Destination: Sabaody

Law brought his towel back up to his wet hair as he stepped out of the bathroom dressed in only his jeans. He paused when his eyes drifted to Neo. She was still sound asleep in his bed. He walked around the bed and sat down on it. A light smile formed on his lips as he watched her sleeping. He reached out and fingered her cover. She still had it wrapped around her, but it wasn't as tight as she used to have it.

Law retracted his hand when Neo shifted as she started to wake up. She stretched out her arms before opening her eyes. She sat up and sleepily rubbed her left eye. He smiled again at how cute and childlike she looked right now. His smile remained as she looked at him.

She gave him a sleepy smile while saying, "Good morning, Captain."

"Morning, Neo," Law replied. "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh huh." Neo rubbed her right eye. "I had a silly dream about Bepo being blown around on wind while flapping his arms like a bird."

Law chuckled at the mental image that produced for him. His chuckle faded when he noticed a change in Neo's expression. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Neo replied. She pulled her knees up and hugged them. "I can feel the wind. I think it's going to be really windy today. Is that why I dreamed about the wind like that?"

"Possibly." Law nodded. "I think today would be a good day to work on your balance and sensing the wind. How about we start after breakfast?"

Neo nodded. Her eyes then drifted down to Law's bare chest. He had to bite his lip when her cheeks turned red and she started to fidget. She raised her hand to her chest and rubbed it while keeping her eyes locked onto his own tattoo chest. "My chest feels really funny."

"I know it does," Law said as he lifted off the bed. He walked over to his closet and grabbed his favorite yellow and black hoodie. "I'm sorry about that."

"Why?" Neo asked. Her eyes followed his movements as he slipped the hoodie over his head. "Why are you sorry? It's my chest that hurts."

"Because I'm the cause of your chest hurting."

"How?"

"It's kind of hard to explain." Law turned back to face her. His smile was still present. She tilted her head in confusion. "Don't worry about it."

"The crew says that, too." Neo hugged her knees again with a deep frown.

Law's smile vanished when she sighed. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He reached out, placed his fingers under her chin, and brought her attention to him. "I'm sorry. I know we keep you in the dark about some stuff. It's just, well, you're not quite ready to understand certain things yet. But the reason your chest was hurting is because you saw me with my shirt off."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't. Tell me, how does your chest feel now?"

"A little better," Neo replied. She rubbed her fingers on her chest and looked down at her blanket. "So my chest hurts when I see you with your shirt off, but not when it's on? It did that one time on the beach, too. Why?"

"Because you're becoming attracted to me." Law's smile returned at that point.

"Attracted to you?" Neo asked and Law nodded. "I still don't understand. I'll never understand things like you and the crew do."

"Of course you will." Law took his fingers from her chin and raked them in her hair, earning a tensing reaction from her. "You're still learning about life. You are growing up and a lot of things are going to confuse you. Even people who didn't have a traumatic past like you did have trouble understanding certain things in life. Just give yourself more time. We all learn things in stages. Until then, I'll talk to the crew about this and we'll try to do better for you. Okay?"

"Okay." Neo smiled. She dropped her eyes and fiddled with her blanket. "Thank you, Captain."

Law studied her for a moment and realized there was another question rattling around in her head. "Was there something else you wanted to ask me?"

"Yeah…what does flirting mean?" She raised her eyes back to him.

"It means to behave as though attracted to for amusement rather than with serious intentions or trying to attract someone." Law hummed when he saw she didn't understand. "To put it more simply, it just means being playfully friendly."

"And that makes the crew laugh? Why?" She tilted her head.

"Well…" Law rubbed his neck. "The truth is…the crew's just not use to seeing me act so soft with anyone. To be honest I'm not really use to acting this way either."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a pirate. To a lot of people I'm known as being sadistic. I like to toy with my enemies. I enjoy hurting them and hurt them a lot," Law said.

"So the crew is use to seeing you hurt people?" Neo asked, earning another nod from him. "But you're not really like that."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Law raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're nice. You saved me. You help me when I have nightmares, when I'm scared. You're teaching me how to control my crystals. You're teaching me how to read and write and cook. You're a good person. You've helped me a lot. Bad people don't do that, right? Those mercenaries are bad. They were going to hurt me. You won't. You're good! You are!" Neo insisted.

Law studied how insistent and out of character she was being. He then smile and placed his hand on her head, ruffling her hair. "You're sweet. I think you might have a rose colored view on me, but I'm glad you see me that way."

