Pointless Report:

Hey guys, so it's been 2 months since I updated…again. I'm really sorry about that, I'll try my best to slowly go back to updating on a more regular basis.

So I went to the Anime Con in Vancouver a few weeks ago with a friend. It was really cool seeing all the fellow anime nerds in one location. I bought a ton of great stuff at the vendors and had a great time in the AMV rooms and taking pictures of the awesome cosplayers. If you have a chance to go there next year I'd totally recommend it!

Grateful thanks to: Wolfy0122, Arrowashi, Mokuseiya and SniperKingSogeking0341 for reviewing! And to everyone who added this story to their Favorites Stories, Story Alerts, ect. (Sorry, if you want to be mentioned, review.)

Also, the winner of the contest I mentioned a few chapters back is Arrowashi! Congrats! Just message me or write in your review your idea for a chapter and I'll make it happen!

Now for some answers to some questions!

Wolfy0122 – Yes, it was Nami I mentioned in Chapter 10, I was just making fun of the fact that a Navy guy came up to her and asked for a picture. (Which we all know was used for her Bounty Poster) T_T Sorry for the confusion.

Arrowashi – I'm pretty sure Arasoi is your average killer cat. I might do I small insert in a later chapter as about where she came from. To be honest I never really thought about it until I read your review. Also Law doesn't like Arasoi for a number of reasons, as you'll see in the coming chapters. But when Law first saw her, I'd say he was annoyed that Mariko decided to adopt an animal without notifying him first.

After reading through my previous chapters, I've decided that the long bolded sentence I had been using to some a time/scene change was a bit distracting. So I'll be changing it to one single "~" starting this chapter. (Sorry if it's not that noticable)

And right before I go, GIANT BEPO SQEEZES to my new buddy SniperKingSogeking0341 or Shinju-chan for messaging me almost daily and reminding me that there are people waiting for me to update. Without her, I might have procrastinated even longer, so thanks for helping me off my lazy ass. Thanks you very much! ^_^

Mariko stared at the wall numbly. 'Okay body, when you feel like waking up let me know.' She thought willing her arm to move. Of course she didn't have much motivation to do so, and her arm stayed flopped over the side of the bed.

Arasoi stretched on the pillow beside her. After the previous night's…social visit, Mariko had surrendered half of the bed to Arasoi (but only after being scratched, clawed and slapped multiple times.)

'Damn cat,' Mariko muttered. She peered at the clock, 4:28 am, she groaned into her pillow. She just wanted to sleep, forget about everything, wake up when the sun had risen and leave this stupid island. Was that so much to ask for?

Apparently, her body couldn't decide whether it wanted to sleep or get up. It was really starting to piss her off.

'What's supposed to make someone fall asleep? Uhh…counting Sea Kings? …Who the Hell came up with that dumbass solution?' But, feeling a bit desperate, she began counting.

'Am I supposed to bore myself to sleep?' she thought yawning.

Still, it was worth a try. As she counted, she let her mind wander, to the distant memories, and the long forgotten dreams.

She felt her body relax and her eye lids drooped. She felt herself smile. Finally, she was going to have a peaceful sleep.

Someone knocked loudly on the door four times.

Her eyes sprang open.

Shit.

Robotically, she got out of bed walked to the door and yanked it open.

Zeke stood at the door and cowered slightly as she glared down at him. 'Good morning,'

She growled something in response.

'Someone called the marines. They'll be here soon,'

Another growl.

'Not that the Captain's worried we can't beat them, he just thinks it'd be funny if the marines showed up, hoping to take down a big bounty head and no one's here to fight them.'

A growl mixed with a groan.

'He just wants to piss them off. So pack your stuff and meet us at the-'

Mariko slammed the door in his face before he could continue. Muttering death threats and curses she stripped off her pajamas and threw on some clothes. Stuffing her things into her backpack she paused for a moment to slam her head against the wall.

'Damn you Law,'

Swinging her bag over her shoulders she (gently) woke Arasoi up. And together they left. She didn't stop when she nearly ran into someone (whether a crewmate or not she didn't care), or when someone swore at her when she stepped on their toes, or when she was warned (several times) that if she didn't watch where she was going she was going to die an early death blah, blah, blah. In her mind, she thought self-centeredly, that if they were stupid enough to get in her way, it was their fault if she almost plowed them over.

All she wanted was to go back to bed and sleep until noon.

