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

62. Chapter 62

I don't like you by BloodyMarryMe

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or any of its characters as it all belongs to Eiichiro Oda. I do own the OC Suzune Miyako. This story is rater T for violence, blood and suggestive themes.

Another chapter is out! This one is longer which is my preemptive apology because I probably won't be able to upload for a while. So, I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews, I really appreciate them! Have fun!

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CHAPTER 62

"Suzune!" A large ex-pirate, one of Caesar's men, came at the young samurai with his sword raised high in the air. Instead of human legs, the man leaped at her with two hind legs of a horse, looking like one of the centaurs creatures from old mythology and legends. The ex-prisoner had a burning look of rage in his eyes as he stared down at the woman that betrayed their organization and his precious Master.

However, even the man's fury could not help him match his skill with hers as she easily avoided his attack while spinning to the side, still in the run, before she sliced him across the chest. He tried to block her attack with his sword, but it was no use as the low-quality piece of metal easily broke into pieces under the woman's attack.

As the ex-pirate fell down before Miyako's feet, another flew right past her, already unconscious before he even hit the wall in front of the group. She could hear an angry voice of Luffy behind her, as he ran past her, commenting something about fake centaurs and animal legs. "I won't acknowledge you!" Luffy yelled at the already beaten henchman with the legs of a bumblebee instead of human ones.

Miyako didn't know whether to be amused or baffled by the fact that the young pirate captain seemed more concerned about their enemies' appearance than the fact that they were trying to kill them. She shook her head with a sigh, giving up on even worrying about such notions as she knew full well by know how strangely Luffy's brain worked.

What's more, she didn't have much time to think of trivial thoughts as she heard a familiar sound echo across the building.

"What is that sound," Miyako could hear Nami ask beside her as the group went on running forward.

"It's the sound of the alarm, signifying that the doors of the area are closing down," Miyako answered with a grim feeling swelling inside her chest. This must've been Caesar's doing, which meant the scientist had some kind of plan against them. They already fell in his trap once as he took them all by surprise, and Miyako would be damned if she let her guard down again. They had to be prepared for anything. "He's probably trying to keep us from progressing any further ahead," she concluded, thinking over the most logical scenario why the gates were closing down.

"Then we must hurry before they close, come on!" Sanji called out for the group to hurry as they ran on.

"I shan't be kept from advancing that easily," Kin'emon exclaimed while his eyes burned with determination. Most certainly, it was the thought of his young son, Momonosuke, that kept him so single-minded, even if it meant swallowing his pride and fighting alongside women and pirates.

"Yes, certainly Caesar is scheming something again and we have to-" Miyako started, but trailed off when she noticed with the corner of her eye that one of their group members suddenly turned a wrong corner and started heading down a different corridor, in a completely wrong direction. By the stature of his wide shoulders and his green hair, Miyako could recognize it was the Pirate Hunter. "Wha! What are you doing, Roronoa-san!? That's not the right way!" She stopped and shouted after the man who, luckily, managed to hear her before completely getting lost. Miyako was almost at the loss of words as she couldn't even explain such poor orientation skills. How could someone get separated from the group when they were all right here by his side!?

"Whaaa! Zorooo, what are you doing at a time like this!?" Usopp yelled in panic, giving his nakama a look mixed with fear and accusation for wasting their precious time while they were in a hurry.

"Whoa!" Zoro uttered in surprised as he stopped dead in his tracks, before turning around and running back to the group. "Aren't we supposed to run down the corridor!?" He scratched his head in thought, watching the group suspiciously as if they were the ones moving the wrong way.

His expression soon changed, though, as the navigator of the Strawhats punched him on the back of his head. "Not that corridor, this one! The one we are all running in, you dumbass!" That woman was truly scary while angered; Miyako noted. It was better if the samurai girl was careful not to bring that rage upon herself.

As they ran on, Miyako could see her previous companion in the facility, Brownbeard, run beside her while carrying Usopp, Nami and even Robin on his back. He was already straining from all the physicality and Miyako remembered he was shot by one of the Yeti Cool Brothers not too long ago. The man had already experienced both a large physical and mental shock in only a few hours. Not only did he find out the truth about the Master of this place as he was betrayed by Caesar who showed him his true colors, but he was even wounded badly enough to be thought dead for a while. Yet, the Strawhats used him as a transportation service while running; Miyako sweat-dropped at that thought.

"We are always only running!" Next to Miyako, Kin'emon yelled out in annoyance, making the group turn their heads towards the samurai man.

"Are you complaining?" Zoro asked purposely, trying to catch the overly-prideful samurai in an uncharacteristic fashion.

Kin'emon almost chocked on his answer as he heard Zoro's subtle jab at him. "I am not! Samurai do not complain!"

Miyako scoffed rather loudly at that statement. "Oh yeah? Well I am openly saying; I'm tired of this running!" It was half out of annoyance, half out of simple childish spite that the girl countered the older samurai.

Before Kin'emon could respond, Brook chimed in. Even with his long legs, he was getting tired from the exercise. "Yoho! Well I am not a samurai so I can openly say…I'm sick of this!" The tall skeleton complained in a high pitched voice.

The Wano woman raised her eyebrow in wonder as she stared at the skeleton next to her. "How can you even be tired when you don't have any muscles to get sore?"

"How cruel!" Brook complained in a whine, before adding, "That's true, though. Yohohoho!"

*Well at least the Strawhats are having fun even as they are all running for their lives,* Miyako though with a sweat drop.

Behind them, even the peculiar, small dragon seemed overly exhausted, yet still kept clutching at Brownbeard's alligator tail desperately. Even the animal knew, by its instincts, that if it didn't run it would most surely die here.

"We don't have much more to go," Miyako assured them, trying to give everyone some motivation to keep on running just a little longer. The next thing she knew, however, was the blast that almost knocked her off her feet, blinding her eyes with the light of fire. Somewhere near them, a part of the wall exploded, sending debris and dust everywhere. Miyako coughed, feeling her eyes hurt and water from the smoke. She had to stop for a while, hearing the annoying buzzing sound in her ears that weakened her focus and balance. Someone suddenly grabbed her by the arm and she was about to draw her katana at them when she noticed it was Robin. The archeologist was opening her mouth, but Miyako heard no voice come out of it, as she could still only hear the wailing sound in her head. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she strained to hear Nico Robin's words. Little by little, her hearing started returning as she started picking up on snippets of Robin's voice. "Wall….Gas!...Move!" The voice became clearer and Miyako could feel Robin tugging onto her arm and dragging her to make her keep moving forward.

"The wall exploded! The gas is coming in! We have to run!" Finally Robin's words reached her and Miyako's large eyes widened in shock. She glanced at the dust behind her, seeing there was now a gaping hole in the thick wall of the building. From it, purplish deadly gas was slowly oozing in, spreading everywhere.

The Strawhats' archeologist gave another tug to her arm before they both started running again, quickly catching up to the rest of the group. They could hear shouts and screams of terror behind them, but did not need to turn to know what was going on. The gas was slowly reaching the ones behind them, G-5 soldiers, and was petrifying them just like the victims they saw on the monitor earlier. However, nobody could afford to stop and save them, or even turn to look at the horror behind them, as the men were enveloped in the gas and turned into ghostly statues.

Miyako paid no heed to any sounds or her surroundings as she only kept her focus on the sight before her. She saw the large metal gates in front of them, almost closed entirely by now. She willed herself to go on, despite the pain in her muscles, gritting her teeth and running even faster. No matter how much her legs and side screamed in protest, she ignored the ache and continued on with the last of her strength.

The others of the group beside her were doing the same thing as she was, as they also ran with everything they got. Just a bit more…just a bit closer and they will be saved!

With her last strength, the samurai jumped forward just as the gates were closing slowly. Behind her she could hear screams and wails of alarm.

"I don't want to die!"

"Please, save me!"

Even the most brutal men of the G-5 force were now quivering in fear of death as the poisonous gas reached them. The screams were still echoing in Miyako's ears even as she passed the gates, towards safety.

As she jumped in, Miyako rolled onto the ground and stopped in a crouch, turning back towards the gates and the people they had to leave behind. The last to enter was Tashighi, the marine captain, who came flying in as if tossed.

"Captain-chan!" Some of the G-5 soldiers, who made it through, caught her but had to keep her in place as she struggled and yelled with tears in her eyes.

"No, wait! There are some of our men still out there! They…they saved me by sacrificing themselves!" Tashigi shouted, unable to calm down.

Everyone turned their attention to the sight on the other side of the closing gates, where the area was almost completely enveloped by the gas. Just before the doors closed, they could all see relieved and smiling faces on the white statues, as the solidified men died with their thumbs in approval and no regrets on their expressions. They sacrificed themselves for their captain's sake. A pang of guilt struck Miyako at the thought, making her gaze fall down to her , at that moment she remembered her master and his wise words from long ago, making her bite her lip. It was him that thought her never to look away from the harsh reality of things, no matter how hard it was to bare. Never run away from it! *No! I shall not look away…I will gaze at this brave souls, and not look away from their dire fate.* She looked up at the dead G-5 soldiers, her eyes searing with determination and respect for them, but also something else…anger. It was anger towards the people who did all this; Caesar , Monet, Vergo…they had to pay for all they did on Punk Hazard!

~….~

"You guys…." Brownbeard started grimly, his expression serious as he ran down the hallways. "Why are you all on me suddenly!? Get off and use your own legs!" The ex-pirate yelled angrily as he turned his head to watch the scene on his alligator back. The rest of the pirates were all sitting on him, relaxing their sore muscles while he had to do all the work and carry them.

"Even if you say that...it can't be helped," Usopp stated seriously with a sigh.

"Yes...I'm really sorry, please resist. There was no other choice. We were tired and walking would be too annoying," Zoro continued in all seriousness as if it was the most understandable reason in the world.

"That's the worst excuse I ever heard!" Brownbeard, naturally, wasn't swayed by that explanation in the slightest. "Get down!"

"It's seriously too hot to wear a coat here in the facility," Zoro muttered, taking off his grey winter coat and revealing the Wanokuni-styled clothes underneath.

"You might need it later," Robin noted, sounding like a mother warning her child not to catch a cold.

"Aah, I wish we had some green tea with us," Miyako sighed, sitting on the edge of Brownbeard's behind, with her hands neatly in her lap. She, like the rest of the group, was thankful for this small opportunity to rest after all that running not too long ago. Luckily, they managed to escape the deadly gas that chased them, but their mission was far from over…it was only starting.

"You're too relaxed! Get ooooff!" A vein on Brownbeard's forehead popped as the man raged, still running with the extra weight of eight people on top of him.

"More importantly, I don't care much for those marines but I hope that captain-dono will be fine. She seemed quite shaken because of the loss of her men," Miyako sighed again at the memory of Tashigi screaming and crying for her men that were left behind. Even if there was nothing she could have done, the marine woman clearly felt responsible for their lost lives.

"Heh," Zoro hummed with a grin on his face. "I doubt she's so weak to be defeated by simply that," he commented. "And if she is, then she should've stayed home where it was safe, rather than becoming a marine captain," he added.

"I don't even know if those were words of encouragement or just a cruel statement," Nami watched the swordsmen with the corner of her eyes as she commented impassively.

"I would say the women here are far stronger than they appear to be," even Kin'emon admitted though a mutter. He kept his gaze down, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze after he admitted such an embarrassing idea in his mind. Still, it was hard to not see that fact after experiencing some of Nami's punches and kicks first hand, as he did.

Miyako, however, raised an eyebrow with interest as she watched him. Her lips pulled into a small smirk from his words. Perhaps the stubborn samurai was actually embracing different ideas than the ones he was so used to; he was in a completely different culture now, after all. "Well now, be careful, Kin'emon-dono…or you might actually learn something new here," she teased him, crossing her arms on her chest with a pleased expression on her face.

The other samurai scoffed at the woman's words. "I still do not feel quite right with the likes of thee, Suzune Miyako. I cannot acknowledge you as one of the samurai," he turned to her with a severe expression as he watched her. His gaze was telling her that there were some things he could not stand for, no matter how different their worlds were now.

Miyako, however, had a blank expression on her face as she returned Kin'emon's gaze. "I do not need you to acknowledge me, samurai-dono. My way of the sword doesn't involve you in the slightest after all, so why should I care about your opinion? I have seen the likes of you, all my life. If I were to be stopped just because they would not acknowledge me, I would still be back in Wano pouring tea and sewing goblen art." She returned Kin'emon's own words to him with ease, not even slightly shaken by his lack of acceptance. He was a stubborn and prideful man, that much was obvious, so she wasn't in the least surprised that a man, a samurai no less, from Wano would think of her like this. Still, she would be damned if she would show him even a glimpse of hurt in her expression about his words. Never once in the past did she let them see how painful her road truly felt for her as she wanted to become one thing that none would let her; a kenshi. She swore a long time ago, still a child, that she would not let any cynics and skeptics see her ache as she struggled on with determination to learn the way of the sword. She would only show them all the fruits of her labor and the strength that she acquired. If she was more skillful and better than the man wielding a katana in Wano, than they would have no right to look down on her. However, Miyako soon realized her childish thoughts were too naïve and as she fought on, struggled and grown, she soon realized it did not matter; even if she became better, it did not make the others acknowledge her. It only made the women look at her more strangely as if she was a deviant and made the men more bitter. Miyako soon realized no skill could cover the fact that she was a woman fighting with a katana in Wanokuni. Yet her master still supported her, even when he knew how much she will suffer by the path she chose for herself. Other in their household thought it cruel of him, but Miyako only ever felt grateful for it…for giving her a chance. For being the only one to truly acknowledge her and believe in her potential.

She was suddenly brought out of her thoughts as a person next to her quickly stood up. She looked up to see Sanji standing beside her, with his expression clouded by his blonde hair. Something seemed off about him, though. She couldn't quite pinpoint it yet, but the usually lovey-dovey personality he had was gone and replaced by something darker…more sinister. "Sanji-san..?"

"A lady is crying…," his voice was soft as he started. It made Miyako and the others strain to hear him as he continued to mumble something under his breath.

"Eh? What was that Cook?" Zoro frowned in question.

Sanji glared up, watching something far behind them that none other could see, as his eyes went ablaze with spirit. "I can hear the tears of a woman falling! Dammit, who dares make a lady cry!?" He clanked his fist in the air as he shouted angrily, completely ignoring the group's questioning stares. In a second, the cook jumped off of Brownbeard's back and started sprinting back towards the direction they just came from. "Whooo! Wait for me, miss, for I will save youuuu!"

"Whoa! What are you doing, Sanji?!" Usopp exclaimed as the blonde pirate simply jumped off, ignoring them completely. "That's the wrong way!"

Robin blinked a few times in wonder, but then shrugged. "Let him go, it can't be helped," she concluded with a smile.

"What a strange man," Kin'emon commented softly, and Miyako nodded by his side as she watched Sanji disappear. Finally, the two agreed on something.

"Good riddance…stupid Cook," Zoro sighed with a shake of his head. He didn't even want to know what that blonde was up to now, but he could clearly feel the dark aura of another person coming from the back, getting a good idea about where Sanji was heading.

Brook simply laughed in amusement, already used to his comrade's peculiar behavior.

However, some of the members of the group stared silently after Sanji and whatever else was there at the moment. The ones with observant haki could clearly feel the dangerous aura coming from there…there was something dangerous coming after them.

"Well Sanji-kun can handle it. As for us, we should probably do something about that thing follow us," Robin's tone was perfectly calm even as she pointed at the small green dragon flying after them with a dangerous gleam in his eyes. He was about to attack them.

The dragon soared down onto them, flapping his large wings. Kine'mon and Miyako both stood up abruptly, unsheathing their katana. Usopp even prepared his slingshot. However, the one who stepped forward was Brook.

"Leave this to me, my friends," he called out and grabbed his cane which was also the thin sword the musician used. He stepped forward in front of the group, keeping perfect balance on his long feet while Brownbeard continued to run.

The dragon bared his teeth and let out a shrieking sound to try and frighten his prey before it went to devour them. Easily, it reached Brownbeard and opened its large maws to bite into Brook, who was the closest, when the beast suddenly stopped. It swung its large wings in the air to keep itself steady as it observed the skeleton for a while before huffing smoke form its nostrils with a disappointed expression.

Everyone gaped at the sight, but the one mostly shocked and offended appeared to be Brook.

Finally, Usopp's loud laughter broke the silence as the sniper fell down onto his back and started rolling onto Brownbeard's back while clutching his stomach. "Bahaha, even the dragon doesn't want to eat just bones!" He had to wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes as he continued to laugh.

The laughter seemed to only make Brook angrier as his hollow eye sockets narrowed in a glare. "How offensive! Am I not good enough for you!?" The skeleton yelled at the dragon that seemed to have completely given up on Brook by now. Instead, the dragon started destroying everything around the building, even breathing fire inside the room. It was too dangerous to let him keep at it, as it could destroy the facility and even the walls, letting the gas inside. The musician took out his thin sword, preparing for a strike. "I will have you know, bones are filled with calcium and other nutrient things!"

"Wait, I shall deal with this dragon, for I have a quarrel of my own with this beast," Kin'emon suddenly interfered, standing beside Brook with his katana out.

"No, didn't you see how that dragon looked at me all disappointed! I insist to deal with this dragon," Brook argued with the samurai.

