**Rewritten and updated 8/30/2023
Chapter Two, Secrets Unveiled: Law's Surprising Ally
Aiya was perched on the edge of the Biscuit Room's upper floor meticulously weaving armfuls of thick blond hair. Her foot kept her rooted to the metal railing as she stretched to tend to the top of a very large head. The other children gathered with shining eyes full of curiosity as she worked her magic. They watched as the tall woman, face obscured by a main of red curls, conjured rusty-rose ribbons from the inside of her wrist.
Her devil fruit weaved tiny threads of blood through her pores to make fabric she could then control and manipulate into any shape or density. She used it to form her own clothing, to form armor during battles and even in long range combat. The more strength a garment had, the deeper it's red color would be.
Her dark red lips lifted into a self-satisfied smirk as she jumped from the railing to the bottom floor, creating the rest of the ribbon necessary to tie off the braid. Mocha, a gentle giant with flowing brunette hair, asked a question in a meek, but hopeful voice. "Mère Aiya, are you married?"
She stopped her nimble fingers mid-knot, and a thoughtful expression fell over her face. A swordsman with broad shoulders and green hair came to mind. Her voice carried a hint of nostalgia as she replied, "Oui, je suis mariée."
A few children whined. "But what does that mean?" Mocha asked, her voice filling out with excitement.
Again, red curls hid a mischievous smile. "Ah, that's for you to figure out, Mon Chérie. Listen closely to our lessons."
Peter, unable to contain his excitement, chimed in next. "I know! Your husband must be that man with the silly hat, right? Why doesn't he come visit us?"
Her heart ached. All these children came from loving families who currently mourned their absence or clung to the hope of a reunion. They had all fallen victim to the sinister grasp of the Joker, just as Aiya had. But she refused to let his dark shadow cast a permanent stain on their lives. They deserved a chance at a future untouched by his malevolence.
Every child she had rescued chipped away at the power the Joker held over them. Their spirits, once shattered, slowly pieced themselves back together in the embrace of their families. They became a symbol of her defiance, a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Daisy, perched high in the loft, added her own touch of enchantment to the conversation. "No way she'd fall in love with a mean guy like that! He has to be her Captain!"
Another child cheered, "Mère Aiya's husband is a dashing prince who has a big white horse and he's gonna come rescue her from the mean guy with the fuzzy hat and take us all home!"
As the children joyfully spun tales of rescue and homecoming, their innocent words pierced Aiya's heart with a sharp pang of reality. She grappled with the bitter truth that, despite her unwavering devotion, she lacked the necessary resources and power to save all the children from their current plight. It was a harsh reality that forced her to stand by, feeling helpless as they were manipulated, drugged, and subjected to horrifying experiments.
Each passing day felt like an eternity as she navigated the treacherous landscape of the island, fighting tooth and nail for anything that could truly help them. Had Law and Aiya known about the children prior to their arrival, they could have coordinated a rescue ship or alerted the revolutionaries. No one was coming back for them now.
The laughter in the room echoed, but Aiya's smile wavered, a flicker of anguish crossing her face. She grasped for any comfort their laughter could bring, cherishing these precious seconds of respite amidst the dangers of Punk Hazard.
The brief moment of collective happiness reminded her that in the darkest corners of their shared existence- even on an island engulfed in flames- love and hope could still thrive.
~One Piece~
"Rumors that the Straw-hats were seen sailing into the New World have been confirmed." Aiya stood with tight shoulders before the Heart Pirate's captain.
Law continued his work without attempting to meet her gaze. His focus fixed on the papers spread across a salvaged desk in one of the dimly lit storage rooms. Pen strokes carefully knitted between DEATH, leaving trail of well-organized words. The unmarred paper was a testament to his meticulous nature.
"Didn't you start those rumors," It wasn't a question.
Aiya felt herself twitch with irritation, "Yes. I'm the Silk Bridge of the Underworld, it's kind of what I do."
"And how exactly does the Silk Bridge come across these rumors?" His intense stare attempted to dissect her, but she gave nothing.
"A very reliable firsthand witness," she replied, her tone carrying a hint of defiance.
"A witness or someone aboard the ship? I've noticed that a substantial amount of verified news about Straw Hat's crew comes from one source. You. Maybe not enough for anyone else to pick up on, but I am a genius." Law could practically hear the woman roll her eyes but missed her side comment.