Rubbing her eyes in a vain attempt to stop her eyelids from drooping, she slumped down on the ground.

It would be so easy to close her eyes and drift off, and the ground seemed so comfy.

She was just about ready to give in when she felt a hand tap her on the shoulder. She turned her head lazily. She growled in annoyance, it was only Zeke.

'What do you want?' she slurred.

Zeke blinked in surprise. 'Wow, if you're like this when you're tired, I'd hate to see you when you're drunk.'

'What do you want?' She repeated, wondering if being caught by the marines was really that bad.

He sighed, 'Sorry Mari, but the Captain says he needs you wide awake in the next 5 minutes so you can help out.'

At that point, she was too tired to snap at him at his "original" new nickname for her. The last thing she noticed before she nodded off was that Zeke was holding a bucket filled with something. Brushing it off, she fell into oblivion.

She would have liked to be carried onto the ship and into bed, awoken up at a reasonable time the next morning and beaten the crap out of Zeke for his stupid nickname…Only in her dreams.

She woke up gasping. Every inch of her body was dripping wet.

'What the Hell was that?' she screamed.

Zeke grinned. 'Tell you later, right now we gotta get to the ship! Come on!' he grabbed her arm and dragged her off in the direction of the ship.

All the way to the ship Mariko yelled, cursed and threatened anyone who came within a two meter radius of her.

Zeke was thankful they were the last of the Heart pirates to leave, otherwise the racket they left in their wake would've shot any chance the crew had of making a (mostly) unnoticed getaway.

Mariko still hadn't finished her prolonged threat as they ran on deck.

'- and then the Sea Kings'll eat the mangos as the fishmen blow the bagpipes and-'

Mariko, exhausted from lack of sleep and yelling at the top of her voice, collapsed on Zeke and fell asleep without even finishing her sentence.

Those whom Mariko had distracted from their work were silent.

'…So~…Let the Captain deal with her?'

'Yeah, anyone know where 'e is?'

'I'll take her.'

'We need some more people over here!'

'OI! Come on! The marines'll be on our tail if we don't get the Hell out of here! Get your asses in gear!'

'Shut the Hell up!'

'Set sail!'

"~"

Mariko scrubbed a weird blue stain on a pair of pants.

'What the Hell is this stuff anyways?' she cursed through gritted teeth.

It was one of those rare days where, the wind was blowing, the Sea Kings hadn't tried to eat anyone, the marines weren't after them, and everyone was thinking clearly.

What had started off as something Law had assigned to keep her occupied. The repetitive, almost mindless chores had become something she found herself enjoying, oddly enough. After a few hours she found herself strangely satisfied in the work she had completed. Besides, she could only stand human contact for so long. After a while, she'd often be lost in her thoughts and when she came to she'd find many hours had passed. It was one of the peaceful times she'd almost completely relaxed.

Not that she'd ever admit that to anyone.

The rich smell of food caught drew her away from her daydream of what would happen if she shaved off all of Bepo's fur. She grabbed a basket of clean clothes she'd finished before they made landfall on the last island, in her haste to set foot on solid ground she'd forgotten to give it to the crew.

'Better late than never,' she thought remembering the lady at the restaurant, who'd told Yukio and her that exact quote, after they'd been waiting for their food for over an hour. Mariko learned quite a few new swears from her aunt that day.

She grunted as she lifted the heavy basket.

'I should pay attention to how many clothes I put in these things.' She muttered, hauling it into the designated dining area on the ship.

She slammed the basket down on the floor, panting. Gods! It shouldn't be that heavy!

'Princess!'

She gritted her teeth. One of these days…

Law was dangling a hissing Arasoi in the air by the scruff of her neck. 'I told you to take care of your demon!'

'What'd you do to my cat?' she countered.

'What'd I do? This demon was scratching at my legs and stealing my food and running off with it.'

'She's not a demon, and you must have done something to upset her!'

'Upset her? I was just trying to eat, I wasn't doing anything!'

'Liar!'

'Err, Mari?' Zeke asked nervously.

'Shut up Zeke!'

'…Captain?'

Law swallowed back his annoyance. 'What is it?' he asked icily.

'Arasoi's on top of the basket and hissing at something inside.'

Law and Mariko exchanged glances. Law jerked his head in Arasoi's direction. Mariko sneered and trudged over.

Arasoi leapt down and hid behind Mariko's legs.

Cracking her knuckles, she opened the top, a small bodied creature sprang out.

