Knowing there was no way she was going to be able to get any peace until the brothel closed for the night, Katrina opted instead to immerse herself in a different world altogether. Leaning over the edge of her bed, the brunette reached for a large box marked 'EXPLOSIVES' and pulled it closer to herself before turning it to reveal the box itself had been emptied of its original contents, a small area towards the bottom had been cut out and a few things were nestled inside. There was a black velvet pouch with a golden drawstring that held the spare Beli Katrina had managed to scrounge up. Beside that, lay three books set carefully against one another so their spines were facing out. The final item in the faux explosives box was a small bracelet that looked like it belonged to a child. Two different strings of colored yarn had been used to weave a bracelet together. Four silver beads hung at the end, two on each string, serving as a way to cinch the bracelet close or loosen it. Katrina reached for one of the three books before doing her best to find a comfortable position on her beat up old mattress. Admittedly, once she started reading it wouldn't make much difference either way.

Katrina smiled as she read further into her chosen book only to wince slightly as the action caused her cheek to ache. She ignored it as it eased, but couldn't help the frown that was now on her face at the thought of what Jericho did earlier. Before she could think more on the matter, a knock at her door caused the brunette to freeze. She didn't entertain guests, so unless it was one of the working girls it was Jericho.

'That asshole never comes to see me, he always makes me come to him.'

Katrina mused as she bookmarked where she was in her book before placing it under her pillow and out of sight. One thing she learned early in life, never keep your valuables in plain sight. That only left it to be one of the working girls, probably to give her another talking to about keeping her distance from the 'Boss'.

Deciding she'd kept whoever was knocking at her door waiting long enough, Katrina made her way across her small room to the door and opened it just enough to peer out into the hall. Even if it was Claudette or one of the other girls, she wasn't about to let them shoulder their way into the only space she had to call her own.

"Wha-helloo?"

She asked, changing her response and tone mid-sentence upon realizing the ones on the other side of her door were not who she'd been expecting.

"Hello Miss Katrina."

Came a calm deep tone that drew Katrina's attention to the dark-skinned man wearing a familiar-looking hoodie. His sword was missing from his person she'd noticed, but the furry spotted hat was still in place and seemed to cast a bit of a shadow on his tanned face. Though no shadow would have been enough to hide the dark circles she saw under his eyes.

"Mind if we come in?"

The question seemed harmless enough, if it hadn't come from a notorious pirate captain shadowed by five of his men. Katrina glanced from Law, to Bepo who gave her a small wave as if that was to ease her nerves.

Musing over the tanned pirate captain's question for a few moments, Katrina finally stepped back from the door to allow them entrance.

"Eh, why not?"

Taking her place back on her bed, though this time facing the door and nose not in a book, she waited as they filed in, one after the other, almost in a single file line. She did her best not to laugh when a particularly loud moan came from one of the rooms bordering her own, causing one of the pirates wearing a black hat with yellow trim, a red pompom, and the word 'Penguin' on it to blush the same shade as his crewmate's hair that she saw poking out from under his light blue hat. The brunette noticed they all wore hats aside from Bepo and wondered if that was a choice the crew made because Law wore one or if it was Law's choice as captain?

"So what can I do for you boys?"

She asked once the last of the men had entered her tiny little bedroom. She noted Law had leisurely taken up a post against the wall closest to her, hands slipping into the front pockets of his spotted jeans with seemingly little care for where they were. The two she'd seen before seemed to be close as they huddled together in embarrassed whispers as more sounds came through the paper-thin walls. Sounded like Meridith and Genessa both had wealthy clients today. The last man she couldn't get a clear look at in such confined quarters, but she thought she saw some blonde hair poking out from underneath the orange colored hat on his head. She did notice they all seemed to be wearing full-body suits with a smiling Jolly Roger on the chest and back of their suits. Bepo wore something similar, though his was orange. The more she observed about Law's crew the less it made sense to her.

"Bepo."

Came the reply, though Katrina could tell it wasn't an order she should worry about the brunette still found her body tensing slightly in anticipation. These were pirates she was dealing with after all. A shuffling sound pulled her attention from the hoodie-wearing pirate against her wall to the bi-pedal polar bear before her. He'd entered her room directly after his captain had, but had kept so quiet Katrina almost forgot he was there.

"Thank you Kat."

Bepo said, his head bowed slightly as he looked down at his paws and not at her. As if he was embarrassed he had to thank her for such a thing. Katrina's inner child squealed at how adorable he looked when he bowed in gratitude.

