Dangerous Weather

Part One

Law struggled to keep his expression neutral and his body posture relaxed despite panic spiraling wildly inside of him as he stood in the room apparently used for registering new warlords. There were eleven marines in total with him in this room. Ten lined up against the wall and the eleventh one sitting in front of him at a large coral desk. Not a problem for him if something went wrong. Still, his pulse was throbbing rapidly just under his skin and in his ears. Sweat had gathered on his forehead, threatening to drip down his cool skin and give away his true feelings in the moment. He tried to keep his hand loose on his nodachi so he wouldn't turn his knuckles white, but almost kept it too loose and came close to dropping it a couple times. He knew the question was coming and he would have to actually answer it. It was inevitable. And now it was time for the truth, or what he and his crew decided the truth would be. He lifted his head, the brim of his hat rose up over his eyes. He looked at all the marines staring at him with forced patience. Line up against the wall like statues, they all held eager looks in their eyes. He could also see a hint of malicious intent and curiosity and something else that teetered around the suggestion that some of them thought Neo was cute despite the fact she looked like a child.

His blood raged like an active volcano. He wanted to rip their throats out right there for having such thoughts about her. Law had to forced himself to shift his thoughts. He had finally gathered his last heart and ordered the sub to head directly to navy headquarters. On their way there, Neo, like he knew she would, wanted to go with him. He had to order her to stay inside. His mind drifted back to earlier this morning.

Law was standing in a storage room looking over the hearts he had collected. All of them were in small brown bags, throbbing away as if they hadn't been removed from their owners' bodies. He had counted them once more to make sure he had all of them. He did. His goal had been met. Now all he had to do was wait until they reached the navy headquarters.

"Law!" Neo called before she came running into the room. She threw her arms around him.

Law grabbed the lid to the crate and closed it knowing she wouldn't want to see the hearts inside despite them being covered. "What is it, love?"

"We're almost to the navy headquarters," Neo said.

Law lowered his eyes to the floor.

"What is it?" Neo asked.

"You're staying in the sub," Law said.

"What?" Her arms dropped to her sides. Her lips curled down into a frown.

Law exhaled. "I don't want the navy to get close to you. Not right now. I don't want them sensing your true nature. It's better for you to stay in the sub. The whole crew is staying on the sub."

"No, Law. You can't go into that place alone." Neo took two steps back from him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm going with you."

"Neo, please, you need to stay here," Law said.

Neo's lip trembled. Her eyes dropped to the floor.

"Please don't cry." Law stepped closer to her. Placing his hand on her head, he pulled her towards him. "Understand it's better this way. We still have to be careful that no one notices who you really are."

"But…Law," Neo said. "This place is…"

"They're not going to hurt me," Law said.

"You don't know that," Neo said.

"The sub is going to remain ready to leave," Law said. "I've already ordered Archer and Jean Bart to stay at the controls. If the navy even thinks about trying to attack us I'll warp back on the sub and we'll leave. You'll use your crystals as a distraction to give us time to escape. The navy won't be expecting that. They won't be standing ready on their ships. Not here. They don't even know we're coming."

"You can't go out there alone, Law," Neo said.

"I'll be fine," Law said.

Neo slipped her hands up to his chest, gripping a hold of his hoodie.

Law gave her a moment before slipping his arms around her, picking her up. Forming his Room he warped them, the crate, and his sword up to the main floor. Some of the crew was already standing there. It was clear to him that they shared the same thoughts as Neo. They didn't want their captain to go by himself. But they remained loyal. A few minutes later the sub slowed down.

"We're at the navy headquarters," Archer said over the voice pipe.

Law sat Neo on her feet. He kissed her temple. "Stay inside. I'll be as quick as I can."

Neo tightened her hold on him. Reluctantly, she released him.

Law watched her for a few seconds before warping out of the sub.

He could still feel how upset she was. He knew she was curled up against the wall near the door, hugging her knees and trying not to cry while carefully sensing out where he was and if he was hurt at all. It hurt, a lot, that he had to do this to her. He tried to smooth everything out on the journey over here, but he knew she would still get upset. They were, after all, currently docked at the navy headquarters and she still had issues dealing with new things. And this was definitely new. There were so many soldiers here of all rankings. If something went wrong here, it would be next to impossible to escape. Or it would be if they didn't have Neo. Law knew without a doubt she wouldn't hesitate to reveal her true abilities if it meant keeping her family, especially him, safe and out of the navy's hands. They already had an escape plan ready.

But he didn't want that to happen and he didn't want them to see her right now. He had no idea what might have happened if he let her off the sub with him at the navy headquarters. There were just to many strong soldiers here who already had a fairly strong interest in the young pirate child. Questions of her were running wild through the newspapers as people tried to figure out who she was, what her devil fruit power was, what her name was, how old she really was, why a child was on a pirate crew in the first place, and some even questioned why she wasn't more aggressive with her powers while others brushed it off as her being weak.

Though he had no idea how it actually happened, they were able to keep her name out of the newspapers up to this current point in time. The mere thought of her name appearing in the newspapers turned his blood cold. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much to have her name be public knowledge, but figured it was because of her birth medallion. That little trinket was still out in the world somewhere with her name on it. While there could be other females with the name Neo in the world, there was only one who could be connected to the crystals embedded on the medallion.