"What are thee saying?! Thee should retreat!" Kin'emon countered.

"No, I'll do it!"

"I shall!"

"I will!"

Miyako rolled her eyes at them both. "If you continue with this argument, then I'll just do it," she started, but was interrupted as both got in her face at once.

"No way!" Both Kin'emon and Brook argued sternly at her suggestion, leaving her to put her hands up in defense, trying to calm them both.

Zoro simply grinned at the scene, completely relaxed and lying on his back as he didn't seem bothered by the fire-breathing dragon at all. Then again, the swordsman already took down a much larger dragon guarding the fiery part of Punk Hazard so this little animal was nothing to be bothered about in comparison.

Meanwhile, as the two were still arguing noisily, Nami was already on the move, using her tempo to create large black clouds that were rising in the atmosphere and floating around the dragon now.

"What's that?" Usopp blinked as he saw the navigator creating thunder clouds before she started muttering to herself while preforming some strange hand gestures. "Are you trying to be a ninja now," he joked.

Everyone became quiet as the dragon accidentally bumped into one of the clouds, getting electrocuted by a lightning bolt. The crackling sound of lightning filled the air as the beast got fried. Usopp took the opportunity to shoot out his own attack, sending another of his seeds flying towards the animal. All of a sudden, a large flower bloomed from the seed, sticking itself right into the dragon's snout. The beast started struggling with muffled noises of protest from the smelly flower. The dragon was momentarily stunned, giving Robin a chance to act as she used her devil fruit powers to sprout arms on the dragon and twist its wings so it could not fly away or dodge.

"It's falling! I'll stop it!" Brook prepared his sword.

"No, leave it to me!" Kin'emon shouted, preparing his katana.

As a last attempt to fight back, the dragon opened his wide jaws and fire spurted out. Flames hot enough to melt skin and bones shot towards Brownbeard and the group.

"Get behind me, Lord Corpse!" Kin'emon jumped and with one swift slash of his sword, cut right into the fire. A large explosion occurred, but the fire split in half and disappeared, not reaching the group.

Miyako blinked in wonder, as she had to admit what she witnessed right now was truly astonishing. "He cut fire," she muttered in awe. In the past, she was able to protect herself from the fire by spinning her katana so fast it created a shield of wind that prevented the fire from reaching her, but never before did she have the chance to actually cut into the flames. She wondered if she would even be able to do such a task…probably not without some sort of special training.

To finish it off, both Brook and Kin'emon jumped into the air, both using their own attacks to slash the dragon, which fell unmoving to the ground. It was fried, its senses confused, and now even cut down. The group cheered at the sight, leaving Brook and Kin'emon to stay behind to hit the dragon a few more times as if letting out their frustrations on the beast.

"Hurry up and come back, you guys," Brownbeard called out through his pants. He was already exhausted from running.

"Look!" Nami suddenly exclaimed and pointed at the bridge above them.

Miyako's whole body stiffened as her mouth fell agape and her golden eyes widened in shock. "What…what sort of monster is that?" On the bridge, a gigantic monster with sharp, long horns and, strangely-enough, a hat, was raging. It let out an ear-piercing call that was enough for anyone to have their blood run cold in their veins after hearing it. At better inspection, Miyako noticed the monster was pinning down the children from the facility, easily holding even the large ones in its enormous hands. "What is it doing to the children!?" Rachel's smiling face was the first thing that popped into Miyako's mind, making her heart clench in worry. The woman hastily stood up and prepared to take out her katana, ready to strike the creature down even from her spot bellow.

"Wait," Zoro's hands on her shoulder stopped her from drawing her sword. "It's Chopper, and he's not dangerous," he explained simply, in only few words necessary.

Still, Miyako was completely puzzled and she furrowed her eyebrows at him. How could that thing be Doctor-san? She saw the small reindeer before and he looked nothing like this. "But the children…" She started, but then realized something was strange. She focused on the scene above them, noticing that the large creature wasn't really attacking or hurting the children, but was trying to stop them. On the other hand, the children were going completely berserk, attacking Chopper with hands, feet or anything in sight. "The side effects of the drug," Miyako whispered in realization.

"In any case, we need to help Chopper, come on!" Nami called out and the group jumped off of Brownbeard.

Miyako found the stairway leading up the to the bridge, leading the others there. "We need to calm them down, somehow!"

"What is happening here?!" Kin'emon exclaimed in bewilderment as he saw dozens of raving children running around blindly. "Perhaps, Momonosuke is in this group of children as well!" With newfound hope, the samurai started running around, searching for his son amongst the kids.

The mention of the Wano boy's name reminded Miyako of an important information she was yet to tell Kin'emon. She didn't know if it was the truth, but it was worth looking into. "That's right, Kin'emon-dono, I heard something about Momonosuke-kun from one of the children," she started.

"What have thee heard?" The samurai raised his eyebrow in wonder.

"She told me Momonosuke turned into a dragon. I think he ate one of Caesar's artificial zoan fruits and couldn't control the power."

"He what? A…a dragon!? Why did thee not tell me sooner! Why did thee let me cut him down! Fates be damned, what have I done?" Kin'emon started yelling in panic, already turning on the heels of his feet.

Miyako blinked in confusion at his sudden change. *Cut who down?* Before she had a chance to ask, Kin'emon was already running towards the way they came. "Hey, you can't go back there!" She tried to stop him, but it was no use as the samurai sprinted away while shouting nonsense about cutting down dragons.

"What happened to Samurai-san?" Brook stepped closer to her, looking at the running man.

Suddenly, it hit her and the girl face-palmed at the realization. *He thinks the green dragon from earlier was Momonosuke-kun. But that dragon was just one of the experiments from Punk Hazard, it's not Momonosuke!* With a sigh, she turned to the skeleton. "Skeleton-san, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course my Lady, I would help you in any way." The pirate skeleton bowed down gallantly, taking her hand in his bony one.

"Go after Kin'emon-dono and bring him back. He thinks the dragon we killed is his son, but he's mistaken. Just get him back here," she pleaded.

"I understand! I am right on it!" The skeleton smiled and didn't even bother using the stairs to climb back down from the bridge. Instead, he simply jumped down and landed on his feet easily, as if he was completely weightless. "Wait for me, samurai-saaan!" Brook yelled and ran after the man.

Miyako watched the pirate leave, hoping he will be on time before something dire happens. They had to reach the R-66 doors soon or they would be left behind. They didn't have time to run around the facility like this. Even so, there was another matter at hand and the samurai girl focused back her attention on the running children at the bridge.

Even as Robin tried to stop them with her abilities, sprouting large hands in their way, they kicked and hit her with pipes and wooden boards, escaping passed her. They were unable to be stopped nor reasoned with. Robin clicked her tongue in pain from their attacks, forcing her to retreat. "They're so violent," she commented.

Miyako tried her best to stop them, but without hurting them it seemed impossible. "Please, stop! Wait!" She grabbed one child, but the boy struggled and bit down on her hand, making her yelp in pain and let him go. A gigantic child ran passed her, colliding with her shoulder and knocking her down on the ground. "Ah!" Miyako exclaimed in surprise as she was brought to the floor, feeling air rush out of her from the hit. With wide eyes she noticed a stampede of kids running her way, some of them much larger than she was. She quickly rolled to the side, avoiding their stomping feet. The kids didn't even notice her as they simply ran forward, in desperate search for the candy.

A small tap of feet echoed next to her and Miyako sat up before she noticed a familiar orange pony tail dancing as a small girl ran by. "Rachel!" The woman yelled and grabbed the girl's wrist to try and stop her.

The orange-haired girl turned towards her with an angry stare as if she only felt hate for whatever was trying to stop her from reaching the candy. She looked right at Miyako, but there was no realization in her eyes. No cheerful smile she would always bestow upon the samurai woman, no wondrous eyes as she would keep asking her questions. Not even the bright call of 'Miya-nee!' that Rachel used for her. The girl's eyes were completely blank. Drool and foam dripped from the corner of her mouth as she growled like a wild animal.

"Let me go!" The girl struggled while shouting, trying to break free from Miyako's strong grip.

Still, the woman kept holding onto her wrist desperately, not caring even if it left bruises on the child afterwards. "Listen to me, Rachel! You can't! If you take anymore candies you'll overdose and die!" She tried to reach the girl, but her words were nothing but noise in Rachel's ears. It was no good.

The samurai could hear the noises of children and pirates behind her. Shouts of worry, along with screams of anger and despair coming from the delusional kids. Stomping of large feet was enough to shake the floor she was currently sitting on, while desperately holding this small girl's wrist. Her golden eyes were warm and pleading, but they only stared in Rachel's unrecognizing ones.

"No! NO!" Rachel shouted and started hitting Miyako on the fact with her one small fist. She opened her palm and scratched Miyako on the face, almost getting her eye. The woman had to dodge and her grip loosened, enough for the wild Rachel to break free and escape.

"Rachel, no!" She was about to follow after her, when a familiar chill ran down her spine and she felt the aura of that harpy near them. *Monet! She's here!* Miyako instantly remembered her quest as her heart was still in Monet's possession, and her golden eyes darkened dangerously. She could hear Usopp's high pitched scream as the others noticed the bird woman as well.

Monet was in the Biscuits Room, waiting for the children with open wings while hovering above the ground. For Miyako, everything stood still and silent all of a sudden. Even as the chaos was still raging on around her, all her senses were now focused on one target right in front of her; the harpy woman. Through that engulfing pressure, a fuzzy voice over the intercom reached everyone's ears. It was a message for Caesar by one of his henchmen, but the public line den den mushi made all the other intercoms transfer the voice all around the facility.

"Master! Trafalgar Law has entered Building D! He is in the SAD production room!"

Miyako looked up at one of the intercoms, focusing on the message. A small, satisfied smile tugged on her lips at what she heard. *Good, so you made it Law.* Now, the destruction of the SAD tank was only in Law's hands. *Which means, I need to take care of my own business as well.* Her smile instantly disappeared as she lowered her head again, gazing once more at the form waiting for them at the entrance of the Biscuits Room.

"We need to stop that woman," Miyako muttered in a dark tone.

"Hm? Who's that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow, seeing a harpy-looking woman staring at them with sharp eyes. She watched them like a hawk waiting for its pray to come to it before it snaps its claws around the other animal's neck.

"We need to go after the children, hurry!" Chopper, who was finally back to his normal form, but unable to move from the exhaustion, exclaimed.

The group of children followed the one girl carrying all the candy who was desperately running towards the Biscuits room and Monet. Perhaps she didn't yet know Monet's role in all this and naively thought the woman would help her. However, that was hardly the case.

Mocha ran over to Monet, practically in tears as she panted, clutching onto that large bag of candies. "Monet, please help! If they eat these candies, they'll get even sicker!"

Monet flew down onto the ground right before Mocha, examining the girl with her keen stare. She clicked her tongue while chuckling, stepping closer to the child. With every step, her sharp claws scrapped the ground, making a sickening sound. "Tsk, tsk, tsk…Now, now, Mocha, you shouldn't be a bad girl. You should share the candy with everyone." Her expression was still smiling as she moved closer to the girl, but there was a dangerous glint in her eyes. Her smile was cold and never reached her eyes, only making it frightening rather than reassuring.

Mocha finally realized something was wrong and started inching backwards with fearful eyes, away from Monet. She felt a chill from the woman's stare on her, making her shiver in panic. Unconsciously, she protectively pulled the bag of candies closer to her chest.

Monet did not stop as she stepped closer and closer to the girl with every movement. She was about to corner the girl, rising one wing that suddenly hardened, making the edge glisten with its sharpness. "You know what happens to bad children, don't you Mocha?" Monet mocked while still feigning a soothing tone. She reveled in the sight of a shivering mess the girl became as the poor child had nowhere else to run. There was a wall behind her now, and she stood right before Monet's wing which was about to slash down on her. Monet showed no hesitation or remorse in her yellow eyes as she swung down with a cold expression.

Mocha closed her eyes, expecting a blow that surprisingly never came. She opened her eyes slowly, almost scared to look, seeing a shadow in front of her. Her eyes grew wide, but a relieved smile appeared on her face. "Miyako-oneechan!"

Standing between the harpy and her prey, Miyako had her katana unsheathed and was blocking Monet's wing from slicing into Mocha. "Mocha-chan, take those candies and run. Go!"

With a light nod, the girl listened and started running passed Monet and to the other side of the room where the exit was.

The harpy narrowed her eyes darkly at Miyako. "What do you think you're doing, Suzune-kun?" Her tone was light and smooth, but it was obvious that was only a mask concealing her true character.

The Strawhats ran into the Biscuits Room, after the children, when they noticed Miyako clashing weapons with the bird monster. "Nice one, Miyako! Just keep her busy," Usopp gave her a thumbs up, though he was mostly relieved that having the samurai deal with Monet meant the scary harpy won't be coming after them instead.

"I'm not letting you go after them," Miyako responded to Monet's threatening gaze with a cold tone of her own. She was just about to give the harpy a finishing blow with her haki, knowing full well their skills were miles apart, when her chest started throbbing with a piercing pain. Her eyes fluttered in pain as she remembered the reason behind her pain, yet was unable to do anything about it. Still clutching onto her katana, Miyako fell forward onto her knees, doubling over.

Monet chuckled, licking her lips in glee. "Fufu. Have you forgotten, Suzune-kun? As long as I have this, you are completely helpless against me." She showed the girl's own heart between her bird-like claws. "Now stop being a nuisance, and die," she added, about to cut Miyako's head off with her wing. "Skin katana!"

The girl bit her lip enough to bleed so she would be able to resist the pain momentarily, jumping sideways and rolling onto the ground to avoid Monet's slash. As she raised in a crouch, she saw a shadow pass her and Zoro appeared before her, cutting his two swords at the harpy just as Monet was about to attack Miyako again.

"What's going on here?" Zoro glanced between Miyako on the ground and Monet who was leering at the girl viciously.

The samurai girl was able to breathe again as Monet stopped pressing onto her heart, too busy with the swordsman to pay attention to it at the moment. Through her pants, Miyako explained, "She has something of mine and it's preventing me to fight with her. She won't fight fairly, this one…of that I'm certain." she glowered at Monet who flapped her wings to fly backwards and away from Zoro's reach.

Monet's snake eyes darter in the direction of the shouts as she heard the rest of the Strawhats calling after Mocha and the children. Glancing once more at Miyako, Monet licked her lips in excitement. "I will deal with you later." With that she started disappearing into thin air, turning into nothing more than soft flakes of white snow that scattered around the room.

"What the-?" Zoro clutched his two katana, but didn't even know where to look as the snow swirled around the room.

"She's a logia! She's going after the kids!" Miyako warned the other swordsman, already expecting Monet's next move.

As predicted, the bird woman reappeared before Robin, Nami and Chopper, with an ice-pick in one of her clawed legs.

"Kyaaa!" Nami grabbed Chopper's body to protect herself, using him as a shield while the poor reindeer couldn't move due to his recent transformation.

The pirate doctor yelled along, staring at the incoming weapon with shocked eyes of dread. "Don't use me as a shield, Namiiii!"

Just before it hit its mark, piercing through both pirates, Zoro once again appeared out of nowhere and stopped Monet's attack with his swords. "Oy…Why are you going after the weak ones?"

"Damn," Monet chuckled in amusement. She acted like she was simply playing around with them, not even serious yet. Even so, she held no hesitation in her as she planned to kill all of the intruders here.

Miyako sighed in relief as Roronoa made it in time. She grabbed her sword again and stood up, glaring at the bird woman. The kids were already out of the room and Nami managed to monetarily stop Monet with her attack. However, Miyako felt a chill as the atmosphere in the room changed. She could feel the tension with her senses as Monet's whole demeanor suddenly changed and became darker. Again, she changed her form into that of snow, surely going after the Strawhats who were just about to exit the Biscuits room and follow the kids.

The santoryu user cursed under his breath as he lost the bird woman again. "She dived into the snow! You bitch, do you have any intention to fight?!" He yelled, searching around the room for Monet's presence.

"I won't let you," Miyako muttered darkly, her usual bright golden eyes a dark color now. She could see the exit being blocked by a thick layer of snow while Nami was slowly enveloped into the same cold snow that rendered her immobile. The snow started forming and changing, lifting itself until a shape started appearing right behind the navigator. A woman was forming, but her features were distorted as the snowy jaws unhinged, showing rows of thin and sharp teeth. It was a form Miyako never saw on Monet before.

"I won't let you follow the children!" Even her voice was different, much gruffer, as the snow woman spoke in anger. She bit down towards Chopper, who was still in Nami's hands, but the navigator quickly moved him away to dodge the attack.

"Quatro mano; Spunk!" Nico Robin crossed her hands to use her powers, sprouting four large arms in front of her nakama and smashing their palms right into Monet's form. Even if she was dangerous, she was still only snow and crumbled like a fragile snowman under a child's boot.

Miyako used that time to run towards the clogged exit, and with one slash of her katana, cut the thick layer of snow down. It crumbled into the heap, opening up the doors for the Strawhats' escape. "Everyone, quickly go through!" She turned back towards the snow logia who was once again shaping herself back to her original form. With narrowed eyes, Miyako continued in a low tone, "I have unfinished business with this one."

