CHAPTER 3:
"Hey, Hey… Don't tell me this is all you can do?" Law stood across the beaten pirate he came to test. Cold Gray eyes looked down upon the pirate he tested "I expected a lot from a crew of 150 million's worth, you know." His Nodachi leaning still into his shoulders, and a disappointed look spread across his face.
The Pirate was on his knees, weak and defeated. He coughed blood as the pain in his body took its toll. Three of his teeth went missing, his crew no longer able to help and chopped into pieces by their attacker. "What do you want with us, Trafalgar Law!?" The pirate stood up and picked his sword regardless. Not losing hope yet, He charged with all his might against his fellow pirate who swooped his entire crew in the blink of an eye.
Law didn't even need to use his Devil Fruit ability to make the finishing blow. All he needed was a "Bepo"- he called out and everything was done in an instant. The bear flew from out of nowhere and beat the crap out of the nameless crew's captain with his unique Kung Fu.
Although the fight was a sure win, Law could not contain the disappointment. The Pirate lay in his back into the dirt, weak, and utterly defeated. "Hey…" Law looked down upon the pirate as his cold, gray eyes crushed the very heart left of his enemy. "Before you beg for your life, I want you to answer my question first." the pirate shivered.
"Your bounty and your crew's, are they authentic?" the pirate gulped. A Weak sound and creaky voice answered his question. "N… No…" replied the captain. Law frowned. "They were… false posters… please… don't hurt… me any…more" The pirate pleaded.
For a moment, Penguin who reported the Pirates' location and their bounties felt a sudden guilt. "C… Captain! I'm very sorry! It's my fault for not checking properly!" Penguin lowered his head, expecting a good, cold scold from his captain. Law sighed. "No, forget it. We were just checking them out anyway. Next time, we'll need to be careful." Law looked into his comrade who still had his head down. "For now, we return to the ship. Let's go."
Without a moment's hesitation, the rest went with the Captain. The corpses of the pirate crew they attacked were lying unattended and only the voice of its captain's sobs could be heard. Deep in thought after a false report, Law felt a sudden ache in his chest. He grunted as he felt his chest tighten.
"What's wrong, Captain?" the Bear asked. Law gritted his teeth. There was no reason for his chest to hurt. As a doctor, he knew perfectly well how to take care of his own body. "No, nothing. Let's hurry to the ship." He was on his feet again as he tried to deduce what could've possibly happened. And there was only one he could think of.
It was already morning by the time the Heart Pirates reached their ship which they anchored somewhere far and desolated from the main harbor. Everyone was in a hurry when their Captain informed them on the way of the Ship's possibility of being attacked.
Law stepped into the deck and investigated his ship. His eyes stared on the floor where small patches of dirt were scattered. Someone really did come here. "Who's on watch?" He asked.
"Shachi, Captain" one of his subordinates answered.
Law didn't answer back but ordered his men to check the ship. His men hurriedly went to check the ship. Men gathered and scattered into groups, searching every inch and corner of the submarine.
Bepo went inside the cabin, dismayed when he found the watcher fast asleep and was snoring loudly. "Wake up you idiot!" Shachi felt a pang of pain bump grow as Bepo hit him hard in the head. "What's your problem you fuzzy bear!?" Shachi screamed while caressing the newly born bump . "While you are here snoring and taking your time, our ship is being attacked!" Bepo retaliated. "And I'm sorry".
Law on the other hand, knew where to look. He hid his Heart in the most obvious hiding place. His cabin. Truth be told, He wasn't afraid of the ship being attacked at all. What He was afraid of was the possibility of his heart being stolen.
Slowly, he opened the door to his quarters. The knob was easily opened and cranky, an indication of lock-picking and of infiltration. His doorknob was especially made to prevent and make lock-picking a difficult task. However, someone was able to accomplish this.
It was just like he expected. The room was messy. A telltale sign that someone must've searched the whole place for something valuable. "Tsk" he said as he regained his composure despite the panic that slowly made its way out. The skeleton model he had ever since he got the ship was lying on the floor. He took a closer look and crossed his brows in disappointment when he saw the left arm of the model detached from the whole shoulder. He continued to search everywhere. The Muscular model was also on the floor which he deduced was knocked down. The papers, books, lamp, and other materials he perfectly arranged and organized in his table were either on the floor or were messed. But most of all was his disappointment on the bookshelf. It had his precious med books where he learned Medicine. Also, it contained confidential materials. And as far as he remembers, it was where he hid Heart.
