Omen
Fourteenth Sign
"Ah, good morning doctor."
Elka hurriedly wiped away the tears from her cheeks when she heard footsteps coming from her right side. She spoke without looking back in an effort to hide her face. She refused to show weakness.
Trafalgar Law, on the other hand, simply let himself in. He did not bother prying onto Elka's matters as she already made it clear she was unwilling to share. He himself felt concerned, but he could not bring himself to force her to speak about it. He had witnessed Elka cry twice since they met and just seeing her weep for the third time left a bad taste in his mouth, making him choose to feign ignorance instead.
Law proceeded to take the empty chair right across the gal so he could get a good look at her face. Elka immediately turned her face away from him.
"Elka-ya." Law called, making her flinch. "Why did you leave the room without telling me?"
Elka seemed surprised at the question. She slowly turned to look at Law, only to find him helping himself with the ham and rice served. A small smile crept up to her face, relief eminent on her features.
"You were asleep." she simply answered.
"You could have woken me up." Law sharply retorted.
"You seemed exhausted. I thought I should let you rest for a while longer."
Law pointedly looked at her. "It goes without saying but, I don't want you out of my sight."
Elka only sighed and began to eat as well. She was glad the dark doctor decided not to pry into her previous matter. It gave her the time and space she needed to organize her thoughts and to accept the present events. She wanted to believe Ross was fine. She had faith in him, he was probably given more work so he couldn't come that morning. She would probably see him tomorrow, or maybe later after school. In the meantime, Elka wanted to concentrate on getting herself together for the new day. She had school and she had to do good if she wanted to secure her academic future.
When the duo were done eating, Elka was partly surprised not to hear anything from the Warlord. He didn't even make any attempt to start a conversation. It was as if the man was uninterested but Elka appreciated it. It had been a while since she ate in silence, but instead of loneliness, it was serenity that enveloped her. Ross usually did the same, keeping his silence and watching her eat whenever he finished first. It had a calming effect on her. No words were needed, she just wanted to feel she was not alone.
Soon they were back in her room and Elka quickly changed into her white uniform. Law examined her and couldn't help but compare her clothes with the uniforms most nurses wore back in his world. He watched her organize her things, her bag, her books. He watched her accessorizing, walking up to her dressing table and combing raven locks, looking herself at the mirror as she did her hair.
"Doctor, you'll have to stay here. If you get hungry, I placed the leftovers in the fridge. You already know where the kitchen is." Elka told Law as she walked past him. "Don't do anything reckless and don't bother the neighbors."
Law immediately grabbed Elka's arm before she could even reach the doorknob.
"Did you even hear me earlier? I don't want you out of my sight."
Elka frowned. "You can't come with me, doctor. My school has tight security. Besides, I'll be out for only about eight hours or so."
"That's too long." Law argued. "And dangerous."
"Doctor, this is a routine in my life." Elka gently removed Law's hand from her arm. "And like I said, the school has tight security. I'll be safe there."
"No." Law again grabbed her arm but this time, he pulled her closer to him. Steel grey eyes locked onto obsidian ones. "Where you go, I go as well. It's either you take me with you or you stay here with me."
"But-"
"No buts." Law furiously hissed, glaring at the young gal. "I will not allow you to go more than ten feet away from me, understand?"
"Yes of course..." Elka muttered, her eyes balling in shock at her own words. Law knew how to pressure her and force her to give in to his desires. It was a reflex Elka had developed since meeting the dark doctor, and she was scared of it.
A smile crossed his face once Elka gave him a satisfying reply. Law let her go and asked to assist him on picking which clothes to wear in order to blend in better among her school's society. Despite Elka's hesitance and indirect protests, they still ended up going to her school together. The ride going to the said university went longer than usual as they had to take a detour due to the closed roads in En city, nevertheless, they still arrived there fairly early.
Raftearsen University was renowned for its students always filling up the top ten rankings in the annual board examinations for Medicine. Not only that, but the school has a reputation of having as high as ninety-four percent passing rate regardless of the number of board takers. It was famous far and wide, and together with its fame came its wealth. Raftearsen wasn't only a university but also a hospital as well, and as a matter of fact, the hospital stood just beside the university itself. The thousands of hectares of land dedicated only for its founder and president's use.
Of course students benefited from this, ensuring the institution to receive hundreds of enrollees every year despite its infamous super hard entrance examinations and super strict screening through interview. The matter of clerkship, internship and PGI-ship was easily solved just by the mere fact that the university owned a hospital itself. Similarly, the hospital was also famous and renowned for its university producing brilliant doctors, making the people trust their service.
When the duo arrived at the gate entrance of the university, Law admired the towering buildings he could see from afar just behind the tall walls that seemed to go for miles. He could make out some greenery just by the entrance which suggested that there were trees in there as well. He couldn't begin to imagine how big the place was, and Elka even mentioned that the huge hospital they walked past earlier was part of the establishment.
"Do you see that by the entrance?" Elka pointed at the gate's center. Aside from the barred fence, there were two guards on standby and two machines with a strange form that was connected to three metal bars blocking the way. "It's designed to read our IDs. Once recognized, we'd be enabled to turn those metal bars to enter the school premises."
