"ARGH!" I stomped in frustration, letting little spikes poke out from all over my skin. "Why did you talk me into this this?!"

"Because you need it," Law said, trying not to laugh. "Now, let's go again, Kamiko." He raised his long sword.

"I will stab you."

"I know you will," he chuckled. "But only if you can get close enough to stab me."

"Oh, you're so going to get it..." I snarled under my breath. I clenched the borrowed sword in my hand and wrapped barbed wire around it.

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded. "Begin!"

Within seconds of me lunging, he had already pushed me onto the floor.

I threw the sword down and shrieked, "I quit! You are obviously a terrible teacher and I can't fence!"

"I'm not a terrible teacher, it's you who's the terrible student," he replied calmly. "I told you a million times before, right foot back, left foot forward. But do you listen to me? No, you do not."

"Maybe I would listen if you... If you..." I couldn't think of anything else to say. "Ahh! I'm so fucking done..." I started walking back inside.

"Room..." he said. "Shambles." I was suddenly transported into his arms. "Kamiko, stay. The lesson isn't over yet."

I looked up into his striking yellow eyes and the fury inside me melted. I sighed and agreed to stay.

"Let me go over it again," he said as I picked up my sword. "Right foot behind, left foot forward, bend your knees and strike."

"I got it," I said, doing as he said.

"Ready?" he asked. I nodded. "Begin!"

I hurled myself forward, aiming my sword for his chest. He blocked me easily, but said, "Excellent form."

I rolled my eyes and stood back up.

"Now, let's try close combat," he said.

"This is what I'm good at," I said, getting hyped up. "When I had Prickly Pear, we were unstoppable! Well, almost."

"Ok, then this should be easy," he said. "When I bring my foot forward to strike, you step back and counter like so." He demonstrated.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Like dancing."

"No, it's fencing, not dancing," he said. "There's a big difference."

"I was taught how to dance and how to fight during the same lesson, so there really isn't a big difference."

"Maybe that's why you're so weak..." he mumbled.

"Excuse me, Mr., but you are treading some very dangerous waters," I threatened.

"Kamiko, just focus," he said sternly.

"Alright, alright."

He stepped forward with his right foot while I stepped back with my left and blocked his sword.

"See, dancing!" I said.

"Fencing is not like dancing!" he yelled.

"Woah," I said. "Calm down." He tried to compose himself. "Oh, I see." I smirked slyly. "You don't know how to dance, do you?"

"No, I-"

"Ha!" I said. "You don't know how to dance!"

"Kamiko, let's just-"

I put my sword down and kicked it away. As I grabbed his blade, I wrapped my hands in barbed wire so I wouldn't cut myself. I snatched it out of his hand and pushed it away.

"We're doing this," I said.

"No-" he said, trying to push me away.

"It's like parrying!" I said, grabbing his shoulders. "You stand there. Put your arms around my waist."

"I really don't think this is a good idea..." he said, ears turning red.

"It's easy," I said, smiling. "I step forward with my right foot, you step back with your left. Just like you taught me."

We did so.

"Now step together." We did so as well. "See? Not that hard."

"This is a waste of time-" he said.

"Shh," I said, leaning in to kiss him. "You'd have to learn this eventually."

I spent the remainder of our morning fencing lesson teaching him how to dance to the basic rhythm of a waltz I hummed. It took a while, be he eventually got the hang of it.

"Hey, Law," I said while we were eating lunch. "When do we get to the archipelago?"

"Sometime this week, why?" he asked.

"I'm so excited!" I said. "Do you think we'll be able to go out together? Like alone? Like you promised?"

He smiled and said, "Of course we will. Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know... What if something comes up?"

"Like what?"

"I don't know..."

"What? See you expecting some huge event that shakes the course of humanity where we'll be separated forever or something?" he joked.

"No," I said. "Sorry, it was silly."

"Everything will be alright," he said. "It's just another stop."

"Yeah," I said. But I couldn't shake this terrible feeling I had in the pit of my stomach.

Three uneventful days later, I was awoken with good news.

"We have arrived, Kamiko," Law said, stroking my hair.