"Suzune!" Monet yelled in anger as she started turning back to her human form. However, she collected herself and gave the Strawhats a vicious smile. "This is troubling…The children are master's precious experiments and my mission is to protect Caesar and his experiments. You are interfering with my mission." She flapped her wings again, floating above the ground as her gaze trailed from one person to the other.

Miyako clicked her tongue as she stepped between Monet and the Strawhats with both her hands clutching her sword. "Ignore her and go on, guys. I won't let her come after you." Even as she spoke, her eyes stayed solely focused on the enemy above her. She smirked at the other woman darkly while she spoke, "I still owe you for how nicely you treated me, Monet. Now I can finally return the favor," she said sarcastically.

Monet gave a smirk of her own as her mocking stare pierced through Miyako. "Now, now, don't tell me you hold a grudge? That's not cute at all," she taunted.

Behind Miyako, Nami, with Chopper in her arms, and Robin ran towards the exit. "Thanks, Miyako-chan! We leave this to you then!" They disappeared through the exit of the Biscuits Room.

Zoro, however, walked over and stopped not far from the samurai girl. Miyako blinked in confusion as she stared at the swordsman. "What are you waiting for? You should go ahead too, leave her to me."

Still, Roronoa stayed in his place, unmoving. "Even if you say that, this woman has something on you, right? That's why you doubled over in pain before…you can't fight with her on equal terms."

Miyako scowled at his words, cursing his sharp senses. He was absolutely right, though. "That's…true. But even so, I have no intention of losing," she argued.

Zoro looked back at the exit lazily, even though there was no sign of Nami and the others anymore. "If she passes through, Chopper and the rest will be in danger again. They need to focus on those kids, right?" He said nothing more, but his insinuation was perfectly clear nonetheless. He wanted to stay here and make sure Monet doesn't go after his friends again, which meant he didn't trust Miyako enough to stop Monet on her own.

That realization was frustrating for Miyako as she felt like he was underestimating her, but she could also understand his point of view; He didn't know her nor her abilities. Also, he saw Monet could hurt her easily since she had Miyako's heart. Lastly, he needed to protect his friends. Because of all these reasons Miyako couldn't bring herself to be angry at him, since she would most likely do the same if she was in his position.

Finally the samurai girl sighed in defeat. "She has my heart…I have to get it back," she admitted, casting a glance at the swordsman.

The swordsman quirked his eyebrow at her in wonder. "You heart…? As in…you're in love with her so much it hurts so you can't fight her?"

If Miyako would ever feel the piercing pain of being hit by an arrow, she was sure it would feel exactly like this moment. His words struck deep, making her experience utter outrage from the disgusting notion of her loving Monet. The feelings she had for the harpy were so far from love, just the thought of it made her shiver from the atrocity. It took her a while to collect herself and regain her voice, remembering that Zoro didn't know anything about Law's ope ope powers and his deal with Caesar concerning her heart. "Literally! I meant; she literally has my heart and she can crush it! Just the organ!"

Zoro grinned as if interested in this development. "Is that so?" He took a stance, preparing himself for a fight with his two swords.

"If you're done chatting, I'm about to kill you now," Monet chimed in a ringing voice, her one wing twisting and sharpening once again. "Snow sword!"

Miyako leaped at her, but the bird woman grabbed her heart and squeezed harshly, making the samurai fall to the ground with her face buried in the snow, while screaming in pain.

The harpy slashed at Zoro who blocked her attacks easily, both of them stopping in a standstill. Monet chuckled in amusement, licking her upper lip again. "For a while now you have only been stopping my attacks, but haven't pointed your blade at me. You know, I didn't think I could win against you, but…that might not be the case after all," her voice rang in interest, as she leered at the man.

The samurai girl managed to get back to her feet, her mind rushing as she frantically thought of a strategy to get her heart back and beat Monet. *It's no use just attacking her openly. She can squeeze my heart until I die, and I won't even be able to get close. Even if I struggle to ignore the pain, after a while it becomes unbearable. I need to find another way.* She glanced up at Zoro and the woman who were still clashing weapons, but the man only kept blocking Monet's attacks and kept her away from Miyako. He didn't try and attack first even though Miyako was certain the swordsman could easily overpower the woman. *What's with him? Why isn't he finishing her off?* Miyako frowned in confusion, thinking Zoro has some mysterious plan, but even after a while nothing happened.

New voices traveled towards the Biscuits Room while a thumping of footsteps neared closer to them. "Find the kids and let them get away from this place! There's no one here! Why is it so cold here!?"

*Marines?* Miyako clicked her tongue in annoyance because of her bad luck. She really didn't need marines to attack them and slow them down while they were already dealing with this snow woman.

Roronoa and Monet also turned their heads, momentarily stopping their fight to glance at the direction of the voices.

Yet the first one to step into the room, running like all hell was behind him, was the blonde cook of the Strawhats. "Chaaaarge!" Sanji was yelling, leading dozens of marines who followed him suit.

Miyako blinked in bewilderment. Sanji was the last one she'd expect leading the G-5, but there he was, appearing like a rightful leader of the group. "Sanji-san?"

"Why are you in command!?" Even Zoro was taken aback by the sight, completely forgetting his fight with the harpy for a moment.

One of the marines noticed the three people in the snow-covered room and notified Sanji of it, "Bro! There's no sign of the kids, but Pirate Hunter Zoro is here!"

The cook scowled in annoyance, muttering to himself about Zoro being conceited. Suddenly, he turned around to the marines and started shouting orders, "Alright men! Pull out those lower lips and make fun of him!" Together with the marines, Sanji pulled on his lower lip and started making mocking faces at the swordsman. The whole scene looked as if a dozen 10-year old children were running by.

Miyako, Zoro and even Monet sweat dropped at the sight, completely focused on this new development now. "I wish they would slip on the snow, hit their heads and die…," the santoryu user muttered. Zoro sighed before he started speaking, while pointing at the direction of the exit behind him. "Nami and Robin went that way. You're a nuisance so get on with it," he reported in a monotone tone.

"Oh, even though you're an idiot, that's some good info," Sanji exclaimed. He then turned his head and noticed Miyako standing there as well. His eyes instantly changed into love hearts as he grinned at her goofily. "Oh, Miyako-chan's here too! Miyako-cwaaan, take caaaare!" He turned back to Roronoa, his expression completely changing into a glare suddenly, "Oy, shitty swordsman, you better take care of Miyako-can! If something happens to her, I'll kick your ass!"

Miyako could only smile anxiously at the sight, giving Sanji a light wave, still sweat-dropping at his constant change of behavior.

Zoro just groaned in annoyance, rubbing the back of his head. "I get it, I get it, just leave already," he complained.

"Whoa, wait a moment!" Sanji stopped in his tracks suddenly, his feet sliding across the slippery snow. "Who's this beautiful lady?!"

The group of marines called out in sounds of admiration as they stared at the harpy woman, who suddenly stiffened as if unsure how to react to this new issue.

"She's so pretty!"

Eh? But look, she's not human…she's a harpy!"

"But if you take that out, she's still totally sexy!"

"Bewitching beauty!"

A snapping sound came from Zoro as his forehead's vein popped out from irritation. "You guys are really annoying so hurry the hell up and go!" He shouted in anger, though seemed to be completely ignored by the admiring marines and the foolish love cook. Meanwhile, Monet was still restless, but started blushing from the compliments even as she tried to conceal it by putting a wing over her face. "And why the hell are you so weak to compliments!?" He turned towards the harpy, even more irritated now.

Miyako nodded seriously with her eyes closed, her knowing expression showing that she knew the answer to that one as she crossed her arms on her chest. "It is because Monet is actually very conscious about her harpy appearance," Miyako explained, gaining a few interested 'Ooohs' from the crowd. The samurai girl still remembered Monet's shock after losing her limbs that were then replaced by these animal ones. At that time even Miyako felt a bit awkward around Monet, not mentioning the change since she could feel the woman's dismal mood about it.

"I don't care about that!" Zoro yelled, targeting his frustration towards Miyako now.

Still, the change of pace and Zoro's shouts managed to get Monet back on track as she pulled herself together. Slowly, her body started forming back into snow again. "W-Who are you people?" Gradually her embarrassment was being replaced by malevolence. "Anyone who wants to take away the children…I can't forgive!" Just as before, she built a form between her human and snow shape, truly appearing as a snow woman. Her deadly teeth glistened as she appeared right before one of the marines, biting into his shoulder viciously.

"Gyaaah!" The man shrieked in pain, struggling to escape from her jaws, only to fall back with a freezing wound on his shoulder. With shock, he and all his comrades stared at the gaping hole where his shoulder once was. The wound was red from frozen blood, but there wasn't even any blood dripping or spurting from the large wound as everything stayed frozen from Monet's bite. "My shoulder! Gaah! What happened!?"

The previous strangely cheerful atmosphere was completely erased as the marines noticed hostility in the woman, taking out their guns to shoot at her. Unfortunately, nothing helped as the bullets simply passed through the body of the logia user, before it mended back into her shape. Monet sneered at the men, ready to strike again, only to quickly fly back and dodge as a new person appeared before her.

Captain Tashigi stood tall and proud with her katana in her hands, shielding them from the harpy.

"She can use haki….?" Monet growled, her pervious smile wiped off from her face now.

"Captain-chaaan!" The marines cheered happily at the sight of their superior coming to their rescue.

"Tashigi-dono~!" Even Miyako cheered, with her hands clapped together in amazement, as she saw the woman holding her katana with both hands.

Once again, Zoro stared at the Heart Pirate in frustration and bafflement, "Why are even you cheering?!"

The dark-haired marine woman stepped forward cautiously, turning to Miyako and Zoro. "We managed to stop the gas at the entrance to this room for now, but it might come in from somewhere else again. We don't have time, so please all of you, chase those children with all you've got!"

The marines cheered, but one of the G-5 stopped smiling and thought for a second. "But captain, what about you?"

"I'm staying here," Tashigi stated in determination, giving Zoro a knowing stare that made him frown.

"What?" Both Samurai and the swordsman asked in unison, confused by this sudden turn of events.

~…~

Miyako couldn't help but stop and stare at the strange scene enfolding before her as she kept her eyes on Zoro and Tashigi. A drop of sweat dripped down her forehead at the two bickering inside the snow-filled room. *Well…the G-5 went after the kids and that's good I guess, but….what's with this situation?*

"You go too!" Zoro ordered the marine captain who had absolutely no intention of listening.

"I will not! I'm staying here," Tashigi argued. The stubborn look in her eyes clearly told them she had no intention of giving up on what she set out to do, but Miyako wasn't quite sure what that was yet.

"Ehh…I don't understand," finally the girl samurai deciding to cut in. "True, I need to get my heart back, but why do you think Roronoa-san here isn't enough for the likes of Monet?"

"Oy," the mentioned harpy warned, her eyebrow twitching in irritation at how Miyako spoke of her.

"Whatever! As a pirate, I'm free to take care of you first, right marine woman?!" Zoro obviously had enough of this charade and pointed his sword at Tashigi.

Miyako felt conflicted about this, not sure how to react. She knew Tashigi was a marine and therefore the enemy, but she finally found another swordswoman and didn't want to see her die already. The marine captain didn't seem like a bad person either, so Miyako really had nothing against her.

"You can't," Tashigi's bold statement clearly surprised everyone in the room.

"What?" Once again, both Miyako and Zoro asked in surprise. Only Monet stayed quiet, but chuckled softly, as if she was onto something, already realizing what this whole scene was about. It only made Miyako feel more clueless as she seemed to be the only one out of the loop here.

"You think women are weak and so you fight carelessly! Even though you won't lose, without delivering the finishing blow you won't win either! That's why I stayed behind! If I let this logia user chase after my subordinates, the damage will be enormous. You won't cut women, and so you can't win this fight!"

Miyako blinked at Zoro in query, silently asking if that was true, but his irked expression already told her everything. The swordsman's one good eye twitched in annoyance seeing Miyako's blank expression with her arms still crossed on her chest, sure that she was about to argue with him about his ways just like Tashigi always does.

"….." Miyako was speechless for a moment, before she sighed deeply and gave Zoro a completely disappointed look. At this point, she should've just called him an idiot outright because that's exactly what her gaze was telling him. She didn't look angry though. "So you don't cut women? Then why did you even stay behind to help me, acting all cool like that, when you couldn't beat Monet either? What good are you here then, anyway?"

Zoro's brow quivered in annoyance as he felt Miyako's every word pierce into him, right into his pride. At this rate, it would have been better if she was simply angry and yelling like the marine woman. Instead of being greatful for his help, the girl was giving him such a conceited speech. "Shut up! What's with that attitude!?" He argued back though Miyako's blank expression stayed the same, before she simply raised one eyebrow at him. Zoro's vein popped on his forehead again as he suddenly really did get an urge to cut a woman. However, he was able to calm himself, taking a deep breath, so his annoyed expression was replaced by a smug grin. "Fine…" He glanced back at Tashigi as an idea came to mind. He strolled back to the wall and sat there, ignoring the cold feel of the snow beneath him. He simply rest against his katana while the three women watched him in confusion. "Do as you like. It was my job as well to not let this woman chase my comrades, so as long as I protect this corridor, I'm good," he explained. Since the marine woman was acting so high and mighty about this, why not let her show exactly what she was made of.

Miyako sighed at the pair that was still bickering. Both were just being stubborn. She shook her head in disbelief about the whole messy situation. Finally, she stepped forward, a mocking smirk on her expression as she stared at the swordsman. "So you won't cut women? Well aren't you a gentleman," she started. She stepped next to Tashigi, moving her katana in a better position. The almost white-looking steel glistened as it reflected the light of the room together with the snow around them. "It's quite insulting to someone like me, so don't expect me to feel grateful. In kenjutsu, your gender, age, or status doesn't matter. As soon as you draw your sword against someone it means you are prepared to kill or be killed. It's just two kenshi against each other; nothing else should matter." The girl smirked, a taunting glint in her eyes. "Still, if you have such a handicap, that's your own problem so I won't complain. If you underestimate your opponent, it's you who is going to get hurt because of it. That just makes it easier for them." Miyako looked back at the harpy, her expression changing into a cold one. "Right now, though, all I need is a chance to get my heart back so I really don't care who is it I work with between you two," she added.

Zoro grinned back at Miyako's words as he watched her with a challenging stare in his one eye. "Enough talk then. Just end it, I'm getting bored," he answered.

Hearing this, Monet grinned, licking her lips in anticipation.

"Your heart back?" Tashigi repeated in wonder.

The Wano girl nodded. "She has it, and I can't do much damage to her while she has this leverage over me, so I need to get it back first. I do have a plan though…but I'll need your help," Miyako smiled at the marine woman. She was wondering will the captain really help her, seeing as Tashigi was a marine and Miyako a pirate.

On the samurai's delight, Tashigi nodded with a stern expression. "I will! Then we can bring her down together!"

Zoro watched Miyako, a smirk appearing on his lips. It wasn't exactly a mocking scoff from hearing her words, but rather amusement by them. She was an interesting sort, who would rather use her opponent's nature as her strength than complain about it. He understood from her words right away; if they were to fight, she wouldn't show him one bit of mercy just because he would not cut women. Even if her opponent had a handicap, if she fought them seriously, Suzune wouldn't bring down her own skills to be at level with theirs. He had to admit, he was quite fond with that way of thinking. However, none of that mattered if she didn't have the skills to back up her words.

Miyako turned to Tashigi and whispered something in her ear just before Monet narrowed her eyes at the scene and leaped at them. "I won't let you hatch up a plan against me, I am not stupid!" She yelled out and used her ice pick weapons to attack Tashigi. The captain blocked with her sword, but at that moment Monet turned into snow and traveled behind the woman, reappearing in her snow woman form to bite at the marine with her sharp teeth. "Even if you can use haki, it won't help you if you can't match up to my speed!" She went to bite at the marine, but the other woman blocked, although barely.

Tashigi slashed at the snow but it was no use. The flakes simply swirled around her in the air, dodging her each cut as if they danced along the wind created by her blade. Monet reformed into her human form again and attacked Tashigi with her claws, scrapping the sharp nails at the metal of the sword. "Wha!" The captain exclaimed in surprise as Monet pushed her away easily.

The bird women grinned at Zoro for a second, "You're a cold one."

"I don't want to be told that by a snow woman," the swordsman responded, still resting on the ground. He had no intention of helping the struggling marine woman. Looking at Miyako, who was still standing and watching the fight from the sidelines, the swordsman raised an eyebrow. "What about you? I would think you would want to help her?"

Miyako gazed back at the Pirate Hunter and only gave him a wide smirk without a word, before retuning her attention back to Tashigi's fight. Still, there was something in her eyes as she looked at him…something he couldn't quite decipher, but was definitely telling him to wait and see.

*It seems Tashigi-dono wants to prove herself so I'll let her…but I also need to wait for the perfect moment. It's not quite there yet,* Miyako thought, waiting patiently. Even so, her hand was clutching the hilt of Yawarakai-Te so hard, her fingers turned pale.

The fight between the Marine and Monet continued as the bird woman flew into the air, creating numerous snow rabbits and sending them flying down below. They appeared innocent enough, but were actually solidified and hard enough to break bones on contact. Even so, Tashigi fared well, using 'Sol' to move quickly across the area and dodge each snow rabbit with mere speed. As she moved, though, she walked right into Monet's trap as the harpy cornered her from above, sending a large blizzard that turned into a tornado towards Tashigi.

