"This is where you'll be sleeping," said a crew member of the Heart Pirates.

"Thanks Valerie," Anka said.

"My name is Varune. This is the third time I've told you."

Anka didn't care much for Varune. He was bland and stoic which meant he was completely boring. She had wished Law ordered someone else to give her a tour of the ship, someone who could be easily tormented and provide some entertainment. Varune hadn't responded to any of her snide remarks or witty comments. The only thing that got any kind of response from him was getting his name wrong. Another reason she disliked him —although she would never admit it —was his impressive height. He easily dwarfed Anka, making her look like an angry garden gnome. As a rule, Anka tended to immediately dislike anyone who was taller than her, which included almost everyone she met due to her small stature.

The Heart Pirates shared a common sleeping area. Small bunk beds lined the walls of the compact hallway leaving hardly any space to walk. He pointed to a top bunk in the corner of the area and furthest removed the rest of the crew. Anka would have laughed at the obvious attempt to keep her away from the rest of the crew, but the shared sleeping space was far from funny. Her disgust was clear on her face, but Varune had correctly assumed that bringing up the subject would only cause more problems and he had tried his best to travel the path of least resistance when it came to Anka. However, a problem arose when her eyes fell upon the boiler suit which had been neatly laid out on the bed.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's the uniform we—"

"No no no, it's the uniform you wear. It is absolutely not"—she pointed between herself and Varune— "the uniform we wear. I don't wear uniforms."

"The captain ordered that you wear it."

"And you can tell your captain to shove it," and she threw the suit at him before storming out.

Fashion was never on the list of Anka's priorities. If anything, it was likely near the bottom of the things she cared about. Functionality had always been of far greater value than fashion. From what Anka could tell, the boiler suit was made of a versatile material and had great mobility necessary for hand-to-hand combat. Despite the diverse uses of the clothing, Anka refused to wear it more out of principle than anything else. The boiler suit was a trademark of the Heart Pirates, with the symbol of the crew emblazoned on the chest. The last thing Anka wanted was for people to publicly recognize her as part of the Heart Pirates.

To further herself from the issue of the tight sleeping quarters, she found a quiet place near one of the sparse widows and found her mind wandering to Rayleigh's final words to her when they had departed.

Multiple times now, her father had been brought up to her, and she wondered why that was. She hadn't even thought about her father for some time. The memories of her father took place sporadically throughout her childhood, with many memories being too vague to be considered useful. The most vivid were of the times when he used to tell stories to her about the legends of the sea. Looking back on it, her father had spoken of the Dark King with respect and an air of familiarity that only someone who knew Rayleigh personally could possess. She wondered what relationship her father had with the living legend, but her mind soon shifted to a memory of her childhood which had resurfaced.

She remembered her father coming home after a long time away. As he walked through the front door, both Anka and her younger brother had gone hyper with joy. He smiled warmly and told the two energetic children that he had returned with presents. Anka's gift was held inside an ornate wooden box with a large metal latch. Inside was an intricately designed knife. The handle was wooden with a floral pattern carved into it. The blade also had something emblazoned on it, but she could not remember what it was. Her mother had at first been furious at her father for getting a young child such a dangerous weapon, but after much pleading and a few promises she had allowed Anka to keep the knife tucked away in her dresser drawer. She wondered if it was still there.

Her father had visited often when she was a toddler, but as she grew older the visits became further and further apart. By the time she turned ten, he had stopped visiting altogether. The last time he visited, he had given Anka the knife. After his last visit, she had on multiple occasions asked her mother where he had gone and when he was coming back. Her inquiries were often met with her mother frantically changing the subject. When Anka turned twelve, she asked again what had happened to her father. This time, her mother had slammed her hands on the table and told Anka that her father had something more important to attend to and that he would be away for a while. Anka never asked again.

Law had received word that Anka had refused to wear the boiler suit. This was to be expected. What he had found odd, was that she had not complained about the tight sleeping quarters which she was forced to share with the rest of the crew. She had also not asked about his own living conditions, which were more spacious than her own. Law's quarters were not large by any means. They had barely managed to fit a desk in the cramped space. But he had a space he could call his own and he was grateful for it, especially with Anka joining the crew.

