to resist easier when Law's thrust came. The tip of his nodachi struck the metal of her sword with full force. Miyako had to grit her teeth and brace herself along with the katana still in front of her unless she wanted Law to break her defense. However, she was still in air without any foothold, and the force of his haki was just too strong. It blasted her away and the girl did a back somersault in the air, landing on her feet. That's when she noticed the sleeves on her shirt were cut and torn from the haki. Even though her skin of her arms was unharmed underneath, she realized Law's attack almost passed her defense and did some harm. *Tch, he almost had me there.* Miyako clicked her tongue in annoyance, noticing that Trafalgar was once again missing from his spot and already running towards her for another attack. However, there was still something Law couldn't do with his haki while Miyako could.

Miyako stood in the stance with the sword right in front of her, watching Law approach with speed. Ittoryu no Haki: 9 strikes! She quickly sliced nine times through the air, so quickly the untrained eye would see it as only one slash. Bursts of haki flew as she sliced the air, heading right towards the charging captain.

Law noticed the shift in the air, seeing haki attacks fly at him. He scowled and quickly crouched to avoid one slash, then without stopping ran to the side, avoiding two more slashes. As he proceeded he ran to the left to avoid two more, before tilting his head to avoid one that caught some of his hair, snipping it at the ends. Still, there were three more coming and unable to find time to dodge them, he quickly put his nodachi before him to block them. He blocked one without stopping but the other two hit him simultaneously and he had to stand his ground to be able to deflect them. The power pushed him backwards and his feet slid across the ground, but he held the nodachi in front of him even as his sword shook from the force. He swung to the side, pushing the two slashes out of the way and finally breaking the haki-filled air. And that's when he noticed it. Coming right at him was another slice. However, his nodachi was already to the side and the captain stood there defenseless, with his guard broken from blocking the previous attacks. *She must've sent another attack right after the nine strikes,* it was the only thing he could think of before the haki hit him, slashing at the crevice of his shoulder and neck. He gritted his teeth and groaned in pain as he felt the burning on the skin, caused by a direct him. He was just lucky that didn't go right at his head or he really would be dead. It seemed that no matter how serious Miyako was about this, she was actually genuinely careful not to do something that could kill him. However, the damage to his right shoulder was enough for him to momentarily let go of the nodachi which was now being held only by his left hand.

*Fighting without my powers is even harder than I thought it would be.* Indeed, when it came to haki and pure skill with the sword, he couldn't beat this samurai of Wano. Not yet at least. He saw the girl rush at him with such speed that she was in front of him in an instant. Using all his remaining power and focusing the haki he had left, the captain swung his sword at her, intending this to be his final attack. The girl noticed what he was up to and quickly moved from offense to defense, putting her katana in front of her and determined to take the strike head on. She was surprised he managed to make a flying attack with his haki to begin with and it was one with such intensity. It blasted into her sword, making her feet slide backwards on the wet, mossy ground. She gritted her teeth and clenched her hands around the hilt of the sword as it rattled in her jolting hands. The power of his haki was strong after all, especially since he unleashed all of it onto her. Miyako clenched her jaws even harder, grunting from the force of it, but then with a final exclaim of strength, she slashed through the air and cut though Law's haki attack. Before he could move, the girl was beside him with a sword pointed at his neck. He was too tired and exhausted to fight back anyway since he just forced out that huge amount of haki all at once.

The girl stood there smirking, but not because she was gloating. She was actually having fun, since she didn't have such training with someone for a long time.

"Tch, so I couldn't even make one cut on you?" Trafalgar knew he wasn't quite where the samurai girl was when it came to fighting without his devil fruit powers but he wouldn't think the difference would be so big that he wouldn't even be able to put one wound on her. He felt disappointed most of all.