"Not the onlyone." The memory of a very intimidating red-haired Yonko caused her to shiver.
"You've kept me in the dark long enough. We had a deal, Miss Takahashi." The Surgeon of Death grew stern as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing as he assessed her down the bridge of his nose.
"If I started selling out my informants, you know you'd be the most fucked, right?" She didn't flinch at his threatening stance, instead she leaned into it. "Put your dick away, Law. I'm sure it's perfectly adequate." She shot, the warning wafting from her own body language.
An arrogant smile tugged at Law's already tight expression. The woman behind the Silk Bridge could practically watch his ego swelling. "Oh, I assure you, it's more than adequate."
Her eyes flashed a severe warning, "And here I thought you were compensating for something with your Nodachi." With those words, she turned and began to walk away, the echo of her heeled shoes reverberating through the metallic room.
"Miss Takahashi," Law's low voice rumbled with a warning, his words intended to halt her departure. "Aiya." She continued her confident stride, the heels clicked in a defiant rhythm against the metal floor.
"Ruby."
Time stopped around her. A surge of emotion ripped through her chest, sending a jolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins. As her vision blurred, she fought to regain control, reminding herself who it really was standing before her. He didn't pose a threat.
It's just Law. She repeated in her mind, attempting to ground herself in the present moment. The pirate Captain's sordid glare lingered on the revealing neckline of her tight eye-catching dress. His eyes burned her skin as they traced the rise and fall of her chest. A wave of discomfort and fear washed over her, but she refused to let it show.
"Perhaps we could move our power struggle to a more enjoyable location and finally put this tension to rest." The warlord luridly suggested.
In an instant he heard metal screech across the floor, and the desk that separated them vanished. Aiya seized the opportunity, sending slithering fabric to constrict around his mid-section and the chair he sat in, pinning his arms to his torso. The force of her action crushed him against the chair, the impact driving splintered wood into the back of his coat.
In the commotion, an enormous icicle collapsed from the dilapidated ceiling, creating further chaos, and sending a puff of dust into the air. Before he could activate his room, there was a forceful yank on the silk, only tightening her grip. Law's body lurched forward until she towered over him. The look in her eyes turned almost feral as her words dripped with venom.
"What kind of sick fuck are you? Do you think you're the first man who's tried to domesticate me with their petite bite?" Her words spat out with seething rage. "Je m'arracherais le coeur... I would rip my own heart out before I let a man control me. Ever. Again." Her voice was anger and disgust, punctuated by a brief pause. Then an unexpected flash of vulnerability crossed her face. "I thought you of all people would be above that," Her voice slowly began to tremble. The adrenaline that had fueled her strength now weakened her knees, and she shook on unsteady legs.
Aiya's chest tightened, "Ruby's dead, Dr. Trafalgar. You did nothing as she was twisted to fit the warped fantasy of a madman," She took a deep breath, holding it momentarily as she fought for composure. "You promised that we'd have each other, but then you ran away with Corazon and left me behind. You left me alone. With him."
The weight of her words hit the former Donquixote family member with a force he hadn't anticipated. He felt as his eyes widened, and a chilling realization burned through his bones. Before he could utter a word, the silk tightened around him once more, stealing the air from his lungs.
"Watch yourself, El Capitaine," she warned, her gaze locked onto his. Her rage and revulsion softened, replaced by a distant, glazed, and exhausted expression. Law took a deep breath as she finally released her grip and withdrew the dark red silk. His eyes remained fixed on the spot where it disappeared over her shoulder to be reabsorbed through the skin of her back.
"I'm not a defenseless little toy anymore..." She felt as she wavered for a moment, then grew stronger. "And I'm not alone either." She turned to leave, her fiery red hair swaying with her determined stride. "If you want to know my informant on the Straw Hats so bad, that can be arranged. I can't promise you'll end up on the right side of his blades."
The dangerous woman vanished, leaving Law in the aftermath of her confession. Her presence fading into the shadows.
If there had been a life before Doflamingo, Aiya couldn't recall it. Her earliest memories were tainted with the musky and expensive scent of pink feathers. She had no recollection of being abandoned or abducted as a baby. It left her unsure if there was a family out there mourning her.
On restless nights, she allowed herself to dream, to imagine a blond woman and a strong looking man with arms open wide to embrace her after all those years apart.
