The Man with the Iron Horse

When they returned to their room for the night, she was momentarily confused by how the sleeping arrangements would turn out. After all, there was only one bed, and Mia would rather not share her personal space with anyone.

Mihawk didn't look like he was in a position to negotiate, or even address the matter entirely. When they entered the room and Mihawk locked the door behind them, he threw off his jacket, slumped it over one of the chairs alongside his hat and promptly passed out on the bed without so much as a word. Soft snores reverberated off of him as Mia stared at him unsurely.

For a second her mind froze. She had an opportunity to escape. There was so much going for her right now. Mihawk was passed out, evidently exhausted. Mia herself was feeling rather spry thanks to her afternoon nap. The door was right there. All she had to do was take the chance. Surely, this escape could turn out better than the last one. She'd be long gone by the time Mihawk woke up.

She let her eyes sweep over his still form. He'd never promised he wouldn't turn her into the World Government. As far as Mia believed, she was still very much in danger and in no way guaranteed her safety. Although Mihawk promised they would address the situation the next morning, there was nothing keeping him to his promise. For all she knew he merely said what he had said to keep her at ease or to keep her from scrambling away from him... who knew?

Despite the door being right there, something was keeping her from leaving. Mihawk's snores was her only focus for an instant. It was as if she couldn't understand what she was doing, although it made sense to do it. Part of her felt guilty, she guessed, because Mihawk had been such a gentleman this evening - he bought her new clothes and paid for dinner ...even dessert, which was completely unnecessary, albeit not unappreciated.

He was a different type of conundrum, meaning, most powerful men confused Mia, but Mihawk seemed to be on a different level. Not power-wise, but it was something Mia couldn't put her finger on. He was refreshing and infuriating at the same time.

Mia bit her lip, very unsure of what her next course of action could be. If she succeeded in convincing him to not turn her in, she'd be free. If she escaped successfully, she'd be free. If she couldn't convince him in the first place, she'd be captured. If she escaped and he caught up with her, she'd be captured.

This was so difficult all of a sudden. She found herself torn between fleeing and remaining in a very comfortable captive situation, which is something a captive should not have been having moral conflict with.

Mihawk's snores began to drawl through the room. Clearly he was drained. All of a sudden Mia felt bad. He could've just gotten in bed the moment they reached the inn - he didn't need to take her out for dinner and even get her new clothes all for her comfort.

She sighed. Without thinking, she stepped closer to Mihawk's still form and stealthily leaned over to inspect him. Thoughtlessly she brushed some of her curly locks behind her ear as she leaned in even closer.

"Mihawk?" she whispered, barely audible. "Are you asleep?"

Such a silly question, she berated herself. Clearly the man was passed out. Yet she felt the need to try and test the waters around him.

She retreated her form after Mihawk merely responded with a gruff noise, somewhere between a snort and a throaty snore. Her feet remained in place for a few seconds before they made the decision for her.

As a Water Elemental, Mia had the lightest feet among all her sisters. Razu had a tendency to walk rather sluggishly, with elephant-like strides, shoulders pushed forward and toes peeled apart in order to feel the rough ground and gravel underneath her feet. Nama had a habit of walking on the heels of her feet, strutting in steady and thumping rhythm - the worse her mood, the harder she walked.

So it was with astounding grace did Mia maneuver herself across the room, the padding of her feet nonexistent to the human ear. Mihawk may have had a good eye, but his ears seemed to be letting him down. She reached the door and gripped the handle with a warm sweaty hand - she pulled.

The door creaked with a sound that shocked her still and she visibly cringed. Her head shot around to see Mihawk still comfortably sleeping on the edge of the bed. He was as still as a rock. His breathing was heavy, although his snores had started to die away. Not believing her luck, Mia felt sweat begin to form on her forehead.

Just out of the door and she'd make another run for it. Almost there.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

'I just can't believe how easy that was. Neptune, that man is deaf.'

