After his crew had gotten out most of their greetings, Law had sent them back inside the submarine to return to their work stations to prepare for an immediate descent. Though the wall still loomed behind them, albeit a great distance away, the group was extremely nonchalant about the danger. Nyiji trailed behind them as they re-entered the submarine, keeping a few paces behind the group and their leader. A strange sense of relief flooded her as she walked the increasingly familiar metal corridor once again. The men were still conversing with Trafalgar, expressing the worries they had carried when he had been half a day late to return. It was clear, even as an outsider, that his men cared deeply for their Captain's well-being.
Coming to a stop just outside the entrance to his chambers, Law nodded for the small group to carry on ahead. "Send Penguin up with today's lunch, would you? Two sets," he called after them.
One of the men waved back in reply as he headed down the steps to the second floor and vanished from their sights. Law kicked the door open then and stepped inside his room, discarding the hat from his head onto the coffee table as he made his way to the bathroom in the back. Nyiji noticed straight away that he had casually left the suitcase and his sword at the front door. As tempting as it was, with him so close she didn't dare investigate the case. Pulling her eyes away from the metal box, she glanced towards the bathroom. He had kept the door open as he moved about inside so she could see him as he collected a cloth from beneath the sink, wetting it to give himself a quick wipe down before moving out of her line of sight. It felt like some kind of devious test.
Shutting the heavy door behind her, she gave up on the suitcase and moved towards the set of couches to rest. She had rightfully assumed from his lunch order that he expected her to stay within his chambers. After eating he would probably send her back to the small medical closet, but for now, she would take advantage of his generosity. The submarine was vibrating and groaning, shaking beneath her feet as it began to sink back into the ocean's recesses. In the corner of her eye she saw the suitcase, shining silver, fall over onto its side from the motions. She scowled.
Law reappeared at the bathroom door, holding a wet towel against his throat. He looked relatively cleaner now yet still in desperate need of a shower. "You'll need to clean your wounds. You can use my bath while we wait."
Nyiji's eyes flicked towards him, bright and silver and filled with confusion. She was quite the sight still clothed in his ruined shirt, blood and numerous wrappings. Getting over her racing thoughts, she finally asked: "Is there a lock?"
A little mocking laugh escaped him as he shook his head and walked towards her. "There is." Holding a hand out for her, Law gently helped her up to her feet before waving her towards the bathroom without another thought. "There are towels beside the tub. I'll find you something else to wear while you're in there."
He walked away from her, barely acknowledging her fears before assuaging them. Ducking into the room, Nyiji was careful to shut the door as softly as possible so it made no noise before twisting the lock to the right. Immediately she checked to make sure that the knob was secured before she felt comfortable enough to turn and face the room. It was smaller than the submarine's communal bathroom, which made sense considering how many men used the shared space while this room's use was exclusive to one. To her left a grand bathtub sat, large enough to house the six-foot, three inches of man outside and deep enough that she wasn't quite sure how to climb in without making a fool of herself.
Bending at the waist to reach the bottom of the basin, Nyiji fumbled to find a stopper for the drain before she toyed with the faucets for a more desirable heat. Amidst the pain in her body and the wounds that hadn't had enough time to close yet, she was relieved to find out that her body struggled less with standing water in comparison to what poured from the faucet. As the tub filled, she turned to face a mirror that hung over the porcelain sink and recalled that behind it there was a stash of numerous bottles filled with medicine. She wondered if he was unconcerned about leaving them unsupervised, or if he hadn't considered the possibility that she might delve into it. Or maybe he actually trusted her.
A soft knock at the door drew her away from the sink. "Yes?" she called through the door, suddenly feeling on edge inside Trafalgar's quarters.
"I have a change of clothes for you," his voice came from the other side of the door.
Swiftly the door was unlocked and a set of clothes exchanged hands before she had resealed herself inside the room. Before she disrobed, Nyiji looked over what he had brought her. It appeared to be more pieces from his personal wardrobe. Another long-sleeved black shirt with his jolly roger embossed on the back in white and a pair of spotted jeans that she would have to roll up in order to create a proper fit. Beggars can't be choosers, but that didn't stop her from feeling irritated that she was once again wearing another pirate crew's jolly roger on her person. With a sigh she set the clothes aside and moved over to the filling tub, all while shedding her clothes. Beside the basin there were fresh towels, all neatly folded and ready for use on a little shelf and beneath it was a little hamper prepared for dirty laundry that she stashed her ruined attire into.
Climbing into the tub proved to be even more difficult than she had first assumed, and she fell in with a loud embarrassing splash. A little removable showerhead that sat on a golden hook at the front of the basin was her saving grace as she gripped it for support. If she hadn't caught it, she might have very well drowned. Re-emerging from the water, Nyiji let out a little noise of frustration and twisted the faucets until the running water had stopped. Once the water had stilled around her and her body began to relax, it became easier to withstand the effects. 'This must be why he owns a bathtub in the first place.'
Untying her hair from its braid, she worked out knots and let the surrounding water naturally stain pink as her movements caused the caked blood to rinse off of her. "This is such a ridiculous situation," she muttered to the spyglass. It sat on the floor by the tub, gently shining underneath the light.
Her hair quickly soaked up the water, becoming heavy and thick so it fell flat against her skin in the water. The ends of her hair floated and swam around her, its darkness accentuated by the pink blood. She hadn't thought to take the bandages off of her body before getting in so they quickly absorbed the moisture before becoming slack around her, eventually pulling away from her body completely.
"Do you think I'll ever get to see them again?" she voiced her fears as she removed the wraps while thinking about her crewmates. The spyglass didn't answer her, but she could imagine her father anyway—smiling at her with that big gigantic grin of his behind a pair of thick spectacles. He was always so optimistic, that much she could remember. "Do you think…. they'll ever want to see me?"