"Are you…flirting with me again?" Neo asked innocently.

"Hm…maybe a little bit." Law smiled. He raked his fingers through her hair again then tapped her nose making her tense. "And it's fine for me and the crew to flirt with you, but it's not okay for anyone else to."

"Why?"

"Some men have innocent intentions when flirting with a girl, but others do not. It could lead to inappropriate situations that you're not ready for. Remember when that mercenary grabbed your leg? It didn't feel good when he did that, right?" He continued when Neo nodded. "That was your instincts telling you he had meant to hurt you. Always listen to your instincts when they're telling you something isn't right. It can save your life. Now, I don't plan on let you be alone when in public, but if any guy ever touches you and it makes you feel uncomfortable come tell me immediately and I'll take care of it. Or you can tell the crew. Understand?"

"I do." Neo nodded again. "Thanks for explaining everything to me."

"Anytime. Hurry up and get dress now," Law ordered softly.

Neo nodded then climbed off his bed. She grabbed herself a pair of clothes that consisted of her polar bear shirt and jeans, and then disappeared into the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged to find Law patiently waiting for her. He smiled when she joined his side. He opened the door and the two exited his room together.

While walking through the halls, Law glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her cheeks were still a light pink from his shirtless moments. He only smiled again as they walked into the galley together. That's when they parted. Law sat down at the table while Neo walked over to the stove to help Penguin finish up breakfast. A little while later, they had breakfast on the table and the entire crew had gathered.

Law looked directly at Archer. "After breakfast, I want the sub to surface."

"Aye aye, Captain," Archer replied. "Um, what for?"

"Neo's going to work on her balance and sensing the wind," Law replied. "She senses it's going to be very windy today."

"All right." Archer nodded. They all fell back into small talk while finishing up their meal.

"Neo, go get your ribbon for your hair. You'll need it since we'll be dealing with the wind today," Law said once she was finished with her breakfast.

"Okay." Neo nodded. She stood up and ran out of the room.

Once he was sure Neo was far enough down the hall, Law turned to his subordinates. "All right you guys, the crew really needs to back off teasing Neo so much." The crew looked up at him. "I know you all find her innocence very cute and she is a lot of fun to have around since she's the only girl on the sub, but you're starting to make her feel bad that she's not as social understanding as we are."

The crew exchanged guilty glances.

Shachi sighed and spoke up. "I guess we have been going a bit too far. We're sorry, Captain."

"Yeah. We're sorry," everyone else said.

"We didn't mean any harm. I guess we're not quiet use to having a girl around yet and who's less intelligent, especially one who's, um, as, er, delicate as she is. It's a pretty big adjustment for us all," Archer said.

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Especially since she makes you act so differently," Penguin added. Law gave him a warning glance. He chuckled nervously and waved his hands. "Just speaking honestly, Captain. I intend no disrespect."

"It's fine." Law sighed. He brought his cup of tea to his lips and took a swig. "I'm very well aware I act differently around her. Just slow down a bit on the teasing, explain things more to her and everything will be fine. I know you all love her. She loves you too. For her sake…I don't want to have to hurt you all if you make her cry."

Law raised his eyes back to them and glared. They froze in place, contemplating how anyone making their favorite girl cry was becoming a serious taboo.

A few minutes later, Neo walked back in the room with her hair pulled back in the ribbon. She blinked at the frozen crew. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Shachi said. "Well, that's not exactly true."

"What do you mean?" Neo questioned.

"We need to apologize," Penguin said while walking over to her. "We've been teasing you a bit too much lately."

"Teasing?" Neo blinked.

"We were making fun of you in a playful manner. Or it was supposed to be playful. We've unintentionally gone a bit to far in our teasing. We'll back off," Conner replied.

"So that's what you all have been doing. It's okay. I know I don't understand a lot and it'll be a while before I do, but I do know you all won't intentionally hurt me," Neo replied with a friendly smile.

"Ah, you're so forgiving! We don't deserve it!" the crew shrieked with streams of tears running down their cheeks. They then gathered her up in a group hug. "We love you, Neo!"

Neo giggled at the attention as her body stiffened up at their closeness. "I love you all too."

"All right," Law grumbled, annoyed at them hugging her, as he stood up. "That's enough of that. Release her right now. She has training she needs to do."