"Don't mention it hun."

She chuckled before reaching a hand out and running her fingers through the fur on the top of Bepo's head.

"You were far too cute to be left alone."

She told him honestly, a smile making its way across her lips.

"Well, thank you for that, Miss Katrina."

The sound of Law's voice pulled Katrina's attention from Bepo to the man leaning against her bedroom wall, a small smile visible on his face and the emotion in his eyes unreadable. Katrina wasn't sure if the tingle she felt running down her spine was the effect of this man's presence or power. Either way, she shook the feeling off and leveled his gaze with hers before responding.

"Don't mention it hun."

She repeated with a small smile of her own, not missing a beat. A small part of her wondered if they planned on lining Jericho's pockets and taking up a few of the rooms tonight, though she supposed it wasn't really any of her business what these pirates did. She wouldn't mind if they stuck around for a little bit longer. It was strange, but their presence helped put her at ease. At least with them here she knew Jericho and the girls wouldn't have the balls to harass her until they left. Glancing back towards Bepo, Katrina mused she had a good feeling why she was so at ease. She found herself genuinely smiling ever so slightly to herself. She was glad she'd decided to help him out after all. She could have been like the others he had tried asking for help and simply run away, but her heart wouldn't let her do that. The furry pirate reminded her a little of a child in his actions. Easy to embarrass, quick to apologize, choosing to stick to one person more so than anyone else. Reminded her of how her sister had been with her growing up and how she used to be with her brothers….before their game had started.

A sudden cry from downstairs sent ice through her veins and in an instant Katrina's smile was gone. She'd heard her name and she knew who had been the one to call for her even with her door shut and the distance between them. She really couldn't escape that man, could she?

"I do hate to cut our conversation short you guys but it would appear I'm wanted downstairs."

Katrina said as she got to her feet and walked past the men in boiler suits and stopped at her door. She couldn't tell if Law and his men had heard Jericho yelling for her or not, but right now she didn't have the luxury to stick around much longer and find out.

"I trust ya'll can find the exit."

She called over her shoulder as a means of excusing herself before slipping out the door.

Law wasn't one to meddle in things that held no benefit or interest to him, but he found a frown forming on his face as the brunette disappeared, leaving him and his crew alone in her room.

"Are we heading back to the ship now Captain?"

Penguin asked, being the first to break the silence since Katrina had left. Law saw his friend adjust his hat, but in doing so he caused some of his hair to stick up at an odd angle on the sides. Law had no desire to return to the bar and women downstairs, but he had a feeling of having left something half-finished and it didn't set right with him. They'd come and expressed their gratitude to the young woman who helped Bepo, so then what more was there to do? What was the cause of this feeling? Did he truly feel indebted to the woman to such a degree he felt the need to do more?

"No. You, Sachi, and Uni head back. Bepo, come with me."

Law responded, his frown growing as he pondered the cause of this new feeling and finding he didn't like the idea of feeling indebted to her.

Returning to the first floor, Law scanned the crowd of patrons in an attempt to locate the brunette who'd managed to pique his interest. It didn't take him long before he'd spotted her, but he was taken aback by her change in appearance in the span of less than ten minutes. Where before she'd been wearing a light gray colored shirt and pants that had seemed to hug her hips, she now wore far less. A white, long-sleeved shirt that obviously didn't belong to her left untied to expose some of her chest and a black corset cinched around her waist. The hem of the shirt hung below the corset and teased the upper parts of Katrina's thighs as she moved from patron to patron at the bar. Law spotted the blonde from before sitting at one of the seats at the bar, watching the brunette as she worked with a satisfied smile on his face. Law felt a growing urge to dissect something the longer he watched the man and decided he needed to remove himself. Motioning for Bepo to follow him, Law took up a spot at an empty table not far from the bar. He half expected one of the women working for Jericho to approach him with their services again, but it seemed they'd gotten the message that he wasn't here for that.

"Captain?"

Bepo's concerned voice pulled Law's attention from Katrina and her new attire. He turned to see his first mate was pointing one clawed finger back towards the bar. Following it, Law noted a certain blonde business-owner sitting, scowling at him.

"Oh? It would appear someone doesn't like others looking at what he believes to be his."

Law commented dryly, realizing the situation Katrina was in wasn't how it first appeared. He had assumed she worked here by choice, but after the things he'd seen so far it was rather obvious that wasn't the case at all.

"Hey, watch it!"