Miyako's smirk never wavered as she tilted her head in thought. "That's not quite true." Sheathing her katana and showing the palms of her hands, Law could clearly see a large, long cut on each palm. Even though she managed to cut through that last haki attack, some of it still hit her after all. The force cut at her hands even through her sword. She reached one bloodied hand towards the kneeling captain, offering him her hand for help.

Law stayed in place for a while, completely silent and just staring at Miyako's hand, but then he finally took it, letting her help him up to his feet. That's when he noticed another thing, right behind the girl. He stared at the sight and realized this training wasn't just to test his strength but also to push his limits and make him improve. Miyako turned around to follow his gaze and smiled. Behind her, a large coral was cut in half and they both knew that one wasn't her doing.

~…..~

"So what do we do?" Louis asked the group as they all huddled together, away from the others in the camp. Shachi, Cody, Sam, Louis, Penguin and Josh were now all a part of this troublesome problem they had on their hands so they got together during their break-time and discussed their next step over dinner. They still hadn't figured out the perfect plan how to go about all this and the dangerous possession was still safely inside of Penguin's overall pocket.

"We have to act fast. Maybe now, while everyone's still occupied during their meal," Sam suggested looking at the other Heart Pirates around the camp who were eating their dinner, blissfully unaware of this group's problems.

"How did I get involved in this…?" Josh muttered through a whine, holding his head with his hands and trying to surpass the steadily rising headache.

"I'm already beyond even asking myself that anymore," Cody sighed, answering the unfortunate redhead.

"Come on guys, think! Captain Law and Miya-chan are away from the submarine now. Now is the time to act and return this without being noticed," Penguin spoke a bit too loudly as he got excited, pulling out the pink underwear from his pocket.

"Whoa! Put that back you idiot! What if someone sees!?" Sam yelled back at him in surprise.

"Miya-chan's underwear…Indeed, it's a good day," Louis nodded firmly with a proud expression on his face.

"I'm not seeing anything! I don't see anything at all!" The redheaded medic shouted, shaking his head and closing his eyes to try and run from the truth before his eyes.

"Let me see too!" Shachi whined, trying to grab the panties but Penguin expertly avoided his hands as he waved around with the undergarments in his grip.

Suddenly that silky fabric was grabbed by someone behind the mechanic and swiftly snatched out of his hand. "What's this?" Sai's monotone, barely interested voice sounded itself behind the group as he looked at the pink panties in his hand.

"Aaaah!" Shachi screamed in horror and quickly tried to grab the panties back but Sai swiftly dodged his every attempt, still looking at the undergarments questioningly. "Dammit Sai, give it back!"

"Why do you have something like this?" The navigator didn't even bat an eye as he avoided the group's hands while they desperately tried to recover the item and hide it from prying eyes of the others. "A hobby?" From Sai's tone it was hard to tell was he joking or actually serious about them having such fetishes. Luckily nobody but Sai seemed to notice the commotion for now but it was only a matter of time.

"As if you idiot!" Josh shouted back defensively at the navigator.

"J-just give it back, it's of no interest to you!" Sam tried to help Penguin with grabbing the panties but only ended up on his face when Sai turned to the side, avoiding his lurch forward so the assistant mechanic tripped over his own feet and fell on the ground.

~…~

"At least I'm glad I didn't have to drag you back to the camp after all," Miyako laughed, walking beside Law who was now holding onto his bloodied shoulder, putting pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. The cut was deeper than he originally thought even though it wasn't lethal. Still, the girl wasn't messing around when she hit him with that attack, which was pretty obvious now.

"How long are you planning to gloat over this?" The captain muttered, definitively in a bad mood even as he tried to stay calm, not wanting to seem petty about his loss.

"I'm not gloating~" The samurai answered in a voice that almost had a singing tone in it.

Trafalgar glared at the girl as he pierced her with a sideways glance. "You're definitively gloating," he muttered back, his bad mood becoming even darker now.

That's when the pair heard a commotion coming from the camp near the shoreline. There, they saw the two head medics and the two head mechanics along with Louis, Sam and the navigator arguing over something, making a ruckus.