He didn't think anyone would make the connections between her, her not being human and Luminous since only a few humans knew of its and the elementals existence. But it still made his body turn ice cold and his heart would race to the point of him feeling sick whenever he would read the newspaper after one of their escapades caught reporters or navy attention until he found her name wasn't in it. Reporters would only call her Heart of the Elements, the pirate child with a twenty million beli bounty. He wasn't sure if her Heart of the Elements epithet was because she was a Heart Pirate or because there were also questions, thanks to Laden back on Kiko Island questioning her ring in an article he published, on her relationship to him. The happenings on that island also resulted in Neo getting her bounty thanks to that commodore carrying out his threat of personally giving her a bounty.

Law was glad it was a low bounty like he had hoped and planned for. She was a bit upset and confused about it for a while, but adjusted quickly to it with his help, and snuggles. Once comfortable with it the crew, of course, threw her a party to celebrate. But that unexpected adventure on Kiko Island had also took a small toll on Neo's confidence. She worried over how a human easily knocked her out with gas and wondered if there was some other kind of gas that could cause her to lose control of her crystals. She insisted the crew carry around the disabling powder she and Law learned how to make back on Luminous. So now the entire crew, despite their objections to it, including Law, carried around four pouches of that powder each.

"Well, Trafalgar?" the marine asked with a taunting smirk.

Law thought this guy was enjoying this too much.

"We have all of your subordinates listed here, but for one. Well, technically, we need more information on the other woman, Topaz, too. We need her information if she's still apart of your crew. She is still a part of your crew, right?"

Law took a slow breath. This marine was way too eager to learn about Neo. Over all, he was thankful for how everything was turning out. And if something ever went horribly wrong and worse came to worse, they always had Luminous to return to. Plus, despite him refusing to admit it out loud to anyone even Neo, they had Red Hair Shanks with them somewhere in the New World. He knew the emperor would protect Neo despite them being on opposing crews and the soon to be world knowledge of them aiming to take down Kaido. With another breath, he answered the questions while forcing himself not to stutter or hesitant as he spoke. "Yes, she's still on my crew. Her name is Neo. She and Topaz are sisters who hail from the Grand Line."

"So they're sisters from the Grand Line," the marine crossed his arms. He leaned back in his chair with an eyebrow raised. "And the name of their home island?"

Law forced his body not to twitch. He couldn't actually name an island since he knew the navy would look into it to see if she really was from there. Luckily, he had this all prepared long before arriving here. "They don't actually have a home island. They've done nothing but travel their entire lives. They're orphans. They're parents died when they were very young. She's twenty one now. And Topaz is thirty five."

Law bit down hard on his tongue when he caught a couple marines smiling and whispering to each other at the revelation of her age. One of them said, "Seriously? She looks like a child."

"I guess she just ages gracefully," Law said. His hat dropped over his eyes, concealing his death glare and his multiple plans of torture he wanted to do to them.

"And her devil fruit?" the marine asked while scribbling down Law's information in his notebook. "She's a logia, right? She controls the elements after all. Which is odd. Usually logias only have control over a single element. How is it possible she has control over four of them? And what's with the crystals? Are they some kind of conductors or something?"

"Her devil fruit is the element-element fruit. And she's a paramecia not a logia. She's not immune to physical attacks," Law replied in a forced bored tone. He then gave the marine a cocky smirk. "And I have no idea why she has control over all the elements. Perhaps it's a new type of devil fruit. Perhaps she's not even a paramecia. Why don't you use all that navy power and do some research on it?"

The marine frowned. "Fine. I'll label her a paramecia, for now. But you better not be lying to us."

Law didn't say anything. What could he say? He did just lie to them after all.

"And your relationship to her?" the marine asked.

Law's eyebrow twitched. Even though he knew that question was coming, there was just no way he could prepare himself for it. He still didn't want their relationship revealed just yet, but he didn't want to lie about it either. This would be the first time he's lied about it directly to someone's face. He hated it. Forcing the words from his mouth, he said, "She's my subordinate."

"Very well then," the marine said, scribbling more in his notebook. Once finished writing whatever it was it was writing, the marine looked up at Law. He placed his elbows on his desk and laced his fingers together, resting his chin on them. "It's now official, Trafalgar Law. You are now one of the seven warlords of the sea. We have nothing left to discuss. If you have a mission we will let you know."

Law nodded. With everything completed, he left the room and headed back for the sub. 'It's done, Neo. I'm coming back now.'

She didn't answer him. He could feel a fresh round of tears leaving her eyes as he tried not to run back to the sub. She was still very upset. And she would be that way until he finally was back in the safety of the sub, back in her arms. He forced himself to keep his pace strong and steady. He was still around marine soldiers. They were gathered around the halls in small groups, whispering among themselves, glancing at the new warlord, waiting and silently questioning him. He had to keep this charade up for a little bit longer, just a little bit longer.

A painfully slow three minutes later, Law had climbed up the sub ladder and entered into the already opened door, which Bepo had opened for him. The bear and the rest of his subordinates were clearly eager to hear his official announcement that he was now a warlord. His eyes went directly to Neo. She was, like he knew, sitting on the ground and hugging her knees. Penguin and Topaz were beside her. With his eyes still locked on Neo's froze form, he said, "It's done, Neo. I'm a warlord now."

