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

61. Chapter 61

'I don't like you! by BloodyMarryMe

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters. All of One Piece belongs to Oda-sensei. I do own the OC Suzune Miyako. This story is rated T for blood, violence, language and suggestive themes.

---

Hello guys! I finished another chapter, but sorry that it's a bit shorter. Or at least I feel like it's shorter. In any case, thank you everyone for reading and I hope you will enjoy the new chapter! Have fun!

Also thank you for all the wonderful comments and reviews as always! You guys are the best! :D

---

CHAPTER 61

Miyako jumped high in the air, avoiding a sabre aiming for her head. Just as her attacker, one of Caesar's rogues, swung forward, she jumped and landed on his head, making the man lose balance and fall down face first into the snow. She used his head as a leaping spot to propel even higher, raising her katana in the process and bringing it down on a marine, who she slashed right across his chest. She ignored the blood that spurted from the wound and onto her cheek as she crouched immediately to avoid a stray bullet going her way. She raised her head to see where the shot had come from, her acute eyes locking on another marine who was aiming his rifle at her again. Their eyes met in a glare and the man visibly gulped before bringing his rifle up to his eyes to aim at her again. Miyako shot into action immediately, running towards the marine. She made a sharp right turn to dodge another bullet before running forward in a zigzag pattern to avoid the incoming deathly projectiles aimed at her. She slashed with her katana horizontally in front of her, splitting both the rifle and the hand which held it. Before the man had time to even scream in pain, the metal blade glistened in the winter sun and fell down onto him again, cutting him down before the samurai.

"Suuuupeeeer!" She could hear a loud voice overpowering the sounds of battle as her new companions fought alongside her.

Franky the cyborg was mauling everything in his way, while Nico Robin stayed away from close combat yet still managed to deal enough damage with her hana hana devil fruit. Luffy was a force of his own as he used his rubber legs to create a large whip and knock all the enemies down, just before jumping into the air and destroying even the ground itself with an attack of consecutive punches that were so fast, it looked like he grew a few dozen arms more. Miyako saw different kinds of devil fruits on her journey, but she was still fascinated by the sheer stretchiness of his limbs as if he was completely boneless.

Just as the samurai girl thought of that, she blinked in surprise and jumped high in the air to avoid Luffy's attack "whip" where he almost knocked her to the ground with the rest of the enemies. She clicked her tongue at the young pirate captain; when she was fighting alongside her nakama of the Heart Pirates, she never had to be careful of them hitting her with their attacks since everybody had perfect team work and a good sense of their surroundings. However, it seemed this boy didn't mind his environment at all, as he simply let loose on the battlefield, focused only on the foes before him. Even so, the rest of his nakama didn't appear to be disturbed by that fact as they acted accordingly, never getting in his way during a fight nor getting accidentally hit by him. That was also a kind of team work even if it was completely different from the one the Heart Pirates shared.

Yet for Miyako, being one of the Heart Pirates, it wasn't as easy to act in accordance with Luffy, so she had to keep an eye on both the enemy and him while fighting on the battleground. "Oy, Luffy-san, watch where you stretch," she exclaimed after a particularly close encounter with his foot that stomped the ground, sending the snow flying in whirls, while the rest of his body was high in the air.

"Ah! Sorry about that," he yelled back before his legs retracted and he landed back down onto a large heap of men already beaten by Franky. A painful grunt came from somewhere below the pirate boy as he stood on them, but Luffy simply ignored it and searched around the area with his gaze. "Ok, so where's that master guy," he asked none in particular, resting his hands on his hips and grinning widely with satisfaction.

"Well he wouldn't be outside, now would he?" Robin smirked at her simpleton of a captain, but her tone stayed rather endearing even then.

Miyako nodded shortly before hitting another ex-prisoner in the gut with the hilt of her katana, making him fall beneath her feet, unconscious. "Indeed. He's inside the facility, where we should go too." She avoided a knife that a marine slashed at her and blocked the bad-quality sword he held in his other hand, before kicking the man into the chest with her foot and sending his flying to the ground. "He's probably in his laboratory. Come on, I'll take you there!" She called out to them, ready to move on and into the research facility. *Monet must be with him too…I'll need to take my heart and also Law's, which I fear won't be that easy with that harpy there.*

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted by a deep voice that echoed through the wind. "Strawhat!" A loud shriek came from the battlefield, and the pirates turned just in time to dodge an incoming attack of a katana.

Miyako blinked when she saw a large white-haired man wielding a katana, just before her golden eyes widened in realization. *Wait! That face…isn't that White Hunter Smoker!? I didn't know he was a swordsman,* she watched as the large man charged at Luffy and her suspicions about his identity were confirmed when his arm turned into smoke and he tried to pierce the pirate captain with the sword. However, it took exactly one move for Strawhat to beat and subdue him, leaving Miyako rather disappointed. She couldn't really hear what they were saying from there, but it seemed the White Hunter was no match for the captain. *How can that guy be so weak and be a vice admiral? Still, the woman with the jutte is pretty good,* a glint of interest appeared in her orbs when she saw the irate-looking woman attack Luffy in an array of piercing thrusts with her weapon. Unlike with the White Hunter, Luffy seemed to have a more serious time dealing with the woman as the grin left his face momentarily.

A hand on her shoulder brought Miyako back from focusing on the show and she gazed behind her to stare back into a pair of deep blue eyes belonging to Nico Robin. The archeologist of the Straw Hat pirates had a serious expression on her face now. "We should get going before they swarm us. We shouldn't let them take more of our time since Chopper and Law will be waiting inside," she warned the samurai.

Miyako nodded in agreement, but sighed when she glanced back at Luffy still fighting. "I agree, but you might tell that to your captain. It looks like he's having too much fun out here," she smirked, watching Strawhat jump around while fighting.

"Get 'em, Luffy!" Another voice shouted loudly and both Robin and Miyako glanced towards the direction of it, only to see Franky watching Luffy's fight and cheering with his fists in the air as if enjoying a match between two warriors in an arena. Miyako sweatdropped, "That guy's also enjoying this too much…" She sighed when she heard Robin chuckle in amusement next to her.

"Our captain has a special way of doing things…you'll get used to it soon enough," the archeologist responded with a small smile still lingering on her lips.

The samurai only smirked in return, knitting her eyebrows in slight worry. "That's what I'm worried about," she half-joked.

A loud explosion rattled them all just as Luffy returned back to their group. They turned to see Franky aiming his right arm towards the facility's metal gates.

"Everyone, I broke down the doors with my laser! Let's storm this place!" He yelled at the group, beckoning them over so they would finally move on to the inside.

However, it seemed one distraction came after the other, all intending to slow the pirate group down in their plans. Just as they were about to get going, Miyako heard a fearful shout behind her and her eyes darter briefly in that direction. Yet it was enough for her to stop in her tracks and gape at the sight, tugging unconsciously on Luffy's arm to get his attention. "Look!" She exclaimed, pointing at the large dark pink mass that was dripping from the sail of the ship now. Just then, another came splashing down directly from the sky, revealing a gooey piece of slime that spread onto the snow blanket below.

"Wow! What is that!?" Franky exclaimed in both surprise and disgust at the sight.

"There's more falling down! Don't go near it!" Robin warned in a yell to her friend. She didn't have any idea what it could be just like all the others, but her keen instincts were telling her to stay away from it.

"Miyako, you know what this is!?" Luffy titled his head and furrowed his brows in interest.

The girl could only shake her head, though. "No...I've never seen it before," she, like everybody else, was wary of the strange slime, not wanting to touch it.

"There's poisonous gas! No! Don't go near it!" Voices of marines echoed through the area as everyone stopped fighting suddenly and simply observed this strange situation. They were now observing a terrifying scene of one marine, who fell into the pinkish slime while trying to push it, and was now rolling on the floor in agony as the toxic substance started burning his skin.

"Ugh, you were right, Robin-san. Whatever this is, just touching it is dangerous," Miyako gulped, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her temple. She had a bad feeling about this as her gut told her something very bad was about to happen. Her predictions proved correct when everyone noticed the slime pieces started to move around, combining together in one larger whole.

"Let's burn it!" A loud suggestion came from the marine ship near the coast, just before a few marines set the peculiar mass on fire. A moment of celebration came as it started to burn, but the moment ended just as fast when a large explosion blew up the entire ship, igniting it in flames.

Miyako's eyes widened as they glistened in the light of the explosion and burning fire. "Poisonous gas that comes out of it, toxic substance that can't even be touched, and it even explodes…what is this," she muttered in a barely audible tone while staring at the scene along with everyone else.

Suddenly, the whole battlefield fell silent as marines, Caesar's henchmen and the pirate group all shared a moment of utter shock, unable to move or tear away their gaze from the sight of the burning ship. Everyone forgot about their animosity towards each other, their plans and even the cold wind and snow still blowing in their faces.

Miyako managed to get her mind on the right track, realizing she was getting along with the pace, which was dangerous in this situation. *We have to move quickly and find shelter. We need to get into the facility right now!* She turned to Robin who shared the same silent look with the samurai girl, knowing what Miyako was trying to tell her. The archeologist must have thought of the same thing.

