Take off into Confusion

"That was amazing!" Archer leaned back in his chair he rubbed his full stomach. "Another good meal by our lovely cook!"

"You're sweet." Neo smiled.

"Here you go." Penguin handed her another plate to dry.

Neo took it and ran her towel over its shiny surface.

"If you keep eating so much you're going to get fat," Conner said before taking a drink of his coffee.

"I didn't eat that much," Archer said.

"You ate three platefuls," Conner said.

"It wasn't that much." Archer crossed his arms. "You're exaggerating. Typical for our resident pessimist."

"Being a pessimist has nothing to do with telling the truth," Conner said.

"You guys are so silly," Neo said. "There was plenty of food. And you all exercise enough. I doubt you'll get fat."

"You're so cute." Archer winked. "Always concerned about us."

Neo smiled. Picking up her stack of plates, she put them away then turned to Penguin. "I'm going to go check on Bepo. If that's all right with you."

"Go ahead." Penguin nodded. He wiped down a glass and sat it down on the counter. "I'll finish up here."

"Thanks, Penguin." Neo hustled towards the door and up the stairs to the medical bay. Entering into Bepo's recovery room she found the bear was getting out of bed. Her heart skipped a beat. "What are you doing?"

"Neo," Bepo said.

"You shouldn't be up." Neo rushed over to him. "You're still injured."

"I'm fine," Bepo said.

Neo's eyes went to the bandage around his chest. Despite the bandages being pristine white she could still see the blood that once was on his furry chest. A shiver ran over her body. "It's only been six days. Are you sure you should move?"

"I know that," Bepo said. He looked across the room. "The captain said I can leave this room today. Right, Captain?"

"Captain?" Neo followed the bear's gaze and found Law tossing some rubber gloves into the trashcan. She jumped at the sight of him. "Oh. I didn't even notice you were in here."

"Obviously," Law said walking back over to them.

"The captain just finished up an exam and changing my bandages." Bepo rubbed his fur just below the bandage. "Everything looks good. Well, everything except where the captain had to shave my fur. It's going to take forever to grow back."

"Oh." Neo, realizing she was still looking at the man, jerked her eyes away from him and back to Bepo. "I should have known. I guess. You are his patient after all. So, um, are you sure you're feeling well enough to leave?"

"I'm feeling fine." Bepo grabbed a clean boiler suit off the foot of the bed and pulled it on over his boxers. "There's still some pain, but it's manageable."

Neo nodded slowly. He did seem to be fine. Still she worried. For some reason she kept picturing the wound opening up and everything inside falling out.

"As long as he takes it easy he'll be healed in no time at all," Law said. His own eyes avoiding Neo. "That means no fighting."

"Aye, Captain." Bepo nodded, his eyes darting between the two avoiding eye contact.

Neo shifted on her feet. It was obvious the bear noticed something was different between her and his captain. Scanning the room she found some empty dishes on the nightstand that Law had brought up. "Oh, you ate. That's good."

"Yes," Bepo said. "It was amazing as always. You and Penguin are a great team in the galley."

"Thank you. I'll take those to the galley and pass on your compliment." Neo moved to pick them up. But before she could touch them Law scooped them into his hands. His warmth passed over to her when his skin brushed against hers. Her heart skittered hard against her ribs.

"I'll take those," Law said. Clearly he wasn't in a hurry to move away as he pulled the dishes close to him in a slow manner. "I'm heading there anyway."

"O-okay," Neo said. Coolness settled over her when he finally moved away. Instantly she missed his warmth. Just as quickly she pushed the feeling aside. There was no reason for it. It was nonsense. Him touching her was only an accident. Still she found herself unable to turn around as his boots tapped against the floor. Seconds later the sound faded. Only then did she notice her body was tense. She relaxed.

"Uh, Neo?" Bepo then said.

"Yes?" She turned to him.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"No," Neo said. "Why do you ask?"

"There was some sort of odd tension between you and the captain," Bepo said. "I'm not sure how to describe it. It wasn't hostile like it usually is, but it wasn't exactly calm either. Did something happen between you two?"
"You mean he didn't…" Her voice trailed off. She didn't have to ask. If Bepo was asking if anything happened between them two then it was obvious the captain didn't tell anyone anything.

"Neo?"

"It's fine," Neo said deciding it might be best to keep the bond a secret if the captain didn't tell his best friend. "Something did happen. But it was a good thing. Your captain and I will be getting along better from this point on."

"I'm glad." Bepo nodded with a smile. "I was worried that you two might do nothing but fight all the time."

"Well, I can't promise we won't have our fights." Neo clasped her hands behind her back and rocked onto her heels. "But they won't be as bad as they have been."

"You two must have bonded then," Bepo said.

"Bonded?!" Neo squeaked. "Why would you say that?!"

"Because of the bear cubs," Bepo said. "I have no idea what happened between you two but since you let the cubs go you two have been acting more civil towards each other."

"Oh, that," Neo said. "I guess you could say that we did have a bonding moment over them."

"Well, whatever happened between you two I'm glad you're starting to like each other now," Bepo said heading for the door.

"Yeah, well, we still have a long way to go I'd say." Neo followed Bepo out of the room. "So you're really fond of the captain, aren't you?"
"Of course I am," Bepo said. "I'll follow him no matter where he goes."

"That's sweet," Neo said. "You all seem really loyal to him."

"I guess we are," Bepo said. "It's hard not to admire and be loyal to him when he's so strong. And of course there's the fact that he saved me from Penguin and Shachi."