He languidly flipped through a medical textbook he had read at least twice, paying little attention to the words on the page. The submarine had been submerged for a couple hours now, and he decided it was time to resurface for some fresh air.

When he opened the door, he saw Anka who had almost reached the handle before the door had opened.

"You bastard,"

"Miss Anka, how can I help you?"

"You have a room all to yourself while the rest of your crew sleeps like a can of sardines? I guess I should've known,"

On that front, Law agreed with her. In the beginning, Law was fine with sleeping out with the rest of the crew, but they had very forcefully insisted he take the room for himself.

"That's all?"

"Actually," she said, stepping passed him into his room, "I wanted to see how his royal highness lives. It's about as cushy as I imagined." She ran her fingers over the spines of the books which lined the walls. Her sarcasm irked him.

It occurred to Law that for Anka to have come and talk to him of her own volition, she must have been monumentally bored. However, his quarters appeared to interest Anka very little and soon she let out a judgemental 'Hmph' and left the room.

She was about to walk away but turned back abruptly with a hesitant expression on her face. They stood quietly in the hallway for some time. Law was emotionless as Anka wrestled with something in her mind.

But she said nothing and turned on her heel to leave.

Law noticed that she seemed more jittery than before, almost restless. Then, he remembered something.

She's claustrophobic.

"We'll be resurfacing soon," he said.

She stopped mid-step and looked back at him with a questioning gaze. When Law said nothing, she took a deep breath and relaxed her muscles. She continued walking.

Law walked behind her and ordered his men to bring the Polar Tang to the water's surface. Bepo and Anka were the first to exit the boat onto the deck. They both looked relieved.

The crew spent the next couple of hours lazing around, waiting until they had reached their destination. Shachi and Penguin had been fishing for the last two hours and had only caught an old boot filled with sand and seaweed. Bepo had fallen asleep the second he had left the confines of the submarine, giving Law a comfortable place to lean on.

He found it odd that Anka had not immediately asked where they were headed or how long it would take to get there. Instead, she had found a comfortable place against the railing and had fallen asleep. Many of his crewmates seemed eager to get to know her, but too afraid to speak to her, much less wake her up. He wondered how well she would get along with everyone else now that she would be forced into spending so much time with them. He doubted she truly hated anyone who was part of the crew based on their personality. If anything, she probably hated them more out of principle because they were affiliated with Law and would follow his orders.

She seemed to be having a bad dream. She looked distressed and seemed to be whispering something inaudible. He decided not to wake her up.

Anka jolted awake, her breathing uneven and her hands shaking. She couldn't remember what she was dreaming about, but that was probably for the best. It took a moment to calm herself down, and she soon felt exhausted despite her impromptu nap. She was happy to find that none of the crew had seemed noticed her little episode, but still felt angry at herself for being so vulnerable in front of people she didn't trust.

Most of the men were busy, running around and readying the boat to dock. Anka stood up and turned around to see an island not far off in the distance.

They docked at the eastern-most tip of the island, a small cove protecting the submarine. The island was small but densely packed with life. Just from the shore alone, sounds of merriment could be heard coming from the town centre. The most prominent structures on the island were three large windmills situated near the northern shore.

The crew excitedly began to splinter into smaller groups, many of the mechanics describing how they needed new tools or materials and the cooks going to restock their supplies. Anka began to wander away from the group, looking for something exciting to do. She was immediately stopped.

"Miss Anka, you're coming with me," Law said.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. It was clear that he had intended to keep her on a short leash while she was traveling with him. Despite being initially defiant, she found herself acquiescing to his orders. The incredible pride within screamed at her for being so obedient, but she was too exhausted —both physically and mentally —to argue just for the sake of arguing. Especially over something of as small importance as this.

As Law headed into the town centre, Anka had noticed the other three crew members following behind. She had remembered Bepo clearly, it wasn't so often one met a talking bear, but she was less familiar with the other two, although she was sure she they had introduced themselves at some point. It was easy to remember Penguin's name; he wore it on his hat, but she couldn't remember the red-haired man's name. She was pretty sure it started with an 'S' but other than that, she knew nothing about him.

