James eyed his supposed savior warily across the room. She had been strange when muttering incoherently, and downright creepy when in her comatose state.
But this?
This was just weird.
Law followed his gaze, looking behind him at the girl who was currently sitting cross legged on the floor and giggling maniacally while muttering about a snake's head.
"Worty worty wortimort gonna diiiiiiiie."
There was a pause, before Law shook his head and turned back to examine James' pupils for dilation distortion. James had not broken eye contact from the strange girl, who was now waving her hands in the air as if batting away mosquitos and muttering about lights that ich.
After their shower, she had followed Law across the hall to find James sitting on an infirmary bed. This floor of the sub was almost entirely dedicated to Law and the officer rooms. Law's suite sat across the hall from the infirmary, with officer rooms down the hall. Next to the infirmary was an operating theater and the Freezer, as dubbed by his crew. It housed extra bodies for Law to examine at his leisure. When they had walked in, Law had told the girl briefly to stay put while he examined James. She had promptly flopped on the ground to stare into space. Originally, James had been holding an ice pack to his head, but it had slipped from his hands upon her entrance to the room.
That same man was now eyeing her suspiciously as Law continued his examination.
"… Are you sure she's the same one who saved me?"
Law chuckled. "Yes."
James still looked unconvinced. Law put down his flashlight, opting to feel around the back of the man's head instead.
"… I'm sorry, Captain, but what exactly do you see in her?"
Law paused.
"I'm not an idiot. You were always specifically interested in what she said. But…" Law looked back at the girl, now laying all the way back and moving her hands as if conducting an orchestra. "… Is any of it really worth anything?"
Law lowered his hands, opting to grab his clipboard and writing notes while he thought. To be honest, Law didn't have to tell this man anything. This man didn't need to know, he would follow Law's orders without an explanation. Unfortunately, he was also highly intelligent. Law knew that he would follow orders, but there was a difference between following orders because you have to and following orders because you understand the reasoning behind them.
He put the clipboard down on his infirmary desk, before turning and leaning against it, crossing his arms across his chest.
"You're lucky, the concussion doesn't seem bad from the symptoms that you listed. Keep an eye on it, and have the night crew check on you ever hour tonight just in case. You're off the duty roster until I say otherwise."
Law looked back at the girl, who was staring at him from her position on the floor. She had stopped talking, seeming to notice that he was done and waiting for him to move.
"Is-ya, what do you see?"
She hummed, before looking up at the ceiling. "There are six right now. Worty died in that one, man still fucking his sister over there, cops over there… shadows are next to you."
"Are they saying anything?"
Her eyes unfocused. "Hm. No. Not now."
"Do you see James?"
She sat up quickly. "James! … Uh. James. No. Wait. There!" Her fingers pointed to him as she seemed to suddenly see the man sitting in the bed before her, icepack once again held to his head. "I know, I know!" She started gesturing wildly with her hands. "There was pink, and wings, and it was biiiiiiiig and… uh. Uh oh. Splat. No good."
Law observed James quietly as she spoke, watching his face turn to disbelief. Whatever she said, it had more significance to James than Law.
She looked James in the eye. "She wants pictures for next week." She frowned. "Hm… Did I say that?"
Law pushed off from his desk and stood next to James. The man's expression had changed from disbelief to confusion and now awe. He waited patiently for James to pull his eyes away from the girl that was back to staring at the ceiling from her position on the floor, mouth slightly open as she appeared completely enchanted by something. James' eyes slowly looked at Law, and the Surgeon could tell the man was taking a moment to question his sanity. It was a look that Law was now familiar with.
"That… My daughter, Sofie. She… I think she just described her birthday two years ago. And… her birthday is next week. I usually send her something in the mail." He shook his head. "But how could she possibly-"
"She also correctly predicted the serial killer in the last town."
James watched her again, his jaw tight in decisiveness. "… Those ain't just random things she's seeing with her strange eyes then."