"It's hard to see them actually doing that to you." With her hands still behind her back, Neo glanced up at the ceiling before looking over at her friend. "How old were you when that happened?"

"I was nine years old," Bepo said.

"Nine? How old are you now?" Neo asked.

"Twenty," Bepo said.

Neo halted on the step. "Twenty?"
"Something wrong?" Stepping off the last step to the fifth floor Bepo turned to her.

"We're the same age then," Neo said. "Or we will be. I'll be turning twenty in a few weeks."

"The crew had spoken about your age before. We all still have a hard time see you as being my age," Bepo said. "You look so young. Your brother looks really young too."

Neo shrugged. "I guess we just age gracefully or something. Some people do that, you know?"

Bepo nodded headed down the hall.

"What's your home island like?" Neo asked. The humming of the engines became louder as they walked by the engine room.

"Like any other I suppose," Bepo said. "But there are a lot of differences."

"Like what?" The two entered into the navigation room. Neo breathed in the ink and smell of snails. Her eyes went to the snails napping quietly on the table cluttered with maps. The snails woke from their slumber. Their eyes locked onto Neo. She walked over to them and stroked their tiny heads.

"Well, Zou is full of minks and only minks," Bepo said. "And it's not really an island. My home is on the back of a giant elephant called Zunisha. So a log pose won't be able to find it."

"Zunisha? A giant elephant?" Fascination filled Neo's body and soul. She had to know more.

"That's right." Bepo nodded. Papers rustled from his digging in a drawer.

"Amazing," Neo said. "I'd like to see it some day."

"Maybe you will."

Neo turned to the bear. He had stopped digging into the drawer but his paw was still inside of it. "What do you mean?"
"You don't have to leave," Bepo said. He stood up straight but his shoulders and head sunk. His claw scratched the wooden drawer. "You…you could stay with us."

Neo opened her mouth to reply but couldn't find any words. It hadn't crossed her mind before that it was possible to stay with this crew. Before now the pirates were nothing more than a way to get to Sabaody. But now that things were changing between her and the captain it was a possibility. A small one but one nonetheless.

"I'm sorry." Bepo hung his head. "I shouldn't have said that. You have your own home to return to."

"Maybe," Neo said.

"What?" Bepo looked up at her.

Shifting on her feet, Neo rubbed her forehead. The very idea of staying with this crew was silly. It couldn't happen. "Honestly, I'm not sure what we're going to do. Growing up I always wanted to sail with Godfather and his crew. And with what happened to my parents…"

"Your parents?" Bepo asked.

Neo gnawed her bottom lip. With a deep breath she said, "They were murdered by someone I trusted. That's the real reason my brother and I are trying to find our godfather."

"I'm sorry." A pause. "Do the others know?"

Neo shook her head. The snails shifted closer to the edge of the table. They wanted to get closer to her. "Only the captain knows. I broke down and told him that when he threatened to lock me up in the brig if I didn't release the cubs."

"The captain threatened you?" Bepo's eyes widened.

"You should be surprised," Neo said looking up at him. "He's done that before. Anyway, I knew how the cubs felt. They lost their mom too. That's why I didn't want to let them go. After I told him about our parents he told me about his and what happened in Flevance."

"So that's what happened between you two," Bepo said. "He told you about his family and his home."

"Yeah." Neo rubbed her neck. "Apparently our bond was over the murder of our parents. Irony at its finest, I guess."

"He told you?" Bepo asked. A bit of disbelieve peppered his tone.

"He did." She nodded. "And I'm glad he did. We understand each other a little better now."

"I should say so," Bepo said.

Neo turned back to the snails and stroked them again. One crawled towards her. Holding her hand still she allowed it to crawl up her skin, leaving a thin like of slime in its wake. A small smile pulled across her lips. Her mind drifted back to her parents. A dull ache filled her chest. The pain of their death still hurt but it hurt a lot less now. She wondered if telling the captain and Bepo about her parents was the reason why.

"Hey, let's go outside," Bepo said.

"You want to go outside?" Neo asked.

"I've been inside far too much." Bepo shut the drawer. "I was going to do some work in here but I really could use some fresh air. So I'm going to go out on the deck for a while."

"I guess that would be nice," Neo said. "And the snails? Would it be all right if I took them with us?"

"That'll be fine. I'd enjoy the company." Bepo looked at the snails crawling over her body. "They might like it too. Obviously they love you already."

"I tend to have that effect on animals." Neo rubbed a snail under his chin.

"I've noticed." Bepo headed for the door.

Several crewmates gave her and the snails odd looks as they passed them in the halls and on the stairs. No one mentioned them. It appeared the crew was starting to get use to her odd habits when it came to animals. She found it nice. Animals were always a big part of her life. She wanted them back in her life.

Chatter from three crewmates greeted them upon stepping outside. The three looked to be having a good time, and didn't notice their arrival, so Neo and Bepo headed to their right. Bepo laid down on the warm deck. "So nice."

Neo sat down beside him with the snails on her arms and shoulders. A pod of dolphins arched out of the water twenty yards away from the sub pulling her eyes to them. A longing filled her when she saw them. Dolphins were one of her favorite sea creature to swim with. They always knew how to have fun no matter what was going on around them.

"You like dolphins?" Bepo asked.

"I do." Neo nodded. "I swam with them a lot growing up. Have you ever swam with them?"
"Never," Bepo said.

"Too bad," Neo said. "You'll have to one day. They're really fun to play with."

"I'd probably scare them. I am a bear after all," Bepo said.

"That may be true, but if you intent them no harm then there won't be a problem," Neo said. "There're so many beautiful things in the sea. And they're one of them."