Despite Mihawk's inability to take note of his audible surroundings, Mia was still impressed that she had managed to get away from him a second time. Plus, this time was different than the first. She had a notable lead, easily a few hours. The only area where she had slipped up was forgetting her staff, something she wanted to smack herself for forgetting ...again. She contemplated going back for it, but pushed the idea away a second later. She couldn't stretch her luck anymore - who knew when it was going to run out.

In the still and late night the streets of the village were more or less empty. Lights still shone in the aftermath of the success of the busy market, but as the evening was inching towards dawn, people had gone indoors to try and catch a few more hours rest before the next eventful day arrived. Mia was looking for the docks, pulled by the sense she grabbed from presence that came from water. She kept north for a good few minutes, until she met a wall and had to go around a few blocks until she was heading north again. Nerves churned in her stomach at the thought of Mihawk catching up to her, although she continuously tried to reassure herself that he was sound asleep and passed out back in the inn.

She continued jogging north, until the night sky and the lights shimmered off the dark abyss that was the night ocean in the distance. Keen to get away, she quickened her pace in order to get on the water and away from the island. She halted at the docks, taking a moment to look across the water and take in her last surroundings. For a second she wary of leaving - she had no idea where she was or where she was going. In the longs run it wouldn't matter because she'd use underwater streams and the tendency of the winds to navigate. But she wasn't Nami. These oceans were vulgar and vicious - they refused to communicate with her, as if they didn't trust her intentions. It was as if they had been abused at some point and would not relinquish trust so easily like before.

Nonetheless, she could control it to some extent, at least enough to help in her escape. Tentatively she reached the docks end. Hurrying and with shaking hands, she took off her new shoes, which were aching from the newness of the soles and clutched them firmly in her hands. She didn't want to sound ungrateful, but Mihawk could've gotten her a pair of socks...

The bottoms of her feet became wet in the most relaxing notion of wistfulness she hadn't felt in a while. Before she dared to take a few steps, she glanced around to make sure the area was deserted. Usually when she manipulated water in this world, people assumed she was a mermaid, and that was not necessarily a good thing as most mermaids got captured and sold at auction, and that really wasn't a favorable situation.

After making sure she was alone and there were no witnesses, Mia took off at a comfortable jog, hoping the movements would ease her stiff muscles. She ran into the night, using the half-moon as her guide and reading the waves through her feet. She made good headway for what she estimated was about twenty minutes, but running in the dark night in the middle of the ocean was rather frightening - however, it fuelled her adrenaline and she ran for another ten minutes after taking a break.

After a few more minutes of running Mia began to realize that she had greatly overestimated herself and felt rather miserable standing in the middle of the dark on the ocean surface. The waves picked up as a breeze rolled over now and again.

Standing on the water, Mia went on her haunches and cupped some sea water in her hands. Still heaving, she forced herself to focus for a few seconds until the water in her hands momentarily glowed with light. When the light dimmed and disappeared, Mia raised it to her face and drank greedily. She repeated the process a few times until she felt sated.

Then she continued her trek into the blackness of the night with nothing but a half globe dangling in the air as her guide. If only Nama was here, then she'd know how many more hours before the sun would rise.

xxxxxxxxx

Somewhere through her journey, Mia decided she had put enough distance between her and Mihawk and shifted her pace to a speedy walk. She kept herself alert for possible ships heading her way or in her own way - she was set on not making any contact with anyone possibly dangerous for a while. She contemplated her future as she walked for another two hours. The chilliness of the sea was resounding, but she felt an underlying heat that could only signal that dawn was nearby.

Her plan was to find her nieces, yet she hadn't the faintest clue where to start looking. She figured if she just kept a low profile for a while and moved from island to island, she would hear about them at some point. No, that wouldn't be very effective. She needed to get to the Grand Line, and sure enough she'd meet up with them there. Somewhere. Sometime.

