Ginger considered having a cigarette to ease the tension she felt.

Everything had happened so fast and she wasn't sure if any of it was real at all. Berserker Jax laid on the ground underneath the night sky bleeding out while she knelt beside Keiji's body. Her fingers touched the skin of his throat eyes falling slightly as she felt no sign of life.

She made sure there was distance between her and the wanted outlaw if he tried to do anything. She pondered on what to do as thoughts ran through her head at the possibility of being on trial and executed for these crimes. She could use the villagers as proof, but would that be enough?

It all didn't make sense. Why had the Marines accepted a deal from him, and better yet why had no one contacted her? Why didn't Captain Read at least try? Did she know? Or had she been left in the dark considering her close ties with Ginger?

When she tried to fit the possibilities together nothing became clear. She didn't want to assume that someone within HQ had it in for her, and at the same time it was the most logical answer. She considered sailing back to headquarters without reporting in but it would only serve to condemn her.

Keiji was the only one who she found, and yet none of the others came running. At this point she had to assume the worse and accept the fact that they were most likely dead. She sat back on her legs and looked over at Jax again. His chest was falling ever so slightly as he continued to lay there.

Footsteps were heard coming her way. She turned and saw that Law had come to a stop just a few feet from where she was.

His grey eyes shifted from Jax to her in one quick movement. "Is he dead?"

Ginger scoffed. "He will be soon."

She heard him walk forward as the dirt beneath his shoes crunched with each step. He stopped and stared at Jax with an uninterested expression while using the tip of his shoe to lightly kick his side. She raised an eyebrow as Jax grunted weakly.

"He has about another hour before he succumbs to his internal injuries," Law pointed out. When she didn't offer a rebuttal he looked her way with a smirk. "Did you use Haki to inflict this much damage?"

Trafalgar Law had no business asking her these kinds of questions, but then again she was at his mercy. She had no energy left to take him on in a battle should he desire one. His Devil Fruit power was something she never wanted to experience first hand if they did. Yet he knew about her using her own willpower to finally take care of Jax. She hadn't used it right away because she didn't have enough experience and practice to use it as often.

"Yes." Her answer was swift and her tone was firm.

He didn't ask another question, opting instead to crouch beside the fallen man and watch with an apathetic gaze as Jax's breaths slowed. It left her contemplating her choices on what to do next even though the obvious was to return to headquarters. Did she even want that? To return and be suspected of the slaughter of twenty-four men, and a possible ally, was something she couldn't take. Her duty was to the Marines as was her life if she ever wanted justice for them. Up until now she would've lived and died for the Marines without second guessing herself.

Now, another life was calling to her, one she had put off indefinitely after the execution of her mother. To live as a pirate appeared as it would be the best decision considering that she knew her life would be in jeopardy should she return. The smell of the sea and being free to do what she wanted was tempting as well as the excitement in knowing she would be wanted by the World Government. Perhaps that was what excited her the most. She never did like leading and instead preferred to follow.

The thoughts quickly disappeared as remorse settled in over the loss of her men. I shouldn't be thinking these things.

"Room," Ginger jerked her head. "Scalpel." In disgust she watched as Jax's heart became encased in a clear cube like structure. Law held the organ in the palm of his hand as the dull beating could be heard while it pulsed.

"Why do you have his heart!?"

He stood up while bouncing the heart up and down in his hand. "A trophy." She deadpanned. "What are you gonna do now, Marine-ya?"

She shrugged with a small frown as she carefully chose her next words. "I'll have to report this to my superiors."

"They'll arrest you and then execute you," Law said, his tone unsympathetic. "I overheard Jax making that deal with your superiors. They sounded desperate for the information he had. You did kill him, and they won't be happy."

Turning her head suddenly she asked, "What kind of deal did they make? Do you know who he spoke with?"

Law tapped his shoulder with his nodachi in his hand. "I might have."

"What are you doing on this island anyway?" One after the other the questions escaped past her lips. "What were you and Jax discussing?"