"Aye aye, Captain!" The crew chuckled at their captain's jealous tone.

"I'll raise the sub immediately!" Archer gulped down the remaining bit of his breakfast then ran out of the room to relieve the crewmate that was guiding the sub so he could eat while he lifted the sub to the surface.

"Let's go, Neo," Law ordered.

Neo nodded and followed after him. "Captain?" Neo asked a minute later.

"Hm?"

"Love means you care about someone, right?"

"There's actually different versions of love, but you've got the basic definition understood." Law nodded, but didn't look at her.

"Then…would it be all right if I said that I love you, too?"

Law's legs jerked to a stop as his heart slammed against his chest. His eyes snapped to hers. His mind and body swayed, though he wasn't sure if it was because of what she said or if it was because of the sub now being rocked by the waves.

She had her hands collapsed behind her back when he turned his eyes to her. "If I understand how I'm feeling, the crew does mean a lot to me. I meant what I said in the galley. And you're part of the crew."

"Yeah. It's all right for you to say that to me." Law nodded with a smile. He placed his hand on her head and pulled her to his side. "I care about you, too."

"I'm glad." Neo smiled up at him.

Law kept his arm around her as they stepped out onto the deck. A fairly strong gust of wind greeted them when they opened the door.

Neo's hair flew wildly behind her as she walked out farther onto the deck. She closed her eyes and let herself tune her senses into the wind around her.

Law watched her patiently as her wind crystals appeared.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm connected to the wind."

"That's good." Law nodded. "We'll work on that right now. Sense when the wind is coming then direct it away from the sub. Once you get the hang of that, I'll start you on your balance."

"Right." Neo closed her eyes again. She made her wind crystals glow. A strong gust of wind pushed against her body, pushing her back a little. Guiding it away from her, she waited for the next wind gust to come. She felt it when it was about fifty yards out from the sub. Guiding that one away, she moved on to the next. This time she felt it when it was sixty yards out.

Law watched her carefully. He noticed she easily got the hang of sensing when the wind was going to hit within thirty minutes.

"Not bad." Law smirked. "Let's move on."

"Okay." Neo nodded.

"I want you to walk along the railing of the sub while keeping the wind at bay," Law said.

Neo nodded again. She used her winds to lift herself into the air and placed her feet on the railing. She wobbled while trying to find her center of gravity with the sub once again rocking at the waves.

He walked closer to the railing. "Just relax. If you fall, you can use your wind crystals to catch yourself. Hold out your arms to help balance yourself."

"Right," Neo said. She lifted her arms out. After that she finally got her balance, but was too focused on that to notice the gust of wind coming. It knocked her off the rail and into Law's arms. He chuckled at her automatically tensing at his touch. "S-sorry…I wasn't focusing on the wind at all."

"It's fine. You've just started. Try it again," Law said.

She nodded and flew out of his arms. She landed on the railing and continued with her training.

Neo stretched out as she walked down the halls towards the main control room of the sub to see how far they were from the current island they were about to stop at. Upon passing the navigation room she backpedaled when she sensed the transponder snails. Peaking into the room, she found it empty of the navigator while papers and maps were scattered all over the place. Stepping on into the empty room she walked over to the transponder snails that were gathered on a shelf. They all had their eyes opened and looked at her. Smiling, she held out her hands towards them and they crawled up her arms. Now with all eight of the transponder snails stuck to her clothes and body, she laid down on the floor. Kicking her feet in the air she said, "You all are so cute. Are you happy here? That's good. Sorry, I don't know why I'm different from the men. Bepo has said I smell like nature, too." She giggled. "Maybe I am part of nature. Are you all hungry? What would you like to eat? Oh? Plants, algae, and fungi it is then." She summoned her earth crystals and created the food for them, filling the room with a damp smell from the plants. "You're lucking Penguin taught me about different types of plants. Other wise I wouldn't have known what you were asking for."

Neo continued to smile and kick her feet as she watched the snails eat the food she had provided. After a few seconds she's noticed that they all had the same logo on their chest that the captain had on his yellow and black hoodie. She also noticed that they transponder snails looked similar to the crew. One wore an identical hat to the captain's, two others were wearing hats just like Shachi and Penguin, while the rest were also wearing hats or tattoos corresponding to the crew. "You all are so cute. You kind of look like mini versions of the crew." She stroked the one that looked like Law with her finger. "I think you might be my favorite since you look like the captain. But I really like you all."