"Sholololo…Good boy! I'm sorry I kept you locked up for three years…" An already overly familiar voice reached Miyako's ears and it didn't even take her a second to recognize it. Something completely unexpected happened as their target came to them instead. Yet Miyako didn't see that as a good sign, considering she knew Caesar would only come out to meet his enemies straight on if he had some devious plan hatching.

"So it's you after all…you're Caesar, aren't you!" The woman with the jutte glared at the man standing on top of a large remnant of a marine ship, which was curiously split as if cut in two.

"You! Are you master!?" Luffy yelled just as loudly, angrily staring up at the logia scientist.

Miyako stayed quiet and unmoving, but her every muscle was stiff with anticipation and she was prepared to jump at any dubious move the scientist makes. Her steely gaze stayed trained on the logia, watching as the man grinned with his purple lips, trailing his gaze across all the people standing there.

"Indeed, I am! Shololo! Marine G-5, Pirate Strawhat Luffy and…" His gaze stopped on the young samurai girl glaring up at him. Instead of looking surprised, his grin just widened as he watched her. "Suzune…How strange to see you here," his tone dripped heavy with sarcasm, while his expression stayed smug. "So you have betrayed us," he spoke matter-of-factly as if already aware of this fact a long time ago.

Miyako didn't appreciate the confident grin on his face; she wanted to wipe it right away from that ugly snout. It made her nervous, filing her with doubt as Caesar kept looking at her like he knew something she didn't. She willed herself to calm down and think rationally, assuring herself that everything was still going according to Law's plan. *It's fine…this is still alright. It actually makes things easier that Caesar is here. This way Chopper-san and Law can find the cure in the facility without having to worry about Caesar while we deal with him here. This just saves us time of having to search for him. He's outnumbered here too,* she rationalized the situation, but her eyes kept wandering towards the strange, suspicious slime mass that was slowly gathering around them. If only that thing wasn't here…

She hardened her gaze as she kept her focus on Caesar. "I don't know if it counts as betrayal…since we never had any intention of going along with you from the beginning," she taunted him with her words and a small frown appeared on the logia's face. Still, it didn't last long as the man got an idea and the thought of it returned his good mood once again.

"Just wait a bit longer…he's not good with water so he's tossing his parts from one part of the island to the other," Caesar started talking again, though nobody really understood the meaning behind his word. Yet just looking at his devious grin, they could tell it was something ominous. "I'll give you all a taste of what happened here 4 years ago!" The scientist finally shrieked, laughing in his high-pitched voice.

Miyako paled at the thought. The only thing she knew about that happened 4 years ago was a grand explosion that laid waste and ruin to the whole island. "Don't tell me, something like that again…" She whispered in an exhale, but never got to finish that thought as she was once again surprised by the Strawhat pirate.

Luffy shot up into the air, jumping high enough to reach even the logia, and enveloped his arms around the man's waist. For most people it would be impossible to grab at the gas gas man, but Luffy didn't have any problems with it as he used his haki to clutch at the logia. "Gotcha!"

"Whaaat!?" Even Caesar Clown looked surprised as he was not only interrupted during his speech, but also caught so easily by the pirate boy.

"Whaaa!?" The rest of the audience had the same reaction of bewilderment as they watched Luffy grab onto the scientist with both hands.

Even Miyako had to get over her shock as she realized Luffy didn't care about even one word the scientist said just now when the logia kept threatening them. *He doesn't care at all!* It was both shocking and amusing at the same time, making her expression a comical mixture of astonishment and delight.

"Don't let him go Luffy! Bring him down!" She grinned when she finally got over her puzzlement, shouting to the boy.

"Dammit Strawhat, get away from Master!" Some of Caesar's men aimed their rifles at the pirate captain, ready to fire and get the pirate off of their boss.

"Like I'll let you!" However, Miyako was in front of them in an instant, unsheathing her katana once again in a flash and slashing towards them. The whole movement was so quick it appeared as only one slash, but in reality she sliced the air a few times in a row. In the next instant, all the rifles fell onto the ground in neatly cut pieces, separating into unusable wood and metal.

"Eeek!" One of the men stumbled backwards and tripped over himself, falling onto his behind as he stared up at the samurai girl in fear. She kept a sharp gaze on them, one that clearly said she will not show mercy to anyone who tries to act against Strawhat.

"D-damn you, Suzune! You traitor! You were one of us!" One of them spat back at her, yelling at her in a shaky voice filled with dread.

The girl slowly moved her cold gaze from the man on the ground to the one who dared to speak even as his legs were shaking like leaves on a windy day. The girl observed him, remembering she saw that man before in the research facility.

"Ha! Those kids are here only for the experiments! I don't even know why we have to pretend to care about them and treat them nicely! We should just lock them all up and use them as we please! Bwahahaha!"

Miyako rememberedthe man as he would often talk like that in front of his other nakama and they would all have a good laugh on the children's expense. The children that were slowly dying from Caesar's experiments. The girl's gaze grew even colder, making the man before her shut his mouth immediately and gulp loudly instead.

"No, I was never one of you." Her tone alone was enough to cut him down. Still holding her katana clutched in her hand, the woman turned her back on the men and walked away to observe Luffy's next move again.

However, it seemed Strawhat was having more trouble with the scientist logia than he originally expected. Miyako bit her lip at the sight, seeing Caesar just tried to suffocat and poison the pirate boy. Instead Luffy just sucked all the gas in, letting it out through his ears like some comical chimney in a children's story. *You shouldn't underestimate him Luffy-san,* the girl exhaled in relief when she saw the boy was miraculously alright after all, but it didn't ease her worries. *Even I don't know all of Caesar's moves…Who knows what he's hiding up his sleeve.*

"Gastanet!" Just then a large explosion blinded them all and knocked them onto the ground with the sudden blast of hot air. It sent shivers down Miyako's spine as she heard Caesar's loud laugh through it all.

"Luffy-san!" She yelled into the air, unable to see anything. She shielded her eyes with her hand, squinting to try and get a visual only to notice a limp Luffy falling through the air. The slime masses from all around started sticking to his body and the samurai could hear his nakama yelling for their captain in worry, just before an even stronger explosion occurred.

"Oh no…" Miyako winced at the sight, thinking no one could stay conscious or even survive such a blast. Yet the strawhat boy proved her wrong once more as he appeared to be alive and well, giving Caesar another kick with his leg.

"I've got you this time!" The cheerful boy grinned, grabbing onto the logia like a parasite, not letting go no matter what. If nothing, his determination was surely admirable.

Robin and Franky ignored the objections coming from the master's henchmen and the righteous warnings of the marines, who only thought to arrest them now that Caesar was already defeated. Instead they kept looking for chains, or a barrel; anything to stuff the logia in and keep him there.

Miyako had another idea, though. "For now, let's make sure he's unconscious and harmless first," she suggested and clutched her katana as she ran forward towards the large ship Luffy and Caesar were standing on. In a few quick strides she reached the bottom of the stern, jumping high in the air and landing on a small opening for cannons before leaping off it and onto a wooden board that stuck out off the ship. Jumping from one place to the other, she soon found herself standing on the smooth, wooden top as the stern was upside down. "Hold him just like that Luffy-san, and I'll make sure he's down and out cold," she exclaimed while running towards the pair while reversing her katana so that the blunt edge was facing upwards. She wasn't supposed to kill Caesar after all, since that would mess up their plans, but one good hit on the head with the blunt side should assure that he won't be causing any trouble anytime soon.

As Miyako ran towards the logia scientist and the pirate captain she suddenly felt something wasn't right. Her eyebrow twitched and her eyes narrowed, as she faltered in her step. As if on cue, the pirate boy before her stumbled to the side before he started coughing loudly. The girl's first thought was that Caesar somehow managed to poison him, even though Luffy seemed impervious to the logia's poison gas before. Whatever it was, it made Strawhat lose consciousness and fall to the ground, leaving Caesar to loom ominously over his limp body with a gloating expression.

"Luffy-san!" Miyako ignored Caesar's menacing laugh, along with surprised and worried gasps and yelps she could hear down below from the spectators. She gripped her katana and charged at Caesar, determined to bring him down while he was still preoccupied with his rant about underestimating him. She really didn't care about the words spouting out of this guy's mouth; she just wanted to end this as soon as possible before it became any messier. "Don't be so smug yet," she exclaimed and jumped in the air behind Caesar, ready to strike him down. He was still standing with his back turned to her, laughing loudly, while his gas enveloped him like a dangerous cloud of transparent smoke.

Just as the samurai was about to strike, the logia turned around with one gloved hand pointed straight at her. She didn't understand what he was doing since he was still well away from her to even be able to reach, yet his expression showed no worry as he still had that devious grin on his lips. That's when Miyako felt constricting tightness in her chest, making her eyebrows furrow in confusion and pain. She felt like air in her lungs was rapidly decreasing, making her whole body grow weak. It didn't take long before her lungs felt as if they would burst and the pain made her fall down on the ground, letting go of her katana in the process. She gasped with eyes wide open, trying to get some air in her lungs, but no oxygen ever came. She rolled on her back, clutching at her lungs as if that would somehow ease the pain of chocking that she was currently experiencing. Her lids became heavy as the pain and breathlessness caused tears to reflexively spill from her hazy eyes. She could feel her vision getting blurry as she started falling in and out of consciousness.

