3rd person POV

"Who's memory is this?" Ace asked. Aoi stared for a moment.

"No one's. This is the actual island. We all made it through our pasts, so we can now move about the island freely." Aoi said.

"Aoi, do you think you can find the treasure?" Aka asked. Aoi nodded.

"It's going to take a while, but I'm sure I'll be able to detect something." The bluenette knelt down and pressed her palms to the ground.

"Water ability: sensory." She said. Her Jade eyes closed as she used the water in the ground to feel the entire island.

Ace plopped down and sat beside her.

"This is gonna take a while." He said. With in seconds, Ace was asleep.

"His speed at falling asleep is astounding." Law muttered.

"Well, he is narcoleptic." Aka said. The purplette knelt down beside Aoi and looked around the area, taking in the senerey. Law leaned against a near by tree and watched Aka. He didn't notice the small smile overtake his lips as he watched her smile brightly at the mountain of the island.

"I found something." Aoi said hours later.

"Huh? Where?" Aka asked.

"It's strange, but it's in a cave at the base of the mountain, not far from here." Aoi said.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ace cheered, jumping up.

"Hold on." Aoi said. She was silent for a moment.

"We're not alone on this island. Two men. One tall and buff, the other small and lanky. They're in the same direction of the cave. They know we're here. And they don't mean well." Aoi said.

"Should we try to avoid them?" Law asked. Aoi shook her head.

"From the feel of it, they've been here a long time. No matter what route we take, they'd eventually catch up to us." Aoi said.

"Then let's face them head on!" Ace said. Aoi shook her head again.

"No. It's better to go in teams. Aka and I will destracted them while you two get the treasure." Aoi said.

"How will we contact you when we've got it out?" Ace asked. Aoi stood up and cupped her hands and water pooled in them.

"Water craft." She said. Two small ear pieces formed in her hand. She hooked one on her ear and the other on Ace's. She then moved a distance away.

"Can you hear me?" Her voice came through the ear piece.

"Wow!" Ace said.

"Alright then, you two go on ahead and get the treasure. Aka and I will destracted the men. Let me know when you've got the treasure out." Aoi said. Law and Ace went ahead. They hid in the bushes until Aoi came out alone.

"Oh, thank god I found someone! Hey, can you guys help me?" Aoi asked. The buff guy glared her down.

"Where are the two men and one woman you were with?" He asked.

"The guys ran off and disappeared. My friend is injured just over there. She's unconcious and badly injured. Can you help me?" Aoi asked innocently. The two men followed her and Ace and Law took their chance.

Ace's POV

I lit the way through the cave with my fire power. Law was exteremely quiet, but I had already learned that was just how he was.

"Ace-ya... May I ask you something?" Law suddenly whispered to me too keep his voice from echoing in the cave and alerting the men that Aoi and Aka were destracting.

"Hm? Sure, what's up?" I asked.

"When you first discovered you loved Aoi-ya, what was your initial reaction?" He asked. I thought for a moment.

"I was terrified." I admitted.

"Why?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Well, I mean, the woman is perfect in every way. She's smart, beautiful, funny, and she has the kindest heart you've ever seen. I was terrified because I thought there was no way someone as perfect as her would want to be with scum like me." I said lowly. Law remained silent.

"But.... She sees something in me that she loves. I don't quite understand it, but she loves me." I said.

"How did you tell her?" He asked.

"I just waited for the right moment and then when it felt right, I kissed her." I said. He was silent again.

"This is about Aka, isn't it?" I asked. No reply.

"I'll take that as a yes. Just tell her how you feel. Even if she doesn't accept your feelings, it'll still help you focus better. After I first told Aoi how I felt, we didn't actually date for a few months. I was able to actually focus on my work after my feelings were out there." I said. He sighed.

"I hope you're right." He muttered.

Not long after that, we found the treasure chest. I lifted it on to my shoulder easily.

"It's light." I said.

"We should make sure that something is actually in there before we take it. Otherwise this is for nothing." Law said. I set the chest down.

"Or, you two can walk away." A voice from behind said. We turned and saw the men.

"What happened to Aka and Aoi?" I thought.

"Heh... Sorry guys... But they're smarter than they look...." I heard Aoi's weak voice. I looked down in horror. Aoi and Aka were at the men's feet. Aka was unconcious with blood running down the side of her face, bruises and cuts everywhere on her arms and cheeks. I could feel Law's rage at the sight.

Then there was Aoi. She had to keep one eye shut to keep blood from her forehead running in to it. There was a long gash on her forehead that blood was pouring from. There were cuts and bruises and scrapes everywhere.

I felt as if my entire body was burning. I was so pissed. How dare they even touch Aoi! And to hurt Aka, too?

Flames engulfed my body in my rage.

"A-Ace." I barely heard Aoi say.

"Get your hands off of them or I'll fry you where you stand." I growled.

"Make one move and we'll slit their throats. Starting with the blue haired one." One man said, placing his blade by Aoi's throat. My fire died down.

"On your knees, both of you." The man commanded. As I lowered myself to the ground, Aoi suddenly jolted.