"You sound like you've spent a lot of time in the water," Bepo said.

"I have." Neo grinned thinking of all the times she had been under the water. She couldn't count them all. "It was a good way to hide from my duties."

"Duties?"

"Oh, uh, I mean my chores and all." Neo scratched her cheek. "You know, typical stuff that kids and teens always try to avoid."

"Makes sense." Bepo's nose twitched. "I even had times like that."

"Yeah." Neo looked at the snails. Three of the six had moved down to her legs. "If your hometown is on the back of an elephant how did you get down from it? And how do you get back up?"

"I climbed down," Bepo said. "I had planned on only getting a better view of the ocean but the waves ended up sweeping me away. To get back up you can climb if you're good enough. But there's also a pulley system the minks have."

"Then if you go there you won't have to leave your sub behind?" Neo looked at him.

"That's right." Bepo nodded with a yawn. "As long as we get someone's attention we can get pulled up. The minks have sailed the seas before. A few have even been pirates."

"What kind of minks are there?" Neo asked.

"There are all kinds. Polar bears," Bepo said.

"Obviously." Neo leaned closer to him.

"There are deer types, ape types, monkeys, cats, dogs," Bepo said.

"So just about all the animals in nature are minks?" Neo asked.

"That's about right." Bepo nodded.

"Oh!" Neo squealed. Her body attempted to ball up in excitement but she stopped herself so she didn't hurt the snails. "I really, really, really, want to see this place."

"Maybe you can, as I've said before," Bepo said.

Neo slumped. "Well, first things first. We have to find our godfather. Maybe one day we can visit your home."

"I hope you can find him. And I hope you can return to your home," Bepo said.

"Thanks, Bepo," Neo said. Shifting she tried to get more comfortable on the hard deck.

"You can lean on me if you want," Bepo said.

"Hm? Lean on you?" Neo looked at his large belly. With his boiler suit he did look like a fluffy orange pillow. "No, I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. Not if you lean on my stomach," Bepo said. "The captain does it all the time."

"The captain leans against you?" Neo asked.

"That's right." Bepo patted his stomach. "Come on. I insist."

"Well…okay. If you really want me to." Neo shifted again.

"I do." Bepo placed his paw on her shoulder and nudged her closer.

Neo gulped. She pressed against his side, his warmth soothing her nerves of hurting him. "You're like a giant pillow or marshmallow."

Bepo smiled with a nod.

Neo settled into him. A couple snails slinked onto Bepo's stomach as the bear started to drift off. Summoning an earth crystal she created the snails some algae to eat. With her arms crossed over Bepo's stomach she watched with a smile as the snails ate their treats to Bepo's snoring.

"What are you doing to my transponder snails?"

Neo jumped. Spinning around she looked up at the captain. Having been so distracted by the snails that she didn't even hear him come outside. "Uh, just feeding them a snack. Is that a problem?"

"No, it's fine," Law said. "Just don't over feed them. They have a job to do after all."

"They just make phone calls. I don't think over eating will hurt that." Neo rolled her eyes. "Besides I'm not going to over feed them."

"Why did you bring them out here?" Law asked.

"They wanted to come." Neo shrugged.

"They wanted to come out here?" Law cocked an eyebrow.

Neo gulped when the captain's gaze seemed to pierce into her soul. "Yeah, well, they just did. Okay? As a matter of fact, they told me they wanted to come out here."
"If you say so." Law shrugged. Removing his sword from his shoulder, he sat down beside her.

Neo's body tensed at his closeness. "What are you doing?"

"Sitting down." Law pulled his hat down over his eyes.

Neo shifted and leaned back against Bepo. Her shoulder brushed against Law's. If he felt it he made no move to acknowledge it. Still she shifted away from him, giving them more space. Nervously picking at her shirttail she glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes. With his hat over his eyes there was no way to tell if he was napping or if he was secretly watching her. An unfamiliar twinge pinged in her heart. It was an exciting feeling but also a scary one.

"Is there a problem?" Law lifted his head.

Neo jumped and looked away. "N-no."

"Then why were you staring at me?" Law asked.

"No particular reason," Neo said. "I just find it a bit…odd that a guy like you leans against a cute bear like Bepo."

"Odd?"
"Yes. Odd. You two are so different from each other. I find it very hard to believe you two can be such good friends," Neo said.

"I suppose you might have a point," Law said.

"I do have a point," Neo stressed. "You two are like night and day."

"Opposites attract so they say. You and your brother are like night and day," Law said.

"We're not as different as you and Bepo are," Neo said. "He's nice, sweet, calm, and very cute. You're harsh, don't hesitate to kill, threat me all the time, and you're just plan rude at times."

"I never signed up to be a gentlemen." Law smirked. "Besides your brother is far more relaxed than you are. He has a level head, he talks things out, and he listens to me. You aren't level headed, you want to argue instead of talk, and you don't listen."

Neo glared but it faded quickly. He was right. Kailen was far calmer than she is, especially in their current situation. Slumping down against Bepo she crossed her arms. "Fine. You win. This time. But you are a major cause in our arguments."

Law's smirk grew. His hat fell back over his eyes. "Think that if it makes you feel better."

Neo growled.

