We're back to the tradition of each chapter being longer than the last, which is fair, considering I've made you wait double the time for this.
In ten days, Inked on Skin will turn one year old. To me, this is the first time I've been writing a story both this long and for so long. I never thought I'd be here a year ago, when this was just an experiment, and the amazing reception it's had from the beginning overwhelms me. It's still hard to believe. Thank you, all of you who are reading this, because without you this would have been just another story that ended up abandoned. Doing the best I can to bring you this keeps me writing, and the one thing I hope with every chapter that goes up is that I can make your days a little bit better, even if it's by making you groan at a bad pun (we all secretly love them).
I won't lie, everything about this chapter terrifies me. The theme, the characters, the plot that I don't think I ended up managing all that well. If you've been following me for a while, you know I never ask for reviews, but this time I'd really like to know what you thought about the chapter. Any kind of feedback will be much appreciated. Here I present my little monster to all of you, and I hope you enjoy it.
Guest-22: Going by what you've said in your reviews, you've been traveling, right? I hope you've seen many amazing things out there and that you'll continue to do so. I didn't know I needed this review either, but it turns out that I did, and it gave me a lot of strength while I struggled with this chapter. Thank you so, so much.
12. Like moths to the flame
(Blood on the rooftops)
There was a sort of magnetism, Saki pondered, that kept landing her butt on the sickbay. An inexplicable force of nature come to take revenge for all the time that she should've been scheduling doctor appointments but didn't.
That inexplicable force of nature went by the name Trafalgar Law and was doing some clean up in the surgery room with Penguin, very much Not Angry at her, and appeared to be aware that keeping her on a cot with her right foot propped up on a pillow was as much of a torture as she made it out to be. She didn't attempt to put her infiltration abilities to use and try to pull a stealthy retreat from the sickbay, because she didn't want him more Not Angry at her.
After an awkward apology on her part for yelling at Shachi, the mechanic had taken pity on her and offered to bring her a book to pass time. But he was going to choose it, it'd be the most boring looking he could find, and he'd rummage through her things while he was at it. She said thanks anyway, and he took off with a satisfied grin.
He delivered. Shachi returned with First civilizations, volume III, in one hand and a photo in the other. He threw the book at her, aiming for the stomach, and approached while waving the picture.
"It fell from out of the book. Who are they?"
Saki snatched the picture where a group of people were smiling at the camera. She pointed at a very pale, blonde woman covered in freckles. "This is my mom. Wasn't she pretty?"
"'Was?'"
Saki kept smiling and waved it off. "Happened a long time ago. It isn't important."
"I feel ya." Shachi studied the photo closely, then looked at Saki and let out an exaggerated sigh.
"Come on, say it."
"What a waste of genes."
She smacked him with the book. "Shut up, spotty face."
"Like you can talk!" He said with a grin.
Penguin looked outside the operating room and said, "Shachi, are you gonna keep flirting with her or are you gonna help us clean?"
"Are you jealous?" Shachi spread out his arms and started walking towards his friend menacingly. "Do you want a smooch, Pen?"
Penguin pointed a spray bottle at Shachi. "I have cleaning product and I know how to use it."
"Don't be shy!"
"Don't make do this, my friend. Please, reconsider—"
"To my arms!"
Penguin fired, Shachi's sunglasses and mouth took the worst of the hit, and Saki tuned them out and cracked her book open.
After a while, the beeps of the machine Banu was hooked to kept throwing her off, and when she had gone through four pages without actually reading them, she went back to the picture she had stashed behind the book's cover.
Sixteen years was a long time to miss someone, but she was able think about her with a smile, now. Her mother, her father, the kids' parents, everybody who had fallen victim to the insidious disease that ran deep in Asteria, she hoped they were together and happy if they were anywhere. Saki didn't believe in the afterlife, but sometimes she wanted to, if only for them.
But life, the real kind, went on, and took you to strange places, and she was strangely content with a sprained ankle and a boring book she had read too many times and the regular company of a talking bear (scratch that, mink, even if she still didn't understand how he was supposed to be one) and three men she didn't know two months prior. If she felt homesick, she could even close her eyes, lie back, and smell the disinfectant in the air like she was in the studio. Life had gone from being a thing that she was supposed to trudge through to something she actually looked forward to. It was a pleasant sensation. Foreign, but welcome.
Unlike the noise that followed her morning reflections. A fast stomping sound coming from the hallway soon revealed Volkan, very angry-looking, who barged into the room so forcefully that the door slammed against the cabinet right next to it, rattling its contents.
"You're going to die," Saki informed him. "It isn't a threat, it's a fact," she warned, but he ignored her.
"Where's Banu?!" Volkan looked left and right, ponytail swinging and slapping his own face. It had to be a talent. "Banu? Banu!" His eyes set on the woman, way too late for such a small sickbay, in Saki's personal opinion, and launched himself towards her bed.
He halted mid step when a very sharp, very accurate scalpel was came out flying from the operating theater's door and embedded itself less than an inch away from his big toe. Saki wondered when did Law get such a strong knife-throwing game and filed it in the same place where all the questions related to his past went to die.
There was more stomping, Bepo came running into the sickbay and caught Volkan from behind, wrapping an arm around his neck and nearly lifting him from the floor.
"I have never seen firsthand what happens when you inject ethylene glycol directly into a human's bloodstream," Law said, like a normal person would say that they felt like lying down on a hammock with a piña colada in one hand and a beautiful sunset on the horizon.
Saki made a face at the two guys that appeared right behind the captain, and Penguin mouthed, 'ANTIFREEZE'. She 'ooh'ed silently and gave him a thumbs up.
Volkan went pale, but to his credit, he didn't wet his pants. "How is she?" He asked more calmly, and Bepo set him down.
"Stable," he politely replied, as if he hadn't just threatened the man. "I extracted the bullet. It hit the liver and grazed the aorta, and she needed a blood transfusion. She'll be sedated for the next few hours, but she should wake up sometime today."
Volkan suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed so low his head almost touched the ground. "I cannot express how grateful we are for your help!"
The pirates glanced at each other uncomfortably at the unexpected turn of events.
"Grovel in her direction; she's the one who slowed down the hemorrhage until I got there."
"I hate you so—"
"In the name of Onur, myself, and all the people of Qaryn, you have our deepest thanks. We'll repay you, no matter the cost!"
She pointed to Law. "All expenses were paid from his pocket!"
Law immediately flipped her off as Volkan went back to his first target, but this time he looked up at the pirate captain with fierce resolution. "Say what you want and you'll have it."
Law pinched the bridge of his nose with the gesture of a man who needed a drink stronger than the aforementioned piña colada, and said, "You could start by telling us what's going on. Do you know why she was outside the inn last night, and who did this?"
"R-right. Of course. I didn't mean to hide it from you any longer. We didn't want to cause you any trouble."
"Nice job," Penguin said.
The other man looked ashamed. "I know, but… The elders don't want word of what is happening in the island to get outside. We have to respect that."
"And what is happening?" Law said, losing his patience.
"A series of murders," Volkan blurted out. "For a year, visitors have been appearing dead in the Mother's shrine. Drowned. Most of them notorious pirates. You've made the news recently; we thought you might be targeted. Banu was staking out the inn last night," he frowned, "and she shouldn't have been alone, I told her so many times…"
Law moved to dislodge the scalpel from the floorboard, "How many people know what happened last night?" he asked.
"The entire town is talking about it." He hesitated before continuing, "Some are blaming you for it, actually."
"Why am I not surprised?"
Shachi was. "Wait, why? We saved her!"