I yawned and sat up. I smiled at him and said, "'Morning..."

"Get ready quickly, I have a surprise for you in the kitchen," he said leaving the room.

I got up and dressed myself quickly, wondering what the hell could he have in store for me. As I walked into the kitchen, Law gestured to me and proclaimed, "I present to you, Nori Kamiko, my girlfriend."

"I knew it!" Shachi yelled. "Ha! You owe me!"

Bepo looked down in shame and handed his friend a couple berries.

"What?" I asked.

Law clenched his fists together as half of the crew started paying the other half of crew members.

"What the hell do you think you're all doing?" Law asked with a furious eye twitch.

"We kinda already knew, Captain..." Penguin said. "So some of us placed bets as to when you'd tell us..."

The whole crew stopped exchanging money and looked to their captain with horrified expressions. It looked like Law was about to burst into flames.

"ALL OF YOU, ONTO THE DECK IMMEDIATELY!" he shouted.

They all raced out of the room.

He smirked evilly and said, "I'll be back in a minute, Kamiko..."

Oh my God, those poor guys... I thought.

I heard girlish shrieks coming from upstairs for about fifteen minutes before Law came back.

"Sorry about that..." he mumbled, sitting down next to me.

"The hell did you do to them?" I asked, not even really knowing if I wanted to know the truth.

"None of your concern for the moment," he said, stuffing a rice ball into his mouth to avoid conversation.

"Well, anyway..." I transitioned. "What're we gonna do today? Any ideas?"

"Well, the archipelago does have some great tourist attractions... I thought we could go there," he said.

"Sounds fun!" I said.

After he finished eating, he put on his signature hoodie and grabbed his sword. As we walked onto the deck, I saw the crew members trying to find their missing body parts that were scattered all over the deck.

"Oh my God! Law?!" I snapped.

"They deserved it," he shrugged.

Penguin hopped over to us with one leg and no arms and said, "Have a splendid time, Captain! Kamiko!"

"Thank you," I said. I leaned in and whispered, "Good luck!"

He laughed awkwardly and fell over.

I elbowed Law in the side and said, "You're terrible, you know that?"

"You forget they call me the Surgeon of Death."

"For a good reason too..." I mumbled as he helped me off the yellow submarine.

We eventually found our way to Grove 30, where the Sabaody Park resided! All the laughs and gleeful music rang through my ears like no sound I'd ever heard. It was so happy there! The children and their parents running around to the next ride, all of it amazed me.

Law looked at me and smiled, "Where would you like to go first?"

We spent most of the day riding rides, eating cotton candy, and watching all the people there. I couldn't tell if he was actually having fun or if he was faking it for me.

"Law!" I gasped in amazement. "This is the best date ever!"

"Better than with Crow?" he asked, smirking.

"Absolutely!" I said breathlessly.

He swallowed me in his strong embrace and whispered, "I'm glad to hear that, Kamiko."

I suddenly pulled away from him without knowing why. "Law," I said sheepishly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I... I think I love you," I stuttered. It felt so wrong to say those words to him, but it was the truth. "I love you, Law."

He smiled more brightly than I'd ever seen him smile before. His yellow eyes glimmered with affection as he picked me up and spun me around.

"I thought you'd never say it," he said, setting me down gently.

I laughed and held him close. "Sorry I kept you waiting," I smirked enticingly.

His lips attacked mine passionately. When we finally parted, people had started to stare. I laugh awkwardly as we continued walking through the park.

"Let's grab some dinner," Law suggested. "It's getting late."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "I wonder..."

"Hmm?" he purred.

"I wonder if the guys got their bodies back yet..." I said.

He laughed. "They always figure it out eventually."

"You done this before?!" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah," he said. "It's fun to watch them squirm around."

"I take back what I said..." I chuckled, completely joking.

"Don't joke about that," he said sternly. "Don't ever joke about that."

"Sorry..." I said, ashamed.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to the shopping and food groves of the archipelago.

"What would you like to eat?" he asked. "There's lots of choices."

"I don't mind," I said. "You pick. I got to choose the whole day."

"Alright," he said. "That's fair."