Law frowned. "It's hard to tell. Some of it certainly seems random. But others…"
She was suddenly at Law's elbow, staring at James. She reflected the same disbelief he had previously had on his face. "… Are you… real?"
He chuckled. "Yes, lady. I am."
She reached a hand out, but hesitated before touching him. She looked back at Law, who tilted his head back towards James. "If you want to touch him, you need to ask him, not me."
James answered by taking her hand and placing it gently on his face. She used the open invitation to gently explore his whole face, basking in the fact that he was indeed real. James softened at that look in her eyes, before putting his ice pack on the bed and gripping her wrists lightly, pulling them from his face to look her directly in the eyes. "You've been trapped by those visions for a while, haven't you, little one?"
She giggled. "Sweetie, have you seen these hips? I ain't been 'little' in years." She frowned. "Wait, bad me, no flirting. Sorry."
Law answered for her. "I believe so."
She continued to poke and prod at the different aspects of James before moving on to the bed he sat on.
They watched her for a moment before James spoke again. "… I've heard stories. On Fisherman island, there is a fortune-teller that has correctly predicted the outcomes of major events in history. Last time I was there, we left before finding out if it was true or not. I honestly never believed it. But…"
Law nodded. "Me neither."
James looked at his captain, studying him. "… It was more than just those murders, wasn't it?"
Law turned back to the clipboard on his desk as he pulled off James's file and put it away.
"Yes."
"… I wonder what finally dragged her out of the visions." He drawled, giving Law a pointed, knowing look, seeming to have remembered both his captain and the girl flinching when they had first touched.
Law ignored the look, choosing to shrug noncommittally and turning towards the door. "Rest now. I'm going to get some food. I'll have some brought up to you."
"Captain… she broke out of the brig before I was hit."
Law grinned, making eye contact with the woman again. "I know."
She straightened from her position of inspecting the bed, watching Law and ready to follow him. Occasionally, her eyes darted to different corners of the room as she was distracted by the visions that she was plagued with.
Vaguely, Law wondered if any of them contained her son.
He indicated with a tilt of his chin the direction that he was going. She followed him, bumping into another infirmary bed on her way.
"Bye, bye, James!"
He paused at the door, looking back at James. James's smile was soft, as he waved one hand at her, leaning back in the infirmary bed with the ice pack settled on his head.
He started down the hallway, away from the direction of the blood he could still smell, thinking. The change in James had been exactly what Law needed to convince himself of the next course of action. The girl was not leaving. He was too fascinated by her capabilities, and the information she provided was far too valuable anyway. Law fought a bit of pride as he remembered that she was wearing his Jolly Roger — she looked good in the uniform of his crew. At the moment, his crew was downright terrified of her, or at best as wary as James had been. If he was going to successfully assimilate her into his crew, he was going to have to tell everyone of the underlying meanings to her seemingly random mutterings. He knew that they would warm to her as James had, as they were, in many ways, the exact opposite of himself.
If he was honest, there was another reason that he decided he wanted to keep her — she was amusing. She was currently muttering darkly to herself about shadows appearing too close and too much pink being everywhere, before squealing about kittens.
She seemed to always see him, but her own focus was constantly distracted, and she faded in and out of delirium. She was steadily improving - she was much more aware now than she had been two weeks ago. Even this had been longer than any of his previous interactions with her, so the fact that she was still able to see more than just him was a good sign.
Although he wondered how long that would last.
He paused before heading down the stairs to the mess hall, and grinned. He took a couple steps, ears on her as she followed him blindly, and pulling to the side quickly as she fell down the stairs.
Yes, this was decidedly amusing. She hadn't even noticed that she'd fallen.
It reminded him of someone else. But he pushed that thought away.
He approached her, his hands in his pockets as he kicked her. "Oi. Up."
She looked up at him. "… How'd you get up there?"
"You feel down the stairs."
"Oh." She frowned. "… You totally knew I was going to fall."
He just grinned lazily, before stepping over her and continuing towards the mess hall.
