Eight Hours
Part Two
"Hey! Neo!" Luffy called.
Neo looked up from the sink when Luffy spoke. He ran over to her, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her towards the door.
"Let's go back outside now!" Luffy said with a big grin.
"Uh, okay," Neo said, despite having no say in the matter.
"Careful, Luffy," Sanji scolded. He picked up Caesar's breakfast plate and a cup of water before following them out. "She's not use to being jerked around like that by you."
Luffy just laughed and continued to pull her out the door.
Neo shot a smile back at Sanji before disappearing around the door frame.
"That guy," Sanji grumbled. He followed after them at a leisurely pace. He paused when he stepped out the door. Luffy had pulled Neo over the slide. The captain was positioning Neo in front of him in preparation to slide down to the deck. Sanji shook his head and turned in the opposite direction. He trudged down the stairs while Luffy slid down the slide with Neo sitting in front of him. He watched as the two slid down and were launched into the air a bit while walking over to Caesar. He handed the scientist the plate and cup he was holding as Luffy, holding Neo in his arms, landed on the deck. He huffed in agitation. "If you hurt her I'll personally throw you into the ocean."
"Wow!" Neo said, holding back her giggles. "That was so fun. A bit scary, though. It was a bit different than flying with my wind crystals. I thought I was going to lose my breakfast."
"Hee, hee!" Luffy chuckled.
"You knuckle head!" Sanji snapped. He whacked Luffy over the head with his fist. "Be careful with her! She doesn't digest food as fast as you do! Why don't you relax for a while before you start jerking her around like that?!"
"Aw," Luffy whined. He tightened his hold on Neo and pouted. "I want to play with her now!"
"He's right Luffy," Chopper said as he and the rest of the group started wandering back outside. "I'm sure we all don't want Neo to get sick."
"We could just sit around and talk for a while," Nami said. "There's some stuff I'd like to ask you about. Like the bon-"
"Room!" Law suddenly called out. His blue sphere expanded over the deck. "Shambles!"
"Oh no! Not aga-" Caesar called out before disappearing from the deck.
…
"-in!" Caesar popped into the anchor room once more. He looked around and growled. "Law! You are so going to pay for this! Mark my words! I'm going to make sure Doflamingo pounds you into the ground!"
Caesar picked up half of his sandwich and took an aggravated bite out of it while plotting multiple ways he could make Law pay for treating him this way.
…
"Oops! I'm so sorry!" Nami covered her mouth with her hands. "I forgot about him!"
Law frowned and walked over to the mast bench. He sat down and let his hat fall over his eyes.
Neo watched him before turning to the navigator. She said, "It's okay. There have been plenty of times when I've almost blown my own secret. I've always been one for laughing easily. Living on Punk Hazard and going out in public always has its challenges."
"I'm sure it does. I don't know what I'd do if I had to keep it a secret that I had bells in my laughter," Nami said. "Since we're Caesar free now, I'd really like to hear more about these bonds you have with Tra and Shanks."
"I'd like to hear more on the elementals culture," Robin said with a calm smile.
"Sure. I'll tell you what all I know." Neo nodded while Luffy finally sat her back down on her feet. "Or what all I remember. I brought plenty of books back from Luminous, but they're back on the sub. Since we're going to be with each other for a while, you can borrow them if you want once we reconnect with our crew."
"That would be lovely," Robin said. "I'd really like that."
"Do you also have medical books?" Chopper asked. His eyes sparkled as he swung his arms by his sides.
"Of course. Since I decided to stay with the Heart Pirates, Law needed to know how to properly take care of me. So he was required to study with one of the best healers on Luminous." Neo nodded at him. She then looked at Sanji. "I have a lot of cookbooks too of Luminous delicacies. You might find something you like in them."
"Great! I'd love to take a look at them when we get the chance to!" Sanji smiled. He turned and headed away from them. "Since we're going to be talking for a while, I'll get some chairs."
"Thanks, Sanji," Nami said.
"I'd really like to take a look at those medical books, if you don't mind," Chopper said. "I'd like to have some basic information on how to care for you too. You know, just in case."
"That makes sense." Neo nodded.
"So what exactly do we call you now?" Nami asked. "Should we refer to you as Princess Neo?"
Neo's eyes widened. She held up her hands and waved them frantically. She said, "Please! No! I-I really don't like being called Princess! Just continue to call me Neo!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Nami replied.
"It's not that," Neo said. She rubbed her hand on her arm. She tapped her toes on the deck in thought. "It's just…I never liked it when elementals called me that. For some reason it just bugs me. I didn't like it when they bowed to me either. I never really got use to either of those. I mean, despite declining the throne to Luminous, I still retain my royal heritage. It just didn't feel right to deny that I'm a royal. I just don't like it when people treat me like one. It took forever to get Topaz to stop referring to me as her princess."
"That makes sense," Nami said with a nod. "You didn't grow up being treated like a royal."
"Right. So, please, just call me Neo," Neo said with a small smile.