Mia sighed. She was tired. Her nerves were on edge from constantly looking over her shoulder, expecting a small boat to stealthily follow her until she succumbed to her exhaustion. She vaguely wondered what troubles and adventures Nera got herself into when she was in this world. In fact the moment the topic shit into Mia's head, she started to contemplate it a bit.

Why would Nera keep it a secret? What really happened in this world and did she really battle with the Pirate King, Gol. D Roger? Knowing Nera, the pirates probably did something to piss her off royally, and she wasn't exactly known for her peace-keeping skills. Not that Nera was this heartless witch who always wanted her way and didn't stand to listen to others. She was just - Mia had to think - a little opinionated, overconfident and slightly sour from her first marriage being a failure.

Despite that, Nera had amazing attributes too that made her a great sister and mother - she had a doctorate as a medical practitioner, which she obtained in one of the human worlds; she had three degrees, one in psychology and the other in marine-biology (Mia didn't know about the third one); she was experienced with healing, loved her current husband ...

Mia stopped herself mid-thought. It didn't make sense.

She blinked at the sudden appearance of an orange streak dancing on the waters at her feet. Her head lifted to witness a glorious sunrise, yet the reward was bittersweet thanks to her aching heels and toes - running on water came naturally, but it was twice as exhausting as normal jogging. Nevertheless, the sun had appeared at a much needed time, and she started to follow the orange and yellow streaks that stained the surface of the calm waters she walked on.

She continued on until the orange globe of the sun started to sharply peek above the distant waters. Mia narrowed her eyes in order to keep the sharp light at bay, and slowed down her pace in order to take in the heat of the new day.

An hour and a half later the sun was fully visible, glowing red more than yellow and rising steadily to bake the planet's surface. Mia felt herself sweat profusely and took off her sweater to reveal her white tank top. She would no doubt get sunburn, but that was nothing a quick healing session couldn't fix. As her feet glided across the water, she felt her nerves die down a bit. Soon enough she'd reach land and possibly find food somewhere - she wasn't keen on stealing, but she'd figure that one out when she got there.

Another solid hour passed and she had broken out into a sweat. Her stomach growled in protest, the previous night's food already replaced by empty space. Mia speculated that if she didn't reach another island in the next few hours, she might have to turn around and face Mihawk in defeat. She shivered at the thought.

Something began to tickle at the senses in Mia's feet. She halted in her steps to try and read the waves again. Her face knotted in concentration as she felt the cooling senses of familiarizing ice molecules poking at her feet.

'This isn't possible. I'm the only Ice Elemental …where is that coming from?' she thought in frustration. She turned on the spot and found the source to be protruding from the west. Squinting her eyes, she spotted a moving dot on the horizon. It gradually grew bigger and bigger as it was coming straight for Mia's position. She broadened her stance and straightened her back, getting ready for a possible battle.

As the mysterious figure came closer and closer, Mia began to question her sanity. Surely she was witnessing a mirage …because a man was riding a bicycle on the ocean towards her.

She blinked. No, that wasn't right. He was riding on a path of ice that stretched out in front of him incessantly as he moved. By the relaxed pace of his peddling, Mia assumed he wasn't in any particular hurry. But he was coming straight for her whether by chance or purposefully. Even so, she didn't let her guard down.

As the man neared, she saw him spot her. What got her was his obvious lack of surprise, as if he found women standing on waves in the middle of the ocean every other day. He continued pedaling and stopped when he was only about ten feet away from where Mia was standing. For a moment, both stared at each other in what Mia could only describe as a monotonous moment. He appeared utterly bored with the situation, as if nothing in the world surprised him.

"Uhm, excuse me?" Mia ventured, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear that the breeze was trying to pick up. "Who are you?"

He raised an eyebrow in slight amusement, perhaps his most animated emotion in his arsenal of expressions. He swung his leg over the seat of his bike, climbed off and stood beside it without so much as making the bike move. He was a predominantly tall gentlemen, lean in his stance, curly dark hair with a strong jaw.