A girl stood there, glaring at the pirates, Mariko in particular.

Mariko's eye twitched, it was the brat from the island.

She grabbed the girl's hair. She hissed in the girl's face. 'You! Oh, you should have stayed in whatever rat infested gutter you crawled out of, I'm gonna put you through Hell for what you did to me!'

The girl paled for a moment at the older girl's sudden ferocity, but lashed back. 'What I did to you? You put me out of the job! It just wasn't enough to get out of your cell, oh no~, you had to beat the crap out of my bosses! Now that they're done, what am I supposed to do for a living?'

'Don't drag me into your problems. I have enough of my own.'

'Well I hope you're happy!'

'I'm never happy!' Mariko screamed. Her voice echoed across the room. Every person in the room was silent.

'Mariko,' Law said calmly. She stiffened and was faintly surprised that he'd called her by her name. 'Who and why are you trying to rip off that kid's head?'

Mariko bit the inside of her cheek. 'This girl led me into a bounty hunters' trap, I got out and now it seems she's blaming me for,' her face curled into a smirk, 'the damage done to her employers and their base.'

Law gave no reply and gently pulled Mariko's hand towards him, dragging the girl along with it. He stared deep into the girl's eyes. 'What's your name?' he said emotionlessly.

'I don't answer to pirate scum.' The girl sneered. 'Make her let go.'

'You're hardly in the position to make demands. You're on my ship, and what I say goes. Now I didn't ask for anything that would harm you for the time being, but if you continue to try my patience I may let my dear nakama behind you, at you.'

'You may be the captain of this ship Trafalgar Law, but I'm not afraid of you, or any of your other brainless lackeys.'

Mariko curled her free hand into a fist and held it against the girl's temple, the steel points gleaming hungrily. This brat was starting to make her blood boil. 'It only takes a movement, and don't doubt me such a task, after all, I am a brainless lackey. So keep that sharp little tongue of yours in check.' She said darkly. 'Now I believe the captain asked you a question, I suggest you answer it truthfully.'

Law sighed in mild annoyance. 'Give her a chance to catch her breath, the last thing we need to for her to faint on us. I'd prefer to keep her conscience while I ask her a few questions.'

The girl was visibly shaking, nervously switching her gaze from Mariko to the deadly gloved fist at the side of her head. All previous courage was a mere memory.

Law raised an eyebrow at Mariko. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were enjoying this.'

Mariko gave a curious smirk, and said nothing.

He signed. 'Well I think we have a spare closet or something we could lock her in until we know what to do with her. Could you get your guard demon to make sure she doesn't get out, princess?'

Mariko glanced at Arasoi, who was still hissing at the intruder. 'She might if you bribe her, I'd suggest crab or lobster.' Arasoi stopped hissing for a moment and stared intensively at Mariko.

'It's Law who's making the deal not me.' Mariko said gesturing to Law.

Arasoi turned a cold eye on the captain. She straightened herself as any business woman would when making a deal.

'I'm listening,' she seemed to say.

Law glanced at Mariko. 'You've got to be kidding me.'

'I'm serious. I'm ready to throw this kid overboard. If you want Arasoi to keep an eye on her, you make the deal.'

Law looked thoughtfully at the kid. 'You know, throwing her overboard is really starting to appeal to me right about now.'

Mariko rolled her eyes. 'Are you gonna make the deal or not? Otherwise Arasoi's gonna lose interest and leave.'

Law sighed and knelt down. He couldn't help feeling a bit foolish for making an agreement with a cat. No matter how evil and demon-like it was.

'Arasoi, we're going to lock this intruder in a closet or something. If you keep an eye on her and stop her from trying to escape, I can guarantee I'll get you, say, some crab legs or something.'

Arasoi regarded Law with her unblinking golden eyes. As if coming to some sort of decision, she flicked her tail twice.

Law blinked in confusion.

'She says she'll do it.' Mariko translated.

Law seemed to want to ask her something, but decided against it.

Zeke, having figured that the tension had died down enough so he could be heard, cocked his head at the trembling girl. 'You got a name kiddo?'

'R-Rei,' she managed to choke out.

'Well Rei, I'd say you landed yourself in a fair bit of shit. Wouldn't you say so?'

"~"

It had been a tough decision as to which of the Hearts would be the one to ask her the questions. Mariko and Law were out of the question. Mariko for the obvious reasons and Law because he'd more likely cause her to pass out again rather than gain any new information. So it was decided that Zeke would take control. Not just because he hadn't scared Rei shitless after the first sentence he'd said to her, but also because he was one of the few crewmen who could get past Arasoi without the immediate danger of losing their ankles.