The young blue haired girl had no idea how long she had been in that room with the transponder snails. She was enjoying her time with them until a chuckle caused her to look up at the door. Conner was standing there with his arms crossed. His shoulder was pressed against the door frame and he wore a smile on his face.

"Have fun with the transponder snails?" he asked.

"Um, yes," she replied with a guilty grin. Sitting up, she crossed her legs, tucking her feet up underneath her, and placed her hands in her lap. The snails moved closer to her, crawling up her body as she continued to speak to the man. "What's going on?"

"Well, I was coming in here to get the transponder snails since we're about to land on an island," Conner said.

"We're already landing?" Neo asked, her excitement draining from her.

"We are." Conner nodded. "I was coming for the transponder snails so we can keep contact with each other while on this island."

"Because of the captain's plans?" Neo stood up and frowned.

"That's right," Conner said. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Neo said. "I'm just worried. I don't like it when you all go onto islands to do…pirate stuff."

"I know," Conner said. He pushed off the door frame and walked over to her. Lifting up his hand, he went to reach for her shoulder but missed when she bolted around him. "Neo?"

"You can't have the snails!" Neo said as she ran out of the room. Her bare feet thumped against the floor as she ran down the hall and up the stairs.

"Neo!" Conner called after her.

The thundering sound of his boots on the sub floor pushed her to run faster up the stairs. Turning the corner she dashed down to the rec. room where she startled some crewmates when she busted into the room.

"Whoa! What's going on?"

"Neo!" Conner whipped into the room. "Give me those!"

"No!" Neo said, running to the opposite side of the table. "If you don't have these then you can go get into fights or whatever it is you're going to be doing on the island!"

"Is she actually trying to prevent us from going onto the island?" a crewmate asked.

"Looks like it," another one said.

"Neo, come on," Conner said moving around the table. "Give me those."

"No," Neo said, moving along with him. Once they had switched placed around the table, she headed for the door. Upon rounding the door frame she smacked into a solid force. Stumbling backwards, she managed to catch herself from falling then looked up to see she had ran into the captain.

"Neo!" Conner said. "Oh, Captain."

"What's going on?" Law asked when Neo tucked herself behind him.

"Neo took off with the transponder snails," Conner said. "She doesn't want us to go onto the island."

"I see. You can go. I'll take care of this," Law said.

"Sure thing," Conner said. Adjusting his boiler suit, he walked away without another word.

Law turned and found himself face to face with a puppy dog look from Neo. His entire body flinched. Despite how much he loved that look on her, he also hated it. It always made him want to cave to her. If she knew how to use it to her advantage, he knew he wouldn't stand a chance. Luckily, she was still too childlike to know how to use that look properly. "All right. Tell me what's going on."

"You're going to the island to fight," Neo said. "Even though you haven't told me what you're going to be doing exactly I know you're going to fight."

"We're not exactly going there to fight," Law said.

"Then what are you going to do?" Neo asked.

"We're going to…acquire some money," Law said.

"You mean you're going to steal," Neo said.

"Okay, you're correct," Law said, getting the feeling he wasn't going to be able to keep much secret from her for much longer. He easily noticed she was a bright girl. And the more she learned the more she was staring to recognize things. "The navy has some treasure hiding on this island that they're transporting back to their headquarters. We're going to steal it."

"You're pirates and you're going directly towards the navy," Neo said, dropping her eyes to the floor. "I don't like it."

"I know. This life is still new to you and we're just starting to get back into our pirate lives after your training," Law said. He placed his finger under her chin, smiling at her stiffening reaction, and tilted her to look up at him. "We'll be fine. I have no intention of directly fighting the navy this time. We won't be staying long on the island. Just long enough to scout out the ship and get the treasure back to the sub. Trust me. We'll be fine."

"Promise?" Neo asked.

"I promise." Law nodded. "Can I have the transponder snails back now?"

"Yes, sir." Neo handed the transponder snails over to him.

"Good girl," Law said. "Remember, Penguin will be staying with you. He'll keep you distracted and we'll be back before you know it."

Neo sighed as she continued to roll out the cookie dough on the counter. The sugary smell of the cookies they were making faded from her nose long ago. The crew had been on the island for over four hours now. And in that time Penguin had distracted her with some physical exercise, a couple of games, and now baking cookies. But the worry was always in the back of her mind. She knew from past islands they had stopped at that some of the crew would come back injured. "How much longer?"