The men at the other end of the deck continued chatting before heading back inside. Neo flinched when they paused to take in their captain and herself. They snickered and proceeded on. Their voices faded away the farther inside they got. It left only the sound of the ocean waves, Bepo's snoring, and a seagull calling overhead. Tilting her head back she started up at the blue sky before her eyes drifted over to Law. His body was a bit more relaxed from before but she still couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep. Her eyes ran down his arm to his tattoo. It was an odd tattoo. Nothing like the ones her godfather's crew had. While it was obvious the inner circle was that of the man's jolly roger it still looked more like some sort of gear with a circle of triangles around it. Her eyes went down to his hand. The gear was there too. Only thing one had four legs, as she saw them, instead of six. Then there was the DEATH tattoo on his fingers, each letter stitched over a finger. The thought of his parents, sister, and entire hometown flashed through her mind. It made her wonder if the tattoos were influenced by that event.

Her hand lifted and moved towards the black ink. Her fingers traced the tattoo on his forearm. His skin slightly dry, from washing for surgeries she assumed. A gaze fell upon her. Her fingers froze, her heart leaped. Her eyes lifted to his. Heat rushed to her face. She started to pull away, but paused when she noticed his eyes weren't filled with anger. Instead they were soft, curiously inspecting her. She gulped then licked her lips. His eyes fell to observe the movement before pulling back to her eyes. She pulled her hand away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

Law grabbed her wrist.

Neo started, her mind flashing back to when he slammed her against the cell bars. Pain was sure to happen. But nothing happened. He didn't do anything but hold her wrist in place. His callused fingers loose around her wrist but not enough for her to fall from his touch. Her lips parted to ask him what he was doing. Nothing came out. Law just continued to stare into her eyes until his thumb started making circles over her skin. Her heart fluttered at his touch. The sounds around them faded. He lifted her hand to his face.

A sudden boom rocked the ship. The two flew forward to the ground. Her elbow landing on the hard wood.

"What was that?" Neo pushed herself back up and cupped her throbbing elbow.

"Captain! We're under attack!" Shachi ran out of the door.

"What?!" Bepo woke up before another boom rocked the ship. "What's going on?"

"Cannon fire off the stern," Shachi reported. "They hid their pirate flag and slipped upon us!"

Law grabbed his sword off the deck and stood up. "Bepo get back inside. And take Neo with you."

"What?!" Neo leaped to her feet.

"No arguing." Law unsheathed his sword. "Bepo and Archer can't fight right now. I need someone to have their backs in case these pirates slip inside."

Neo wanted to protest, but the captain was right. Bepo and Archer were unable to defend themselves at the moment. While she wanted to help defend the sub she knew they needed her more. "All right."

Law glanced at her. A moment of disbelief flashed through his eyes. "Then get inside."

"Let's go, Bepo." Neo turned to the bear. He was already on his feet. She summoned her earth crystals, readying some vines incase she needed to grabbed him as the cannon balls continued to fall around them. The crew rushed out of the sub. A loud thump and several clinks caused her to turn around. The enemy ship had reached the port side of the sub. A wooden plank and several grappling hooks were now connecting the two water vessels. Her heart hammered. The pirates clashed. Guns fired out, filling the air with blood and hot lead.

"Neo!" A vine wrapped around her body, pulling her into the sub. She glanced up to find Kailen kneeling in front of her. "Did you get hit?"
"Uh, no," Neo said. "I'm fine." She looked to Bepo. Archer was standing a few feet from him, trying to stay out of the line of fire. "Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," Archer said.

"Yeah." Bepo nodded.

"Good." Neo smiled. Her eyes turned back to the fight outside. A couple pirates were already on the deck either knocked out or dead. Her heart flipped until she noticed a few of them were wearing the boiler suit of the Heart Pirates. Kailen rushed by her. "Where are you going?!"

"To help!" Kailen said.

Neo growled but did nothing to stop him. Hiding his crystals where no one could see them, he snapped out his vines, disarming several enemy pirates of their guns. The Heart Pirates cheered seemingly excited and revived they had an upper hand on the enemy now. Suddenly a hot pain shot through her upper right arm. She grabbed it, thinking a stray bullet had hit her. But there was no blood. Her shirt and skin remained intact.

"Neo, did you get hit?" Archer moved closer to her.

"No," Neo said. Her eyes roamed back out into the battle. It was hard to tell if he was really hurt with the way he continued to swing his sword around. But she knew the pain was his. "I'm okay."

"Good." Bepo sighed. "I was worried you got shot or something."

"We should move away from here," Archer said. "The captain won't be very happy if we get hurt. Again."

Neo didn't move. Her eyes lingered on the captain.

"Neo, please," Bepo said.

Sighing, Neo pushed herself to her feet and moved farther back into the sub.

…

Law winced when an enemy sword sliced through his arm. His body jumped back instinctively. The pirate swung at him again. He ducked and swung back, effectively disarming and maiming the pirate. Something drew his eyes to the door of the sub. Neo was inside, on the floor holding her arm. The same arm he got hit on. Then he remembered the bond. He frowned apparently their bond was real unless she had been hit by a bullet. Pushing it from his mind for the moment he turned back to the battle. His crew cheered. Kailen had joined the fight. With the way the green haired man was holding his hands he easily assumed the man was hiding his crystals so no one would see them. Smart on his part. Though Law was unsure of how long Kailen would be able to keep his crystals a secret.

"Die!" a man said. The sun glinted off his swinging sword.

Law side stepped the man, hammered the hilt of his sword onto the man's neck, and then warped him into the sea. Spinning around he clashed swords with another pirate before warping him into the sea as well. The cries and gunfire of the battle raged on for fifteen minutes before they finally faded. Most of the enemy pirates had been defeated before their captain sounded the retreat. Law warped the beat, and dead, men to the other ship. He seethed his sword and turned to his men. "Let's get the wounded into the infirmary."

"Aye," the crew said.