"My name is Aokiji …you're standing on the water," he remarked dryly after his just as dry introduction. His jacket swayed in the breeze. Despite his lax demeanor, he was rather intimidating in size.

"I …you're mistaken. I'm standing on ice, like you are," she responded nervously, making quick work of the pressure in her feet to freeze the surface around her legs before he could take notice. Unfortunately, he did, and he actually expressed something beyond amusement …like …slight surprise.

"Ice? We have the same Devil Fruit ability?" he asked, interested as he took in her form and stood looking at the frozen circle. "Perhaps that is why I was compelled to go for a ride so early. Although, I've never heard of two people having the same Devil Fruit Ability. Did you eat the Hie Hie no Mi Fruit?"

"No, I …uhm …ate the, uh, Kori no Kori Fruit," she lied through her teeth. "It's a little different, I think."

He seemed interested all of a sudden and looked around him. "Are you alone?"

"Yes." It was pretty obvious.

His long face then turned sympathetic. "Are you lost?"

'Come on, Mia. Be believable. Play the damsel in distress card.'

"I …I …yes!" she feigned breaking out into sobs. She put her face in her hands and pushed sounds through her throat to simulate crying. With some effort, she pushed water through her eyes, which wasn't painful, only rather uncomfortable when it didn't happen naturally.

She heard Aokiji walk closer as more ice began to form around them. She felt heavy material that must've been his jacket fall over her shoulders and then chose to look up with the most distressing face she could muster. He stared down at her with great sympathy, touched by her vulnerability and his stance emitting a sense of duty.

"You're in luck," he said, patting her shoulder lightly with his large hand. Mia felt chills bouncing off his spiritual energy as she blinked up at him with big eyes. "I am a Marine Admiral."

Her heart nearly stopped and it was with mere luck that she didn't respond with shock at all. Instead she was able to feign slight relief unto her features while looking up at him.

To think that out here in the middle of nowhere she would run into an actual Marine Admiral. Ever since her first encounter with the marines upon rescuing Zoro, she was rather curious whether they had a bounty on her head or something. So far, no wanted poster had been printed with her face on it. Though it will only be a matter of time before Mera and Nino get their own ones, because when you're part of Luffy's crew, you've signed up for a lifetime of trouble. Aokiji didn't seem to recognize her or know what she was – she figured Mihawk hadn't gone to the lengths of actually informing the Government that he had her, which in itself was peculiar, as he seemed rather set on her capture.

For a moment Aokiji lingered, as if he was contemplating something deep. Then his hand moved to her back and started to gently nudge her in the direction of his bicycle.

"Perhaps it would be best if I took you to the nearest headquarters and we can figure it out from there. Rest assured, ma'am, we will get you back safely to your family."

Mia really wanted to believe him.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mihawk was awakened by the stuffy sensation of his pillow on his hot face. Turning onto his back, he felt groggy as he opened his eyes and slowly blinked at the ceiling a few times. He'd passed out rather sulkily last night, forgetting about the woman and throwing caution to the wind. He turned his head, expecting to see her either sleeping next to him on the bed or in one of the comfy chairs in the corner.

He saw nothing. She was gone. Her staff was still perched in the corner of the room but she was nowhere to be seen.

He scrambled to his feet in hurry, cursing his negligence and praying that she was busy in the bathroom. Once he was on his feet he stepped away from the bed and leered into the bathroom – the door was open to begin with so that already told him that she probably was not located there. He scanned the room once more, seeing nothing and he became frustrated, more so with himself than anyone else. He couldn't believe how casual he was being at the time. Why wasn't he more alert? Why didn't he keep his guard up?

Sighing, he guessed the damage was already done. Grabbing his hat, he placed it on his head with more force than necessary, irritated too early in the day. He had little possessions to gather, as he liked to travel light when he was alone, he strode out the room and shut the door behind him, the woman's absurd staff in hand. He needed to get on her trail, though there was no telling how far along she was or where she was for that matter. Either she was hiding in the village somewhere, or she'd taken the high road and he probably wouldn't find her for another two or three days.