Neo's fists clenched tight. He felt her a small wave of relief wash over her before more worries quickly followed. They were one step closer to leaving for Punk Hazard. He then felt new tears streamed from her hidden eyes. Passing his sword off to Bepo, Law walked over to her. Penguin and Topaz were already on their feet, relinquishing their duties in calming her to their captain. He scooped her up into his arms, her hands immediately clenching the front of his hoodie like always when she was scared. Murmurs of celebration faded from the captain's ears as he carried Neo to their room where he could properly calm her down. Sitting down on their bed, he held her comfortably and firmly to his chest for over an hour as she cried out the last bit of her strength. He knew it wouldn't be much longer before she would soon fall asleep from all the emotional stress he just put her through. Stroking her hair, he spoke softly to her. "It's all right. It's over now. Just relax and go to sleep. I'll be right here when you wake up. How about when you wake up you contact Red Hair? You haven't spoken to him in a while. You can deliver my warlord status to him before the papers do. Would you like to do that?"

Neo slowly nodded against his chest. "I'm sorry. This was just too much."

"It's okay. Just sleep now." Law placed a kiss into her hair. "You're safe. We're all safe."

Neo shivered at the cool air brushing across her skin and pulled the covers around her shoulders. When that didn't warm her up, she reached for Law, but couldn't find him beside her. She opened her eyes to see that he was already out of bed. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she found him over by their closet. He had his jeans on and a towel around his shoulders, dabbing his wet hair with it. She blinked again in confusion, unable to enjoy or even notice the surgeon was only half dressed. Most of the time when she woke up Law was already dressed, completely, for the day.

Sensing her now awake and confused, Law tossed her a smile over his shoulder. "Morning, love. You're up a bit early today because it's so cold in here and, if I were to guess, because your back is so tight. You haven't used your wings in over a month."

"Morning. I didn't even notice my back was so tense," Neo replied rolling her shoulders before summoning her wings and giving them a couple gentle flaps. She winced when a sharp pang spread across her back where her wings connected through her skin.

Law gave her a concerned look over their shared pain as she quickly banished them, the pain letting up instantly.

She shivered again and pulled the cover even tighter around her shoulders. "I guess my wings aren't meant for the cold when I haven't used them recently. Why is it so cold? It feels weird outside too. It's like it's raining, but it's not. There are gray clouds, but no rain clouds in the sky anywhere near the sub."

"We're near Kouri Island. Remember we talked a few weeks ago about getting us some snow gear that would be more suited for Punk Hazard's extreme weather conditions?" Law said pulling his shirt over his head. "You were excited about getting to see snow just the other day."

"You mean that's snow I'm feeling?" Neo asked now fully awake.

"Most likely. This island is a winter island and it's…" Before Law could finish, Neo bolted from the bed and was out the door. He rushed after her, fixing his shirt over his abs as he went. "Neo! Wait! You're still in your night clothes!"

Ignoring Law's calls for her to stop, Neo excitingly dashed down the halls of the sub. She rounded a corner, almost running into a Tero and Topaz in the process. They all quickly pivoted their bodies so they didn't collide. She called back over her shoulder. "Sorry about that!"

"What's the rush?" Tero asked. "And aren't you awake a little early?"

"I think she realized there's snow outside," Topaz said, crossing her arms, while watching her princess disappear down the hall without another word to them.

"She did," Law said as he rushed passed them in desperation to catch up to his excited and rogue lover. "And if she dives into that snow wearing only pajamas I'm going to ground her!"

Tero rolled his eyes while Topaz giggled at their frazzled captain trying to prevent Neo's escape.

After several more near misses with other crewmates, the front door was finally coming into her view. Neo summoned a wind crystal and pushed the heavy door open. Bepo was near the door. He dove after her to try and stop her, but missed. "Neo! Stop! You're gonna freeze!"

She ran out on the deck, ignoring the bear and the cold wood under her bare feet. She grabbed the railing with a gasped at the winter scene before her as the sub glided along the icy waters beside the island. Everything was a crisp, with a shining white cover that transformed the usual colorful scenes of the mountains, houses, trees, bushes and flowers of past islands into an almost solid white wonderland. The snowy blankets shimmered in the sunlight making her own eyes shimmer with glee. "Wow!"

Her foggy breath swirling out of her mouth pulled her attention from the snow-covered island. She breathed out again then giggled at her warm breath dancing on the cold air.

Bepo shrieked from somewhere behind her, "Neo! Get back inside! Now! Captain! She's going to get sick dressed like that! Captain!"

A snowflake lazily drifting just inside her peripheral vision, grabbing her attention. She raised her hand up to catch the little flake. She watched it with peak interest as it melted in her warm palm. She squealed with delight, ignoring the cold breeze that created goosebumps on her flesh, and started to climb upon the rail.

"Ack! Neo!" Bepo shrieked again. He flailed his arms and legs wildly. "Stay! Sit! Bad elemental!"

Before she could take off a strong arm locked around her waist and tugged her back against a solid force. She whined, her escape cut short. "Law!"

Bepo flopped onto the deck in relief. "That was close."

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady." Law said in a parental voice. He glided his eyes over the island as the sub continued to pull up to the island docks. No one appeared to be in sight so he picked her up bridal style and headed back for the door. "I don't want my fiancée freezing to death. What were you thinking coming out here dressed like that?"

Bepo, coming down from almost having a heart attack and picking himself up off the deck, followed after them.

"Says the one who came outside with wet hair," Neo pointed out. She ran her fingers over his damp locks. She summoned a wind and fire crystal and started to dry his hair. "You could get seriously sick coming out here with wet hair."

"Don't turn this around on me. I wouldn't have had to come out here if you didn't bolt on me wearing nothing but shorts and a tank top," Law said in his captain tone that warned her how serious he was. He walked her through the door, the snow-covered island now out of her sight.