Law headed inside. Relief filled him to find the three that remained inside had moved farther away from the fight and seemed uninjured. Well, all but for Neo. His eyes fell to her arm. There was no blood on her arm or her shirt. His hand gripped the sheath. The bond was real. She had felt his pain. Neo looked up at him. Guilt was present in her bluish grey eyes. Part of him wanted to blame her for this. It was her odd glow that did this after all. But another part of him knew it wasn't her fault. Clearly it was something she couldn't control since if she could have she would have. "Bepo. Archer. Head up to the medical bay and help where you can."

"Aye, Captain." The two headed upstairs.

Law stepped closer to Neo. His mind swirled around their bond and his life as a pirate. Injury was going to be inevitable. He was going to cause her a lot of pain when they entered into battle. But he wasn't going to stop. She was going to have to get use to it. "I won't stop fighting because of this bond."

"What would you like me to do?" Neo asked.

Law's eyebrows rose. That wasn't what he was expecting. There's no way she was use to a lot of pain, physical anyway. His eyes ran over her bare arms. Her skin was too smooth to have been marred from any kind of attack. Her skin that was a beautiful golden tanned. A color he had never seen before on anyone. A color he wondered if was natural or if it was from spending hours out in the sun. The thought jolted his body. With an internal growl, and a frown, he forced the thoughts of skin and skin colors out of his head. "Is there a lot of pain?"

Neo's eyebrows drew together. Her confusion was obvious. It was a question she wasn't expecting.

"I'm a doctor. You are currently under my care," Law said. "That's all this is."

"Of course. And no." She paused when a couple pirates rushed by them to the medical bay. Then she added, "It's more of a minor annoyance than anything. I told you before that the pain would be less for the one who didn't get hit directly."

"Captain!" Shachi called from the stairs. "We're all up here!"

"Coming." Law headed for the stairs. "You can do as you wish now. I have to take care of my men."

One by one Law took inventory of his crew's injuries and gave them a number of who needed care first. The worst was a severed finger. But with his skills and devil fruit power it didn't take him long at all to sew the limb back on. Moving on to the next he glanced across the crowded room to find that Neo had decided to help. She was cleaning Penguin up from the blood he had from a few cuts. Her focus on Penguin was intense yet gentle. The concern she had for the crew was real.

He saw it as a problem. She and her brother were only temporary prisoners on his sub. At some point, probably at Sabaody, the two would leave. If not with their godfather then with the person who they were seeking on Sabaody. It wasn't a good idea for them or his crew to get close to each other. Or so he thought. He really had no idea what would happen to them after they reached Sabaody. If they didn't find their godfather there, or whoever else they were looking for, they had no reason to stay on the island. But what did and mean? Would they continue to sail with him and his crew? Or would they use the opportunity to find another crew to sail with?

There was no way to answer those questions now. So all he could do was continue to take care of his men. Turning from the woman he inspected the cuts on his next patient. The antiseptic became strong. So strong it over powered the blood in the room. He eyed his medicine bottles. A lot of them were close to being half empty. He was going to have to stock up at the next island.

A couple hours later they were all done and patched up. Those still in the room picked themselves up and left. Law moved over to the sink to check his own wound. He removed his hoodie for a better view of his arm. Blood had leaked down to his elbow. It would have gone farther if it weren't for his rolled up sleeve. The lingering voices of his men leaving the room vanished. He was alone. Or he thought he was until someone shifted a few yards away from him. Thinking it was Bepo who choose stayed to help him he turned to the bear. His eyes widened. It wasn't his navigator. It was Neo. Standing there with her arms at her sides she looked so out of place in the surgical room. The room where much blood had been shed. Blood of his enemies that he captured and tortured for any reason he saw fit. And some of the blood his own crew's.

If she knew what went on in this room she wouldn't be so calm. She wouldn't be standing there staring at him. Then he noticed. Her eyes were locked onto his chest. They were wide. Her cheeks flushed red. Her fingers were curled around the edges of her shirt, probably puncturing holes in it with how tight her hands were clenched. A smirk pulled across his lips. It was obvious that she was attracted to him. Or at least growing attracted to him. Unable to let the opportunity pass, he leaned back against the sink to give her a better view of his body. He said, "I thought you had left with the others."

"I-I was…I mean, I was going to." She licked her lips. A move he found hard to ignore. "But I wanted to make sure you were all right." She shifted on her feet. "You're h-hurt, too. D-do you need help?"

"After seeing me use my devil fruit powers you think I need help?" Law pushed off the sink when she didn't reply. Apparently she was too stunned by the sight of his bare chest to have a decent conversation with him. Stepping up to her, he placed his finger under her chin, noting her smooth skin, again, before tilting her eyes up to his. "My eyes are up here, Miss Neo."

Neo jumped back, pulling her chin away from his finger. Her cheeks darkened two shades. "I know that!"

"Then why were you staring at my chest?" Law asked. His smirk grew when her entire face turned red. At that moment he noticed why his crew thought she was so cute. She was. It was almost like she was a naïve little child in more ways than one. Knowing she wasn't going to answer him any time soon he pulling away from her and walked back over to the sink. He tortured her enough for now. "You can stay if you like. But you should know I'll be using my devil fruit powers to fix my injury. It might bother you."

A moment went by before she said, "I can handle anything you can do."

"We shall see. Room." The blue film filled the room. Moving his fingers over his arm he removed it and his hand before pulling them in front of his body so he could work on the cut. By the time he got the cap off the disinfectant a sweet scent wafted over the chemical smell of the disinfectant. Neo had appeared beside him. Glancing at her he found her eyes, this time, were locked onto his severed arm and hand. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. His eyes dropped to her lips when she moved them. His brain took off on its own and wondered if they were as soft as the skin under her chin.