"Ass."
"Don't tempt me to dissect you again, Is-ya."
"Literal or figurative?"
"I'll let you guess."
She blinked, then jumped to her feet to follow him as they approached the door Law was seeking. He could already hear yelling through the closed door, and knew that Couri was probably scolding Shachi and Penguin again. He pushed the door open, stepping inside.
The room was bland, in a way. The wooden floors of the hallway were replaced with easy to clean metal. There were several long, metal tables with bench seating on one side of the room that were bolted to the ground. An open door way on the opposite side lead to a kitchen, with a serving window cut out of the separating wall between the spaces. Couri and his assistants in the kitchen kept the room spotless - it was the one room the young Samei didn't have to clean.
Speaking of the young man, he was currently at the window, trying to get Couri's attention for some food. He was mostly clean, but Law could tell from the young man's shoes that he had already been cleaning up the hallway. His spiky, blonde hair was more messy than usual, and Law guessed he had been pulling on it from frustration.
His cook's mustache was twitching as Shachi and Penguin sat on their knees, arms straight in the air as if in punishment. Knowing the mischievous nature of the two, Law had no doubt that his bald and pudgy cook had hit them with the ladle in his hand for their indiscretions.
All four of the men looked up as Law opened the door. Samei immediately looked as if he wanted to cry. "Captain! Can't you have someone help me? What did you do? Can't you do it off the sub next time? At least get Couri to give me some food before I have to go back to that mess you made in the hallway, please!"
Law's eyes narrowed and Samei immediately gulped. "I-I mean, of course, I'll get right back-"
"Couri." The question in Law's voice was implied, despite it sounding more like a command.
"Yes Captain. These two-" he gestured with a metal soup ladle at his mechanics on the ground. Both men winced noticeably. "-took the opportunity from the confusion upstairs and tried to sneak food out of the fridge."
Both of the accused looked up at their Captain and began pleading at the same time
"Captain, we just-"
"We were hungry from the morn-"
"-he's being too harsh-"
"-you know I lost my breakfast-"
Law held up a hand, silencing their babble. "As punishment, you two can clean up the body hallway with Samei." He looked back at the boy as a wide smile grew on his lips. "Samei, I hope you didn't toss the parts."
The boy shook his head quickly. "No, sir! They are in the Freezer, sir!" He saluted Law before suddenly going pale.
"S-sir?"
All four men had their eyes trained on a pale hand that was waving around behind him. He turned, watching in amusement as the Is looked like she was pressing buttons with her fingers.
"… just a for loop, just need a better one here… wrong syntax…"
He watched Shachi's reaction in particular. The man gulped visibly. All four men had paled.
He took a moment to enjoy the fear on their faces. They would accept her, in time.
Didn't mean that he couldn't enjoy their reactions for now.
"And as for the hallway in question, Samei, I did nothing." He jerked a thumb to point at the girl. "She is the one to blame."
Shachi nodded weakly while Samei gulped.
"Hm? Did Chicken say something?"
He looked back at her, a glare on his face. Oh, he did not take kindly to that. He grabbed her hair and pulled her forward to make eye contact.
"Is-ya, you call me Captain." His voice was laced with malicious intent as he seethed. "Is that understood?"
She blinked, her mouth parted. "Yes. Captain. Right. Understood."
He let go of the hair, stalking over to the window as he tried to cool his anger. Couri had begun to move as soon as Law did. A cup of strong, black coffee and a plate of breakfast sat waiting for Law at the counter. Samei had taken several sets back, eyes trained on the girl.
"She… Certainly doesn't seem that dangerous…" he muttered quietly.
The skin contact had seemed to bring her about to her senses again, and she had quietly followed Law to the counter, standing beside him and watching him take his plate. The cook had made Law his favorite of rice balls and fried fish, seeming to have guessed that Law would be in a foul mood. It was one of the many reasons Law had originally drafted him into the crew - the man had a sixth sense when it came to people and food.