She watched as Bepo grabbed the door to the sub and pulled it closed with him as he entered the vessel. Neo whimpered at her attempted playtime being completely cut off from her.

"I'm sorry." She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. "I want to play in that stuff. That was snow. I've never seen it before. At least, I don't think I've seen it before. I don't remember. I might have only been on warm islands before or not have stayed long enough for the winter season. I've read about it in my books. It's supposed to be a very romantic setting. And it wasn't that cold."

She tightened her arms around his neck with a shiver and whimpered again. Some crewmates smiled at her child like display as the couple passed them in the halls. She ran her fingers through his now dry hair and banished her crystals. "And I can't touch you in public. Hiding our relationship really sucks!"

"Watch your language, Neo," Law warned.

"I'm sorry. It's true. I know you're doing it to protect me…and I love you for that but…"

"I know it stinks. It won't be for much longer. I promise." Law carried her into their room. He closed the door with his foot then sat her down on her feet. He gave her a gentle kiss. "Get dressed."

"Okay. But you're making up all the missed romantic snowy walks, sipping hot chocolate and cuddling by a warm fire to me later." Neo pouted.

Law chuckled. "Yes, love. Whatever you want."

"You're such a good little pirate boy," Neo cooed. She slid her hands over his shoulders until her arms were around his neck once more. She pulled him down to her and placed a feather light kiss on his lips before taking his bottom lip and sucking it lightly.

Law growled at her asking for a french kiss then refusing to let him do it by trapping his bottom lip. "Neo."

"Hm?" She giggled, releasing his lip. "Consider it the beginning of your payment in making me miss the romantic encounters we could have had on this island."

"Get dressed before I change my mind about that." Law placed his hands on her hips and squeezed them. He pecked her forehead then her nose then her lips.

"An empty threat, but okay." Neo pecked his lips once more before heading for the bathroom. She paused at her Luminous shelf and greeted her elemental family. "Morning."

Law watched her intently with a smile. Once she was out of his sight, he walked over to their closet and started looking through their clothes. He debated on which of his hoodies would be the warmest for her to wear and what else he had she could use. He decided on a black hoodie with a small yellow jolly roger over the left breast. After pulling it out he reached in to the right and pulled out an old dark gray jacket he used to wear long before he found her. He turned to her when she came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt. He waved the clothes that were draped over his arm. "You can wear these. They should be warm enough until we get you some proper winter attire. Plus you need to wear socks and your boots. Your sandals are forbidden on this island."

"Aw, Law." Neo's shoulders slumped.

"No pouting. It's far too cold for you to wear your sandals. You don't have to put them on until we get ready to leave, but you will put them on. And you're putting on my hoodie right now," Law ordered while draping the jacket over the back of his chair as she took his hoodie and slipped it on. He gave her a disapproving frown before dropping his eyes to her slightly red feet. "Although, I really should make you put on a pair of socks after running out on the cold deck barefooted."

"And if I refuse?" Neo asked innocently, pulling her long hair out of the hoodie. She summoned two fire crystals and warmed her feet.

"Then I'll ground you for disobedience. You won't set foot off this sub until we leave for Punk Hazard, you won't cook for the crew, you won't read any of your books, you will clean the sub from top to bottom without your crystals and, for an entire week, you'll get no kisses from me."

Neo's eyebrows shot high upon her forehead at his punishment.

"Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Neo said sharply but obediently.

"Good girl." Law put his arm around her waist and hooked his thumb into her left hip pocket then guided her to the door. The two remained quiet as they walked through the sub's cold halls. He glanced down at her, wondering if maybe he went a bit too far with his threat. She wasn't closed off from him, but her mind and feelings were distant. It almost made the already cold sub feel even colder.

"That was a lot and mean," Neo said as she trudged beside him. She glanced up with her puppy dog eyes, stabbing him with guilt. "You know I hate shoes and socks."

"I know. But you have to wear them. It's far too cold outside for you not to. I don't want you to get sick." Law kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry. That was a bit excessive and mean. You can sit on my lap during breakfast. Will that make it better?"

"Yes." Neo nodded with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his torso just before the two entered the galley.

Topaz, who was at the table reading the newspaper, smiled at the couple before returning her eyes to the paper. A couple other crewmates were already in the room and were playing a couple rounds of poker while waiting for breakfast to be finished. They gave Neo and Law quick mumbles of morning greetings without looking up from their game.

Neo noticed the room was warm from the stove being on but it also felt a very different type of cozy than it usually did. The air was filled with chatter about the snowy island and with spices that was sat out on the table for their oatmeal and pancake breakfast. It made the room very inviting and Neo's stomach rumble quietly. She pushed up the sleeves on Law's hoodie as he grabbed himself a strongly desired cup of hot tea then joined the others at the table. Stepping closer to the stove, Penguin relinquished pancake-making duty to her and started to stir the oatmeal so it wouldn't stick to the pans.

"So what all are we doing on this island other than getting us fitted for proper Punk Hazard attire?" Neo asked once breakfast was on the table and her body on Law's lap.

"We're going to celebrate the captain's warlord status with drinks and the captain's going to finish tattooing his hand," Bepo said without thinking.

"Bepo!" the crew hissed while Law frowned at the bear.

"I'm sorry!" Bepo dropped his head. "I forgot!"

Neo took in the crew. All of them, including Topaz and Tero, refused to meet her eyes as they picked at their food or exchanged nervous glances with each other. She turned to Law. "Law?"