Katrina's voice rang in Law's ears and his eyes returned to the brunette in time to see her being forced across the room towards a door almost hidden behind the bar by Jericho. The blonde had a hand on one of Katrina's arms and Law could tell Katrina was reluctant to follow the man's orders. Had Law been wrong when he'd thought he'd seen potential in her? Surely she wasn't so meekly mannered as to just put up with Jericho and his antics.

Katrina frowned as Jericho roughly pulled her through the door leading to the storage room of the brothel. The door was slightly hidden behind the bar, but just like the rest of the place the walls were thin as paper. That didn't seem to stop Jericho from screaming at her though.

"Just what did you do to have someone come looking for you specifically!?"

He demanded, his grip on the upper part of her arm tightening painfully as he dragged her up against the back wall of the room. She could smell that Jericho had been drinking and knew it wasn't going to be easy dealing with him like this.

"Nothin' except help a lost member of his crew get back to them."

She watched as Jericho's green eyes narrowed with suspicion and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It'd be so much easier if she could just kill this little maggot, but with how many members of the underground he worked for here on the Archipelago she'd be inviting more trouble than it was worth unless she could leave the island immediately after. She of course had tried to leave before, she'd have been a fool not to. Yet every time, someone would bring her back to Jericho or the Marines would seize the boat that was supposed to be her ticket out of this hell and she'd have to return to the brothel or risk capture.

"If that was true, why is their captain still sitting in my brothel!?"

Jericho demanded angrily, spittle flying from his mouth and landing on her cheek below her left eye. She flinched, but otherwise didn't move as she tried to think of what he was going on about. Who was still in the brothel? Wouldn't another customer be a good thing? And how the hell would she know why some random pirate captain was sitting in-

'Wait a second…..he's not talking about him is he? What reason would he have to linger around here?'

Katrina frowned as she tried to figure out the pirate captain's motives.

"You seem to be forgetting you're mine sweetheart."

Jericho's voice cut through Karina's thoughts and she felt a scowl form on her face at the unwanted nickname as well as Jericho's self-perceived notion of ownership.

"No one owns me."

Katrina growled out from behind grit teeth in an attempt not to snap on this man. Laughter followed her statement before she felt Jericho press her back against the wall with his body. Forcing his knee between her legs and using an arm to grab a fistful of her hair.

"That's where you're wrong, sweetheart. Your old crew left you here after racking up a debt, thus you were left as payment. Meaning you're mine sweetheart, and I can do as I please."

He whispered harshly in her ear before pulling away, allowing her the chance to breathe fresh air. It was quite obvious once up close that Jericho had been drinking with his growing jealousy.

Jerico's hand released her hair and slid to her shoulder before putting pressure in an attempt to push Katrina to her knees. Blue-green eyes narrowed in suspicion as she realized he wanted her on the ground in front of him with nothing but the wall behind her.

"Kneel."

Jericho ordered, his face flushed and a heated look entered in his emerald eyes as he stared down at her. The pressure on her shoulder increased the longer she resisted, soon becoming almost painful.

"I said get on your knees dammit!"

Jericho shouted in frustration as he used his other hand to add to the pressure to push her down. Seeing Katrina was still determined to resist him, he kicked one of her shins and she went down with almost no resistance after.

Smirking victoriously, Jericho removed one hand to start undoing the buckle of his pants.

"It's about time you started to realize just what kind of position you're in."

He said with a dark gleam to his eyes before he let his pants fall to pool around his feet. Katrina instantly moved to get to her feet and away from the blonde, but he grabbed her by her hair and the sudden cold feel of a blade against her throat made her freeze.

"Thaat's it."

Jericho cooed before pulling her back to where he wanted her. She watched in disgust as he stroked himself. She felt the push of his hand and her hands flew forward, catching on Jericho's thighs and she pushed herself back against it in defiance.

"Resisting will only result in your punishment my dear."

Came Jericho's voice before a sharp pain brought her attention to her left arm. There was now a tiny sliver of a cut on her forearm and beads of blood were starting to well up.

"You crazy fuckin' bastard!"

Katrina snarled as she tried to get to her feet, Jericho had done a lot to her during her stay and this certainly wasn't the first time he'd come onto her. This was, however, the first time he seemed willing to harm her in order to have his way.

She hadn't gotten to her feet for more than two seconds before a sudden sharp pain to her ankle had her crumpling to the ground.

'This fuckin' bastard is tryin' to piss me off.'

Katrina growled angrily as she reached down to nurse the ball of her ankle where Jericho had just smashed his foot to stop her from getting away.