"Here you go, my lovely ladies," Sanji said once he returned with four white chairs and a matching fold up white table. He sat them out for them and bowed a bit at his waist. "Is there anything else I could get for you?"
"No, we're good," Nami answered. "Thank you, Sanji."
"Yes, thank you," Robin said with a smile. The women then took their places at the small table.
Neo sat between Robin and Chopper while Nami sat across from her. Luffy stood beside Neo with his arms crossed over his chest like he was guarding her. Kin'emon and Momonosuke sat down on the desk and had their eyes closed. Brook and Franky stood near the father and son while Zoro stretched out on the grass and closed his eyes.
"Thank you," Neo mumbled while shifting awkwardly at his bow.
"Sorry," Sanji said, noticing Neo's discomfort. "If forgot, you don't like being bowed to."
"Neo was just explaining to us why," Robin said, breaking the tension that build up between them. She then relayed what Neo had said to Sanji.
"I see. That makes sense," Sanji said. "I'll try not to do it in the future. But I might not be able to stop it. It's a bit of a habit of mine."
"It's okay. I'll just try to adjust to it more," Neo said. She tucked her hair behind her ear when the wind began to blow it. "I know you're not bowing to me because I'm a princess."
"So, will you explain this bond of yours in more detail now?" Nami asked. She crossed her arms over the table and leaned towards Neo in anticipation.
"I'll try. It might not make much sense since it's something that apparently just happens," Neo replied. She tapped her finger on her chin. "Well, I bonded with Godfather shortly after I was born. It's believed that I bonded with him because he was trying to save my family and me. We have the ability to sense each other when we're close enough. We can also send messages to each other and meet in this dream like world that we create."
"Dream world?" Robin asked.
"Yes. It's kind of like a dream, but I'm still awake, sort of. My body stays in place, but my spirit travels to our dream world where we can spend time together," Neo explained.
"That sounds so cool," Chopper said. He laid his chin on the tables and held a dreamy expression on his face.
"So can you take me into this dream bond world place of yours?!" Luffy asked. He draped his arm over Neo's shoulder. "You know if I ever wanted to see Shanks?"
"Probably not. I don't even know if I can take Law in there. We never tried before," Neo replied. "He probably can go since we're bonded, but I doubt I can take anyone else."
"Ah, bummer," Luffy whined. He straightened back up and crossed his arms again.
"You still have your agreement with Shanks," Chopper pointed out. "Do you really want to see him now? You haven't become a great pirate yet."
"Yeah. I'd like to see him, but I'd rather wait until I fulfill our agreement," Luffy said with a smile as he looked up at the sky. The wind picked up again. It teased his hair and clothes. He watched some cloud lazily float by with a smile on his face.
"And what about your bond with Tra?" Nami asked.
"That one seems a bit more complicated. We've bonded three times," Neo explained. She pulled her feet up and tucked them under her thighs. "The first time we bonded was kind of an accident. It was when I revealed my past to him. And it was the bond that caused us to feel each other's pain. But we really didn't notice it at the time. The second time we bonded was after the dark elementals tried to drown me. That gave us the ability to sense where the other was. And the third time we bonded was when Law gave me this ring." Neo held up her hand so they could see the ring that was always on her finger.
Nami gasped, "Wow! It's so beautiful! And it looks very expensive! It's custom made, isn't it?"
"It is." Neo nodded. Pink brushed across her cheeks. "Law got this for me for my one year anniversary with the crew. Despite having desires for this ring to come with romantic intentions, he held back on those since I wasn't ready for it. So he was using this to keep men away from me that would try to get me into situations I wasn't ready for and didn't understand."
"Did something else happen with this bond like it did with the others?" Robin asked.
"Yeah. I can project myself, or my spirit, to him or I can pull his spirit to me," Neo said. "We discovered this when the elementals had separated us. I guess I was just so scared at the time that I did it automatically. We tested this while we were on Luminous and discovered that, while we're being projected, our bodies are vulnerable. So we try to avoid using it unless we know that our bodies are safe and protected. Law doesn't want me to do anything that will put me into danger."
"That's so sweet." Nami chuckled. Cupping her hand to her mouth, she lowered her voice and whispered, "Despite his grumpy exterior, Tra seems like he can be very romantic when it comes to you."
"I suppose so," Neo replied. She placed her hands in her lap and fidgeted nervously with Law's ring while her already pink cheeks grew a couple shades darker.
"You're blushing," Nami teased.
"She's so cute when she's embarrassed," Sanji said with a chuckle.
"So what was your wedding like?" Robin asked. She glanced up at Luffy when he suddenly fell asleep. He was still standing up beside Neo. His head just rolled over onto his shoulder and he started snoring. She laughed at her captain before turning her attention back to Neo. "If I may give a guess, I'd say it was small. Most likely just with you two and your crew."
"You're right." Neo nodded. "I wouldn't have been able to handle a large wedding. I got sick multiple times just discussing the wedding plans with the crew. Luckily, Law took over the planning and I was able to keep my food down again."