A glance up at the man now told Law that his sixth sense was baffled by the girl. He had grabbed a plate, but paused as he considered her, trying to see what she might like and glancing at his Captain for direction. Her eyes were fixed on Law, and seemed to see nothing else at the moment.
"Is-ya, tell the man what you want to eat."
"Huh? Man. Um. Food?" She looked as confused as his cook, so Law shook his head and gestured at the man to give her the same as him. "Send something up to James in the infirmary. Shachi, Penguin, and Samei — you're going join us at the table while you eat."
With that, he grabbed his mug and plate in one hand, and her plate in the other. She followed him to his usual table on the far side of the room where he had a view of everything, watching him sit down. He set her plate down opposite of him, gesturing for her to take a seat. She touched the bench slowly, timidly, before stepping into the space and sitting down. She poked at the rice balls with a finger, before taking it apart with the same fascination with which Law dissected bodies.
Law looked up at his stunned crew members with a glared order. They jumped to their feet, grabbing their own plates and shakily coming to his table. Law turned his attention to his food as he inwardly delighted in them pushing and shoving each other to decide the seating arrangements. As he had predicted, Shachi and Penguin sat to either side of Law, and Samei was left to sit next to the girl. None of them looked happy.
"Is-ya, eat."
She looked back up at him, her fingers coated in rice, and then began to pick up the chunks, plopping them in her mouth with a satisfied hum. She sucked the left over rice off of her fingers as she ate with her hands, either ignoring or not noticing the utensils she had been provided.
Which suited Law just fine. He could tell from the bodies on either side of him that even her eating habits were making them squirm. Shachi was looking a little green. Samei looked the most comfortable, though it wasn't by much. The young man was much less bothered by blood and guts than his two engineers, being a medic in training. He was often given left over corpses or prisoners to dissect after Law was finished with them, having the same fascination with the human body as Law.
It was why Law had originally recruited the boy. It was amusing.
Shachi whispered to his captain, "Captain, I don't mean to, uh… question you… but why is she here and not in a cell? And… I thought she didn't respond to people…"
Ah. Right. Shachi hadn't been around to see her interact with Law. Only James had, and it seems like the man had kept his mouth shut.
"She's here because she earned it. She may not respond to you, but that doesn't mean she doesn't."
Her eyes had locked back on to Law when he began speaking, her movements halted as she watched his gaze. She followed it slowly to Shachi, who was now ghostly white and green at the same time. It was an odd combination that Law savored momentarily. She blinked slowly, tilting her head.
"And her name is Is or Isabelle."
She nodded, then frowned. "… I think. I think it is. Probably. No sparkly things though. No bells."
This was a much better punishment for the three at the table that Law could have possibly devised by himself. He let them stew for a few minutes while Is forgot her food and started miming bubbles and counting.
"One, two, three, four, five…"
"… When did she… Uh…" Penguin began, his voice cracking slightly.
"Yes?" Law asked.
"Um… become… coherent?"
She suddenly made direct eye contact with Penguin and grinned sadistically. "I've always been coherent. You just haven't been paying attention."
She frowned, going back to her counting and bubble making. "… eight, nine, ten…"
Penguin was shaking and Law was grinning. He was going to introduce them to her, help make them get more comfortable…
But this was too much fun.
It was almost like she was playing along.
"… eleven, twelve, thirteen. That's it." She snapped her fingers, smiling. "Thirteen. With the bubbles and the smell. Thirteen."
Law trained his eyes on her. Bubbles and thirteen. He noted it for later. Samei seemed to note the expression on his face.
"Is… is that important, Captain?"
The Surgeon hummed thoughtfully while he chewed and swallowed. "Is-ya, why are thirteen and bubbles important?"
She frowned. "Don't know. Thirteen. Thirteen, thirteen, thirteen. Fingers? Stabs? Don't know." She rediscovered the food on her plate and began eating again, still with the same fascination as before.
Law noted that the men at the table hadn't touched their own food.
