So their time is pouring away, moving with the tide and pulling them closer to their fate and with that each other.
4 years have passed since the last time we met them.

Chapter III

The soft thud of the little pile of snow falling from its branch wasn't heard by anyone, not even Eira who sat on the bench where it landed, as it was overpowered by the clangs of metal meeting metal with fierce movements. Rolling the winter apple in her hands to warm it up, she watched as Zoro attacked and tried to get a hit in on her father. But even if his master was the one backing away and only parring the attacks, the pupil was the one to lose this fight. Never had he managed to as much as scratch the older male, not even when his eyes glowed red by frustration and power.

She had to admire his determination and stamina, fighting in this cold without even a shirt on, just as his teacher. The warmth of his body oozed away, making steam rise from his very skin. Skin which was still tanned by a warm sun's kisses and under which taut muscles played with every movement he did, from the raising of his swords to the steps he took to try and outmaneuver his opponent. She didn't really know when or why, but watching him like this, as he fought and evolved, becoming stronger by each passing second, had became on of her favourite diversions.

"At least he fights better than he dances..." The thought made her grimace and wriggle her toes inside of the light shoes she wore, they almost ached already, even if the dancing lesson would be after lunch. At times like that, she actually preferred Sanji. He could really dance, lead with a soft hand. Even if all the flattery he had started to speak to her was becoming a bit irritating.

She didn't think her hair was as polished ebony, nor her eyes like clear amber. Still he kept telling her that, and many other things, so many things that she almost preferred to get her mashed as potatoes rather than dancing as the teacher said.

Since when she danced with the male who now fought as his life depended on it, even if was just a regular training session, she had to take totally different steps than she was instructed. And she really doubted that he was going to be able to dance even a simple waltz at the time of his own ball, as their teacher wished he would be.

Still, even if only one of them could dance, those two had really matured during these four years which had passed since Zoro came here. Or maybe 'matured' wasn't the right word, more like grown. Both had started to shoot into height, soon they would probably outgrow her. Chopper had told her that she most likely would end up about a head shorter than them when they had stopped growing, but right now that time seemed far away as they now was at the same length.

It had been really fun watching them, her own growing had been much calmer than theirs, only making her muscles ache and stomach hurt. They on the other hand had grown so fast that they had been unable to know what to do with their bodies, their regular fighting had been thrown off as limbs got longer and harder to control.

Sanji had lost much of his balance, having to train much harder to once again control of his legs and arms so that he could use the fighting style Zeff trained him in. The Fire Devil had had pretty much the same problem, him tripping over his own feet had been a pretty regular sight. Not to say about when their voices had started to change. That had been hilarious.

The clattering of swords hitting the paved ground brought her back to the present time, to when her father had the tip of his sword pressed against the younger male's throat.

"You've improved. But we are done training for now, it's soon time for lunch." Drawing his blade back and sheeting it, he threw an eye at her, watching her pick up the sword which lied closest to her and handing it to the green haired teen along with the apple she had warmed up. That had also became a regular thing, ever since that time Zoro had tried to eat a fruit directly of the tree, which had resulted in him getting a brainfreeeze.

Smiling a little against him and feeling some blood rush to her cheeks, she felt that funny feeling in her stomach again as their hands brushed against each other. She really couldn't understand this, but she guessed that it had something to do with that old saying, that no Fire and Ice Devil could meet each other without sparkling something. For him and Sanji, it was rivalry. But for him and her, she had no idea. All she knew was that every time she saw him smile, every time they touched or just was in the same room, her heart started to beat faster.

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"You fought amazing as usual, Zoro! How the heck do you do that, keeping up with Mihawk for so long?" The sound of his friend's voice made him turn his head against Saga, meeting his gaze. Shrugging his shoulders as he closed hos eyes and pulled the shirt on, not really knowing what to answer. So he just said what he always said, and what was the truth.

"I just work-out, train whenever I can."