"They don't know better!" Volkan said, trying not to stare at the scalpel Law was twirling between his fingers. "Some people are jumping to conclusions, but Onur's doing his best to tell everybody what happened. The militia knows as well. You won't be in danger while you stay with us."
"Last night's incident tells me otherwise."
"Yeah, and how does that make any sense? You have a killer running freely for months and suddenly the new guys are the culprits?"
Volkan was clearly uncomfortable, but he put up with the pressure like a champion. "That's… that's because there has never been a victim among our townspeople. It's always travelers."
"Well, obviously somebody has stopped being picky."
"I know!" He exclaimed, gesturing emphatically with his hands. "I don't believe it was any of you! Banu must have gotten in the way of the killer and that's why… why she was shot."
Shachi huffed. "How difficult can it be to catch a guy that has to have been living here all this time? Don't you have any suspects?"
"It's complicated," Volkan said, and his eyes shifted from Shachi, to Banu, to the floor. It looked like he was struggling with himself when he lifted his eyes again. "There is infighting between our elders, and some people are taking sides. Some… don't agree that we should let strangers inside the island. They say we are losing our culture. But that's insane – you've seen this place, we can't live from the land. Commerce with travelers is what keeps us alive."
"And the others, I assume, think that the island should be open to everybody?" Law asked.
Volkan nodded and added, "There's another faction. They are calling for a Navy unit in the island. I don't doubt we'd be safer, but… in my opinion, they'd just end up turning this island into a conveniently located base."
"You sound like you agree with letting people though," Bepo said.
"Of course I do! Travelers are our lifeblood, our—"
"But you didn't want to let us through."
Volkan avoided their eyes again. "I… I thought you might be trouble. People are using the murders as an excuse to push their agendas. We don't want more incidents that make people feel unsafe. I also thought you might have a larger crew. Those are in more danger because we can't keep an eye on everybody. Then pirates go missing…" He trailed off and grimaced.
"Okay, let's get this straight," Penguin said, and he began recounting, "You threatened us with guns when we wanted to dock here, searched our ship against our will, told us where we should sleep with no explanation, made up some shitty excuse to make us stay inside at night, never thought it was a good idea to tell us that some crazy mofo may be after our heads, and someone got shot on our behalf. Is that all?"
"We're also being blamed for it," Law reminded him.
"Right. Thanks, Captain."
Volkan had turned progressively redder during the tirade and at this point he could have easily passed for a ripe tomato. "I sincerely apologize for my previous behavior. I'm told often that I sound angrier than I am." Saki snorted in the background. He cleared his throat and continued. "As I said, we aren't allowed to speak about this to strangers. We formed the militia to try to keep all this under wraps, and to find compromise with those who want Marines stationed in town… and it isn't working."
"Too many suspects," Law concluded tiredly. "Everybody has something to win by letting a murderer run loose."
"…You're right. We don't have nearly enough guards to keep our island safe as things are now. But we know we can't let this be known outside. If ships stop docking here, we'll die out. No matter what the people in favor of closing our doors say, we can't let that happen."
Silence stretched for some time while the pirates took in everything they had heard. The steady beeping of the machine was the only sound while Volkan stared at Banu, lost in his own thoughts.
Bepo was the first one to speak. "So what does this mean for us? We'll be on our way as soon as the Log Pose sets."
"That's right," Law said. "The infighting in this island doesn't concern us. If someone attacks us, we'll retaliate. If not, it isn't our problem."
"Of course," Volkan said in resignation, mouth dry. "You've already done much for us. Had it been any other crew inside the inn when Banu was attacked, she'd be dead." He thought over his next words. "Before I said that you were in no danger from us, but the truth is that I can't be sure of that. Our people are on edge, and they don't know what to think anymore. Isolationists are even saying the killings are divine retribution from the Mother. Be careful."
"We will," and determining the conversation as finished, Law said, "Penguin, Shachi, you have a sail to fix."
The later asked, "What about the operating theater?"
"I'll finish cleaning myself. Go."
"Aye, aye!"
"I'll be in the bridge," Bepo announced, and he left with the other two.
Volkan's eyes lingered on Banu. "May I stay with her for now?" He requested, and between the tone of his voice and his face, it sounded like a plea.
"No," Law said without missing a beat.
"But—!"
"We've wasted enough time as it is and I'm not going to let you be here unsupervised. Especially after what we know now. We can't be sure of your intentions."
Volkan got incensed instantly. "Are you suggesting that I will harm her?!"
"I think he's suggesting that you get out or the next scalpel won't miss the mark," said Saki with a deadpan.
Law frowned at her. "It didn't miss."
Volkan glared at the pirates present, took a deep breath and seemed to calm down a little. "Tell Onur right away if she wakes up, please."
"No need. If you bring someone else, we'll lend you a stretcher to carry her home. She isn't in danger anymore."
Volkan's face lit up, and for a moment Saki and Law feared he may grovel again. "Thank you! I'll be back right away!"
"Don't—" The man was out of the room before Law could finish. "—take long. Well," he turned to Saki, who didn't think much of him still wielding the scalpel, "what's on your mind?"
Saki looked up from the book she wasn't reading. He didn't seem to be Not Angry at her anymore. "Why the interest?"
"Because you haven't said a thing in the entire conversation."
"I'm timid."
Law tried another approach. "This woman was shot right under your window."
"I noticed."
"…Which was past Penguin's from one side of the street and Bepo's from the other."
"I noticed."
"Which—"
"Yes, Captain, I noticed I might have been targeted."
He kept insisting. "Did you see anyone suspicious yesterday?"
"Everybody seems suspicious now," she sighed. "But no, aside from that conversation Shachi and I heard, there wasn't anything of note. I only talked to a few vendors, same as the day before." She thumbed idly the pages of the book and lowered her voice. "That aside, some of the things Jerkface said make me wonder."
"Surprise me."
She glanced up from the book at Law and smiled for a split second. "He says people appear drowned in the shrine. How does the killer move the victims? If they are truly drowned, not killed beforehand—"
"He needs to get them in the shrine, where outsiders wouldn't be allowed in the first place, and in a way that can't be seen."
"Which shouldn't be possible in the morning, if the port and the market are full of people, and if they did it at night, the militia would spot them right away. I don't like this."
"You think there are accomplices."
She ran her finger against a corner of the book, flicking the pages back and forth. "This place is a mess. The militia could be in on the killings, for all we know. Easiest way to get past security is to have them on your side."
"Speaking from experience?"
She dismissed the question with a shrug.
Law stared at the machines in the sickbay and his patient as he mulled over the situation. "We leave the island as soon as we can," he said. "I'm not going to let these people involve us further in their power squabbles."
Saki smiled a bit at him. "You know, you almost seem a decent Captain when you talk like that."
"Just decent?"
"The hands kill the effect."
He smirked. "Do they really bother you that much?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answers to."
"I'm serious."
Saki blinked a couple times, looked at her hands and furrowed her brow. "They do. They reflect poorly on me." Law raised his eyebrows at that. "Don't make that face, the guys asked me if I inked those abominations on your fingers."
Law's expression changed for a moment, and he turned around to head to the operating theater.
"Are you laughing at me?"
His shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly. "No."
"Liar."
"Pot, kettle."
—
Law let Saki leave the sickbay after he was done cleaning with some excuse about stationary targets being easier to kill. She switched her usual sandals for a pair of boots that still had heels and platforms, but offered better subjection for her ankle and covered the bandage. Rule number one in enemy territory: never show your weak points.
Volkan came soon enough with other two people that they recognized from the sub inspection, a round face woman Saki had seen joking with Banu the first day, and a tall man with a grave expression. None looked as relaxed as the first day.