We walked down a crowded street lined with shops and busy people walking past us.

All of a sudden, the whole street grew terrifyingly quiet. I looked to Law who seemed just as confused as I was. All of the people in the street stopped walking and froze.

I looked down the street and saw three people riding on other human's backs.

I gasped and stepped back.

What is wrong with those guys? I thought.

"Law-"

"Shh," he whispered urgently. He grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him. "Stay back."

Suddenly the people in the streets started collapsing to the ground and clearing out of these special people's way.

Law started kneeling as well.

"Law, what the hell is-"

"Psst! Get down!" a lady next to me warned.

The three people came closer and closer to us, still riding the other humans. I looked around and saw that I was the only one standing up. Quickly, I bowed my head and dropped to the floor.

"You!" said one of the people.

A bolt of lightning jerked through my body. Were they talking to me?!

Suddenly, the woman next to me was being carried off towards the three people.

"You will be my next wife!" said the important man.

They strapped her down while she kicked and screamed to let her go.

Everyone stayed down until the people vanished from sight.

Law helped me up and latched onto my hand tightly.

"We're going back to the ship," he murmured.

"What? Why?" I asked. "Who were those guys?!"

"The Celestial Dragons," he said.

I gasped. "What?! Why were they here?"

"I don't know," he said, picking up the pace.

I had to jog to keep up with him. "But why are we going back?"

"You're a beautiful woman, just the kind of person they look for in wives and slaves," he said. "That is not going to happen while I'm alive."

I blushed at his compliment. "I would never go with them, you know that right?"

"It wouldn't be your choice, Kamiko," he said. "Let's hurry, before anymore of them come."

Even though our plans for dinner were ruined by the appearance of the Celestial Dragons, we ended up having a lovely dinner on the deck of the ship.

"You know, Law?" I brought up.

"What?" he asked, looking up.

"I'm curious..." I began.

"About?" he hummed.

"Where's my heart?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow, "Where did this come from?"

"I don't know, it's just I miss my heart beat and I'm always so cold..." I said. "And, to be honest, I'm kinda confused why I'm alive?"

"That's my ability," he said. "I can cut you up and still you won't die."

"Yeah, ok. But where is it? Can I have it back?"

"I thought you gave your heart to me?" he asked, smirking mischievously.

"Well, figuratively, yes, but I kinda want it back, if that's alright with you..." I requested.

Law took a deep breath before he began speaking. "You see, Kamiko... The reason I stole your heart was purely selfish motives, but now that I have it for completely unselfish reasons, I'm going to keep it," he explained. "For safe-keeping."

"Safe-keeping?" I asked suspiciously. "What, so I can't die or something?"

"Well, it decreases the chances of you dying by heart related piercing," he said.

"So I can't have my heart back?" I clarified, a little angry.

"No, not as of yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, standing up. "Its my heart."

"Not entirely," he said, remaining calm.

"Then give me your heart!" I yelled. "If I can't have mine, you can't have yours!"

"Kamiko-" he said, standing up.

"Law, I want my heart back," I interrupted. "Please."

"I'm telling you no, so sit down," he demanded.

I narrowed my eyes at him and started walking away, slamming the door to the deck as I walked inside. I strut straight downstairs and into his room. As I threw open the closet doors, I realized the hearts scattered at the bottom were missing.

"You really think I would still keep them there?" Law said, leaning against the door frame.

"Just give it back," I said. "That's all I ask."

"Do you not trust me with something as important as your heart?" he asked, stepping forward.

"I could ask the same of you, Law!" I retorted back immediately.

"That's different, Kamiko. I'm much stronger-"

"It's not a questions of who's stronger, it's a questions of where the hell did you put my heart, Law?" I spat.

"It's safe! What more do you want?!" he yelled.

"I want it back where it belongs!" I screamed into his face.

"So you really don't love me, is that it?" he asked.

"What the fuck?! I'm not talking about my heart as a metaphorical sense! I'm talking about my physical fucking heart, Law!" I yelled.

"Do you want it that bad?" he asked, face turning red with ire.

"Yes," I huffed.

"Too bad, Kamiko," he said. "You'll never find it."