He made his way towards the slanted bookshelf and the books that scattered around the floor. Law still felt the tightness in his chest. Slowly, he placed the shelf in place and picked the books one by one and placed them in their proper places. As he picked the books, he felt the tightness slowly fading. Suddenly, a slight movement underneath the pile alarmed Law. For some reason, his instincts kicked in and immediately searched for the source of the movement.
His eyes widened in shock as he saw his heart covered in jell-like substance. It was there and no one took it. He was relieved, yes but also puzzled. What did the intruder want?
Bepo ran towards Law's quarters to report. "Captain, nothing suspicious found in the shi- What!?"
Law turned to look at his navigator. He held his heart in his left hand, and a confused look all over his face. "Captain, what happened here?" Bepo asked his captain. "That I don't know. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with the ship?" He asked again. "No… nothing…" Bepo blinked, still lost in thought. "Is that so…" Law was confused. Even more than before.
Chiaki woke up to the sound of heavy footsteps and the sound of men screaming.
"What's with the ruckus…" she rubbed her eyes and yawned, still detached from the world.
"Someone made a mess out of Captain's quarters!" One guy shouted.
"What!? that bastard... find him!" shouted another accompanied by other men shouting in unison.
Her eyes widened as she then realized her current situation. 'They're… they're here!' She started to panic. 'Wha… What should I do?' engulfed in darkness, She hid behind the piano as she began to think what her next strategy would be. 'Damn, I fell asleep! Stupid, stupid, stupid me!' she cursed under her breath.
The sound of footsteps and shouts of men became louder as the men were in uproar over the infiltration of the ship. doors were opened and closed as they desperately searched. 'The... They're going to find me, what should I do?' She was unaware that along with her panic, her heart was beating madly. She never knew because her heart wasn't with her.
"Hm?"
Law felt the beat in his chest growing faster as his men became even more aggressive in their search for the infiltrator. He placed his right hand in his chest and felt the heartbeat. It was the heart of the pirate he ambushed lately. He knew this heartbeat too well. This was the heartbeat of a cornered animal. Law smirked. He knew what to do. Law was quick on his foot as he went to the bridge. "Captain, there's nothing in the bridge, there's no one there…" Bepo said while following his captian. "I know… I just need to clear things with the infiltrator." He smirked again. Inside his technologically advanced bridge, Law sat in front of the wheel with his legs crossed and picked the microphone.
He smiled.
"Infiltrator…"
Everyone stopped. Law's voice could be heard all over the ship. Bepo stopped and Law's crew silenced their screams and stopped their search in order to listen to the Captain. Chiaki heard it as well. She fell into even greater panic, sweating heavily. Her panic made Law confident as he felt her heart beat even faster in his chest.
"I know you're in here."
Chiaki gulped.
"Whatever your reasons are for coming here, I do think I have a clue. So you came here as an enemy and now you're trapped like an animal in a cage."
Hidden inside the stock room, Chiaki was cold and nervous. 'Shit…' She silently cursed. She could feel the tears in her eyes but she refused it. She buried her face and secretly let the tears out.
"Any methods of escaping would be futile. I have complete control over this ship."
What would old Whitebeard say? Would Ace laugh at her? What would her comrades say to the cornered her now?
"Come out and surrender or I drag you here. Choose."
Pathethic. What a weak coward I am…
"What's wrong?"
She heard the Captain speak again.
"Come out now or I'll come and get you…"
'I hate this guy, but there's no way I'll win.' She pondered to herself. And she was right. There was no way she could win against a pirate with a 200,000,000 bounty and a renowned captain of a ship. 'Geez, how did it come to this, I only want my heart back!' she scratched her head violently to vent her frustration.
"Are you scared?"
She stopped.
'Scared? Am I scared?' She said.
"I'll give you Ten seconds to show yourself to my crew who's everywhere searching for you, or to me who's in the bridge. If you voluntarily surrender, I'll spare you. But if you don't cooperate, you'll be punished."
Punishment.
"10…"
Chiaki closed her eyes and breathed slowly to calm herself.
"9…"
'If you're always afraid, you'll never find your way out…' She smiled as she remembered Marco's voice.
"8…"
'No one hurts a child of mine…' She remembered Whitebeard enraged after a crewmember was attacked during one of their travels.
