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'...What was that?'

The distinct sound of glass shattering in your home managed to snatch the last of your remaining attention span.

'That came from inside! And it must've been downstairs for me to hear it! Is someone inside? No, my door is locked and no windows have been smashed... An animal perhaps? What happens if it's dangerous? I just want my bed....' You wept as thoughts flooded your mind. 'NO! I won't be defeated, just analyze and apply! Maybe if I rush in I can scare it off without having to deal with it'

You humphed in satisfaction from your genius on minimal sleep, then bracing yourself for confrontation, you took a deep breath and unlocked the door. The click of the latch acted as the signal for you to swing the door open with all your strength with the sole intention of hopefully scaring off your uninvited guest. Scanning over your immediate surroundings it seemed as though nothing had disturbed the living room or dining room, but you couldn't stop. Using your already built-up momentum you dashed towards the kitchen, but not even you could prepare yourself for the scene you were about to stumble on.

"Gotcha!" You declared as you slid into the kitchen with unwavering confidence. "...huh?"

"I-I'm sorry..." your visitor replied teary-eyed "I-It was an a-an accident...I-I'm so sorry..."

.

.

.

"B-BEPO!?!" You screamed "What happened!?! Are you ok!? No, wait, what are you even doing here!?"

"I-I'm really sorry..." Bepo responded completely depressed and ashamed.

'It was only Bepo?'

Glancing around you were able to gather the information you needed. A few open cupboards, a smashed plate on the floor, and a worried stricken Bepo knelt over its remains. There was no need for a detective to solve this case.

"Oi Bepo! What happened?!"

"Was that (Y/n) just no-!?"

Sachi and Penguin paused at the bottom of the stairs. Both of them staring in shock at your equally surprising form. All parties seemed to be at a loss for words.

'Sachi?...Penguin?...Then that means...'

The last of your adrenaline slowly filtered from your bloodstream, leaving you to bear what felt like the weight of the world on your shoulders. A sudden urge to close your eyelids swept over your body as your legs buckled from beneath you.

'No... no no no!...' you swayed uncertainly as your body gave into exhaustion.

"(Y/N)!!!" The two subordinates lunged to your aid but deep down even they knew they weren't gonna make it.

'I need... to stay... awa-!?'

Your vision became tinted with a blue haze as steady hands caught your collapsing form. Familiarity only further encouraging your desire to pass out.

"Still a fool I see..." the silky rich voice sighed

A snarky response was definitely in order but you were already too far gone so you settled for just a small smile. After all, there was only one thought playing on your mind at the present moment.

'I'm safe...'

You drifted off.

——————————————————————————————

Wrapped up snug in your sheets felt like a top-quality, well overdue, therapy session. Breathing in the familiar scent of your cotton bed sheets whilst feeling the natural light peeking through the windows. It was probably way into the late evening, you could even go as far as to call it night...

'wait.....IT'S ALREADY THIS LATE?!' Your body lurched forward. 'I NEED TO-!?'

A large hand covered your eyes and shoved your head back down into the pillow, careful not to hurt you but with enough strength to tell you not to fight back.

"There's no need for you to panic (Y/n)-ya, your body still needs to rest" a voice stated calmly.

'That voice'

The hand was slowly removed from your face allowing you to finally gaze upon the man sat beside you, and all the memories suddenly came flooding back to you,

"Law..." you uttered. "What are you doing here?"

"How do you feel?" he ignored

He was seated comfortably in the chair, most likely taken from another room, but his mind was everything but relaxed. In his hands you watch him fiddle with something, it wasn't entirely clear what it was, but he couldn't seem to let him go.

"You've been asleep for 15 hours" He informed you in a matter-of-fact tone. "Do you know what that means?"

Unfortunately for Law, you were still hungover on the idea that you'd been sleeping for more than half the day. Law didn't care though his hands were clasped as he leaned forward in the chair.

"That means that I've had 15 hours to sit with you and analyze your body to find answers to questions you couldn't respond to" His eyes glinted dangerously ." and do you know what I found?"

Even if you wanted to speak, you knew Law didn't need you to answer.

"Absolutely nothing" he seethed.

The room was engulfed in silence and only the crinkling sound in the palm of Law's hand could be heard. What could you say? What could you do?

'Breathe (y/n), calm down, and just breathe'

Taking a few deep breaths you centered your focus on the here and now. Allowing yourself to calm you began to shift, carefully propping yourself against the bed rest.

"(Y/n) don't make me repeat myself! you shouldn't-!" Law growled but was calmed instantly when he felt your hands resting on his

"I apologize" your voice was full of concern "But even for you Law, your acting quite out of character. What's confusing you Law? What are you doing here? Did something happen? Please talk to me"

Law was temporarily taken aback by your actions but only temporarily. He sighed and looked down at your hands still frowning.

"I wish you'd listen to your own advice and take care of yourself (Y/n)" Law breathed as he stared intently at your hands, the sound of his exhaustion starting to slip through the cracks of his typically stern voice "I didn't think we'd be able to do this again"

"What?" You tilted your head thoughtfully

"You honestly have no idea?" Law asked bitterly.

He searched your eyes for any signs to suggest otherwise, yet found none. The cogs in his head were still turning, however, it was very slow, and with every new piece of information, he gathered the process to understanding became even slower. Seeing that he was no longer gaining anything from this approach he let out another sigh and unclasped his hands.

"Maybe this will explain" he theorized.

Your eyes widened in shock as you stared at the two objects in his palms. Two vivre cards. One was significantly smaller than the other and seemed to have a message written on it.... it was part of your name...

'The vivre card I gave to Law before he left? But it's much smaller than-' then it finally clicked and the clarity you'd obtained vanished just as quickly as it arrived.