On bad nights the sound of flesh being torn from their bodies echoed in her mind. It was a haunting reminder of the cruelty that had seeped into her life, a darkness that overshadowed any glimmer of hope.
In her darkest moments, she witnessed the heart-wrenching sight of her protectors, the ones who had cared for her, handing her over to a monstrous man with a piercing smile. They turn away and disappear into a fog of shadows without sparing her a single glance.
Her life hadn't started as the nightmare it had become, but as her childish features gave way to the emergence of womanhood, a subtle shift occurred. It was so gradual that she hadn't noticed her innocence slipping away, stolen by the corrupting influence that surrounded her.
She had willingly embraced the transformation, trading in her playful attire for more mature and elegant dresses, adorned with feathers as a tribute to the man she had come to love. Yet, in the pursuit of maturity, she had unknowingly sacrificed her identity, her autonomy. If she had even owned them in the first place.
Aiya sprinted through the echoing halls, desperately seeking solace outside the suffocating confines of the decaying laboratory. The rapid pounding of her heart matched the frantic rhythm of her footsteps. She couldn't hold it back any longer—a wave of nausea surged through her, threatening to rip her insides apart. Doubling over, she expelled the bitter bile from her empty stomach, gasping for breath between full-body wrenching heaves. Each convulsion felt like a relentless assault, yet she welcomed the physical agony, channeling it into a seething anger that surged through her veins.
Aiya, Ruby at the time, hadn't faked her death. The agony and surreal acceptance she had endured as the bullet pierced her heart were all too real. An unknown reservoir of power from her devil fruit had awakened before she bled out and knit back together her torn muscles, restarting her newly reconstructed heart.
She had awakened into a world that had already forsaken her. Her body had been abandoned, left behind like a broken toy.
With each retching spasm, Aiya's resolve hardened. The shame and betrayal that had consumed her were transformed into a blazing fire of determination. No longer would she be a victim, shackled by her past. She would harness her anger and use it as a driving force to exact her vengeance and reclaim the life that had been stolen from her.
Peru peru peru…
Peru peru peru…
A faint melody filled the air, carrying through the hallway of the room they had managed to piece together for their temporary stay. The sound brought a momentary relief to the tightness in her chest, drawing her curiosity.
There, perched on a small table, sat a tiny mushi with a distinctive scar marking its left eye.
Kaaa-CHA
Aiya answered with a playful smile, organizing her negative emotions into a faraway box for later. "This is T.A.'s Florist, where we bridge the distance to passed loved ones with our beautiful silk flowers. How may I help you today?"
The green-haired snail stared at her with a very familiar disdain. Zoro's voice dripped with reluctance as he spoke, "Do I really have to do this?"
He listened as his wife forced a light-hearted laugh before responding, "You're no fun, mon pétit caneton. Is everything okay?" Her voice carried a hint of concern.
"My crew asked about my gold band, and I told them the truth." Zoro's voice sounded firm, but she could detect a hint of uncertainty and a healthy amount of awkwardness.
"How much do they know?"
"Just enough to get on my damn nerves. Care to explain where Luffy's seen that symbol before?" Zoro's voice carried a touch of annoyance.
Aiya feigned curiosity. "Has he really? And did he happen to mention where he spotted it?"
"He said it was a meat pillow," Zoro's sarcastic response echoed through the line.
She glanced down where the red lines of her tattoo flowed seamlessly onto the chest of her shirt from the delicate skin underneath, and couldn't hide her amusement, "I can't believe you just said that, but ah, that makes sense. I did drag Luffy by his creepy rubber neck during the chaos of Marineford."
"With your tits out?!"
"Like you don't lose 75% of your clothes just by looking at a good fight. Hmm, maybe we should unpack that," She heard his brain short circuit and deflected with a hallow tease. "Oh, I get it, is someone feeling a little jealous?"
Zoro's frustration seeped through his words, "No! I mean, it's just... You were willing to throw yourself into someone else's war to help him, but you won't meet him?"
"First of all, Luffy wasn't why I was there, but I am glad he survived. Second- I did meet him."
"In a coma doesn't count."
"I know how much your crew, your Nakama, means to you. I couldn't go on for a single second longer if I did anything to that lead to their detriment."
"Bullshit. We can handle whatever comes our way. We saved Robin from that weird government island and the bird!" Zoro insisted with determination.
"There are scarier things out there than the world government. And…" She almost let it slip before redirecting, "I'm not accustomed to that kind of situation."