It seemed like these three always followed Law around. Anka had always thought of them as obedient dogs who wagged their tails to please their master. She hoped she wouldn't end up like them but she realized following even one of Law's orders might take her down a slippery slope. Next thing she knew, she would be running to fetch the morning news just for a pat on the head. The thought alone was enough to make her gag.

The town, though small, was bustling and vibrant. People filled the streets, enthusiastically chatting to one another about what the nearby vendors had on sale or a big fish they had caught near the docks. Law saw the crowds as a great distraction to get away if things were to go awry. Despite the shelter provided by the swarms of people, it made it difficult to travel in a group, especially since Penguin and Shachi were easily distracted like magpies. The situation was only aggravated when Anka had stopped suddenly, almost as if she were frozen mid-step. The shocked look on her face encouraged Law to follow her line of sight.

His eyes fell on a man bargaining with a vendor. Despite the man's short height, he had a menacing aura attributed to his robust build and the tattoos which covered his arms. The vendor he was talking to looked afraid.

As if the man could feel the gazes set upon him, he turned to look at the group. When he saw Anka, his face turned to one of surprise quickly followed by delight.

"Taverens? Taverens is that you?"

Law's eyes shifted towards Anka, who still hadn't recovered from the shock.

"Don," she said.

"No way!" he said, leaving his current conversation with the vendor and running towards Anka.

A hesitant smile creeped onto her face.

"I thought you were dead!" he laughed.

"I might as well be."

"I haven't seen you in years!"

"Yeah, it's been a while,"

He slung his arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close.

"I've actually been looking for you," he said, "But I thought you'd died after that huge mess at Marineford so I stopped. Must've been a huge stroke of luck to just find you here,"

Anka was obviously confused, but before she could ask a single question, the man interrupted her again.

"How about we talk about it over a drink? You can bring your friends here."

"Not friends."

He laughed. "Of course."

When the man removed his arm from Anka's shoulders, Law found something within himself release, as if he had been holding his breath. He followed them over to the nearest pub with Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi trailing behind him. While Anka and the man had found a place at the bar, the rest of the group found a table and ordered drinks and food. Though Law wasn't thrilled at the idea of being sidetracked by a person he did not know or trust, his curiosity was too large to ignore. He couldn't hear what they were talking about over the noise of the pub, but he could see Anka's face as her expressions changed over the course of their conversation. She lit up a cigarette.

Judging by her body language, she seemed to be comfortable with the man. From what she had said, his name was Don. Law hadn't heard of a Don before, not in wanted posters or in the marines. What was their relationship? It was obvious that they were not romantically involved, if not clear from Don's hungry stares at the bartender —who was as attractive as she was well-endowed —then by Anka's noticeable apathy towards the man's raging libido. Though the man may not have been a pirate, he was equally as crass, maybe more.

Law's reconnaissance was often interrupted by Shachi or Penguin who were in the middle of trying to one-up each other based on who got the most attention during their time on the Maiden Islands. The interruption was not unwelcome, as Law soon grew tired of analyzing the pair. However, he kept the two in the corner of his eye.

"So why were you looking for me?"

"Hey, slow down will ya? I haven't seen you in what, five years? What've you been doing in all this time?"

Anka sighed. "Don't pretend like you haven't been keeping track of me the entire time."

The bartender came over and asked what they wanted to drink. Don said rum, while Anka asked for whatever was strongest.

"Damn, did you see that bartender?" Don whistled.

Anka rolled her eyes. "If you insist on stupid small-talk, then tell me what you've been doing. Unlike you, I don't like spending my time stalking other people."

He wouldn't take his eyes off the bartender. Anka kicked him in the shin.

"Focus Merryweather,"

"Ouch! What the hell Taverens?!" he said, rubbing the sore spot.

"You still doing the same kind of work?" she asked.

"Not really,"

She raised her eyebrows.

"I've… diversified," he said

"Diversified?"

"I'll do any job you got, as long as I get a good wage. Speaking of which, I'm actually in the middle of a job right now, but I'm kind of in a tough spot,"

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you about it later,"

The bartender came back with their drinks. His eyes lingered on the woman.