"Amazing," she whispered. Reaching up she tapped his floating hand. He flexed in response. "And it doesn't hurt?"

"No. It doesn't." Law forced his eyes off her and back to his task at hand. Using his severed hand and his other hand he cleaned out the wound. He glanced back over at her. She was still watching his arm with child like curiosity. "Is it a safe assumption that none of your godfather's crew has devil fruit powers?"

"I won't be telling you that," Neo said. "I don't want you to use it against them if they do or don't."

"You know about mine," Law said.

"It's not the same. You revealed it because it was necessary," Neo said. A few beats passed between them. "But I do promise that I won't reveal any of your secrets to Godfather and the crew."

"Excuse me?" Law glanced fully down at her.

Neo flicked a glance up at him. "You heard me. And I don't care if you believe me or not. I won't tell anyone about what I learn of you and your crew."

Law turned back to his arm. His brain ran over the likelihood of that. The chances of her not telling anyone seemed very slim. But then he had to admit that she didn't seem like the type to tell anyone about secrets she found out about someone. Well, there was the fact he had forced them onto his sub and threatened to lock her up. She could tell just out of spite because of that. Still, something inside of him was telling him she wasn't lying. "Fine. I'll believe you." He felt her surprise instantly. "You find that surprising?"

"Yeah, I do." Neo studied his eyes.

Law did as well. But the words were out there, hanging between them. And that was it. Nothing else was said while he finished cleaning then stitched up his arm. Feeling Neo wince at the pain he inflicted on her when pushing the needle through his skin, he reached for a numbing agent. He inserted the needle and medication before continuing. She stopped wincing after that. "Sorry. I forgot again."

"Don't worry about it," Neo said rubbing her arm. "It's your body. You can do whatever you want to it."

"I find it hard to believe you want to feel someone else's pain," Law said.

"It's fine. Really. I can handle it." Neo rocked back on her heels. "What about you? You feeling okay despite the cut?"
"This is nothing. I've have worse injuries before," Law said.

"Comes with being a pirate," Neo said. "Godfather's crew has come home with many injuries before. A few times I wish they would stop being pirates and stay with me."

"But they won't," Law said.

"They won't. It's like being a pirate is in their blood," Neo said. "I think they'd literally die if they were forced to quit short of death or severe injury."

"A lot of pirates are like that," Law said putting the last stitch in his arm. After wrapping a bandage around the cut he put his arm and hand back in proper order then put all his medical equipment away. He turned to her.

"Uh, well, I guess I'll go see how the others are doing." Neo backed away from him, her eyes flittering to his chest and back to his face. "Unless there's something you need me for?"

"No," Law said. "You're free to go."

Neo nodded then left.

A coolness settled in the room when she disappeared out the door. It swirled around Law making goose flesh ripped across his skin. He turned back to his hoodie. With his Room still active, he pulled the blood out of the fabric, dumped it down the sink, draped the hoodie over his shoulder, and left the room. The main floor was void of people as he made his way to his room. Reaching the first level a few voices floated to him. Some were in the laundry room. He entered into his room. Tossing his hoodie at the foot of his bed he stepped over to his closet to get a clean one. Pulling it on he walked over to his bed. His eyes locked onto the mattress. Neo's medallion was still safely tucked inside of it. A small thought of giving it back to her lingered in his mind as he grabbed his hoodie from the bed and tossed it into his clothes hamper in the bathroom. She had yet to gain his trust for him to give it back.

The thought left him as he stepped out of his room. He wandered down the stairs. Laughter from the galley grabbed his attention. He went there. Peaking inside he found some of the crew and Kailen was sitting around while Neo and Penguin worked on some form of snack behind the counter. The redness from her cheeks had vanished. She was back to normal, seemingly having told no one of what happened between them. It made him wonder if she had said anything to anyone about their bonding experience, both with their parents murder and the glowing part. Considering he wasn't getting odd looks and questions from his crew he assumed she hadn't mentioned anything about it to them.

The thought made him wonder if she was going to say anything to them. Or if he even was going to. At the moment he found no reason to bring it up. But it was obvious that the crew would find out sooner or later. So he decided to keep it quiet until them. His eyes fell to Kailen. It was possible that he knew about the bond. Surely Neo would have told him about it since she was so shocked when it happened. Still the young man hadn't said anything to him.

He decided to let it go for now. Pulling himself away from the galley he headed back up to his room to try and get some work done. Back in his room he sat down at his desk. Placing his hat down he pulled out a few papers. The minutes ticked by. His eyes ran over the words on the paper but his mind ran over what happened between him and Neo in the medical bay. It was a bit concerning that she was growing attracted to him. But surely it was only a physical attraction. There was no way a woman in her right mind would fall for a guy who imprisoned her and threatened her and her brother.

Time passed. The sun had lowered in the sky. Colorful rays of red, orange, and yellow filled his room. It was a sign that dinner would soon be started, if it hadn't been already. Law propped his chin into his palm. No work had gotten done. His mind was too distracted by what happened in the medical bay. A dull ache came to his injured arm from sitting still for so long. Neo would be feeling it as well. He should get some painkillers or something so she wouldn't be uncomfortable. He sighed. The idea of taking painkillers so someone else wouldn't hurt bothered him. He didn't care about her enough to do that. So why did the thought cross his mind?