"Now be a good girl and suck it."

Jericho ordered, lust clouding his eyes but the dark gleam still present as he stared at her in longing. The speed of his strokes increased as he reached for her and Katrina scowled as her head was forced towards his twitching member.

"You try stickin' that thing in my mouth Jericho and I promise I'm goin' to bite it off and spit it in your fuckin' face."

Katrina snarled, still attempting to resist Jericho but as she felt the tip of his penis against her lips and felt the blade at her throat once more she wasn't feeling so confident she was going to be able to avoid what was coming.

"Try it, and you'll bleed out on the floor as soon as you bite down."

Jericho warned before she felt him push against her lips one more time.

'I swear to all things holy, I am goin' to kill this man."

Katrina thought to herself before giving in, opening her mouth and allowing Jericho to shove his way inside. His moans sent disgusted shivers down her spine and she wanted to gag with every thrust of his hips.

Apparently irritated at her lack of participation, Jericho's other hand found its way back into Katrina's hair before he proceeded to pull and push her at a pace opposite his thrusts. Katrina coughed as the new force was uncomfortable against the back of her throat. She hadn't had a sexual partner before and was unable to handle the sudden invasion down her throat. Jericho was either oblivious to this, or didn't care, as he continued to thrust his cock inside her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes and Katrina's jaw ached from the held position. She tried to adjust but was given no reprieve to do so as she suddenly found Jericho's knees buckled and he fell on top of her.

"Goddamn your mouth feels fucking good."

Jericho mumbled, but Katrina ignored him as she tried to regulate her breathing and wipe the saliva from her face. She could still taste him, but surely he hadn't finished right? She'd read it was suppose to taste severely salty when a man was finished.

A hand suddenly grabbed her and yanked her across the floor until she found herself pinned beneath Jericho. The lustful look in his eyes as he reached down and started pulling at Katrina's clothes sent fear through her veins.

"J-Jericho, the fuck do you think you are doin'? Enough is enough!"

She shouted, trying to scramble away from him but his grip on her was firm.

"I'm claiming what's mine before someone else tries to and takes it away from me."

Jericho responded before using the knife he'd used on her trice to cut the corset tying her clothes together. He had already forced her into one of his shirts, and knew from his own personal demand that she wasn't wearing anything else underneath. His hand trailed up her thigh as he moved a leg to spread hers apart. Katrina started hitting Jericho in the arms and chest as she attempted to escape from him. Realizing that her only chance was to knock him off her, Katrina aimed for his jaw with the palm of her hand. If she could land a good blow she might be able to knock him unconscious.

"Ah-ah-ah."

Jericho said disapprovingly before Katrina suddenly felt his teeth sink into the tender flesh between her shoulder and neck. She felt his other hand pin the arm she'd struck out with to the ground before feeling his tongue trail across her collar bone before he started laying kisses at the base of her neck.

"I said enough!"

Katrina shouted before grabbing a handful of Jericho's hair, pulling his head back then rammed her head forward as hard as she could. A hot, stinging pain erupted at the spot of contact but Jericho reared up, taking his hands with him so Katrina wasn't about to complain. She moved to take the dagger from Jericho when he suddenly backhanded her and a ringing started in her ears.

"Stay still you little bitch."

Jericho seethed, obviously upset from her headbutt and nursing his forehead with one hand. Katrina struck out semi-blindly and her hand managed to hit Jericho's nose. Blood started dripping from the stunned blonde's nose as Katrina brought her knee up to hopefully paralyze Jericho long enough for her to get away.

"Get off me goddammit!"

Katrina shouted as she tried pushing the doubled over blonde off her.

"That's it!"

Jericho snarled before grabbing two handfuls of Katrina's hair and yanking her up til their noses were touching.

"Enough games."

He growled, the words echoing through Katrina's mind and making her whole body freeze. A second later Jericho slammed Katrina's head down against the concrete floor of the storage room.

An immense wave of nausea started building from her stomach and felt like it was going to burst as she tried reaching for the back of her head. Swallowing was suddenly difficult to remember to do and her breathing felt shallow. The lights above seemed to blur together as she tried to get her eyes to focus on them. Feeling something slip inside her, Katrina groaned in protest then groaned again at the pain it sent coursing through her skull. Jericho stuck another finger inside, working the two digits to prepare her against her will as his other hand stroked himself. Katrina tried to push him off her, but her head was pounding and she could only see in fuzzy hazes. She felt him push her legs further apart, then felt him shift above her before suddenly feeling his weight disappear. Something warm and wet rained down on her and she used her arms to shield her face, curling on her side in a ball in an attempt to ease the pain in her head. Trying to find where Jericho had gone, terrified he'd return to finish what he'd started, Katrina frowned in confusion at seeing a figure wearing black and white spotted hat and flying droplets of crimson. She thought she heard someone talking, but as her consciousness faded she couldn't help but think back to when she was last sailing beneath a flag with that beautiful color on it.