He flinched under her scrutinizing gaze and tone. Clearing his throat, he said, "I was going to tell you."

She moved to get off his lap. She was stopped when he circled his arm around her waist and firmly held her in place. With no escape, she crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her finger on her elbow. "Really? When? When the needle was stabbing into our hand and drawing blood?"

Law swallowed. "No, no. Long before that."

"The captain just put himself in the doghouse," Shachi mumbled but not quietly enough.

Law shot his subordinate a disapproving glare.

Shachi shifted and chuckled nervously under his captain's gaze.

Law sighed, turning his eyes back to Neo. "I was going to tell you before we disembarked. I didn't tell you sooner because I didn't want you to stress over it and get sick. You know you would have."

"Well, I'm sure not stressing over it now." Tears gathered in her electric blue eyes. Her orbs dropped from his. Her voice dipped low as she glared at his chest. "Why would I? You're only going to willingly stab yourself with a dirty needle."

"Love." Law tried to kiss her cheek but she pulled away from him and closed herself off. He sighed. "Don't close yourself off to me. The needle won't be dirty. I'll check it out myself before proceeding with it."

"I'm going with you," Neo stated flatly.

"No. You're not." Law said firmly, but softly.

"Why?!" Neo demanded, finally raising her eyes back to him.

"Because you're too protective and possessive of me. The tattoo artist won't be able to do his job properly with you aiming your crystals at him," Law replied.

The crew tried to contain their snickers at the mental image that their captain just provided for them, but failed miserably. They all could see her sitting there with her crystals and their elements pointed directly at the island's tattoo artist with the poor artist trembling while trying to tattoo the captain's fingers. A couple snort laughed, some choked on their food, while others choked on their drinks when the liquid went down the wrong pipe.

Law frowned at them.

They shrieked, "Sorry, Captain!"

With a long sigh, he turned his eyes back to Neo. His heart sank when tears started to leak from the corner of her eyes. He brushed the back of his index finger under her lashes. "Neo."

"You're going to hurt yourself." Neo wrapped her arms around his neck. "It was bad enough when you waltzed right up to the navy with all those pirate hearts and ordered me to stay inside. It scares me when you do things like this."

"I know it does." Law said gently thinking about how it took him over an hour to calm her down after returning to the sub from giving the navy his gathered hearts. He rubbed her back between her shoulder blades where her wings came out. "I promise it won't hurt. It'll only be a minor annoyance. And you have your solar crystal if you need it."

He kneaded his fingers into the soft spots on her back where he knew it would relax her.

A soft sigh sounded in his ear, signaling her surrender. Her body was now completely relaxed against his. "You promise it won't hurt that much?"

"I promise. It won't hurt that much and it won't take very long. While I'm doing that Penguin's going to distract you with some fun in the snow. You need to get use to this environment after all."

Neo glanced over her shoulder. Penguin gave her a smile with a thumb's up. She returned the smile before tucking herself back into Law.

"Are you okay now?"

"Yeah." Neo nodded.

"Good. I'll give you a deeper back rub with the healer's cream later. I don't like how tight your back is from not using your wings. Finish your breakfast now."

"Okay." Neo picked up her fork.

"I really love your new puffy hat," Neo said as she simultaneously pecked Law's lips and pushed his hat down repeatedly. She had latched onto him once they had finished getting dressed to leave the sub. With one arm around his neck and her legs around his waist, she stole as many kisses as she could while he carried her to the front door. "I love your new jacket, you look so sexy in black, too. But I kind of miss you in your other hat and yellow hoodie."

"I still have them," Law said, speaking between her kisses and ignoring the teasing looks he knew his crew was giving him. "You can help yourself to them anytime you want."

Neo smiled. She removed her hand from his hat and twirled her finger around his goatee. "I already help myself to your clothes. When am I going to be able to help myself to you?"

Law's cheeks flushed at her meaning while the crew snickered. Clearing his throat, he said, "Soon, Neo, soon."

"You've been saying that for weeks." Neo pouted. "What exactly are you waiting for? We're leaving for Punk Hazard soon and you want to be married before then."

"Yes. Just be patient a little longer. I promise it'll be worth the wait." Law grinned.

Neo tilted her head and took him in. Whatever he was planning he always kept it hidden deep within him. She never could get him to slip up and reveal it to her.

He placed his sword free hand on her hip and squeezed. "You have to let go now."

Groaning, Neo reluctantly unwound herself from him and shifted her attitude to subordinate instead of fiancée, love, bonded with a heavy sigh.

Bepo ruffled her hair, earning a bell filled giggle before the crew left the sub.

As they walked through the town, Law kept a secret watch on Neo's childlike curiosity for the snow as she kicked it, scooped some up in her hand, and let it fall between her fingers before letting it fall out of her hold. Then a certain scene caught her eyes. She pointed at a group of kids throwing white balls at each other and looked at Penguin. "Is that what my books call a snowball fight?"

"That's correct," Penguin replied, taking in the same scene as she was. He then scooped up a handful of snow, sculpted it into a ball and tossed it right at Shachi's unsuspecting head.

"Hey!" Shachi growled, dusting the snow off of his hat. He grabbed some snow, rounded it into a ball and tossed it at Penguin who quickly dove out of the way. The snowball ended up hitting Tero on the shoulder.

Tero frowned before he shoved his hands into his pockets and stalked away from the group.