It was hard to see inside the spiraling blizzard, but Miyako's Kenbunshoku Haki could clearly tell. Suddenly her eyes darkened, the color of gold becoming colder in them. *It's time.* Without a second thought, she leaped forward and towards the blizzard in front of her.

Tashigi screamed in pain, as Monet latched onto her shoulder with her teeth just as she did with the G-5 soldier previously. Still, the marine captain knew what she had to do…she couldn't let go. If she did, her shoulder will be completely torn off. So instead, she grabbed onto Monet's neck, not letting go of her. "Wh-what are you doing!?" Monet struggled but was unable to escape. That's when she noticed a glint of metal behind Tashigi's back and a silhouette entering the blizzard.

Monet's eyes widened as she noted it was Suzune, rushing towards them with her katana ready to swing. But that was absurd! If Miyako swung with her sword now, she would cut not only Monet, but also Tashigi! Even so, there was no hesitation in Miyako's steely eyes, no second thought as she ran forward. Monet stiffened as she realized the samurai was indeed going to kill them both. Panic struck her at the realization, seeing that that samurai wasn't bluffing. *I need to get away!* Her only option was to turn into snow again, even if that meant letting go of Tashigi and not being able to rip away her shoulder. She cursed under her breath and formed back into flakes of snow, flying backwards. *I will simply form into a human again and crush that woman's heart once and for all!*

However, as Monet turned into the snow Miyako passed Tashigi and continued forward, right into the flying snow of the logia. The girl's eyes were focused on something, completely ignoring the snow around her. With her Observant haki she could clearly see through the snow, searching for one particular item. Finally, Miyako noticed it; her heart. In the middle of a twirling ball of snow, shaped to hold onto the cube, was Miyako's heart. The girl used her speed to rush forward, reaching out for it and grabbing the blue cube before Monet had the chance to change back and squeeze it again.

Monet grinned devilishly as she started turning back into her human form, only for her to stop in shock. "Where…? Where is it!? Where is the heart!?" She searched frantically, but there was no sign of Miyako's heart on her anymore.

Miyako stopped in her movement, her back still turned to the harpy, as she restored her heart back into her chest. The girl smiled as she finally felt whole again, sensing the soothing heartbeat inside of her.

"How!?" Monet shouted in complete outrage.

The samurai girl smirked at the other woman with a spiteful gaze in her eyes. "I just needed to wait for my chance till I could get close enough to you when you were in your logia form. Usually you would notice me and just use my heart, so you wouldn't have the need to turn into snow and leave my heart defenseless. But when you attacked Tashigi-dono, she immobilized you and put you in a tight position…you knew it was the only way for you to escape, but I knew that as well…so I made you turn into your logia form in order to escape from me. However, my heart isn't a part of your body so it would stay solid, and would be clearly visible to me for the taking…I just needed to be fast enough," she explained.

Miyako nodded to the marine captain as she prepared to make her move. "I thank you, Tashigi-dono, even though you got hurt I couldn't help you sooner….but now it's my turn to return the favor," she added.

Monet took a step backwards before flying into the air, a fearful gaze obvious in her snake-like eyes. "E-even so…don't act all haughty just because you got a little lucky! You simply took me by surprise this time, but you cannot match my speed when I'm in my logia form!" She started turning into snow again and rushed forward, the flakes swirling around the air to confuse her enemy.

"That is where you are wrong," Miyako murmured, leaping forward, right in front of the shape that started changing in Monet's snow-woman form. Monet tried to bite into Miyako with her teeth while she used both her wings to slice at the girl from each side. However, Miyako crouched to dodge both wings from beheading her as she rushed right into the snow woman. 'Ittouryu; Eight gates of the Dragon!' Miyako used her haki, enveloping her katana in it, and slashed eight time at Monet with great speed; both sides of her torso, both shoulders, both sides of her thighs, the top of her head and finally the chest, all slashed in one fluid movement as Miyako passed her. The girl appeared behind her target, as blood spurted from the bird woman. The wounds made but this attack were always shallow since the attack focuses more on speed than strength, hitting all eight spots as fast at the warrior could. Still, it was enough to make the opponent sustain enough damage and blood loss to make him incapacitated.

Monet screeched in pain as she fell onto the ground, unable to move. Her snow form didn't help her one bit as Miyako easily cut through her with her haki. Suzune slowly sheathed back her katana as the blizzard around the room quieted down until it reached a halt. The final snow fell to the ground, making another carpet of white, before it stopped completely. A crimson shade of red started spreading through the snow, marring its pure white colors. Miyako breathed out slowly, watching the small fog exit her lips from the cold air around her. She turned to Tashigi, who was holding her injured, but thankfully whole, shoulder. "Are you alright, Tashigi-dono? We should take care of your wounds," she ran over to the woman to examine her injuries.

"Ah, thank you, I'll be fine though," Tashigi commented. She still looked a bit startled about everything that happened even though she knew Miyako would do something like this. After all, the samurai only whispered one thing in her ear; "Try to immobilize her, even if it's for only one second.' And indeed, one second was enough for the girl to take back her heart and completely beat the harpy in one move. And yet, now she was smiling cheerfully at Tashigi as if the recent events were of no consequences, and as if Tashigi wasn't actually her enemy. The marine captain could only blink at the strange Wano girl perplexingly.

"It was quite smart that you didn't let her go when she bit into you. It was amazing that you could react so quickly and rationally even under such stress. Most people would pull away on reflex," Miyako commented. The words didn't sound arrogant coming from the one who just easily finished that fight, but rather there was only an approving tone in them.

"Well…Thank you?" Tashigi really felt quite embarrassed at the moment, even getting compliments from her enemy now. Her confusion was broken when she noticed a large shadow building behind Miyako. Tashigi widened her eyes, realizing that Monet was dragging herself towards them and managed to take one of her ice picks to try and pierce Miyako from behind. "Look out!"

The polite expression on Miyako's face completely changed in an instant as it was replaced by a deadly one. She already had a hand on the hilt of her katana, ready to pull it out and finish the job, but it was unnecessary. She could feel the other presence approaching and Monet didn't stand a chance against it.

The harpy noticed the Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro, standing in front of her, unsheathing his katana slowly. Suddenly she realized she could not even move before his piercing presence. It was as if her legs went numb as she watched him walk over to her. *Wh-what is this?! I can't move!* She started to panic, seeing the wild look in his one eye.

"When you realized you were no match for us, you should have run. Sure, I have some things I don't want to cut but…have you ever encountered a wild animal that you can guarantee will never bite a person?" He took out his one katana, deeming it enough to finish this fight. No…this fight has finished long before this anyway. However, he needed to extinguish that last bit of will to fight in Monet once and for all. "Because, I haven't," he finished, rushing forward. "One sword style; Great Dragon Movement!"

He slashed the bird woman horizontally, splitting her body perfectly in the middle. Both Miyako and Tashigi stood there with their mouths agape at the sight, wondering if they had underestimated this swordsman after all.

Roronoa then turned to the two remaining girls, sheathing back his katana safely. "Are you satisfied, you two?"

The two were just about to respond when they heard deep panting from the presumed-to-be-dead woman. Monet was still split in half, fruitlessly trying to literally pull herself together, only to fall into a heap of snow once more. She could not regain her human form at all. "A-are you…making…fun of….me?!" however, this time it was truly over. Her previous injuries made by Miyako were too deep, and the fear she felt when thinking she was about to die, gave her such a mental shock that she couldn't recover. Both physically and mentally, Monet was beaten. With a thud the woman fell onto the ground, unconscious.

"No way, you didn't use haki!" Tashigi exclaimed in bewilderment. "In the end, I was right! You couldn't deliver the finishing blow," she complained.

Miyako shrugged, walking next to the other two sword users. "She's right, you know."

Zoro's eyebrow twitched again. Now there were two of them ganging up on him. "There was no need, since Samurai Girl here already cut her. She wouldn't be able to do anything anyway, she was done for," he defended. "Besides, she fell unconscious, see. If she hadn't, I would have finished it," he added with a shrug.

"That's totally missing the point!" Tashigi argued on, complaining.

*Are these two always like this?* Miyako thought with a sweat drop.

"Anyway, good job you two, you didn't let her get to anyone. You can take the credit," Zoro continued.

"I don't need it," Miyako answered bluntly.

"Why are you just saying that like you're above me?!" The marine woman shouted back at him in anger.

"Because I am," the swordsman shrugged as he answered with a deadpan tone.

"Whaaat!?" Tashigi's infuriated voice echoed across the hallways as the trio sword users moved on to catch up with the rest of their companions.

~…~

"Gyaaah!" Law felt another choking pain in his chest as his heart was squeezed by Vergo again. It left him breathless, panting desperately to try and catch his breath. The pirate captain fell onto the railing, trying to lean on it for support. However, before he could even more, Vergo was already in front of him, swinging his bamboo staff covered in armament haki. Doflamingo's subordinate smashed the end of the bamboo into Law's head, bringing the pirate down to his knees again.

"You are such an ungrateful brat, Law….you should've known not to mess around with adults, " Vergo commented in a cold voice, before he squeezed Trafalgar's heart again, wringing out another scream of pain from the captain.

Even so, Law refused to show Vergo any sign of defeat. He still held that barbed look in his eyes as he glared at the man, pulling his lips into a snide smirk. "I planned out perfectly everything else. You were my only miscalculation, Vergo." He stretched his hands to fry Vergo with another counter shock attack, but before he managed to do it, the other man used his hand, coated with haki, to punch Law right in the gut.

"Put a 'san' there," the man responded coldly, his expression unchanging behind those dark sunglasses. Vergo was always the same; stoic and collected, even when he was actually angry. He ruthlessly and mercilessly disposed of his opponents without hesitation.

Trafalgar coughed up blood and saliva, feeling the pressure of the hit in his abdomen even when Vergo's fist was long gone. In the corner of his eye, he could see his fuzzy white hat lying on the level below where it fell from Vergo's previous attack. *Heh…damn…I bet she'll be angry if I lose it,* unwittingly he remembered the day the Wano girl gave him the hat as a present, not long after he lost the previous one. "I earned it with my own hard work, you know! So you can't lose it," she warned. It almost made Law laugh in irony, realizing what kind of trivial things he was thinking about while being beaten into a pulp by the enemy before him. Even so, it was better than remembering the bad memories he had with Doflamingo's subordinate in front of him.

"Stop! Don't hurt him! Don't hurt, Cora-san anymore!" Even now Law's crying voice of his younger self echoed in his mind, as he remembered his past. And with it, he remembered how brutal Vergo could truly be. Even to a child, he showed no mercy as he pounded Law, hit after hit, until the boy could barely move. But those hits were nothing compared to the pain and fear he felt for his friend's life. Seeing Vergo beat an already badly injured Corason until he was nearly dead, was what left Law traumatized as a child, even many years later. Yes, even 10 years later, Law could still remember that day perfectly in his head. Every detail; the screams, the sound of shots, the smell of blood…

The captain of the Heart Pirates gritted his teeth, glaring darkly at Vergo as his memories of the past resurfaced. He felt sick to his stomach, but not only from the pain caused by Vergo's punches.

A slight crease on Vergo's forehead displayed his annoyance because of the glare Law was giving him. "What is that look for?" Before he could hear an answer, he squeezed Law's heart again, making the pirate yelp in pain and fall onto the ground, barely breathing. "I have a message from Joker;…'It's a pity' he says," the bogus marine stated in the same monotone manner. Just as he was about to finish the pestering pirate captain once and for all, a presence appeared behind him. Without turning around, Vergo could already tell who it was disturbing him at the moment. "I'm a little busy, but I suppose it can't be helped…Vice Admiral Smoker," he noted.

~…..~

"Not that waaay!" Tashigi yelled for the hundredth time again as she tried to direct Zoro towards the right hallway.

"Unbelievable! All you have to do is follow after me, and yet you manage to get lost! How is that even possible?!" A frustrated Miyako joined the argument, pulling Zoro in another direction. She already knew this whole facility, spending months in it, so she had no problem orienteering and finding the right way. Yet, they were still proceeding so slowly, thanks to a certain Pirate Hunter whose sense of direction was so horrible it was as if he was cursed. "How hard can it be to follow me!?"

"Both of you are being too noisy! It's not my fault, your instructions are just bad," Zoro countered, not wanting to admit his fault in all this.

They were currently running through the building hallways, Zoro carrying a wounded Tashigi while Miyako ran in front of them to show the way. Even so, the samurai girl had to keep close watch on Zoro, turning around now and then, just to make sure he didn't wander off in a wrong direction.

"More importantly, let me down! This is too embarrassing!" The marine captain complained as she was treated like a sack of potatoes hanging over Roronoa's shoulder.

"Then what did you suddenly collapse for?" Zoro muttered in irritating as they continued to run.

"I was just a little dizzy," Tashigi pouted in response. Now she was the stubborn one.

Miyako sighed at both of them as they acted like squabbling children. "Honestly, if you two don't shut up, I'll throw you both into the gas!"

"…" For a while, both Tashigi and Zoro kept quiet, only for the marine woman to break the silence again when she noticed a certain sword strapped around the Pirate Hunter's waist. "Isn't that the legendary katana, Shuusui!?"

"Don't touch it, you sword maniac!" Zoro warned, turning his head to look at Tashigi who was now completely focused on his sword.

"Eeeh!?" This time even Miyako joined in as she exclaimed in shock. "Why do you have Shuusui with you!?"

"Gah, not you too," Zoro choked out as now both girls were examining his katana while still running.

~…..~

Smoker looked up at the ceiling, seeing a shadow of the ex-marine Vergo looming over him dangerously. He could feel pain in every screaming muscle of his body, protesting as he tried to get up again, yet it was no use. He could barely move, only catching his breath in pants as he felt blood dripping from his wounds. *Damn…in the end, I was no match for this guy. How pathetic!* He cursed at himself in his mind, closing his eyes as he furrowed his brows in a frown. *Still…I did what I needed to…the rest is up to you, as much as I hate this situation.*

"Listen, you are not allowed to act until I get my heart back from Caesar! At this rate, it will probably be with Vergo so that's what we need to focus on. Do you understand, Smoker-ya?" Law's words echoed inside Smoker's head, making him even more infuriated at the thought of collaborating and taking orders from a mere pirate.

"You better not mess it up now, Law…," the vice admiral warned in a mutter, still ignoring Vergo and simply staring at the ceiling.

The words, however, made Vergo stop and look at the marine in confusion for just a moment, before he sensed a presence behind him. That damn brat just wouldn't obediently stay down. With a sigh, Doflamingo's subordinate turned to face the youngster captain, only to scowl at the sight.

"My heart…you really got it back, Smoker-ya," Law commented coolly, neither in appreciation or shock, it was merely a statement before he put the cube with his heart back into his chest. The feeling was always strange, but he got used to it soon as he once again felt the heartbeat inside his body.

Vergo gritted his teeth in surprise, as he finally understood why Smoker kept attacking him with his logia fruit form despite the fact that Vergo's haki prevailed in their fight. Instead of him, the marine was after Law's heart from the beginning! "You bastard, when did you-!" He glared at Smoker's body on the ground, yet was only infuriated further as the two seemed to ignore him, deep in their own little banter.

"Now we're even…hurry up and finish it," Smoker commented through pants, ignoring Vergo's question. He still didn't even look at the two, only keeping his gaze on the metal ceiling of the SAD room. He was too frustrated for anything more than that.

Despite their small chit-chat, Law kept his expression serious as he kept his senses on Vergo, just in case the other decided to act all of a sudden. However, the fake marine didn't move from his spot, giving Law time to pull himself together and try to ignore the pain that was still pulsating thorough his newly-beaten body. Summoning his powers, the pirate captain remembered his fallen hat, returning it back into his hand. Seems Miyako won't get the pleasure to complain to him about it, after all. "You hate being in a debt of a pirate that much," he noted.

"It's a disgrace to a marine! I can't even face my subordinates," Smoker gritted his teeth in anger.

"However you did save me…" Law was much more flexible with his way of life though, as he didn't feel any hurt in his pride because of collaborating with a marine. In his case, as long as he could reach his aim, it was all the same to him. Smoker was just another mean to reach Law's goal. Carefully, he put the hat back onto his head, covering his dark gaze with the rim. "This is the end, Vergo-san," he deadpanned, finally adding the polite 'san' to the name, though it only sounded mocking now. Rather than a threat, his statement sounded like a plain, unchangeable fact, which only infuriated the bogus marine more. Once more, Trafalgar used his powers to summon his nodachi, resting it on his shoulder as usual. He was bizarrely calm and unworried, even though he was so badly beaten just a few minutes ago by the other man. "Don't think you guys can sit on that chair forever! You can hear me, can't you, Joker!?" He raised his voice this time, making sure it travels through the den den mushi Vergo kept in his coat.

As a soft response, he could hear a chuckle coming from the said den den mushi. It was enough for Law to know that Doflamingo was indeed listening carefully on the other side. Good. That way, the damned Shichibukai can hear everything that was about to transpire in this room, first hand. He will be able to hear the dying sounds of his closest subordinate.