Nyiji sunk deeper into the bath until the water level reached just underneath her nose, breathing slowly as she let her thoughts travel towards her abandoned crew. She hadn't wanted to think of them while Jiyan loomed over her but with the island vanishing into the distance there was nothing else she could distract herself with. Foremost in her thoughts was Alistair, her Captain. Would he forgive her actions? She had left the Rook Pirates behind, albeit unintentionally, just to give information to an outsider in the hopes of protecting him. It had earned her a week long stay in the submarine's brig and a return trip to hell but she had endured, all for the sake of Rook Alistair. 'But would he see it that way?'
Even well intentioned, her actions were a serious offense. Biting down on her knuckles in an attempt to suppress the tears prickling at her eyes, she felt smothered by these thoughts. It wasn't uncommon amongst pirates to betray one another if the profit was high enough or if a Captain had lost the faith of his crew, but Alistair had never done anything to sway her loyalty and Nyiji was not a traitor. Having been raised by her Captain's very own hands, she'd lived for him. But then there were words whispered harshly against her ear about the thing's she had heard at Jiyan. 'He sold you.' She wanted to dismiss the very notion and bury it alongside the rest of her morbid fears but she couldn't shake it, for whenever she tried, her brain fired back with a very honest question: 'If you returned to Alistair and asked him, would he tell you the truth? Would he even forgive you?'
When she made mistakes as a child there had been nothing to fear from Alistair. Usually the half-giant would just laugh it off, smiling kindly at her as she stood proudly by his side, no taller than his knees. Any trouble she brought him was dealt with and forgotten, but that had been years ago. Back in a period of time before he'd established a different personality meant to instill fear and unquestionable loyalty in his subordinates. A hiccup escaped and Nyiji bit into her lips to silence the noise. The last thing she wanted was for Trafalgar to hear her crying in his bathroom.
Deciding she had spent enough time sulking, Nyiji set about cleaning herself. In a tray connected to the side of the bathtub she found a series of bottles, a small white hand-towel and fresh razor blades. Considering who the towel belonged to, she ignored the bundle of scratchy fabric in favor of a bottle of bodywash. Further darkening the water as her flesh was scrubbed raw and pink. The stitches that ran all over her body throbbed painfully from the activity but otherwise kept closed. When that was done, she began the long task of scooping up her hair and piling it atop her head as she scanned the bottles for a useable soap. 'Of course, everything is going to smell like him though…' she thought as she wiggled and knocked over bottles carelessly.
Some of the bottles splashed into the water to join her, bobbing in the water as they floated. They were returned only when she was finished soaping up her black locks. The submarine groaned loudly as it swerved, causing bath water to spill over the side of the tub. Nyiji clung to the basin's side and let out a squeak as the vessel righted itself once again. Her father's spyglass rolled along the floor before stopping at the bottom of the sink's cabinet.
"Sorry dad," she called out, worried it might have been damaged. "I'll hurry up."
Finishing the rest of the bathing process using Trafalgar's shampoo and razors, Nyiji left the water to swirl down the drain as she climbed out and rescued the spyglass. In one hand, she rotated it to confirm that the object was still unblemished and peered through the sight to confirm that its internal workings were centered properly.
"Looks all good."
Her reflection caught her attention then, making her frown at the visible thrashing she had undergone. Bruises, cuts and stitches were prominently displayed over her face and torso and a deep purple bruise had blossomed across her stomach, creating a wide vortex of color around the stitches there. Arms a yellow and green, nearly matched the intensity of the bruises on the rest of her body. Though she had been awake during Trafalgar's treatments, she hadn't been aware of how bad it had actually been. Gently, Nyiji ran a thumb over her forearm and wondered if it would scar, if she would be left with a permanent reminder of Jiyan. The longer she stared, the more disgusted she felt. Having had enough of her own company, she dressed and left the bathroom.
She found Law behind his desk near the bathroom door going over paperwork, and offered a small timid wave when he tilted his head up towards her to greet her with a nod. Across the room standing by the coffee table was Penguin who immediately stopped talking upon her entrance. A bright shade of pink took over his face as he took in her appearance, dressed in his Captain's clothes.
"Nyiji! You're—are you…well—you're here!"
Tucking strands of her hair behind an ear, she nervously shifted on her bare feet, cold seeping into her body from below. "I am. Hi Penguin."
Taking a few steps away from the couch, Penguin moved instinctively towards her before pausing when he noticed the way she flinched and backed away. His eyes darted towards his Captain immediately, curiosity blooming as he wondered what the two had gone through. Choosing not to voice his thoughts yet, Penguin stuttered out: "I—uh—well, I brought some food for you…. two. Cap and I were just—uh, talking…"
Watching the scene unfold from the comfort of his desk chair, practically a background character to the tension between the two pirates, Law arched his brow with curiosity and relaxed into his seat. It was obvious that the sight of Nyiji's bruised and beaten face had startled his mechanic as Penguin couldn't seem to peel his eyes away from her. No doubt, his friend was trying to decipher what had happened by gauging the visible injuries on her. Honestly, Law was just glad that he couldn't see the rest of her body beneath the clothes or the mechanic might have charged over to her without thinking. Nyiji's reaction to Penguin however was the most surprising. The two shifted on their feet, unable to break eye contact.
Deciding to break the tension, Law spoke up and directed his words towards her: "Why don't you sit, Puppy-ya. Eat if you can."
Broken from her staring match, Nyiji headed towards the couch and took up a seat at the farthest point. Curling up against the arm, feet tucked beneath her body, she tried not to awkwardly look at either of them and give away her discomfort. Setup on the table were two serving trays with large bowls filled with a watery stew. Chunks of cubed meat floated to the surface and her stomach rumbled.
"I—uhm, had Mason whip up extra. In case you wanted more," Penguin told her, still nervously adjusting the brim of his hat as he avoided looking directly at her.