So Zeke walked in alone into the empty storage room, which they'd temporarily converted into an interrogation room. The crew had wandered off, sensing that nothing of interest would happen immediately. Mariko was about to leave, Law grabbed her by the shoulder.

'You're staying here. This is your mess so you've got to hang around here until Zeke comes out.'

'I'll admit that I am partially to blame but I don't see why I should have to hang around here with nothing to do.'

'I'll be waiting here with you.'

'Like I said, there's nothing to do.' She complained slumping down.

He sighed and sat down next to her. 'You can't be expected to be entertained every second of your life.'

'I don't need it every second. I'd just like the option.'

Silence stretched out between the two.

'So…have you heard anything from Yukio lately?' He asked lamely.

Mariko glared at the floor. 'What do you care? She's not your problem.'

Law looked away.

Mariko drummed her fingers on the floor. 'Nothing, but that's to be expected.' She said quietly.

Law turned to face her. 'And why's that?'

'I just…never expected any anything. We parted ways, she went her way and I went mine. Simple as that.'

Law was silent.

'I don't care. I always knew that something like this would happen.'

'So, you knew she was going to sell you to a group of pirates?'

Mariko gave a half smile and punched him lightly in the arm. 'No dumbass, I didn't think of that. I just sort of knew I'd get thrown away. Like some toy she was done playing with. We never really got into the whole "aunt-and-niece" thing, we only really thought of each other as "teacher-and-student". And even that bond was pretty weak. I respected her space and she respected mine. Other then at meals or training, we didn't really associate with each other.'

He stared at her for a while, working out what he'd just heard. 'You've been alone for a while, haven't you?'

She looked down at her feet. 'I never minded. It gave me a lot of time to think.'

Law slipped a hand around her shoulder, something that would have normally been asking for a punch to the face or a good foot stomping, but Mariko decided to let it slide…just this once.

'Must have been traumatizing to be stuck here with all of us, eh?' he asked jokingly.

She laughed. 'Well, I'll say it took me a while to wrap my head around it.'

'And how are you now?'

Mariko paused considering the question. 'Not as bad as before, I'm talking to people aren't I?'

'That's true. We may break you of your anti-social ways yet.'

She grinned. 'Good luck with that, Captain.'

'I can dream can't I?' But he left it at that.

With everything said that needed to be said, the two sat there, lost in their own thoughts, all the while enjoying each other's company.

"~"

Law stood up as Zeke came out of the interrogation room looking pleased with himself. 'Well Captain, I think I got everything out of her.'

'Did you now?' Mariko asked dryly.

Law shot an irritated glance at her. To which she ignored. 'So what've you got for us, Zeke?'

'Well Captain, not much to be said. She's been on the streets as long as she can remember. She was a thief before she got involved with the bounty hunters. With the little money she got, she used for food. Your typical child amateur criminal, but here's the thing. Apparently, one of the bounty hunters promised that if she could land a big bounty head, they'd do some snooping as to where she came from. I can only assume that's why she went after our sweet little Mariko. Now that the bounty hunters are history, she was going to stow away on our ship until we made landfall at another island.'

Mariko raised an eyebrow. 'So what, She was going to try and get a little revenge on me before she left?'

Zeke shrugged. 'Your guess is as good as mine.'

'Did she have any idea what would happen if she were to be discovered?'

'I have no idea, but not likely.'

Mariko let out an irritated sigh. 'What an idiot. Running head first into a dangerous situation without any backup plans is suicide.'

Law smirked. 'Sounds kind of like another person I know.'

'I hope you don't mean me. I can take care of myself. She's just a kid who would've been killed in an instant if she weren't on your ship. At least I'm usually prepared for worst case scenarios.'

'True, I'll give you that.'

'So what do you want to do with her, Captain? Kill her? Throw her into the sea? Put her to work?' Zeke asked.

Law leaned against the wall, considering the matter.

'Well, good to know she's probably not some navy spy. If anyone needs me, I'll be finishing up some laundry.'

Law whipped his head at Mariko. 'Laundry?'

She rolled her eyes. 'Yes Law, laundry. What? You think everyone's clothes mysteriously clean themselves?'

Law stared at her for a moment. An amusing thought came to him. 'She can help you, princess.'

