Chapter 2: Heart-In-A-Box
The first thing she noticed was that she was on something soft. The second thing hit her rather like a truck would. Why the hell wasn't she dead? She was fairly certain that her heart had been ripped from her chest before she passed out.
And she wasn't even ashamed of passing out, either. That was exactly what was supposed to happen when vital organs were removed. She was a little ashamed that that stupid pirate had been able to remove an organ, but she wasn't ashamed of the aftermath.
Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. She was met with a picture of a metal ceiling. So she was still in the submarine. That was probably better than waking up buried underground or something, she supposed. Though that was all she could give it.
It looked as if she was still in the Captain's Quarters, too. Her head tilted to the side. Trafalgar Law was sitting there, casually reading a book entitled 'Intricacies of the Human Nervous System'. The man was not even a foot away.
Her mouth opened in a cry of fright and she rolled away from him and onto the floor. He didn't stop her and his grin returned as he lowered his book. She scrambled backward as fast as she could, her eyes locked on Law as her hands scrambled to clutch at the hole in her chest.
She only stopped when her back was pressed against the door, fingers prodding the open space in her chest. "What the hell did you do to me?!" she cried, fear finally creeping into her.
Lazily, he placed his book on the stand beside the bed and reached over to picked up a clear blue cube from the bed where it had been sitting nearby. He held it aloft for her to see the beating heart within. She paled instantly at the sight. "Now that I have your attention, perhaps you'd like to answer some questions."
Her chest was heaving and her eyes widened the more she looked at the cube in his hand.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'," he commented, lightly tossing the cube up and catching it again. Her eyes followed its motion with a terrified edge. "Why were you following me?" He questioned, easy tone not fitting the situation at all.
The was a hesitant pause as she tore her eyes away from the cube to look at him. "It's my job," she informed him quietly.
"As I figured," he confirmed. "Who do you work for?"
There was another pause as she warred with herself, clearly trying to think of a way out even as they spoke. He reclined back on his bed, holding her heart aloft carelessly. "The World Government."
Well, that was news. "Why would the government have me followed?" He was a pirate. Wasn't that what bounty hunters were for?
The woman pursed her lips and eyed him with irritation. "With so many high bounties closing heading for Sabaody Archipelago they wanted to see what to expect," she said slowly.
"I see." That was the next island on the map. "So all of us 'Supernovas' must be being watched." She didn't answer and this time he didn't mind, the answer was obvious. "How were you able to go undetected?"
"Martial training. We all have it."
He nodded. She was likely in an information and/or assassination branch of the government. Possibly Cipher Pol. It wasn't particularly surprising to learn that they would get that kind of training. In fact, it was downright expected that they would. "So you don't have a Devil Fruit power?"
"No."
"What's your name?" He asked curiously, taking his eyes off of her heart to look at her. Her lips pulled into a frown. "Oh, come now. We're going to be dealing with each other for a while. Why not make this civil?" He teased.
It had the desired morbidly amusing effect. Her eyes widened in absolute terror and her hand planted itself firmly over the hole in her chest. "W-what?"
His dark brow rose delicately. "You didn't think I was going to let you go, did you?"
She had certainly had hoped so, however unlikely the scenario was. Clearly she was wrong. "And what exactly do you want with me, then?" She wasn't just pet he could keep around.
"Wouldn't it be fun to have a marine work for me?" he considered with a crooked grin. "That would make an amusing picture."
She rolled her eyes and groaned, dropping her forehead to rest in her palm. "Just kill me now. I'm serious." She would be dead anyway if she ever made it back to the base after this.
"No, no, this will be more fun." He lifted the heart again for her to see. "I'm the only one who can get this back to where it's supposed to be. So why don't you be a good girl and tell me your name." He looked at her expectantly, his trademark lazy smile never leaving his lips.
She had to wonder what would happen to her if he died. Mainly because she was contemplating leaping across the room and… snapping his neck or stabbing him, or something. Mara wasn't entirely sure. The plan was a work in progress.
Would her disembodied heart cease to beat and kill her instantly? Probably. It seemed the most likely conclusion given that powers tended to die with their master. Well, she had to take society and logic's word on that, since she had never actually witnessed a fruit user with a power like this active at the time of death.
And then there was the unconcerned way he didn't even bother to keep his guard up. It told her more than her training and the Government records. "Mara Reade," she told him.
"Well then, Miss Mara, welcome to the Heart Pirates."
Suddenly, as Trafalgar Law stood and placed her heart in a small metal box, the name of the pirate crew didn't sound so amusing.
Mara sat against the wall of the captain's quarters and took the time to look around. Now that light was seeping in through the porthole, she could see it clearly. The room was tidy and ridiculously clean, not that she should have expected much else from a surgeon captain.
The man himself was asleep in the bed, his features oddly serene without the smile she kept seeing. He wasn't wearing a shirt, showing off some of the tattoos on his torso that weren't covered by the blanket strewn on top of him.
Her eyes landed on the small metal box sitting beside her bed. It was probably and wide as the length of her hand; just the right size to hold her heart in. The blue cube that enclosed her heart directly had slid into the box perfectly, so that no matter how the metal was moved it wouldn't harm the organ within.
