This is the first time I write a fanfiction revolving so heavily around an OC, and even now I'm not sure about sharing it. The idea was born over a year ago, talking with a friend about the change in Law's hand tattoos after the time skip. The conversation went along these lines:

"Can you imagine being a tattoo artist and seeing that abomination for the first time?"

"I'd chase him all over the Grand Line just to fix it."

"He'd agree to it and then he'd keep putting it off just to be an ass."

"…I'm glad not to be that woman."

"Yeah..."

And so that poor soul came to be.

I have an idea about where I want to go with this story, but it's highly dependent on how the manga develops, and I'm notoriously bad at not changing my mind in the middle of writing. I'll also go ahead and admit that this was a poorly disguised excuse to write some Heart Pirates action. Romance is still in the air, so I suppose it will end up being a matter of how much I feel like it and what you guys think.

That said, if you decide to give this a chance, I hope you enjoy the ride, wherever it ends up going.

Edit: Chapter revised on August 6th, 2016.

An important note. Since the issue of Law's finger tattoos has caused some confusion, it was suggested to me that I add an explanatory note, so here it is: while in the anime they were done right from the start, Oda messed up constantly with them during the Sabaody arc, where they kept disappearing and, most importantly, they spelled the word "DETH." It was a goof, obviously. And obviously, I have never let it go, because any excuse to poke fun at Trafalgar Law is a good one in my book.

1. It was trouble at first sight
(On an island, in the blue bay)

On a small North Blue island of ill repute, a woman in her twenties stepped out of the shower and quickly dried her body with a towel. She wrapped it around herself, combed her wet hair back, disentangling it from the piercings on her ears, and brandished her liquid eyeliner. Today was going to be the day she didn't screw it up. It was now or never. One of her main goals in life was doing her eyeliner in one go before she died, and despite knowing that the clock was ticking against her, she had the feeling that the day had something good in store.

Her name was Saki, and she was good at drawing. Objectively, exceptionally good. This eyeliner business was getting ridiculous and it was a matter of pride to get the hang of it once and for all. She would not submit to the will of a flimsy brush.

Keeping the tip as still as possible, she painted the lines over both eyelids smoothly and in record time. The wings were even, too! She'd managed it. She could have cried, but she wasn't about to ruin her work of art. It needed to dry first.

She tried to ignore the tingling in her nose while she put the eyeliner tube away, but nature always found a way to screw with everybody. She sneezed, and the sudden movement of her head flung short, very wet strands of hair to her face.

She looked at the reflection in the mirror to see blackened water droplets running down her cheeks. She kicked the cabinet under the sink out of spite and hurt her foot.

Fifteen minutes and five cotton swabs after this miserable display, she was downing the last of her coffee, grabbing her sword, and ready to go. Hopefully she could find something interesting to do before her appointment in the afternoon, or keep an eye out for an oblivious traveler. Actually helping one would have been nice, for a change.

Interesting was standing merely a few feet away from her doorstep, it had the shape of a polar bear, and was looking at a child in rags that was holding a note out to… it?

Denying that the sight of a bear standing on its rear legs and clad in an orange jumpsuit had surprised her was too big of a lie even for her standards, but the scene that was unfolding before her was so familiar that she didn't think twice her next move. She walked up to the, snatched the note the bear was now holding, read the address written on it, and raged at the kid. "How many times have I told you to stay away from this street? Scram!"

The child screeched and ran away. Her good action of the day was done.

Turning to the bear instead, Saki said, "Be careful." She held up the paper, an address written on it. "There are more like him that trick tourists into accompanying them to their hideouts to rob them blind. Don't trust anyone that asks something from you in this island, okay? Not even children."

"Yes, miss," the polar bear replied, bowing a little in thanks.

Her expression froze, and her brain along with it. "You... can speak?" After a bit, she recovered. "Oh. Oh. I was wondering if you'd even understand me."

For some reason she couldn't understand, the bear looked apologetic and bowed even further down. "I… I'm sorry…"

"Why!? It's amazing!"