"I'm sure they'll be back in a couple more hours," Penguin said.

Neo turned to him. The man was speckled with flour from their baking. It made her wonder if she was dusted in flour spots too. "Do you think anything went wrong?"

"No, Neo," Penguin said. "Nothing's gone wrong. You're just worried about them. They'll be back soon. And they'll be glad to come back to fresh cookies. So we better get them done before they get back."

"Okay." Neo nodded.

"Hey, how about I teach you a song while we wait?" Penguin asked.

"A song?" Neo asked.

"It's a favorite among pirates," Penguin said. "It's called Bink's Brew."

"Bink's Brew?" Neo tilted her head. "Hasn't the crew sung that before?"

"I'm sure they have," Penguin said.

"Okay, teach it to me," Neo said.

"Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Yo hoho ho! Gather up all of the crew! It's time to ship out Bink's Brew," Penguin started singing.

Neo listened to Penguin sing the song a couple of times before she tried to join in with him. Self conscious about singing she kept her voice low and her eyes down on the cookie dough at her hands. While she sang the song the best she could, she continued rolling out the dough and dividing it up into pieces before rolling it into little balls. Once a cookie pan was filled, Penguin took it from her and placed it in the oven. After a while of getting the lyrics wrong, she stopped singing with a frustrated huff.

"Don't worry," Penguin said. "You'll get it. It'll just take time. I'll write the lyrics down later so you can practice."

Thanks," Neo said. "Hey, Penguin?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I can cook these cookies with my crystals?" Neo asked.

"I don't see why not. Do you want to try?"

Neo nodded. Once they had filled another cookie sheet with the cookies, she lifted the sheet into the air with a wind crystal. Steadying it, she summoned a fire crystal and lit it under the sheet then one over the top of the cookies.

"Remember to keep the flame steady and heat the top and bottom evenly," Penguin said.

"Okay." Neo nodded. Focusing carefully, she radiated the heat from the flames over the cookies. Both she and Penguin watched until the edges of the cookies started turning a golden brown. She placed the sheet back down on the counter.

Picking up a cookie, once it had cooled, Penguin tried it. Humming in thought as he chewed. "Well, the middle's not done."

"I'm sorry," Neo said.

Penguin chuckled. "There's no reason to apologize for it. This was just your first try. Go ahead and cook them a little bit more. Then you can try again on another."

Neo nodded. Lifting the sheet back into the air she cooked them a bit longer. Once again placing them back on the counter, Penguin found they had been a bit over cooked this time but encouraged her to keep trying. Four cookie sheets later, she was starting to get the right temperature with her fire to thoroughly cook the cookies but still ended up with crispy edges. "That was fun. I would like to keep trying to cook with my crystals."

"I think that's an excellent idea," Penguin said.

"What's an excellent idea?"

Both Neo and Penguin jumped when their captain's voice suddenly filled the room.

"Whoa! Captain! You startled us!" Penguin said, hand over his pounding heart. "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Law said, unable to hide his smirk for scaring them.

"Captain." Neo rushed around the counter and dove into his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she buried her face into his shirt before looking up at him. "How's the crew? Are you hurt?"

"The crew's just fine," Law said. "Our mission was a success."

"That's good," Neo said, sighing. "I was so worried about you."

"We're back now." Law stroked her hair. "I see you've been busy making cookies. The crew will love that."

Neo nodded. "I even tried cooking the cookies with my crystals. It didn't work out all that well but I'm going to keep trying."

"I see," Law said, feeling proud that Neo was speaking so freely and sounding optimistic on using her crystals in such a way.

Just then the happy chatter of the crew floated into the room before they did.

"I can't believe we pulled that off!"

"Did you see the looks on the navy's faces when the captain divided them up?!"

"It was priceless! No doubt the captain's bounty will go up from this!"

"Hey! Neo and Penguin made cookies!"

"They smell so good!"

"They taste good too!"

Law repetitively tapped his finger on his arm. He was staring down at the map that Bepo had laid out on the table in his navigation room.

Bepo was the only other one in the room with him. He looked up at Law, blinked several times, dropped his eyes back to the map, and then looked back up at his captain. The captain never seemed to notice the looks he was giving him.

"Um, Captain?" Bepo slowly began to speak. "We'll be docking tomorrow. Are you going to have Neo get off the sub at this island?"

Law didn't reply. He just continued to tap his finger on his arm.

