Law watched his rowdy crew from the overstuffed chair in the corner of the subs rec-room. It was Graig's birthday and his celebration was in full swing. The majority were gathered around the sofas centered on the left wall where Krysta perched on the back of one couch against the wall, Graig leaning comfortably against her legs. Her head was thrown back as she chugged the bottle in her hand. Across from her on the opposite couch Shachi was in a similar position as the crew chanted encouragingly. Finishing first, Shachi slammed his empty bottle on the low table in front of him, the men around him erupting in cheers.

Krysta pulled her drink away with a gasp followed by a curse. "Alright, you won that one, name your prize."

Shachi made a show of tapping his chin and thinking. Krysta rolled her eyes and took another sip from her bottle.

"Sing for us Krysta-chan."

Krysta choked on the ale in her mouth.

"What makes you think I can sing," she sputtered between coughs.

"Aw, come on, you knew every song at the Ceili," Graig supplied.

"Just because I know a tune doesn't mean I can sing it." Krysta argued, regaining her composure.

"Don't sell yourself short Krysta-ya," Laws voice cut in and Krysta looked at him, head tilted in confusion. She felt a flush rise to her cheeks as she realized he heard her singing the lullaby a few weeks ago. Her fingers brushed over the fresh scar on her arm as she shot him a glare.

"No one wants me to wreck their eardrums tonight," she tried deflecting again.

"Well, if you insist on not singing, you could just sit on my lap the rest of the night," Graig tilted his head back and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Hey! Why your lap," Shachi complained, "I won the race."

"Because it's my birthday," Graig supplied easily.

Krysta rolled her eyes and glanced over at Law, surprised to find him glaring slightly in his crewmen's direction.

"Fine, I'll sing," resigned Krysta, "Don't expect anything spectacular. I don't know any of the shanties by heart, you want a love song or a tale?"

"Sing us your favorite," Shachi grinned, a chorus of agreement went around the circle.

Krysta drained the last of her drink and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Her voice wasn't very loud but it managed to carry across the room. True to her word, she didn't hit every note and she struggled with the key here and there, but she managed to capture everyone's attention with the tale she was weaving. When she hit the chorus Law's ears pricked as she switched to the language he heard her use with the girl, before seamlessly switching back to common tongue.

When the tune ended Krysta opened her eyes and was met with stunned silence. Shifting nervously she cleared her throat.

"I did warn you."

As she spoke the spell over the room was broken and her ears were assaulted with applause, whistles and shouts of amazement.

Damn, Krysta-chan, you were holding out on us," Graig grinned up at her.

"Krysta-chan that was beautiful!" Shachi and Penguin crowed in unison.

Krysta felt her cheeks heat up and looked away, only to make eye contact with a smirking Law.

"You're all being ridiculous," Krysta tried to wave the praise away "I'm not that good, you're just drunk."

She maneuvered off the couch and headed for the door.

"Wait Krysta-chan, we weren't trying to run you off," Shachi looked guilty.

"I'm just going to get some air," Krysta reassured with a smile before slipping out.

X~X~X~X~X

Krysta took a deep breath of salty air as she stepped on deck. The cool breeze pleasant on her flushed cheeks. She sighed as she leaned against the railing, staring out across the dark ocean waves. Hearing footsteps behind her, she could guess who had joined her.

"Worried I'm planning to jump overboard," Krysta teased.

Law hummed non-comital, leaning back on the rail beside her. "You didn't tell me you were bilingual."

Krysta glanced at him in confusion a moment before the remark clicked.

"Oh, you're referring to my elder tongue."

"Elder tongue?"

"Sorry, that's what we called it," Krysta waved a hand in front of her, "It's called Kalaic, it's the native language on the Celtic Isles."

"I've never heard of it," Law eyed her

"That's because no one speaks it outside the Isles. It's a dying language, only the elders speak it exclusively, for everyone else it's easier to use common tongue."

"You're very good at leaving out details you know," Law said as he thought over this new information.

"You asked, I answered," Krysta shrugged, "I'm under no obligation to spill the details of my life to you of my own accord."

"Shame," Law teased with a smirk, "I thought we had become closer." Krysta couldn't help the small smile that crept on her face in return as she looked at him.