"She… is she… predicting the future?" Penguin asked, hesitantly.
Samei frowned. "That's impossible. There's no such thing as seeing the future. Right, Captain?"
Shachi still looked pale. Penguin shook his head. "No way, Captain wouldn't care unless it meant something."
"Captain only cares because she heals quickly or something."
"No offense, Captain, but what kind of devil fruit power is that? I don't quite buy it."
Law hummed again in thought, taking the time to take another bite of his food and sip his coffee as he contemplated his next move and his men continued to bicker about the possible existence of her powers. He could let them stew in their own confusion and terror of the girl. Or he could tell them the truth. Decisions, decisions.
He wanted them to get some work done today, so he decided to give them a break.
"Is-ya."
She looked up from her food, swallowing the bite in her mouth and watching him expectantly.
"What can you tell me about Penguin?" He had originally thought of asking her about Shachi, but the man looked green enough and Law didn't want vomit all over the table. He'd already showered today, and was not planning on another.
She tapped a rice covered finger on her chin. "Penguin, penguin, penguin, with the wrench and the machine, too hot, too hot, air, and snake and… Oh. Sorry. Snake lady will say no."
"Interesting. What can you tell me about Samei?"
She frowned again, licking her fingers and tilting her head while she watched something over Law's head. He wondered if the shadows were her telling her or showing her, but the grin on her face soon answered that question.
"Dude, that is so gross. You should do that again. Eyeballs squish. Squish, squish."
Samei had turned paler, if that were possible. Again, Law reasoned it meant more to the young man than it did to him.
Law decided to put the final nail in the coffin.
"Is-ya, what about this ship?"
She looked over his shoulder, confused as she seemed to listen to the shadows again. "Ship? Yellow tang? No. Polar. North. With the virus, and the smile, and, black, black flag, and the monster took a bite but you said no, and it… party? Beach. Tattoo touch?"
"No, Is-ya. No touching my tattoos." Law went back to his meal, mulling over the fact that she had described an incident last year where a sea king had tried to take a chunk out of their ship. They had ended up on the beach, eating sea king meat and partying after the repairs had finished. He was noticing that the shadows she described always seemed over his shoulder, as if they were following him.
Is pouted, denied the touch of tattoos again, before muttering gibberish that involved children being crippled by siblings.
It was amusing as the men around the table seemed to realize exactly what just happened. The looked at each other, none of them daring to speak a word.
After letting them stew for a few minutes, Law spoke again. "She can see bits of past, present and I assume future. She defended the ship and protected James when he was attacked. And yes, she really can regenerate - no it's not a devil fruit ability." She looked tired, eyes dropping as she laid her head down, miraculously missing her plate. Her eyes fluttered shut as he watched her for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure you've noticed her grip on reality is slight at best. Regardless, she has already shown to be a valuable asset. She's crew now."
He finished with a tone of finality that left no room for arguments. He finished his coffee and stood, taking both of their plates back to the counter. She didn't stir, her face peaceful as she slept on the table. The men had yet to touch their food.
"Couri, call me when she wakes up. She'll liable to be confused, potentially scared. I suggest you do not engage unless you have to."
Couri had been watching the entire exchange quietly. Unlike the other three, he was superstitious to begin with. He was watching her sleep, his eyes softened.
"Poor thing's been through hell, hasn't she?"
The image of her screaming for her son flashed through Law's mind. When he spoke, it was soft, barely audible though he was sure that the cook had heard it. "… More than you know."
—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—/—
It was fast approaching noon, and Law was eager to leave the island. He took a moment to find Quilo, instructing him to find the sleeping girl some new underclothes. Quilo was as flamboyantly gay as they came, and the only member of the crew who would not be bothered by such a request. Although he gave Law a flirty wink when Law handed him a paper with an educated guess of her measurements, Law just gave him a smirk and sent him on his way, telling him that if he wasn't back in an hour they were leaving without the flirty weapons master.