Penguin laughed while grabbing more snow and engaging almost the entire crew in a mini snowball fight. Tero, Topaz, Jean Bart, Law and Neo were the only ones who didn't battle it out. They just stood back, taking in the childish display before them, Neo taking the most interest in it. Quickly the little game turned a bit more heated and rogue snowballs found their way over to the bystanders.

"Element Crystals! Wind Ringlets!" Neo called out. Her wind crystals appeared and she trapped the snowballs in wind shape rings. Dropping the majority on the ground, she took one in her hand.

Law watched her from the corner of his eyes as she inspected the cold object in her hand.

She turned it over and over in her hand, brushing her finger over its slightly crystal like texture, sniffing its watery substance, pinching a piece off of it she watched it crumble between her fingers. "Huh. Interesting."

She looked over at Law with a smile when she felt his heart beat increasing. He wanted to smile back at her, but both knew it was better if he didn't. So he sent her a smile through their bond and his feelings at how cute he found her childlike curiosity in moments like this. 'Go ahead and throw it.'

'Can I?'

'Yeah.' Law looked around at his crew. He nodded towards Bepo. 'Throw it at Bepo.'

'Okay.' Neo turned to the bear. He was busy pelting two crewmates in the head with snowballs so he didn't see her throwing the ball at him.

"Hey!" Bepo protested. He ran up to Neo and engulfed her in a huge bear hug from behind. "You of all people!"

"Sorry, Bepo," Neo laughed as the bear rubbed his fuzzy cheek on hers. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "Law told me to."

"Captain!" Bepo shot Law a disgruntled look.

The captain just shrugged it off with a smirk.

Neo tucked back into Bepo's warm body when a freezing wind bit at her exposed skin. "It's so cold! I can even feel the coldness through these boots and socks!"

"And that's why we're here," Law said in an, 'I told you so' tone.

Neo frowned disapprovingly at him.

"Let's get our shopping done and over with."

"Aw, but I wanted to play some more," Neo whined. She turned her eyes back to the still snowball fighting crew.

"Not until you're properly outfitted. That one snowball turned your hands red from holding it so long," Law said, nodding at her hands.

Neo raised her hands to her face. She studied her reddish skin, looked back at the crew then at Law and sighed.

He smirked when she gave in without a word of protest. "Let's go. You can play later."

"Fine," Neo huffed. She turned around and all but threw herself at Bepo. "But Bepo's carrying me to the store."

"Sure thing," Bepo said with a nod. He picked her up and followed after Law.

"Such children," Tero scoffed at the display of his fellow crewmates. He was about to turn away from them when a snowball smacked him in the head. He shot a glare at Topaz who was tossing another snowball in her hand up and down in the air.

"You seriously need to relax once in a while." She smiled with a wink before tossing her snow ammo at him. He easily grabbed it and propelled it back. She ducked out of the way, but successfully pulled him into the snowball fight with the others.

"Uh." Neo blinked as she stared at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a long, thick black coat that fell to her ankles with a tall collar that almost touched her ears. "Are you sure about this, Captain? It's kind of long."

"Yes. You'll be grateful for the longer coat when we spend hours in below freezing temperatures," Law replied, stepping up behind her in the same style coat.

Neo tilted her head. She eyed the winter coat Law was sporting in the mirror, her eyes wandering up to the collar. A frown tugged at the corner of her lips. 'I don't think I like this style.'

'Why not?'

'It blocks our necks too much.'

Law chuckled mentally. 'Trust me, love. Once on Punk Hazard's frigid island, you'll be very glad to have a coat like this.'

'Not when I have you to keep me warm.' Neo forced herself not to smile when Law's cheeks turned pink and his hat fell over his eyes.

'Just take that one off. And find you another coat to wear on this island. I'm going to have these customized with our jolly roger while we're here.'

'Yes, sir.' Neo sighed. She stripped off the coat and handed it to him before grabbing Bepo's arm. "Come on, Bepo. Help me pick out a coat."

"Sure thing," Bepo replied.

Law watched as the bear happily followed after Neo. He scanned his eyes over the store they were in. There were a few other guests shopping around, but it wasn't crowded at all. He felt Neo was secure and comfortable in this place and with Bepo so he turned his attention to one of the shopkeepers.

"Good afternoon, sir," the young brown haired woman chirped. Her green eyes sparkled at him as they drug over his features. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I need these customized." Law groaned internally at the obvious attraction this woman had to him as he held out the coats to her. He also instantly felt Neo's jealousy growing. 'It's all right, Neo. She's just…'

Neo sighed. 'It's fine. Not really, but I know other women will always look at you. I also know you're going home with me, not her.'

'That's correct. Hurry up now and pick out a coat. You'll want to get some gloves too.'

'Okay.'

"How about this one?" Bepo asked holding up a puffy, off white jacket. "I think you'll look really cute in it."

"Hm." Neo tilted her head and inspected the coat. "It is pretty cute."

She took it from Bepo, put on and modeled it for him.

He nodded approvingly. "Very cute. And I think the captain approves."

"Huh?" Neo glanced over at Law. He was looking over at her from under his hat and obviously trying not to smile. She shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. Tugging the coat off, she said, "I guess I'll get it then. It's pretty comfortable too. If only I could find boots that were just as comfortable as it is."

"Then you'll want a pair of those fluffy shoes over there on the shelf," a young female voice said causing Neo to jump and tuck herself into Bepo's chest.

'Neo?'

'I'm okay. She just startled me.'

Bepo's arms when around Neo while he carefully inspected the one who spoke. She was teenager with long, straight black hair that fell to her hips wearing a thick dark red sweater and jeans. Her deep green eyes shimmered with an apology. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. It's just I don't care much for wearing shoes either. I own pair of the boots I mentioned. See?"