"I dunno if I could handle having my future husband plan our wedding," Nami said. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms and legs. "I like having control, especially over the money spent on a wedding."
"Law only took control because I kept getting sick. I was still in on the planning. It was just in more moderate, controlled fashion. He really didn't like that I kept getting sick. Apparently, I get nervous when planning or dealing with such big occasions. I also got sick on Luminous when preparing for the commitment ceremonies we went through," Neo replied.
"Commitment ceremonies?" Chopper asked.
Neo explained, "Once the elementals learned of our bond they couldn't separated us because we would die. So they asked for assurance from Law and the crew that they were going to be true to their word in taking care of me. So we all went through commitment ceremonies. The crew, the first fifteen of them, received these pendants to seal the deal. They also serve as proof to other elementals that it was my decision to be with pirates and that they didn't kidnapped me. Law and I also when through another commitment ceremony that was kind of like a mock wedding."
"Wow," Sanji said. His eyes dropped down to the faded scars on her arms. "You've really gone through a lot, haven't you?"
Catching him looking at her scars, she said, "You don't have to worry. I've long since stopped hurting myself."
"I'm sorry," Sanji said, bringing his eyes back to hers. "I didn't mean to stare."
"It's fine. I really don't mind having these scars. Most of them will fade away," Neo replied. She touched the spots on her body where the scars were that wouldn't disappear completely. "A couple of them I didn't do. This one on my left shoulder came from a mercenary that tried to kidnap me. He and his crew were hired by the dark elementals to test me. And this one on my stomach actually came from an elemental. She was hired to try and take down our crew. She was a dual element. I was able to beat her, but she ended up shooting me."
"What?!" Luffy said, snapping out of his nap. "Someone shot you?!"
"That's terrible!" Chopper cried, tears dripping down his furry cheeks. "How could anyone shoot someone as sweet as you?!"
"Yeah." Neo nodded. Then gave them a quick version of what had happened in the fight between herself and Ren. By the time she was finished, Luffy's ears were steaming and his face contorted with anger. "It's all right, Luffy. That happened a long time ago. I survived the fight and the surgery. Law really is a wonderful doctor and a teacher."
Neo wasn't sure if Luffy heard her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, in a very protective way, and scanned the area for threats. He said, "No one is going to hurt you again!"
"So you and Law will die if you are separated, right?" Nami asked.
"Only if we believe that we won't be reunited," Neo said. She glanced over at Law. He was still on the bench with his arms and legs crossed. He flashed her a smile before letting his hat fall back over his eyes.
"Is that why you keep looking to make sure he's still with you?" Sanji asked.
"I suppose that's part of the reason. Law became my life in so many ways, and not just because we bonded. He saved me. He and the crew gave me a life and loved me when no one else would. It's also just out of habit," Neo replied while rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish grin. She then patted Luffy's arm when he tightened his hold on her. "I can't stop myself. I just want to know that he's near me even though I can sense him. He also helps me with my nightmares. They can be pretty intense at times. Luckily, I don't have them as much as I use to."
"So what all did Law teach you?" Sanji asked. He attempted to pry Luffy's arms off Neo, but failed. "You said that he taught you how to use your crystals. Will you let go of her, Luffy?! If you tighten your hold anymore you'll cut off her oxygen supply!"
Neo nodded. "He started me off with self defense. Bepo was the one who actually taught me that. It was for my confidence. After I grew comfortable with that, we moved on to my crystals. Eventually, I combined my elements with my fighting style and learned that I was more comfortable fighting in a more playful way since I really didn't want to hurt anyone. Law also taught me how to use his sword, but I'm nowhere near as good as him. I can at least hold my own if it's ever needed. And I have my crystals to back me up."
"You fight with swords?" Zoro asked, perching up from his nap. He pushed up on his elbows and looked at her.
"Oh great. You've woken up the moss head," Sanji grumbled. He glared at Zoro. "Don't you dare even think about fighting with her. I won't allow it."
"Why not? I'm curious to see how well she fights with swords," Zoro said. He stood up and pulled out one of his swords. "Nothing wrong with a little sparing. We have plenty of time before we arrive at Dressrosa. It would be good to be more familiar with her fighting style."
"He does make a good point," Franky said. The cyborg was currently sitting on the deck, leaning against the wall by the men's bedroom door with his hands behind his head. "I think I'd like to spar with her as well."
Sanji sighed. He looked at Neo. "I don't think they're going to take no for an answer. You don't have to do this if you really don't want to."
"I don't mind," Neo replied with a shrug. She looked over at Law. He shrugged at her, meaning she could do what she wished. She stood up, or she tried. Luffy still had a hold of her. "Luffy, can you let me go now?"
"Okay," Luffy said, reluctantly. He unwound his arms from her shoulders. "I suppose it'll be fine for you to spar with my crew. I know they won't hurt you."
Neo then took a couple steps towards Zoro. Law stood up and walked his sword over to her. She took it from him with a smile then looked at Zoro and said, "Let's do this then."