At that time, Bepo had returned with Law's newest editions to his growing library. He had run out of room in his office, and instructed the bear to just set them on his bed for now. Later, he'd take out some of his older medical texts and put them in storage to make room. For now, he instructed the crew to prepare to set sail, and asked two other crew members to help the three he'd tasked with scrubbing the hallway. Soon they'd be beneath the waves, and the stench would permeate the entire sub if it wasn't cleaned.
After checking with his crew to make sure they were all given tasks to complete and were busy working away, he talked more in depth with Bepo about the archipelago. It might take some time to find the groves due to the lack of magnetic pull. Bepo assured him that so long as they followed the pose as best as they could and stuck close to the surface, he could locate it. It would take between five to seven days.
It was also in this moment that Law realized what bubbles and thirteen meant. He was proud of himself. It took him less than an hour to decipher this clue.
Although to be fair, this one was rather simple.
Sabaody was famous for it's unique atmosphere and climate. The bubbles produced by the trees had many uses, the most important being the coating that it provided ships that allowed for them to dive to the depths of fisherman island. Law knew that the island was 10,000 meters below the surface - which was the limit of his submarine. Although there was a good chance they would be fine at such a depth, Law didn't want to take the chance. It had taken him years to afford the damn thing, and it would be difficult at best to rebuild it from scratch.
Not to mention the fact that if the sub did fail, they were fucked.
Bepo had unknowingly told him the meaning of the number thirteen by talking about the different groves and their numbers. Not for the first time, Law was thankful that the bear was on his ship. He was the best navigator on all the seas — perfect for the future Pirate King.
He got no call from Couri, even after his meeting with Bepo. The crew had finished stowing things away, and had scrubbed the hallways spotless, leaving the door open to finish airing the space out. Law took a moment to visit his morgue and inspect the various body parts of the different men that had been ripped apart.
Leave it to Samei. The boy had not only brought them back to the freezer, spilled guts and all, but had attempted to keep each body together. There were five of them, each on a slab with different parts in the spaces appropriate for them. Another slab was dedicated to parts that there was no hope of matching to the right body - two arms, a foot and a collection of guts. He took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the insane woman's handiwork before grabbing a clipboard and pulling out a sheet, beginning to take notes on the first body. He had a transponder snail sitting on a counter next to him that he had taken from his office when he had first left the mess hall. The corresponding one was to Couri in the kitchen, and Law waited patiently for the call that would be her waking up. His operating room was soundproof for the most part, especially in the chill of the Freezer.
Law didn't bother putting on a jacket. The cold was comforting, in a way.
Briefly, as he continued to take notes of the first body, he was impressed. She'd been sleeping for almost an hour. Quilo had surely returned by now.
A knock on the door sounded through the room.
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing Shachi. "Hey, Captain, here to report. Hallway is scrubbed clean, Quilo has, uh, returned. Everything is ready to leave. Quilo has placed the… purchases… in your room for now." He looked awkward for a moment, before continuing, "Should we… uh… create a space for her somewhere?"
Law thought for a moment, weighing his options. She could bunk in the crew's quarters, but he had a feeling that no one would be sleeping if she did so. They had a few spare officer rooms that he could house her in, and an empty woman's dorm room as well.
"… If you leave, the cracks come back."
"… There's a couch in my office. She'll sleep there for now. With her poor grip on reality, I don't think that giving her a room to herself would be wise." Law didn't bother reminding the man of the destroyed cell below.
"… Right."
"Give Bepo the order. We can leave now. Tell rest that she's crew for now."
They were gossipy motherfuckers. He was giving Shachi permission to do so, meaning that he wouldn't have to address the same questions to every damn member of his ship. Shachi still hesitated.
"… What is it, Shachi?"
He looked like he was growing more uncomfortable, shifting back and forth on his feet.
"Sh-… She isn't going to hurt us, is she?"