"Vergo is done for, you're going to lose your most valued subordinate." Law could feel the burning delight while saying those words. "Strawhat-ya will bring down Caesar. In other words, you will lose all of SAD! That you could not foresee this worst possible outcome is because you're overconfident! Just try and think of your next move while you laugh away as always," he taunted, bitterness seeping out of him now together with the memories of his hate for Doflamingo. Finally, it has begun. Finally, he is about to destroy the World as it is. The change that is about to follow, won't be able to be stopped by anyone anymore. He smirked grimly, still keeping his stormy eyes on Vergo in front of him. "But your laugh won't last for very long, because we won't act the way you expect us to."

It wasn't surprising to Law that Doflamingo didn't take him seriously at all. Instead, an evil chortle transformed into a sinister laugh that was coming out the den den mishi now. It rested on top of Vergo's coat which fell to the floor in a soft rustle, while the form that filled it only moments ago completely disappeared. "Fufufu…fufufufufu! Aren't you pissing off Vergo who is right in front of you? Do you remember what happened in the past?! Do you remember what happened, when you really pissed Vergo off?! Fufufuf…You're traumatized, right? It shouldn't have disappeared…your fear towards Vergo!"

As Doflamingo continued to laugh through the den den mushi, the scene was slowly enfolding in the SAD room. Indeed, Law remembered…he remembered the pain, and blood, and fear. A fear that stayed with him for a long time. But he wasn't a helpless child anymore. He was neither that boy who hated the whole world, nor was he the sickly weak boy who couldn't protect anyone. He was someone else now; a captain of the Heart Pirates, a Royal Shichibukai, one of the Worst Generation, a person his nakama could depend on. He was Trafalgar Law, who will destroy this miserable wheel that has been turning this monotone world around for so long. And he knew he could do it because Corason told him so long ago. He knew he could do it…because of the Will of D!

As Vergo appeared before him in his full Busoshoku Haki form, veiled in black armor, Law simply started slowly sliding his nodachi out of its sheath. The memories of Vergo's beating so long ago was replaced by another memory, a more recent one.

"Alright, it's time to see what you've accomplished," Miyako smiled excitedly as Law took off the kairoseki handcuffs from his wrists. He sighed in relief as soon as the burning stone was away from him, leaving his arms feeling much lighter. The cuffs clacked as they hit the ground while the captain took Kikoku back into his hands.

Law gazed around the area, passing Miyako, who was currently in front of him. He could hear the noises of his crew back at the beach, where they were setting up camp. They docked on an uninhabited island, only to get some fresh air and rest since the men were getting cramped and irritated in the submarine for such a long time.

He and Miyako took that time to explore the small island and continue their training, finally having enough space without worrying that they'll sink their ship in the process. Even now, there were large boulders and trees neatly cut by Law's nodachi as he practiced with his kairoseki cuffs still on. After a while, Miyako stopped him and told him to rest before the real thing begins. He wasn't sure what she meant by it until she told him to take off his handcuffs and led him deeper into the island.

Still, the pirate captain could only stare before him in confusion while the girl kept smiling at him mischievously. She had that foxy leer on her face, indicating that she was amused by something only she could see.

"I will let you use your devil fruit powers for now, but you must focus all of your haki if you wish to cut it down," the samurai girl explained.

He felt a tinge of irritation for her tone as she used the word 'let' like he needed her permission for anything. Nevertheless, he was too perplexed by the situation to argue about such trivial matters now. There was something he must have still been missing because he couldn't understand why Miyako led him here nor what was he supposed to cut. "Cut what?"

The girl frowned as if she couldn't understand how he didn't get it yet. However, his impatient stare warned her not to play with him right now so she sighed and turned her back to him. With a wide gesture, the girl spread her arms towards a steep mountain in front of them.

Law stared at the rocky mountain, gazing up towards the peak. It wasn't particularly large and would probably take only an hour or two to climb, but no matter how you look at it, it was still a whole mountain. "You want me to…cut down this mountain?"

He could almost see two fox ears sprouting on Miyako's head as the girl chuckled. Oh, she was enjoying this…She was probably secretly laughing at his mystified, pale expression right now. "I suggest you hurry up and start…It'll take time since you can't do it in one swing yet. And you told the crew we'll only be anchored here for a few hours," she was teasing him now.

He gave her another warning glare, which the girl let her pass over her head, pretending ignorance. Even so, her expression became more serious as she continued. "You already know how dangerous the New World is…I don't have to tell you the enemies we will be facing now are of an entirely different caliber. Most of these enemies will be able to use haki, which you already know about. And among them, one of the Busoshoku Haki subtypes is known as Armament haki. Naturally this 'invisible armor' of Busoshoku Haki can be used as a weapon to strike others with. It can be used to augment the user's own attacks, projected ahead of the user as pure brute force, or imbued in weapons to increase their effectiveness. However, a heavy concentration of this Haki can be used to harden parts of one's body, turning the area black, thus making the user denser and more formidable, and giving their attacks greater power," Miyako explained.

Law's expression turned sour as he listened, knowing full well what she was talking about as he had memories of his own about this particular haki usage. "I know…I've seen Armament haki before," his tone was much colder when he answered.

It took Miyako aback slightly; not his knowledge on the subject, but the bitter tone in his voice. She wondered if there were any memories connected to this that made him feel this way, but she already knew him well enough to know he wouldn't tell her openly even if she asked. So instead she ignored it, and continued with a nod. "In that case you already know how important it is to strengthen yourself enough to be able to cut through it. If you cannot do this, then you won't be able to overcome whatever is waiting for us out there."

"I am well aware of that," Law answered in a serious manner.

"In your case I believe you have slight advantage with your ope ope powers. They let you cut through things more easily than you would be able to without them. However, do not rely on them too much. One whose haki is stronger than yours can easily counter even your powers. If their armament haki is strong enough, they might even withstand your slash with the devil fruit abilities. That's why you need to train your haki well," Miyako finished. "And that's why…" Miyako added, gesturing at the mountain once more with a wide grin. "Tha-daa!"

At first Trafalgar stared at the girl as if she was raving mad, but gave up and sighed in defeat after a while. His troubled expression was replaced by a grin as he fixed the hat on top of his head. He gazed up at the mountain one more time, unsure how to even start this. Even so, there was confidence in his grey eyes as he was ready to take on any challenge to become stronger. "So be it," he finally concluded with an excited gleam in his eyes.

A shadow covered Law as Vergo loomed over him dangerously, the atmosphere tense enough to be cut between them.

"His haki can protect him even from that cutting power of yours! In both strength and standing, you're nothing compared to Vergo!" Joker's words continued as his subordinate rushed at Trafalgar.

Everything was perfectly quiet suddenly, even Doflamingo's laughter stopped, as the two faced each other. The whole act didn't take more than seconds, but it felt dragged out for ages as Vergo attacked the pirate captain who summoned up his powers while unsheathing his nodachi in one swift movement. The large man leaped forward with his bamboo staff high in the air, coated in the same dark haki as the rest of his strong body. His muscular form appeared like a mountain in front of Law, who was at least two heads shorter in size and much leaner.

However, things were different now that Trafalgar had his heart back. He could go all out. Larger didn't always mean better and where Law lacked in size, he compensated in speed and skill. His Room appeared around the whole area, stretching even outside the walls of the building. The pirate captain clutched the hilt of his sword with both hands, leaping forward towards his attacker. Even before Vergo had time to swing down with his weapon, Trafalgar already passed him, slicing easily through the mountain before him. Cutting into the armament haki easily as a knife cut through hot butter.

In one short moment that appeared as long as an hour, Law ended his attack and passed behind him, leaving the other man in two pieces as his torso separated from his legs. There was no blood as it would be expected, since Law used his ope ope powers on him. He could've used solely his haki and not his devil fruit power. He could've ended it right there and then. However, he didn't want to end it so quickly. He wanted Vergo to realize exactly what happened to him. He wanted the other man to understand he was beaten by Law and to realize his life was now solely in Law's hands. It depended on the pirate captain's mercy whether the other would live or die, and Trafalgar had none for this man.

"It's been two years after the war," Trafalgar started. "Exactly who put what into motion?! You only kept the peace," everything was completely silent as he talked now. Even Joker realized what had happened and that Law was still alive and well, meaning his subordinate was most definitely beaten. "Whitebeard only put an end to the last era. The marines have been preparing a new battle force! They haven't challenged any of the big names…as if they were preparing for something! That war was just a prelude. You always said it; together with an unstoppable wave, the new era of the great ones will come!" A sadistic grin spread wide across the young man's face, his eyes burning as he watched something in the distance…something only he could see as of yet. "I've destroyed the gears…and no one can turn them back!" In front of him, a large cut appeared in the walls of the SAD room. A slash went through the SAD tank, through the thick metal walls of the whole facility, splitting the whole building into two. No, not just the whole building, but the whole island was cut with the mountains floating upwards along with the room of this facility since Law's ope ope powers were still active. Slowly, everything around started shrieking as the supports of the building strained to keep an already-broken mechanism. Gradually, the whole upper part started sliding to the side, crushing everything else on its path. Law didn't only destroy the SAD tank, but the whole research facility with it. No, rather, he destroyed the entire Punk Hazard.

He raised an eyebrow as he caused more damage than he originally meant to. He wanted to go all out when beating Vergo, but even he didn't know the consequences would be so devastating. *Ah…I might have overdone it a bit,* he sighed.

~…~

"Ah! We've arrived!" Miyako exclaimed in relief when the trio finally noticed the group of marines and the Strawhats on their way. She felt her eyes tearing at the joy, "Thank god…with Zoro-san's lousy direction senses I thought we'd keep getting lost forever," she whimpered from the pain and struggle she had to go through to get them all here.

"Oy!" The Pirate Hunter protested angrily at her words that jabbed right at his pride once more. Somehow this girl knew exactly what to say to kick him right into the ego, although he would never admit it. What's more, the other one currently on his shoulder, wasn't much better either.

"Let me down now, please! We're here! It's too embarrassing!" Tashigi screamed, struggling in protest and kicking her legs at Zoro who was still running and carrying her like some luggage.

The trio were greeted with Sanji's infuriated voice as he watched the scene between Tashigi and Zoro in rage. "You bastard! Who gave you permission to carry Tashigi-chan!?"

Just then, the whole building shook beneath their feet as the room separated and slid upwards, defying all laws of physics. *An earthquake!?* Miyako stopped in her tracks, staring up at the strange phenomena in puzzlement together with the rest of the group. *No…I only know one person who could do this, but…That guy, did he actually cut the whole building in half!?* Miyako had to admit she felt pride and amazement swell up inside her as she witnessed the remarkable power of her captain. Even she didn't know Law was capable of this much, though she knew best how strong he had become in this course of two years. She smiled softly, still looking up at the white sky that was now visible above their heads. *You're amazing…Law.*

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Nami's voice yelling for them to go back. For some reason everyone; the Strawhats, marines and the children, were now running towards them. Miyako blinked in wonder, but her perplexed expression soon changed into a relieved one when she noticed the children were safe and calm now. At least they were taken care of. With a grin, Miyako took a deep breath before shouting for everyone to hear, "Everyone, let's go to the gate R-66!"

"Aaaaye!" Everyone together, be it a marine or a pirate, cheered in unison.

"Also, someone watch out for Zoro-san or he'll get separated," the samurai girl added, already learning her lesson about the man's devastatingly bad orientating abilities. Honestly, it was almost an impressive talent, how bad they were.

"Are you picking a fight?!" The pirate hunter yelled in return, though he stayed ignored.

"Anyway, we have to hurry! We're being surrounded by the gas! Soon we will be trapped here!" Nami warned everyone, searching frantically for another exit.

"Follow me," Miyako was glad now for spending all that time on Punk Hazard, often roaming the corridors of this research facility. Due to that, she knew every nook and cranny of this place, having it mapped in her brain just in case they'd need a speedy exit like today. She expected her and Law would need to hurry out of here after they kidnap Caesar, though never in her wildest dreams did she think she would be leading the Strawhat pirates out, instead.

She led the group through another corridor only to stop abruptly as she saw the purplish gas creep from around the corner and after them. *Dammit, this way is no good too!* She turned towards the expectant group and called out, "Everyone back!" They all hurried together in a different direction when a wailing voice yelled out for them.

Miyako could see the tall skeleton of the Strawhats running wildly from the gas as he held something underneath his arm. A figure? It looked like one of those wax figures in the art museums, though this seemed almost melted, with most of its features already gone. As the pirate drew closer, Miyako recognized it as one of the solidified statues made by Shinokuni after the victims got exposed to it.

"This is bad! Kin'emon-san got hit by the lethal gas and died! Chopper-san, do something!" Brook called out with teary eye sockets as he pleaded with the small doctor of the group. Still, the reindeer was already taking care of Mocha who overdosed on the candy drugs and the other children who were still in pain, having no time to look at the samurai now when the gas was after them.

Miyako stopped and paled at the sight of Kin'emon's statuesque body, her breath hitching in her throat. She didn't particularly like the samurai, but it was far from wanting him death. After all, what about his boy, Momonosuke-kun? Wasn't he shouting just a while ago how he will save his son, yet now the Wano boy has been left all alone and fatherless.

"I'm sorry, Miyako-san! You told me to stop him, but I wasn't on time," Brook explained in tears as he winced. "It was as you suspected; he thought that dragon we slashed was his son and went back after him." Brook shook his head as he repeated Kin'emon's words from earlier; "If you put your spirit into it there's nothing you cannot do! I shall go! Be it through fire or gas!" or so he said…But this is how he ended up!" The skeleton showed the sorry state the samurai was left in after the gas effects. "I'm sorry!"

The girl clenched her fists, staring down at Kin'emon's form while gritting her teeth. *You fool…Who's going to look after Momonosuke-kun now!? How could you let yourself become this way, you rash idiot!?* She turned her darkened gaze from the sight, fighting her emotions. She thought of the little Wano boy as well, who will have to be told his father died while trying to save him. How will Momonosuke react to something like that? Will he even recover? He was a strong boy, but losing his father like this was just too cruel. Knowing full well what it was like losing your parents as a young child, Miyako didn't want that kind of fate for anyone, especially a friend. Anger and sorrow both mixed together for the man before her, but she had to keep it in and put it at the back of her mind. They were still in danger and if she didn't find a way out of here, they will all end up just like Kin'emon-dono.

"Come on," she finally urged softly through gritted teeth. "Please, carry him with you Skeleton-san…so we can at least give his remains a proper burial afterwards," she muttered. "But for now, we must think of our own escape," she added, raising her head towards the group again. There was still emotion in her eyes, but also determination. She had no intention of dying here.

The group all looked back at her with worry, but no one commented on it. Instead, they gave a firm nod that clearly stated they were prepared to follow her.

*There is one more way. If we can reach building D, we can still make it to room R through the passage,* the samurai concluded gesturing for everyone to follow her.

The group ran through the corridors of the building B, carefully avoiding any areas where the gas has already spread. Finally, they reached the large gates that separated the D building from the B one, but the thick metal doors were already closed. The gates were especially made to withstand explosions and any other substances in case of a research accident or a gas spillage, much like this. They were heavily proofed with steel and too massive to open manually.

"Oh, no, what do we do?! The doors are sealed shut!" Chopper panicked as he saw the large gates in their way. He was still tending to Mocha who had trouble breathing and wouldn't wake up even after he fixed her on the IV. At this rate if they don't hurry, he won't be able to save neither the children nor anyone else in this dire situation.

Miyako's eyes narrowed as she still continued forward, leading in front of the group. Without stopping, the girl grabbed the hilt of her katana, opening it slowly. "Don't stop, keep going!" She yelled out to the group to keep running. Beside her, the other swordsman of the group, Zoro, appeared with a grin on his features. "I don't need help with this," she commented calmly, but the other just shook his head.

"Now, now, don't be so prideful," he commented in amusement, already taking out two of his swords while putting the third one between his teeth. It was the first time Miyako saw him use all three swords in a santoryu technique.

She couldn't help but remember his bickering with Tashigi-dono from earlier. She was being called too prideful by a man who wouldn't admit he had bad sense of direction or when he was lost, nor did he want to confirm his obvious view of women; not being able to fight them seriously. Miyako doubted he ever killed a woman and probably never would. Still, he had too much pride to confess to it. She rolled her eyes at his words to her. "You're the last person I want to hear that from," she commented.

"Eh?" Zoro gave her a questioning frown, thinking she just argued with him even though he wasn't quite sure how. He received no answer as the girl already hurried ahead, in front of him, with one hand still on the scabbard while the other rested on the sword's hilt.

Miyako had to admit, Roronoa Zoro was waking up a more competitive side of her, especially because of him underestimating women. She knew he didn't exactly believe all women were beneath him, yet rather it was like he had a soft spot that hindered him in fighting them with his full strength. As much as he means no harm by it, it still felt like a slap in the face and an insult to all women like her or Tashigi that were trying to seriously become proper kenshi. Because of that, a piece of her had a burning desire to show him that swordswomen shouldn't be underestimated. She wasn't usually a very competitive person, but meeting a strong swordfighter always made her blood boil in excitement, and Roronoa Zoro already had a name for himself as a swordsman. What's more, the girl found his santoryu style fascinating; something she never heard of or witnessed before; not in Wanokuni, the land of the samurai, or anywhere else in the world. Secretly, the prospect of seeing it made her even more thrilled as she found it a true privilege. On the other hand though, she had a strong sense that told her she didn't want to lose to him in kenjutsu, either. She knew not to get ahead of herself, but still she longed to show him she was just as good, if not better, with her Yawarakai-Te.