Zoro smirked. He pointed his blade at Law and Neo. "No cheating now. He remains sitting down and your bond and your crystals remain out of it."
"Don't worry," Neo said. She unsheathed Law's sword. Law took the sheath and walked back over to the mast bench. Sitting down, he crossed his arms and smirked. "Law won't interfere, unless you try to hurt or kill me. And I'm still under orders not to use my crystals."
"Zoro," Sanji said in a dark, warning tone. His eyes were sharp with light glinting in them. He pointed his cigarette at the swordsman as everyone turned their eyes to him, all but Robin wearing questioning gazes. "I'm only giving you one warning. Don't you dare use your full strength on her."
"Shut up. I know all that. She's clearly no where near my level," Zoro replied. He took his stance and Neo followed suit. "I would pulverize her if I used my full strength. This is just a simple, friendly match."
Neo slowly ran her eyes over her opponent. Breathing slowly, she kept her nerves at bay despite a small amount of trembling inside of her. She was still nervous about fighting him, but knew that she would be fine. There were plenty of people who would step in and stop the fight if it got out of hand. Another slow breath, she thought over what all she knew about this guy. He was bigger than her, obliviously, but she could easily handle someone bigger than her. She thought about the training equipment that Chopper had showed her when giving her a tour of the Sunny. She knew Zoro was very strong and had fast reflexes. She might not be as strong as he was, but she was fast enough. She quickly came to the conclusion that her size was going to be her best defense and offense against him. And, if he was like everyone else, he would underestimate her because of her size. She released a breath and said, "I'm ready whenever you are. Let's do this."
"A bit impatient, aren't you?" Zoro asked. He studied her for a moment. He knew that she wouldn't be able to beat him. He was twice her size and have been studying to be a swordsman his entire life. This was just for fun and curiosity. He bolted forward. His lips twitched into a smirk when their swords clashed, the sound ringing in their ears. He easily held his sword against hers. "Not bad. I was expecting you to dodge."
Neo smiled. She watched carefully as Zoro swiped his sword at her a couple times. She continued to easily block his attempts. Once she had studied his movements for a few minutes, she switched from defense to offense when she saw an opening. She charged forward and swiped Law's sword at Zoro as few times. Of course, being the skilled swordsman he was, Zoro easily blocked her attempts.
"Well, that's interesting," Zoro said pushing his sword against hers.
"What is?" Neo asked.
"That sword is cursed yet you're handling it without any problem," Zoro said.
"Well, I'm not human after all. Apparently the sword only sees me as part of nature," Neo said.
"Makes sense I guess. I have to admit that you're not half bad," Zoro complemented. "But you're leaving your left side open a bit too much." He pushed his sword against her, knocking her off balance, and swiped his sword at her left side.
Neo gasped at the attack. She shot her foot out to stabilize herself then tried to get Law's sword up to block Zoro's attack. She swung the blade towards his, but didn't move fast enough. Zoro already had the blade of his sword less than an inch from her side. She blinked while he retracted his sword. She sighed. "Right. I need to work more on that."
"Let's proceed then." Zoro nodded. "We're going to pick it up another notch now. Are you ready?"
"Yup." Neo took her stance and waited for him to charge. She watched him closely until he got close enough to leap over him. She jumped up, flipped over his head, and then swiped Law's sword at Zoro.
Zoro was taken a bit by surprised by her leaping over him, but being the seasoned swordsman he easily recovered. He turned just in time to block her swipe. Their blades clashed with a loud clank.
Neo smiled at being able to take him by surprise before going back in for another attack. She sliced at him four times before blocked six of his attacks. The repetitive clanking of their blades resonated over the deck while the crew watched the swordplay before them.
…
"She's impressive," Robin said. She smiled while watching the sword sparing session. "Despite only having a few years of fighting experience, she's quite the little swordswoman."
"Yeah." Nami nodded. "She's a lot better than I expected her to be."
"I think this is a bit dangerous," Chopper said, his eyes carefully watching the fight. "But we all trust Zoro. We know he won't do anything to hurt her since she's not as skilled as he is."
"It's still fun to watch," Luffy said. He planted his hands on his hips and kept his eyes on Neo. "I want to play with her too. I wonder if she can use her crystals on me. Maybe we could come up with a combo attack or something. I'd also like to fly with her. Do you think she could fly me with her wings?"
"I don't see why not," Chopper said. "She trained with her own crew after all. I'm sure they have lots of practice fighting together."
"Flying you with her wind crystals would be less stressful on her," Robin said. "Her wings might only be able to hold herself and someone lighter."
"I still want to fly," Luffy said.
"She's also still under orders not to use her crystals any-Hey!" Chopper cried when Luffy ran past him. "I wasn't done talking to you!"
"Hey, Tra!" Luffy shouted as he ran past Chopper. He ran right over to Law and got in his face. "I want to play with Neo and her crystals! Lift your orders off of her!"