The man was staring at the body that Law was currently examining. It was the head that she had been feeding brain matter to. The torso was one of the ones that looked like it exploded from the inside, the knees clearly smashed to bits. Law poked the knee with his pen. Even with rigor mortis settling in, there was a delightful crunch that brought a smile to Law's face.
"No. I don't believe she can."
"S… sir?"
He turned back to Shachi, not bothering to wipe his amused smile off his face.
"You remember the scene. You saw it. James was untouched by her. She herself said that she specifically protected him, for reasons I still don't know. Her grip on reality is poor, but tell me, has she ever done anything violent towards the crew?"
Shachi shook his head slowly, contemplating this. He seemed to relax a little bit. "She… always seemed so docile whenever we were taking care of her."
Law turned back to the remains he was inspecting. "Then that should settle it for you."
Shachi chuckled awkwardly. "Yes, Captain." He turned and walked back out of the room.
Purupurupuru. Purupurupuru.
Law answered the den den mushi beside him.
"Captain, uh… I think you'd better come quickly."
"I'll be right there."
Opening up a room, Law simply teleported back downstairs. The woman was sitting in the same spot as before, clutching her head as she banged it against the table.
"… go away, go away, go away, go away, go away, go away…"
Couri was looking at her uncertainly from his spot in the kitchen, a knife in his hand. He seemed to forget it was there as he looked on with concern. He looked at his captain. "Captain, she's gonna hurt herself if this keeps up."
Law chuckled, amused at how quickly the cook had taken to her. "I doubt it. More likely she'll dent the table."
Couri eyed the girl suspiciously. She now posed a threat to his precious kitchen. As sympathetic as the man could be, he took his job in the kitchen almost as seriously as Law took his extensive collection of hearts. Law reached into his back pocket, pulling out his scalpel and twirling it in his fingers.
A few other crew members were in the room, watching her in confusion and worry. They had all sat on the opposite side of the room, as far from her as they could. She grabbed her hair and pulled, groaning.
" … no, no, no, I don't wanna see, no more, hurts, hurts, bad…"
Law walked up behind the woman, reaching out and gripping her hair firmly, holding back a shiver at the sensations that ran down his spine before pulling back and forcing her to look up at him. Her multicolored eyes were teary and wide as she recognized him. She smiled, before clenching her eyes shut.
"Headache. Bad. Hurts. Hurts."
"Oh?"
"Make it better?" she asked hopefully.
He grinned sadistically. The crew members had inched closer to see what was going on. Couri was going to throw a fit, but this was going to be worth it.
He gripped the scalpel tightly. "Say please."
"Pretty please, kinky Captain."
He chuckled. "With pleasure."
He stabbed her through the soft part of her temple, wiggling the scalpel around as she stiffened and then sighed contentedly.
He heard a bang in the corner, and grinned as he watched one of the assistant mechanics trying to wake the other. Another man looked like he was about to lose his lunch. Not Yas. The curly haired sniper looked as fascinated as Law felt.
"Better?"
"Much."
He pulled the scalpel out, the blood and a bit of brain matter leaking through the wound as it closed. He hummed thoughtfully, slightly disappointed that there was so little. He began carving intricate patterns on her face as she relaxed under his administrations, as if he was a painter and she was his canvas.
Oh Law could get used to this. Law thought briefly that cutting someone up would never hold a candle to mutilating this woman who was as happy with his actions as he was.
The other mechanic also fainted. Yas approached, completely fascinated. "Woah. She really does regenerate, huh. I've never seen a devil fruit power like that."
"Strangely, it's not a devil fruit." The blood was dripping down her neck and into her hair now. She was going to need another shower. Couri was going to throw a fit at the blood on his table, but Law frankly didn't care. He cut her ear half off, watching it reattach itself, stuck the blade in her mouth, splitting her tongue down the middle and slashing her cheeks on each side to widen her smile. He carved his initials, drew his Jolly Roger, even exposed and reshaped her jawbone. "I've done this with sea prism stone on her."
"… Then what the hell is it?"