"You mean a safe place with people who don't want to kill you?"
She scoffed, "Now I'm calling bullshit. They have the personal boundaries of a hoard of clingy toddlers."
Zoro pressed on with an ever more common lilt of concern, "Would letting them in really be so bad? They're good people."
Aiya paused, feeling the weight of his question. "I know they are. You guys are a master class on pirates with a heart of gold. You leave butterflies and peace in your wake. You are all very good people… I'm just not from your world."
"You make it sound like we're some group of goody-goodies. We're pirates, we do whatever we want, and I want to fight. I don't care who or why."
"You're right, I'm sorry, mon amore. You are a very scary murder machine, harbinger of war who eats butterflies for breakfast."
Zoro cut through her jab, "You're damn right about that, woman." Then continued with an unexpected earnestness, "Are you alone?"
"Are you going to ask what I'm wearing next?" she asked mischievously, her voice filled with amusement.
"WHAT?! No! Why would I ask you that?"
"So, I could tell you that I'm wearing those green lace panties that remind me of what you look like between—" Her words were cut off abruptly as Zoro's face turned a deep red.
"STOP. What the hell?!" Zoro sputtered, his face going from red to almost purple. He quickly looked around his training room to make sure no one had overheard. If a small ear sat behind a massive weight, he hadn't noticed. "I thought we were being serious!"
"You didn't complain the last time I—"
"Stop trying to change the subject, woman!" His frustration melted back into sincerity. "Damn. Just answer the question, okay?"
The words twisted in Aiya's stomach, and she took another deep breath to steady herself. "I'm not," she began, her voice catching slightly as she struggled to find the right words, "alone. I'm not alone. I'm with… a very old ally. The oldest, really." Her voice carried a mix of sincerity and relief.
Realizing the depth of her declaration, Zoro's tone softened. "An ally or a friend?"
He may have been a colossal asshat, but Law would never betray her. The lingering anger she'd harbored toward the surgeon of death extinguished at the thought. He may have rough edges, but he valued loyalty as much as she did. The relationship they shared may be rusty from disuse and in need of repair, but they were friends. More than. "Family," she confessed.
The two shared a similar mindset and a lot of the same training; Observe, analyze, predict your opponent's next move, make yours first. Of course, it would come to a head.
The snail gave a surprised look but then a nod of understanding. "Good." He didn't even attempt to press for more information.
"Tell Robin this one's free but the next is going to cost her."
Zoro gave an unflattering welp when the hidden ear burst into a shadow of petals. "HOW DID YOU-?" He decided against asking. He was surrounded by devil women. "I don't even want to know."
She playfully teased, "You better be careful, Roronoa, or a girl may start to think you care."
"You know most married people just say I-"
Ker-chick.
"We need to talk." The tense man stood in the doorway of the drab, metallic living space some time later. At least having the decency to look ashamed.
Aiya turned her chair from the metal desk, "Okay, Stoic Shadow,"
"What was that?" She almost smiled at the discontent lining his features.
"What was what? Oh, I decided since your little brain has superpowers that can bring about world peace, it deserved a fitting super name."
He took the chair across from her and Aiya thought he took a little longer settling his Nodachi than necessary. She looked at him pointedly as she waited.
"Right. I didn't run away."
"Huh?"
He took a deep breathe. "I didn't want to leave. Corazon took me."
She turned a bit peaked and the churning heat in her gut threatened to escape.
"I begged to go back for you," Law paused, the woman in front of him transforming before his eyes. The lioness resembled no more than a sick kitten before him. He cleared his throat, "But that bastard wouldn't have spared a tree in his rampage to get you back." The doctor looked away, "After Corazon died, I didn't want to live. Then I got angry. I'd get intel on him, and you were always by his side following every order. I was naïve enough to misconstrue your trauma and disassociation as blind loyalty." Another pause, "That is… Until you were absent from the reports, the newspaper photos… and no one knew where you went."
"I died." The woman paused, her breath steadying as she collected herself. The exposure of the conversation caught her off guard. She hadn't anticipated the usually indifferent captain to show so much… emotion.
"Metaphorically?"
"Literally. It was the night of the coup. He sent me to apprehend the youngest member of the royal family."
"And she was able to get the upper hand on you?" He leaned back, observing her nonverbal cues: the avoidance of eye contact, arms tightly folded. The waves of pure fear emanating from her were palpable, evident to anyone, even without his exceptional insight.