"No," Law replied, flatly.
"Aw, come on!" Luffy grabbed Law's hat and pushed it off his eyes. "We want to see what she can do!"
"You've already seen what she can do," Law said. He slapped Luffy's hand away from his hat. "I'm not retracting my orders."
"But she was having issues with her crystal back on Punk Hazard," Luffy whined. "We didn't get to see what all she can do."
"And that's precisely why she's not using them right now," Law replied.
…
Zoro smirked as he sliced his sword towards her. Neo moved Law's sword in front of her to block his attack, but switched her moves at the last second and leaped into the air with lightning fast reflexes. Zoro blinked. "Huh? What the…"
"Did I move too fast for you again?" Neo asked.
…
"Incredible moves!" Kin'emon gasped. "The woman is quite fast!"
"Indeed she is father," Momonosuke said. Both had their hands tucked inside their kimono sleeves. Their eyes were locked onto the sword battle before them.
…
Zoro looked to his right to find Neo's hand on his shoulder. He looked up to she see was doing a handstand on him while extended Law's sword out to the side so she wouldn't poke him with it. She smiled at him before bending her arm. She pushed off of him. Doing several spins, she sliced Law's sword at Zoro. The swordsman easily blocked the attack.
Neo planted her hand on the deck then flipped back onto her feet. Blocking Zoro's next attack before ducking past his sword. She slipped behind Zoro. When the swordsman turned around, Neo already had the sword's blade pointing at his neck. She smiled, panting slightly at the workout while Zoro wasn't winded at all.
"What the…How did you…" Zoro stared at the blade then at Neo. He then shot a glare at Sanji when the cook started to laugh at his unexpected defeat.
Neo shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I only won because you're holding back the majority of your strength. If you were even using a fourth of your strength, I know I wouldn't have won."
"True," Zoro said. He sheathed his sword. "I am better than you."
"And so modest," Neo said with a smirk. "Maybe someday I'll get better. Then we can really face off against each other."
"Usually it's not my thing to fight people who are weaker than I am," Zoro said. He crossed his arms and turned away from her in a bit of a huff. "It's a waste of my time. I was just curious to see how well you would do against me since you're so small."
"Well, how about if I add my crystals into the mix?" Neo asked, still panting a bit. Still holding Law's sword in her right hand, she planted her left hand on her hip. "Would that make it more tempting?"
"A sword fight backed up with the elements?" Zoro asked, rubbing his chin while considering the offer. "That might be worth while. If you can get strong enough with a sword that is."
"I'll work on that then," Neo said. She gave him a smile then turned towards Law. She tilted her head when she saw Luffy holding Law's wrist with his left hand while trying to grab Law's hat with his right hand. Law had his free hand pushing on Luffy's face, his sheath now lying on the deck. "What's going on?"
"Luffy's trying to get Law to let you use your crystals," Sanji said walking up to her. "While I agree with Law on having you rest since you've been having issues with your crystals, Luffy's not going to let this go. He can be such a pain."
"Yeah. I don't know if there's anything I can do to get Luffy to stop. Maybe I can convince Law to let me use my crystals for a short while then rest the remainder of the time we're sailing to Dressrosa," Neo said thoughtfully. "At least that way we can maintain some peace."
"Will Law go for that since he's so protective of you?" Sanji asked. "I mean we all don't want you to get hurt if your magic is messing up."
"It'll be fine. My crystals are back to normal. Law's just being over protective. Besides, he has a really hard time saying no to me when I really want something. Plus, I don't want tension between our crews," Neo said. She winked at Sanji before she walked over to Law and Luffy.
"Ah! She winked at me! She's so cute!" Sanji cooed with hearts in his eyes before coming back to his senses. He then chuckled. "Other than that, what you said is true. The less stress you're under the better things will be for you."
"Huh?" Zoro asked, turning to the cook. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"Nothing. It's something you wouldn't understand. This type of situation calls for a more delicate touch," Sanji said. He glared at Zoro. "And you have none."
"What's that suppose to mean?!" Zoro snapped. He pulled out his swords and pointed them at Sanji.
"Just shut up! I said Neo doesn't need to be under so much stress! So stop yelling and being such a jerk!" Sanji growled. He then turned and walked away. He headed back over to the railing. He leaned his back against it and placed his eyes on Neo, Law, and Luffy. Usopp had run over at that point and was trying to pull Luffy off Law. Neo was calmly trying to get Luffy to release Law before he decided to slice up the younger captain.
Robin stood up and walked over to Sanji. She scanned her eyes over her crew to make sure they weren't close enough to hear their conversation. She asked, "Do you think we should tell them?"
"Which ones? Law and Neo? Or our crew?" Sanji questioned.
"Perhaps all of them," Robin said.