She watched alongside Penguin and Shachi as Banu as was carried outside and carefully lowered to the dock. A multitude had gathered around and was watching the procession to the nearby inn. The island seemed quieter than usual, muted, as people whispered among them with comments they didn't dare say out loud near the pirates. It reminded her of the way Asterians talked about the local smugglers, as if someone could pop up anytime if they said the wrong thing to give them a ticket to the next life.
Their fears hadn't been unfounded, though. Rickhard wasn't beneath using thugs, but he always liked the idea of having a shadow in the night that could terrorize any dissonant voices into submission. Saki was just the girl of the tattoo shop that always said hello and sometimes made extra money keeping travelers out of trouble. Nobody checked how many of those travelers later got lost on their own, but locals knew that such were the dangers of being nosy.
She wondered how much her previous situation could be applied here. How many people were aware of the identity of the killer? Did they have a support net? Did they even believe in what they were doing, or were they just a tool in someone else's scheme?
The group of children from the first day had made its way to the front of the crowd, and some of them were crying. She may not have been born in the island, but it was plain to see that people cared about her.
A few adults glared daggers at the pirates on the deck. Could any of them be behind the killings?
Saki had to remind herself that they were staying only until they could bolt out of the island, not to solve the murders, but the hints that she may have been the original target would assure that she pulled an all-nighter that day. She needed to find out where Onur got his coffee.
"We should take a look around the inn to see if the killer left any proof behind," Penguin suggested. "Last night it was too dark to see anything."
Saki looked at him in surprise and asked with curiosity, "You want to find out who did it?"
"Don't you?"
"It's their problem, Penguin. And what makes you think we'll figure something out if they haven't until now?"
"I think they aren't really looking into it," Shachi intervened. "I mean, with so much infighting, I'm sure they aren't putting all they've got into the investigation."
"Besides, we don't have anything better to do right now."
"Ah, so that was it."
"You coming or not?" Shachi asked, and a voice from behind made him jump..
"We're all going," Law said. "I want to have a word with our host. And pick up anything you left in your rooms – tonight we'll stay in the Polar Tang."
The walk to the inn felt longer than it was under the gaze of so many townspeople. The rock had soaked in some of the blood and the spot where Banu had fallen was still stained, as was the way into the inn. Saki could make out her own footsteps.
Past the bloody entrance and the sign of the Mother that oversaw the door, the Heart Pirates found an undesired welcome committee of nearly a dozen locals.
A wiry man about Onur's age gestured violently at the pirates and yelled, "I demand you throw them out immediately!"
"And who are you to decide who stays and who doesn't?" Said with distaste an elderly woman with a hunched back. "When has our island turned away sailors?"
"You're blind, Hale! Don't you see this is their doing?"
"The only thing I see is the man who has saved Onur's child." Hale said, and nodded respectfully towards Law. "Well met, Trafalgar Law. Don't mind the accusations of this bumbling fool."
"Who would have attacked one of ours if not an outsider?" Another man said. This one looked younger than the other two, but still reclined all his weight on a cane. The tall man who had helped carry Banu stood near him. "We cannot allow these people to roam the island freely."
"Please, stop. Stop this," a weak voice said, and they turned to see Onur walking down the stairs. "If it weren't for these pirates, Banu wouldn't be with us anymore. I saw it with my own eyes. I won't allow you to cast aspersions on them." He struck the floor with his cane, the same way he had when Law questioned the effectiveness of their security. "And if you have nothing better to do in my home than bicker like children, I'll ask you to leave me and my daughter to rest."
A few protested under their breaths, others nodded vigorously, and Hale flashed a smug smile at the men she had argued with.
Volkan, who had remained silent during the entire scene, clapped his hands and said, "You heard him! Clear out this place! This discussion is better left for the next assembly."
The unwanted guests marched to the door, and their attitudes when they passed the pirates ranged from quiet thanks to openly hostile gazes. One of them, the vendor that had sold Saki the diadem, lingered and asked Onur to speak privately, so both left together upstairs.
"I should be going as well," Volkan said. "Why are you here?"
"I wanted to talk to the owner," Law replied.
"It may be better if you came later." Volkan shook his head. "He's inconsolable. I haven't seen him so down since his wife passed away."
"They said Banu was Onur's daughter." Shachi asked out of the blue. "We thought she moved here when she was young."
Volkan's eyes widened a fraction. "You don't know? I thought she had told you." He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "It isn't my place to tell, but since you already heard… When Banu was a child she was in an accident at sea. Onur took her in and raised her." He glanced at the stairs with concern. "In any case, feel free to stay here as long as you want. You've already seen how our elders argue, but they won't actually do anything." He nodded at them. "See you around," and he made for the door.
"Why are we getting an infodump every time we talk to this guy?" Penguin said.
"He's much nicer to us now," Bepo commented. "He's grateful."
"I don't know, but the more we find out we don't know, the less I want to be here." Saki said.
"Yeah, it's like everybody's hiding things," Shachi agreed. "Let's pick up our things and go."
—
Law found Onur deep in conversation with the other man and, much to his irritation, had no choice but to turn around. The others were waiting for him outside by the time he came out with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a frowny face.
"That didn't take long," Bepo said, passed him Kikoku, and they started walking.
"He's still busy. I'll talk to him later."
Bepo nodded. "I'll come with you."
Law smiled, and at that moment, the group of children from before intercepted them. At the forefront was girl about 8 years old with wild curly hair. Law had a feeling that he and his crewmates were being sized up.
"Did you help Banu?" The girl asked, and a few of her comrades shifted nervously behind her.
"Yeah," was Law's reply. He was actually curious about what the child would say.
She pulled a woven bangle out of her pocket and handed it to the pirates. Saki, who was closer, was the one to pick it up.
"We found it this morning near the inn. It's Banu's, but our parents won't let us see her."
"Do you want us to return it to her?"
"Uh-huh."
Saki glanced up at Law tentatively. So much for not trying to help random people.
"Two minutes," Law said, and he felt like an enabler.
Saki flashed an amused smile and broke into a jog towards the inn. "Be right back!"
So much for an injured ankle, too.
—
Saki got to the second floor skipping steps on the staircase and checked the open doors for a sign of Onur and the vendor. They must have gone to another floor, because they were nowhere in sight when she found Banu sleeping soundly in a bed at the end of the hallway. The walls were painted light blue instead of the white or naked rock of the rest of the inn, and there was a picture on the bed stand that showed a young Banu sitting on Onur's knees and another kid with a ponytail blowing in his face. She was unmistakable, with the scar that crossed the right part of her face already present. This was her old room.
Saki was about to leave the bangle beside the picture frame when she paid attention to Banu's arms. The two bangles were there, same as when she had showed them the day before. She looked for tan lines on her other wrist, but there was nothing to indicate that she wore anything there often.
Red and green and white circles with dots in the middle. Saki hid the bangle on the back pocket of her jeans and made her way back out as quietly as she could.
She gave the kids a heads up once she was out and they scattered, Law chewed her out for taking too long, and she decided to keep to herself until she could talk somewhere where less ears could be listening.
—
Replacing the sails took the better part of the day, with the ongoing stream of onlookers that passed by the sub trying to watch them in a way that was meant to be discreet, but you could only be so subtle when you were stopping right before a ship and craning your neck to see what was going on on the deck.
Penguin was sitting on the floor when he looked down at the docks and caught a man staring, who let out a small yelp and ran away. "Should we throw peanuts at them?"
Shachi stretched next to him, popping a few muscles, and laid on his back. "They should be throwing the peanuts at us. At least we'd get something out of this."