Law sat at the table he'd chosen as his spot for a few moments after Jericho and Katrina had disappeared into the semi-hidden room. He had noticed when Bepo's ears twitched and the sound of a woman's voice shouting rang throughout the brothel. Law hadn't known the brunette long, but he was almost certain the voice belonged to her. Glancing around the room, he noted the women all seemed to freeze momentarily before resuming their tasks. Law narrowed his eyes as he got to his feet and started towards the door the pair had gone through before. Four men approached, attempting to bar Law from going any further and the tanned captain simply motioned with his hand. His first mate knew the cue well, and set to eliminating the men who were preventing Law from going where he wanted.

Stepping over the bodies of the men, Law proceeded to hunt for the missing brunette. He walked through the door just as Jericho slammed Katrina's head against the ground. The sickeningly loud crack that reverberated throughout the storage room made him frown. She'd be lucky to be conscious after a blow like that.

Law raised his hand, palm facing the ground before a blue circle appeared beneath and a hum started. The light blue, almost translucent dome expanded from his hand outward until it enveloped the entire room. Just as Jericho had positioned himself to forever scar Katrina, Law's nodachi sliced through the blonde's body. Blood flying only because Law allowed it within his room. Law made a few more cuts before rearranging the pieces how he saw fit. By the time Law had finished, Jericho's head had been scalped and lay on the floor by the back of the wall. His torso, its two pieces now merged back together, was affixed to the wall just above the blonde's decapitated head. It had been dissected and the heart, stomach, spleen, liver, and other organs were laid to the side and the torso itself left bare. He would have continued to play with the man's corpse, but recalled the possibly concussed brunette.

"Bepo!"

Law called for his first mate as he settled his nodachi back against his shoulder and knelt by the unconscious woman. Observing her sleeping form, it was clear she had tried fighting back.

"Captain?"

Came Bepo's voice and Law silently handed him his sword before reaching for Katrina.

Gathering her in his arms, Law turned towards the door.

"Come on, Bepo. Our business is done here."

Law said over his shoulder as he made his way towards the exit. Bepo grabbed his captain's sword before following after. There was an absolute silence that had settled over the brothel and its customers as Law emerged from the store room. He noticed the blonde woman that had tried to offer herself to him not even an hour before now looked like she was ready to faint as he walked past carrying Katrina. He saw her run towards the store room and wasn't surprised to hear the shrill scream of horror as he and Bepo left the brothel. A satisfied smirk spread across the dark doctor's face as they walked through the crowd of people back to the Polar Tang.

Law moved to check the monitors of the machines the brunette was currently attached to. Her blood pressure, heart rate, and oxygen levels were all at normal levels. He had done a topical examination once bringing her aboard, she didn't seem to have any broken bones and should wake up on her own soon.

"Interesting one you seem to be Miss Katrina. "

Law mused to himself as he pushed the wheeled chair he was in to the head of the infirmary bed. Long, tanned fingers reached out to gently probe the unconscious brunette's skull. He didn't feel any abnormalities or damage to her skull. Tattooed fingers moved to the back of her head, to the base of the skull and blue-green eyes shot open to stare up into surprised steel gray ones. Before Law could say anything, the brunette's hand shot out, catching him off guard and socking him in the lower right part of his face.

"Miss Katrina, is hitting the person who saved you a habit of yours? That's quite a bad one to have."

He said as he grabbed her wrist when her hand swung at him a second time. Law's teasing manner dropped when he saw the glazed over look to the brunette's eyes. She may have woken up, but it seems her mind was stuck elsewhere.

"Miss Katrina."

Law called, but the brunette was unresponsive. Thankfully no longer trying to strike him, but still this new development made him frown before an idea popped in his head.

Once again he found himself calling on his first mate. In times like these, a gentler approach was sometimes needed and who better than a furry polar bear to pull someone from a traumatic memory their mind has them stuck in?

"Keep an eye on her and report to me in the morning."

Law ordered his friend before slipping out of the infirmary and heading towards his office. The plan had changed, he now was looking for only one more member for his crew.