"Thank you," Nyiji replied as she picked up a spoon and dug into the bowl, draining the broth in one bite. It was under seasoned but at least the meat was tender, bringing a small smile to her lips as she thought about Mason's abilities improving.
"I wanted to ask you some questions, if you're feeling up to it, Puppy-ya," Law spoke up as he got up from his desk with a handful of papers.
Nyiji looked up from the stew to eyeball the papers in his hands. She hadn't expected him to share anything with her but she recognized the parchment as the same sheets they'd brought back from Jiyan. The suitcase sat opened on his desk but she resisted looking at it. "What questions?" she asked warily.
'What more of her could he possibly want?'
He handed her the papers and took a seat on the opposite couch, sending a look towards his mechanic to join him. Penguin took a seat beside his Captain and watched Nyiji as she set the bowl down to look through the pages with both hands. He frowned as he noticed tiny cuts all over her palms, angry and red. He couldn't begin to imagine what had happened to them behind that great wall but it was obvious she had gone through the ringer. While his Captain looked relatively well-off, dressed in new clean clothes without a mark on his person, she was in such an opposing state.
"Do any of those names look familiar to you?" Law asked after she had stalled on a piece of blue parchment, eyes quavering over the hand scrawled notes.
She didn't answer him at first, for everything had become white noise to her ears. 'Cyrus… what had happened to her?' her mind was racing.
"W-what exactly is this?" she tossed the paper onto the table as if it had burned her. "that couldn't have come from there!" It had to have been forged.
Glancing curiously between the two, Penguin leaned forward and tentatively reached for the paper. A single nod from his Captain told him it was okay to peruse so he quickly picked up the sheet and examined its contents. At first glance it appeared to be someone's private journal with annotations scrawled along the side as the author added in extra comments but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a monitoring record. Squinting at the pages, dread began to sink in and he understood why Nyiji had reacted so poorly.
Current Subject; B Cyrus, female, age approximated twenty-seven years. Genetic tests show relation to Amazonian tribes yet subject does not confirm origins. Regardless this should not impede my current research. After initial testing has been completed, we will administer test samples and monitor subject's responses.
1400. June 06. Subject flatlined from tests, this was the third failure. While one of the rats managed to resuscitate her, I believe the issues will repeat until we find a way to suppress the subject's immune system. I am infuriated by these delays—dealing with such low-quality genetics when there is another perfect specimen so close at hand. Rook continues to refuse all negotiations for her so I am forced to continue work with this subspecies!
1800. June 06. Added an antigen to the subject's current round. I believe this will reduce the rejection symptoms. Will continue to have the rats monitor while I attend to other matters.
0600. June 07. It finally happened, a break-through! Rook has agreed to hand-over the second female specimen at an agreeable price, so all further testing should continue on schedule with production. I gave the news personally to the subject, amazingly it seemed to facilitate a proper response to the serum! The transformation was beautiful-
Penguin stared at the name with furrowed brows. With all the mentions of Rook in the journal, he knew it couldn't have been referring to any other Cyrus—but none of the comments made sense. 'She was being referred to as a test subject? What for? And why had the journal ended so abruptly?'
"There's a name in here I recognize, Captain," he spoke up. "Cyrus, but I don't understand… she never mentioned anything about this?"
"Nothing could have happened to her!" Nyiji snapped at the mechanic and crossed her arms around herself. "She—she was with Alistair the whole time…we were there…"
"Then it's possible your Captain knows what this is about," Law spoke as he picked up a cup filled with coffee and took a long pull, eyeing her over the lip. She shook her head and began to run her fingers nervously through her wet hair, worrying her lower lip once more. At the rate she was going, it wouldn't heal properly. "We can discuss this later, if you need a moment."
"I'm fine," she lied. "what else have you found?"
Law didn't miss the accusing tone hidden in her words. "There are similar entries to this one, but there are no names. The other documents appear to be chemical readings."
"They were making something then?" Penguin asked as he selected another piece of paper from the table to read.
"It appears so."
As Law took another sip of his drink, Nyiji returned to looking through the other pages in her hands, hoping there would be something in them that could soothe her budding fears over what might have happened to her Amazonian crewmate. Most of the pages were a bunch of nonsense that went right over her head, but it was obvious (as Penguin had suggested) that the workers at Jiyan had been trying to concoct something and whatever it was, it needed human test subjects. She thumbed to the next page and paused as familiar words caught her attention. 'Ishi Ishi no Mi.' There, in black and white print was the name of her devil fruit. An analysis of the fruit's composition was laid out below along with illegible scribbling's and a brief description about previous users.
Capable of manifesting a physical representation of the user's willpower…
Nyiji set the pages down on her lap and frowned as she met the Captain's amber gaze over the rim of his cup. She could see the swirls of ink peeking out from underneath his white button-down shirt and she let it take her mind back to the moment he had shielded her with a blindfold to protect her. "I have to know then, Trafalgar. What do you intend to do now?"
Penguin tore his eyes up from his own pages to look at her, a little stunned that she had been confident enough to ask. Law leaned forward and set the cup down on the table as he answered her: "That all depends on you."
"But Captain—" Penguin began to interrupt.
"What do you mean?" Nyiji asked instead, her attention focused solely on Trafalgar.
"You saved my life, twice. I'll return the favor with this. Do you still want to return to your Captain and crew, without knowing all the information first?"
His question made her mouth run dry and she looked away from the pair of eyes that seemed to be locked on her, waiting for a reply. She didn't know how to answer and that created a pool of guilt. She should have said yes, without question, without pause or delay. That was all she wanted, right? To be with her Captain and family once again, all of them safe and sound… 'But how safe were they really?'
Yet there was so much information staring her in the face that she just couldn't ignore. The things the butler had told her, the facts on the documents and even what she had overheard from common workers. All of them told her that Alistair had sold her to someone. She had been given away to someone on Jiyan to be used for something… something that Cyrus had likely already experienced. And what if that was true? How could she look her Captain in the eye again without knowing? Left always wondering… could she live like that?