Taking the stairs down to the inn's reception, he contemplated what his next move should be. He figured he'd ask around a bit to see if anyone spotted her last evening and then he'd take it from there. Even if he couldn't find anything on her, he'd track her down sooner or later. He knew the surrounding area rather well and there were only a few remote islands she could be if she didn't travel for longer than a day.

Mihawk left the inn after checking out and returning the key and made quick work walking down the village's busy morning market. He visited a few stalls he liked to visit often and asked around if anyone had seen her. It wasn't hard to not spot her. She was uncannily beautiful with unsettling cerulean eyes, lively hair that framed her perfect and the petite frame that had soft curves. Although, when he described her like people tended to think he was infatuated with her. If only they understood that he was a man that paid attention to detail and had a sharp eye to go with it. It also didn't hurt that he was a man with particular tastes and she was an astonishing beauty to begin with.

After walking up and down the whole market, he found himself in front of the shrimp stand from the previous night. The owner was outside hoisting crates of fresh shrimp on top of each other but stopped when he spotted Mihawk. He smiled.

"Looking for your wife?" he asked suddenly. Mihawk arched an eyebrow beneath the shadow of his hat. He stared the man down intently, choosing not to speak – instead, he wanted to will an answer out of the man with sheer intensity.

"That's some special lady you've got there," the owner of the stall remarked with a somewhat spooked, yet still quite friendly, face. "I was out picking up empty crates by the dock – you know local fisherman are nice enough to leave us some there if we need them. Anyway, I had enough crates so started to leave the docks. It was empty. I thought it was only me. I sleep late, you know."

Noticing Mihawk's powerful and impatient stare, the man stood up straighter and sped up his words. "Anyway, I was about to leave and I saw your wife there. I was about to call out to her, see if she was okay and all that. Then she did the strangest thing. I actually thought I was dreaming."

"What?" Mihawk ground out, crossing his arms.

"She walked on the water!" the man nearly exclaimed, flinging his arms around as if he'd never been more shocked in his life. "Then she took off running! I came back home and had a few drinks. I was pretty sure I imagined it. Now you're here so I'm guessing it wasn't some kind of hallucination."

"Which direction was she heading?" Mihawk asked, tired of the man's incessant talking.

The man scratched the side of his head. "North, I guess."

Without bidding the man goodbye, Mihawk turned on his heels and headed for the docks. The island was rather minute so it didn't even take him five minutes to reach the place. When he arrived he instantly spotted the Marine ship docked in the middle. Mihawk felt a muscle in his eye twitch. It always took something out of him to work with the marines – but he chose the life of a War Lord, a life that surely offered great comfort and luxury in his life. Thus, he tolerated them, and they feared him enough to not push or order him around too highhandedly. He liked to believe that they held some degree of respect for him, as he was a living legend. Of course, there will always be marines who hate pirates, War Lord or not.

He was rather surprised to find them here on this remote and innocent little island where there were more or less no bandits. Besides that, he guessed he shouldn't be so surprised to see them. It was a moderately convenient location for pirates to restock. Even whilst being a War Lord, he did not go to considerable lengths to check up on what the marines were doing and whatnot.

A few cadets were standing around the docked vessel, either talking or barking orders. Mihawk approached, and when they spotted him, their backs straightened more than was humanly possible and they began to quiver in their little marine uniforms.

"W-war Lord Mihawk!" one cadet exclaimed, probably trying to greet him out of respect. It sounded like a cry for help, more than anything else. Mihawk looked at the frightened cadet.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked the cadet, who looked ready to pass out.

The cadet gulped. "W-we're restocking, sir. We left the n-nearest headquarters just a few about a day ago, but the captain was running low on tobacco-"

"Nearest headquarters?" he cut the man across, tipping his head up to stare down on the cadet more heavily. The other seemed to having the most terrifying conversation of his life.