"Aka, now!" She yelled. Water spears darted from the ground and hit the man over Aka in the chest. Aka flipped and linked her arm with mine and the other with Law, snapping her fingers.

"Time set: slow." She commanded. Law grabbed the treasure chest.

"Aoi!" I said as Aka pulled us past them. I saw the man slowly turn to Aoi.

"Shatter." Aka said and time resumed normal speed.

"-tle bitch!" The man said and kicked Aoi in the ribs.

Crack!

"GYAAAAAAAAAH!" Aoi shrieked out in pain as she flew away from the man.

"Aoi!" I called out to her. She hit the wall of the cave.

"YOU BASTARD!" I screamed.

3rd person POV

"N-no! Water co-commandment... W-water wall!" Aoi raised a wall between Ace and the man.

"Aoi!" Aka yelled. Ace froze when he saw the poison dagger frozen in the water wall that was aimed at his face.

"Quit getting in my way!" The man yelled, raising his hand to throw the second dagger at Aoi.

"W-water spear." She groaned. Two spears of water shot up from the ground in to the man, killing him instantly.

Aoi dropped the water wall and Ace ran to Aoi's side.

"Aoi! Are you okay?" He asked.

"Ouch... I think... that pile of shit broke a rib..." She groaned. Aka fell to her knees beside Aoi. She gently touched the area and Aoi choked out a breathless gasp.

"Shit. Time set: rewind!" Aka commanded. Aoi gasped as she could suddenly breathe again.

"Consider yourself lucky, Aoi. Your broken rib punctured a lung. If I wasn't here, you would have died." Aka said. Aoi grinned at the purplette.

"I really am lucky to have a friend like you." Aoi said. Ace carried Aoi back to the submarine after that.

After reassuring Ace multiple times that she was alright, Law and Ace opened the treasure chest.

"It's... Empty..." Ace said.

"It was never there to begin with." Aoi said.

"How are you sure, Aoi-ya?" Law asked.

"Look at the sides of the chest. They're completely smooth. If there was ever anything in there, then the soft wood would have markings and dents from the gold being thrashed around in it from it's travels." Aoi pointed out.

"So... It was all just a ruse?" Aka asked.

"It appears so." Aoi said. Law sighed and rubbed his face.

"I'm sorry. We dragged you two all the way this way for nothing." Law said. Aoi smiled.

"Not for nothing, Law. If you two need help with anything in the future, you can count on me and Ace. And I've seen the other way around. The treasure of Memory Island is the bond we made there." Aoi said. Law smirked at her, then he and Aka nodded in agreement.

After late night that night, Aka met with Aoi. The two talked about Marineford and the coming war.

Aka's POV

I slid in to Law's room silently.

"You needed to see me?" I asked quietly. I heard him shift in the dark. Why he always had it so dark in here, I'll never know.

"That made me angry." He said softly.

"Hm? What did?" I asked. Was he mad at me for discussing the future with Aoi?

"Seeing your mother slap you so many times. Was there a day that past where she didn't strike you across your face?" He asked me. He was close. I knew that if I reached out, I would be able to touch his chest.

"There were a few days in a month where I'd go with out a slap. That was mainly when there were cameras around or when company was over. If my public reputation was positive, I would be relieved of a stinging pain in my cheek." I answered honestly. I heard him sigh.

"I always thought that you shyed away from me when I touched your cheek was my fault, that I had somehow made you afraid of me." He said, I heard him lean his hands on the wall behind me for support.

I made a daring move and put my hands on his shoulders gently. I saw his steel eyes meet mine through the darkness.

"I'm not afraid of you. I've never been afraid of you." I said. I felt his hand gently touch my cheek. On reflex, I flinched. He started to drop his hand away from my cheek, but then stopped and left his hand on my cheek. I leaned my head against his hand slowly. I sighed softly and raised my hand to his.

I felt him come closer to me slowly, then I felt his lips gently touch mine. I leaned in and closed the distance between us and leaned in to the kiss. My free hand slid from his shoulder up to his scraggly black hair that made my heart skip a beat every time.

Air became a must and I eased myself back on to my heels, not even realizing I had gone up in my toes to kiss my captain.

Realizing what I had done, I felt my heart race and my cheeks heat up in embarassment. I wanted to run away and cry, but a hand on my hip made my feet root to the spot and my body freeze.

"Aka-ya. I think I love you." He said softly. I felt my eyes widen and my heart skip a beat. I felt a smile spread across my face.

"I-I..." I stuttered. I felt him retract from me.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't say such things so boldly." He said. I lunged forward and hugged him around the waist.

"No! I think I love you, too, Law. Please, don't push me away." I said quietly, but barely loud enough for him to hear. I felt his arms wrap around me.

"Stay with me." He whispered.

"Until the end of time." I said. Law lead me to his bed and I fell asleep in his arms that night.

On the next island, we said good bye to Ace and Aoi.

"See you again soon." She said.

"If we're not as lucky." I said. That was a small code.

"I trust you to help me." She had said.

"If you fail to prevent, I'll help you clean up the mess." I had said. After that, we separated and said good bye.