Bepo continued. "We've already have stopped at three islands since we've left that island she trained on and she's always remained on the sub. You've said she needs to start getting around people again. When is that going to happen? The rest of the crew has been wondering too."

Law turned from Bepo and headed for the door. "I'll take her off the sub when she's ready."

"When she's ready or when you're ready?" Bepo gave Law's back a skeptical look.

Law paused and looked back over his shoulder at the bear. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Captain! We all know you're very protective of her," Bepo said, causing Law's eyebrow to twitched. "Especially after those mercenaries took her."

Law frowned. "Is there a point to this?"

"Sorry, Captain, but are you really keeping her on the sub for her sake or because you don't want anyone outside of the crew to see her?" Bepo asked.

"Of course not." Law huffed. "She's not a prisoner here. She's just not ready yet to face people."

"I suppose so. But our ultimate destination here is the Sabaody Archipelago, right? Don't you want her to be ready for that? I know it's still going to be a while before we get there, but shouldn't she be working on getting comfortable with strangers right now?" Bepo asked carefully. Since he's known Law the longest, he did have more room to speak freely about certain topics. But he also knew he should be careful when pushing his captain's buttons, especially when it came to a certain blue haired female among them.

Law didn't reply. He just shoved his hands into his pocket and left the room.

Bepo sighed and returned his eyes to his maps. "That guy is always in such denial when it comes to her. Surely by now he knows that his entire crew knows how he feels about her."

Law huffed as he walked down the halls of the sub and up the stairs with Bepo's words spinning in his head. "Sorry, Captain, but are you really keeping her on the ship for her sake or because you don't want anyone outside of the crew to see her?"

"What am I doing here?" Law asked himself. "She's not ready. It's not me who's…"

One of his crew popped his head out of the galley, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Oh, Captain, are you going to check on Neo?"

Law nodded.

"Great timing then. Supper is going to be ready in about fifteen minutes. Could you tell her for me?"

"All right." Law waved his hand and proceeded walking. A short time later, he got to the door he was aiming for. He pressed his palm to it and opened it a bit. Shachi's voice greeted him when the door cracked open. "You're doing great, Neo."

Law pushed the door open and stepped outside. Shachi was sitting on the deck with Penguin standing beside him. He pulled his eyes from them and looked at Neo. A light smile formed on his lips when he saw her. She was standing on the railing of the sub. She was facing out towards the sea with her eyes closed. She had two wind and two water crystals out. When a strong gust of wind flew towards them, she used her crystals to drive the wind and the waves away from them.

He walked over to Penguin and Shachi. "You two go on back inside. I want to speak with her alone."

"Sure thing, Captain," Shachi said. He stood up and immediately went inside.

Penguin lingered behind.

"Don't worry," Law assured him. "I'm only going to speak with her about the next island."

"All right, Captain." Penguin nodded then disappeared inside.

Law waited until he was sure his subordinates were gone before walking over to Neo. She looked over her shoulder at him when she sensed him. She turned back around just as another gust of wind came towards them. "Neo, we're docking at an island tomorrow. And I want you to go ashore with us."

Neo's eyes widened. She forgot what she was doing and the wind knocked her off the rail. She fell back into Law's already waiting arms. Her hands automatically clenching the front of his shirt while her body trembled uncontrollably in his hold.

Law felt he was right about her. She wasn't ready to be around people. This had nothing to do with him not wanting her to be seen.

"Calm down. You're fine," Law said as he held her. She didn't hear him. "Neo, look at me." She didn't. He took on his captain tone then. "Neo, I order you to look at me."

She slowly raised her eyes to his.

He sighed at how scared she looked. He tightened his hold on her. "Neo, you're not going to go ashore tomorrow."

"I…I'm not?"

"You're not. I just wanted to gauge your reaction. I'm sorry. I guess that was mean of me to do that to you. I knew you weren't ready to face people yet. And I would never give you such short notice when it comes to this." Law lowered her feet to the floor of the deck. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Neo, while you don't have to leave the sub tomorrow, I do want you to start getting use to the idea of leaving the sub soon. You won't be able to stay inside forever."

"I know, Captain." Neo lowered her eyes. "I'm just…"

"Scared. I know you are. It's okay." He gave her shoulders a squeeze, regaining her attention. "You don't have to be. You are in my care. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you again. The crew won't let anyone hurt you. At least one of us will always be with you when you leave the sub. Remember that."