"T-there is a small island just a few miles north-west from here. It's a-a small marine base that monitors the ships that pass through these small batch of islands in the area," the cadet bravely finished, looking rather impressed with himself that he hadn't soiled himself whilst standing in front of one of the most feared pirates in the world.

Mihawk let the cadet's words sink in. He knew about the island and he had a suspicion it belonged to the marines, though he didn't know it was a base. Even in his most curious state, he'd been too lazy to check it out. He noticed the cadet look at him unsurely.

"S-sir, you're not thinking of visiting the base are you? Because right now Admiral Akainu and Admiral Aokiji-"

Not listening anymore, Mihawk promptly turned around and left. He had no more interest in what the cadet had to say. He had to get on the woman's trail and he was already wasting time as it was – but that's something the marines had a knack for doing. He ignored the cadet's protests and spotted his vessel still docked where he left it.

His sharp eyes settled in the horizon, trying to spot something along the shade of the light blue sky.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mia could go on and on about what happened in the next few hours. Personally, she'd rather not go into the details. The events pertaining to her current predicament were frustrating enough, but sitting in front of Admiral Akainu, tied to a chair behind his desk caused her to believe that Neptune had no sympathy with her. Aokiji had been nice enough. Though it was only cursed – not even everyday-bad-luck – but cursed luck that she was recognized even before entering the base and was expertly captured by Aokiji.

Although, Mia liked to believe she let herself be captured.

Looking back, the irony of her situation stung like a bee. She'd been running from Mihawk, intent on not getting caught by the World Government, and here she was, sitting tied in a wooden chair like a plank-stiff frozen corpse.

Akainu seemed intent on wanting to stare a burning hole through her form from where he sat in front of her, clicking his pen impatiently.

No more than a few words had been spoken between the two. For the most part it had been Akainu asking questions. The moment he plopped down in front of Mia, she decided she disliked the man. It wasn't within her nature to simply hate someone for no reason, but he had the kind of face and body language that made her want to sway water with a slap through his face.

On Akainu's desk was Mia's bag with which she came into this realm. As mentioned before, she lost it when rescuing Zoro upon his recruitment. She was rather irked to find the straps hanging open, so obviously they had been snooping through her belongings. No doubt they wouldn't be able to identify even half of the things in her bag. Mostly it carried herbs and transportation orbs she used to travel about the realms. She wasn't initially worried about losing them in the first place, as it required her blood to function. That, and it was relatively easy creating a new one.

"Let's start again …" Akainu ground out in a passive voice, clearly unimpressed with his captive. Mia narrowed her eyes at the man. He'd already questioned her on the essentials. Who was she? Mia. What was she? A young woman who was very lost at the moment. Where did she come from? A foreign and far away land. What was she doing here? Why, she was on holiday. What were the contents in the bag? A few trinkets and herbs.

She couldn't possibly fathom why he was so frustrated with her. She'd been as honest as possible, and quite frankly, very cooperative. At no point had she offered resistance and yet she was still tied to a chair like some kind of animal.

"Where are you from?" Akainu stressed, eyes intensely locked on her azure ones.

Mia tried not to squirm in her chair. "Why don't you tell me why I have been arrested? Don't I have rights or something?"

Akainu huffed. "You have been suspected of acts of piracy."

"On what grounds?!" Mia exclaimed, nearly yelling.

Akainu leaned forward over his table, eyes burning. For a brief moment he fiercely intimidating and Mia understood all of a sudden why this man was in charge at this establishment. Beside the fact that he was physically huge, his static and hard face had an effect that could rattle someone to the bone ...or their very soul, for that matter. From what she could sense from his spirit, he was astutely rigid in person. Unyielding. Aggressive.

She needed to get out of here.

Her energy locked on the surrounding resources. Akainu continued talking and she steeled her face on his eyes in order to create a focus point for herself. She felt the water in the walls, moving at quant speeds in the building's piping. In her mind, she was already forming a map of the building's intricate piping system.