"You shouldn't have betrayed us…now both you and Law will know the consequences of what happens when you go against Joker. Shololololo!"

Caesar's words sounded fuzzy in her ears, but she was still able to hear his triumphant warning just before everything went black.

Caesar Clown grinned at the two pirates beneath his feet, both so easily defeating by his little skill. They didn't expect it would be so easy for him to simply take away the oxygen from their lungs and air surrounding them, rendering them completely helpless. "Don't underestimate the gas gas fruit, you fools. Shololo," he laughed and hovered over to the traitorous samurai girl, grabbing her wrist and pulling her up in the air. She dangled before him like a lifeless corpse, her eyes still close and the face deathly pale. She was still breathing since his attacked stopped, but wasn't waking up at all. Caesar mulled over the possibility of killing them all then and there, but then an idea popped into his twisted mind and the man grinned widely. A glint in his eye testified that it was surely something insidious. "I know exactly what I'll do with you lot," he started when suddenly a rocket zoomed right into him, creating a large hole in his abdomen. However, the scientist didn't look affected by the sudden attack at all. "Hmm?" Rather, he hummed lazily in question and gazed into the direction the rocket came from, narrowing his eyes when he saw the attacker.

Two of the Strawhat pirates were still alive and well, glaring at him from bellow. He recognized them immediately; Nico Robin, the Devil Child as the World Government titled her, and Cyborg Franky who strangely had some abilities similar to Vegapunk's pacifista. Just the thought of the other scientist's name made Caesar's stomach churn in hatred, wanting even more to see the cyborg in pieces because of it. The said pirate was aiming his hand at Caesar, probably ready to fire yet another rocket, but the logia already knew it was pointless. Without haki, there was no way they could beat his gas abilities. The scientist grinned and hovered down from the large part of the ship, finally standing in front of them. As he did, his henchmen cheered in unison.

"Maaasteer! We're so glad you're here!"

"You'e amazing, master!"

"Beat them all up, master!"

Caesar Clown ignored his subordinates, finding their cheers as annoying as a constant buzzing of a fly. *Tch, useless scum. If you had done your job properly and beat them, I wouldn't have had to come and waste my time here with these people.* He refrained from saying that, and instead gave the yellow suits and ex-prisoners a kind smile. "Don't worry, men, I'm here to help you," he lied, feeling absolutely no obligation to save any of them. Yet they cheered even louder at his simple words, eating it all right up. Fools, all of them.

"Oy, you master or whatever! What have you done with Luffy and Miyako!?" Franky yelled out accusingly, still pointing his palm at the scientist.

"Shololo…what I'll do to all of you. You'll see soon enough," the logia answered, narrowing his eyes in evil delight while he grinned at his enemies.

"Dos Fleur: Clutch!" Unlike the rest, Robin wasted no time to send her attack, not wanting to get carried away in Caesar's pace any longer. Things were starting to get too dangerous and she wanted to act quickly. She crossed her arms before her chest, closing her eyes to concentrate. As a result, two arms grew on the side of Caesar's body, taking the logia off guard.

"What?" Even Caesar seemed confused for a second, when the arms suddenly grabbed him, making his eyes go wide. As Robin finished her attack, the two arms pulled Caesar's upper body down until his body was in an unnatural position. Surely his spine should break from the force, but that did not happen. Instead, the man turned into thick gas and dissolved for a while.

"It's no use…we can't do anything without haki," the archeologist commented in slight panic, knowing full well Franky and her won't be enough to defeat him. She glanced back at the marines, seeing White Hunter in the body of his marine captain and Tashigi in Smoker's body. They could both use haki and Smoker was wielding his jutte which was made out of sea stone. With the two of them, perhaps it was possible to bring Caesar down. Should they momentarily combine forces with them? It seemed to be their only chance now.

"Robin, look out!" Franky's voice brought the woman back to reality just in time for her to take note of the scene happening right in front of her eyes. The gas that was temporarily dissolved into the air was slowly gathering back into one large form, right before her. The form was soon shaping into the grinning face of a logia scientist and the rest of Caesar's body. Robin tried to escape quickly, but it was too late…he got too close. She felt something was wrong when she couldn't catch her breath anymore and soon her chest started to burn in pain. In a last attempt to resist, the woman reached out towards the logia, trying to push him away, but it was too late. In an instant all oxygen left her body and there wasn't any in the area around her. She felt sluggish and wobbly, unable to stand anymore. It made her fall down onto her knees and then into the snow, as the pirate woman closed her eyes and lost consciousness.

"Robiiiin!" Franky shouted in both anger and worry, shooting bullets from his wrist at the logia so Caesar would move away from his nakama. However, the scientist didn't even bother to dodge. He just let the bullets fly through him, shooting some of the people behind him instead.

"Waaah! Watch where you're shooting, damn cyborg!" The G-5 yelled angrily as they had to jump around to avoid the bullets coming at them.

"Shut up! You guys should do something useful too!" Franky exclaimed back in annoyance since the marines were simply standing around and watching the show, while Caesar paraded right in front of them. Yet nobody seemed too keen to attack Caesar after seeing Luffy and the rest go down so easily; they still couldn't even figure out what did Caesar do exactly and nobody really wanted to find out on their own skin.

Franky, however, paid no heed to it as he continued attacking Caesar, trying to pummel him directly with his fists now. That was a wrong move though, as it only brought Caesar close enough to use his ability on Franky as well. It didn't take long before even the pirate cyborg was on the snowy ground, lying there unconscious from near suffocation.

Just as Franky fell down, leaving Caesar to laugh in that high pitched tone of his, the logia felt a strong hit at the back of his shoulder. "Guh!" He grunted and fell down, turning into gas and forming his body again to look at what hit him from behind. It was captain Tashigi, currently in the body of Smoker.

"Tashigi, you idiot!" The real Smoker shouted in anger that clouded the worry in his tone, when he saw his right hand attack the logia all by herself. It was true that Tashigi could use haki, but it was still fairly weak and she was currently in another's body, barely able to control the devil fruit powers in her. Going after Caesar Clown on her own was suicide.

The swordswoman ignored her superior officer, as she stared at the logia while clutching a katana in her hands. "Caesar Clown, you are under arrest! You will come with us!" The woman bravely stood before the scientist, even after she saw his mysterious ability that rendered four strong pirates useless in just a few moments.

A bead of sweat appeared on Caesar's forehead when he saw the White Hunter standing there ready for a fight, still not knowing that Trafalgar actually switched Tashigi's and Smoker's bodies. Nevertheless, the scientist had no intention of showing worry to the vice admiral even if he did find the marine rather troublesome to fight. "Shololo! Smoker…you already got defeated by Law, yet you dare to come after me. You think you can beat me?" He stalled for some time, rising in the air as his gas started moving even more quickly around him, seemingly thickening in volume. "You will end up just like the rest of them…haki or not!"

"We shall see about that," Tashigi rushed forward, swinging the katana, but just as she was about to hit Caesar who was trying to dodge with a worried glint in his eye, her leg suddenly became smoke and she fell forward into the snow and right in front of the scientist. "Kya," with a startled yelp the marine woman let go of her sword as she fell and tried to focus so her legs would return back to normal as now both of them turned to smoke during her panic.

Caesar grinned and reached for her, starting to draw the oxygen out of her breath. "You are weaker than I thought, Smoker. Shololo," he continued to suffocate the marine captain when he saw a flash of a weapon rushing towards him in high speed. With wide eyes, Caesar managed to jump out of the way and dodge just as the sea stone jutte ripped through the air towards his head.

A woman with a cigar in her mouth and a flower-patterned shirt stood between the confused Smoker and Caesar. The fake White Hunter was still on the ground, coughing and trying to regain his breath from Caesar's attack.

The real Smoker bit on his cigar in annoyance, never pulling his piercing stare off of the logia. "Dammit Tashigi, didn't I tell you not to lose with my body," he grumbled in anger, sending Caesar a burning glare with his eyes.

It was because of that gaze, the eyes of a wild dog ready to pounce on his prey, that Caesar realized who the woman standing before him was. "Smoker…the real Smoker. Law must've done something with his ope ope fruit…," the scientist muttered in realization. The sea stone jutte, which was Smoker's trade mark weapon, was just further proof of that fact.

Whether Smoker heard him or not, he didn't respond and instead leaped at the logia with his weapon in a piercing attack. Unlike Tashigi, even in a body of someone else, Smoker was still a force not to be reckoned with.

The gas logia gritted his teeth as he flew back to dodge the blow, only to almost receive another one coming from the side. It was hard since the vice admiral not only wielded a sea stone weapon, but also had haki to boot. It was hard for Caesar to even get close enough to use his abilities on him, and instead all he could do was dodge the attacks coming at him.

"Master! Don't lose!" Voices of his useless subordinates cheered him on.