"What's this about?" Miyako commented out loud as they approached.

Law only sweatdropped anxiously, suddenly remembering Penguin's confession from before. His expression was calm and unreadable but he somehow had a really bad feeling about this. Especially if it was about that foolishness from before.

Just as the pair approached the group, Penguin who was flaying his arms at Sai managed to knock something out of the navigator's hand with a victorious exclaim of 'Ha!' The soft, silky item fell right before Miyako's feet and the samurai stared down at it with puzzlement. It needed her a few seconds to understand what she was looking at. The pink fabric, along with the cute, small, red ribbon in front. Her eyes widened, as big as plates, as she stared down at the panties in front of her. Her panties. She opened her mouth to ask something but only stuttering noise came out.

The group in front froze and suddenly everything went deathly quiet. After a while of everyone standing there stiffly, Penguin dared to speak. "M-Miya-chan…I can explain…I mean we...we can explain."

"No, no, you can explain. You got it right the first time," Josh corrected the mechanic, never taking his frightened eyes off of the samurai who seemed too shocked to even move. The girl was paler than a cloth. Beside her, the captain just stood there wordlessly, looking down at the underwear on the ground with mild interest.

Slowly the girl moved, or rather her hand did, right towards the hilt of Yawarakai-Te. She unsheathed her katana without another word and everyone stepped back instinctively. Suddenly the girl smiled sweetly but it that wasn't reassuring at all. On the contrary, it was the most disturbing sight yet. Even when her sweet voice echoed in their ears, it didn't calm them in the slightest. "Alright…Now stand there obediently and let me beat you."

Everyone paled a few shades of white, as they saw the girl slowly approach them with that smile on her face.

"w-w-wait Miya-chan, we can explain!"

"Gyaaaahhhh!"

"Run for your lives!"

"Waah, she got Penguin!"

"Somebody save me!"

"He's done for!"

"Why did I have to get hit, I didn't do anything!"

"Nooooooo!"

The group's painful and frightened screams continued to echo throughout the coral isle for a long time after that. All the other Heart Pirates could do was watch the scene in dread silently and wish for their comrades' fast recovery.

~…..~

Miyako sighed as she walked down the hallways of the submarine, feeling more exhausted than after that match with Law. Those pirate idiots could drain her mentally more than any opponent ever could physically. After she gave them all a good beating, the group got on their knees and bowed on the ground in apology, explaining everything. After hearing the truth she wanted to beat them again but simply lost her will to even do that much. What's more, she couldn't even look at those panties anymore since they would always remind her of the embarrassing moment, so in the end she threw them overboard, hoping to never see them again. Penguin actually protested, arguing that it would have been better to just leave the panties with him then but he just got another hit for it before he could even finish that sentence.

Getting back into reality she focused on her destination instead as she walked towards the training room. They were finally on their way again after the mechanics' team checked the submarine. Luckily, there was no damage to the vessel so it was smooth sailing once more. In less than a week they would arrive to Rocky Port and that was when the real fight starts.

It was already late at night or rather early in the morning, with a full moon still high in the night sky and Miyako realized she didn't see Law for hours. After he went to get himself treated into infirmary together with her hands that were once again bandaged, the captain ate dinner and rested for a time while doing some minor duties, after which he suddenly disappeared. She thought to check up on him just once more before going to sleep, especially since he was injured and exhausted a lot of energy today, first with the sea king and then with her. *Perhaps I shouldn't have pushed him so much today. After all he was already tired from the previous fight and he's been training all day.* She bit her lip, feeling guilty all of a sudden. However, hard training was the only kind she knew of since her master never let her cut any corners during her own swordsmanship training. If you weren't completely sore at the end of the day, it meant you were doing something wrong; or that's at least what Master Kuroda always said.