"She was the youngest, but she was still 7 years older than me, and her devil fruit was powerful. She read my mind or could see into the past… I don't know but she…" The intel broker cleared her own throat, "She knew what he had done to me, to all of us. Didn't stop her from shooting me right through the heart though." Another pause had him looking up into her eyes, "She's in Trebol's division now."
Law adjusted positions in the uncomfortable metal chair, "Do you think she's able to see into the future? Could she warn him?"
"I don't know but there's nothing we can do about it now." Aiya thought for a moment before sighing. "I'd rather you cut me up into little pieces than have this conversation."
He looked too pleased, "Me too."
"Funny." She deadpanned but continued, "But you were right, we have a deal. I'll tell you what you want to know. Within reason."
The pirate captain didn't miss a beat, "How about you shed some light on your arrangement with the former pirate hunter?"
"Well, when we connected, he still was a Pirate Hunter."
"And by connected you mean…?"
"Connected. I already told you; I'm not selling out my informants."
"That's highly illogical. I already know he's your informant. Refusal to explain further only points to the conclusion that there's a personal reason you don't want to share."
"It's my turn now. Do you wish your crew were here? Do you miss them?" The assassin's eyes fell to the yellow Jolly Rodger on his chest. She'd had the pleasure of joining them on the Polar Tang a few times before they had split off. They were good men, and they truly loved nothing more than their captain. Except maybe women.
"No. I won't have them risking their lives for something that doesn't involve them. As far as missing them, I do, but I'm sure it's not as much as they're missing you."
"Don't be jealous, everything about me has been curated to have that effect. Men are a lot easier to kill when they want to fuck you. No offense to you, I'm sure you would've regained your senses before I crushed your organs to death."
Law gave her a dry look, "Not every man wants to fuck you, Ghost."
"Present company excluded, of course." But she still gave a tilted smile at the childhood nickname.
He reflected a moment before continuing with a clinical voice, "An acute psychotic reaction. The effects of which have passed. Permanently."
"Isn't that brought on by drug use? Are you insinuating that you were intoxicated by desire?" She suggested behind the biggest shit eating grin he'd ever seen on a woman's face.
"I'm saying that your charade as a feme fatale should be considered biological warfare, and your actual personality is Narcan."
"Oh-kay, that one hurt, but good. You're like my sadistic, anti-social little brother. The idea of… with you makes me want to put on sea prism handcuffs and run an entire circle around the island before jumping into the ocean naked." She went on, "I mean seriously, I would rather try my hand with one of those animal pirate hybrids tha—"
"My turn. Why did you turn back to the Underworld when you had the chance to escape forever?"
"Ultimately? The same reason you came to this hell scape of an island instead of staying home and snuggling your adorable navigator. Revenge. But where else was I going to turn?" He watched as she defaulted into her gregarious veneer, "There's always a need for impartial third parties to bridge underworld contacts and coordinate business between the otherwise unacquainted or untrusting. Another need for a particular type of assassin. Most criminals have a… soft spot for kids. Especially little girls. The same men who behaved during hand offs, for my sake, were the ones stupid enough to meet with me alone. It was what I had been training to do for the family anyway." She swallowed. "And I hoped to gain enough power so that I could help kids like us… I got my new name from an Oiran. The epithet came after I started working jobs."
"I remember seeing a case a few years ago- Blood-based threads found squeezing a man's heart. No suspicious figures seen entering or leaving, but no other signs of disease either. The official record listed cause of death as a simple heart attack. I suppose the family's desire to hide that he was propositioning children was more important than bringing you to justice."
"I've since learned how to reabsorb the strings, obviously. Now I'm practically undetectable, aside from a few striations around the heart." The pride in her words was deftly noted.
She thought he was finished before he added, "And how did you change…" He kind of gestured in her general direction with his head, "All this. And if you've been attending exchanges in person, why haven't your victims begun to recognize you as a threat?"
"After my devil fruit stitched my heart back together, I learned how to use it to change aspects of my appearance." He watched in awe as the shade of her hair changed from red, to pink and then to pin-straight blonde as she reabsorbed threads from around each strand. Her skin went from a lively pink to a warm ivory, stopping at the almost white hue he remembered. Even her eyes that once sat at a severe upturned angle with dramatic purple irises, became doe-like and blue. "Don't make me explain how I got tits."