*Instead of just standing there and cheering, why don't you help me out, idiot bastards!* The logia raged, wanting to suffocate his subordinates now, as well.

"Vice admiral Smoker, I'm coming to help," the voice of the marine woman came from somewhere behind them as she finally managed to get her body in control again. She rushed forward, wielding her katana again and this time almost cutting at Caesar throat with it.

"I told you to stay away Tashigi! Don't go near him!" Smoker yelled in frustration seeing that the woman was attacking the scientist again.

"Captain Tashigi-chan!" The G-5 marines exclaimed in panic, worried that the scene from before would repeat itself when she almost got killed by the Surgeon of Death.

Tashigi aimed for the logia's head, but as soon as he dodged she turned to deliver a strike at his side. The gas man dodged that one too, though barley, and the tip of her katana nicked him on the waist. Feeling slightly triumphant by the small injury, she carried on with her strikes, trying to deliver a piercing attack to his chest. However Caesar hovered to the side to avoid it, and she was just about to flow from this attack right into another, when he saw an opening and grabbed her neck.

"Gotchya!" The scientist laughed and started sucking out the air around them again and with dread Tashigi realized she indeed got too close.

However, once again the gas man was interrupted from his action by Smoker who leaped forward to deliver an attack and save his captain. With an annoyed click of his tongue, he lifted the woman up who was barely conscious now, and threw her right into Smoker.

The marine vice admiral cursed under his breath, but stopped the attack and caught his subordinate who crashed right into his chest. He had to stop running and slid backwards as she fell with her back on top of him, bringing them both down onto their backs and into the snow.

"'m sorry…Smoker-sa…," the woman mumbled half-awake, with her brows furrowed together in pain and her eyes closed.

"Tch, if you're sorry then don't be so reckless in the first place," the vice admiral muttered in annoyance, knowing full well she probably couldn't even hear him anymore. He was about to leave her on the side and get up to finish his fight, when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up in alarm. He felt a chill as a shadow loomed over behind them, creating a small shade over them both. Smoker's eyes widened in realization and he looked up and behind him to see Caesar's large form lingering over them. The marine tried to scramble back to his feet, leaving Tashigi on the snowy carpet, but he could already feel the air leaving his lungs rapidly. He gripped his jutte and swung towards Caesar, but it was no use as he couldn't reach the gas logia. Still, whatever Caesar was doing, he could do it perfectly well from where he was floating as he continued to suck the oxygen from Smoker's breath.

White Hunter glared daggers at the scientist, never losing eye contact even when he laid on the cold ground in agony. "B-bas…tard…," he managed to squeeze out with his last breath just before the blackness overtook him.

~…~

"Uhn…um…" Miyako mumbled as she finally started regaining consciousness, her brows furrowing at the headache pounding in her temples. Her golden eyes fluttered open as she started to move, only to realize that her upper body was constrained. Her eyes flew open as her gaze darted around the strange area made entirely of metal, realizing that she was chained and leaning against a wall.

"Ah, so you're finally awake," Franky's slightly nasal voice greeted her and she saw the large robot sitting next to her with his hands strapped behind his back much like hers.

"Are you feeling alright, Miyako-chan," Robin's voice came from her other side, and she saw the raven haired woman glancing at her with a serious expression.

"Yeah…I could do without the blasted headache, though," she sighed, trying to blink a few times as if that would help send it away.

She looked around the room, realizing they were in some kind of cage, in a large metal room which was most likely the inside of the research facility. Well at least they got inside like they intended…though not quite in the way they planned it. She could see Monet there, talking to a tall man she couldn't recognize. He had a serious, strict expression hidden behind a pair of shades, but the most peculiar thing was the piece of hamburger meat stuck to his cheek. How did it even stay there?

Looking around the large cage, she noted Robin and Franky weren't the only ones inside with her. Luffy was there, together with the two marines, Smoker and Tashigi, who she saw in front of the facility earlier. And the last person…

Miyako sighed and stared at the man with a disappointed expression, her eyes half-lidded. "Eh…so you got caught, huh," it was more of a statement than a question, considering their current situation.

Law's eyebrow twitched in annoyance at her words as he bit back in his usual calm demeanor, "I don't want to hear that from you." Trafalgar was sitting next to Strawhat, with his upper body chained and his hatted head leaning against the cold wall. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but there was nothing any of them could do about that right now.

"Yeah…we kinda got surprised by Caesar and got caught. Total failure," Miyako mumbled in a mixture of frustration and resignation. "Sorry?" She smiled at her captain sheepishly, with a drop of sweat on her brow.

Law sighed at the sight, closing his eyes for a while. "It can't be helped now, it's too late to change what happened anyway. Besides...I was taken off guard as well. They were on to us…Monet led me into a trap." His gaze suddenly traveled to the mysterious man sitting on a sofa next to Monet. "Some things happened that even I couldn't predict…It was out of my calculation," he muttered with an unreadable expression, leaving Miyako to wonder what her captain was thinking about at the moment.

"Hn, so you are Suzune, Burning-Eyed Miyako, a pirate from Wanokuni," a discontented voice came near the samurai girl. "This is my first time meeting you in person," the person continued.

Miyako turned in interest to see who was addressing her, only to notice two eyes piercing her behind a pair of thick glasses. The woman had dark hair and a loose shirt, shamefully opened in the front. Only one small button was keeping it together and holding everything from falling right out. The woman had a marine white coat, showing the symbol of the captain's rank. "And you are…" Miyako started, staring right back at the woman with a blank expression. Then her eyebrows fell downwards as she gave the harsh woman a comical stare, "Actually I have no idea who you are," she admitted.

"I'm Smoker! And I'm the man who will bring both of your pirate crews down," the woman shouted in annoyance as if this misunderstanding was happening to her all day.

Miyako tilted her head in puzzlement, glancing from the white-haired man on the floor and to the woman glaring at her silently. A few seconds later she grasped the situation and turned to stare at Law with a sweat drop. "Again!?" The Dark Doctor must've used his powers just like on the Strawhats and switched the two marine's bodies.

Trafalgar only gave her an acknowledging smirk in return as if he was silently proud of his work.

"Shihihi, but at least we're all together again," Luffy laughed, as if completely ignoring the situation they were in.

"This isn't some kind of ending to a children's tale," Miyako exclaimed after hearing his profession. "Being together only means we'll all die together if we stay here," she noted.

"Hmm…but this is sort of nostalgic isn't it…having you two in the same cage," Robin chuckled as she glanced between Luffy and the real Smoker.

"That's right!" The captain of the Strawhats smiled as if suddenly remembering something. "There was that time when Smokey and me were caught by you guys in Alabasta," the boy noted.

Miyako snorted in amusement and stole a glance at the vice admiral. "Smokey?" She repeated the nickname in a snide tone, not even trying to hide her devious glee.

A vain visibly popped up on the woman's forehead as Smoker glared at the pirates next to him. "You guys shut up!"

The samurai girl turned her attention from the raging marine back to the only person in the room that she couldn't recognize. "Well more importantly…who's that guy," she nodded in the direction of a tall man with a buzz cut, who finally threw away the hamburger from his face.

"That's Vergo, a vice admiral of the Navy and the head of G-5 marines…or at least he was, before the bastard betrayed us. All those missing children reports that we were getting…he was all behind it, knowing full well that the kids were actually being kidnapped yet he covered it all up," Smoker explained with a bitter tone that clearly showed his disgust.

"No…It's not like Vergo has actually betrayed the marines," Law interrupted, adding to the conversation.

Miyako's eyes darted towards her captain in slight wonder. "Law…you know that guy too?"

Law gave her a curt nod before continuing. "He used to be a pirate, but before he made a name for himself he joined the marines by Joker's orders," he explained. "In 15 years of time he climbed the ranks, but Vergo was always a part of Joker's crew. There's no marine officer more convenient and trustworthy to Joker than him." There was no emotion as Law talked, even when his eyes met the clouded ones of the said man, Vergo.

Miyako stayed curiously quiet, even as Smoker continued their conversation, berating himself for not figuring it all out sooner. She knew full well that Law had a deep relationship with Joker, also known as Doflamingo, but didn't know how much she could say in front of the others. She didn't want to reveal anything, which would later cause trouble for Law.

She could hear Vergo's cold voice responding now, telling them they will all die while he'll make it look like an accident. Well it wasn't that startling, really. She knew that they risked death if they were caught by Caesar, though she had no intention of giving up yet. Right now, a bunch of dangerous pirates from which two were pirate captains of the Worst Generation, along with an infamous vice admiral, were all together in one cage. If they all couldn't get out of this prison, then no one could.

"Hey, Torao…who's this Joker guy you mentioned?" Luffy cramped his neck to look at the other pirate captain beside him.

Miyako's eyes darted towards her captain, focusing on Law with interest. Will Law truly reveal Joker's identity in front of the others?

Trafalgar, however, didn't skip a beat nor bat an eye at this, still keeping all his focus on Vergo in front of him, giving the other man a dark look. "In the past I was also Joker's subordinate…that's why I know. Joker is an alias he uses as an underground broker, but his real identity is known all over the world. One of the seven Shichibukai…Donquixote Doflamingo!" Trafalgar stated in a stern tone, making everything else in the room go eerily quiet.