His eyes dropped down to the papers on his deck. An aggravated sigh escaped his lips. Clearly he wasn't going to be able to get any worked done. With a resigned sigh he got up from his chair, grabbed his hat, and headed back up stairs. Having left his sword in the operating room he went there first. He downed a couple pain pills before swiping his sword from the wall where he had left it. He went out on the deck. The sword slid from the sheath with a tug. A ray of light bounced off the blade. Law dropped the sheath on the deck then swiped his sword through the air. All the thoughts of the blue haired woman soon faded from his mind. She was replaced with pure instincts of gliding his sword through the air.

"Apparently the rules for your injured crewmates don't apply to you."

Law stopped at hearing Neo's voice. Turning he found her leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest.

"You're seriously out here practicing with your sword after almost getting your arm hacked off?" Neo frowned.

"My arm wasn't almost hatched off," Law said. "It was just a simple cut."

"A cut? A simple cut? Simple cuts don't need eleven stitches," Neo said. "You shouldn't be using that arm right now."

Law shrugged. "It's still not a big deal. You don't have to be worried."

"I'm not worried," Neo said.

Law smirked. It was obvious she was, even if it was just a small amount.

"So you didn't tell anyone about…you know…our bonding thing?" Neo darted her eyes around the deck before forcing them to settle on Law's. "No one mentioned it when I was in the galley with them."

"I found no need for it," Law said resting the dull side of the blade on his shoulder. "What about you? Do you want to tell them?"
Neo gnawed on her cheek. Studying her he found it was obvious that she was unsure about it.

"We don't have to if you don't want to. Though they will eventually notice." Law sliced his sword through the air. Both he and Neo flinched at the hot pain shooting through their arm. The hilt fell from his hand. Steel clanked on the wood.

"See? You're going to rip your stitches out." Neo rubbed her arm before walking over to him. Reaching down she grabbed the hilt.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," Law said.

"Why not?" Neo stood up with the sword in hand.

Law's eyebrows drew together when the sword did nothing to Neo. It didn't react at all to her picking it up. It wasn't possible. No other human should have been able to touch his sword. His mind snapped back to her and Kailen's inhumane feel. They weren't human. And this confirmed it. But then what did that make them? What kind of creature could touch his cursed sword? Even Bepo couldn't touch it when it was out of its sheath.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Neo asked.
"That sword," Law said.

"What about it?" she asked when he didn't continue.

"How can you do that? How can you pick it up?" Law asked flat out.

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be able to pick it up?" Neo's eyes filled with confusion. "Is something wrong with it?"

"Take a very close look at the blade," Law said.

Neo's eyes dropped to it. Two seconds and her eyes widened.
"That's right," Law said. "It's a cursed blade. You shouldn't be able to touch it."

"Oh." It was obvious she had messed up.

"It's starting to make sense now. The inhumane feeling you two have is because you're not human. Isn't that right?" Law said.

Silence. Her eyes spun with many questions and fears of him figuring it out. She closed her eyes. Seconds later she said, "You are correct. We're not human."

"What are you?"

"Our people are called elementals," Neo said.

"Elementals?" Law probed.

"We're creatures, that look human, that can control nature through our crystals," Neo said.

"So there're more than you two?" Law asked.

"There are." Neo nodded. "There's probably about a million of us living on our home island. And some live among humans so I don't know how many of us there actually are in the world."

"There's some living among humans? How is that possible and your secrets haven't been discovered?" Law asked.

"Well, we all don't always reveal what we can do. We keep it secret because of how humans treat those who are different." Neo handed his sword over to him.

Law nodded. His hand reached out, brushing against hers, and took his sword back.

"Our people only reveal the truth of our nature to those we absolutely trust." Neo quickly pulled her hand back. "Well, that's how it usually is. Some people can feel that we're different. Like you and your crew did. But the stronger a person is the more they are able to notice that we are different. If you all had been weaker you most likely would barely notice our differences. Or you wouldn't have noticed at all."

Law's mind spun with this new information, adding up everything Neo and Kailen had done since they had been on his sub. Another piece to his mysterious girl had fallen into place. "So that's why you were so connected to the bear cubs. Other than the murder thing."

"You could say that." Neo rubbed her arm. "We are a lot closer to nature and animals than humans are. We can…we can actually speak to animals."

Law cocked an eyebrow at her. There was no way that was possible.

"It's true. That's how we were able to get that older bear to take in the cubs," Neo said. "Kailen explained to her the situation. She agreed to teach them how to survive."

Law's eyebrow fell back into place. He did find it hard to believe a bear would just take in cubs like that. But now it made sense. "I see. So any more surprises you'd like to share?"

"Well, there's one more that I can tell you right now," Neo said.

"What is it?" Law watched her. While she said she was going to tell him she was still hesitating to get the words out.

"It's about my crystals. I can…I can use all the elements," Neo finally said.

"What?"

"It's actually pretty rare for our people to have more than one of the elements under their control," Neo said.

"You're just an odd ball all around, aren't you?" Law huffed.

"Yeah," Neo mumbled. Her eyes drew over to the horizon. "You're not lying."

Law took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Part of him was starting to regret he saved this woman. He invited more than he thought onto his sub.

"I also have bells in my laughter," Neo blurted out.

"Bells?" Law replaced his hat. "You're kidding, right?"
Neo took a deep breath. She laughed.

Law's heart fluttered. Bells, soft bells jingled from her laughter. And it wasn't a metaphor that he heard men use before to describe a woman's laughter. This woman actually had bells in her laughter. His jaw went slack.

She stopped, her eyes downcast to the deck. "It comes with having all the elements. But that's all I can tell you right now."