He literally gagged.
Aiya chose to ignore his graceful exhibition by demonstrating a few other disguises. A childlike pinkette with pigtails, a sultry deep maroon with hooded eyes, and a little of everything in between. The mistress of concealment finally settled on the face he'd gotten used to, "My favorite explanation is that The Silk Bridge is actually an organization of highly-trained women. I've managed to make a list of pretty powerful connections."
"Connections like the Swordsman."
"Loosely speaking, yes."
"What about friends? A chosen family?"
"You have gone soft." She deflected with precision accuracy.
"As a doctor, I don't feel soft impressing upon you the importance of keeping yourself grounded. People and a place to call home can do that for you."
"I can't believe I'm hearing this from the man who pulled the still beating hearts out of 100 pirates and served them up to the Marines in a treasure chest."
"What can I say? I'm a man of many talents." He leaned further back into his chair, "Has there really been no one? Nowhere you've been able to relax? Really think about it."
When she pictured the word home, her senses were taken over by familiar salt-filled summer breezes and a young angry-faced Law shouting, "Come on, albino-shrimp!" over his shoulder. The faint cries and giggles of their friends peppered between crashing waves.
Then just as quickly, she found herself freezing and hungry on the streets of countless cities. It didn't matter where she ended up; Bright lights, loud noises, disgusting people, and sleepless nights were the same everywhere.
There was the moody swordsman who had delivered her unto the land of Samurai, a beautiful woman with a bright smile and intricate kimono. A kind freckled stranger that ended an entire village's famine with just the supplies from his wrecked ship.
Before she had the chance to mourn, she was wrapped in the comfort of a humid forest night, stars twinkling through the intertwined trees. The off-key cackles of a wise old man and the scrape of antlers floating in wet air between singing crickets and frogs.
Finally, she caught glimpse of her would-be hero in the flickering streetlights. Would be, that is, if she hadn't already been targeting the man who leered over her. After the commotion ended and the bounty retrieved, there had been countless bottles of booze and a drunken promise exchanged through vows. An inescapable panic that had her off the island before sun rise, only to reunited by chance in the desert of Alabasta. Intimate moments shared in nondescript inns, the shadowed and enchanting chambers of a macabre mansion, and the wordless conversations carried across seas through late-night Mushi calls.
Before the warmth could penetrate her soul, it was ripped away by searing terror. The evidence of her true identity and the demon that waited around every corner. She knew it waited for her to grow complacent; to accept love into her heart, to truly believe she could finally rest and call somewhere home. Give in to the prickling heat along her spine and the insistent tug of longing in her core caused by that impossible man.
To. Just. Be. Free.
She didn't voice any of this, though over the journey she'd stopped trying to hide her constantly morphing expressions.
The Heart Pirate's captain studied the leak of intimate emotions and felt the seven stages of grief that emanated through the woman in front of him. By the time she had actually responded, he imagined she'd mourned and suffered enough for three more lifetimes.
Aiya whispered, almost as if she were scared to say it out loud, "Il y avait jadis un lupanar, un vieil homme bienveillant et un élan... Peut-être même un véritable amoureux dans la nuit." There was a brothel, a kind old man and a moose, once… Maybe a lover in the night. "…A couple useful pirates."
"That… leaves me with more questions than answers." He could already tell she wasn't going to share any more information about their time apart. As much as he wanted to force it out of her and squash the curiosity in the pit of his stomach, he had to respect her boundaries. He was almost sure she wouldn't hide something that could jeopardize their mission. Not on purpose, anyway.
"I miss the family sometimes." Her comment surprised him, terrified the confession would transform into cutting strings and drag them both back into Hell. "Not… most of time, but I pine for the nights when home was wherever the four of us passed out at the end of the day." She tried to blink away the tears that stung behind her eyes before Law could see them, but the abject horror on his face told her that she'd failed, "I'm not having a great time over here either, Dark&Broody."
"Do not call me that." The threat was half-assed at best, "When this is over, you're moving on to the Polar Tang permanently. You can still conduct your underworld dealings as I deem necessary." Law imagined the last thirteen years without Bepo, Penguin and Shachi, without the rest of his crew. If his hatred had been left unchecked, his mind left to its own devices, he didn't think he'd still be alive have this conversation.
"Right." She looked disgusted, but he could see the tears recede, "Do I have a say in this?"
"No."