"Hah! So do I, but you still can hold out for about twice the time I can against the Duke." The jab on his shoulder brought a grin to his face, who could have guessed that he would find a friend here, in this freaking ice land? Not caring to hit back, he continued to button the white shirt before he got the vest and the tie on. Damn it was irritating with all these formal clothes, couldn't these people just be satisfied with wearing pants and something on the upper body? They were the ones who was used to this cold, yet their bloody fashion said that you had to wear a whole dining suit every darn regular day. And unfortunately for him, he had no chance what-so-ever to affect the clothes he got, but the Dark Lord should know that he had tried these four years.

As they finished dressing, he picked up the apple Eira had given to him and bit down into the juicy pulp. He had learned his lesson since that one time he had tried to eat a fruit directly from the tree, without warming it up before eating it. And there was something with the fact that it was Eira who gave the fruit to him which made it taste even better, something which also had got to do with the fact that he woke up all sweaty at night with confused images in his head and his body feeling as it were on fire.

Clenching his jaw, he shook his head and focused on the movements of his own muscles, on what they had learned during this day's sword practice he tried to force those thoughts out of his head. He focused so hard, that he wasn't really aware of what his friend said.

"It's a shame that Hancock-sama is leaving tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Huh? Ah, it is?" The look he got as he took another bite of the fruit told him that Saga probably wondered if he had any eyes to see with, or was just plain nuts. But he had seen Mihawk's sister, and sure, she was beautiful, he would be an idiot if he didn't agree on that. It was just that he had also seen her use her magic to freeze men and women who gawked upon her into ice statues. And that, at least in his opinion, pretty much weighted up her gorgeous looks. Besides, he wasn't into older women.

"Are you blind or what? Lord, you must be the only male, or female for that matter, here, who thinks like that!"

"Well, if you wanna get turned into an ice statue that's fine by me, just don't drag me down too!" Both of them burst into laughter by that, the violet haired male clapping at Zoro's back.

"That's true... Oh well, she's not the only woman in this Hell."

"No." "She really isn't..." Still smiling and starting to speak about swordtactic instead as Zoro finished his apple, they kept walking towards the small dining room. Which was about seventy square metres. Yeah, these people really knew the meaning of the word humility.

Or, some maybe did.

A gentle smile, perfect composure and calm speech, only fourteen years old and already a lady. She never offended anyone, was always friendly to everyone, to lowborn guards and servants too. And she seemingly never did anything improper.

As now, when she stood and chatted with that curly-eyebrow freak. Hands folded, just smiling at his annoying flirting and fawning, gently brushing him off. Yet, the Fire Devil could see her irritation in the way her eyebrows slightly furrowed on her forehead, in how her shoulders were stiffer than usual. He had gotten pretty good at that, seeing through her charade of a perfect princess, ever since that one time during the second year he lived here.

It had been at the start of this Hell's summer, a time of wet snow which was perfect for snowmen and such. But it hadn't been him starting up that snowball war, really, it was the cook-idiot who threw the first one. And then it just escalated, more and more kids joining in, siding with either Zoro or Sanji. The fight had been even all through, neither team gaining the upper hand. Then, suddenly as the eyebrow had risen up to aim at his archenemy, a snowball had hit the blond straight in the neck, making him fall face first into the snow with ice water soaking his back.

The thing was, no one knew who threw that projectile. And short after that, the Fire Devil himself got hit. So did Saga, and Gin on the idiot's side. But the green haired boy had managed to see something when he got hit, a red skirt disappearing behind a tree, hiding away so that no one would see her. The sight had shocked him, until then he had only seen her act like the child she was only once, when her Guardian Jinbei had given her her reindeer Chopper.

After that he had started to try and see through her, and he had started to notice the fact that she hid her true personality behind a mask. That she actually enjoyed playing around, didn't like the lessons she had to take and that she smiled the most when she could play with Chopper under the excuse that her pet needed some exercise. But also that she truly was just as humble as she acted. Even as she had started to grow up into a beautiful woman, she never took any advance of the boys in the castle fawning over her. Even if she would have gotten away with it.

"Ero-cook." The new nick-name quickly gained the attention of its target, and in the next second they were at it again, ignoring everything around them to start and fight each other once again.

"What did you just say, shitty-marimo!?"