A crash resounded over the other side of the ship. They both looked over, seeing a drunken pair making their way along the docks. The island they were at was a popular destination for pirates; Jolly Rogers clearly flown along he harbor. When Krysta turned back to Law he looked contemplative.

"How drunk are you," he asked suddenly.

"I'm not," The sudden shift had Krysta's guard up in an instant, "Why?"

"Good, come with me," Law ordered without answering her, making his way to the gangplank.

Krysta followed reluctantly, "Where are we going?"

"Hunting,"

X~X~X~X~X

Krysta followed Law to a crowded bar, her suspicion increasing with each step.

"You know there's plenty of booze on the sub right," Krysta spoke up as they entered. Law found a table with a booth seat set against the wall near the exit, allowing them to face the crowd. The chairs that would have been placed across from the booth were missing, forcing Krysta to sit beside Law.

"We aren't here for the alcohol," answered Law as he waved over one of the servers. He ordered them drinks and Krysta stared at him with a raised brow.

"Your words and actions are contradicting," Krysta pointed out, "Are you going to explain what we are doing here."

"In time," Law smirked, draping his arm over her shoulders. He could feel Krysta's growing frustration; he couldn't wait to see her reaction when he told her why she had come along.

"Hands off," Krysta shrugged his arm away. She tolerated his hold when they slept, but she wasn't about to let him get comfortable with her in public.

"Don't draw attention," Law casually replaced his arm, "We need to blend in."

"We're in a bar full of other pirates, I doubt we stick out," Krysta huffed but didn't remove his arm. Law sipped his drink, eyes scanning the crowd until he spotted what he was looking for.

"See the man at the center table, with the purple plume in his coat," Law spoke close to Krysta's ear to be heard above the din of the crowd.

Krysta suppressed a shiver as his breath ghosted her ear. "Yeah, what about him?"

"You're going to seduce him," Law stated calmly.

"What!?" Krysta turned to look at Law incredulously, "Why the hell would I do that?"

"I need you to lure him out back and immobilize him with your shadow." Laws voice remained steady but his amused smile revealed how much he was enjoying her reaction.

"Why?" Krysta raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see," Law had a dark glint in his eye.

"You can't be serious?" Krysta trusted Law enough to believe he wouldn't put her in a situation she couldn't handle, but this still seemed odd.

"I am," Law's smirk grew, "Go on, you had no issue seducing those slave traders, although it might have been the dress more than you."

"You…" Krysta felt her cheeks heat up and looked away, "You're impossible."

Krysta pushed away from Law, standing up. She threw him a dirty look over her shoulder before making her way over to the pirate Law had pointed out. Half an hour later, Law watched as the man took Krysta by the hand and led her out the door. He gave it another thirty seconds before he went out after them.

Krysta led the man around the corner, away from prying eyes, before stopping and turning back to the inebriated pirate, giving him an apologetic smile.

"Just for the record, this wasn't my idea," Krysta took a step back and her shadow shot forward. The man went rigid, eyes wide in panic. Krysta saw the blue of Law's room glide over them as he approached from behind.

"Mes," Law pressed a hand to the pirates back and a cube popped out of his chest. The pirate's eyes rolled as he passed out. Krysta pulled back her shadow and his body crumpled to the ground.

"Is this his heart?" Krysta scooped up the cube, nearly dropping it as she realized the heart inside was still beating. "Shit, is he still alive?"

"Yes," Law smirked at her astonishment, "I'm sure you've put together the basics of my devil fruit."

"This is amazing," Krysta held the heart up, examining it, "Your devil fruit is on a completely different level than mine."

"A devil fruits power correlates to its user, you've got remarkable skill with yours, considering you've only been actively using it for five years."

"Thanks," Krysta felt her heart skip at the compliment, "but why are we taking his heart? Who is he exactly?"

Law produced a wanted poster from his back pocket, showing it to Krysta. It was for the man currently on the ground; he had a decent bounty.

"So…you're weeding out the competition?" Krysta still didn't understand Law's goal, and he wasn't helping.

"In a way," Law plucked the heart and poster out of Krysta's hands and placed both in a drawstring bag which he then tied to his waist. "Now let's go before he wakes up."