Anka was very familiar Merryweather Don in the past. They had worked together very closely in their shared profession before she had become a pirate. During their jobs, his penchant for getting distracted by pretty women was astounding. Now however, Anka didn't like thinking about their past. He was just a horrible reminder of what a terrible person she was.

"Why were you looking for me, Merryweather?"

He stared at his drink for some time. After a long pause, he finally answered.

"Well, I don't have all the details so…"

"Spit it out already."

He sighed. "Someone's after you Taverens."

She was quiet for a moment, taking a long drag of her cigarette.

"I don't see how this is new information. I'm a pirate Don, it's kinda in the job description."

"No, you don't get it," he shook his head, "It's not the marines or the world government or anything like that. I don't even think this guy's a pirate."

"So, what? He's just… some guy?"

"I don't know, but he's after you. And he has some weird ability that allows him to get into people's heads,"

"Like a Devil Fruit?"

"Maybe,"

"Is this guy trying to kill me?"

"Probably, but I don't know for sure,"

"Do you know what he looks like? How old he his?"

"No,"

"Why's he after me?"

"I don't know,"

"So let me get this straight," she said, "There's this guy who's looking for me for some unknown reason. He's not a pirate and he doesn't work for the government. We have no idea what he looks like or his age. He may or may not be a Devil Fruit user and he may or may not want to kill me,"

"Look, I know it doesn't sound like anything but—"

"You think?!" she laughed sharply, "It sounds like you got nothing Merryweather. I've pissed off a lot of people, this could be anyone. Where did you even get this information from?"

"You know what it's like. I hear snippets of information from time to time. Just watch your back, okay?"

"Right, as if I don't already," she said, and downed the rest of her liquor.

During their conversation, a rather drunk and red-faced man had taken a seat next to Anka. She had ignored him at first, but he had slowly inched closer to her, until they were practically shoulder to shoulder.

"You got a problem, old man?" Anka said.

"Oh not at all," the man slurred, "I was just thinkin' you'd like to have a drink with me o're there in private. You can tell me 'bout those tattoos you got,"

"I'd rather not, I'm in the middle of a conversation here,"

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Just you n' me,"

"Leave."

"Don't be like that! Have a little fun!"

"Look old man, I don't want to make a scene over here, so just leave quietly or you'll find your head half-way through this bar," she said, and put out her cigarette, chucking the butt at his feet.

With that, the man got up from his seat, murmuring swears under his breath and looking very unhappy. Anka had little tolerance for drunk people, especially when they decided it was their right to interject in her conversations. When she thought about it, she figured that she had little tolerance for most people.

"Anyway," she said, turning back to Merryweather who looked all too pleased.

"Only halfway through the bar?" he teased.

"I have to save some of my strength for when I'm tired of dealing with you," she deadpanned.

He chuckled. "Same as always,"

"You said something earlier about the job your—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a light thump on the back of her head followed by the sounds of glass shattering. Her hand immediately went to the back of her skull, only to find shards of glass stuck in her hair. She turned to see the same drunken man as before, holding the neck of a broken bottle in his hand and looking stunned. He had probably expected Anka to be bleeding or passed out cold on the bar.

"You've got to be kidding me," she let out a sharp breath and stood to face the man, "You've just made a huge mistake,"

In a state of fear and desperation, the man went for another attack using the broken bottle and stabbed Anka in the abdomen. Upon contact, rather than piercing her skin, the bottle shattered leaving only shards of glass in his hand. She was left unharmed, while the man suffered several small cuts in his hand, and a large gash across his palm. A wicked smile appeared on her face.

Anka reeled back and punched the man in the nose. The impact of the punch was forceful enough to make his head slam into the floor, slightly cracking the hardwood floors. The man was out cold, bleeding from where a few of his teeth had been knocked out.

Paying little attention to the shocked gazes and whispers of the other patrons, Anka sat back down at the bar as if nothing had happened, shaking bits of glass free from her hair. She glanced back at Law, whom she had tried her best to ignore since she had entered the pub. He looked very amused.

"What happened to you?" Merryweather said.