He frowned at the sudden barrage of inquiries. "That's none of your business, Marine-ya."

"You can answer at least one."

His nose scrunched up as his lips slightly parted at her rebuttal. The fact that she had no fear asking him all these questions seemed as if she didn't care for her life. Truth was Law being here from the beginning was suspicious. She knew of him and his crew just from the accounts of Marines who witnessed what he could do. Given the fact that he was one of the Eleven Supernovas whose bounties exceeded one-hundred million beli said as much.

"Normally, I would've cut you up into pieces and spread your body parts all over this island, but you took down Jax on the second try." His lips curved into a smirk as they locked gazes. "You made an impressive show by cutting his internal organs with such a strike."

"So what?"

The gradual beating of Jax's heart went unnoticed as Law said, "You could have taken him on your own from the start. Why didn't you, Marine-ya?"

Her arm began to tingle again as Ginger's hands clenched before she looked down at them. Captain Read had once remarked that she was well trained when it came to swords. When she made the off-hand remark about Greta preferring knives to swords Ginger immediately began her training with them. The little use of Haki was something she believed to be normal, something that everyone did. She didn't find it special as it made up for her not having any Devil Fruit powers to rely on.

She rested her hands atop her knees again while looking up at Law. "I didn't know he had Devil Fruit powers. Otherwise I would have given it my all. It doesn't matter though, I don't have a choice now. I have to turn myself in." Just hearing the words tumble out of her mouth was enough to make her regret them.

"You could become a pirate."

The tingling sensation in her left arm caused her to grip it and prevent it from shaking. Her tone suddenly turned mocking as she said, "Oh, yes, become a pirate. Be wanted and hunted down by the World Government and those who want to make a name for themselves."

Law walked past her with the heart still in his hand. "Do what you want." He stopped then, turned his head, and added, "I could leave you stranded here without any way to return. I could destroy your ship and take any Transponder Snails."

"I don't need your help, pirate." She said brazenly, eyes turning away from him as she looked at Keiji.

"You're in no position to decline my offer. You can stay here and hide out from the World Government or you could become a pirate and always be on the move. Away from prying eyes." The more he talked the more sense he made. Ginger knew that Law was right when it came to this tricky situation. It was either be arrested and charged, hide, or live free on the open sea.

She looked back at him again. "Why do you want to help me?"

"I'm giving you an ultimatum."

"Why?"

Law looked down at the heart as the heartbeat slowed. "I was going to recruit Jax into my crew. You killed him, it seems fitting to recruit his killer instead."

Ginger smiled then though it didn't reach her eyes. He couldn't have been serious. Why on earth would he think that she would join willingly? She wasn't that desperate to escape by turning to him and claiming his "offer" as he called it. Keiji laid dead in front of her, her men were scattered and likely dead too, and Berserker Jax was slowly dying a few feet away. She could get away on her own, possibly even turning herself in and facing the consequences. Her claim would likely go unheard but it was the right thing to do.

She inhaled a deep breath, and released it. "No."

He raised an eyebrow at her retort but his look of indifference remained the same. He looked at her, pocketed the heart, and turned forward again. He didn't say anymore as he walked away from her.

"They say pirates have their pride," she called out, standing up as the shadows hid her face in obscurity, "but we Marines do too."

Trafalgar Law didn't respond and continued walking until she could no longer see him.

The next morning she walked from the ship towards the cottages. That night had been spent feeling unable to sleep and uncomfortable with the situation. She drank a cup of coffee and sat in front of the Transponder Snail for what seemed like hours, contemplating whether to phone it in or not. The ship had seemed so quiet without the familiar laughter of the crew to fill it. She felt guilty being the only one left alive, but somehow being alive and enduring the pain of being unable to save them seemed like a just punishment.

As she walked along the path she briefly wondered if she was wrong to turn down Trafalgar Law's offer. Even if he was truthful about being on this island to recruit Jax it sill didn't make up the fact that he was pirate. They didn't share the same morals.