"I'm not sure. On one hand, I want to tell them all so they know and can be prepared for whatever may happen while we're in Dressrosa," Sanji said. He took a puff on his cigarette and released it. "But then, on the other hand, it might be best if they didn't know. Law is clearly very protective of her and he's extremely focused on this mission that I'm not really surprised that he hasn't noticed. However, I'm sure he'll notice soon enough. And Neo's just so fragile that I'm worried that this will shock her far too much. We really don't need a hysterical woman on our hands. Besides, you heard her explanation on this subject earlier. Physically, she'll be fine if she's pulled into fights. Well, to a degree anyway."
"This is really a tricky situation we're in," Robin said. She crossed her arms over her chest while Sanji nodded.
"At the very least, we'll just make sure Neo is never alone at any point in time," Sanji said.
"It's a good thing then that our crew has already grown very fond of her," Robin said with a smile. "Perhaps we should consider telling at least a few of them."
…
"Will you stop trying to fight him?!" Usopp demanded while trying to pull Luffy away from Law. "You're going to get yourself cut in half!"
"So what?! I want Neo to use her crystals!" Luffy whined. His hands were still holding tightly on to Law as his body stretched out while Usopp pulled on his waist.
"Will you let go of me?! She's not using her crystals right now!" Law demanded. He did his best to hold out his hand towards Neo. "Neo, give me my sword!"
"Not until you settle back down," Neo said. She stood back four feet from them, holding his sword behind her so he couldn't snatch it out of her hands. "All right, you three, that's enough. How about a compromise?"
"Compromise?" Luffy and Usopp asked. They stopped struggling and looked at her.
"Don't you dare," Law said. He looked at Neo and frowned.
"Law, do you want some peace before we reach Dressrosa? Or do you want Luffy to drive you crazy?" Neo asked. She gave him a sweet smile. Her eyes sparkled at him and she could see him starting to immediately cave to her desires. "I can use my crystals for a couple hours to satisfy Luffy's curiosity and then rest the rest of the way. That's a decent compromise, isn't it?"
Law sighed. He considered her words and how Luffy was still holding onto his wrist then caved. He said, "Fine. You can use your crystals, but only for one hour."
"Four!" Luffy said.
"One!" Law replied.
"One hour isn't enough! I want to see her turn into the elements!" Luffy insisted. He tugged on Law's arm again.
"Luffy! Stop that!" Usopp demanded. He pulled on his captain again. "You have your compromise! Don't mess it up!"
"Three hours," Neo said, tapping into her royal tone. She regained their attention by using that tone. When they looked at her, she added, "That will give the Straw Hats enough time to explore my magic and fighting style. And that'll give me about four hours to rest afterwards. Can you all agree to that?"
"All right! Three hours it is!" Luffy cheered. He threw his hands up into the air, causing Usopp to fall backwards onto the deck.
Law gave a reluctant sigh. He said, "Fine. Three hours, but Neo is not going to turn into the elements. And she will take a two hour nap before we get to Dressrosa."
"A nap," Neo said. She pooched out her lips. "I should have seen that coming."
"Aw, but I want to see her as the elements," Luffy whine. He dropped his arms to his sides unaware of the glare that Usopp was giving him. "It sounds like such a cool move!"
"Luffy, listen, she's already told us that turning into the elements like that drains her magic," Usopp said. He stood back up and rubbed his now sore bottom. He held out his hand to Luffy like it would help reason with the dense captain "You don't want her to be weakened before we head into Dressrosa, right?"
"I think three hours plus a nap is a good deal," Chopper said. He walked over to the group. He looked up at his captain. "That's two doctors orders, Luffy."
"Aw, fine," Luffy conceded with a frown. His gloomy expression quickly vanished. A smile pulled across his lips. "Three hours. Let's get started then."
"Hold it, Luffy," Franky said. They all looked up at the cyborg when he walked over to them. "I still want to spar with her. And I want to do it without her crystals."
"Fine. But make it quick," Luffy said. He crossed his arms and pouted.
Neo nodded in agreement to everything that had just been said. She stepped closer to Law. She handed Law his sword back. She pecked his cheek then said, "You're so sweet for letting me do this."
"Yeah, yeah," Law grumbled. He sheathed his sword then crossed his arms with a pout on his lips. "You should have just let me slice him into multiple little pieces. It would have been a lot simpler."
"Well, look on the bright side of this, my love" Neo said. "At least Luffy will stop bothering you now. Well, for a while anyway." She chuckled and pecked his pouty lips, earning a sweet smile from him, before walking over to Franky.
The cyborg smiled. He said, "This'll just be a short sparing session. I just want to see how you move."
"Fine with me." Neo nodded. She ran her eyes over Franky's body. He's not as big a Jean Bart, but he's still going to be a bit difficult to take down without my crystals. I'll have to use our sizes to my advantage.
"Are you ready?" Franky asked.
"Mhmm." Neo nodded. She took her battle stance before Franky charged at her.
"Here I come!" Franky shouted. He pulled back his right fist. He swung it at her, but not with his full strength. She back flipped away from him. His fist making a small thump when it collided with the deck floor before he bounced off the deck and followed her. She easily jumped, flipped, and spun away from his punches and kicks. "You are fast."