Saki stood up and dusted off her jeans, "I'll be in the kitchen. When you're ready to stop lazing around come inside and I'll tell you something weird I saw."
"No way, don't make me move now."
She pointed at the docks. Penguin's eyes followed her finger and he saw a couple casting furtive glances at them, whispering, and leaving embarrassedly when they noticed they'd been caught.
"We're the local attraction," Penguin groaned.
"Talk to you when you can move."
Saki walked inside at the right time to find Law and Bepo leaving the bridge.
"Good timing!" She exclaimed with fake enthusiasm. "I've been meaning to tell you something." She got the bangle out of her back pocket and showed it to the guys.
Bepo was taken aback. "You stole it?!"
"No!" She replied quickly. "W-well, technically it isn't mine but—ugh, that's not the point!"
"What were you doing inside the inn if you weren't returning it?" Law asked.
"I wanted to, but then when I looked at Banu's arms I realized she was already wearing hers. This one is someone else's."
Law took the bangle to examine it. There was some blood on it, not strangely, considering how much there had been on the ground, and the cords that had tied it together were torn, as if someone had grabbed the rigid part and pulled until the threads ripped.
"A tug hard enough to break this would have left a mark on her wrist," he said. "I didn't see any."
"Were there any signs of struggle when you examined her?"
"None. Whoever shot her didn't try to hit her first."
"But for this to break," she pointed to the bangle, "they should have been up close."
"It could belong to the shooter. She may have tried to stop a fleeing attacker, and got shot in return. It's only logical that she'd go after anyone suspicious if she was keeping watch."
"Makes sense." She felt the cords of the bangle and said, "I've looked it over and the material seems to be the same as my diadem. Maybe I could ask the vendor if he sold it to anyone."
"Or maybe the shooter was the vendor. Have you thought about it?"
Saki went on the defensive. "Yes, but don't you think that—"
"I think that you're trying to help, again, with something that doesn't concern us."
"Maybe not you, but need I remind you that she was shot right under my—"
"Guys."
"We'll be leaving in less than two days, just stay inside the—"
"GUYS."
The two stopped their bickering to look at Bepo, who had been listening intently up to that point.
"Until now we thought that Banu had been shot from a distance, right?"
"She was. The firearm didn't leave burns around the wound," Law said.
"But now we know at some point they were within arm's reach, and the killer had to turn around to shoot."
"That's likely, yes. So?"
"Wouldn't she have seen her attacker's face?"
There was a moment of silence as Bepo's words sunk in.
"They'll come back to kill her!" Saki exclaimed.
"Aren't you jumping to—" Law stopped when he saw Saki's and Bepo's incredulous face. "…Okay, yes, they will," he grumbled.
"So…"
"No."
"But…"
"Captain…"
"Still no."
Saki sighed.
"We tried," Bepo told her.
Just as Bepo and Saki accepted defeat, Shachi and Penguin came inside the submarine running and tripping over each other on the narrow space of the stairs.
"A bunch of guards came and said we won't be able to leave tomorrow!" Penguin yelled.
"What?!"
"Some of the old farts have said that we won't be free to go until they clear up what happened," Shachi explained.
"Whatever. The woman will wake up soon, and when she explains we'll be—" He felt Bepo's and Saki's eyes on him, brought a hand to his eyes and rubbed them. "For fuck's sake."
"Rescue time?" Saki probed.
"…Rescue time," he groaned.
"…Did we miss anything?"
—
It was getting dark and the streets were empty when the Heart Pirates reached the inn. The door was locked tight, but they could hear heated voices arguing inside even from outside. "Absolutely not! I won't do this anymore, I won't let you do it!"
"I thought you were a reasonable man, Onur. There's no turning back now; you know it's for the good of—!"
"There will be no point if she dies! Let me through!"
Law banged on the door loud enough to wake up every neighbor in the vicinity.
"Open the door!"
There was a strangled sound on the other side and something hit the floor heavily. Bepo tapped on Law's shoulder and the captain moved away with without need for words.
"AI-YAAAA!"
Bepo's flying kick was astoundingly precise, breaking the door in the exact spot where the lock was and leaving the rest intact and open.
Inside, they found the younger elder they had seen arguing with the others in the morning, running behind the counter, while Onur held his stomach and scrambled for air on the floor.
Law ran to the older man and yelled, "Bepo, get him!"
Bepo was already sprinting when Law gave the order, and instead going around the counter he leaped over it and landed with all his weight over the unfortunate man, who had tried and failed to get inside the backroom.
"Upstairs," Onur wheezed. "They—"
Saki rushed to the stairs, and she had barely stepped on the last step when she saw a lump fly from a room and hit the hallway's wall so hard it echoed through the stone building. She got closer and recognized the street vendor from two days before. To her left, Banu came out of the room, holding her side with a pained expression.
"Looks like a girl can't catch a break nowadays," Banu said between her teeth.
"You tell me. Need a hand?" Saki offered, approaching her.
"Or a new liver," she replied, and put an arm around Saki to lean on her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're the perfect size for an armrest?"
Saki's face went blank. "Suddenly things make sense."
"…What?"
"Nothing." Saki kicked the leg of the unconscious vendor. "Was this guy who tried to kill you?"
"Kill you, tiny. I was collateral damage. What are you even doing here?"
"We figured someone would come finish the job."
"Altruistic pirates. That's nice!"
Saki guessed she'd better keep quiet about what had convinced Law to help. She could also keep to herself that she had only wanted to find the killer to ensure that he wasn't after her as well. "Is there anyone else around?"
"I don't know. I woke up to yells and this asshole was hovering over me with a pillow. Where's Onur?"
"Downstairs with one of our crewmates," Law said. He was walking nonchalantly towards them. Thwarting murder attempts was apparently something he did every other day. "The other elder hit him with a cane, but he's fine."
"The other…" Banu's face switched from confusion to understanding. "Taner," she said, then turned to Saki. "Can you help me get closer to this guy?"
"Sure."
Banu hobbled to the vendor, took a deep breath, kicked him on the groin, and doubled over in pain.
"Was that necessary?" Law asked.
"Absolutely," she breathed out.
Suddenly it sounded as if a herd of elephants was stomping up the stairs. "BANU!" Volkan appeared and stormed towards her as soon as he laid eyes on her. "You're awake!"
Saki let go in time to avoid being smacked aside, and Volkan pulled Banu into a bear hug.
"OW! Let go, idiot, let—"
"Are you hurt?!"
"Of course I'm hurt, I got shot, ow—!"
Saki walked over the unconscious guy and passed Law. "I don't think I want to stay for the tender reunion."
"You—" Law glanced at the other two, the vendor, and caught up with Saki. "Did you knock out that man?"
"Nope, she did it." Silence. "What, you aren't going to say anything?"
"I was wondering why none of my patients can't stay still."
"Because we wouldn't need a doctor in the first place if we could." She waited for a beat. "Still no smartass comment?"
He pulled on some hair that had strayed from her diadem. "Have some respect."
She tried to bat his hand away, but caught herself at the last moment when she realized she had almost willingly come in contact with those things. "What's that for? I already have far more respect for you than any strung-up guy who calls himself a doctor because they have a shiny diploma." She ran a hand through her hair and tousled it. Law stopped, but she didn't notice until she was at ground level. "You can talk, despite what they told you at med school it's not bad for your health."
Law walked down the remaining steps and said with a smirk, "I didn't go to med school, and you talk enough for the two of us."
Saki let out a silent sigh and contemplated the scene before her. A few members of the militia had just arrived along with Shachi and Penguin. The elder Bepo had captured was handcuffed, and on a sofa sat Onur.
Law pointed over his shoulder and told them, "There's another one above."