Realizing she wasn't hearing any sword slashes in the training room, Miyako hurried her step in worry. *Did he faint again?* Going around the corner and entering the large ex-storage room, Miyako's breath stopped when she noticed Law on the ground, unconscious once again. He still had his sea stone cuffs on him and Miyako felt a strong sense of déjà vu from the whole scene. She quickly ran over to him and unlocked the cuffs, looking at his pale face as she brushed away the messy black hair from his eyes. That's when she raised her gaze and gasped in surprise. She couldn't take her eyes off of the sight. In front of her, all the training poles; they were all cut in half. *This guy…did he do all this tonight?! He really is amazing…Trafalgar Law, you might actually become Pirate King one day.*

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Ok, this is it for the chapter! I made this a short one, cause it was just too show some of Law's hard training that will make his as awesome as he is now. :3 Plus some comic relief, I wanted to put something lighthearted for a change. I hope it was fun to read.

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MissTigerLilly: Sorry, no spoilers. :P For now I'll just say that Miyako will be on PH.

Thedarkdoctorgirl: hehe I think doppelgangers make interesting characters. Thanks, I hope I'll be able to make a good Rocky port arc.

Moo: She's 21 now.

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: Yes, since she can't control her ability, she just gets the face of any person she's close to. So the only way would probably be for her to completely isolate herself from people to get her original appearance back. Haha Ah, the dirty jokes… XD

geckogal077: I don't think fillers will be necessary since I'm pretty behind with the cannon story anyway. ^^' After Rocky Port, it's pretty much smooth cannon plot sailing afterwards. :D

Zod'a Quatique: Thankies! :D I really try to make my story as One Piece-like as I can (maybe just a bit more serious). And horror is my passion so I just have to write something scary nor and then. ;P

Yumi sawamura: Yep, she should. But she misunderstood him and thought that he didn't care about her katana and didn't believe her so she went to do everything by herself. Your also right about Mayumi just wanting to lure Miyako out by taking her sword, so they didn't have many options since they needed to find her fast. Well the doors are designed to stand a lot of water pressure in such cases, but yeah, that would be very inconvenient. ^^' haha That might work to, though I think the real Miyako would definitively try to run away at that moment. XD

NightStar85: haha It's funny because it's true. ;) No problem, have fun! :D Yeah, she might have played Miyako's personality for some time but would probably be discovered soon. But by then, they would sail away and Miyako would be left for dead in a well. :O

ThexWhitexPhoenix: Hey, that's what remakes are for. ;) Reading my first chapters now, I'm totally unsatisfied and they're also bad grammar and story wise. But it'll all about improving! So you have nothing to compare or worry about!

ScarlettStained: Thanks ^^ and it was chapter 34. Also Law's and Miyako's first unofficial kiss. :)

xXLovelyAnimeLoverXx: Wow thank you, but I think there are definitively even better fanfiction writers than my out there. Still, I feel flattered. ^^

Memarvo: Rather than Franky's perverted face, I think she would be more freaked out by Sanji. XD

JustChan: Though I think Miyako's character development as a warrior and a person is still fine, you're right about the romance part of her personality (does that make sense, or only to me?). Anyway, yes, I'll have to work on it, but truthfully it was because I am more focused on getting the plot right and on the cannon track so it's hard to think about their romantic involvement right now and do their usual dance. As I said, I need to focus on the storyline right now, since this is primarily an adventure story. (I think I understand why Oda-sensei said he won't add romance relationships to One Piece :3) But this time Miyako was so rattled because of Mayumi and everyone taking her side, she misunderstood because it sounded like Law just thought getting back the katana was too troublesome and didn't believe her about Mayumi. So she thought she needed to act on her own cause nobody would listen to her and helped her. At least that was my idea to make it look that way. ^^' Also, I'm deliberately making Law more human-like cause he's being more human-like in the manga too (and I love how Law is like when he's with the Straw Hats, even more than the cold cool Law. :D)