Anka looked at him incredulously. "What happened to me? A drunk asshole smashed a bottle against my head and stabbed me in case you haven't been paying attention."

"That's not what I meant,"

"Then what do you mean?"

"You're… different,"

"Different how?"

"Well for one thing," he said, looking at the unconscious man lying on the floor behind them, "he's still breathing. Usually, one punch from you could kill any normal person. And you didn't even see him coming! I thought for sure you'd sense him, that's why I didn't say anything,"

Anka didn't say anything and stared into her empty glass. There was a break in the conversation, so Merryweather took it upon himself to change the subject.

"So those guys you've been hanging around with," he gestured loosely towards where Law and the others had been sitting, "How'd you get roped into working for him? I thought you'd become a pirate so you wouldn't have to listen to anyone else."

"Let's not talk about this,"

He snickered. "Repaying a debt?"

She frowned. Despite not having any contact with each other for the past five years, Merryweather Don knew how Anka functioned and where she placed her values.

"Tell me about this job you're on," she said, wanting to get as far away as possible from the current subject.

"I've been hired to find someone," he said, taking a picture out of his pocket and sliding it over to Anka.

The picture was of a young teenage girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen. Despite her youth, the girl exuded an air of elegance. She must have been the daughter of a noble or rich businessman judging by the jewels encrusted on every hem of her dress and pin in her hair. She was beautiful.

"Her name is Fairwane Clementine. She's the daughter of Fairwane Simeon who owns a pretty big company selling jewelry. He's a ruthless businessman and apparently, kind of an asshole. But from what I've heard…" Merryweather trailed off. He discretely checked their surroundings to make sure no one was listening in. He leaned in slightly and whispered his next words under his breath; "He also runs a huge underworld organization for distributing illegal weapons. He's an arms dealer.

"Clementine over here seems to have run away from home after finding the skeletons in dear ol' dad's closet. When she ran off, she took about ten million berries in cash and at least seven million berries worth of jewels and crystals."

"How was she able to take that much all by herself?"

Merryweather smiled, knowing Anka would have asked that. "Strangely, on the same day she went missing, one of her closest servants also went missing. Guy by the name of Hardin Clyde."

"And where's his picture? You should probably be on the look out for him too, right?"

"Funnily enough, rich people don't take pictures of the household help. Hard enough finding out the guy's name."

"So how much are you making off this job?"

His eyes gleamed with excitement, "I got paid a ten million deposit just for taking the job. I also get to keep all the money and jewels she stole if I can find them. As for actually finding her, that depends on how well of a job I do. We settled on a thirty million berry minimum for a worst case scenario where I find her dead or something. But if I can find her and return her home unharmed in the next month or so, I'm looking at two hundred million berries in my pocket."

Stunned, Anka started counting on her fingers, "So you're telling me that if all goes as planned, you're making two hundred twenty seven million berries for a single job?"

"And," he said, his smile widening, "If I give Simeon the head of that servant his daughter ran off with, I get an extra fifty million bonus,"

Anka was very aware of how well paying Merryweather's profession was, but this amount of money was almost unheard of from her experience. The Fairwane's must be sitting on a literal mountain of cash for him to be throwing such a huge amount of money around. Merryweather laughed as Anka collected her jaw from the floor.

"Wait a second," Anka said, regaining her sanity, "Why does Mr. Moneybags want the servant dead?"

Merryweather shrugged, "Didn't bother asking. So long as Simeon's paying good money, I'd do pretty much anything. Hell, I'd kill a damn baby for the money he's paying,"

Anka didn't doubt it. In the years she had known him, she had never once thought of Merryweather as a man weighed down by morals or ethics. Useless concepts like that couldn't be further from his mind; in the end, money was all that mattered. Most of the time, Anka found herself agreeing.

"So why bring this up with me? Why not just finish the job yourself?"

"Trust me, I'd love to. But It's already been a month since I've taken this job, and Simeon is far from being a patient man. One more month, and I'll see the pay getting docked by at least half, if not more. I'd rather split the money with you than lose it all," he said.

Anka thought about it for a while.

"Are you trying to bribe me into being your partner again?" she said.