'…Come again? I think I might have misheard you.'

'Oh no, you heard me right. Weren't you saying how you wanted some help with your chores?'

'I wanted help, not to be some kid's babysitter.' She snapped. 'She'll only get in my way. She'd like, 4 years old.'

'She's 6 actually,' Zeke corrected.

Mariko rolled her eyes. 'Wow, 6, big woop. I'm not taking care of her, and that's final!'

'…Princess, what's your rank here?' Law asked in a low voice.

'Look-out, sometime work lackey.'

'And how low on the food chain is that?'

She gritted her teeth. 'Pretty low but high enough to show you trust me somewhat.'

'Right, now if I recall. The position "Captain" is the highest, am I right? So I get to call the shots around here. So if I say she's helping you. She's helping you. You have no say in the matter.'

Mariko's expression darkened. 'As you wish, Captain.' She said coldly. 'Tell her where to go when you've explained things to her.' She turned on her heel and walked off. Arasoi pounced after her, but not before she hissing at Law.

Zeke blinked. 'Did I…miss something?'

'Just tell the kid her job. If she does it right, we'll let her off at the next island.'

Zeke looked uncertainly at Law. 'Uhh, sure thing, Captain. Whatever you say.'

Law nodded briskly and walked off. Leaving Zeke feeling only slightly confused about the whole matter.

Mariko cursed as she stormed down the hall. 'Pulling rank on me,' she muttered throwing her backpack on the floor. 'What an ass.' She grabbed a shirt and started drowning it in water. 'I swear I'll kill him one day.' She began butchering it with soap. Scrubbing with such ferocity, it would have made any perfectionist cringe. 'One of these days, I'm gonna lose it.'

A ring broke her string of death threats.

'What…?' she muttered. She looked around trying to locate the noise. The ringing seemed to be coming from her backpack. She started digging through her backpack. She pulled out the Den-den Mushi. She'd only had a few calls on it, mostly from Yukio telling her they were leaving and to pack up her things.

Cautiously she picked up the receiver. 'H-Hello?'

'Darling~!' a woman's voice rang out. 'It's so good to hear you again!'

'M-Madame Kousei,' she cringed, wishing she'd ignored the call. 'It's been a while since you called.'

'Yes well, I've been very busy. I had a little problem to resolve a while back but nothing to worry about!'

'I…see. Err, I don't mean to be rude, Madame, but I'm assuming this isn't a social call.'

'You always were a sharp girl! You're right. I just wanted to invite you to my party. It'll be at the usual place. You have my vivre card, right?'

'Unfortunately,' Mariko thought to herself. She cleared her throat. 'I do,'

'Excellent! Will you be coming by your own means? I can always have one of my men come for you.'

'No, it's fine. I'll come by my usual way.'

'Wonderful, how soon could you get here?'

'…I'd say I could make it in roughly 2 days.'

'Wonderful! The party will be in 4 days. We couldn't start without you now could we?'

Mariko was about to snap back but held her tongue.

'I'll see you there, don't be late!'

The line went dead.

Mariko sat there dumb folded. Numbly, she hung up the receiver and stuffed the snail back into her backpack. It occurred to her that she'd never specified that she would come, but knowing Kousei, she'd already have marked her so on the guest list.

No one said no to Madame Kousei.

The woman had more influence in the world then anyone Mariko had ever met before. She had everything from Navy officers to Bounty Hunters and Mariko knew for a fact that there were more than a few pirate captains working for her. Madame Kousei had power and more importantly information.

Mariko ran her fingers through her hair.

This was going to be a pain in the ass to explain to Law.

"~"

Mariko chewed her lip nervously. Law was only on the other side of the deck, leaning against a sleeping Bepo like he was a giant fluffy white pillow.

She breathed out, imagining all her nervous behavior whooshing out of her. Straightening her back, she walked forward.

'Law, could I have a word with you?' she yelled, a little louder than she would have liked.

Law turned and made a face. He mouthed something that she couldn't quite make out, and motioned to Bepo.

Mariko felt small. This wasn't starting off well. She quickened her pace and didn't stop until she was a few feet away from him. 'Sorry,' she whispered.

Law rolled his eye in irritation. 'You don't have to whisper, just don't yell though. I don't want him to wake up.' He raised an eyebrow. 'Are you well? You look...paler than usual.' Mariko noted a hint of concern under the calmness of his voice.