A handkerchief appeared in front of her face, held wordlessly by a tattooed hand and she realized she was crying. Taking the proffered cloth, she wiped roughly at her tears.
"Have a rest and think about it. Penguin will take you to your room."
Penguin jolted up to his feet then, discarding the pages and walking briskly to the front door to hold it open for the woman as she sped out without a word. Her bare feet pattered along the hard metal floor as she walked ahead of him, a golden spyglass glinting in the hand at her side. He hurried to catch up to her as she began to take the stairs.
"Wait, Nyiji! Hold up!" She paused at the fourth step, a white knuckled hand on the railing as Penguin moved forward. "Are you OK?"
"I—thank you Penguin, for worrying… but… I do have questions… just, no answers." Nyiji tipped her head back and stared up at the ceiling. Little bulbs of lights had been screwed into the ceiling, looking like little cake pops above her head.
"Then ask me," he took the steps down until he stood beside her. "Let me help. I'm sorry I couldn't before, but let me try now."
Nyiji frowned as she recalled their interrupted conversation when she had tried to guilt him into helping her get out of returning to Jiyan. It suddenly made sense why she hadn't seen him since then. She suddenly felt guilty for the look of remorse on his face.
"Come on." He gently took a hold of her hand and pulled her down the rest of the stairway, leading her towards his shared bedroom.
It was a few doors down from her small medical closet and wasn't much bigger. A bunk bed was pressed to the side where blankets and clothes had been thrown haphazardly, hanging off the top bunk like a little curtain. To the side of the room sat a little dresser, drawers spilled out onto the floor with random items sticking out that Penguin quickly kicked beneath the bed. In a rush of cleaning, he forced rolled up magazines beneath the mattresses and tried to collect all of the clothes into his arms, the pile growing exponentially with each addition.
"Do you need help?" she laughed, unable to help herself.
Penguin smiled as he saw her facial expression change, at least temporarily distracted by his mess. "No, no it's ok. I got it. I swear, all of this is Shachi's. I'm usually really clean."
"I haven't met him yet, but that was the friend you grew up with, right?" he nodded in confirmation and tucked the pile of clothes into a space between the bed and wall. "so, you two share a room?"
"No one else would," he teased and offered her a seat on the bottom bunk. "this one's mine, you can take a seat here."
She sunk easily into the soft mattress and let out a little laugh. "You sleep on a cloud, Penguin!"
"That's the idea." He winked and pulled his hat off his head, shaking out the white strands of his hair. He took up a seat on his small dresser, legs hanging over the sides and back pressed into the wall. "Are you still hungry? I can go get you another bowl, if you are?"
"No, thank you Penguin… uhm, listen. I-I need to apologize."
He blinked at her in confusion, "What for?"
She leaned back a little into his bed and her hair pooled around her. She couldn't believe how easy it had been to relax by just entering his messy room. "I tried to put you in an uncomfortable situation with your Captain before. I'm sorry."
Penguin beamed at her, his smile nearly blinding as he dismissed her apology. "It's ok, I understand. So, lets talk about those questions of yours."
Eyes darkening to a grey shade, Nyiji looked at the spots on her jeans as she tried to find the right words. "The… comments in that journal, about the test subject…"
"The one that had Cyrus's name." He nodded, watching her every movement.
"It's not the first time I…. heard about my Captain—well, that is… some of the men at the island… suggested that I had been… sold." She flitted her gaze up to him and away again, wincing a little at how it all sounded coming from her mouth. "Alistair wouldn't do that to me—to us, though. He wouldn't."
"They said your Captain sold you?" he repeated, frowning. "What about your other crewmembers? Cyrus?"
Her back went rigid as she thought about the bodies in the forest that they had come across and she pressed her hand across her mouth, tears prickling her eyes again. It was clear she didn't have the strength to answer him.
"If it's true, he would have to have a reason, right?" Penguin voiced his thoughts, hoping it would comfort her in some way.
She shook her head and blinked away the tears as she thought about Alistair and all of his secrets. "I don't know… but, after we had escaped Jiyan… he became someone else, he acted so different and I just—well, I thought it was because of what we had gone through. Everyone was different, it wasn't just him…"
Penguin's smile dropped. 'If that was how she felt after her first encounter with the island, what had a second return to Jiyan done to her?' Resisting asking all of the questions burning in his mind, 'What happened between you and Law? How did you garner all of those facial lacerations?' and a burning desire to know exactly how she had saved his Captain's life twice, Penguin chose to address Nyiji's current concerns. "Cyrus told me a little about your Captain, you know… but, she never spoke very highly of him."
"I… never noticed," she answered truthfully. "She always defended him. Always made sure everyone followed his orders without—"
"Nyiji?"
"—Question?"
Moving towards her on the bed, Penguin gingerly reached out for her and grabbed a hold of her shoulders as she wiped at her face, hiccupping on tears. Kneeling in front of her, he soothingly rubbed at her arms in an attempt to comfort her. She pulled away sharply as if he had hurt her and his hands came away sticky.
"What's this?" he asked himself, even though he knew exactly what the red substance was. "You're hurt!"
"I'm ok, I think I just broke a stitch."
She peeled the collar of the shirt from her body and pulled it down her shoulder to reveal an arsenal of wounds. Penguin winced as he looked at the thread snapped open at her shoulder, a wound pulling apart and bleeding profusely. "I'll go get Captain."
He was gone before she could beg him not to and then she was alone in the mechanic's shared quarters. Wiping the last of her tears away, Nyiji took a deep breath to clear her mind before the men returned. A painting hung on the wall near the room's doorway, an oceanic scene with a robin shaped island in the center. She wished she could drown in those waves, live on that island for the rest of her days. It looked peaceful.