Neo glanced down at the girl's feet when she held out one of her boots. The boots were a tan color and very puffy.

"They're very well insulated for extreme cold. You don't even need to wear socks with them if you don't want to. They're very snug, yet have plenty of room to wiggle around in."

"Are they really that comfy?" Neo asked. She pulled her eyes off the shoes and looked at the girl.

"Mhmm." The girl nodded. She waved while walking off. "You should give them a try. I have to go now. Have a nice day."

Neo walked over to the shoes. She wrinkled her nose at them, earning a chuckle from Bepo, but tried them on anyway. After walking around in them for a few minutes, she decided they were slightly more comfortable than her other boots and decided to get them after all. She grabbed a two pairs of gloves, both black, and rejoined Law who was waiting patiently for her and Bepo to finish up.

Leaving the store the group looked around for their crew. They found them still involved in their snowball fight. With their arrival the fight stopped and the pirates divided up again.

"How's your hand?" Penguin asked. He ran his hand over the middle half of the snowman he and Neo were working on, smoothing the snow out. The two were out in a field less than a quarter mile out of town. They decided to come out here so they have plenty of privacy to talk openly and so Neo could experiment with creating snow and ice with her crystals without raising questions. "Is that tattoo process becoming too much for you?"

"It's not too bad," Neo replied. She was rolling up the head of the snowman, without her crystals. She paused to wiggling the fingers of her right hand. "It's a bit more than a minor annoyance, but I don't need my solar crystal."

"That's good to hear." Penguin nodded.

Neo summoned a wind crystal and lifted the head of the snowman onto its body. She then poked her finger into it, making holes for the rocks they used as eyes and mouths. While she did that, Penguin poked a couple sticks into the body and both stepped back to admire their work. They had completely five snowmen in total. Two of them had been completed with Law's help. The captain decided he wanted to be there for Neo's first snowman before stealing a quick kiss, since they were far enough from the town, and heading off to get his tattoos done. "Beautiful snowmen if I do say so myself."

Neo laughed. "I completely agree. What now?"

"Mm." Penguin looked around their snowy surroundings. His eyes landed on a small man made lake that some locals told him they used for ice skating when it's cold enough for it. "Well, it's not cold enough for ice skating. Is there anything in particular you feel like doing?"

"Uh…how about we go for a walk?" Neo asked. She scanned her eyes at the forest. "I think there's a trail nearby."

"Yeah." Penguin nodded. "It's supposed to lead up to a mountain trail. I don't think we have time to walk the whole thing, but we can at least walk to the base of the mountain."

"Sounds like fun." Neo linked her arm with his and they headed north towards the forest. Once close enough, they located the marker for the beginning of the trail. It was a small wooden plank nailed to a tree. The words painted in red said: Kouri Forest Trail. A little blue bird greeted the two as soon as they reached the trail. She let it land on her gloved hand and it sang to them before flying off to join another bird. The two pirates then walked onto the trail together enjoying each others company. Her eyes darted everywhere, carefully inspecting the wintery trail before them, the breaks between the leaves where the light golden rays of the sun poked through and spotted the forest ground, a couple white rabbits bolting out from under some brush paused to wiggle their noses at them before dashing off. She gasped softly when a breeze blew snow off the leaves of the trees. "Wow! It looks like magic dust! This place is so much fun!"

Neo summoned her wind and water crystals. She used them to create little ice icicles on branches, created disfigured ice sculptures of the crew -much to Penguin's amusement- then destroyed them so people wouldn't see them, and created snow waves as they walked along the trial. She then created some snowballs and tossed a few at Penguin and at surrounding trees. Her eyes then sparkled with mischievousness. "You know, I should totally ambush the crew when we go back to town."

"That might be considered cheating since you're a master at controlling your crystals now. But, hey, I'm all for it. I'd love to see their expressions when you pelt them with a barrage of snowballs or a mini avalanche. I can just picture their shocked faces popping out of the snow like daises." Penguin laughed. He loved seeing Neo so excited over the winter environment around them. He became concerned when she jolted to a pause beside him. "What is it, Neo?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. She scanned her eyes over their surroundings. The winter wonderland suddenly felt dark and dangerous to her. Shadows seemed to be creeping closer to them as she stared at them. She stepped closer to Penguin and grabbed his arm, forcing herself to remain calm so she didn't alarm Law even though she sensed him focusing on her. "This place just felt dark and creepy all of a sudden."

"Well, snow, while it is beautiful, can also be very deadly and dangerous," Penguin said. "You should know that since you're part of nature."

"You might be right." Neo nodded. "I guess I just saw the beauty of it all before noticing the dangerous side of it."

"Would you like to go back to the captain?" Penguin asked.

"No." Neo shook her head. "I want to see the mountains up close before we head back. I think there is some kind of animal at the base of it right now. I'd like to see what they are."

"Well, it looks like we're close to getting out of the forest," Penguin said, noting the opening in the trees about forty yards from where they were standing.

Giggling, Neo took his hand and the two ran to the end of the forest part of the trail. They both gasped in awe at the sight of the large mountains and at the herd of reindeer grazing lazily at the bottom. Some looked up at them while the rest disregarded them and continued to graze.

"What are they, Penguin?" Neo asked, tugging on his sleeve with one hand while pointing to the animals with the other.

"They're reindeer," He replied.

"Reindeer?" Neo blinked.