—

Law strolled leisurely around the town market. There was a variety of products, both legal and illegal, scattered through the stands. He was slightly more interested in the latter, since Asteria had a reputation for being an important center of drug traffic, and that was what made him stop by instead of heading somewhere more important. There was something he needed to look into, because if his info was correct it was that man pulling the strands of the island's black market.

There were some other islands like that scattered through the North Blue, which were barely disguised criminal huts. The Navy seemed to think they were better off left on their own, because storming them would mean an investment of resources too high for the payout. When you cut a head, another would rise to fill its place. That was how crime syndicates worked. And with the news of the Germa 66 conquering more and more territory and taking over some of those islands, it wasn't surprising that the people at Marineford didn't think they were worth the effort. Trying to control the most dangerous of the four Blues when the other three weren't completely under their influence was absurd.

Asteria, though, was an anomaly in the sense that the regular population was still high for a place controlled by a crime syndicate, but the locals seemed to go about their lives as if they didn't mind. Trafficking attracted ships, and in turn also attracted pirates who knew they wouldn't be bothered by Marines during their stay. That meant money for the town.

He was surprised to find very few vendors that stocked any kind of medicine, and the ones who did sold it at disproportionate prices. When asked why, they all replied that getting a hold of it was complicated, so it was only fair. Even the most common antipyretics didn't come any cheaper than at a few hundred belis. He could only guess that more specialized drugs were exclusively limited to black market. Law noted that it wasn't a good idea to fall ill in this place. He found himself wondering how the local doctors could work in this situation.

He had agreed to meet back with Bepo near the Polar Tang in an hour. They usually stuck together wherever they went, but his friend had wanted to walk on his own for a while today, and Law was glad he was showing some initiative. He knew he did it to avoid attracting any undue attention, but he was far too shy for someone his size. Law was starting to feel kind of worried about him, because since he had entered the market zone he had caught three different pickpockets aiming for him.

A man from a junk stall waved him over and proceeded to try to sell him for an outrageous price some kind of seashell that purportedly could record sounds. He found a great excuse to ignore him when heard Bepo's voice from not too far away.

"Look, he's there!"

He left the vendor hanging to see Bepo walking alongside a redhead with a tattooed arm and a sword hanging from her hip. Even in the middle of the bustling marketplace, she was flashy. Both Bepo and her were carrying grocery bags, and his friend looked as happy as the last day they he had read there was salmon in the restaurant's menu. The girl stared at Law with interest. Law was used to stares, but not so overt and unashamed.

"Hi, Bepo. I see you met someone." He greeted them with a smile. He had no clue who the girl was and was curious as to why she was getting along with Bepo, who usually didn't talk much to people he didn't know.

"Hello, Captain!" Bepo approached him, smiling happily. "She's Saki. She helped me when I was about to get mugged and now she's showing me around."

"I somehow doubt any human could mug you, Bepo," Law replied, amused.

"Not one, but ten at once probably could. They probably targeted him for his fur or to sell as an exotic animal." She explained with a knowing smile, as if this wasn't the first time she replied to that reasoning. "Criminals in this town are well organized. It would have been a bunch of them jumping him as soon as they got him somewhere secluded."

Law took a good look at the newcomer before replying. Was that a deviated septum, or was it the angle? She didn't look like much when you got past the first impact. Red and green tattoo, red hair, red top, dark green pants, sandals that rose her several inches from the ground… She had the color palette of a holiday advert. She was… colorful.

She found her looking pointedly at him and realized he had been staring for too long, but she didn't call him out on it. He also noticed that she had stopped at a greater distance than Bepo, far enough that he wouldn't get her if he were to slash with Kikoku from where he stood. It may have been coincidence, or it may have been indicative that she wasn't a complete airhead that struck up conversation with random pirates.

"Thank you then, Saki-ya," he said, sounding too detached to be sincere. "Do you expect any sort of repayment?"

The woman raised her eyebrows at the question, and a small smile formed on her face. "Not at all. Mind you, I usually do, but your fluffy friend was too adorable to leave him to his own luck."