"So are you," Neo replied. She jerked to the left to dodge another punch from him. "You can go a little faster if you want."
"Well, if you insist," Franky said before speeding up his attacks.
Neo dodged about six more punches and five more kicked before retaliating. She punched Franky's hand a couple times before leaping up and kicking at his head. Her shin collided with the back of his wrist. She winced a bit when her skin collided with his armored body then smirked at him. When he gave her a questioning loo, she stepped upon his fist. She pushed off of him and launched herself into the air. She was going to slam her heel into him, but remember she wasn't wearing her shoes and she wasn't using her crystals at the moment. So she just fell back towards him like she was going to punch him. When he readied himself to block her attempt by crossing his arms over his face, she flipped her body. Her foot landed on his hand and she pushed off of him again.
"Dang! I was right in fighting you without your crystals!" Franky said. "You would most likely flatten me! You're super!"
"Thanks! You're not so bad yourself! Though I'm not really sure if I could win against you. I don't know all of your moves after all." Neo pushed off the deck and charged forward. Franky charged at her at the same time. When he threw a punch at her, she ducked under his punch. She grabbed onto his wrist and, using him momentum, flipped him over her shoulder and onto his back.
…
"Wow!" Usopp gasped. "Did you see that?! She just flattened Franky! And he's got to be, what, ten times as big as she is!"
"She's amazing! That was incredible!" Luffy laughed as he clapped.
"And she's not even using her crystals!" Chopper said. "She must be super strong when she does!"
Law grinned a satisfied and proud grin. He said, "Of course she can take him down. I knew from the beginning that she would be facing several opponents who were going to be bigger than she is. I made sure she knew how to use both hers and their sizes again an enemy. She wouldn't be allowed into battles if she didn't master this technique."
"Her people must be crazy strong," Usopp said. He looked at Neo then back at Law.
"Magically speaking, they are. But, physically speaking, they're not as strong as you might think," Law said. "They're bodies are stronger than humans, but they never had a reason to battle in hand to hand combat. They only relied on their magic. While we were on Luminous, my crew trained them for a while. They taught the elementals different hand to hand combat techniques. So, if they continued with what they were taught, they should be better at fighting hand to hand than they use to be. Despite their magical advantage over us, our crew still gave them a hard time when we went to rescue Neo from them."
"That's crazy," Usopp said. He let his eyes drift back over to Neo and Franky. "I intend no offense when I say this, but I'm glad Neo is the way she is. It makes me tremble just thinking about what she could or would to the world if she had a mean, aggressive streak to her."
"Yeah! Go Neo!" Luffy cheered. "You're the best!"
Usopp glared at his captain. He then mumbled, "Then again…it makes me beyond terrified at what someone like Luffy would do with her magic abilities."
Law glanced at the sniper before his eyes drifted over to the Straw Hat captain. Against his will, his mind went over what all Luffy might do if he did have Neo's abilities. A thick sweat drop formed on his head from all of the devastating scenarios running through his mind. He wasn't sure which would be worse, a person with aggressive tendencies like Doflamingo or a brainless moron like Luffy wielding Neo's abilities. He shifted uncomfortably. He was never so glad that Neo was the one who held this magic. If she didn't, then the entire world would be in some serious trouble.
…
"Wow! I never would have guess such a small thing could flatten me like that," Franky said with a laugh. "I guess I underestimated you. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. A lot of people underestimate me for multiple reason," Neo replied while Franky stood back up. "I'm use to it. It gives me an even bigger advantage over them."
"It sure does. Let's proceed," Frank said. He charged back at Neo. He threw several punches, faster than before, and then kicked at her a few times.
Neo kept her eyes locked onto her opponent. She noticed that he was slowly speeding up him punches and kicks ever few minutes. And he wasn't giving her much of a chance to go on the offensive. Then she saw her chance. She ducked under a punch and propelled herself towards his face. She pushed off her feet and pulled back her fist. Slipping between his arms. She landed a punch on Franky's nose with a little more force than she had intended. She felt his nose give underneath her fist and heard a click. She gasped, not registering that the click wasn't the sound of a bone being broken, as he fell backwards onto his back with a loud thump. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry, Franky! I didn't mean to…"
Neo's voice trailed off. The panic left her eyes as she examined Franky's hair. What use to be a short, buzz cut was now a grayish blue, bear shape hairstyle on the cyborg's head. Franky laughed. "Got caught off guard again!"
"I didn't break your nose," Neo said. She reached out and tugged on one of the ears. "What happened to your hair? It's different now."
"Huh? Oh, that! It's a feature I added into myself when I did all of my upgrades," Franky said. He looked at the young woman sitting on his chest. She hand her left hand planted on his chest for balance while her right hand was still tugging on his hair.
"How did…I hit your nose," Neo said. She curiously tilted her head to the left then to the right. "I thought I broke your nose. Your hair looks like a bear. It reminds me of Bepo. It's so cute."