I was about to scream at him when Bepo came into the room awkwardly. "I-is everything alright, Captain?" he asked sheepishly.

"Yes, everything's fine," Law replied stiffly, eyes blazing into mine.

He got the message and walked away hurriedly.

"I don't understand why this is so important for you," he huffed, crossing his arms.

"It's like you've never even loved someone before! Ever had a family, Surgeon of Death? Someone you cared about?" I yelled. "It's like you e never even heard of the concept of-"

He grabbed my wrist angrily and pulled me closer to his face. I was so shocked, I had no idea what to do.

"Never speak to me like that again," he said quietly. He threw my wrist away and I landed elbow-first on the bed. I looked back at him with terrified eyes and winced as he held up his hand, looking like he was about to slap me.

I waited a couple seconds before looking at him again. His hand was still up threateningly, but his face told a different story. He looked like his whole world collapsed on him and everything he had ever loved was lost. The brilliant yellow color in his eyes were grey and lifeless and his complexion tuned pale.

"I'm sorry," he said, putting his hand down. "I shouldn't have touched you-"

"Law," I said, standing back up. "It was my fault. I pushed you... I'm sorry. I'll just leave-"

"No," he said. "Don't leave." He brushed the hair out of my face and said, "I swear on my life, I will never hurt you again. Can you give me another chance, Kamiko?"

I nodded and said, "All is forgiven, if you can forgive the things I said."

"Of course, Love," he replied with a smile and a glimmer of yellow coming back into his eyes.

"We fight too much..." I said somberly.

"That's because we're both so incredibly stubborn."

"Yeah, that defiantly has something to do with it."

I wrapped my arms around him and he did so as well. His body heat really warmed me up and his intoxicating scent filled my thoughts. He rested his head on my shoulder and said, "If I ever raise a hand at you again, you have my permission to cut my hands off."

I laughed and pulled my head away from his chest. "But if I did that, you couldn't hold me like this."

He chuckled and smirked, fully regain his normal complexion. "That'd be a shame, now wouldn't it?" he whispered.

"Yeah, it would," I said, grabbed his face and pulling him into a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he purred, breathing heavily as he smirked and looked into my eyes.

He kissed me again, but this time longer and a little rougher than before. As we kissed, he started walking towards the bed. I panicked and broke away, but out faces were still pressed against each other.

"Law," I breathed.

"What?" he asked, seemingly annoyed.

"Law, I can't..." I said, terrified.

"Why not?" he growled, as I pushed him away.

"It still... I... I just can't," I said. "I'm sorry, but it still feels wrong."

"How long are you going to make me wait?" he asked, annoyed. "You said you loved me. You said you had more fun with me than him!"

"I know, I know I said that, Law, but-"

"But what, then?" he asked. "What am I to you? Am I just this other guy that's second best? Is that all I am to you?"

"No, Law-"

"The what is it?" he asked. "Why can't you give yourself completely to me?!"

"Because I still love him, Law!" I screamed, bursting into tears. "I do, I still love him."

"What about me?"

"I love you, Law, I swear I do... It's just that... I just... My feelings are different."

"Different?" he asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I've been with Crow my whole life, Law," I said. "I was going to marry him, for heavens sake! And then, I met you and everything got so complicated... I love you, but this love is different than what I feel for Crow!"

"I refuse to be second-best, Kamiko, just know that," he said dangerously.

"No, Law!" I said, grabbed his shoulders. "You're not second-best, that's the point I'm trying to make! I love you more than I love Crow!"

"Then why are you holding yourself back, Love?" he asked.

"I don't know!" I admitted, sitting down on the bed. "I don't know."

He sat down next to me and said, "How long do I need to wait?"

"I don't know," I repeated.

"I'm prepared to wait as long as it takes," he said.

"It feels like you're pressuring me, Law," I said.

"And that's my fault," he admitted. "I'm going to stop pressuring you until you make your decision."

"Promise?" I asked, looking into his gorgeous yellow eyes.

"Promise," he said, wiping away a tear from my cheek. "I completely surrender the decision to you."

"Thank you," I said, feeling ten times more relieved. "That means a lot."