The first house she reached had a woman in the front of the tending the cobble pathway. She had dark blue hair and brown eyes who appeared a few years older than herself. It was strange how some of the villagers she walked past paid her no mind and went back to the ways things had presumably been since before they arrived.

"Excuse me," Ginger said as the woman glanced up nervously. "I need to ask you some questions."

"I thought you had left already," she mumbled, setting the broom aside.

"No. I'm sorry to say I have to ask why no one greeted my team and I when we anchored?"

The woman's nervous expression turned into one of mild annoyance. "It's polite to ask someone their name before asking questions."

Ginger, feeling quite embarrassed at the realization, hurriedly complied. "I'm terribly sorry for any trouble I caused last night. My name is Rogiko Ginger, an—former Ensign with the Marines. And your name?"

The woman nodded, "My name is Michi." She looked from left to right before turning to her front door and beckoning Ginger to follow.

She hurriedly followed while take precaution in case if something went wrong. The door closed behind her as Michi turned and offered her a seat at the table in the small living room. "Please, Ensign Rogiko."

"Just call me Ginger." She sat down, watching as Michi hurried to the kitchen. She got a cup and turned to get the teapot off from the burner. Ginger's face paled as she watched her pour the drink. "I..I'm not a lover of tea."

The woman scoffed as she set the teapot down. "It's for me. Not you." Michi then sat down across from her. "As for your question, we didn't go out to greet you because that pirate told us to hide. I have a feeling you're unfamiliar with Sage's Island as well as Jax Rackham."

"You're correct."

Michi took a small sip of her tea and locked eyes with Ginger. "We're a small island that's usually off the World Government's radar. We sit in between two islands just before Sabaody Archipelago. Naturally we go unnoticed because of our size. We usually have to sail to our neighboring islands to trade. Rackham found this place a month back. He said in exchange for our help he and his crew would make sure that we wouldn't have any trouble."

"His crew?" Ginger repeated as Michi nodded. "No one mentioned that. They said he was alone."

"He wasn't. His crew set off a few days ago, though. Probably to Sabaody, but for what business I have no clue." She took another sip of her tea. "You're not planning on following them, are you?"

To take her empty ship and travel there seemed like a reckless idea in the first place. From what she knew of the place it was mainly a grove of trees which explained why it had no magnetic pull like other islands did. What exactly would she do if she got there? Who would she look for and why? She wanted to ask questions about Jax and his intentions and they were the best source.

Ginger's left arm tingled again. The memories of what happened last night resurfaced. "I have to."

Michi slammed her cup down which caused her to raise an eyebrow. "Aren't you going back to your base?"

"If I return empty-handed with my crew dead then they'll arrest me and I would be on trial." Her face darkened. "I've decided last night that I won't go back without proof that absolves me of this crime."

"Ginger, don't be ridiculous! They'll brand you a criminal the moment they don't hear from you and put on a bounty on your head. It'll be useless to get proof when they already named you an enemy."

She shrugged. The moment of having second thoughts had long since passed. "I don't care if they do or don't. I need this proof for myself. This man killed my entire team after he supposedly made a deal with the Marines. He was going to blackmail me and I want to know why."

A flicker passed before the other woman's eyes as she said, "I...suppose you have a point."

"If that means I become wanted in the process then I'll have to endure it. I'll worry about it once I have my answers," she looked down, quite surprised she had revealed this much to a stranger. She assumed it didn't matter now that she would be on the run. "Thank you for answering my question." She stood up quickly then causing her knee to hit the table in the process. "Ow! Damn it!"

Michi deadpanned at the sudden action. "Are you gonna be okay by yourself?"

"All I have to do is get to Sabaody alive. I'll manage from there." The pain in her knee subsided as she walked towards the front door.

That was when Ginger stopped and turned her head to look at the woman from over shoulder. She was debating whether to ask not at all wanting to burden these people with more trouble than it was worth. Considering that it would benefit them in the long run she decided to try and hope that Michi would carry out this final request.

"It's a lot to ask from you," she said, "but I'm going to need a favor."