They brought the vendor down, who was slowly coming to his senses, but still not quite there. Taner refused to speak, but Onur did it for him. Banu sat beside the old man, who refused to even look at her.
"It's all my fault. I should've said no. I never meant for you to get hurt."
"Onur, what are you talking about?" She said softly. She tried to take his hand, but he moved it away from her.
"Taner said that if I let him handle it, the assassin would strike again last night. That it would be easier to convince people that we should let Marines in if there was another incident."
"YOU'RE LYING!" The accused roared.
"YOU PUT MY DAUGHTER IN DANGER!"
"She's in danger every time a pirate crew comes to our island!"
"Onur…" Banu started, incredulous. "Are you… are you telling us that you knew the killer would come to the inn?"
The man stared intently at his hands, trying not to look up to face her. "I was to keep quiet and leave open the passage to the shrine…"
"What passage?"
"The trapdoor under the pantry. The one you found blocked when you were little."
"There's a passage to the Mother's shrine there?"
Onur nodded quietly, on the verge of tears. "There used to be one behind every door marked with her symbol. This is the only remaining one, aside from the two entrances everybody knows. Only us elders were aware of this one."
Volkan's eyes were about to fall off from their sockets. "This can't be true. You've been allowing the killer to come through your inn with his victims…?"
"No!" He whipped up his head, horrified. "It was only this once! I never thought Banu would be attacked! It was all for her sake…"
"F-for my sake? For my sake?! What are you saying? How was this going to help me?"
"You have put everything aside to work with the militia. We know this situation won't hold up. Sooner or later, a pirate crew or the Navy will try to force their way into the island, and what happens to you then?" At last he looked at her in the eyes, and then to all the other guards gathered around. "Are we going to let our youngest die for nothing?"
"Onur…"
"So just let another pirate die, and you can press easily for Navy presence in the next assembly. Is that right?" Law said with ice in his voice.
"I… I am sorry…"
Law didn't say anything, but his face was enough to get across the meaning that he was above his apologies.
"I can't believe…" Banu said, and closed her eyes with a pained expression that had nothing to do with her injury.
"I am sorry, Onur, but we'll need to arrest you as well," Volkan said. It seemed like all his characteristic energy had left him with this turn of events.
"Of course," Onur said affably. "It's only right."
The guards escorted Onur, Taner and the vendor out to bring them to their cells, and that left only the pirates with Banu inside the inn.
"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but I'd like to be alone," she told them.
"We should head out too," Law said, and hesitated before adding, "Try not to move around too much. The wound could reopen."
"I'll be careful," she said absently.
The Heart Pirates left the inn with one weight less on their shoulders.
The town was even quieter than the nights before. There were no patrols in sight. With everything that had happened, it wouldn't have been strange if the militia didn't roam the city that night. They had their culprits. And it had hit some of them hard...
The sky was a perfect circle full of stars that twinkled above them, bright, careless, beautiful.
"So…" Shachi broke the oppressive silence. "What are we having for dinner?"
"First to get to the sub picks the menu," Saki said.
Both mechanics and Bepo started a race the likes of which hadn't been seen in the world since motorized yagaras were banned in Water 7.
—
Law spent an hour alone in the operating theater for Banu's surgery. When he finally came out, looking more tired than usual, he pushed the gurney outside and made sure all the equipment was working correctly before speaking to Saki.
"How's that ankle?" He said at last.
"Still in place," she said, too busy counting the flasks on a shelf to look at him.
"Shame, we could have used it for a beach ball."
"Hm."
"Who wrapped your bandage?"
"I did."
He took a closer look, undid the ends, and yanked.
Saki let out a string of colorful curses rivaled the one when they slid down the sewer, but Law noted that this time she avoided mentioning his mother. It didn't make him tug at the bandage less forcefully, but he appreciated the thought, and at least she wasn't sulking anymore, which was a plus.
Coldly, he said, "Who the fuck jumps from a second-floor window, unarmed, after hearing a gunshot?"
She. She did. "Sorry."
"Don't be sorry; think. We went over this already."
"Not really, last time it was about not taking care of my health."
"You jumped out of a damn window. Same difference."
She waited for more, but it didn't come.
"That's it?"
"What else do you want me to say?"
"No… Nothing. Forget it."
"If you feel guilty about your outburst, apologize to Shachi. Don't expect me to scold you just so you can feel better with yourself."
She made a pained face. "Am I really such an open book?"
"It didn't take a genius to see that you regretted what you said even before it was out of your mouth."
"…Said the genius."
Law finished taking the bandage off, rolled it up, then started wrapping it around her ankle again. Saki couldn't see much of a difference with her handiwork, and wondered if he had tugged it off just to have a chance to chew her out.
"You should've asked for help," he said.
"I knew there was more coming," she said with a wry smile.
He shot her a glare.
"No, it's okay, I fucked up, you can say it as it is," she said offhandedly. "Bad shit always happens at night, it shouldn't have caught me off guard, and I should've stayed calm and asked for help."
"Bad shit happens all the time," he said dismissively. "Why did you do it? You couldn't have seen who the victim was."
"I acted on reflex. I saw somebody hurt and jumped."
"Is this going to be a recurring event?"
"Me jumping from windows?"
"You trying to help random people." She looked at him, surprised, and he answered even before she could ask the question, "Don't get me wrong. We would have gained nothing by letting her die. But we're pirates, not a charity. We can't go around helping people just because, especially if it puts any of us in danger."
Saki took a while to reply. "Do you want the short answer or the personal answer? Because the short one is that no, I don't usually run around helping strangers, but it seems to me that you're digging for something else."
Law paused. "I didn't mean to."
"It's okay. I'd be angry in your place too."
"I'm not angry," he said irritably.
It clicked then. "You were worried about me?"
He tightened the bandage more than necessary, she winced, and he replied. "No."
It made her smile for the first time that day.
He cut the excess bandage, rolled it up and took it to its cabinet. So that's where she had messed up…
"You're almost cute when you're embarrassed," she said, possibly because she needed risk like the air she breathed.
He closed the cabinet with more force than necessary. "Do you honestly have a death wish?"
"Apparently, according to your regular sickbay assessments."
His annoyance seemed to subside, but he still said seriously. "You need to be more careful. Mistakes are going to be costly from now on."
"I know," she said, and watched him walk towards the door. She didn't know why she kept talking, but she felt it was now or never, and to her own surprise, she actually wanted to share it. "They shot my father. The smugglers. Rickhard."
Law stopped to turn at her and waited for her to continue.
"They shot him one night and dragged him home. He died in front of me and I couldn't do anything for him."
Law tried not to think. "Was that when you started to work for them?"
"Yeah. Don't look at me with that face. It's not a secret. I just don't like thinking about it if I can help it. I suppose last night I… ah, who cares, I wasn't thinking. But there's your reason. No one should die like that."
Law's amber eyes were fixed on her. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking, so she simply met his gaze, sincerely, defiantly. There was nothing she had to hide.
"I suppose you should get a question now," he said at last, and at her look of confusion he added, "Like the last time."
He surprised her again, and it brought her thoughts to the conversation in the galley three days ago. Of tangerines and parents and unspoken questions about hearts and Joker. She had a lot to choose from, and her pick was clear.
She smirked and asked, "Will you let me fix your hands already?"
The discomfort in the air dissipated and Law and returned her gesture. "I'll pass on answering that one."
"Figures." She tried to get down from the cot, but Law stopped her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"You aren't going to keep me in here."
"And why not?"
"It's a sprained ankle!"
"Exactly. Be sure to keep it on the pillow or face the consequences."
"You're threatening me? After I just poured my soul out for your benefit?"