"Nothing, dart-brow, maybe you need to go wash your ears." Quickly blocking the kick to his head he aimed forward with his own fist, connecting to the other's chin. But Sanji soon found his balance again and kicked out once again, this time hitting where he should.

As they carried on, insulting and trying to bring the other one down, neither of them noticed as Eira sighted and muttered to herself.

"Why does boys always have to fight?"

Saga didn't notice either, standing at the side cheering on the Fire Devil and avoiding the fighting duo so that he wouldn't get tackled, jabbing in the air at his own invincible enemy.

"Come on, Zoro! Don't let him beat you!"

"Enough! It's time to eat, not fight." The commanding voice of this county's Lord suddenly rang in the air, making the boys' fighting come to a halt. Frozen in their movements, panting from the intensity of their quarrel, they glanced at him from the corners of their eyes.

Standing with his authority almost pulsating from the very fiber of him, there was no wondering how this black haired man kept his land independent from the rest of its Hell. He was imposing even now, when he wore what the fashion required and a slightly bored look on his face. But the sharpness in his eyes spoke greatness about his strength, he was not to take lightly anytime, anywhere.

To the left of the mighty Ice Devil stood his sister, the beautiful Juracule Hancock, known through all of the Hells for her stunning looks. Minstrels everywhere wrote songs and poems to her honor, all trying to compose something which could live up to her who was said to be the most lovely female in all history.

And behind her was two of the most feared warriors anywhere, the Snake Sisters Sandersonia and Marigold, Beast Devils who had sworn their loyalty to her. They came from the deepest and darkest jungles of the Second Hell, both standing taller than any male even in their formal form, putting even Jimbei to shame. This kind of allegiance, between a warrior from the Beast Hell and a High Noble from the Frozen was not an uncommon thing, as there was an ever raging war going on in the country. But with their terrifying allies and political advantage, the Juracule siblings had managed to keep their county safe for a very long time.

Forcing his muscles to relax, his body to stop being rigid like a doll's from nervousness, Zoro turned away from his fiend and faced the castle's ruler. And even if he kept his eyes of the other boy he knew that he did the same. Awaiting a lecture for their misbehaviour, the green haired teen tried to swallow down the thick lump in his throat.

But no scolding words were uttered as the older male just turned against the table and escorted his sister to her seat which was left to his own. As she sat down, Sanji seemed to find himself again and strode against Eira to offer her his arm. Smiling a little against the blond Devil, she let him take her to the table and pull out her chair.

Those simple actions made something start to boil inside of the boy who were there because he was a political hostage, and he felt how his eyes almost started to glow red and his nails turn into claws.

Shaking his head and ignoring the wondering looks his violet haired friend gave him, he went over to the table and sat down beside Hancock and directly opposite of the younger girl. Suppressing the dark burning and twisting feelings in his stomach, he took a deep breath and glanced at all the others sitting around the oblong table.

Saga's father, who threw his son a really not too pleasant look, sat beside Eira at Mihawk's right side. Other advisers and High Nobles sat farther down the table with their wives and young adults. The Princess was the youngest one here, and the only reason for that was her status. No child were allowed to abide in this room as the adults had their little assemblies.

The meal went on peacefully, as the two rivals ignored each other and only glared daggers whenever their gazes met. Both knew that the Duke's patience with them started to wear out, and that they would get to find out why the Frozen Hell was the worst Hell of the all known if they kept causing trouble. So the young Fire Devil kept his eyes at the fish laying on his plate for the most of the time.

"Zoro-san, what was that move you used at my father earlier?" The sound of a clear voice brought him out of his own thoughts, making him look up and meet piercing yellow eyes. They didn't hold the same sharpness as her dad's nor her aunt's, but was stunning to him. Realising that he was staring he cleared his throat and tried to think up an answer.

"It's just something I came up with the other day. I haven't named it yet."

"Maybe you should call it something with 'Demon'?" She lowered her gaze to her food, but he could see that little smile which played in the corner of her mouth. And yes, his eyes had glowed red when he used that move, but she didn't have to tease him about it did she?! Grinding his teeth together, he answered.

"Maybe." And suddenly he was glad that they were going to have that dance lesson after this, then he could get a little bit of revenge at the girl who played an innocent damsel all the time.