A sigh slipped out and she slumped against the bunk bed's frame, eyes falling closed. She could hear feet coming down the hallway and thought of her Amazonian friend's heavy steps. It was more than a simple temper that fueled the woman's walk. When it came to Cyrus, it was a deep pride in herself that she wore like a badge everywhere she went and now that Nyiji thought about it, she could understand why the Amazonian had shared information with Penguin. Whether Nyiji could come to terms with the information being real or not—something had happened to Cyrus. She could see that now. It was possible that everything she had seen and heard were lies, but it was also plausible that there were truths there, waiting to be revealed and accepted.
"Oh fuck, did she pass out?" Penguin cried as he hurried over to her. "Nyiji?"
Her eyes flickered open and she saw the mechanic fussing over her as his Captain moved into the room, a small black bag at his side. He ordered his friend to move out of the way and took up Penguin's position, tucking his fingers into the collar of her shirt and pulling it down to get a look at her injury. He made a little 'tsk' at the sight of her pulled stitches.
"Can you give us some privacy, Pen?" he asked his subordinate, eye flashing towards the door. Penguin nodded, sending his snowy hair everywhere and exited the room, shutting the door behind him.
"What happened to your bandages?" Law asked her once they were alone.
Holding the shirt's neckline against her, Nyiji's face flushed at his forward behaviour. "I threw them away in your garbage. They were ruined in the bath."
Law nodded as he cracked open his medical bag and began to dig around in its contents. "You should have told me earlier. Take off the shirt."
"You could use a little bedside manner," she complained. "but I'm not… I didn't have anything to wear underneath this—"
"It's nothing I haven't seen before. Hurry up," he cut her off, attention focused on the bag as he withdrew a proper surgical needle, curved in all its glory and a spindle of thread.
Nyiji's face burned hot as she slipped the long-sleeved shirt over her head, keeping it held on her elbows to cover her breasts from him. She let out a little noise of pain as the move pulled at her shoulder wound, the remaining stitches unwinding and snapping. He turned to face her at the noise. Her eyes were squinted in pain, cheeks flushed pink as she avoided eye contact with him. Law grabbed a cloth and a bottle of saline solution from his bag. Popping the top off the bottle, he then placed the cloth over its lid and tipped it swiftly to the side to soak the fabric through. Setting the bottle aside, he turned to his patient and motioned for her to adjust her position for better access to her shoulder to wipe away the blood and clean the wound.
"Will these heal ok?" she mumbled a question as he picked up a pair of forceps and began to pluck the old stitches from her open wound, gently working them free from her skin so as not to cause her any additional discomfort.
"It should," he set the used thread onto the bed and turned to grab another bottle from his bag, this one much smaller compared to the saline's container. "If you don't keep ripping them open, that is."
His hands worked quickly, filling a syringe with a small dose of xylocaine that he depressed into her shoulder. As he waited for the numbing agent to take effect, he prepared his surgical needle with a line of thread and joined her on the bed, eyes closing in on the nasty wound. Nyiji sighed as she watched him pierce the needle through her flesh—this time she couldn't feel a thing, and she was grateful. It had been hard keeping silent the last time without any pain killers or numbing agents. As he worked with a singular focus, her wound began to close tightly. The thread moving through her as if she were a rag-doll. When Law was finally finished, he leaned back and admired his work. Blue thread decorated her shoulder, standing out against her pale skin, finely laced and knotted.
Nyiji bent her shoulder to get a look at his work. "Thank you."
He nodded and reached over to grab another roll of gauze from his bag. "I'll dress your wounds again and then you can return to your Penguin watching."
She glared at him as he covered a smile by turning away from her, conveniently unrolling the gauze in his hands as a distraction. "I hate to break it to you, but I am not interested in any of your crew members."
"Oh, so it's just me then." Her cheeks darkened and the color ran up to her ears. Law chuckled to himself then as he reached for her and began to bind her wounds. "I'll just leave it at that then."
Her embarrassment continued after Law had finally finished processing her, letting Penguin back inside the room after she pulled the shirt back over her torso. The two barely conversed at the door, deciding together that it was best if she was returned to her room to sleep.
"Sorry," Penguin repeated for the third time, standing awkwardly in the door frame.
Settling into her hammock, Nyiji tried to assuage the pirate's worries by waving at him, only to lose her balance and spill into the roped bed. He was quick to her side to help her.
"Its ok. I'm good," his hands left her then. "I wouldn't mind getting some rest, actually."
If her request bothered him, Penguin didn't let it show as he swiftly left the room, shutting the door behind him. Though they hadn't gotten the chance to talk a lot, a small weight had lifted from her shoulders, making it easier to sort her thoughts.
The morning sun rose over the yellow submarine as it sailed beneath the ocean's surface, a vibrant figure underneath the gentle waves. Colorful little fish swam in schools around the sub, reflecting light off of one another as they moved in sync. Inside there was a cluster of energy as pirates moved about, heading towards the galley for their plates of breakfast in a rush of bodies that crammed into the hallway. Separating from the crowd, Penguin stepped out of the line to stop at medical closet '3', softly knocking on the door before he poked his head into the room. A light bulb swung from the ceiling dangerously, nearly hitting him in the head as he entered.
"Hey, it's time for breakfast," he called to the body still tucked into the swinging cot. Picking up the blanket from the floor, he reached out and gently touched the sleeping woman's shoulder. "Wake up Nyiji, come on!"
An arm clothed in a shirt too long for her body, Nyiji swatted him away and tried to tuck herself back into the ball she had been in. Not rejected in the slightest Penguin shook her a little more aggressively until her eyes finally fluttered open.
"Ok! Ok, I'm awake!"
Stepping back, he let her swing her legs over the cot's side, bare and bruised legs appearing underneath the rolled-up jeans. She shook the bunches in her jeans out to cover herself once more, weakly yawning in the process. "What's going on?" she asked him as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
"Breakfast!"