Law stared at her. A wave slammed against the sub, rocking it. Coming back to his senses he noticed it was darker now. The sun had set while he remained staring at her. Several minutes had come and gone. "Why are you telling me this?"
"I don't know." She massaged her shoulder. "I guess because things are growing more and more complicated. And it's not like I'm going to be able to keep this all a secret. I will eventually get all my crystals back. Most likely it'll happen when you or one of your crew is around."

"Well, if you had only told me about this from the beginning we wouldn't have had the problems that we did," Law said. "You're too stubborn for your own good."

Neo snorted. "You have no room to talk, Captain. You are by far the most stubborn man I have ever meet. And selfish. Forcing two strangers onto your sub because you were curious to what one of them did. For all you knew we could have been mass murders. How stupid can one person be?"

Law smirked. Her tone had no sarcasm or disrespect in the word captain. Things had changed between them.

"What are you smirking at?!" Neo planted her hands on her hips.

"You," Law said. "You're trying to turn this around on me when it's all your fault."

"My fault?" Neo stared at him for a second. "I didn't ask to get stabbed. I didn't ask to get held hostage. I didn't ask for any of this." She waved her hands around.

"Yet it happened. You could have been a better guest on my sub," Law said purposefully trying to get under her skin. "Besides it was obvious you two weren't mass murders. If you had been you would have had wanted posters. And you wouldn't have been in the town as much as you were. And you certainly wouldn't have gotten a job."

"You are impossible!" Neo stomped over to him. Lifting her hand she poked him repetitively on his chest, eyebrows knitted together. "Just because you found someone interesting didn't give you the right to take us prisoner! You could have left us right where you found us!"

Law's smirk grew. "Would you really have preferred if I had left you there to die? Your brother wasn't going to take to a doctor. Well, not until I revealed I saw him using his crystals. You are better off with me than anyone else until you find your godfather. And you know that. If you really thought you were in danger from my crew and me then you and your brother would have escaped by now. I know you both are capable of that. You could go find your godfather, return home, and then come back for your necklace with reinforcements. If all of your people truly are like you two then there's no way my crew and I could stop you from ripping the sub apart. You'd get your necklace back."

Neo bristled.

Law knew he had hit the nail on the head. The two elementals did have the ability to escape from him. They didn't have to stay, even for her necklace.

"Oh! You are so…so…" Her hand snapped out. Grabbing a handful of his hoodie, she pulled him down to her and kissed him.

Law's smirk vanished. His heart hammered against his ribs. All the teasing he had planned vanished from his mind. She was kissing him. She was actually kissing him. Seconds ticked by before he heard Neo gasp. Her hand fell from his hoodie. She jumped back, hand coving her mouth. Her cheeks flushed. Law remained in his downward position. His eyes locked onto hers.

"Hey, Captain!"

Both Neo and Law jumped. They whipped around to find Penguin had wandered out on the deck. Law wondered if the man had seen the kiss.

"Is something wrong?" Penguin paused just outside of the door.

"No." Law straightened up. "Did you want something?"
"Dinner's ready." Penguin jerked his thumb over his shoulder. He looked to Neo. "I thought you were coming to get him. Um, are you okay, Neo? You look a little red."

"Uh, yes," Neo squeaked. She cleared her throat. "Fine. Just fine. Sorry. We were, uh…I didn't notice that…"

"We were talking," Law said. This woman really needed to work on her poker face. "Time just got away from us."

"Oh." Penguin darted his hidden eyes between the two before nodding. "Well, it's ready whenever you two want to come in and eat. Sorry for interrupting you. You can continue."

Law had forced himself not to react to the man's words of continuing what they were doing. If only Penguin knew what had really happened. Or maybe not. It had to have been a mistake. There was no way Neo would have kissed him like that on purpose. She wasn't the type.

Penguin disappeared inside.

Law turned to get his sheath, stealing at glance at Neo. She was still standing still. Her cheeks still flushed with a bright red blush. He sheathed his sword before stepping beside her. Her reaction to the kiss shouldn't have been this extreme. Surely she has kissed a man before.

A light went on in his head. She hasn't kissed a man before. If she had then there was no way she should react this way. Or so he thought. Kissing was never on the top of his list of things to do. Sure he's given a few women small, teasing pecks but nothing like Neo had given him. He was too busy with his plans to take down Doflamingo to be concerned about women and everything that came with them. "Miss Neo?"

Neo's eyes lifted to his. Her cheeks darkened. Her mouth opened but no words came out. Lost in her own confusion about the kiss she turned and ran into the sub.

Law watched her go. Despite not wanting it to his mind continued to spin around the kiss he had just received. Her lips were as soft as the rest of her skin. He tried to make sense of it. Of her kissing him and of why he was thinking about it. In a way it felt like he had stolen her first kiss despite her being the one to kiss him. From what he knew about kissing men typically made the first move. But some women were bold enough to kiss a man first. Neo wasn't like those women. That was obvious. So why did she kiss him? Why didn't he push her away? They weren't friends. A kiss between the two of them was unwarranted. If she had kissed Penguin or Shachi it would have made sense. They spent time with her. They got to know her. He did nothing of the sort. Most of his time around her was medical reasons.

He shook his head.

There was no point in trying to figure this out. The kiss had to have been a mistake. Something she didn't think through. Something she did out of frustration from him teasing her. This was the only time they would ever kiss. Period.

…

Author's Notes: Ugh. This chapter was hard. I tried to get inside of Law's head and get out how he should feel at this point with Neo. I didn't want him to fall for her too fast but I wanted his relationship with her to start changing more now. I'm still not very good at writing conflicts.