"That's generous of you." He said, still trying to find an ulterior motive. Pirates weren't used to people helping because, so he wondered what the girl could want from them in exchange. She had a sword. She could be a bounty hunter. That would explain the security distance. Maybe she had recognized the Jolly Roger on Bepo's suit and had used him to bring her to his captain.

"She's invited us for lunch and even bought fish. Do you think we could go?"

That only fueled Law's suspicions, but he hesitated with his reply when he saw Bepo's hopeful face. He didn't have time to get over it before the woman spoke.

"I know what you're thinking," she raised a hand to stop him from talking. "'This must be some kind of trap. Maybe she is the one who wants to skin Bepo, or is a bounty hunter who wants my head...'"

Nailed it.

"...'or she's going to bring us to a Marine ambush because no one can possibly be so stupid as to invite two pirates home.'" She finished, still sporting a smile.

"…Let no one ever say you aren't a self-aware person, Saki-ya."

She let out a light laugh. "Well, do what you want. I can only say in my defense that there haven't been Marines on this island for a decade. But if you don't want to come, take at least some of the fish. There's no way I can finish it on my own before it spoils."

Maybe she really was that reckless. Just maybe. She didn't look particularly strong, but then again, one didn't see many women her age carrying swords around, so there had to be a story behind that. If worst came to worst, he guessed that his Devil Fruit powers would be enough to get them out of the spot.

Besides, it was almost lunch time and his crewmate seemed eager to go with her. Everybody, Law included, was a sucker for seeing Bepo happy. He'd have to work on that.

"If that's the case, we'll accept your offer," he relented.

"Great! And by the way, the guy standing on that side of the stall is eyeing your nodachi an awful lot."

Law whipped his head back to see a young man turn white as a sheet of paper and push his way through the multitude as fast as his legs allowed. He probably stole a few pursed on his way, too.

The girl simply watched the scene with a calm smile. Tourists.

—

Saki's house was a tiny two-story block encased between other buildings. It had a dining room that doubled as a kitchen and living room, and two rooms and a bathroom on the second floor. The only personal touch Law could see were a few drawings hanging on a wall. A huge bookshelf near the entrance door threatened to collapse under its own weight, and there were a few unstable book piles that didn't fit on the shelves stacked around the room. He hadn't expected her to be the bookworm type.

Law took a glance at the spines of the closest pile. North Blue atlas; an old novel; Images of the Grand Line; First civilizations, volume III by Dr. Gram; a sketchbook. There was no distinguishable pattern to them.

"You read a lot," Bepo said, secretly wanting to get his paws on the books.

"There isn't much else to do here. This town's pretty boring when you know how to avoid shady people."

Law, who thought the definition of shady fit him like a glove, didn't know if the girl was being naïve, what with inviting pirates home, or she was bored of reading and wanted to live dangerously.

"What do you do for a living?" He asked.

"I'm a tattoo artist," she explained while setting the plates on the table. When Bepo saw the grilled salmon in front of him he looked on the verge of crying of happiness, "but since the town's dangerous I take on odd jobs as bodyguard. Many pirates come here thinking they have nothing to fear, and I can't count how many of them I've seen dropping dead on a dark alley. Less confident visitors tend to hire someone for protection as soon as they set foot here. Lots of people make extra cash that way."

That explained the sword she was carrying before. There was a good chance that she was stronger than she looked, as he had suspected. "How does business fare?"

"I can't complain. There are always customers, no one's been killed on my watch so far, and I get to stab people inside and out of the studio." She smiled a bit at the last part and plopped down on her chair.

"I take it that you're good with a sword."

She shrugged. "I just know where the pointy end goes. But I've lived here all my life and I know which places and people to avoid, and how to. That's what's important. You don't last long if you go around picking fights."

Law wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or it was false modesty, but it intrigued him, and if her attitude so far was any indication, she could be useful during their stay. She may have known something about the issue he was investigating, though he didn't want to ask anything just in case she could tip him off to the wrong person. She had been suspiciously nice so far, and he still hadn't a clue if she was to be trusted, so he needed to stay on his toes.