Just as she was about to make her move, she felt Zoro's presence appear next to her again without even having to look to her side. He caught up with her easily, obviously not wanting to be left behind in this. This time she didn't react to him, instead focusing all her attention on the steel gates in front of her.

She leaped forward, knowing full well she only had one shot at cutting these gates since the whole group was right behind her, rushing towards those doors. If she fails to cut them down, they won't have the time to stop and will all smash into the doors and fall on one another. They didn't have time to dawdle like that since Shinokuni was right behind them.

Beside her, Zoro did the same as she rushed forward in one swift motion, swinging all three katana at once.

'Ittouryu; Kiritateru!'

'Santoryu; Karasuma Gari!'

Both swordfighters slashed the steel gates in front of them at the same time, each using their own technique, but equally being able to cut through the thick steel. With a swift sound of the swords, the gates fell apart in pieces. Neither of them even stopped in their track as they sheathed back their katana and landed in a crouch before moving forward in a run, still in the lead of the rest of the group.

"Wow, that was great Miyako-neechan!" Nami proclaimed excitedly, her eyes almost appearing as there were shining stars of awe in them.

"You two are awesome!" The G-5 marines cheered in amazement as they watched the two kenshi swiftly clear out the path before them without batting an eye. "And Burning-Eyed Miyako is cute,~" one of them added.

Zoro hummed in thought as he ran next to the samurai girl. "Not bad," he smirked at her, though it was hard to tell was it taunting or appreciative when it came to him.

Still, the girl didn't have a feeling he was mocking her as he said that. As a result, she returned a mischievous smile at him, "You too."

Those were the only words they exchanged, mere observations rather than compliments, before they proceeded on running in silence. For the two of them, nothing more needed to be said as they both lived for the actions rather than words. For those who lived by the sword, acknowledging each other's skills was enough of an understating between them and all they truly appreciated.

"Oooy!" Miyako recognized the cheerful voice that greeted them as they finally ran through the Room D. Monkey D. Luffy stood next to an injured Brownbeard, waving at the incoming group with a wide grin on his face. By the look of it, it seems he prevailed in his fight with Caesar. The girl noticed a strange small creature coiled close to the pirate captain, a dragon-looking animal, but had no time to think of it as she frantically searched for her own captain with her gaze. The room was vast, with all kinds of mayhem going on now that all the pirates, children and marines were together in one place. What's more, the whole building was still shaking as the facility slowly fell apart from Law's previous attack.

She finally noticed her captain calling out for the others to quickly join him as he debated something with Smoker. "Migiwara-ya!" Trafalgar gestured for Luffy and the others to join him, pointing at a large rail cart behind him. "Get everyone in this, quick! We need to get out of here!"

Meanwhile, the G-5 soldiers along with Tashigi appeared as relieved as Miyako as they noticed their vice admiral, who was bloodied and injured, but luckily still alive and moving. They cheered at him happily, surrounding their superior, telling him everything that happened in a rush of unintelligible words.

The samurai girl passed them, running to the captain of the Heart Pirates instead. "Law!" She called out with a smile to greet him, almost crashing into him from surprise as she forgot herself for a moment and almost didn't stop in time. The reason were the dark bruises and cuts on his face and the blood still dripping from the side of his head, the wound covered beneath his hat. The girl's expression changed into a worried one as she examined him with her gaze. "What happened to you?"

Trafalgar simply shook his head to dismiss it, grabbing her by the forearm and slightly shoving her towards the large cart. "Don't worry about me now, I'm fine. Quickly, get in," he urged her along with everyone else.

The kids started climbing into the cart with the Strawhats' help while Chopper still tended to the unconscious Mocha. Miyako examined each kid, counting them as they went in to make sure no child was left behind. She sighed in relief when she noticed Rachel among them, though she was also unconscious and seemed in pain. The drugs were still in the kids' system, troubling them. Still, there was one more child she had to find no matter what, yet there was no sign of his face among the others. *Momonosuke? Where are you?!*

She felt her nervousness change into panic that slightly rose inside of her as the kids were all getting on the rail cart, and still no sign of the Wano boy. "Momonosuke-kun?! Momonosuke?" She started calling out for him, livid with worry now. They were about to head out and the whole building was about to explode…if he wasn't here, there was no time to go back and search for him. *Please, please, be here!* She searched around, passing the people and turning around each child his age and stature to check if it was him. "Momonosuke!?" She yelled as hard as she could, praying for an answer.

She could hear Law yelling at Strawhat again as the boy refused to leave without all of his companions. Some were still missing. At least that gave her some more time to search for the Wanokuni boy.

She already felt her throat run dry from the shouts, when a sleepy voice finally answered. "Mnnn? Who calls my name?"

Miyako blinked and turned around towards the voice, recognizing it as Momonosuke's, but still couldn't find the boy anywhere. Only then did she notice a small pink serpent lying on the cart's edge. It looked dizzy and weak, as it just woke up. The girl had to close her mouth that opened in shock, before she stepped over to the animal and knelt down to look at it more closely. "Momonosuke-kun?"

The small dragon raised his weary head and looked straight back into her golden eyes. "Ah! The scary witch!" He exclaimed suddenly recognizing the girl in front of him.

Miyako's expression instantly changed into an annoyed one as her eyebrow twitched. Slowly she coiled her hands around his lean body, squeezing gradually stronger where his neck should be. "Who are you calling a witch," she asked in a murmuring voice while a dark aura started appearing around her.

"I-I apologize verily!" The dragon choked out between her hands, afraid to anger the woman any further. He still remembered what happened the last time she got truly mad at him.

The girl sighed, both in exasperation and relief, as she let him go. "Well at least I know it's really you…You really turned into a dragon then," she stated in wonder. "You ate Caesar's zoan devil fruit, haven't you?" There was slight reprimanding in her tone, though she was too glad to see the boy alive and well to truly be angry at him.

The boy looked to the side, obviously avoiding her piercing gaze as a drop of sweat dripped down the side of his head. "I..I have no idea what you are talking about," he lied so obviously.

The girl gave him a look underneath her eyelids, raising her eyebrow in question as she clearly showed she didn't believe him one bit. She took one of the dragon boy's whiskers and pulled at it lightly. "Didn't your parents teach you not to lie to your elders?" As soon as she said it, she regretted it because it made her remember the grave news she was yet to share with the boy about his father. What should she do? How to tell a child his father was dead and gone forever? The girl bit her lip, deciding to wait until they were at least out of the building and in safety before telling him.

However, the fates weren't on her side this day. As soon as Brook and the other Strawhats arrived through the gates in a nick of time, the skeleton took out Kin'emon's body and asked loudly, "Hey, what should we do with Kin'emon-san?"

The dragon instantly heard his father's name being mentioned and rose up to look at the Strawhats with tears in his eyes. "K-Kin'emon!?" The little animal slithered closer to his father's solidified form, examining it from each side in panic. "What happened to him? What happened to my father!?" The small dragon jumped towards Kin'emon in the attempt to embrace the cold statue. "Father!? What happened to you? Say something!"

Miyako's gaze softened at the sight, but there was nothing she could do for him. "I'm sorry, Momonosuke-kun." She put a comforting hand on the boy to try and calm him. All she could tell him now was the truth. "Your father came here to save you and fought bravely. He even rushed right into danger and death, just for you. Your father loved you very much."

The dragon boy cast his glances from Kin'emon's body to Miyako and back, not even knowing what to do or say as his lips quivered in sorrow. "Miyako-dono!" He finally rushed into Miyako's arms with tears falling down his scaled face.

The girl lowered her saddened gaze, embracing back the small animal boy in hopes her warmth would at least somewhat console him.

"Everyone, we're going!" Law ordered, breaking the gloomy atmosphere as he used his powers to start the gigantic cart. It moved slowly at first, before reaching a small downhill and gaining more speed on it. The tanker started riding the rails, going faster and faster as the heavy cargo added to its speed.

Suddenly, an explosion from somewhere near shook the whole tunnel and the rails, almost derailing the whole cart. "Kyaa!" The children screamed in fear as a part of the ceiling broke off and started falling down onto them. Luffy quickly kicked away the large ruble, while Zoro cut another with his sword.

"What was that?!"

"It's the SAD production room. It must've exploded," Law explained calmly as if the chaotic surroundings didn't bother him one bit.

"So that large cut that split the whole island; that was you, after all," Miyako noted, looking back at her captain. She didn't say anything more, but there was a suggestive look in her eyes as if saying 'Good one' to him.

Law simply smirked back, "It was much easier than cutting a mountain."

Their little moment didn't last long as the corridor in front of them collapsed. The raol cart was about to get smashed right into the caved in part of the ruble. Trafalgar noticed it after Usopp's panicked shriek. "This corridor is a tunnel within the mountain. If it collapses, we'll be buried alive," he explained blankly.

"So why are you so relaxed!?" Usopp yelled back at the Heart Pirate captain. Unlike the Surgeon of Death, the sniper was dying of distress as he panicked around the cart. The whole scene reminded Miyako of a certain polar bear in the Heart Pirates' crew when he had one of his panicky fits.

*Well, the ruble ahead isn't a problem anyway,* she though, stepping at the front of the cart and putting one hand on the hilt of her katana. However just then, she noticed Roronoa Zoro stepping forward as well, as he also prepared to draw out his sword.

The girl's eye twitched in annoyance even as she kept the tense smile on her face. "I am enough to deal with this," she told him.

"No need, I'll do it," Zoro responded, a restless expression starting to surface on his features.

Behind them, the G-5 were still shouting in freight that they'll all crash, burn and die in this tunnel.

"I'll do it!" Zoro countered again.

"No, I will!" Miyako argued, now clearly irked.

"Somebody, just please deal with iiiitt!" Usopp yelled next to them, flailing his hands in the air as tears started spilling over.

At the same time, the two sword users unsheathed their katana in one swift movement from a battojutsu stance, cutting the rubble in front of the cart. It split into little pieces, easily clearing the way for the large tanker to pass through.

The marines celebrated, yelling words of praise to the two kenshi, though Miyako and Zoro simply huffed at each other, ignoring the voices behind them.

"Oy…isn't it time for you to return my heart now?" Smoker bit the end of his cigars, giving out his hand towards Law expectantly.

Miyako blinked at the two, finally realizing what Law meant when he told her earlier that he had something that would tame even a stray dog. That's why Law knew Smoker wouldn't betray him in their deal; Trafalgar had kept his heart for himself from the start.

Trafalgar reached into his black coat and took out a beating heart in a small blue cube. As usual it freaked the samurai girl out to see a still-beating organ outside of the body like that. The pirate captain returned Smoker's hear to him, giving the marine one more cautious look just to see how the other will react now that he got his heart back. Thankfully, Smoker didn't seem to be in a fighting mood, as of yet at least.

"Why did Caesar think he had my heart, anyway?" The vice admiral furrowed his eyebrows in thought as he stared at Trafalgar. He guessed it had something to do with the Surgeon of Death, already knowing the man's scheming nature.

Law kept quiet for a while before answering, his gaze still trained on their path ahead. "He just misunderstood. I just kindly gave back the heart of his secretary, Monet." The pirate then turned to pierce Smoker with his metallic eyes that gleamed with mischief as he gave the marine an evil grin. "They do say that those who do good, will get good things in return."

Smoker glared back at Law in silence as he saw the pirate's ominous expression. One thing was certain to the White Hunter now; this man was truly dangerous. The title of one of the Worst Generation suited him well.

One of the marines suddenly called out as a bright light ahead blinded the group. "I can see the exit!"

Nami used her tempo to create a large gust of wind, shieling the group from the gas that accumulated outside.

"Who-hoooo!" Strawhats Luffy was at the front of the tanker, cheerfully jumping with his hands into the air. "We're oooout!"

The others also cheered and laughed, feeling that the worst was truly behind them. What's more, the first scene they all saw was a puzzling one as their gaze fell on a large robot man fighting beside the pirate ship Sunny.

Franky was easily recognized by the Strawhats as all the men in the group yelled out in unison, "It's the Shogun!"

The boys in the group of children had a similar reaction as they started jumping up and down in excitement, "It's a robot!"

Miyako, along with other girls simply stared at the sight not understanding what the big deal was. Vaguely she remembered Shachi and Penguin had a similar reaction when they were building the large fighting robot at Noir island. Rather, those two mechanics had similar teary reactions even when only seeing mechanical parts. They would probably get a mini heart attack at this scene of a large robot with a sword on his back. The samurai girl sighed at the thought, shaking her head in confusion. *Men are such strange creatures sometimes,* she concluded.

She glanced at Trafalgar, wondering if her captain would have the same reaction as the rest, but instead she saw him focused solely on two other figures on the shore. He had a dark look in his eyes as he glared at a large man and a dark-haired woman, obviously recognizing them.

"Buffalo! And you're…Baby5?!" He yelled out to get their confirmation though he hardly needed it. By his slight hesitation it appeared he had a bit trouble recognizing them, as if they were people from a distant past that he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Law! Are you really going to defy Joker?!"

"You traitor! Joker was still keeping the Heart seat for your sake!"

It didn't take Miyako long to realize who these people were. With a death glare, the girl put a hand on her katana, ready to use it. "Joker's subordinates!"

"Hm? Who're they?" Luffy tilted his head as he glanced between Law and the two strangers. Even now, his easy-going attitude was obvious as he barely caught on the atmosphere or the conversation that just unfolded between Trafalgar and the pair.

Law's answer was simple and blunt as he looked back at Buffalo and Baby5, his two companions from his childhood days. "They're enemies." Even if he did know them well, there was no hesitation in his voice. No mercy in his eyes. To him, right now, they were simply enemies just like everyone else in Doflamingo's family.

"They've got Caesar. We need him, right?" Robin intervened as she pointed at the two flying off in the air with the logia scientist on the man's back.

"Heh, leave it to me. Flying enemies should be taken care of by the sniper," Usopp answered, already preparing his long slingshot to use.

Law, however, ignored him as he didn't want to leave anything to chance. It was better that he takes care of it with his powers. Only then, he'll be certain that Caesar would not escape from them. These Strawhat pirates were too easy-going and eccentric to depend upon. After all, Strawhat Luffy already messed up once by sending Caesar flying away instead of kidnaping him, which was the deal. And all because of a simple reason which was that the Strawhat boy didn't like the scientist who angered him. The dark doctor started creating his Room with his powers, the blue energy circling around in his palm.

He was instantly stopped by Luffy and the others. "Hey, hey, Usopp said he'll take care of it," the other captain protested.

"Don't underestimate our sniper just because he's got a long nose," Zoro added seriously.

"We're in an alliance, right? So you'd better trust us a little," Nami stepped forward, tapping her staff on her right shoulder. She licked her lips with a malicious grin on her face. "I'm also itching to fight some more, after doing nothing but running!"

Trafalgar still wouldn't hear of it, as he narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Don't be an idiot! If worst comes to worst, they'll run off and the plan-" he was stopped when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

Glancing next to him, he noticed his samurai looking back at him with a smiling face and a dangerous look in her eyes. "Nami-san is right, we are in an alliance now. So leave this to them. Trust them," she urged on, her stare silently telling him that he won't be disappointed. If Miyako learned one thing after being with the Strawhats on Punk Hazard, than that was that no matter how rowdy they were, in the end they got things done, one way or another.

He kept his gaze locked with Miyako's for a while, before sighing in defeat. His powers faded away and he turned back to stare at the three figures flying away in the distance.

"Fufu," Miyako chuckled in satisfaction by her captain's decision. With a smile she turned back towards Usopp and Nami. "We're counting on you."

The performance they saw after that made Miyako want to clap her hands. Not only was Usopp's precision at such a distance amazing, but Nami's knowledge that allowed her to make thunder clouds and lightning were astounding. Large plants that grow from a seed in an instant, weather manipulation…Miyako never saw anything like that before. Her mouth made an o shape as she stared at the display, impressed by the Strawhats' unique skills. Needless to say, they easily knocked Joker's subordinates from the sky, rendering them completely useless and unconscious.

The group cheered at the sight when Usopp used his sharpshooter skills to aim and fire the sea stone handcuffs right at Caesar, making the kairoseki chains coil around his neck and bring him down with a choking "Urk!" sound.

"Shishishishi," Monkey D. Luffy laughed as he jumped up at the stone railing in front of them with his hands on his hips. He appeared utterly pleased by the whole situation. "We have Caesar, so there's nothing else left to do but one thing…" He gazed at each member in front of them, all of them giving him a questioning stare in return. "LET'S PARTY!"

"Eeeeeh?!" The entire group almost fell on their asses at the sudden outburst from the happy-go-lucky captain. Of all the things and after everything that happened, how could this guy be thinking of celebrating now!?

Miyako was so shocked she simply blinked at the captain boy with wide eyes, before the realization of what she just heard suddenly hit her. With that, the girl burst out laughing at the grinning pirate in front of her.

~…~

"You hear this, pirates?! You can't go crossing this line! It's the line between evil and justice!" The G-5 yelled out, drawing a deep line into the snow that was supposed to separate the marines from the pirates. Even so it seemed everyone ignored them as they went on with their own doings.

"Robin-cwan~ Nami-swan~ I'm so glad you're both ok!" Sanji clapped his hands together as he danced around his two favorite crewmembers, making sure they were safe and well now.