Law noticed your recognition and took it upon himself to elaborate further.

"Yes, vivre cards are made to lead you back to the owner, but if the owner's life is fading, then so will the card. You can only imagine my surprise when the paper suddenly erupted into flames consuming most of the paper"

You were trembling now, anxiety completely overhauling your system. Law took note.

"The second I saw that I raced back here to find it what was going on" he nodded towards the larger piece of paper "This is a vivre card that I'd cut from the letter I gave you, so It was no trouble finding the island. Instead of a heartfelt reunion, I found both your house and bakery empty, only for you to stumble into your home a few hours later plagued with extreme signs of mental, emotional, and physical burnout"

You didn't notice but you were unconsciously squeezing Law's hands tighter. Though you couldn't figure out whether it was from guilt, shame, or embarrassment. In hindsight, it was probably all of the above.

"I-... I didn't-" you muttered as the memories of Big Mom loomed over you

"I've already examined you and you have no life-threatening symptoms, despite that, your life has shortened significantly" he added "So (Y/n), don't lie to me when you answer this question... how much time do you have left?"

You cracked.

"I'm .... I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry" you wept.

You couldn't take it anymore. Vision blurred for you as salt water gushed from your tear ducts; you tried to bite back the heart-wrenching sob in the back of your throat. It was unbearable trying to holding back for so long, all those pent-up feelings were tearing you up inside, the fear the anger the sadness. Your hands flew to your face as you desperately yet hopelessly tried to wipe your tears and hide your face. Expressing these feelings to Katakuri would've made him feel even more responsible than he already did; talking to his siblings would've opened the possibility that Katakuri would eventually find out and mentioning anything to Alivia would've brought fresh chaos to fire. No matter where you looked it felt as though you'd have to keep it to yourself like you always do, but even you could only take so much, after all, you're human. Right now, you needed someone who would just listen. Law was doing that.

"(Y/n)" he sighed, completely expecting this reaction "Geez, when will you listen to your own advice"

All you could do was keep apologizing. In reality, Law had every intention of making you cry. Living with you for a month it was easy to tell that you would bottle everything up and suffer by yourself. But after catching you earlier it was obvious you'd been tormenting yourself for too long and you needed to release. The best way he knew for you to do that was to make you cry, from experience. Moving into the bed, his hands enclosed around you in a comforting manner; your head now resting on his chest as you continued to bawl your eyes out.

Law was going to give you his all and take care of you just like you'd done for him.

"It's ok (Y/n)" he rested his chin on your head "It's ok, I'm right here"

——————————————————————————

" 98... 99... 100! Ready or not! Here I come!'"

"She's coming!"

"Shhhhhhhh! She's gonna find us!"

"Don't forget our deal you guys!" you called into the wild.

Running into the forest you maneuvered through the familiar areas with ease. You could feel how alive the forest was and it fuelled you to go on. Today you were on a mission. You ran past a couple of bushes further into the vegetation.

"...I think we're good..." one whispered

"is that so!" You whispered to the three boys hiding in the bushes.

"AAAAAAGGGHHH!!!" They screamed.

You tagged the three children in their moment of surprise.

"I win again!" laughed victoriously

————————————————————

"This is sooo hard!" Ian groaned

"But we did lose" Liam sighed "It can't be helped"

"And (Y/n) said she'd give us cupcakes when we finish!" Isaac grinned.

You laughed as you went to retrieve said treats. Ian, Liam, and Isaac were currently under your supervision this weekend because their parents were completely burnt out. Obviously, you were more than happy to look after them but you needed to make sure they got their homework done before you could have fun. Hence the game of tag, where they promised to do their homework if you won. Piece of cake.

"Why do we even need to know this stupid stuff anyway?!" Ian slammed his fists against the table, sheets of homework scattering across the floor.

"IAN!" The other two shouted

"WHAT?!" He growled back in response.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! What's going on?" You entered the room with a tray of sweet treats. "What happened to your work?"

"THIS IS STUPID (Y/N)!!" Ian growled, "I don't see us ever needing this stuff in the future!"

"Oh? Is that so?" you sat down on the sofa and placed the food on the side table "So you already have plans for the future? Do tell!"

"I'm gonna be a bounty Hunter" Ian announced proudly "I don't wanna work for the navy and I don't wanna be a pirate! But I wanna fight bad guys and protect people! If I'm a bounty hunter then I can choose for myself who I wanna fight?

'Ian would definitely suit that lifestyle' you thought to yourself.

"I'm gonna be an engineer. I read in books we can build thing to make life easier for others so I wanna do that for the island. And then I can work for the revolutionary army and build a bunch of weapons!" Liam added with a strong determination "I wanna make sure that what happened to you and my parents never happens again so I'll make sure they have the right supplies!"

'Liam's always been good with his hands and has always dedicated himself to others. His dad is a doctor so it must be in the genes.'

"I wanna be a doctor" Isaac beamed.

"You do!?" you raised a dubious brow

"Of course! I'll be the one to choose who lives and who dies" He grinned

'Who raised this child?' you flinched.

"But what I really want, is to look after the people who looked after me" Isaac admitted "I'm gonna make sure everyone on the island can be happy. I can even help Isaac and Ian if they get hurt with their job."

'Who raised this precious child?' you wept

"Well, I fully support all of you no matter what occupation you want" You proclaimed "But if you want to do it, you need to be able to understand how to make practical and quick calculations as well as understand how to integrate yourselves amongst different people and different cultures. The only way your gonna know how to do that is through your homework"

"We know!" They all sighed

"Good" you clapped your hands with a satisfied smile "So what do you need help with?"

'These boys are gonna go far, and I'll be there for them every step of the way' you smiled

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