The conversation continued along the lines of what sort of people docked on the island, what sort of business those people had, and how much of a thrill-seeker someone had to be to visit the island without a specific business in mind. Law decided not to answer that one.

After they were done with the food, Saki was quick to change the topic to something entirely different. Her face turned serious, and Law knew that, after much going around in circles, he was about to find out why he had brought them to her home. "I hope you don't mind me saying this. I couldn't help but notice the tattoos on your fingers."

Ah, right, the tattoos. She was a professional, after all. Law had a fair share of them, so it made sense that she'd say something. Those in particular were the most eye-catching ones he was showing. The ones who had earned him part of his epithet.

"What about them?"

"No personal offense meant, but they are a fucking mess. Who did them? And are they dead?"

As previously stablished, Trafalgar Law was a man used to others staring at him, and what most of them shared was a healthy dose of respect and fear towards him. Those who didn't usually ended up dead or worse. Someone being able to stare at his hands with open disdain, and telling him in no uncertain terms that his tattoos sucked, was so far outside his realm of experience that he didn't know how he was supposed to react.

"What?"

"Did you kill the fucker who did that? I mean, I would've– If you'll excuse me–" She didn't bother to wait for permission before taking his hand and inspecting the ink up close. "Holy shit, I knew it. It's scarred as hell. Not to mention the missing letter, though I suppose it's fine if it's what you wanted. But—damn, they're all raised. It's painful to look at; that had to hurt. How much pressure did they put on the needle? I'd be wearing gloves all the time if I were in your shoes. Well, after hacking the butcher's body to pieces and throwing them to the sea kings. Do you want me to fix it? It probably won't be as good as it could have been, but anything I do will be miles better than this. What do you say?"

To be honest, after that spiel –which, he noted, had contained more swearwords than everything else he had heard coming from the girl's mouth since they had met– Law could hardly think about anything to say. He didn't know whether to be offended, surprised, or, a small part of him admitted, grateful for the offer.

As a side note, he also registered that her fingers were overly rough for someone who mostly drew for a living and denied having much experience swinging a sword, and filed the info away.

"Oh, sorry," Saki let go of his him, and with a grin that would have put any seller to shame she asked again. "What do you think? The studio is right next door, and I'll give you a discount!"

Law felt tempted to look for the Visual Den Den Mushi that had to be recording somewhere. Maybe from the top of the bookshelf? No, there were only books there. Hidden behind the pictures on the wall? They looked normal enough.

"Saki-ya," he started, thoroughly weirded out, which, he had to give it to her, didn't happen often, "do you often take pirates home to pull a sales pitch on them?" He wasn't sure if he should feel annoyed or take the situation with humor. He tried to keep in mind that they had gotten a free meal and some information out of it.

"Sorry, sorry, I may have gone a bit overboard." She could have starred in a toothpaste advertisement. Christmas toothpaste. "But I could really fix it for you."

"I'll… consider the offer," Law replied, surprised that he was, well, actually considering it. He didn't mind his tattoos, but it wouldn't hurt to have them properly redone. Picking his nodachi, he stood up from his seat. "Thank you for your kindness, Saki-ya, but we should be going. We have business to attend."

"Of course," she said, amused. "See you around, I hope. Remember, I work next door."

Law made for the door sporting a smirk but still slightly out of his element, and Bepo quickly followed behind, biding goodbye to the girl.

It wasn't until a few hours later that Law realized the girl never asked for his name.

—

It was night in Asteria, and everybody who knew what was good for them was safely locked inside their homes.

There were two types of people that came out at night in that town, and neither were the kind you wanted to cross: those who hid in the shadows of the alleys to do their dealings, and those who walked the empty main streets exposing their presence to everybody. The latter were the most dangerous type, since it meant they were strong enough to do so, or had enough connections that they could roam around without fear that someone would lay a hand on them.