"What am I supposed to do with a soul? Get me something practical."
—
When Saki came to, it was hard to breathe and her eyelids were made felt like they had been glued shut. She was laying on a rough, cold and humid surface. The fog in her mind was thicker than that surrounding Twin Cape, and she tried to move her body, but couldn't. She tried to feel her heartbeat, but it was so faint she couldn't. Was she asleep, or was she dying…?
The last thought made her heart leap. There it was. Arrhythmia, again. What was going on? Her mouth tasted like garlic, but she hadn't eaten anything with it, had she...?
Dinner. That was it. She had been in the mess hall after dinner. When it got late the guys went to their rooms, but before Shachi helped her carry the dirty dishes, and they said goodnight in the galley. And then…
Her blood ran cold and suddenly it was easier to push through the fog. A stab in her neck. Someone covered her mouth. A man's arm. She kicked and scratched and bit, but her body stopped responding right away, and everything turned black then.
She was going to murder the fucker who had done this.
That thought alone was enough to find the will to move. She managed to open her eyes. Her head was throbbing and she felt a wave of nausea. She tried more, but her hand only twitched. Not yet. Whatever sedative she had been injected, it was wearing off quickly. The question was if she had enough time to wait it out.
She scanned her surroundings from her admittedly inconvenient position. She was in a cave, not very big, and unlike Onur's inn, its walls had their natural shape. She smelled salt. About a foot away from her, there was a pond of still water. And when she looked farther, at the end of the pond, she saw a huge statue of a naked woman, roughly carved on a protruding rock. She oversaw the cave with vacant eyes and open arms that reached the ceiling, and Saki had the impression that it was trying to swallow everything.
At the base of the statue, a crouched figure appeared to be reciting a prayer. That must have been the man who assaulted her, and he definitely wasn't the vendor. Too muscular, too young. Was he alone? She couldn't see or hear anyone else.
This had to be the famous shrine where people appeared dead. 'Drowned,' Volkan had said. The pond didn't look so pretty now.
She needed to do something. She willed her body to move, but the most she did was twitch her hands. What had she been injected to knock her out so fast? She hoped whatever the man was doing gave her enough time to recover.
She heard steps then, nearby, and through narrowed eyes she saw two, three, four, pairs of boot pass her and approach the man. Some were familiar. Guards? It would have been so much easier to carry the bodies to the shrine if the militia had been cooperating with the killer. Why didn't they give more thought to it before? It seemed so obvious now…
The man before the statue turned around, and his face was familiar. One of the guards who had inspected the sub, and one of the people that had helped carry Banu down the sub. The one who had been standing next to Taner that morning.
He told the others something and the group scattered, some passing her again, others taking a small entrance at the end of the cave. Good. She still had a chance against one man, if she could regain her mobility…
She wasn't even afraid – she felt impotent, frustrated with herself for letting her guard down again, bad shit always happens at night, this was what she got for getting comfortable with her new life and her new friends…
Friends.
It hadn't even registered in her mind that she could have asked for help. It just wasn't something she did. When did she learn to be so inefficiently independent and forget that 'can you pass the salt-slash-get me that can off the shelf-slash-help me fend off a serial killer' was something she could and should say?
If the guys were her friends, she supposed she was being a very lousy one.
She hoped somebody would notice her absence. Law was surely awake, you idiot, he would've heard you if you screamed, but how long would it take him to realize that she was gone? Come to think of it, she wasn't sure that she hadn't made noise when she was attacked. She tried to remember, but her head was killing her, she couldn't even know how much time had passed since she lost consciousness, and ultimately hoping for a rescue was counterproductive to rescuing herself.
She tried moving again, and this time she managed to flex her fingers. Just a little more time…
—
Ten minutes before, a metallic noise coming from above made Law look up from his book. He listened for a bit, but he only heard the faucet running and quiet steps. False alarm. Butterfingers had a habit to drop pans when she was tired.
A few more minutes passed, and he could still hear the faint sound of the water running, but he hadn't heard more steps. Wondering if she had left and forgotten about the tap, Law made a monumental effort to get up from his bed and walk all the way to the galley.
He found it empty, with the pot he had heard earlier still lying on the floor, and he didn't need more to know that something was very wrong. He went to the sickbay, in case she had gotten hurt and was there trying to fix herself, he even checked the empty bridge before rushing downstairs to wake up the others.
He opened the door and pounded on it, which prompted several groans.
"Everybody, wake up! Saki has disappeared!"
"What do you mean, disappeared?"
Law an unimpressed face at Penguin, who was blinking his bleary eyes. "What do you think disappeared means? Get up, we're going out to find her."
Bepo ran behind Law, who went back to his room only to get his weapon, while the other two tried to get dressed as humanly fast as possible.
"Do you think someone took her?"
Law realized that he hadn't even considered that she may have left willingly. "Did you have the impression that she wanted to leave?"
"No."
"Yeah," Law said bitterly, stepping to the deck. "Me neither."
"We'll find her!"
"Oi! Where are you going?"
Bepo and Law looked down from the deck to see Volkan staring up at them with his trusty rifle on his back.
"Have you seen anyone suspicious tonight?"
"No, I just came from visiting Banu. Is something wrong? Can I help you?"
—
Her breathing went back to normal, and by the time the future corpse at the end of the cave was done with his villainous preparation rituals, she was sure she could, at least, use her arms to lift herself from the ground. Not so sure about walking straight, but a girl needed priorities.
She stayed still, eyes half open, because the last thing she wanted was the man thinking she needed restraining. She'd bide her time. She was good at that.
He didn't seem to be in a rush as he walked up to her. There was pure concentrated hate in Saki's eyes when their gazes met. He, on the other hand, sounded more detached when he leaned next to her.
"You must be wondering why I'm doing this," he said, quietly, sympathetically.
She wasn't. She was actually thinking it was a pity she didn't have enough strength for a sucker punch. Maybe the neck… He was in a good angle, but it wouldn't work with her bare hands, not in her state…
He touched her neck, presumably to inspect the place where he stabbed the needle, and she twitched.
"You should be more awake by now. I thought I had been careful with the dose… Maybe I overdid it… I need you aware."
"Do you always monologue before you kill?" She rasped, and it worried her with how much difficulty the words came to her lips.
No, that shouldn't bother her. Forming words required more precision than anything she could try to escape.
"So you can talk. That's what you all do," The man sneered, and all the composure from before was gone. "You think you are smarter and stronger than everybody else. The Grand Line attracts your kind like moths to the flame. You don't respect anything or anyone. You think yourself kings everywhere you go. But we've had enough. This island is for us, and you aren't welcome. It's only a shame that the other woman didn't die too."
"She's your companion."
"She's a foreigner who has polluted our town for too long."
Saki felt him tug at her diadem sharply, and the ends snapped. He held it before her eyes. "This wasn't made for the likes of you." Then he grabbed her by her hair and dragged her to the edge of the pond, scratching her knees along the way. "If you can talk, you're awake enough."
He plunged her forward roughly. Saki grabbed him by his shirt with all the strength she could muster, and momentum and gravity did the rest. The killer fell to the pond, which as luck would have it was shallower than it looked from the surface.
Saki stumbled her way onto her feet, and, as much as she would have liked to stay to smash the man's face in, she knew the most she could aspire to was getting away. She turned to the opening behind her, rushing ahead by virtue of sheer adrenaline and willpower and knowing it wouldn't last long, and that there were two guards waiting at the exit and the man behind her was already getting up and coming to finish the job. Even then, they were better than the odds she had had in Asteria.