"I'm not hungry," she replied and began to work her long and tangled hair back into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. "You can just go without me."
Patting her knees, Penguin stood up to full height and bounced to the side when the light bulb struck him in the side of the head. "Ow!" swatting the light away he rubbed at his injury. "Come on Nyiji, don't be like that, I just took a light bulb for you!"
"My hero," she cooed, still sitting in her cot with no intentions of moving.
Penguin let out a frustrated sigh and moved towards the bedroom door. "Alright, but the Captain won't be happy. He'll probably come drag you out. No one's allowed to miss meals after all… but, if you want to risk it…" he smiled in satisfaction when she got up, groaned and moved past him.
Moving into the busy galley, the Heart pirates congregated around a smorgasbord of food, each carrying a tray and chatting as they moved in an orderly line. Nyiji and Penguin joined at the tail-end and waited their turn as an arrangement of food greeted them.
"So… how are you feeling today?" Penguin made conversation as he selected two red trays for their use.
She shrugged as she took one of the trays from his hands, eyeing the variety of men ahead of them. They all looked so cheerful and comfortable with each other, like a big bustling family. "I'm… ok."
"Did you, uhm well—about what Captain said the other day… have you… thought about it?"
She flicked her gaze over to him, expression blank and unresponsive, a good mask that hid her inner turmoil. She had been thinking about it, all night in fact, after he had dropped her off in her room to rest. "I have…"
"You don't have to tell me if you've decided on anything," he set the tray down and began to load it with bacon and red hash browns. "But I think it would be fun to have you aboard our sub a little longer. I could finally introduce you to everyone." He waved at the group of men ahead of them in line that were moving off to take seats on the couches or in the alcove seating areas.
Nyiji tried to force a smile as she grabbed a small bowl of yellow-colored pudding for her tray, interested only in getting the fastest and easiest thing to eat so she could make a quick exit. Sliding her tray along she met the intense stare of the Heart's chef, glaring at her through his glasses with the familiar surgical mask pulled up over half his face. Without giving him a chance to slip in a biting remark about her eating habits or dislike for his cooking, she moved away with her pudding and headed towards one of the unoccupied alcoves. Penguin moved to follow after he had gathered his own breakfast, a selection of food that was stacked and balanced precariously on the red plastic in his hands. Sliding in beside her, he offered her a spoon that she had forgotten to grab and smirked.
"It's funny you chose this spot," he commented, as most of the time he had seen her through the week, she had stuck to one of the couches with Uni standing guard.
"Why?" she asked as she dug into her meal, making a face after her first bite. "How the hell is this sour?"
He laughed at her puckered lips. "Cause' this is where Cap sits."
Flicking her eyes up to look at him she noticed a little sparkle in his baby blues. "You're not serious."
"I am," he bobbed his head and thumbed the doorway. "he'll likely be here soon too."
Glowering down at her sour pudding, Nyiji pushed the solidified liquid around in its bowl. Well, she supposed she had to address the elephant at some point. Scanning the room nervously she shifted in her seat until she was pressed into Penguin's side, her body heat soaking into his unzipped boiler suit. He flushed and nearly jumped from the curved booth until her arm grabbed his elbow and pulled him back down.
"Hold on, Pen," she whispered, cupping a hand around her mouth so only he would hear her in the crowded room.
He looked at her with wide eyes, obviously discomforted with her closeness. "I want to ask you about Cyrus…something I didn't get to ask last night."
"What's that?" he tested, a little afraid that she would ask him about seducing the woman for information. 'It hadn't been his finest moment, really. Or… moments.'
Leaning in closer to speak with him she finally asked the burning question: "What did she tell you… about our crew…. About Jiyan? Please, I need to know, all of it. Everything she shared."
Adjusting the brim of his hat, he looked out at the packed galley, hoping one of his crew members would notice his discomfort and maybe interrupt them. He caught the gaze of his redheaded best friend and did his best to bulge his eyes out in a basic silent plea for help. Shachi laughed and turned away, picking up his meal with a wicked grin.
"Asshole," he muttered, then turned back to her. "I mean… she just told me stuff, like… I don't know, who you guys were, your positions aboard the ship… Uh, your mercenaries."
Nyiji nodded into her bowl of pudding and stirred the contents slowly. "Did she tell you who had the information you needed?"
"Well, sort of…"
Her silver eyes flashed. "Then she knew a little about what you wanted, your reasons for going to Jiyan in the first place."
"Ah! Well!" shit. Penguin quickly moved out of the seat, away from her body and stood at the front of the table awkwardly. "She told me who in the crew got out. We didn't talk about my crew, really!"
"Then she was willing to help you without knowing your motives?" she pressed.
Glancing over his shoulder at his friend, Penguin once more sent a strangled expression at the redhead who finally made his way over, carrying his own tray of food. Stopping beside him, Shachi peered over the frames of his shades and eyed the female in the booth with a grin. "So, this is our newest resident prisoner, huh? What's up, Pen. Can't handle her?"
Nyiji raised an eyebrow at Penguin's flushed face. Fiddling with her pudding she took her time to examine the shorter man, he was only a few inches beneath Penguin's stature and his features were sharper. As he set his tray of food beside hers and casually slid in beside her, she noticed he had similar tattoos to his Captain on his forearms, though the ink was a perfect white against his peachy skin.
"She seems pretty harmless to me." He flashed her a grin as their legs and sides pressed together.
"Nyiji, this is Shachi," Penguin supplied the man's name as he pinched the bridge of his nose and grabbed his tray of food to move to the other side of the table. Before he could sit down another occupant made their way over, raising a dark brow at the closeness of his redheaded mechanic to the female. "Captain! Ah, good morning!"
Shachi waved happily at his Captain and swung an arm over the back of the booth, tucked behind Nyiji's head casually. "Mornin' Cap!"