"7…"
She stood up.
'I'll always be glad to have you as a comrade!' she remembered Ace.
"6…"
She remembered the horrifying view when Akainu's fist pierced Ace and when Whitebeard fought until his last breath as a last ditch for them to escape.
"5…"
'Am I scared?'
She opened the door and ran as fast as her legs could take her.
"Yes I am scared!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. Law's men were alarmed as they heard the door to the abandoned room open and the sight of a young girl making her past them. "Th… there!" One of Law's men shouted. Chiaki ignored the scream and made her way to the deck.
"4…"
Law smirked as he heard the shouts of his men. "She's here…"
"Catch the intruder!" One of Law's men wearing wearing a big hat that almost covered his eyes, made his way to the escaping intruder. He opened his arms and aimed at the escapee in hopes of pinning her down. But Chiaki was quicker. She ran even faster and before she knew it, the guy was left behind.
"3…"
Law felt the heart he stole beating faster inside his chest as the intruder was being chased by his men.
"2…"
"Damn it all!" She screamed as she saw the exit. "Just a little more..."
"1…"
She jumped with all her might and kicked the door open.
She smiled as she saw the light of the day. Finally, she was out.
Panting, she made her way to the other side of the deck, facing the ocean. She then examined the water and smirked. Slowly, Law's men were able to catch up and surrounded the defenseless escapee. Shachi came in last as he wasn't able to be there on the catch. He looked in astonishment to the person who wrecked their captain's quarters when he realized who it was.
"That woman…" He whispered.
Chiaki felt the intensity of the situation. Glaring eyes were locked into her, and there was no escaping. She broke in cold sweat as the crew slowly surrounded her. Chiaki slowly raised her hands and said "I... surrender". The men who chased her were confused and murmured to each other. Chiaki on the other hand faintly smiled.
A thin Blue sphere suddenly appeared along with the sudden arrival of the Captain. Chiaki faked a smile as the Captain slowly walked towards her. 'Trafalgar Law...' she murmured. "Y... yo." she greeted the Captain with a shaking voice. Law wasn't even smiling. His cold eyes locked into the suspicious person who made a mess out of his room. Chiaki never liked being stared at and the situation made her feel uncomfortable her knees started shaking.
"W... What do you want with my heart anyway?" she panicked while putting on a brave face, yet obviously teary-eyed. Law did not reply. "You started it!" she pointed at the captain while shaking. "I, er... only want it back I didn't mean any harm!". There was only silence. Nobody, not even Law broke the silence. Chiaki knew that any talks would be futile to have her heart returned. And she knew either way that if she fought or not, she would die. She calmed herself down and no longer uttered a single word to explain herself. Law was surprised too. The heart that was beating so fast slowly made its way back to normal. Chiaki slowly backed until her she could feel the rails touch her back. She looked up to see the sky. Then she smiled. Her soon to be captors looked at her in confusion and so was the captain. She was perfectly calm. Law could tell.
"Hey, Trafalgar..." She broke the silence.
"Hm?" Law wore a confused look.
"I don't know what your reasons are but you need me, don't you?" Chiaki leaned backwards feeling her weight shift. Law's eyes widened as he saw Chiaki smile and about to fall.
"Alive, that is." She smirked one last time at the Captain as she completely fell from the Polar Tang's deck.
Law ran towards the rail and saw the water splash. "What in the-!?" he screamed. Everything happened so fast.
The place where they anchored their ship was a trench which was good for a submarine to escape. And true enough, she did jump but with the intention of dying. Law knew the value of a Whitebeard pirate especially now where the War of the Best was just months old and the World Government is itching to execute them. More so if it's someone with a bounty; and he was not going to let the opportunity get away so easily.
"Someone dive down and get her!" He screamed at his men. "aye Captain!" one by one, his men dived. "Captain, how about we submerge?" Bepo suggested. "You can't let anyone in while submerged, are you stupid?" Penguin replied.
Two minutes. Law felt the change in the heartbeat. "Shit... aren't they done yet?" He gritted his teeth while staring intensely into the water. Not for long, his men surfaced, panicking. "Captain, there's too many Sea Monsters!" They shouted. True enough, one Sea Monster that looked like a flamingo but with a fin, jumped out of the water creating a splash. The ship was shaking then and his men grabbed anything they could to prevent them from drowning. "Shit! So she was taking advantage of the sea monsters!" It was visible in Law's face that he was angry. "Room!" Law screamed as a thin blue sphere appeared from out his hand. He took his sword and slashed the seam monster into bits. The heartbeat was gradually getting weak. "Shit, at this rate, she's gonna die." Bepo felt the frustration of his Captain. He knew this was important to his captain and he was going to help him. Without a second thought, the bear dived.