Meanwhile, Luffy was talking to Brownbeard at the marine's part, completely ignoring the line and the complaints the G-5 soldiers kept throwing at him.

The rowdy atmosphere was completely cut, however, when Chopper's screaming voice echoed throughout the snowy plain, chilling everyone to their bones with his words. "Murderer!"

Everyone turned to stare at the small reindeer leaning over the wooden railing of the Strawhats' ship. "Luffy! Stop him!" Chopper was crying while pleading, in complete shock just like the rest of them.

"Eh? Who?!"

"Law!" The reindeer yelled loudly in response, but his explanation was muffled into desperate sounds when Brook's voice overpowered him.

"Gyaaaah! Murderer! I'm a murderer too!" The skeleton cried out in panic, grabbing his large afro in despair as he stared down at the broken state of Kin'emon's body.

Suddenly chaos was on all sides of the area as Chopper was still screaming about Law cutting up the children, which was actually Trafalgar using his ope ope powers to get the malicious drug out of their system. On the other side, Kin'emon revived from the broken statue, only to get into a fight with Sanji, Brook and Luffy who thought they saw a zombie for a second. Shortly after, a heart wrenching reunion between Momonosuke and his father followed as the two finally met on Punk Hazard.

Miyako put her hands on her hips as she snuggled deeper into her plaid coat in order to keep warm. A soft smile lingered on her face as she examined her chaotic, but equally amusing surroundings. Feeling a familiar presence behind her, the girl started without even looking back, "Well, we have Caesar and the SAD tank is destroyed. I guess we're going after Doflamingo next?"

Trafalgar stepped beside her, sighing at the scene of the Strawhats surrounding Kin'emon and jumping onto him with glee that the samurai was alive and well. "That's right. Our next destination is Dressrosa…that man's kingdom," Law answered darkly, remembering the sneering Shichibukai.

Miyako was silent for a while, staring at the Strawhats in thought. "They think our main purpose is Kaido…," she reminded him carefully.

"Let them think so. We can still use them to strike down Doflamingo. They don't need to know more than I already told them," he warned Miyako sternly in case she had any ideas about telling the other pirates the truth.

The samurai girl was troubled by it, as she didn't like lying to these good-natured people, but she knew there wasn't much choice. She was in this together with Law and he was her captain and her only authority here. Before she could tell him anything else, a vice called out for her. One she last expected to hear saying her name; "Suzune-dono!" Looking up, Miyako saw Kin'emon and his son walking over to her. The old samurai had a grim, slightly troubled expression on his face but Momonosuke kept tugging on his arm as if urging him to continue. The girl gave him a questioning stare to silently ask what he needed.

"I…" he started only to huff in anxiousness before trying again. "My son told me thee did a lot for him while he was trapped in this facility. That…he owed thee for your kindness. If that is the case, than I owe thee as well…Thy have my gratitude," he bowed his head to her slightly, keeping his gaze down on the ground.

Miyako was truly surprised by this act, knowing full well how much pride Kin'emon had to swallow to say such a thing to her of all people. It only showed how precious Momonosuke was to him. The girl let out a sigh and smiled, shaking her head lightly. "I didn't do anything. You have a brave and smart son, Kin'emon-dono." She winked at the young boy who grinned cheekily in return, before her gaze locked with the samurai's. "And that is a sign of good parentage," she continued, giving him an acknowledging nod.

The samurai cleared his throat in slight discomfort. "Perhaps I…misjudged thee, young lady," he finally admitted in a serious tone.

The girl grinned, resting her arms on her hips and puffing her chest up with pride. "Indeed you have!" She chuckled slightly and looked back at him with a tilt of her head. She shrugged her shoulders as she decided to cast away her pride at this moment as well, "I also believe I formed my opinion of you too quickly. Perhaps we should start over?" She reached out with her open palm, ready to shake his hand. It was a common gesture in these situations for the foreigners out of Wano, and she was so used to dealing with them now, spending every day with the Heart Pirates, that she reflexively went to use their method instead of bowing which was used in Wanokuni.

Kin'emon blinked in confusion before frowning in disapproval. "Even so, Suzune-dono, you should not follow along these crude, strange norms and customs. Are you forgetting your Wano heritage completely?!" He reprimanded her sternly, crossing his arms on his chest like a teacher tutoring his student in a lesson.

Miyako instantly pulled her hand away, almost exploding with rage as she lost her temper at his high and mighty attitude. "Gaah! Forget it! You're too infuriating to get along with! Just pull that stick out of your ass already!" The Heart Pirates' crew was obviously a bad influence even on her vocabulary as she used some of Josh's favorite curses on the samurai man. She had to admit his taken aback expression was rather comical as a mere 'woman' dared to insult him so.

The two continued to bicker and argue in the snow as the rest of the members simply watched them with sweatdrops, not sure how to react or weather to break up the argument before swords come out and heads start rolling.

~…..~

"Honestly, that samurai guy…," Miyako was still fuming with her hands crossed on her chest in a pout. She kept muttering under her breath in irritation, when suddenly something collided with her from behind. The Wano girl was tired from all that running, making it hard for her to keep her balance because of the additional weight behind her. She stumbled forward, almost falling onto her nose as she turned around to stare at whatever was clinging to her now. "Rachel! You're awake?" Miyako gasped in surprise at the small, orange-haired girl clinging to her legs. She was still wearing only the white, thin dress they all got in Caesar's laboratory. The samurai turned around to examine the pale girl closer, seeing that the girl was crying. There were tears and snot coming from every crevice of her face, making Miyako cringe slightly in disgust as Rachel buried that face into her coat. The women sighed and knelt down in front of the crying girl. "What's wrong?"

Rachel winced before everything came out in a rush. "I'm so sowby, Miwya-nee! I was mbean tbo ybou wbhen ybou tried tbo hwelb me!" The girl cried on, feeling guilty and upset for what happened back at the facility.

Miyako couldn't help but chuckle at the sight before her. She had to admit it was just a little bit cute…in a snotty, disgusting way. She put a hand on Rachel's head, rubbing it a little and ruffling her hair. Usually that act would always make the tiny girl giggle, but this time she simply kept balling. "What are you talking about, Rachel? It's not your fault. Caesar gave you those drugged candies to make you like that," she explained. Her gaze softened in guilt as she continued, "I should be the one to apologize to you, Rachel…I should've protected you, but I unknowingly only made you worse," she whispered.

The girl tried blinking her tears away as she calmed down a bit, seeing that the samurai wasn't angry at her. She shook her head in disagreement, still sniffling and sobbing. "Uh-un, Miya-nee was always kind to me. Even when she tried to act scary, I wasn't fooled by it!" The girl exclaimed proudly, clenching her small fist in the air as if she was making a deep statement.

Miyako bowed her head in defeat. "I really can't win against you, can I," she mumbled with a soft smile.

Rachel wiped her tears and snot away with the end of her dress. "They tell us we are to go with the marines," she muttered in a deploring tone, frowning slightly. She raised her head in objection suddenly, "But we want to stay with you, and the pirates, and the orange-haired oneechan!"

The woman sighed with a sweat drop. *Because of the Strawhats they think pirates are the cool ones…I fear we had some bad influence on these kid.* Even as she thought that, Miyako still chuckled at the thought of Luffy and the others. They were pirates, yet they were the heroes of the day, saving everyone and beating the 'bad guys.' Of course she doubted the rest of the world will ever hear the truth about this incident on Punk Hazard. The World Government is sure to cover it all up or at least change the facts so that the pirates become the villains here this day. And the rest of the world will believe them. The woman looked at the tiny form of a child in front of her. Well...maybe there will be some that will know the truth of exactly what happened today. The samurai smirked at the thought. She patted Rachel's head once more. "But don't you want to go home?" She raised her eyebrow at the girl who stopped every motion, watching the samurai woman carefully.

Suddenly, Rachel started crying again, even louder now, "I dooo~!"

"Ah!" Miyako panicked, thinking she was at fault for making Rachel cry. And right after the girl finally composed herself. She put her hands in front of her, not sure what to do with the girl. Suddenly, Rachel's stomach growled loudly, signifying she was starving, while the girl was still crying her eyes out. Miyako's breath hitched in shock. "Are you sad or hungry, which is it!?" However, just then on Miyako's great dismay, she smelt the delicious scent of Sanji's cooking, making her stomach growl just as loudly. Miyako went completely red in the face from embarrassment, but at least it seemed her performance made Rachel stop crying as the girl started laughing at her now. Miyako sighed in defeat. *Definitely can't win against this one…*

"It's done! Robin-chwan, Tashigi-cwan, Nami-swan, Miyako-cwaaan~ You can eat first!" Sanji called out in his singing voice for the ladies around them. "The rest of you lot can wait your turn!" The cook bit back at the rest of his nakama, not caring one bit that they were all already drooling with hunger.

"Whaaa?! But I wanna eat~!" Luffy whined, already sitting at the make-shift table the Cook created. He was taking the pieces of pizza and meat, gulping them all down in one bite, before anyone else could even react. "Whooo! It's delicious!" The pirate captain exclaimed loudly, before starting to eat even faster, stuffing food inside his mouth. As a result, his rubber cheeks swelled to an unbelievable level while he gobbled the food.

"Hn? Where's the sake?" Zoro commented blankly, looking around the table.

"Everything looks so good," Miyako smiled, running over to the table with Rachel to get a plateful of food.

Momonosuke and Kin'emon were already there, sitting at the table with their stomachs rumbling, as they examined all the delicious-looking meals.

The Wano boy stared at the food with a pouting expression, gritting his teeth as if trying with all his might not to succumb to the temptations in front of him. His pride still wouldn't allow him to show any weakness in front of the others. His hands trembled as he took a bowl of soup, slowly bringing it to his lips. Just before he took the first sip, the boy shut his eyes tightly and raised the bowl high into the air. "I'm not hungry! I'm absolutely not hungry!" He gulped loudly, ready to throw the soup away. "This stuff-!"

He was stopped by Sanji who grabbed his hands with anger in his eyes. If the cook of the Strawhats hated one thing, than it was to waste food. "Hey! What are you trying to do with that dish!?"

"This food is…delicious!" Kin'emon exclaimed suddenly, making time stay still as everyone stopped to look at him. The man swallowed his pride with every bit of food he ate, barely able to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes. "It's alright, Momonosuke! We can trust these people…I was even saved by them. This cooking is a blessing!"

The boy watched his father eat, wincing slightly as tears appeared in the corner of his eyes. He was still undecided, unsure whether to waver or not.

"You hardly ate anything for a month, haven't you?" A new voice brought Momo's attention towards the table. Suzune Miyako was already sitting there with a bowl of ramen in her hands, eating it slowly with a pair of simple chopsticks. The girl was staring right into her bowl as she spoke, not glancing at the boy. Yet there was a soft smile on her face while she talked, which was obviously meant for him. "Didn't we make a deal; that you would survive this place no matter what?" She reminded the boy of their conversation not so long ago when she first noticed the boy was refusing to eat and was starving himself. From the way Momo's body stiffened, it was clear he also remember what she was talking about. The girl finally turned her head to look at him, that smile still resting on her features. "You have endured it all and worked hard, Momonosuke-kun. You should be proud and take your reward," she pointed at his bowl of soup with her chopsticks.

The Wano boy stopped struggling with Sanji as he watched the samurai girl before glancing with uncertainty towards his father. It was an askance glance, as he wanted to make sure he has Kin'emon's permission. Was it really alright? His father gave him a sharp nod, telling him it was indeed fine to proceed. The boy sat down and still trembling took a sip of his soup. As soon as he tasted the dish, his tears spilled from his eyes and down his cheeks. "I-it's so good!" After the first gulp, the boy couldn't stop eating, spilling the whole soup down his throat.

Sanji smirked in relief, glad that his meal was so greatly appreciated. "Now, now, take it slowly or you'll get a stomachache," he warned.

They noticed shadows looming over them and soon realized all the kids, along with the G-5 soldiers, crept near them, lured by the tasty smell. They were all waiting in anticipation, wanting to try some of Sanji's cooking.

"Hee, what's this? Suddenly you're not talking any more nonsense about our side and your side?" Nami grinned and teased the marines evilly as they completely forgot about their line now that they saw all the food before them.

"Cease fire?" One of the marines grinned, already handing Sanji an empty plate, waiting for it to be filled by all kinds of food.

"In that case, go get some sake from the tanker, " Zoro suggested with a smirk.

"Aye, aye, Roronoa-bro!" The soldiers cheered in unison. They couldn't wait to feel the heat of good food in their bellies and strong sake to warm the body.

Miyako rolled her eyes and snorted at the hypocrisy. "So delicious food can bring together even the most bitter of enemies," she commented jokingly.

Trafalgar didn't look as pleased as the rest of the group as he grabbed Luffy by the shoulder to get his attention. "Strawhat-ya, we must leave now before they come to get us! Tell your friends too," he warned.

Strawhat nodded in agreement, still chewing on a piece of meat in his hand. "I see." He turned around towards all the people surrounding the large table of food. "Everyone, we don't have much time so….LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

Kids, pirates and marines alike, all cheered at Luffy's loud proclamation, raising their fists in the air.

Only Trafalgar stayed stock still, his mouth falling open from the shock as his grey eyes widened. He was in total disbelief of what just happened. Actually, he wasn't quite sure he knew what just happened. Weren't they supposed to be leaving to finish their plan!? After all, Doflamingo could be sending more men while they were nonchalantly sitting here. Knowing the older Shichibukai, that's exactly what he would do. Diamante or Lao G, one of Doflamingo's strongest family executives, could be near Punk Hazard already. It took a moment for Trafalgar to collect himself to his usual self, clearing his throat to try and calm his thoughts. He was brought out of them after hearing a familiar chuckle. He cast a sideways glance at a seat at the table where the samurai girl was sitting and eating her warm meal.

"And you thought I was hard to handle," she teased in a signing tone.

Law sighed and shook his head, walking over to her. "We should be on our way to Dressrosa right now," he growled.

Miyako thought for a second before responding. "Doflamingo just sent two of his officers here…Baby5 and Buffalo, was it?" She asked Law with a questioning stare and waited for his conformational nod before continuing. "He isn't aware yet that they failed. You said it yourself, that man is too conceited…he probably thinks they are already on their way back to him with Caesar and your head. So we have some time before he finally realizes he underestimated us," she concluded. She took a bowl of soumen and handed it towards her captain with a smile. "You also fought hard today…I know it's a completely foreign idea to you, but you should also relax once in a while, captain" she teased with a wink.

The man stared at the dish for a while before taking it in his hands with a sigh. He could feel the warmth spreading through him by just holding the hot bowl. He knew he needed some nutrients after everything that happened. He already tended to his wounds gained by Vergo and treated the sick children, so nothing else was left to be done. "Very well," he finally conceded. "But you shouldn't relax too much around the Strawhats. This alliance is only temporary…you do know that, right? Only until Doflamingo is taken down," he warned, giving Miyako a cautionary look.

She nodded, returning a serious gaze towards Law. "You are my captain, and I will follow you in your decisions," she repeated what she told him once before. It seemed like a whole lifetime ago now, after everything that happened. She huffed, stretching her hands in the air. "Aaah~ Don't make me say such embarrassing things! It makes me sound like all those guys in our crew," she complained in an overly dramatic fashion, trying to hide her slight embarrassment behind it.

Trafalgar smirked in amusement at Miyako's reactions, suddenly getting a strong urge to both kiss and bully her at the same time. Well if he kissed her here in public in front of everyone, it would probably be considered as bullying by her. He stepped closer to her side, putting one hand on the table in front of her and leaning forward until he was behind her and his lips were slightly brushing her ear. He could feel the girl gasp and stiffen at the sudden intrusion of her personal space. "Perhaps…," he started, his every word ticking her skin. "Perhaps it's not a bad thing that you came with me, after all," he whispered in her ear, enjoying how red her ear and cheek had become under his ministrations. The girl's eyes widened and her mouth fell open to say something, but before she could find her breath to do so, the captain already left her cold, walking away from the table. The girl turned around to look at his leaving form in wonder, before she clapped both hands on her reddened ears. *That jerk, he did that on purpose!* Yet she couldn't find it in herself to honestly be angry at him after the genuine words he just spoke to her. Rather, she felt quite relieved to hear them.

However, that relief lasted about one second before Miyako's gaze made contact with a pair of mirthful blue eyes on the other side of the long table. Robin stared at her in amusement, a light smirk on her features as she sipped her drink. The samurai girl completely stiffened in realization that Law and her were seen just now.

*She saw it…she definitely saw it!* Panic struck at Miyako's heart as she could clearly see Robin's entertained look as she stared at her knowingly. She rested her head on the palm of her hand that was leaning on the table and simply winked at the samurai girl.

*She knoooows!* That act was all it took for Miyako to understand that the insightful archeologist easily caught on the situation and the relationship between the two Heart Pirates, making the girl even more uneasy. It's not that she was really trying to hide it…not really. But it still felt embarrassing for strangers to see Law flirting with her so openly. She didn't think the Strawhats would care, but she still felt insecure about opening her private life to others who she barely knew. Her troubled expression spoke more than words to Robin who could see a dark shade of red on Miyako's usually pale cheeks.