"Is it working?"

"No,"

"Then I'm not."

She sighed but couldn't stop herself from smiling. Don always had that affect on her.

"Why don't you find a new partner? Plenty of skilled people on the market,"

"Look Taverens, you know I hate complimenting you, but you're one of the only people on this planet I'd trust with this sort of thing. Now I don't know what exactly screwed you up, but you're my best bet right now, for better or worse."

"And if I were to take this job, how'd we split it?"

"Well, there's no way I'm splitting the deposit. Think of it as my fee for finding the job. For the rest, how about seventy-thirty,"

She let out a sharp laugh, "You better be giving me that seventy percent or you're out of you're damn mind Merryweather,"

"Hey, I've done a month's worth of work on this job. I deserve that much."

"And how far have you gotten in that month?"

He sighed, defeated, "Fine, sixty-forty; final offer."

Anka tapped her fingers on the bar and stared at Merryweather, challenging him further. But his gaze was unrelenting, and his face was motionless. He wouldn't budge any further.

"Alright," she said, "But I'm only agreeing to this because I still have to stick with those guys in the long run," she gestured towards Law and his subordinates, "This isn't me joining back up with you. This is me getting some extra cash on the side, deal?"

"Deal," he said, "Meet me out near the windmills an hour before midnight, I'll go over what I got," he finished his drink, slapping a handful of cash down on the bar, enough for both his and Anka's drinks. "My treat," he smiled.

"How generous of you," she said.

"One more thing," he said, standing up, "those guys you're travelling with, you trust them?"

"I would trust a compulsive liar over Trafalgar Law," she said.

"And the rest of them?"

Anka shrugged, "By themselves they don't seem horrible, but they follow that asshole. I wouldn't trust them,"

Merryweather hummed thoughtfully, tapping his fingers on the wooden surface of the bar.

"Why? Looking for a better partner? Or maybe more people to split your wealth with?"

"Not a chance," he laughed.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"Gather up some more information,"

"Alright, see you."

With one last lustful look and the bartender, Merryweather left. Anka pocketed the picture of Fairwane Clementine and decided to sit back down with the Heart Pirates. Law probably wouldn't let her leave the room anyway.

Law looked at her with an unreadable expression. She debated whether she should tell him about her deal with Merryweather, but decided she wanted to keep as much information as possible to herself. She didn't like the fact that Law knew more about her than she knew about him. When she thought about it, she knew next to nothing about his past, and it annoyed the shit out of her.

Anka left the bar and sat down next to Bepo. Shachi and Penguin were still arguing about who was more popular, but the debate had gotten much more heated. Law decided to stay out of it, it was interesting enough just to watch both of them go at it. The few times Bepo tried to interject in their argument, he was met with hostility. Each attempt ended with Bepo apologizing profusely.

"Aphelandra talked to me more!" Penguin shouted.

"No way, she talked to me way more!" Shachi said.

This went on for some time. Anka seemed uncomfortable, looking at the exit as if she had regretted not leaving with the man.

"What do you think Anka?" Shachi said, turning to her.

"Yeah, you knew the women on the island way better. Who was more popular with them, me or Shachi?"

"Neither of you," she blurted out. She almost seemed surprised by her own answer, but kept going anyway. "The only time the women on the island ever talked to either of you, it was just out of politeness or curiosity. I doubt any of the Kuja actually liked either of you."

Both Shachi and Penguin looked offended.

"What? How can you say something so mean?" Shachi pouted.

"Yeah Anka, those women were definitely interested in me!"

"Seriously, none of those women could give less of a crap about the two of you. The only reason they would have shown any interest at all was because you two were men. There could have been literally anyone else in your place, and they would act exactly the same. It has nothing to do with the two of you."

The three of them bickered back and forth, and Law couldn't help but smile. Despite her best intentions, Anka couldn't help but interact with —and maybe even get along with —the Heart Pirates. She was beginning to fit in with the rest of the crew, but Law decided to avoid bringing up the topic in front of her; she would only isolate herself further from the group, if only just to spite him.

But Law could see her hatred of the Heart Pirates slowly ebbing away.