The samurai girl's eyes widened as she was a bit surprised by the fact Law decided to reveal that fact so easily. Then again, perhaps letting the marines know about this isn't so bad as it would certainly cause trouble for Doflamingo if the word came out. Was that why Trafalgar decided to tell? By the stare he was exchanging with Vergo it almost seemed as Law decided to tell the truth just to spite the other man in the room.

The person currently in Smoker's body gasped and even White Hunter looked startled by the new information. The Strawhats appeared calmer, but Miyako noticed they all had a sharp glint in their eye as they were certainly thinking of the fact they just heard.

Meanwhile, as the talk went on, the samurai girl continued to fidget with her hands behind her back, careful not to draw any attention to herself. She kept twisting her wrists, making them sore and bloody with friction already, but the blood only helped to make her hands slip out of the chains. She wasn't quite done yet as her shoulders swayed left and right with her every move of the arms, but little by little, she was slithering out of the tight binds. She had to momentarily stop when Caesar came back and hovered towards the cage with that smug smirk of his, taunting Law and the rest.

"You couldn't do anything to Vergo, could you, Law? After all, that contract with you proved very useful. Shololo!" The scientist laughed, giving Trafalgar a knowing stare while grinning.

*Don't tell me…They used Law's heart to beat him? That's right, Monet still has my heart too, which means I can't even get close to her. She could kill me at any moment with one squeeze of her hand,* Miyako cursed as she remembered the certain predicament both her and Law were in. Even if they got out of here, they couldn't do much without getting their hearts back first.

"This Vergo guy has your heart now?" Miyako whispered to Law with a bead of sweat on her brow.

The pirate captain sighed. "Yes, most likely...that's how they got me. I'll deal with that though, and I'll leave Monet to you," he murmured back so the others couldn't hear.

The samurai smirked. "It would be my pleasure. But we can't do much if we don't get out of here first," she sighed.

Now it was the surgeon's time to smirk. "Leave that to me."

Their little conversation was interrupted with Caesar's high voice as he still continued to taunt Law. "You should never trust people. You deserved what you got. I'm sure you've understood by now that Vergo has your heart!"

As if to prove this fact, the man names Vergo pulled out a blue cube from his long coat and gave it a light squeeze. Even that was enough to send Trafalgar into pure agony as he cried out, feeling the numbing pain in his chest where his heart should be.

"Law!" Miyako yelped, sitting up in panic, but was unable to help him from her position. Her hands were still not completely loose from the chains.

"Even you couldn't realize that Monet was following you while transformed into something else. It's a real pity Law…we could've been good friends," Caesar continued mockingly.

Even while in pain and panting to catch his breath again, Law gave the logia a mocking smirk in return. "You were saved by a skilled secretary…I should've been warier of her, but I underestimated her because of her master's stupidity," the pirate answered in a taunt, determined not to show any weakness in front of his enemies. Even if he was brought to his knees from the pain, his mind wouldn't succumb to this fool before him. He was delighted with the reaction he got from Caesar as the logia lost his words to respond for a moment, beaten at his own taunts.

The glee didn't last long though, as the scientist bashed his fist into Law's heart. "Mind your words, brat!" He shrieked in annoyance.

"Stop it!" This time it was Miyako who yelled out, losing her cool momentarily as she saw her captain writhing in pain and Caesar enjoying himself way too much. He was just about to punch Law's heart again when he saw the glare she was aiming at him. There was a murderous aura around Miyako as she focused her deathly, cold gaze at Caesar, making him unconsciously stop his hand which was going for Law's heart. Logically, Caesar knew she couldn't just get out of the cage and leap at him while chained, but her sharp stare told a different story, as if that was exactly what she'll do if he moved an inch. Reflexively, the logia gulped loudly as cold sweat traveled down his face, his hand above Law's heart twitching lightly.

However, Miyako's expression paled and her eyebrows knitted in pain as she was brought back down to the cold floor. "Guh!" She grunted and squirmed like a worm, before finally curling her body in a ball.

"Miyako-chan, what's wrong?" Robin tried to get the girl's attention as her whole demeanor suddenly changed once again, this time into a limp body of pain.

"Fufufu, could you not glare at us so intensely, Suzune-kun? It's rather scary," a voice dripping with sarcasm rang out behind Caesar and Vergo, singing in amusement. Monet was slowly flying over with her large wings, the claws of her one leg slowly piercing into another cubed heart.

The samurai managed to look up at Monet, but was unable to respond due to the burning pain in her chest that made her breathless. *Dammit! First I lost to that bastard Caesar and now even Monet is looking down on me…I'm completely useless right now!* Miyako cursed her own situation, wondering how did all of this turn into such a complicated mess so fast. Then again, since Monet and Caesar already knew their plans, this was just a matter of time. In the end, the ones taken by surprise were her and Law, and Miyako hated that fact.

"They have your hearts?! How can you two even be alive!?" Luffy glanced back and forth between Law and Miyako, giving them both an astonished expression.

"It's…Law's ope ope fruit power," Miyako explained through her pants, managing to calm down now that the pain was gone.

"That's right, it's a troublesome power. Where's mine then?" Smoker grumbled, remembering that Law also took his heart away.

"It's riiight heeere, Smooo-" Caesar started tauntingly, ready to give it a nice clutch between his fingers, but Monet interrupted the man's fun.

"Master! Everything's ready," she called out for him.

"Something's on the large screen," Franky brought their attention to the sole screen projected by the den den mushi in the room.

"A giant candy?" Tashigi asked in confusion.

"And that slime we saw before…but this one is much bigger," Miyako noted, looking at the pinkish giant mass of goo on the screen.

"Smiley! It tried to kill this island 4 years ago. A poisonous bomb made of H2S gas," Caesar exclaimed in a proud voice. And now, giving that Smiley a special bait will finally turn it into a weapon of mass destruction! Today a new weapon will be born and its name is Shinokuni!"

"This blob of slime is a weapon of mass destruction?" Miyako scrunched her nose in disgust while just looking at it via den den mushi.

They all watched in silence as the scene unveiled before their eyes, as the giant creature turned into smoke…into poisonous gas. People were screaming and running for their lives, but a few unfortunate souls weren't fast enough. As the gas enveloped them, it solidified their bodies, turning them into sad sculptures that were a testament of something horrible happening on Punk Hazard.

"Aah! Look, it's Zoro and the others! The smoke is chasing after them!" Luffy exclaimed and everyone focused their eyes to see a few small figures running wildly before the smoke.

"What are they doing there!? And why are they running like that?" Franky tilted his head in question at the bizzare sight.

"Ah, samurai-san's body is complete," Robin commented.

"So he made it, huh?" Miyako added with a frown on her face. Seeing Kin'emon again made her think of Momonosuke and how she still needed to find the Wano boy as well.

"You're right! I wonder if I can get his legs- Ah! Hey, Robin, there's no time for that," Luffy reprimanded his nakama even though he was the one speaking most nonsense out of all of them. "Heeey! Run away from there, the smoke's dangero- ugh! *cough cough* Stupid…sea stone…" His energy was drained even faster by the kairoseki chains restraining him.

"They can't hear you, you know…" Law muttered with a deadpan expression.

Caesar floated over to the cage again, this time his attention on Strawhat. "Are they your friends, Straw Hat Luffy? Soon, they will run out of breath and get killed by the gas. It will spread everywhere, and no one will be left alive outside this facility! Sholololo! No one can stop it! Not even a vice admiral of the marines, or a pirate with a 400 million bounty, or even a Royal Shichibukai!"

While Caesar continued on with his speech, Miyako tirelessly kept twisting her wrists in her chains, slowly pulling her hands out of them. She didn't know that at the same time, one other person was already operating with his hands behind his back, even with the chains on.

Unlike the rest of them, Law's chains were completely ordinary and weren't made out of kairoseki. It seemed that even though Monet was quite tenacious, there were some things even she didn't know that happened inside the laboratory. She didn't know that about a month prior, Miyako had switched certain kairoseki chains with normal ones and Law knew exactly where each were. That's why he pretended to be unconscious when Caesar's men were dragging him towards the cage and pulling out the chains. While they weren't looking he used his abilities to switch the kairoseki ones intended for him with the normal ones that were just where he left them in room D when the whole explosion in the lab happened. He knew that little trick the two of them did a while back will come to good use sooner or later. As a result, he was only pretending to be drained out of energy now as he could freely use his powers without anyone suspecting anything. The first thing he did was warn Tanuki-ya, who he noticed with the corner of his eye hiding inside the laboratory, to simply wait and not do anything. After all, just as he said to Miyako before; he had this all under control and knew exactly what to do. True, Vergo was a miscalculation and so was Monet's trailing skills, but this plan was far from lost. In Law's mind, he was only waiting for a right opportunity to get started.

"Whoa, what's happening?!" Tashigi called out, bringing them all back to reality and their eyes off of the screen as the large cage started moving.

They were brought out of the facility by a crane, leaving them to hang above the ground in the open air. The cold wind blew hard in their faces up there, biting their skin and making the whole cage sway lightly.