She slowly nodded. Law studied her for a few more seconds before leading her back inside. "Let's go back inside now. Supper is almost ready."

Neo restlessly wandered down the halls of the sub. She had been restless all day. And it was because of what Law told her yesterday. While she wasn't going to get off the sub at the island they were going to soon be docking at, it still bugged her that she was going to have to be around strangers soon. Law had been keeping a close eye on her all day. This was the first time they had separated. She felt like she just needed to move.

She had came to Bepo's navigation room and peered inside. Bepo was the only one inside at the moment. He was looking down at a map he had on the table. The bear smiled when he noticed her. "Hey, Neo."

"Hey, Bepo," Neo echo as she stepped inside. She walked over to the table and looked down at the map. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure we're staying on course to the Sabaody Archipelago," Bepo replied.

"Arch-i-pel-ago?" Neo tilted her head. "What's that?"

"It's a cluster of islands," Bepo explained. "It's also the place where we'll eventually enter into the New World."

"New World?" Neo asked. "I think I've heard some of the crew talk about it before. But what is it exactly?"

"It's the second half of the Grand Line. They say that the pirate king Gol D. Roger and his crew are the only ones in the entire world who's explored it complete. It's also says that it's where Gol D. Roger hid his treasure the One Piece. Now it's where the four emperors rule over the seas," Bepo explained.

"Emperors?" Neo tilted her head again.

"Yeah, I think we have their wanted posters around here somewhere." Bepo wandered from the table and started digging in a drawer for the wanted posters.

Law walked in at that point. He stood beside Neo and said, "The four emperors are very strong pirate captains. They have very strong crews and possess many territories over the New World seas. Eventually, we're going to take them down."

"What?" Neo gave Law a confused and worried look.

"You don't have to worry." Law stroked her hair. "That won't be for a very long time. We're not strong enough yet to go up against an emperor. I don't want you worrying over it. So put it out of your mind right now."

"Yes, sir."

Law twitched at her words. Her calling him 'sir' was starting to bug him.

Bepo then walked back over and laid the posters down on the table. "Here they are."

Neo looked down at the posters while Bepo pointed out which emperor was which.

"This is Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, Kaido is the king of beasts, White Beard and Red Hair Shanks," Bepo said.

"Hm." Neo hummed. Her eyes locked onto Shanks' wanted poster. She tilted her head and kneaded her eyebrows.

"Neo?" Law called.

"Hm?" Neo gave him a signal that she heard him, but never pulled her eyes from Shanks' poster. She reached out and ran her fingers over Shanks face before picking up the paper. Suddenly her body was surrounded in a familiar white glow. "This guy…"

"Neo, what's wrong?" Law asked, getting concerned about how strange she was acting and for the strange white glow that engulfed him before.

Bepo remained frozen in place and blinked rapidly at the glow.

"Nothing," Neo replied softly. Her eyes lingered on the poster. While she slowly laid it back down on the table, the glow faded. Law and Bepo exchanged confused glances that she didn't notice. "He just seems…familiar."

"Well, he's rather famous," Bepo said. "You probably just heard someone talking about him at some point."

"I guess so." Neo moved her hands behind her back and laced her fingers together.

"Hey, Neo!" Penguin's voice broke through the stiff air. He poked his head into the room and smiled. "There you are."

"What's up, Penguin?" Neo asked.

"I was thinking we could make some more cookies while everyone else goes inland," Penguin chirped.

"All right." Neo nodded. She started to walk over to him, but paused to look at Law.

"Go ahead. We won't be gone long. Just stay inside with Penguin," Law replied. Neo nodded then followed after her friend.

"That was strange," Bepo said once Neo was out of earshot. "Why would his poster grab her attention like that? And why was she glowing?"

"I don't know." Law let his eyes drift back to Shanks' poster. "I would like to believe that she did just heard about him, but with how out of tuned she was with the world around her, I don't believe that's possible."

"Are you assuming she has some kind of connection to Red Hair? The crew probably just spoke about the emperors before," Bepo said.

"Maybe," Law said thoughtfully while rubbing his chin. "I hope that's it. It could cause problems if she does have some kind of association with an emperor."

"That's scary. I hope she's not an enemy of Red Hair." Bepo blinked several times.

"No point in worrying about it. Chances are we won't ever run into Red Hair." Law shoved his hands into his pockets. "Let's get going. We need to get supplies."