Taking a very long and—what looked to be needed, if Shachi's behavior was any indication—needed pull from his coffee, Law slipped into the booth as Penguin offered the seat up. "Should I even ask?"
Letting his arm drop off the seat to wrap around Nyiji's shoulders, Shachi leaned into the table, bringing her closer to his body as he grinned impishly at his Captain. "Hey, I'm just being a team sport! Little chicken over there had his tail stuck between his legs like the little lady was biting his head off."
"I wasn't biting his head off," Nyiji replied with a frown and tried to shake the man's arm off her body. Failing she felt him tighten his grip and pull her tighter against him. "Would you let me go?"
"Shachi, come on," Penguin tried to warn his friend, glancing nervously between the two.
"Then what were you two so caught up in conversation about, hmm?" Shachi pressed, lowering his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to level her with a green stare.
"Your Captain's offer," she confessed before Penguin could answer for her. Three pairs of eyes turned to her and she felt Shachi's arm tense around her. Confusion clouded his face and he glanced between his two friends as if they had all the answers.
"What's she talking about?"
Now was the time, she had their attention, she had to say it. She had to vocalize it before the chance was gone. Grabbing Shachi's wrist and removing his limb from her body, pleased to find that he gave her zero resistance, Nyiji settled her attention onto their Captain. He looked as calm and unapproachable as ever, relaxed into the booth with a cup of coffee.
"I… want to stay aboard your submarine and find the answers. I want to know what happened to my crewmates. I—if you will accept, I will continue to offer my help."
"What further help can you offer?" Law asked her as his mug was set down onto the table, nearly empty and in dire need of a refill. Penguin slipped into the seat beside him and began to tuck into his breakfast, interested in seeing how the conversation would develop.
"I know my Captain, and whatever information you are looking for still, the answers we both want… he won't give them up. But I know of ways around him. The company we worked for," Nyiji paused as Shachi bit into an egg sandwich and sprayed her as he chewed obnoxiously. "Seriously?"
"What?" he asked with an open mouth filled with chewed food.
"Close your mouth Shach," Penguin groaned and flicked a biscuit across the table at his friend.
The redhead cackled as he dodged and reached for his plate to grab something to return fire with. "Stop it," Law interrupted his movement.
"He started it though Cap!" Shachi tried to innocently protest.
Rolling his eyes, Law waved Penguin to move out of the booth so he could escape. "I need more coffee for this. Puppy-ya, come with me."
Following his lead, she snuck out of the booth and chased after his long-legged stride, nervously dodging between crewmates that over eagerly stepped in her way to bid him a greeting. Pausing at the kitchen counter, Law set his mug down and tapped the linoleum for Mason's attention, wordlessly asking for another refill. She moved to his side and Law dropped his attention back to her, a head shorter than him, peering casually in at his chef as he handled the coffee pot.
"I'm surprised you let him handle such a dangerous instrument," she catcalled to the chef, smiling cheekily to herself when Mason turned around to yell at her.
"I heard that!"
"You were supposed to." She bobbed her head and then stopped when she noticed the weak brew pouring out. "You're not even steeping the beans long enough!"
"They're steeped fine!" Mason grumped out as he poured the hot liquid into his Captain's cup. "What would you know about coffee anyway?"
Law resisted the urge to grin as he watched the woman unintentionally entertain his men. Though he had ordered most of them to limit contact with her since she was released from the brig, he noted that quite a few had gravitated towards her anyway, if only to witness her confrontations with his chef.
"A lot more than you, apparently," she answered and turned on Trafalgar as he raised the cup to his lips. "Are you really going to drink that swill?"
Choosing not to respond Law took a sip and hid his emotions behind the mug. He could tell Mason was nearing boiling point, so choosing to keep what little peace remained, he caught Nyiji's attention and directed her to follow him out to the hallway. It would afford them more privacy anyway. The corridor was now empty since all accounted pirates had gathered in the mess hall for breakfast, making it the safest place to converse with her outside of his office without interruption.
"I'd appreciate it if you quit bothering my chef, Puppy-ya. He doesn't handle being antagonized very well."
Smiling at the comment, Nyiji fiddled with her braid and hoped she hadn't just pissed the man off after asking to stay aboard his submarine. "I'll make sure not to do it again then."
Law nodded and took another pull of his coffee, glancing over her head to see his men still milling in and out of the line in front of the kitchen counter. His attention was drawn back to her when she began speaking again, still nervously ruining her carefully threaded hair.
"As I was saying before, well… I want to stay and… learn the truth."
"If you intend to stay aboard my submarine, you will adhere to all of my rules."
Nyiji nodded, releasing the braid from her fingers, a little surprised about how easy this all was. All night she had worried that he would decline her. Perhaps even drop her off on a random island and sail off into the distance, but instead, he had dashed all of her worries without batting an eyelash.
"Your status will not be changing, and you will not be given any freedoms," He began, adding: "If you cause any problems, if you threaten my crew in any fashion—"
"I won't be a problem," she interrupted him in a low tone. "and I will pull my own weight. I won't be a hindrance to you."
A silence fell between them as they regarded one another and Law leaned against the side of the wall, pressing his shoulder into the space before the archway. "Well then Puppy-ya, I suppose it's time we discuss our next steps. The company you worked for, what exactly were you going to mention about it?"
"We had contacts all over the place that would give us our next job… if I can reach out to one of them, maybe I can find out something about Jiyan."
"So, espionage… somehow, I don't think you're quite cut out for it."
Nyiji frowned and placed her hands stubbornly on her hips as she glared at him, "I'm well-versed in holding my tongue, Trafalgar." The man grinned and buried his face into his mug as he withheld a taunt at the mention of her tongue. He heard her huff as she turned away from him to face the open galley. "But… I have to know something first… you aren't planning on going back to that island, are you?"