"Caesar's leaving us here for that smoke monster," Miyako answered, looking down where the cries of the G-5 were coming from.

"We're in trouble! How do we get out of here!? I can't do anything with these kairoseki chains," Luffy started struggling, but lost his strength soon and sagged back down onto the ground.

"Hn...I wasn't expecting Vergo to show up, but we can't fail here Strawhat-ya!" Law focused all their attention onto himself. "We're making a counter attack."

"A counter attack?!" Everyone asked simultaneously with wonder in their eyes.

"Yeah…let's settle this," Trafalgar answered.

Miyako smirked as she saw his eyes. It was obvious from his expression that he already had a plan. "What do you have in mind?"

The pirate captain gazed around the cage. "Is anyone here able to burn things? Though it is fine, even if you can't."

"Franky can! He can also shoot beams! Can you burn these chains with your beam?" Luffy smiled excitedly at his fellow companion.

"I can only use Coup de Burst with my butt now," Franky explained.

*With his butt?* Miyako tilted her head in question as she frowned from that information in light disgust.

Law stared at the part of a marine battleship buried in the snow below them. "Can you burn that battleship in the lower right?"

"That's an easy one, niichan!" The pirate cyborg started taking large gulps of air into his lungs. "Frankyyy….Fireball!" He spat out a large ball of fire aimed right at the ship below. In a matter of seconds, the whole vessel burst into flames, creating a smoke screen that raised high in the air and enveloped the cage.

"Wow, that was pretty impressive," Miyako smiled, staring at the ship on fire. "And we got a nice smoke screen shielding us from the camera den den mushi," she added.

"Hehe, it's no big deal," Franky grinned with a proud glint in his eye.

"Focus, we're only getting started," Law warned them, returning their attention back on track.

"Right, right…actually, I'm almost done too," Miyako said while squirming from side to side in her chains again.

"Hm? Done with what?" Everybody blinked at her in questioning wonder. That's when she suddenly got lose and stood up, the chains falling off of her body, making a loud clacking noise. "Wha! You freed yourself!"

Miyako smiled slightly and showed them her red wrists that were bloodied a bit and sore from chafing. "For a price, though. I'll let you all loose too," she knelt beside Luffy to try and get his chains off when she heard Law hum with amusement beside her. She turned her head to look at him in confusion just before his chains simply came off as if they were only there for show.

"Wha?!" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Well then…" He started, rising an eyebrow at her in amusement.

Miyako paled as she suddenly felt like a complete fool. "You're telling me that I strained for nothing all this time…because you could've just easily release us at any time?" She winced at her own thought.

The captain smirked at her. "It's because you are always being impatient," he answered while standing up. With a flick of his fingers, his nodachi was safely back in his hand. With another flick, Miyako's own katana was in her hands as well.

"But how could you take off those kairoseki chains!?" Luffy watched Law with large, wondrous eyes.

"Mine were just regular chains, so I could easily melt them with my power. How many months do you think we spent here? We prepared quite a few normal chains, switching them with kairoseki ones in certain places so that I would know exactly where they were if I needed them," he explained, looking back at Miyako again.

She, on the other hand, wasn't paying any attention to anyone anymore as she continued to gleefully caress Yawarakai-Te against her cheek. "Yawarakai-Te, you're back! I promise never to lose you like that again," she sang happily, tying the katana back to her waist.

Trafalgar sighed at the sight, trying to ignore his samurai's weird attachment to her sword. Meanwhile, he used the tip of his sword and his powers to cut off the chains of the other pirates, freeing them all. Just as he freed Luffy, the boy was already on his feet and jumping around the cage. "Whoooaa! I'm free!"

"Don't yell, you idiot," the other captain muttered in a warning, feeling like he was constantly reprimanding a misbehaving child. He didn't want them to be heard while they were making their escape. He ignored the dark haired boy momentarily to deal with the two marines in their group, switching their bodies back to normal. "Now…what should I do with you? You already know too much," he taunted them, wondering what their reactions would be. He pondered if they would beg for their lives.

The woman shrilled in embarrassment before falling to the ground in a fetal position, an attempt to hide her exposed self from view. "P-please take off the chains…I'll do anything," she pleaded.

Law raised an eyebrow. He didn't really expect it to be so easy. On the other hand, Smoker just glared at him, prepared for anything and reprimanding the woman, but that stubborn side was to be expected from the vice admiral.

"Now we need to live, even if we have to bow down! If we die, our men will be killed too! Admiral Vergo will just be able to act as he pleases in the Navy and the children will be left here to suffer! We can't let them all down! It is our responsibility to live on and help them get off this island and bring Caesar Clown and Vergo-san down!"

"Hmm, I like her determination. She's quite right," Miyako noted with a smirk, walking over to stand beside Law. Smoker and Tashigi couldn't hear her as they were still in the middle of an argument, but Law gave her a quick glance before stepping forward to stop the argument.

"The woman is smarter, White Hunter-ya. Well I'll let you live…if we make a deal," the Surgeon of Death gave the two a dark grin, knowing full well that they couldn't refuse.

~…~

"Are you sure it'll be alright? How do you know they'll keep their part of the deal?" Miyako asked her captain beside her just before she kicked one of the yellow suits in the gut and whirled to avoid another's rifle aimed at her before she sliced the man's head off.

"White Hunter-ya has that kind of personality. Besides, it's in his best interest to cooperate if he wants his heart returned to him," Trafalgar responded just before he slashed the air a couple more times with his nodachi, slicing a group of yellow suits rushing at them. He sent the cut up bodies flying into another group, with his powers.

They were running towards the main gates of the facility, pummeling and cutting up anyone in their way. Luffy, Robin, Franky, Smoker and Tashigi were right beside them, fighting Caesar's henchmen as well.

"We're here! Somebody pull that lever there!" Trafalgar called out as they finally stopped before the large metal gates of the facility.

Robin crossed her arms and sent a look towards a large red lever on the bridge at the far right of the room. She didn't even have to bother climbing up the stairs to reach it as she simply used her powers to sprout a hand from the wall next to the lever, and pull it down.

The large shutter started opening and the marines started swarming inside to safety. When they all ran inside, Robin's arm pulled the lever once more, closing the large doors.

"I'm just saying, you should keep an eye on them just in case," Miyako warned as she watched Smoker and Tashigi talk to the G-5 who were celebrating their reunion with their vice admiral and captain.

Surprisingly, the dark doctor simply grinned as if he knew something Miyako didn't. "Don't worry. For now I have leverage over Smoker-ya that will definitely make even a stray dog obedient," he said cryptically. "You just focus on getting your heart back since I can't help you with Monet anymore. And I will deal with Vergo," he muttered the last statement darkly.

Miyako blinked in confusion, but it didn't seem like Law was keen on explaining anything more. He never liked explaining himself unless it was necessary and right now he didn't deem it to be so. Instead, he just needed Miyako to do her part while he does his. She was alright with that, and she showed it to him by giving him a simple nod with look that said 'I trust your judgment.'

"Waaaait!" A distant sound coming closer brought everyone out of their musings as they heard voices from outside. The shutter was already closed and nobody had any intention of opening it again, which would risk letting the gas in. It didn't matter much, though, since only a few seconds later the whole gate was cut down with a clean cut that could only be done by a katana.

"What are you doing, you idiots!?" The whole of G-5 shouted in dismay as the only shield separating them from the deadly gas just went to hell. "You'll let the gas in!"

"Ah…now they've done it," Robin chuckled as she saw familiar faces burst into the facility in quite a dramatic entrance. Brownbeard, Usopp, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Brook and Kin'emon ran inside, followed by a small, green dragon that clung to Brownbeard's alligator tail as if his life depended on it.

"Good! Now that we're all here, we can go crazy!" Luffy yelled as he was already climbing up the ramp overlooking the room.

"You mean up until now this wasn't you being crazy?!" Miyako couldn't help but respond in bewilderment.

"Would someone close the damned hole in the gates already!?" Nami, still in the body of Sanji, yelled angrily and in an instant the G-5 soldiers started boarding up the metal gates with anything they could find.

Zoro sighed when everyone were finally safe from the poisonous gas roaming the outside. "Good, we're saved."

"Not thanks to you!" The G-5 soldiers yelled in anger, aiming their weapons at the Strawhats pirates.

Suddenly, the whole place was brought to chaos as G-5 soldiers started arguing with the Strawhats, unable to believe their craziness. Even Miyako didn't know whether to find the whole situation comical and amusing or troublesome. Nami and Sanji were also either celebrating or wailing as they finally got their bodies back by Law. However, the situation suddenly turned more serious as the marines pointed their weapons at the pirates before them.

Everyone silenced and stiffened their bodies, awaiting the others' moves as it became a stand-still between them. Miyako put a hand on the guard of her sword, her thumb ready to separate it from the sheath and reveal her katana.

"Everyone stop!" A voice of a woman cut through the tense atmosphere and a woman in a pink coat and thick glasses came between the two opposing groups.

"Aaah, it's the cutie marine captain~" Sanji sang with hearts in his eyes, finally back to his body which proved to be in a badly beaten condition because of Caesar.