"It's a deer that lives in cold climates. Remember that little creature back on Sabaody? The one with the horns?" Penguin asked. He raised his hands to his head, creating simulated horns. "He's part of the Straw Hat crew."

"Oh, yeah." Neo nodded. "I remember him. He was cute. If I remember correctly, his name is Chopper, right?"

"That's right. He's a reindeer too," Penguin said.

"Huh?" Neo's eyes widened. She tossed her eyes back over to the reindeer before her. "But he doesn't look anything like these reindeer."

"You forgot he ate the human human fruit," Penguin said.

"I guess I did forget that," Neo said while blinking rapidly. She looked down when she felt something nudge against her hand. A baby reindeer had wandered up to them. She instantly noticed the creature's curiosity in her and his mother's concern as she walked cautiously up to the pirates. She giggled. Placing her left hand on the baby's head, she reached out her other hand to his mother. "Hey, Mama. It's okay. We're friends."

The mother flicked her ears before nuzzling her nose against Neo's outreached hand.

Penguin watched with a smile until a couple more reindeer walked over to them and started nuzzling him too. He chuckled. "I guess they see me as a friend as well."

"Uh huh. The mama here says they're use to people being close to them because of the trails, but I'm the first that smells different from everyone else. They like my smell." Neo nodded. She affectionately rubbed behind the ears of the baby reindeer. The baby released several soothing honks at the attention. A soft, and worried, expression spread across her face. "I wonder how Chopper is doing. The newspapers keep saying the Straw Hat crew is still missing."

"Most likely they're training instead of actually missing," Penguin said, resting his hand on the back of a male reindeer. "Considering that's what Straw Hat was obviously going to do with the Dark King back on Amazon Lily. And that odd behavior he exhibited by returning to Marineford after the war was probably some kind of message to his crew. I'm sure they're all fine and we'll probably start hearing about them again soon."

"I hope you're right," Neo said softly.

Penguin carefully took her in. He didn't find it surprising at all that she was worried about them, at least Chopper. The two did make a connection back on Sabaody. He knew if they ever were to meet them again Neo and Chopper would no doubt become instant good friends.

Suddenly, Neo straighten up and summoned her wind crystals. "Element Crystals! Wind Block!"

"Neo, what are yo-Ack!" Penguin shrieked when over thirty very sharp, very large ice icicles embedded in the ground uncomfortable close to them. He straightened himself up and looked around. "What the heck was that?!"

"Penguin," Neo said in a quiet, serious tone that he wasn't use to her using.

Her tone made him feel like a huge wave of dread slammed down on his body. It was rare for her to become serious like this. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the reindeer had become tense as well. Their necks were lowered, their hooves pounding into the ground. He knew something wasn't right.

"We have a problem."

Penguin, resting his eyes back on her, stared at her for several second before following her intense stare back to the woods. He carefully scanned his eyes over what he formerly saw as a peaceful forest. The woods suddenly seemed darker, more menacing. His body tensed when he saw someone, shrouded in the shadows walk towards them. The shrouded figure began to take the shape of a woman. But what really got his attention was the inhuman feeling she was giving off. "Oh, great. She's…"

"Yeah." Neo nodded. "An elemental. One that's not friendly."

"Well, isn't this a surprise," the woman said. Once the sun washed the shadows away, she place her right hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. The back of her dark blue hair was cut short, but her bangs fell over her left dark blue eye and down to her chin. Her winter jumpsuit was solid white, giving her the perfect camouflage to blend into the snow around them as well as white gloves with the fingers half cut off and a pair of goggles hanging around her neck. "I'd seen the articles in the paper about a child who could control all four of the elements via crystals, but didn't think it was actually possible. I didn't know that one had been born again. And I certainly didn't expect that one to be mingling among humans, pirates no less."

"Well, life's just full of surprises," Neo replied. She stepped closer to Penguin and lowered her voice. "Be careful. She wields both the wind and water crystals. There are others, humans, around too."

"Crap," Penguin cursed. "We've been caught in an ambush?"

"That's right!" the woman shouted. She swiped her hands up in the air and brought them down like she was swatting something. It created hurricane force winds that barreled down on the pirates and reindeer from above. The reindeer tried to scatter, but the elemental swiped out her hands again, creating a secondary gust that trapped them in their immediate area.

"No! Let them go!" Neo shouted. She summoned a couple more wind crystals and tried to take control of the winds the woman created to free the reindeer and before it could pin them to the ground from above.

"Bad move, Princess!" the woman cried.

When she shot out her right hand, Neo noticed a strange bump in the palm of her hand. The woman created several shards of ice that appeared to come out of her fingers. The ice flew right at Penguin and Neo. Neo broke her attention on the reindeer to blow ice away from them. The woman slammed her winds down on the two pirates. The woman then used her own body weight to pin Neo down.

Neo's anxiety shot to the sky, her body temperature plummeted, her breathing came in short, sharp gasps and memories of the past flashed through her mind. Both memories from her childhood and on Luminous hammered her mind causing her to take control of nature around her. Trees began to grow up and out, the wind rapidly started to climb to the force of a hurricane, the ground rumbled beneath them and dark clouds gather overhead with thunder clapping and lightning flashing wildly.

"What the heck?!" The woman looked around at the out of control environment.

"Get off her!" Penguin desperately tried to call out. But the defining sounds created by Neo drowned out his voice. He couldn't even hear his own voice. All he could do was lay there helplessly and wait for his captain to take hold of Neo's mind.