Bepo swam deeper into the trench, feeling the sunlight leave, the pressure getting stronger. Left and right, he searched for any possible signs of the girl who jumped from the ship. Bepo was scared and he knew. He could feel the current change as sea monsters swam from place to place in search of a prey. Bepo was almost running out of breath and he needed to act faster if he were to accomplish anything at all. The sea monsters began to swim faster than the usual, circling one another creating a current in which Bepo found hard to swim in.
'What's with them?' He thought to himself while covering his mouth. Bepo observed the monsters. One had the head of an angler fish, but with a shark's body. That monster was being tailed by a large sea cow. As an animal himself, he could tell that the sea cow was disturbed by something. He looked at the Angler looking sea monster being tailed. He observed the Angler and found that there was something in its dorsal fin at the back. He swam towards the monster to take a closer look and found the girl stuck with her jacket pierced on the back with the dorsal fin. Bepo was surprised. He came closer and saw that the girl was no longer conscious. Facing the monster, Bepo made sign languages in hopes of communication. The angler stopped.
He waved his paws. 'Can you stop?' He meant by his signage. But the Angler ignored this and swam again in circles. He waved his paw again this time in desperation. He was almost at his limit. The sea cow, growing impatient decided to attack the giant angler looking monster. Bepo panicked. With the ruckus, he won't be able to save the girl anymore. But luck was on his side. When the sea cow attacked, Chiaki was detached from the dorsal fin. Bepo took the opportunity as the sea cow and Angler fought each other for meat. Swimming with his paws as fast as he can, he finally caught the girl.
All hope was almost lost for Law. The heart completely stopped as the tremors underneath continued. He was going to order another bunch of his men to go check on Bepo since the bear failed to surface for about Four minutes now. But as he was about to, Bepo came to the surface, carrying the Whitebeard pirate.
"We're sailing…" He told Jean Bart. "Yes, Captain!" immediately, Jean Bart and his group made for the bridge. Bepo carried the unconscious girl to deck.
"Captain, she's not breathing anymore!" Bepo cried as he lay the girl on her back. "Yeah..." he muttered. Of course, he didn't want the girl to die. But he wasn't in the mood for a CPR. "Sachi..." he said. "yes, captain!"
" perform CPR on her..." Law made his way for the door when Sachi said he forgot how to. "What?" Law asked. "errm... I kind of forgot how to do that..." Sachi said. "Pe... Penguin, how about you do it?" he passed the task to his crewmate. "N.. no way!" Of course, both of them would never admit they slept on the whole duration of Law's basic medical trainings. "How could you forget when I've taught you that dozens of times?" Law was furious. "S..Sorry Captain." was all they could say while bowing their heads. Of course, a bear performing CPR on a human wouldn't be an option either. Law had no choice. All his men went to their respective tasks to prepare to sail. Only he, the doctor of the ship was capable of doing so. He sighed.
He put his sword down as he kneeled across the girl. As a doctor, he was used to performing CPRs. But this was a different case. He placed his hands on her chests and started pumping. 10, 20, 30 pumps until Law felt her heart beat again. Law then placed his palm on her forehead, the other on her chin and tilted her head back to open her airways. despite her heart starting to beat, Law did not see any signs of her breathing yet. He frowned.
He pinched the girl's nose and leaned in closer. Slowly, he placed his mouth into hers and gave the first breath. Law felt her chest rise. He placed both his hands on her chest and started pumping, and did the process again. Law hated to admit it, but what the girl said was true. He needed her alive. She was an asset whether he liked it or not since she belonged to the pirate crew that the World Government despises- Whitebeard's. Sure he could just let this one go and search for a new one, but the chances of finding another pirate of good quality is slim to none. Just when he was about to give it another shot, he felt the girl breathe.
But was the girl really unconscious or was it one of her antics? because the moment the girl came into her senses, Law felt weak as the cold and heavy cuff tied itself into Law's left hand.
The girl smirked as she opened her eyes.
"Caught. You.~"
Law was furious.
