"Room"- Law had just finished extracting the NHC-10 poison from the children's bodies when the Strawhat navigator strolled into the room brazenly whilst the sniper toiled behind her.
"I thought I said that no one should peek in until I say so" said Law nonchalantly tinged with an undercurrent air of authority.
"How are you feeling kids?" Nami grinned at the children before she tilted her head and flicked her hair in his direction to acknowledge his words. Law should have expected the strong-headed navigator to ignore his thinly veiled irritation just as the other Strawhats had before her. "Sorry, Nami was just worried" said the sniper in a soft tone.
Taking a last look at the children's blood composition using his scan he moved to walk out of the room and cast a glance at the beaming woman taking pleasure in talking with the kids and the sniper standing to her side recounting some sort of fable. He will not be saddled with children whilst going on a dangerous mission no matter what Strawhat said and he steeled himself to tell Strawhat just as much if he even suggested a detour. Not for the first time Law questioned where this alliance will lead him and if he'd made a mistake.
Just as he was walking out of the room he passed by the female marine he had humiliated earlier in the day. She raised her head, took a look into his eyes and willed herself not to grimace, "I take it that you're done" she spoke in clipped short tones. Standing straighter Law smirked in place of an answer. He might have saved those children but he still had a reputation to uphold. Huffing in response Tashigi moved past the surgeon and into the room.
Law should make his way to where food was being served and yet he hid in the shadows right outside the room. He might have teamed up with Smoker on this island but that didn't mean that he trusted the marines. The navigator's attitude towards him was irksome but he'd be damned if his alliance burned before it started just because he let his guard down and allowed a sword-wielding marine get close to the unsuspecting duo. Should the female marine move suspiciously he will bind her before she caused damage. Law was confident that his ally could subdue Smoker if the conflict grew. He raised his hand and posed his fingers "Roo-"
"I beg of you! Please allow me to take care of those children!"
That startled Law for half a second before he dropped his hand back down. He decided to observe for the time-being. Nami turned around, planted her feet widely on the ground, crossed her arms and looked down on the still-bowing Tashigi. Despite her scantily clad body, in that instant, Nami looked ferocious and Tashigi, whilst still bowing to a pirate, drew her shoulders together in shame and plea. Judging by the look on the orange-haired girl's face Nami was going to explode in anger at Tashigi's request- and rightfully so! It was the marine's fault that the kids were in danger for so long in the first place. Ussop was in the back trying to calm down the children and allow the adults to...negotiate.
A small and forgotten part of Law seethed in anger at the presumptuous marine for even thinking that they could make up for their mistakes without consequence. Taking a quick breath he buried his anger and watched with bated breath for what the navigator would do. The seconds trickled by and Law watched in fascination as the knots in the navigator's brows unfurled and her clenched teeth relaxed. Puffing out air in resignation she calmly said "Okay" and grabbing the shocked sniper's arm moved past Tashigi to walk towards the door.
Law was dumbfounded but he managed to recover quick enough to move past the shadows and towards the congregation of marines and pirates before the Strawhat duo noticed him. Nami and Ussop joined in and the cook took off his coat and offered it to Nami. The surgeon took a bowl of soup for himself and another one for the marine Vice Admiral sitting on an uprooted rock some distance away from the mayhem. Sitting contently on a wooden crate he talked with Smoker.
"I know you're planning to use the Strawhat to start something" said Smoker with an air of resignation. Out of the corner of his eye Law spotted Nami walking away from the mess and towards the deck of the tanker with Ussop following her. "Use, huh...I wonder who's using whom..." he answered distractedly. Law got up, threw his bowl, and walked in the same direction as Nami and Ussop but not before he glanced back at Smoker and added "Anyway, I'm planning on heading to Green Bit now, but...I wonder if I'll be able to manage Strawhat-ya's crew...".
Law stood behind the mast of the tanker and watched on as the Strawhat shipwright was expertly fixing the deck. He could clearly hear Nami and Ussop's conversation and while he was not one for eavesdropping he was curious as to why the navigator relented the children to the marines -the ones who've wronged them in the first place- so easily when it was clear how protective she was of them.
"Did you figure out everything with the marines? Concerning the children I mean" said Ussop jovially and Nami answered in a wistful voice "I'm no match when facing down a marine woman...". Law was confused to say the least. Why would a pirate be weak towards a marine? And why a female marine of all things? "Ah, that's right. Your mother...she was a marine!" exclaimed the sniper in a chipper tone. Suddenly Law understood and he willed himself to walk away whilst internally berating himself for giving into his curiosity. He cannot afford to be distracted like this.
Soon the festivities came to an end, the marines and the children sailed away in the newly fixed tanker and Law boarded the Strawhat crew's ship to sail to Dressrosa. After recounting the plan to the rest of the Strawhats and affirming their alliance the crew fell into an easy rhythm until night took over. Law chose to take first watch with Franky while the others went to rest. Luffy, Brook and Zoro took to the bunks in the men's room while Nami, Robin and Momonosuke took to the bunks in the women's room. Sanji and Kinemon decided on some midnight drinking to will away their jealousy towards the child and Ussop and Chopper frightfully decided to keep watch all night.