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"No! Not like that, it's one-two-three. Not one-two-thee-four!"

She hated that little smug smile which played over his thin lips, hated it even more than the pained sensations which ran through her poor feet. Apparently the Fire Devil had decided to get back at her, since he was even worse than he usually was when they danced to this piece. But she clenched her teeth and fought to keep an unruffled face, to not show how it affected her to get her toes mashed beneath his big foot. But inside she prayed that Jango-sensei either would let her dance with Sanji, or even Saga who would be better than this, or let her take a break.

"Geez, let's take it from the beginning, again." "Lucky star, my butt!" Cursing that old woman who had said that she was to take up her late mother's luck and add it to her own, so that she would get to live a blissful life, she took the right step and directly got crushed. Apparently the old hag hadn't counted with her having to take dance lesson with someone who didn't know his right foot from his left.

"Watch it." As she whispered under her breath she felt his warm and calloused hand tighten at the small of her back. A sensation of heat and cold running up her spine almost made her forget about the pain, but she ignored the speeding of her heart and looked to the side to avoid to look at his hard face.

"Sorry..." When had his voice started to sound so... So deep? Fighting back a blush she answered through gritted teeth.

"You're not." She didn't need to look at his face to know that he had started to grin at her, so she glanced at Chopper instead. Her little pet sat in his hybrid form alongside the pianist on the piano seat, watching as his mistress tried to dance. Or more like when she was hindered to do so. He had taken a break from his medical studies and was now waiting for a chance to take a look at her feet. And she really needed that.

But their sensei seemed to be in an almost sadistic or determined mood today, as he just told Brook to repeat the piece once and over again. Sighting, she twisted her foot as they took the first steps, since she knew that she wouldn't be able to stand it anymore if her toes got even more crushed. She really suffered along with all the other poor girls who would have to dance with Lolonoa.

Going on like that, stepping to avoid his shoes she actually managed not to have to endure so much more pain, but instead she got oh so much more aware of the fact that waltz was danced in a closed position, and that they therefore never stopped touching each other. Heart beating fast and hard, pink creeping up her cheeks she tried to swallow down a thick lump which had started to form in her throat. But it didn't work. Then she tried to summon a little of her ice magic to cool herself down, but it was met by his fire. The clash went unnoticed by the others it seemed like, the blond and the violet haired males still chatted about her aunt, but for her it felt like water ran down her skin, making her shudder at the feeling.

As she glanced at his face to try and make out how he had reacted to it, she couldn't get him to meet her gaze. Neither could she read his expression, clenched jaw and flared nostrils, he seemed like he was ready to kill someone. But for some reason it didn't frighten her, instead she just summoned more of her ice and smiled at the burning glare he shot her.

She loved playing around, and she knew that he knew that. And that was the biggest cause of her irritation over him, it was even worse than his terrible dancing skills or constant fights with Sanji, that he had seen through her and teased her about it, trying to make her lose her mask. So for once she couldn't resist her instincts but kept pushing him, even if the consequences most likely would be dangerous.

And his answer didn't let her wait, but for an instant his eyes flashed red as blood and then she felt once again how her cold melted, their matched powers running down her body in a way which made her gasp. She could understand this, how it happened and why it did. But she couldn't make out her own thoughts anymore as she felt his breath on her skin and his grip on her hand tightening, making her head feel foggy. She knew her cheeks must be bright red right now, since she felt how the blood burned under her skin.

"Eira..." Hearing her name whispered hot and rough, she lost herself. If it hadn't been for Zoro holding her up, she would have hit her head in the black marble floor, and not even a Devil could heal that kind of wound quickly. She could hear how the others panicked above her, but the blond Devil's shouts sounded like they came from far away through a tunnel, and the hoof touching her forehead went unnoticed to her clouded mind.

All she could make out was the arms putting her down gently, and how she missed their warmth. Yet, she couldn't stop the words from falling from her lips, so silent that only he could hear it.

"Damn you..." But it was only met by a chuckle and then she was gone, having fainted from the magical clash of Fire and Ice.

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How long time will have passed to the next time? Only two more chapters to go, before we will start on
'For you I will'...