"But captain-chan, they're enemies," one of the G-5 marines argued though nobody wanted to go against their cute marine officer.

"I know, but right now we have other work to do. We have to take care of Caesar Clown and save those children. There's also…" Tashigi stopped, her expression darkening in worry, as she remembered the face of Vergo. How was she supposed to explain that to the men? "We will deal with the Strawhats later," she finished.

The G-5 didn't seem too happy about the order, but they listened and relaxed a bit, lowering their weapons. Seeing this, the Strawhats did the same.

Miyako also sighed in relief and took her hand off of the katana, but then something else caught her eye. It was the marine captain in front of her, and the katana the other woman had in her hands. The samurai girl remembered seeing Tashigi a while earlier, fighting with her sword against those yellow suits. *I didn't have time to think about it since we were in a pinch, but now that I look at it…She's a swordsman too? Could it be…?*

One of the marines came over to captain Tashigi, leaning to whisper near her ear. "Eerr…captain-chan. That woman's been staring really intensely at you for some time now," he pointed, without any subtlety, in Miyako's direction.

The marine captain turned to see Suzune, Burning-Eyed Miyako piercing her with an unreadable stare. Her gaze was burning at her quietly, as if staring right into her soul. Tashigi felt uncomfortable under such an intense stare. *Could it be she wants to pick a fight because I'm a marine…?* Suddenly the pirate samurai started walking towards her briskly, never breaking eye contact. Tashigi stiffened and gulped as the pirate girl came straight to her. *W-what does she want?* Tashigi opened her mouth to ask just that, when suddenly the girl cut her off, speaking first.

"You…" Miyako started, then suddenly took Tashigi's both hands into hers. "Could it be you are also a swordswoman!?" There was a glint in her eyes, but unlike Sanji who did the same action to her a while ago, instead of romantic feelings, Miyako's eyes were filled with hope and excitement.

"…Eh?" Tashigi had to blink her puzzlement away, along with the surprise. What was this girl taking about? "Y…yes?" Out of reflex because of her polite nature, the marine woman answered back.

Suddenly, Miyako's golden eyes lit up even more, making the bright color sparkle in the unnatural lighting of the room. "I'm delighted to finally meet you!" The samurai girl exclaimed with a wide smile on her face.

"Eeeeh?!" Tashigi, the G-5 and even some of the Strawhats had the same reaction as they watched the bizarre scene between a marine and a pirate. Right now the two sworn enemies were holding hands, and the pirate girl looked as if she was meeting her idol.

Tashigi might have been completely lost in confusion, but Miyako was indeed excited. That was, because for the first time in her life she met a swordswoman, and one who wielded a katana and used kenjutsu to boot. For a girl who was raised in a country where only men were allowed to hold a katana, where she was considered strange for her preference in kenjutsu rather than tea ceremonies, it was truly a marvel to meet another woman such as herself. One who was a true warrior with a katana, just like Miyako. The samurai never thought such a thing would happen, but the World really is a big and marvelous place. That's why Miyako couldn't help but be enthusiastic, completely ignoring the fact that the woman before her was supposed to be her enemy.

"U-um…d-do I know you?" Tashigi finally dared to speak, somewhat getting over her perplexing state.

Realizing she went a bit too far, Miyako let go of Tashigi's hands and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Ah…no, sorry. It's just that I got overly excited, finally meeting another fellow woman in kenjutsu," she explained while laughing nervously.

"You do know she's your enemy, right?" Usopp commented from the side with a sideways glance and a sweat drop.

However, the samurai girl turned to the sniper in incitement, her determination burning as she clenched her fist in the air. "Sides don't matter when you're connected with a bond of kenjutsu!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about…" Usopp answered, still holding that lost expression with a sweat drop.

"Shishishi, you really have a strange crew, Torao," Luffy commented on the side, holding his hands on his hips and looking at the dark doctor.

"Not as bizzare as yours, Strawhat-ya," he deadpanned as a response to Luffy's grin. Law had to fight the urge to face palm as he saw Miyako completely lost in her own world, still elated in front of captain Tashighi. *And you, don't make friends with the enemy…,* he thought, looking at his samurai.

"Aah, it's wonderful that we are all back together~!" Sanji's voice rang through the room as he danced over to Miyako and Tashigi. It seems his 'all back together' meant only him and the two girls, though. "Don't worry my ladies…I will protect you with my life," he said in a serious husky voice that was supposed to be romantic. The cook knelt down in front of the two, taking each of their hands in his and kissing them.

That, of course, caused a riot among the G-5. "Hey, don't touch our captain-chan you perverted pirate!" The shouts started up again as the marines started arguing with Sanji, who responded with a 'What did you say, you bastards!?,' starting another squabble.

Miyako quickly, but subtly got her hand out of Snaji's while the cook was still too busy quarreling with the marines. She glanced towards Trafalgar underneath her bangs, slightly embarrassed that he witnessed that, but the pirate captain just gave her an unreadable quick look in return before his gaze fell back to the rest of the group. It appeared he was too busy trying to deal with the Strawhats and this situation to pay mind to anything else, luckily for Miyako.

"Enough, all of you! Did you forget we've got work to do?! We can't be wasting our time here!" The scene was stopped by Smoker's powerful voice that brought everyone to a stop with his angry tone.

"But Smo-yan…," some of the marines whined like reprimanded children, but soon shut up under his harsh gaze.

The one who overtook the scene was finally Law as he decided this charade had to stop. They needed to move on with their plan already. "Everybody here, listen to me!" His strong shout was enough to bring everyone's attention to him. "We are currently surrounded by poisonous gas and there's only one way to escape directly to the sea from this laboratory! It's a huge door with an "R building 66" written on it! I give you 2 hours, after which I won't be able to guarantee the safety of anyone who stays behind," he finished with the explanation, ignoring the questioning and shocked sounds coming from the others.

"So he's going to blow it up like we planned after getting Caesar," Miyako muttered, biting her lip in thought. *So that's two hours to kidnap Caesar, retrieve our hearts and help the children escape this place,* she mulled over this. Suddenly two hours didn't seem like a long time. *This might get tricky,* she sighed.

"Suzune Miyako!" Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, yet not very fond voice. The girl turned to see the Wano samurai, Kin'emon jogging over to her.

"Any news of my son, Momonosuke!?" He asked with a glint of hope in his eyes, making Miyako guilty since she had to disappoint him.

"Unfortunately no, but I am sure he is still somewhere in the facility. He wasn't with the children that Nami-san and the others saved. A new thought popped into the girl's head. "Is Momonosuke a devil fruit user?"

Kin'emon appeared truly surprised by such a question. "What? Nay, he is not. Why do you ask such a thing?"

Miyako bit her lip as she frowned in thought. "Well, a girl told me earlier that he-"

"Stop, Strawhats!" Shouts suddenly came from the hallways as new yellow suits started swarming the area. Miyako had to jump quickly and dodge a rain of bullets that started showering over them.

Luffy stood in front of the group, taking the bullets head on, without any protection. However, his rubber body simply stretched from the shots, before sending them all back at the enemies. "That won't work on me!" The pirate captain yelled with a grin, just before he shouted "Gomu gomu no Gatling Gun!" and sent a number of quick punches into Caesar's henchmen.

Miyako was right beside him in an instant, taking on another group as she unsheathed her katana and rushed in one quick move through a dozen of yellow suits. Ittoryu: ichijin! Even though it only appeared as if she leaped through the group, appearing behind them, she actually used the time to slash at each of the men in one of their vital areas. As she passed them by, a gust of wind followed her due to the speed, before the men all fell down onto the ground, bleeding profoundly.

Just as she turned to slice another opponent, a small ball passed her by right in front of her face and exploded in another group of yellow suits. As the bead exploded, a large vine plant grew out of the seed and entangled the men, rendering them useless. The more they struggled, the more entangled they became. The samurai looked in the direction of the shot seed and saw a grinning Usopp who winked at her proudly beneath his hat.

"Die, you betrayer Suzune!" One of the men yelled out and was about to shoot a gun that held sleeping gas in it when suddenly another yellow suit collided into him and brought them both onto the floor. Nami was using her staff weapon, swirling it skillfully around her, and hitting the men one by one, sending them flying into the others.

Beside her, Sanji was guarding her back while kicking the enemies effortlessly. He jumped high in the air, delivering a high kick into one man's chin and sending him flying upwards before the cook landed on his hands and started rotating in high speed, kicking all the men gathered around him to the ground. The blonde landed back up on his feet with a light jump and his eyes met with Miyako's. As soon as they did, his serious expression was completely replaced by a dazed one as he grinned widely and waved at her. "Miyako-chwaaan!" The girl gave him a nervous smile in return with a bead of sweat on her forehead, for she didn't want to hurt his feelings. Out of all the Strawhats, she found him the hardest to deal with. Even more than the live skeleton.

"Idiot cook," a mutter came from Sanji's left as Zoro heard Sanji's lovey-dovey ramblings and commented on the scene.

"Eeh!? What was that, shitty marimo!?" Sanji's expression completely changed into an annoyed one and he glared at the swordsman just before kicking another enemy in the gut.