"Aye aye, Captain." Bepo abandon the papers and follow after his captain.

"Penguin?" Neo asked. She nibbled on another cookie while waiting for him to answer.

"Yes?" Penguin pulled out their fourth batch of cookies out of the oven.

"I don't feel very good," Neo replied.

"I'm not surprised." Penguin chuckled lightly. "That's your third cookie you've eaten."

"Hm?" Neo blinked and looked at the chocolate chip cookie in her hand. It was her third cookie.

"You're not use to eating sweets," Penguin said, already assuming what her next question was going to be. "Too many can upset your stomach, especially since the captain's kept you on a strict diet. You can save the rest for later."

"Right." Neo grabbed her a small plate and placed the remaining half of her cookie on it.

"While the sweets are upsetting your stomach, I sense there's something else on your mind," Penguin said. He tossed her a smile while scooping the cookies off the sheet and onto the cooling rack.

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "The captain wants me to leave the sub at the next island we dock at. And I'm…"

"Scared." Penguin finished for her. She nodded lightly. "It's understandable that you're afraid. But you are in the capable hands of our captain and all of us."

Neo smiled lightly. "I know. I'm still scared."

"That's nothing more than a normal human reaction," Penguin said. He then felt really weird about calling her human.

"Human…" Neo thought about the word before continuing to speak. "I know there are people in the world like the captain, but have you ever met anyone who has abilities like mine?"

"Can't say that I have," Penguin replied honestly. "But then I haven't met everyone on the planet. I'm sure there are a lot of people with unique abilities out there. And since we're traveling all the time, we'll probably meet some eventually."

"Maybe." Neo pressed her hands on the counter and pushed herself upon it. She lightly kicked her feet while staring down at the floor. Penguin watched her for a while before walking over to her. He place one of his hand on her head and kissed her cheek. "What was that for?"

"I just felt like you could use a little extra affection right now," Penguin replied with a smile. His smile then morphed into a mischievous one. Before she could question the look, he placed a hand on each side of her ribs and tickled her.

"Eek!" Neo squealed and almost slid off the counter. Her bell filled laughter rang out over the galley. "P-Penguin! Ahahaha! S-stop that!"

"Never knew you were so ticklish." Penguin chuckled.

"S-stop! Hahahaha! P-please!" Neo tried to wiggled away from him. She didn't succeed.

"Mmmm…nope," Penguin replied. "You need to laugh right now. And I'm more than happy to supply the means for you to do that."

"Ahahaha! Ha haha ha!"

"Neo! I'm back! Me and the crew bought you some new books!" Shachi sang as he twirled into the kitchen. He paused at the sight before him. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much," Penguin replied while continuing his tickle assault on Neo.

"H-he won't stop!" Neo choked out through her bell chiming laughter.

"She deserves it. She's been worrying far to much late," Penguin reported. "This is her punishment."

"I see." Shachi nodded. "Maybe I should help with that."

"Eek! No!" Neo squeaked.

Shachi placed the bag he was holding on the floor. He wiggled his fingers while playfully stalking up to her. He dove his hands to her side and tickled. She squealed again then summoned her wind crystals and slipped from their assault using the wind.

"Get back here!" Penguin and Shachi laughed.

"No way!" Neo giggled as she flew out of the galley. "Stay away from me!"

"We're gonna get you!" the two crowed. They quickly followed after her.

As they chased her around the halls, the rest of the crew showed up. Law blinked at the sight before him. "What's going on?"

"Captain!" Neo flew right to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. In confusion, Law's sword free arm automatically wrapped around her. She squealed again when Shachi and Penguin appeared. "Eek! Captain! Their being mean! They won't stop tickling me!"

"Is that so?" Law raised an eyebrow at Shachi and Penguin. They froze. "Hm…I should have thought of it before."

"Thought of what, Captain?" Bepo asked.

"Neo." She raised her eyes to him. "If the crew teases or tickles you far too much you have permission to turn your crystals on them."

"Captain! That's not fair!" the entire crew shrieked.

"Then be sure to treat her well." Law smirked.

"Ugh! The captain's going to be a bad influence on her after all!" Conner cried.

"I guess our little girl's gonna get special privileges," Archer added.

"You bet she is." Law smirked.

The entire crew paused at their captain's honesty.

"We're totally going to have to walk on egg shells from now on," Shachi said.

The rest of the crew nodded rapidly in agreement.