"Don't know. Fun though." A few other men had wandered in. Samei was one of them. He had approached cautiously at first, but he was as fascinated as Yas. He was leaning quite closely now. Even Couri had come out from behind the counter. He had his arms crossed, fingers tapping in irritation mixed with fascination.
The blood had stained her uniform down to her chest now.
Law was wondering if those on laundry duty would be scolding him.
She looked so damn happy.
"Can… Can I try?" asked Samei hesitantly. Law hummed, looking back at the girl sitting under him. Her face was bloodstained but healed. She was humming lightly, but she opened her eyes and appeared disappointed that he stopped.
He decidedly didn't want to share.
Law had never been popular in the sandbox.
"No."
She reached a hand up, wiping the blood from her eyes with her sleeve but leaving the rest.
Law's grin faded slightly as he started mentally listing off every bone in the foot.
She smiled lazily, completely content. "Captain, Captain, my Captain… thirteen… king…"
He frowned. "King?"
"King."
He hummed lightly, but decided not to press the subject. "You're dirty."
"Says the kinky pirate. Hah. Kinky pirate looks for booty. Booty, booty, booty, rocking everywhere."
He raised an eyebrow. "Do I want to know?"
She tilted her head as best as she could with his grip on her hair. "Hm. Probably not. It's a bad song. Gets stuck in your head."
"… Are you done napping now?"
She frowned. "Napping?"
"Yes. You fell asleep at the table."
"… Oh. Opps."
He released her hair, looking at Couri. "Do you have a wet rag? She can clean up her mess."
That seemed to appease the gruff cook, who grumbled but complied, disappearing into the kitchen briefly. She was swaying in her seat, bobbing her head along to a song that he couldn't hear. He reappeared with a rag, a bucket full of soapy water, a spray bottle and two dry rags. He stood in front of her at the table, handing her the wet rag. She didn't see it.
Law leaned across the table to reach for the rag, holding it in front of the girl with one hand and gripping her shoulder roughly with his other. "Is-ya. Clean your face."
She stared at the rag. "… Woah. Did you magic that?"
He released her shoulder, gripping her head again and turning it to face the cook. "No. This is Couri. He's the cook, and he brought it."
"… Couri. Like… ice?"
The man nodded, and her eyes seemed to slowly focus on him. He frowned.
"… Captain, are those eyes…?"
That reminded him. "Is-ya, what color are your eyes?"
"Oh. Hazel. Lots of people have hazel eyes." She frowned. "I take that back. Not rare, but not common." She looked back up at the cook. "… I like your mustache. Does it dance?"
The cook's mouth twitched. "… Is-chan, you've created a mess in my space. Clean it."
She frowned. "Not me. Kinky Captain."
Law pulled her hair and waved the rag. "You asked for it. You clean it."
She reached out for the rag and slowly put it to her face, washing it off. She missed several spots, so Law released her hair and motioned towards Samei.
"Samei, you help her. Is-ya, this is Samei. He's going to help you. I have things to do."
She looked around at him for a second, panicked. "You're leaving?"
He grinned. "Yes. After you finish cleaning the mess, Samei will bring you to me. I'll be in the Freezer." He pointed to the floor where there was a puddle of blood. "Now clean. Faster you do, faster you get to see me."
She looked down where he pointed, registering that there was, indeed, a floor. Samei watched her, before taking the supplies from Couri's hands and allowing the man to return to the kitchen. He was now completely taken by the girl who had terrified him an hour earlier. She was already scrubbing the floor, intent on finishing quickly.
Truthfully, Law wanted to see if she would register anyone other than him if he wasn't in the room. This was a test.
Besides, he liked watching that panic in her eyes almost as much as he enjoyed her soft smile as he cut into her face.
Law turned and walked out of the rooms, twirling his bloody scalpel and humming to himself in satisfaction.
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Props to anyone who guesses what exactly Isabelle references throughout the story. :P Although I admit that some are more obvious than others.
Read and review please!