"You heard me, love cook," Zoro responded before dodging a sword and then slashing the man across the chest.

The two didn't even need to look at the enemies coming at them as they kept their glares on each other while fighting Caesar's henchmen.

Miyako sighed and shook her head as she ignored them both, blocking a sabre from one of the ex-prisoners. She crouched down while in a spin, before the man could react, and slashed off his legs in a clean cut. Not bothering to finish him off she simply went for the next one.

"There's really no end to them," Robin commented though she didn't seem bothered by the ones attacking her at all. The enemies couldn't even come near her as she used her devil fruit powers to beat them before they could even reach her. "Seis Fleur: Twist," she sang in a calm tone, making two hands sprout on a dozen opponents before they twisted their upper bodies. A sickly cracking sound was heard before the faceless yellow suits fell on the ground, unmoving.

"Get her!" Suddenly five more men exclaimed as they ran behind Robin, trying to take her off guard. However, a large shadow appeared in front of them showing an eerie face of a tall skeleton with an afro. "Waah, it's alive!" The men shouted in sudden shock as the skeleton started moving and talking to them.

"Yohoho! How rude!" Brook suddenly rushed towards them and in an instant appeared behind the five men, taking three large steps while he's each step echoed on the metal floor. He was already sheathing back his sword, yet nobody even saw him pull it out of the scabbard. "Alright. I have already cut you. Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri," he said slowly in a solemn voice as if making his enemies aware of their deaths. Before they could respond, the five men were falling on the ground one by one, with thin slices on their chests.

Meanwhile, Law, Tashigi and Smoker were already running up the stairs with Luffy in the lead. Tashigi dodged one sword by stepping to the side and slicing the man across his stomach horizontally before crouching to avoid a bullet fired at her. The bullet went right through Smoker who was right behind her, and the vice admiral didn't even blink as a hole appeared in his stomach right before it got filled up with smoke once again. Instead, Smoker sent a punch at the attacker, as his clenched fist flew passed Tashigi's still crouching form and into the shooter, before the smoky appendage retracted back to his body.

Suddenly Luffy's voice brought everyone's attention to him. "Alright, guys, let's go!" He rushed forward, knocking out all the opponents in his way like a set of pins at a bowling alley. He's expression turned serious as he glared at the unseen opponent in his mind, as if he was right in front of his determined eyes. "I'm coming Caesar!"

He's shout seemed to give everyone else a spark of determination as well, as everyone's gaze started burning just like his. Suddenly, everybody was on the move, running forward.

"G-5, rescue the abducted children and search for the R-66 door!" Smoker voice thundered through the area as he gave out orders. "We will seize the tanker at the harbor and escape!"

He got a choir of shouts and cheers in return. "Whoooaaa!" The soldiers affirmed his orders before heading on.

Kin'emon slashed through the air, slicing his enemies without even stopping in his step. "Wait for me Momonosuke! I will definitely save you!"

"Let's split to look for the kidnapped children and lead them to the passage! Zoro, you can't go alone!" Nami's voice echoed as the rest of the Strawhats ran together.

"Ha!?" Zoro responded with irritation, not understanding why she would specifically call him out.

Miyako's eyes sharpened as she thought of her next move. *I need to find Monet and get my heart back, but I also worry about Rachel and the rest of the children,* she bit her lip in thought. *Then again, Monet will probably be assigned to watch the children and keep them from escaping. In that case I can just go with the Strawhats to look for the children and deal with Monet when we meet her…two flies with one stone.* She smirked at the thought. "Alright! Let's do this!" She joined Nami and the rest, running through the hallways to look for the kids.

---

Glossary:

Tanuki – a raccoon (often from Japanese folklore)

Ittoryu: ichijin – 'One sword style: A gust of wind'

---

There we go! Another chapter done and off they go into action. The next chapter should be fun for Miyako fighting alongside the Strawhats. :) I just finished all my exams recently so hopefully I'll have more time to write too, yay!

Thank you everyone for your reviews as well!

starlight0720: For now it is unknown who is stronger between them. But don't forget Miyako also spent two years training and fighting, much like them. ;) In my story at least, they don't quite know that he is the instigator of the Rocky Port incident, they only suspect it, so they couldn't find enough evidence accuse him of it and to rise his bounty for it.

Emilyamazing: Thank you for reading it! I'm glad you like it.

Apple Bloom: Sorry for the wait. The chapters are usually big so they take time to write and proofread, though it usually depends on my free time in life mostly. ^^'

Guest: Maybe I made a mistake while writing, a skimmed through it but couldn't find anything about it. I'll have to go through it more thoroughly later. In any case, he is two years older than her. He was 21 at the beginning, and now two years later, he is 23.

In Croatian grammar we write the quotation marks like this; „..." So sometimes when my Word is set in Croatian, it will make them like that.

Bioware: I'm glad you liked it, I'm also looking forward to more Miyako-Strawhats interactions in the future. :D Thank you for staying a faithful reader all this time, even though my uploads take time. Yep, I think it will make her understand a lot about him after that.

Red knight 2004: Thank you for reading as always! :D

Crayola Hearts: First of all I want to say thank you for reading the story and taking the time to leave such a detailed review, which shows different aspects of the story. I actually agree with you on the beginning part as a lot of authors use the "Auction house" as the beginning of the story. I did have another beginning in mind at first, but then changed my mind just before starting to write and decided to start directly two years before everything, hence Sabaody. It's not a very imaginative beginning, I agree, but helps your OC experience the Marineford Arc and such, so I guess that's why most use it.

I'm glad you like her; I think it's one of authors' biggest fears that their main character won't be liked. I tried to make her grow slowly, both as a person and in her relationships with others. It's hard to find a right balance, somewhere between a maiden in distress and a Mary Sue, but hopefully I managed to do it. :)

You're quite right about that and you're on the right track. It will definitely be explored further especially with Kin'emon, Zoro and Tashigi in the story now. I think her experience as a swordswoman of Wano will be most shown when interacting with these characters.

And one of my biggest fears! At first I didn't intend this to become a romance, so I didn't think I would have to worry about portraying an 'in love' Law. :') I really don't want to turn him into a fluffy, unrecognizable version either so I try to keep some balance in their relationship. And for that to happen, as you mentioned, I think it is important for it to come over time and not just instant 'love at first sight.' I also think he has some trust issues or at least is very careful with new people, not opening up or trusting easily.

I'm really happy to hear you say that. Knowing that your story managed to touch someone is the biggest reward, I believe. I try to bring my emotion into writing, especially for certain scenes, so I'm really glad that you guys can feel and share those emotions as well. It means a lot to me. :)

I apologize unreservedly for the grammar and spelling, as I know there are many mistakes I miss even after proofreading. One day I will really have to go through the whole story again, chapter by chapter, and search for any errors left. I'm glad you haven't given up on the story despite the mistakes, so thank you.

Cazadora Nocturna: Muchas gracias. Gracias por leer mi historia. Me alegro de que te guste. (I don't know if this is entirely correct, so thank you again in English!)

ThexWhitexPhoenix: Yeah, Monet is really shrewd, but Miyako will have to be shrewder. ;)

Shiningheart of ThunderClan: haha Indeed, I think she will get along with both Nami and Robin. :D Hm…there were some, but none were very close to her. There's Ettie from Noir island (the kinda steam punk one), if she counts. ^^' But I agree with you, I think Miyako is in dire need of some female company for a change.

Hehe, she really will be proud. All the haki training they did together will have paid off.

Zyma-nee-22: Indeed holy crap; three days?! O.O Props to you for that. I'm really glad you loved it, I try to make each chapter interesting even now when we are in the well-known cannon. It will definitely get interesting when Miyako finally faces the infamous Doflamingo that brings terror even to her captain. I hope you will like the next chapter as well. In that case, a big thank you to your sister as well! Mata ne~

geckogal077: haha I think Law will probably have to threaten Miyako not to tell the rest of the Heart Pirates everything she saw with the Strawhats, after everything is over. Just imagine if the rest of the crew found out that Law had Chopper strapped to his head. :')

Wicken25: Thanks, though it might take a while before any romantic scenes between Miyako and Law. At least until this whole mess with Caesar is sorted.

Hitoshirezu Ryu: At least you know that it will never get boring with the Strawhats. Miyako will definitely need some getting used to their pace, especially Luffy's. I think she likes them more and more though, especially with how they treat Law. I think it will be most amusing for Miyako to watch Law trying to handle the Strawhats. :D As always thank you for reading and all the wonderful reviews.

Bizzy: Never a dull moment with them. But seeing Law like that is probably worth being sliced up later. :') I'm glad you liked it, I'm hoping for more fun scenes with everyone throughout the next chapters. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

BatmanSwim2016: I'm glad you liked it! I hope you will like the future ones as well. Thank you for reviewing! :D

Zecrea: I try to involve her into the cannon story as naturally as possible so I'm glad you liked it. Don't worry, she will definitely have her own big scene and part to play in this arc. The action is just starting now that everyone is set with their own goals. :)

Chocogirl24: I know what you mean, I still laugh at it every time I see that scene. It will never stop being funny. :') Thanks for the review!