The archeologist kept her stare on Miyako just a few moment more, having fun torturing the girl and making her squirm, before she finally showed some mercy. She put a long index finger on her lips before she mouthed the words; "It's our secret."

In response, Miyako put her hands together and bowed her head once as thanks.

~…~

Since four years ago, no, perhaps even for the first time on this island called Punk Hazard, there were never-heard-before noises echoing throughout the snow-covered shores. The noises of laughter, cheer and joy of the people currently there. Noises of a large party taking place where all boundaries and rivalry stopped and only good fun remained. Marines were drinking with pirates, while children were dancing with the usually scary G-5 soldiers. For that one time, all animosity between world's most common enemies completely vanished. For once, they were all simply comrades, celebrating the fact that they were still alive after the incidents that occurred there that day.

Sanji was serving cocktails to the ladies and cake to the kids, while Zoro beat the soldiers one after the other in a drinking contest. Meanwhile, Nami was betting on Zoro's win again the marines, easily taking their money after winning each bet. The children were playing with Chopper who was celebrating in tears the fact that Mocha finally woke up. Luffy and Usopp kept dancing with strange dance moves and chopsticks stuck in their nostrils, making the kids laugh and copy their actions. Franky bragged about all his cyborg abilities, making the kids clap every time something new transformed or came out of his body. All the cheer was accompanied by Brook's music and song as the Soul King took out his guitar and started singing, making the marines and the children wave their hands in the air and sing along. Even Robin laughed happily, drinking a cocktail on the side while watching the Strawhats' performance as Luffy kept dancing and stuffing himself with food at the same time. Even Law and Smoker sat side by side with a plate of food in their hands, discussing everything that happened on Punk Hazard. Truthfully, it was hard to imagine that these two would have anything to talk about, but even they shared a certain kind of bond after working together to bring down Vergo.

Miyako chuckled at the sight of Usopp, telling tall tales about his pirate days to the kids. Her gaze was momentarily drawn to one other figure, sitting alone in the distance, away from the party. It took a while for Miyako to notice the pink long coat of the marine captain who was hunched in her seat, staring towards the ground.

Miyako took two glasses of freshly made orange juice, curtsy of Sanji, and walked over to Tashigi. She approached the silent woman cautiously, noticing the other's brooding expression. "Here," Miyako handed her one glass.

Tashigi was a bit surprised by the sudden intrusion and kept staring at the glass of juice as if not recognizing what it was. Only after a while did she return back from her deep thoughts and slowly took the glass in her hand. Even as she did, she kept the juice in her hands, not even taking a sip. It wasn't that she thought something was wrong with it; rather she was simply not in the mood for it…nor any other festive behavior.

"May I sit next to you for a moment?" Miyako waited for a slight nod of approval from Tashigi before she rested on a chair next to the marine's. She could see the woman was in a foul mood, or somewhat depressed at least, though the girl couldn't understand why yet. Instead, Miyako's eyes fell on the marine's bandaged shoulder where she was bit by Monet. "Is your shoulder alright? Does it still hurt?"

Tashigi was motionless for a while, before shaking her head and responding in a soft whisper, "No. Doctor Tanuki-san took care of it for me. It wasn't as bad as it looked…It was good that I didn't let that harpy rip my shoulder off or the consequences would have been a lot worse."

Miyako nodded in agreement. "You fought very bravely and skillfully." There was no condescension in her tone, only a simple statement of her genuine belief. She was truly happy she met another swordswoman like her, one with both potential and skill, who was also a good person.

"That's not true at all!" Suddenly, Tashigi raised her voice in frustration, startling Miyako. There was hurt in her dark eyes as she spoke. "As much as I hate to admit it, if there hadn't been for you and Pirate hunter Zoro, I might've not been able to beat her."

Miyako shook her head, "You don't know that."

"Even so! I was supposed to protect my subordinates and stop the enemy, yet I barely managed to do it! And only because I had help. At this rate, it is no wonder Roronoa Zoro keeps underestimating me. Even as I am so infuriated with it, I am a disgrace! Even after two years of training, I'm still not strong enough!" Tashigi kept rambling on in vigor, her voice rising gradually. "I got defeated by both Trafalgar and Monet…just as he said; weaklings do not even get to choose the way they day!"

Miyako was truly surprised by the other woman's sudden outburst and aggressiveness, but then she noticed the slight signs in her expression; the glistening in her black eyes, the slight tint of red on her cheeks, and the barely audible slur in her voice. "T-Tashigi-dono…are you drunk?" Miyako asked with a cold drop of sweat on her forehead and a nervous expression on her face. She didn't really pay attention to the marine captain before, but Tashigi must've been sitting and drinking here alone for quite some time now.

"It is so frustrating!" Tashigi continued, completely ignoring Miyako's question. Perhaps she didn't even hear her as the marine woman was completely enthralled in her own world of thoughts now. "Even as I keep training more and more, I'm still no good…I'm so ashamed! And I can never seem to reach the level of that damned Pirate Hunter either!" Tashigi's voice was now high enough to turn a few curious heads their way, the people starting to wonder what was going on. Miyako unsuccessfully tried to calm the marine woman down, putting her hands up defensively, but it was no use. She glanced around, noticing a few stares on them already.

Suddenly, Tashigi calmed down as quickly as she lost her temper, but only became more gloomy as she continued, "I…I have to work twice as hard as anybody else to become strong! Just because I was born as a woman and not a man…because I don't have the physical attributes of a man I-"

"Tashigi-dono!" Miyako abruptly interrupted her with a stern voice. Her expression was serious now, all that nervousness form earlier gone as she stared back at the marine woman. Once more, the people around them turned in curiosity at the strange atmosphere taking place between the two girls. Miyako sighed before continuing in a slightly gentler tone, "I…used to think just like you when I was younger," she admitted.

Tashigi looked at her with a questioning gaze, making the samurai woman continue. "Wano is a very traditional country; men train kenjutsu and fight wars, while it is a woman's duty to take care of the household and the man. That's why, as a girl wanting to train swordsmanship, to even hold a katana, it was simply odd and unheard of. I was a deviant." Miyako remembered all her frustrating lonely nights where she silently cursed her own self for being born a woman. Once she thought she would be happier if she was born a man. Or at least if she was like all the other girls and had no love for swordsmanship. Then her life might've been easier for her. But soon, through her training, she understood how wrong of a view that truly was.

"However, I don't think like that anymore. I know best how hard I trained and how far I've come…just like you know your own capabilities," she gave Tashigi a knowing look. "I am a lot stronger than some men, but still weaker than others; so all I can do is train even harder to surpass them. It has nothing to do with whether I'm a woman or not. I have confidence in my own strength! And you should too, Tashigi-dono." Miyako then grinned, showing the girl her bright smile. "Besides, I usually live in a submarine full of unruly, rowdy men. They're noisy, gross most of the time, and every one of them is a pervert! If I had to be like them, I would die! There's no way I would want to be a man after seeing them, you know," Miyako half joked, though there was some truth in what she said. After staying together for so long with the Heart Pirates, Miyako realized that she was better off being a woman. She might be one of them as a pirate, but she wouldn't want to be one of them as a gender. She rather liked her cleanness and tidiness, after all. If Penguin and the others were models of what men were like, Miyako would rather say 'No, thank you' to that. Nevertheless, a troubled expression passed her features for only a moment as she remembered what it was like living with her friends. Even though she would scarcely admit it, she actually missed them lot.

For a moment more, Tashigi gazed at the girl with wonder, but then smiled softly. Miyako was right. In the end, the strength of the kenshi came from their will more than their physical stature. If you aren't stronger or bigger than others, than work on yourself to become faster than anyone else. Use your body to your advantage, until your weakness can also become your strength. Tashigi nodded, feeling ashamed for her whimsical words. "I'm sorry…I think I underestimated you, so I said such things…it must have been an insult to you and all your hard work as a kenshi."

Miyako shook her head. "It's fine, more than that, you are underestimating your own power by thinking like that Tashigi-dono. It will keep pulling you down until you really won't be able to progress due to such fears of being inadequate. It would be a shame, don't you think?" The girl smiled at the marine woman and both completely forgot for a moment that they were supposed to be enemies.

Near them, the Strawhats listened in on their small conversation discretely, each showing a content smile on their lips. Even Zoro grinned at the two girls, though he didn't comment on it.

Only Kin'emon had a more troubled expression as his gaze softened and he stared down at the ground. After hearing Suzune's words, it was hard to not acknowledge her as a kenshi who worked hard every day for what she believed in. He felt guilty for constantly degrading her way of live while she was so serious about it and obviously had a hard time. She didn't look like someone who would want to accept one's pity so Kin'emon stayed quiet, but perhaps just a little, his opinion of the girl changed for the better. *Suzune-dono…I might've been too hard on her earlier,* he had to admit.

Miyako cleared her throat before she continued in a more light-hearted tone, "Besides, it's not that bad that your enemies underestimate you; that way you can take them off guard and defeat them more easily. It is their own fault. I mean, look at Roronoa Zoro-san. You say you're frustrated at him for not taking you seriously, but isn't that actually a good thing? You can use it as his weakness and kill him more easily. After all, a fight is also about finding your opponent's weakness and using it against him! If he has a weakness than you should use it! So if he hesitates to cut you, you should be even more determined to cut him! 'A moment of hesitation in a fight is the moment of your death'; that is what my master always said," she finished preaching in a matter-of-fact tone.

The G-5 soldiers and the Strawhats around them all sweat-dropped as they listened to the cheerful girl talking so easily about mercilessly killing an opponent, even one who wouldn't be able to cut her back. They all had the same thought in unison, *That's scary, Miyako-chan…*

Only the captain of the Heart pirates had a different reaction as he listened to Miyako's words. A small grin spread on his lips while his eyes stayed hidden beneath the rim of his spotted hat. Whether it was out of satisfaction or simple amusement was unclear; perhaps it was both.

~….~

"Nami-oneechan!"

"Miyako-oneechan!"

"Robot-guy!"

"Chopper-san!"

"Everyone! Thank you! Goodbye!"

The children yelled after them, even as the pirates already started walking away from the large tanker that sailed out into the open sea with the marines and the kids on it. Their cries echoed through the sky, saying their last goodbyes to the peculiar pirates who decided to save them on this remote island. Even a few sniffs of the marine soldiers followed, who were just as touched by these strange rowdy group of pirates called the Strawhats.

The pirates, however, didn't turn to look back after they waved their final goodbyes to the kids. They were ready to board their own ship that was waiting for them to sail on into the horizon with a smiling lion on the bow.

Miyako only glanced once after the large tanker while they were boarding the Thousand Sunny, the ship of the Strawhat pirates. What made her look at the leaving tanker was the memory of what happened just a while ago.

"But Tashigi-chan! If we don't talk shit about these guys…! These lawless pirates…! We'll come to loooove them! Even though their pirateeeeets!"

The crying voices of the marine soldiers as they admitted that still echoed in Miyako's mind, making her almost chuckle again as she did then. Even Tashigi-dono had tears in her eyes as they were leaving. *Too bad. It was a privilege to get to know you, Tashigi-dono. Perhaps if things were different; if I wasn't a pirate and you weren't a marine, we could've been good friends.* Miyako sighed, looking at the sky filled with thick white clouds above her. *But to think I would meet someone who's struggling with her swordsmanship just like me. I'm glad,* Miyako grinned.

"Hm? What are you grinning for?" Usopp asked the Wano girl as he passed her on the ship.

The girl shook her head as she stared back at the long-nosed sniper. "Just thinking how the world is a big place," she answered.

"Well, of course," Sogeking answered with a raised eyebrow, looking at the girl skeptically as if she just said something redundant. Then he laughed to himself as if remembering something funny, "Now that you mention it…that reminds me of when I fought a thirty-meter-long Sea King, armed with nothing but my slingshot and one rock…," Usopp continued on rambling about one of his made-up tales of bravery.

By now, after listening to his unbelievable stories throughout most of the party, Miyako learned not to believe any of them. As he kept on talking, the girl walked away while simply ignoring him. "Yes, yes…," she acknowledged him just by that much before making her escape.

"Oy, listen to me finish at least!" Usopp protested after her as he shouted in annoyance from being dismissed so easily right in the middle of his speech.

The two continued on in a light-hearted banter, their voices traveling through the sky, as the smiling Thousand Sunny started sailing away from Punk Hazard.

---

Glossary:

Kenshi – swordsman. (The reason why I used this word was because unlike swordsman, kenshi is gender neutral which is more appropriate for my story since there are also swordswomen here and sometimes I do not want to make a distinction between the genders in sword users, so kenshi fits better in the context than the English word for it.)

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And that's it for the Punk Hazard Arc. I thought of separating this into two chapters at first but then decided to just give you this whole experience. :D I really hope you like it, as I had a really good time writing this. I just love the Strawhats. :')

Also, I thought that you might be wondering; "Whoa, did Miyako really intend to cut Tashigi together with Monet!?" But just know that more will be said about that in future chapters, so don't worry.

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Maisaahamdan: Wow, this is the first time I heard someone catching up to the cannon story, so they could be up to date with the fanfiction. I'm truly honored. ^^ I'm glad that you like my OCs, and I hope you will find the rest of the story interesting, as well.

SurgeonOfLove: Yep, Miyako is really happy to meet another woman kendoka. ^^ Hmm…I would think he isn't that jealous of a type, but is possessive. I think he would get annoyed if he thinks there is really something to worry about, but otherwise he wouldn't care if he doesn't see a threat in it (I think Sanji falls for this, latter, category). I assure you I have no intention of giving up this story, even if sometimes I have to take breaks because of my busy schedule. I'm not religious, but I know what you mean. People in Croatia do that a lot too, though I think they mostly fast at this time. Aww, well the cannon is going pretty slowly so you won't miss much after you come back to it. :')

Red knight 2004: Thank you for reading! ^^ I heard it both ways, tough in my country we say flies. I think "two birds with one stone" is also the english version, though.

Zyma-nee-22: Thanks, I hope you liked this chapter too! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Onepiecelawfan: Thank you~ ^^

MusicOfMadness: Aww, sorry do disappoint you. I hope you didn't have to wait long for the next chapter at least. :) Thanks for reviewing and reading!

Insanity294: haha Thanks. I hope I'm not to blame for any trouble in school now. XD

Cocobear: Whoot! Welcome back! :D Hehe, some will…But you will find out more about that later. ;) Still, Miyako and Law aren't really the types that flirt openly; they like their privacy.

Bizzy: Ah~ I'm sure there is a video on youtube, so I'll check it out. Now that I think about it, I don't even remember some of the Strawhats' laughter; like Zoro's or Sanji's. o.O Mmm, Law won't get jealous that easily. :3 Thank you for reading and reviewing! :D

Yappie: Hehe, I'm glad it did. :D I know what you mean, it's true, the Strawhats are influencing her too. :3 After all, it's hard to stay calm and collected with them around (just look at Law XD). Haha But then again, she will also have leverage over him because she will get to see all his comical expressions while trying to handle Luffy. Maybe they'll have to make a deal; he doesn't punish her and she doesn't tell the rest of the Heart pirates everything that happened. ;)

Forgotten Lost Ancient: Hehe, I'm glad! Thanks for reading and reviewing! :D

Bloody Soffy: I'm glad you like it. Indeed, I try to make Miyako progress in her character and strengths just like all the cannon characters do in One Piece. I was careful not to make Law too fluffy, and I especially didn't want him to start treating her like some weak damsel who needed protection. After all, she is a part of the Heart Pirates and should fight and act like it. I'm not planning to make Miyako stronger than Zoro, but don't forget she also spent the last two years training hard and even trained with a Samurai from Wano in her youth. So she won't be a pushover even towards Zoro. ;) Thank you very much and I hope you like the next chapters as well. ^^

Hitoshirezu Ryu: I'm so glad you liked it, especially since I'm such a big fan of your fanfiction. ^^ To be honest, it's easier making a hilarious situation when the Strawhats are involved, especially since the cannon arc is so filled with them. ;) As for Miyako's heart, as much as it sounds awful; I'm glad it was heart wrenching, because it means I made you feel the unease through my writing, so I'm also kinda glad. :P I definitely wanted Miyako to have her 'revenge' on Monet, but didn't want to leave Zoro or Tashigi out of it either because they had such awesome scenes in that fight. So hopefully I managed to combine it all together in one interesting spin on that scene. Thank you so much for always reading and commenting on my story. I hope you like the next chapters as well!

Apple bloom: Thanks! :D I hope you liked this one too!

Guest: Thank you for reading and reviewing! ^^

ZeroHibiscus: Haha, you don't have to worry about that. ^^ Yes, it might be a bit scary to start reading when you see it already has 60 chapters, but surprisingly people tell me they read through it in a few days. O.o (I wouldn't be able to do that). Everybody says they have some trouble with Law; I also had to stop and think carefully how to write him out in some scenes. And now he's totally changing character since he's met the Strawhats! XD I'm really glad you feel that way and I'm always happy when my writing wrings emotions out of the readers. Hopefully, you'll like the next chapters as well. Thank you for giving the story a try after all, and reviewing! (And your review wasn't too long or stupid at all! ^^)

About the fanart; sure, there's no problem. :) You can just PM me if you want to send it to me or show it to me, or if you have any questions about it.

Chocogirl24: Thank you for reading! Heh, Monet is no match for Miyako. ;) I did well, but my new exams are coming up so I need to start preparing. :')