"Naw! You didn't break anything," Franky replied. He pointed to his nose. "Go ahead and push it again."
Neo tugged on his hair once more before lowering her hand to his face. She reached for his nose, but hesitated before pressing it. She heard the click again then Franky's hair changed once more. She squealed with delight then giggled when his bear shaped hair changed again. His hair was now in four tall spikes. "That's so cool!"
"It's super!" Franky shouted with a laugh.
Neo laughed and pressed his nose again.
"Yeah! I want to play too!" Luffy shouted as he ran over to them. He pretty much tackled Neo before pressing Franky's nose himself. All three laughed at the constant hair changes they were causing. The cyborg's hair became like wings, a beetle's pinchers, a cannon, two braids, a mohawk, and an afro, causing more laughter from the childlike pirates.
"I'm coming too!" Chopper said. He ran over to them and jumped upon Franky's chest.
"Hey now! Not too many!" Franky protested to the added weight. He then wrapped his arms around the three sitting on his chest and jumped back to his feet. "If you all want to sit on me, then we're going to do it the right way! With Franky Tank!"
"Yeah! Franky Tank!" Luffy and Chopper cheered.
"Franky Tank?" Neo asked.
"Yeah!" Chopper nodded. "He was using that when we ran into you and Law for the first time back on Punk Hazard!"
"So that's what that was," Neo said.
"Would you like to see it?" Franky asked.
"Yeah!" Neo nodded with a bright smile.
"Then let's go! Franky Tank!" Franky cheered.
"Yeah!" Luffy and Chopper shouted.
Neo laughed at their silliness then watched as Franky changed into his Franky Tank mode. She remained smiling while he picked her up and sat her on his shoulder. He kept his hand over her thighs so he wouldn't throw her off while he roamed over the deck.
"Hey! Watch it!" Zoro shouted when Franky almost ran over him.
"Sorry!" Neo called back to him while the others just laughed at the angry swordsman.
…
Law leaned back against the mast. He was watching his love enjoying herself with a smile on his face. He was glad she was getting along so well with this crew. It would help her not be so homesick and she won't miss their crew as much until they could reunite with them. Law found his smile faded a bit. He knew that it was still a huge gamble. There was a huge chance that they wouldn't make it out of Dressrosa alive. He shook his head. He didn't want to think like that. And he certainly didn't want to let those thoughts pass to Neo. He wanted to reunite her with their crew. And he was hoping he could do that. He forced himself to push those thoughts of out his mind. Instead, he focused on Neo, on how she was enjoying herself and how cute she looked sitting on top of the cyborg's shoulder.
Law twitched. His eyes landed on Franky's hand that was on his love's legs. He grumbled. No one was suppose to be touching her legs like that, at all. Only he could touch her. And he wanted to touch her, in so many ways. He felt his body grow warm when he remembered the suggestion she passed to his earlier that morning. But the condom dilemma was still an issue. He wanted her, but he didn't have protection.
He glanced around at the Straw Hat crew, wondering which one most likely had what he needed and who he'd be comfortable asking for one. He really didn't feel like asking any of them. He didn't want them to know if they did have romantic intimacies. He might just have to steal one.
Another thought came to Law's mind then. Even if he did acquire protection, he had no clue where they could go to actually be alone. This ship only had two bedrooms, the men's and the women's. The men's room was certainty out of the question. He wasn't going to share her with anyone in any kind of way. He could feel his desires starting to slip away from him. He really didn't want to use the women's bedroom either. Maybe he could take her to one room and say he was going to take a nap with her. He knew, for Neo, they wouldn't come disturb them. He then could warp her to another part of the ship where they could spend some time alone before entering into Dressrosa. Law's lips curled back into a smile. He had his plan. All he had to do now was be patient.
…
Author's Notes: Yeah gonna give Law and Neo a little love next chapter. Sorry if I missed a lot of mistakes. I had a mega headache last night and can't comprehend things very well at the moment.
XBurningXDragonX: Yup, he's gonna feel it. If Neo took painkillers, she wouldn't be in pain anymore so Law wouldn't be in pain either.
SilverHerron: Still working on their interactions. Some like Zoro and Brook aren't coming easily. I'm unsure about having them spar with her here. But I figured out how to get her and Zoro some more time together when in Dressrosa. And think I figured out how to get her to 'at least' meet Rebecca and a couple Tontattas. You read my mind on Law's hat. She's going to steal from him soon.
Apple Bloom: That would be a major shock.
Inazumame1997: Working on more bonding moments with them.
Rodinaashraf: They are sweet. And Law is a bit dense at the moment. Luffy's so loveable. Never thought of him asking 'that'.
Ashley123654: He doesn't want to upset Neo since she's so delicate. He doesn't want to tell Law because he's so focused on his plans. But Law will figure it out soon, real soon.
MissSakurako: Sanji is sweet. We'll see what happens with the condom situation next chapter. No problem on answering questions. I don't mind a bit. He is a bit slow at the moment I guess. But he'll figure it out really soon.