'Focus. All it needs is a little pressure. Come on, Mia.'

There was a moment where Akainu stopped his talking - his words had fallen on deaf ears. As if he knew she was up to no good, he narrowed his eyes at her while she took a second to look back at him. She narrowed her own eyes, braced herself and then shut them.

BANG

The walls burst with a surrounding clap that went off like a bomb. Water exploded through numerous gaping holes on the sides of Akainu's office. The windows built in were shattered by the force of the explosion while the water forced itself into the room. A commotion had already started outside as the building's alarm went off in a high pitched siren.

Akainu's back shot up straight the moment the walls crumbled. His eyes shot to the water flowing into his office at a rapid pace and then to Mia's challenging eyes - her face was stoic and darkened in a way that sent a ghost up his spine, though he was able to not show it.

Mia knew she had only a few seconds. The water was already at her ankles and in the current situation that would be more than enough. Taking advantage of Akainu's seemingly shell-shocked state, she kicked up her legs and swayed two sharp streaks of water swiftly through the air. One flew into Akainu's face, knocking him off his feet and on his back into the pool of water on his floor. The other sliced around Mia, and she heard the satisfying sound of the ropes coming undone around her.

Quickly getting to her feet, she noticed Akainu was already on his own and stumbling for balance. The water seemed to be weakening him greatly. Mia felt her confidence spike. Of course. A Devil Fruit User.

Her hands fumbled for her bag on the desk. Familiar after using it for years, she secured the straps in a matter of seconds and tied the bag safely around her middle. Hopefully it wouldn't fall off.

"Witch!" Akainu yelled at the top of his lungs. His doors burst open and five cadets stood in the doorway scrambling through the water that was already up to their knees. The infrastructure around everyone was starting to collapse and Mia turned her back on Akainu, knowing he was already defeated by the surrounding water that dragging him down. She turned to face the cadets who took in wide stances and aimed their rifles at her steady form. Moving her arms in a fluid motion, the water around her began to follow and a large amount weaved through the air in spinning cycles of whirlpools. The cadets were distracted for a mere second, but it was all Mia needed to clap her hands together and force the water in the air to wash over the cadets and knock them over.

She bolted, running on the water out of the office. The hallway it lead into was long, giving her a chance to build up speed. The water pooling into the building was gradually becoming more and more. Clearly she had made more pipes burst without intending to, but in the end it did not matter. It was to her advantage, either way.

A few more cadets appeared in the hallway, so out of nowhere that she had to stop in her tracks. Another group appeared behind her, shouting orders for her to surrender. Bending her knees, Mia moved her arms, calling two sheaths of water into the air like before. Quickly spinning counter-clockwise, both sliced through the air - one knocked the one group off their footing and the other did the same with the other group.

Again, she sprinted to get away from the cadets. As she ran, she pushed energy into her heels, effectively freezing the water she left behind her as she fled, hoping it would freeze the cadets in their tracks. She maneuverered herself around a few corners where she met no resistance. This was a small base to begin with, nothing more than a tower built on a big rock in the middle of the ocean. Mia thanked Neptune for this, but also prayed that she wouldn't run into Aokiji.

She came to a lounge that was also empty. Water had ruined most of the furniture and debris from the wall was scattered everywhere. She examined the room and found a large window that was nearly the entire wall's size. By some miracle it had not shattered.

"Hold it right there!" A voice shouted behind her and Mia turned to see a much larger group of cadets standing in formation and ready to shoot her down. Acting on a split second she took a step back, bended her back all the way down to the floor whilst athletically bending her knees and flung back up like a whip. The water jumped as if it had been electrocuted and splashed in all directions of the room.

The cadets stumbled over each other, swallowed by the immense wave that threw and flung them into the walls. The window shattered and Mia made her move.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mihawk docked at the base of the marines, only to find water streaming out of the tower's windows and exits as it had been flooded. He stepped off his fleet, finding the scene surprising, but at the same time feeling no panic. The Marines had an unrivalled talent for screwing up - royally, now that he was on the subject. He surveyed the damage from where he stood. It looked as if the building's entire design was starting to fail and it would collapse on itself at any minute.