Some hours passed by and the rotation of watch switched. Sanji and Kinemon had passed out from drinking while Franky, Ussop and Chopper had gotten exhausted and retired to the men's bunk room. Brook and Nami got up to take second watch. Law opted to rest on the grassy deck instead of retiring in the men's room because this was still a rival ship and pirate alliances were riddled with betrayal. Brook took to keeping an eye on the front of the ship whilst Nami walked to the back of the ship to keep watch.
After a while Law got exhausted from the grassy deck and decided to find something to eat or drink from the galley so he got up and trucked his way towards the stairs. Once he climbed the stairs he heard a faint wheezing sound coming from behind the galley and while Law would have been perfectly fine ignoring the masked coughs; he decided against his better judgement to see if the navigator was alright because he was still a doctor at the end of the day. Making his way around the galley he saw the orange-haired navigator hunched down next to the ship rails with her hands at her mouth trying to stifle a cough raking her body.
She had yet to notice him but we made his way towards her "Oy! are you getting sick?! Let's get you to the infirmary. Can you get up on your own?". Noting the crumpled cigarette and the ashes at her feet he put two and two together to make four. It seems that he was unnecessarily worried. The girl had taken a smoke and it must have been a new thing for her. Wondering what would spur her to try smoking was wasted effort; he didn't know her personally enough to judge what would be out of character for her.
The coughs came to an end and Nami raised herself from the ground with the help of the rails. Taking a final clear breath and ignoring his concerns again she said to herself "Blegh! How could Sanji stand this stuff? It's disgusting! Belle-mere too! I swear-" She stopped herself from continuing when she finally noticed that it wasn't any of her crew members who was standing in front of her. "Torao!...I thought you were - nevermind; did you want something?" and she straightened her back masking her slip with an air of confidence.
Before Law could catch himself he heard his own voice ask "Is Belle-mere your mother's name?". He watched as Nami's brows furrowed, jaws hardened and her hand moved to grip tightly at her bicep where her tattoo rested. "Where did you hear that?!" She retaliated. "I swear if those idiots are going around blabbering their mouths! Aghhh Was it Ussop? It was him wasn't it? That idiot with a penchant for stories! I'm going to go teach him a lesson right now!". Law had to rectify his slip of tongue before this escalated "Wait. It wasn't long-nose-ya - or anyone from your crew - I just overheard you and him talking yesterday."
Puffing out the air she trapped in her lungs Nami gripped her arm tighter and answered curtly "I see".
Law gripped his hat and cast his eyes down deciding that he wouldn't divulge everything with her but still continued on "My caretaker was also a marine...". "Was?..." she questioned. "He died 13 years ago" And this time she loosened her grip and answered sympathetically "I see...mine died 12 years ago" And Law was startled again; he had assumed that her mother was safe and alive; fulfilling her marine duties just as Strawhat-ya's grandfather has.
Nami planted her hands at her hips and with a large cheshire grin declared to Law "I bet my mom could have wiped the floor with your dad! My mom was the strongest marine!" She continued to beam at him; he raised his head and let out a short chuckle "She probably could have. Cora-san was too clumsy to be able to fight for any length of time". Feeling a kindred spirit within her he continued "So, your mother was a smoker too? I hope she wasn't prone to burning herself with one!" A look of confusion crossed Nami's face before she caught on "That clumsy?! Wow! No, Belle-mere was rowdy but stable on her feet".
They laughed for a bit before settling down. Wiping the mirth from his voice he asked "So what made you want a smoke after 12 years?". Nami, too, sobered up "Ah, I found some in Sanji-kun's jacket and the kids reminded me of Belle-mere so I thought I'd give it a try to see what's fun about it" scrunching her nose "I don't recommend it...Ah, but I guess a doctor would know better!"
They fell into a comfortable silence and Nami started up "I was actually wondering...are your tattoos for...?" Law took a look at her tangerine-pinwheel tattoo and the tangerine trees up above them before answering "Yeah...you could say so...Yours?"
"Yup! Ah, but mine's also for my father of sorts... He's back home with my big sister!"
Law thought back to Lami and his parents and felt a swirl of regret and sadness wash over him. He wishes that Lami was still alive and that he could talk with her, take her to her favourite festivals, eat ice cream with her, anything...anything, just sit by her side, hold her hand, read her books..."... . Torao, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, just thinking" Nami pursed her lips and hesitated "I see, I'm sorry about your family Torao"
"Me too" he answered
Letting some air out Law asked the question he had wanted to ask her since he learned that her mother was a marine "Do you think she would have approved? You being a pirate I mean?"
Nami leaned her back into the rails and fiddled with the ruined cigarette "I don't know..." she tilted her head up towards the moon "I'll never know but I think she would have liked me living freely as I am now. Marine, pirate, civilian...whatever it takes me to map out the whole world!"
And Law thought back to Cora-san and the lengths he went through to keep him alive, the risks he took, the people he betrayed...all for Law. He'll never know if Cora-san would approve of his revenge or his status as a pirate but maybe...maybe he would at least not hate him for it, maybe Cora-san would be saddened or disappointed but at least he won't hate him...
"I see...I hope you fulfil your dream Nami-ya"
"You too Torao! Ah, but if you want to become Pirate King then give it up, only my captain will be one!" She declared with the confidence of a thousand armies.
Smirking in response he started making his way to the galley for that drink he came up for but paused and answered in a cool tone "We'll have to take care of Kaido first...then we can think about Pirate Kings!"Maybe this alliance wasn't so bad after all.