This was probably so he could carry it around. Her stomach did a weird flip and she crumpled in on herself. She refused to allow herself to cry at the situation, but she would allow herself time to freak out in private. And that time was now.
Her captor was, after all, sleeping at the moment.
Mara choked as she held back her sob, her eyes squeezing shut. Her life had never gone the way she had wanted it, but this was bordering on the insane. She had joined the government with the hope to do some real good. Mostly. Sort of. It you looked at it in a certain light…
Okay, that wasn't the point right now. Right now she was wallowing.
Instead of doing good, she had become an instrument to kill people who didn't seem to deserve it and to spy on people who could easily kill her if she slipped up. A point which was emphasized loudly with her current predicament.
A hand landed on her head and she nearly leapt out of her skin, her eyes meeting the dark orbs of the 'Surgeon of Death'. The startled reaction brought a smirk to his lips. It interested him to see her so distressed when last night she had seemed ready for anything he could dish out.
So, his new government sponsored toy had feelings. He would have to remember to look into that later.
To confirm his suspicion, her face went instantly neutral as she looked into his amused gaze. He lifted his hand to allow her the remainder of her pride (for now) and crossed his arms, observing her. "I think we need to keep this little incident a secret, don't you?"
"Don't want that particular ability known to the Marines just yet?" Mara guessed, watching his eyes dance at her expense. "So how do you plan to do that?" She looked down at her chest incredulously. "I have a hole where something rather important should be."
Law smirked and went over to his dresser, pulling open a drawer and going through the neatly stacked piles of clothes. "Until I'm able to get you something a little looser to wear, you'll have to deal with this." He pulled out a bundle of cloth and tossed it to her.
Unfolding it revealed it to be a hoodie, mostly yellow except for the black sleeves and the black Jolly Roger on the front. It was exactly like the one he was wearing yesterday, and on his wanted poster. The article made her wonder just how many the man had.
"Well this is a tad bit humbling," she muttered, staring at the cloth in her hands. But she didn't argue, instead pulling it over her head. It was large enough on her to not show the gaping hole at all.
Mara sighed as she looked down at her new garment, her hand going to her hat before she pulled it off slowly, her mind elsewhere. Long chestnut tresses cascaded down to rest on her lower back. It looked like she hardly noticed.
Law had to admit, she looked pretty good in his hoodie. Or rather, he liked the mark plastered on the front of a government dog. At that point it was hard to tell exactly which he was feeling, though he figured it was a bit of both.
She stood up and stretched, completely ignoring how close he was now that she was on her feet, and didn't bother to hold up the blanket she had been wrapped in as it fell to the floor. The night before, he had pulled several blankets out of his closet, which she promptly took to a corner and curled up in.
"I've explained the situation to my crew," he informed her as he stepped away to get dressed himself.
It must have been while she slept. She turned her back to him and was graced with the sounds of clothes rustling as he changed from light night clothes to his day wear. "Oh good," she said sarcastically, her eyes fixed on the blank wall in front of her, studiously ignoring that fact that he was taking his clothes off behind her.
It bothered her how difficult it was for her to not turn around. Nothing of the sort had ever even crossed her mind in the past. Mostly it was because she never bothered to think of people in that light. "Time to get acquainted with the ship," he said, not even a foot behind her. When she nearly jumped out of her skin, he chuckled. It made him wonder what she had been contemplating with such intensity.
A low growl erupted from her throat. Mara did not like being laughed at. "Lead the way."
And just like that, he showed his back to her as he walked casually out the door and down the hallway. Her mouth dropped open in shock. She was so little a threat to him that he would turn his back to her without a moment's hesitation.
"Come along," Law called over his shoulder.
Mara scowled but followed him down the narrow halls of the sub. It irked her to no end, the situation she was in now. What would her superiors say? Given what it sounded like the pirate wanted with her, they'd probably just execute her for piracy.
Her eyes fell to his waist and the new ornament dangling off it. It was the metal box! How amazingly cocky, Mara thought. Grudgingly, she admitted that it was probably better this way. If the strong and feared captain carried it, it would be safer than any other place it could be.
Gods, what had her life come to?
They entered the galley to many curious stares. Yes, she completely believed that Trafalgar told them about her while she had been sleeping. They were curious, but not in the way that made them question why she was there. They were probably wondering why their captain was bothering with her.
Mara wondered the same thing.
"Bepo," Law called, eyes on a large white bear in an orange jump suit. This would have bothered her if she hadn't done her research.
"Captain!" Bepo jumped to his feet.
"Have we set sail, yet?" The Heart Pirates captain asked.
"Yes, captain. We were waiting until you awoke to dive," the bear informed him.
Law nodded. "Then dive. The marines could have gotten word of our stop at Jigoon," he theorized. "We don't need them following us just yet."
"I was the one following you," Mara said dryly, causing chuckles to erupt at several of the nearby tables. "I don't think you have to worry about that."
The captain turned to regard her, a smirk on his face. "All the same."
Bepo saluted. "Aye aye, captain!" And he scurried away, off the go tell the navigator to make the ship dive.