"Isn't there easier ways to take out rival captains?" Krysta glanced back as they left the alleyway.

"Yes, but I chose this method for a reason."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Add it to the collection," Law stated casually, his amused smirk still in place.

"Ugh, and you complain about me sparing details," Krysta huffed before her eyes widened at a sudden realization. "Is this what you've been doing when you disappeared on the last few islands?"

Law nodded, looking up and down the street, deciding where they would go next.

"If you were getting hearts on your own why did I need to come?" Krysta's annoyance resurfacing.

"Normally I would have to wait for an opportunity to catch them alone," Law turned left, heading for another bar further up the way, "You expedite the process. There are several notable crews docked here tonight. I plan to make the most of it."

X~X~X~X

They collected six hearts in all; their last target pulled a knife on Krysta before she could catch him in her shadow. Law caught the tail end of the scuffle as he turned the corner, watching as Krysta threw the man to the ground, pulling his arm back and digging her knee into his lower back. She huffed in annoyance as her shadow snaked around his body, binding him. Once secure she hauled him to his knees facing Law.

"What happened?" Law casually examined the man's bloody face.

"Asshole tried to gut me as soon as we got in the alley," Krysta gestured to the knife on the ground a few feet away. "I don't know how he got his bounty so high, I didn't even need my shadow to beat him."

Law pulled up his room and extracted the man's heart. Krysta let his body fall face first to the dirt, dusting herself off. Law stepped closer to Krysta, looking her over for injuries. The only apparent one was the shallow cut across her cheek. Law ran his thumb under it, wiping away some of the blood. Krysta gently pushed his hand away.

"I'm fine, I can handle myself in a fight." She reassured, but she couldn't keep the annoyance from her tone.

"Let's head back," Law stepped over the man on the ground. Krysta stepped on him as she followed.

"Finally" Krysta sighed, "I need a shower. I feel disgusting after hanging all over those pirates."

"You seem to have no issues hanging over me all night long," Law shot her a teasing smirk.

"Excuse me!?" I'm not the one who insists on cuddling Captain Clingy," Krysta scoffed, "What makes you think I don't shower every morning to get your stench off."

"You're not a very good liar Krysta-ya," Law chuckled.

"You can't prove it's a lie," Krysta shot back. Law swung in front of her, causing her to flinch to a stop.

"A persons heartrate increases when they lie," Law pressed a few fingers to Krysta's sternum, a wicked smile graced his lips. "Should we pull yours out and see?"

"If you think it's necessary," challenged Krysta, staring up at Law, their faces mere inches apart.

They remained that way for a long moment before Krysta abruptly stepped back, hand covering her mouth as a yawn was pulled from her. She cleared her throat, embarrassment dusting her cheeks pink under the street light. Law just smirked and resumed walking, making Krysta scramble to catch up.

X~X~X~X~X~X

Law came out of his en-suite, a hand ruffling a towel over his damp hair, to find Krysta already asleep. She had the pillow he generally used clutched to her chest, nose buried in the fabric.

His stench indeed. Too bad he didn't have a camera.

His thoughts wandered to the confrontation on their way back. He felt how her heart raced at the proximity, knowing it wasn't from her obvious lie. Her eyes were expectant, anticipating a response to an unspoken challenge he didn't think she realized she issued. Had she not yawned, he was certain he would have kissed her, consequences be damned.

Law ruffled his hair harder, trying to shake his thoughts clear before tossing the towel in the clothes bin. She was useful, powerful; he wanted her to remain part of his crew, but developing feelings would only become a distraction. He convinced himself it was only physical attraction, he just needed to relieve some sexual tension and her appeal would lessen. The next island they planned to visit was less than a day away. He would find someone to satisfy his needs and that would be the end of it.

A whimper brought his attention back to the bed. Krysta had rolled to her back, hands fisted in the sheets and her brow furrowed. The beginnings of a nightmare. Law quickly slipped into bed. He brushed his fingers over her uninjured cheek before running them through her hair. After a minute Krysta's breathing evened out and she leaned into his touch. Putting his pillow back in his proper place, he pulled her into his chest and let sleep claim him as well.

X~X~X~X

I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Until next time