Law thought about his answer before he gave it. Returning to Jiyan certainly hadn't been ruled out yet, there were many unanswered questions left there that going back would likely yield a light on, but he also knew the risks. And one glance at the woman's fragile disposition told him a return trip this soon would likely crack whatever mental stability she had left.
"No. I want more information on those documents we found first. I'll talk with Bepo later about where we'll head next, depending on where you think you can find a contact and I'll look into finding someone capable of decoding those chemical readings."
"The ones you two thought meant they were making something on Jiyan?"
Pushing off the wall he moved closer to her and gestured they move a little further down the hallway and away from the galley. "It's more than those documents that suggest it, Puppy-ya. Why else would they have running factories and facilities?"
'Well, she supposed she should have thought about that before…'
"I'm also interested in that devil fruit of yours, you never did say exactly how you obtained it. Your Captain was involved, I assume?"
Looking off down the hall and searching the empty space for a distraction with which to avoid his question, Nyiji clenched her hands at her sides and resisted the urge to fiddle with her braid. It was a nervous habit that would only give her away in this instance. She could feel the dark Captain eyeing her as they walked, but he didn't press her to answer, instead he let his question linger between them. Stopping by the small laundry room, Law pulled open the door and stepped inside to collect a bucket filled with cleaning tools that he handed off to her.
"What's this?" she balked at the bucket.
"Your new job," he answered and pointed a finger at their surroundings. "You can clean this floor. 'Pull your own weight,' as I recall? Just something to keep you busy with when you're not on 'espionage duty'."
Nyiji grimaced as he moved past her. "You're not as funny as you think you are," she huffed and followed.
Waving a tattooed hand in the air, as if to brush her off, Law grinned down at the shorter female and flashed his golden orbs over her figure. "And you are much easier to read than you think. Another thing, Puppy-ya, you'll no longer be allowed to use the showers in the communal bathroom. For your safety, you can use mine."
"My safety?" she quickly chased after him, bucket bouncing off her abdomen.
"In case you haven't noticed, Puppy-ya, you are the only female aboard this submarine," tucking his hands into his pockets, Law let a little smirk take over his features with her visible discomfort. "Of course, don't let that stop you from cleaning the bathroom on this floor. I'm sure you'll have a knack for it."
Before he could slip away, he left her with the parting words: "I'll fetch you after I speak with my navigator. Happy cleaning."
Nyiji watched him walk away, a swagger to his stride as his ego filled. 'He certainly loves having the last word,' she thought. With a frown she looked down at the bucket's contents. It wasn't the first time she had been assigned cleaning duty, but of course, that had been back aboard her own ship. Not this death trap of metal. A scrub brush with sharp little metal bristles found its way into her hand and she rubbed her thumb over them before she pressed the pad of her finger down sharply. The little bristles pierced her skin and she pulled her thumb away, staring at the little red pricks as blood rose to the surface. The sharp pain reminded her that this was all real. She had actually asked the man to stay aboard his submarine and he had really agreed. She was going through with it.
Dropping the brush back into the bucket and returning to the little laundry room, she found a small basin that she used to collect water. On a shelf above the strange machines she found soap that was added and mixed until the bucket was half filled with a froth of bubbles. Rolling the sleeves of her shirt up to the elbow, Nyiji left the room and examined the hallway as she tried to pick where to start cleaning. If he wanted the bathroom done, she'd leave it for last. That left her trying to pick between the stairs or the opposite end of the hall. Perhaps she should start in one of the communal rooms? Vaguely she recalled when Uni had pointed out each shared space. 'Galley, bathroom, laundry… hadn't there been more?'
Making her way further down the hallway and looking in at each door, she discovered a series of bedrooms belonging to each member of the crew. At the end of the hallway, close to a staircase leading down, she found a grand living space. Similar to the galley there were a set of couches for lounging, though they were thankfully clothed in a deep red material rather than a blinding yellow. The room itself held an eerie blue tinge to it which could be accredited not to the blue paint but the numerous portholes and stretches of windows that lined each wall. Fish that varied in size and color swam past the windows, casting shadows along the room that lured her inside, completely entranced. She had never been so close to sea life. Setting the bucket down on a table she stopped to press a hand against the thick glass. A little pink fish swam near her palm and nibbled at the glass as if she were a free meal, its mouth opening and closing hilariously. A little gasp escaped her as a much larger fish swallowed her new friend and she found herself watching as the aquatic life rippled away from the dominant fish.
Pulling away from the schools of colorful sea life, Nyiji found herself looking around for Owens, ready to fire off a comment about how incredible the fish were, only to realize that she was alone. And he was dead. Her gut sank. She didn't know why she had done that but the behavior wasn't something she was accustomed to. It was just an instinctive reaction that caused her to seek out his ghost or after-image, hoping to seek his input on her situation. It didn't mean anything, but that didn't stop her from feeling terrible about it. A desperate part of her had genuinely wanted him to appear though, to step in and comfort her or push her to survive and live just as he had done back on Jiyan.
Turning away and shutting her mind down before her thoughts could get any darker, she grabbed up the bucket forcefully, causing water to slosh over the side and decided that she would start with cleaning this room. At least here she could appreciate the ocean and its life as a pleasant distraction. Scrubbing at a table, Nyiji breathed the tightness in her chest away one exhale at a time. It was hard being alone. At least when someone was around watching her, judging, she could hold it together. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she got down to her hands and knees to start on the floor, working from the back of the room all the way to the front entrance. Every few minutes though she would catch herself glancing around the room in search of a mirage only to chastise herself and wish she had better control.
Throwing the brush back into the tub of soapy water, tired of dealing with a stubborn stain, she sat back and took another deep breath. "I can do this dad," she whispered to the spyglass on her hip, attached to the spotted pants she had borrowed.
Author's note; This. Was. A. Behemoth.
That's all I have to say. Hope you all enjoyed!