She heard it then, coming from above, from the passage full of stairs that stretched in front of her. A lone bullet pierced the air, she sounds of metal clashing and people falling to the ground – it had to be them, if only she could get outside—
The killer grabbed her left arm and she twisted around before he could get a chokehold around her neck. He was seething, and the water slipping down his hair and face was mixed with a trickle of blood that came from his nose. There was no way she could make it up in time if she was having trouble to stay upright. She couldn't even get rid of his slippery hold when she tried to pull her arm away.
"I'M DOWN HERE!" She yelled. "THE KILLER'S HERE!"
The response was immediate on both sides. She heard groans above and steps rushing down the passage, and the killer unhanded her and stood frozen for a second. Saki leaned against the wall and boosted herself forward in hopes of slamming her arm against his nose with all her weight, but the man backed and started running towards the opening at the far end of the cave.
She was watching the merciless edges of the stairs approach her face, goodbye remains of my nose, it was nice knowing you, when a bear's arm wrapped itself around her waist and lifted her like a sack of potatoes.
"It's been a while since you tripped."
"I didn't trip. I may be tripping, but I'm not sure, because I don't think I'm hallucinating. Can hallucinations pick you up mid fall?"
She heard Penguin whistle.
"How many fingers do I have?" Shachi said, waving a hand in front of her.
"Presumably twenty."
"Captain?" Bepo sounded concerned.
"She sounds normal to me."
"I'll try not to drop her."
"Bepo, I don't want to alarm you, but I feel like puking and this position isn't helping."
Bepo got out of the passage and readjusted her so he was giving her a piggyback ride. It was uncomfortable and perhaps in another situation somebody would have made a crass comment about Saki's ability to spread her legs so wide, but circumstances being as they were, nobody paid attention to it.
"As promised," he said.
"'When no one's watching.'"
"Desperate circumstances call for desperate measures."
Someone cleared his throat behind the group. It was Volkan and he didn't look amused. "Don't we have a killer to catch?"
"The bastard's one of your friends in the militia." Saki pointed with a shaky arm towards the other passage. It was so hard to move now that she felt safe. "He fled through there."
Shachi tapped the scabbard of his sword against his shoulder and grinned. "Let's kick some ass."
"Try not to walk into a wall with those shades," Penguin replied.
"And you try not to trip on a step without eyes."
—
The rear passage reached the upper levels of the town, where the only light shining was that of the moon and the stars. They didn't know where the killer was going, and they followed as close as they could, but he had too much advantage and the Heart Pirates had to be careful with their steps. Banu had been right – the streets were narrow and dangerous, slippery with the ambient humidity. It wasn't long before Volkan was ahead of the group, knowing every shortcut as he did, but the others had to follow through less treacherous paths if they didn't want to risk it.
They hadn't met the other guards Saki had seen when they came out in the open, but at last they made their appearance. Somebody tried shot Bepo in a godawful display, because no one who was able to miss such a big target should be allowed to fire a weapon, and the bear and Saki fell behind to take care of the attacker.
They heard more weapons firing ahead of them, and Saki couldn't tell if it was Volkan shooting at the killer, or more people from the militia trying to stop her crewmates. She heard agitated sounds coming from inside the caves, but no one came out to find out what was going on. She couldn't blame them.
"Hold on tight," Bepo warned. "I need to let go of your legs."
"Do your thing, I'll be fine."
She didn't need to tell him twice. Bepo jumped down a flight of stairs and his fisted paw connected directly with the attacker's jaw, knocking him out in a single hit. The motion made Saki's stomach lurch, but Bepo didn't stop. He headed up the stairs again, and when Saki looked back for a moment, she saw another guard jumping over her fallen companion and running towards them wielding something akin to a machete.
"There's an extra behind us with a pointy blade and by the way I'm so sorry but I need to throw up."
"Aim backwards."
"What?!"
"Desperate measures," he reminded her.
She had nothing to lose. When the wave of nausea came, instead of holding it, she let it flow, flow, with the force of a cannon blast, complete with gurgling noises and maybe an undigested chunk of dinner of two. The precision of the shot, the stylized arch it drew against the starry night and the bay, could have been described as a thing of beauty if we weren't talking about vomit. The guard at the bottom of the stairs never knew what hit her until it was too late.
"There go the baked potatoes."
"They were put to good use!"
She would have laughed if she had the strength to do so. "How did you find me so quickly?
"You're easy to track. I followed the smell of tangerines."
It was becoming harder and harder to see the silhouettes of their companions, and the uneven ground didn't help, so Bepo had to slow the climb a bit while they headed to one of the noise sources.
And when they got there, right around a corner, instead of their friends, they found Banu smashing the butt of her shotgun against a guard's temple.
"Yo!" She said between pants.
"You should be sleeping!" Bepo said.
"With all this noise? I'd be surprised if there was anybody still in bed in town." She took a deep breath, holding her side. "What's going on?"
"Go home, Banu. Your wound needs rest."
Banu craned her neck to see Saki's head over Bepo's shoulder. "I didn't even see you there!"
"Screw you," Saki said with a grimace. "Long story short, the serial killer is one of your coworkers, he tried to kill me and now we're chasing after him so somebody can wring his neck. Preferably me."
"Mother's soggy pants." She let out a groan. "Are you okay? What the hell is wrong with this town?"
"You tell us. You're the local."
"Some of the guys have come out to help. The ones who aren't trying to kill anybody, at any rate."
"That just makes it more difficult," Saki said, and Banu stared up in confusion. "To know who's friend or foe..."
"Just try to avoid any fighting. I'll be heading up, I know the fastest paths – are you coming?"
"You know it!" Bepo replied, and they resumed their climb.
"'Just try to avoid any fighting!'" Saki mimicked against Bepo's shoulder. "Is she serious?"
"Guys!" They turned around to see Penguin running a level above them, following Law's trail along with Shachi, who had just knocked out a guy with a gun. "Are you coming this way?"
"We'll go the other way around!" Banu said. "You keep going that way, we'll surround him!"
"Roger!" Penguin saluted her from above with a grin, and Shachi waved excitedly at them as they turned a corner and vanished from sight.
—
The few minutes that passed since meeting Banu and seeing the shapes of their friends on the level right above them seemed an eternity for Saki. She distinguished the killer with Volkan right at his heels, close enough that he could have made a grab for him. Law followed from farther away, trying to stick to the paths Volkan was choosing. The top of the mountain was near.
With an unexpected move, the killer turned to the wall, grabbed at a ledge and pulled himself up. She heard Volkan yell at Law, "Take the path around! We'll corner him!"
"We're almost there!" Banu told Saki and Bepo, ignoring the pain coursing through her entire body. "There's a direct path here, follow close—"
The sentence died in her lips as time stopped. Volkan grabbed the ledge to go upwards, and the ages worn stone broke under his weight. The next they saw, Volkan was falling, trying to reach for anything, anyone, and Law's Room was too late, too small to catch him before he disappeared into the darkness below.
"NO!"
Bepo had to jump to Banu and hook an arm around her waist to keep her from jumping down from their street to the lower levels.
"LET ME GO! LET ME GO, YOU BASTARD! VOLKAN! VOLKAN!"
Bepo just put another arm around her and pushed her further away from the edge of the path as Saki slid down his back.
The stars above them twinkled brightly, carelessly, beautifully.
—
It happened too far, too fast. Volkan slipped right outside Law's Room range, and nothing could stop his fall. Nothing short of a miracle could have saved him.
But the killer was alive and within his reach, and he wasn't going to let him escape. With one last sprint, Law reached the highest street of the mountain. The other man could only run now towards him, or to the path where Bepo, Saki and Banu were. He had cornered himself.
"Will you let me finish this, or do you still intend to put up a fight?"