Saki used to be one of the latter, not long ago, but something had gone wrong and now she had to be more careful during her night excursions. She had been stalking Rickhard's men for two weeks already, trying to find patterns in their movements and schedules. She felt she had a good grasp on them already, and the moment to strike was getting near. Time was running out. She quickly shoved her unease aside before it could take a hold of her. She had a purpose. Clear your mind. Hesitation meant failure, and she couldn't afford it.

Her night's routine found itself rudely interrupted by a nearby ruckus. She immediately moved closer to the source of the noise, and surely enough, in a crossing of three alleys secluded by tall buildings, there was a group of Rickhard's thugs attacking two unfortunate sods.

It didn't surprise her that much when, on closer inspection, the people being attacked were her guests from earlier. Pirates were drawn to trouble, in her experience, and these were proving to be no exception. She would have kept lurking in the shadows, but then she noticed movement from an alley the bear and his captain were not paying attention to.

She honestly did not care about a couple of dead pirates, but if it meant having an excuse to take down some of those thugs early and saving an adorable polar bear, she couldn't see many downsides to helping. As long as none remained to tell the tale of her being there, she'd be fine.

She slid her sword outside its scabbard as she ran towards the attackers, and her blade pierced from behind the heart of a man who was about to jump an oblivious Bepo. She doubted he could have killed the bear, but he would have still left a nasty gash. Bepo turned around just in time to see her hit another attacker on the forehead with the hilt of her sword and finishing him off with a slash to the neck.

"Saki?! What are you doing here?"

"That's my line, fluffy," she said, fastidiously rubbing a spot of her arm where blood had sprinkled. "You seem to be a magnet for danger."

"I—I'm sorry..."

She briefly wondered how the hell someone that huge could be so apologetic all the time, but soon she found Law's nodachi pointing at her, and she had more pressing things to worry about.

"Is that how you thank someone who just saved your subordinate's life?" She bluffed, though she was genuinely miffed. On top of the bad tattoos, dubious fashion sense, and an apparent weakness for animal prints, she could add rude to the pile. What a keeper.

"Answer his question."

Saki sheathed her sword, and held her hands up, never losing sight of Law and ready to book it like an F-Wani on speed if he made any sudden movements. There was no room for doubt that he'd kill her if she said something he didn't like. She swore this was the last time she tried to help a pirate, which, on second thought, would be an easy promise to keep no matter how badly the conversation went.

"I was patrolling. I've been following these guys' movements for a while now, and they happened to lead me to you." She felt she had said enough for the time being, so she pushed back, because by all rights this was her town and he was the suspicious one, going out at night and getting into fights. "What were you doing here this late at night? Newcomers to the city don't tend to get involved with these people unless they have something to do with them in the first place."

Law considered his options for a few seconds, until he finally decided to lower his sword. "You don't sound very innocent yourself, Saki-ya. Why would you be stalking these people unless you too were involved with them?"

"Because I was until a few weeks ago."

'I can't count how many of them I've seen dropping dead on a dark alley.' Her earlier comment took on a new meaning.

"Killed any nosy pirates lately?"

She registered a bit of surprise before smiling grimly at the accusation. "Not for a while," she admitted, and she took a quick glance to the now deserted alleys. "This is no place to talk, Mr. Trafalgar. Care to follow me home again?"

It confirmed some of Law's suspicions. "You knew who I was from the start."

"Wasn't difficult to find out with that Jolly Roger on your clothes. Besides, memorizing wanted posters is a basic survival tactic in this line of work."

Law was still eyeing her with distrust, and Bepo was on edge, too. She had apparently saved them, but all this could still be a stupidly elaborate trap.

Keeping his distance, he said, "We'll come with you. But if you do anything odd–"

"I'm deader than the human garbage who inked your hands should be, I know."

Law was convinced that the woman in front of him was completely fearless, stupid, or both.

Taking the lead, she promptly tripped on a wobbly cobblestone and fell face first to the ground.

As Bepo rushed past him in a panic to help her get up, Law decided to settle for option two.