'I…No I'm fine. I just wanted to...' she swallowed. 'T-to…' Damn, did she really have to do this?

'You look like you're going to be sick. You know where we keep the medicine. You don't need me to hand you some pills.' He waved his hand dismissively.

She felt her cheeks burn. 'I don't need pills!' she snapped. 'I just wanted to ask you…' she trailed off, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation.

Law sighed, obviously on the border of his patience. 'Spit it out. I don't have all day.'

'I wanted to know if I could have your permission to leave for a few days.' She said quickly.

He blinked and lowered his eyes. 'Why?' he asked suspiciously.

She sank under his gaze. 'Well~, I was invited to go to a party and it would take me a few days to get there and to get back when it was over so I wanted to know if I could go.'

'Wait, let me get this straight. You, our anti-social little hide-in-the-corner-glaring-at-the-world girl, is asking if she can go…to a party? When we, your own crewmates throw one, you make all sorts of excuses to avoid it. Would you mind explaining to me why that is?'

She felt like her lips were about to bleed. 'Madame Kousei invited me. She's an old acquaintance of Yukio's and she knows a lot about what's going on in the world right now.'

'And I care…why?'

She glared. 'She has power, power she'll give people for the right price.'

'Namely what?'

'Information, they tell her secrets and she milks it for everything she can get out of it. She has spies, assassins, everything you can think of. She could wipe someone off the face of the earth and no one could trace it back to her.'

Law sat there for a minute, staring in her eyes. 'You're afraid of her.' He observed.

She lowered her eye to the floor. 'Yes,' she said quietly. 'I am. She may seem like an innocent airhead but she's cunning. When she invites someone to a gathering, she's not asking. She's telling you to come.'

Law was silent. Mariko raised her eyes. He was grinning.

'Could it be? That you're a little concerned about us?' he asked.

Mariko blushed. 'I never said that.'

'You are. You're worried that if you don't go, she'll come after us as well.'

Mariko looked away. 'Can I go or not?' she asked impatiently.

Law sighed, and leaned back on Bepo. He looked out towards the sea. 'Where will it be held?' he asked calmly.

'Hitokoe Island,'

'One of the vacation islands,' he commented.

'Yes,'

'You're going alone, aren't you?'

'That was my plan.'

'And you won't let us come with you. Will you?'

She closed her eyes and listened to the waves crash against the ship. 'No,'

'How long?'

'It's in 4 days, it'll take me 2 days to get there and these things usually last for a day and a half.'

'So you'll be gone for a little over a week.'

'It may take me longer to get back, depending on how much distance you cover in my absence.'

'We'll wait for you.' He stated quietly. If Mariko hadn't been standing next to him she would never have heard him.

'Don't be stupid. Staying anywhere in the middle of the sea is dangerous, especially in the New World.'

'We're staying right here. We're strong we can wait it out.'

'Don't be a dumbass.'

'How else are you going to be able to find us again?' he asked sharply. 'Have you thought of that? I don't have a vivre card so how else will you be able to find us?'

'Don't give me that shit. There's nowhere to anchor in the middle of the sea, you'll drift whether you want to or not.'

Law gritted his teeth. 'Than what do you suggest?'

'Go on to the next island, the climate is stabilizing a bit so we can't be that far away from it. You can wait for me there.'

'Call us, promise me you'll call us every night, I don't care how late or how tired you are. Someone will be there to answer it. That way we can tell you where we are.'

'Law, if that's all then I don't need to call you every-'

'You're not alone anymore! So stop acting so self-centered!' he yelled standing up. He was so close to her that she could make out every detail of his face. Bepo opened his eyes sleepily, took one look at the situation and wisely stayed silent.

'It may be news to you but you're one of us now! We're here for you, so stop trying to push us away! We're not going to abandon you, so get it through that thick skull of yours that we care about what happens to you! Even if you try to distance yourself from us, we'll always be there for you damn it!'

She stood there. Shock written all over her face. Then, a tear slid down her cheek. Then another, and another, until her cheeks were stained with them and her eyes seemed like they were on fire. And she cried. For once, she didn't care about putting on a front, or that there were people watching, or that the person who was holding her so tightly in his arms was the man she'd sworn to kill.

Ten years of longing, misery and sorrow she'd kept bottled up, poured out of her, as she clung so desperately to him.

Because for the first time in those ten years, she knew she was wanted.

A soft chuckle escaped Law's lips. 'Who's the stupid one now?'