There was dried blood on the killer's face and his clothes, and he was panting heavily. It was plain that he was in no condition to resist. "And what will you do when you kill me? Do you want to play hero for Qaryn?"
"Who said anything about killing? Human specimens for vivisection are rare to find."
The killer's eyes nearly popped from their sockets. Law was used to amusing reactions from creepers when he outcreeped them.
"You chose a bad crew to mess with," Law continued, unsheathing his sword as he closed the distance between the two. "So what will it be? Will you come quietly, or in pieces?"
The man didn't have time to make a decision. A bullet from behind tore through his shoulder and he fell to the ground. Banu had been the one to shoot, but instead of finishing the job she pointed her shotgun at Law.
"I know I owe you my life," she said, voice trembling and hands steady, "but this man isn't yours to judge."
Law glared at her, sword pointing to the killer's head meanwhile. "He attacked my crew."
"He destroyed my home," she countered. "If you get any closer to him, I'll have to shoot. Please," she took a shaky breath, shut her eyes for a brief moment and pleaded, eyes full of determination, weapon unwavering, "let this nightmare be over."
Law hesitated. Bepo and Saki walked up until they were behind Banu, but the woman didn't seem to register them as dangerous. It would be insultingly easy to disarm her and let Law have his way.
Instead, he said, "That isn't my choice to make," and he looked at Saki, who judging by her face, hadn't expected to be included in the conversation.
Banu glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened in recognition. She opened her mouth to say something, but she thought it better.
"Sure," Saki said, avoiding everyone's gazes. "He broke my diadem and I broke his nose. We're even. Do what you must."
Banu lowered her shotgun towards the killer. "Thank you," she said, but it rang hollow in the face of loss.
—
"—was likely sodium thiopental, if I had to guess from the side-effects and the time it took you to recover consciousness. A normal dose lasts less than fifteen minutes. It was actually fortunate that you weren't taking sleeping pills, or you may not have woken up in time. The interactions with benzodiaze—" Law looked over his shoulder and Saki her staring vacantly at the ceiling from her cot. "Are you listening to me?"
"Yeah. I can't promise I'll remember what you said in an hour, but it's interesting. Keep talking, please."
"Still can't focus?" He walked up to her with a small lantern. "Worst case scenario, you may be feeling the side effects until tomorrow, but—"
She shoved a hand to his chest to keep the demonic source of light away from her face. "You know what we should do one of these days? Sleep. I hear it's all the rage nowadays. People even get beds to sleep in them! How wild is that?"
"I believe you're asking to get sedated."
"Come on, I can't be that annoying. What's keeping you from throwing me overboard? Surely it can't be compassion."
"The food. And the coffee. Penguin's is dirty water."
"Great. Went from token girl of the team to Mom."
There was a knock on the already open door. Banu was smiling at them, and her crop top showed off the bandages around her midriff.
"Speaking of people who can't stay still."
"Can I steal your patient for a while?"
"As long as you bring her back in one piece."
"I promise I'll treat her as if she were one of mine."
"Hello? I'm still here."
—
They oversaw the port from the deck of the submarine. Life went on, almost cruelly, as if the events of the last hours had never transpired. The group of kids ran between the stalls of the market without a care in the world, getting yelled at by vendors and buyers alike and laughing.
Banu took an envelope from her bag and handed it to Saki. Inside, there was a fat stack of beli bills.
"For the surgery and the help." She said before Saki could ask. "Don't try to refuse it. I won't accept a no."
Saki kept her face a mask. "How's Onur?"
"He's being held for questioning, but it won't be for long, not at his age and when there's something much bigger to deal with. And they'll let him go to the funeral."
"Isn't there a wake? I thought you'd be there."
"I would, but I'm not welcome. Volkan's family never liked me much," she said with a sad smirk, gesturing all over herself, as if it was obvious why no one would want her for a daughter-in-law. "They can't keep me from the funeral, though. We do them in the open. The body's put on a raft, we set it on fire, and we let it sail into the bay. Born from the Mother, back to sleep in her arms."
Saki gulped at the memory of the stone woman, arms stretched to envelope all. She didn't think she could ever forget it.
"I'm very sorry," Saki said, and she meant it. "But why can they keep you from the wake? You were—"
"Friends."
She hadn't expected that. "Just friends?"
"I thought that was enough. His family wouldn't have accepted anything else."
"But you don't anymore?"
"I wasted what little time we had together. Now it doesn't matter."
Banu's tone had been final, but Saki didn't want to leave it at that. She wouldn't have forgiven hersef if she did. "I don't think any time spent with someone you love is lost." A knot formed in her throat and she swallowed it. "No matter how short it was. It's never lost."
'That's what I need to believe,' she wanted to add.
"You sound like you haven't had it easy, either."
She dodged the concealed question. "You should've seen Volkan when you were in the sickbay. It took a polar bear and the Surgeon of Death armed with a scalpel to keep him from jumping to your side."
Banu laughed, and it sounded like she wanted to cry. She fiddled with one on her bangles until it was undone and put it in Saki's empty hand.
"I can't—"
"Shut up and keep it. Just so you can have something nice from this town. And, maybe… maybe so you can remember not to be like me."
Saki looked at Banu's warm, sad smile, and thought she'd be lucky to be half as strong her.
—
For the first time since they left North Blue, Law got his hands on a newspaper. There hadn't been one at the inn on the first day, the next he hadn't even thought about it, and now that he had one in his hands, he wished he hadn't, but reality had a nasty habit of not going away even when it was being ignored.
She found Saki in the hallway, fumbling with a bangle that she was trying to tie around her right wrist. He waited from a distance until she was done juggling an envelope in her left hand while she knotted the cord with the help of her teeth. There was something almost admirable in her stubbornness to not ask for help.
Except last night, he reminded himself.
When she looked up, she grinned at him and lifted the envelope. "Great timing!" He didn't think so. "I bring you money!"
"I… What?" He took the envelope and looked at the amount of bills inside. "…Is there something you want to tell me?"
"No," she flicked his hat with a finger and a smile. "Also, payment from Banu. For the surgery and the help."
Feeling guilty, which was a sensation mostly foreign to him, he gave her the newspaper. "There's something in today's paper you should see."
He had it already opened by the relevant page, so it didn't take her long to find out what he meant. It was at the bottom of the page, just two lines.
Rescue efforts continue in Asteria after massive fire earlier this week. List of identified survivors in page 60.
She flipped the pages in an instant, and her eyes went through the column of names almost as fast.
Law paid attention to her reaction. Worry at first. Then, a small frown that lasted a fraction of a second before she concealed it and nothing more could be inferred from her face.
Law had felt more uncomfortable in the minute it took her to read and reread the column than he had in the past few years. It was bad news that usually came to him. He wasn't used to being their deliverer, unless you counted him as the bad news.
"Thanks," she said, folded the paper and gave it back to him. "Don't tell the others, okay?" And she stretched her arms, cracked her fingers and walked into the mess hall.
"Saki," he called after her, but she didn't stop, so he followed.
"I still have dishes to wash from last night and I need to get started with lunch, so unless you want to help I suggest you leave."
And true to word, she turned on the faucet and started humming a song so off key that its composer must have been turning in his grave.
He tossed the newspaper on the table and walked into the galley. "I'll help if you stop producing that dismal sound."
Saki sprinkled him with soapy water, but snickered all the same. Banu's old bangle hung from her wrist, its cheerful colors a good match for its new owner. Law returned fire, doing the dishes ended up taking more time than it would had Saki been washing them alone.
Her laughter rang in his ears, and he had to wonder how she managed to make it sound so genuine.