Seeing all the water, he could only guess who was responsible.

Just as he was about to move towards the building, the ground shook faintly as a large window at the very top burst in a spectacular fashion. Water exploded from the frame like an endless waterfall. The water stretched down until it connected with the ocean below and created an unending stream of thick uninterrupted water pouring down. Adding to the effect, he saw Mia emerge from the frame, gliding on the water in a focussed position as she surfed the stream down at a neck-breaking pace. His eyes caught her form for a second.

He'd never admit how impressed he was at that moment.

She entered the ocean's depths in a hard collision. Her body was swallowed by the blue of the water. For an instant Mihawk was sure she wouldn't emerge, but then she broke surface as her glorious blue head of hair flung around her head while she gasped for breath. He was astounded that she had surfaced merely seconds later, especially after a fall like that. Magically, water spun in a whirlpool around her head and soon her whole body was above the sea's surface. Her beautiful face seemed haunted as she stumbled to get her footing on the waves of the water. Her stance then widened and her face contracted in concentration. After bending her knees, she lifted one of her legs and brought it down in a demanding stomp that broke the water.

She sent a tidal wave rushing towards the building, easily 30 feet tall.

The wave moved at an alarming speed. She didn't even bother to see the effect of her attack, as she then adjusted her stance one more. As the wave hit the side of the building, throwing it off its already broken balance, she froze a formation of ice around her feet. Mihawk deduced that it was meant to resemble a surfboard of some kind. As if kicking a non-existent engine to life, she brought her foot down in another powerful demand and a jet stream of water propelled her away from the base and into freedom.

After witnessing all of that, all that Mihawk could wonder was why he had stood by and done nothing.

His eyes focused on her receding form in the ocean's distance. He could easily catch up to her, and judging by the direction she was heading in, he could also work out which island she would be most likely to reach first. The rumble of the building distracted him from his stare and sure enough the walls began to crack and crumble. Feeling no need to see the building's imminent demise, Mihawk turned on his heel and climbed into his vessel.

He set off, only relieved that no one had seen him as he arrived. He followed the stream the woman was leaving behind as she jetted away from the falling base. As he continued, the tumbling of the tower's walls impressed him more and more.

He had underestimated her greatly.

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A/N: Oh, I'm so glad I finally got this finished. It was rather challenging to write, but I think it turned out okay. The reviewers have been amazing and ALWAYS motivate me. YOU GUYS ROCK MY SOCKS.

Special thanks to my friend ArkAngel1179 for helping me beta this thing.

Drop me a review. I am extremely anxious to hear what you guys think of this chapter.

***REVIEW RESPONSES***

Nowriting: Thank you! I'm glad when someone says they enjoy my writing and I'm ecstatic to hear you like the plot. :D

Travelingfirefist: Stop, you're making me blush. Thank you so much!

BatmanSwim2016: Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Nuntis: Thank you!

DarkAngelLida: What a great review. Oh, and don't make the mistake thinking Mia is weak. Yes, the first five sisters are most certainly stronger, but the younger ones have a certain edge that make them a little more unique, if you get what I mean. I hope you've seen in this chapter what she is capable of and know that it is definitely not the extent of her abilities. In this fic, Mia is a developing character, meaning she grows stronger as we go along. Also, she had to raise the twins, so she has a little less experience in the field seeing as she had to play teacher and nanny. I hope that makes things clear! Thanks for your support!

Vesper's Crow: Thank you. I'm relieved I was able to create a sense of complexity between Mia and Mihawk. We all know that relationships are formed and they grow, they don't just manifest magically when people meet. I'm glad you enjoy it so far and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Thanks to MikomiCosplay, FatasyWriterR, belladu57 for reviewing as well!