Law smirked. He lifted his hand, a light blue aura spinning just below his palm. "I can definitely bypass that."
"No!" Elka shouted, grabbing his hand. "Doctor, there are surveillance cameras in this campus! Stop it!"
Law frowned. "And what would you have me do? Stay out here?"
"No..." Elka weakly replied. She contemplated her options, perhaps she may allow letting Law in as a visitor, yet it proved to be futile for it required him to have a valid ID. Almost every other options available in her head would need to go through all sorts of identification process, Elka figured there was no other choice but to make Law wait for her outside the school.
However, Elka was aware it would bring infinite displeasure to the Warlord. Nonetheless, she gestured at a humble coffee shop that stood just across the street and told him, "You can wait-"
"I won't wait." Law briskly snarled, cutting off Elka's sentence just as she expected. "If anything happened to you in there, it will take me forever to find you. It's best we stick together."
"It's just school!" Elka raised her voice in frustration. "Nothing bad will happen!"
"Just like back at the hospital. You said you'll be fine but look what happened."
"It won't happen again!" Elka argued. She used all her strength to forcibly pull Law away from the entrance. "Let's get you to that coffee shop and you wait there."
Law was still against the idea. Nonetheless, he allowed Elka to lead him to the shop. Once there, she bought him a hot coffee and told him to stay put, to which the Warlord responded with a sardonic smile. By that simple gesture alone, Elka understood the pirate captain was up to no good. She knew how capable the man was when it came to planning things out, and so she came to a conclusion in which Law would try to find a way to sneak into the campus in any means necessary. With that in mind, she spent a few more minutes of her time pleading and begging him to listen to her at least once in his life.
Her desperate act amused the dark doctor, so much so that he began seriously considering her request. With a brief nod and a restrained smile, he decided to give her an affirming nod to which the unsuspecting woman was utterly grateful for. Giving him a brief reminder of whatnot, Elka finally turned to leave, almost in a rush back to the school as time dictated she was running late by then.
Barely a minute had passed and Law began his search for a way to possibly enter the campus. He quietly observed his environment, delighted at the fact that most of the customers wore the same white uniform Elka wore. There were a few others donning casual clothes underneath a white coat and he figured they were doctors, either interns, clerks or residents, he couldn't tell, but it was enough to let him know how easily he may be able to blend in with the school's staff just by imitating the doctors in that coffee shop - all he needed was a white coat.
Trafalgar Law lifted his hot cup of coffee into his lips while his eyes swept thoroughly over the many heads of customers present within his vicinity. At the back of his mind played possible scenarios after obtaining a white coat, impersonating the school's doctors. He could make out printed words embroidered on the fabric's right side of the chest, and it was apparent that they had IDs as well. He couldn't just waltz in there unprepared lest he wanted to get attention. He needed an alibi, good props and a legitimate ID.
An hour or so, the group of doctors Law had been eyeing began to move. They talked for a moment longer before finally leaving the table, and Law couldn't even be happier when one of them stayed behind fiddling with the strange 'phone' device Elka and Ross used to communicate with each other in long distances. It was a female though, but he decided he couldn't be too picky if he wanted in.
Soon, the woman stood up and finally left the table. Law allowed her to get through the door first before getting up himself and following her. She went to a tailor shop, obviously for uniforms, she then talked with the lady in the store until the lady presented her a newly made white coat. Not later, another person came in, a male doctor this time. He greeted the woman and spoke to her for a good while before the two made their way out of the store.
Trafalgar Law was troubled by then. Although it was to his convenience that a male doctor showed up, he had to get rid of the female before he could put his plans into motion. He did consider knocking them both out in one go but oddly enough, he didn't want to cause too much trouble until he found himself standing right in front of Raftearsen Hospital. He watched the two disappear into the building, and it made the dark doctor click his tongue in annoyance. In the end, all his efforts were for naught.
Or so he thought.
"It's a shortcut, you know."
Law overheard a couple of students speaking while entering the hospital's premises. He knew they were students just by their uniform but it came to him as strange that students were entering the hospital, unless they were already at the year where they do ward duties. Although he only heard them vaguely, he could make out what those few words meant, so he observed his surroundings once more, realization striking him as he saw the hospital building and one of the school's many construction connected.
Well, I suppose there's my way in. Law smirked widely at the thought.
=/=
Ten minutes in and Law had successfully 'disguised' himself. He easily found a target to steal an identity from: Oliver Prez, possibly a resident. He found the doctor in one of the hospital wards checking patients. Law decided to take his identity because: one, the doctor had sideburns and a goatee, although not as similar as his; two, it seemed the students didn't recognize him, although of course they still greeted him, they didn't call him by name, just by title. Assuming he must be new to the institution, Law figured he was the perfect man for the job so when the poor doctor decided to take a piss, Law knocked him out and took his coat, his ID, his eyeglasses and stethoscope.
The eyeglasses were graded so Law wore them way lower on the bridge of his nose than it should be normally worn. The coat was also short for him, its whole length barely reached his knees and the sleeves barely reached his wrists. The tattoos on his hands and knuckles still showed but he didn't mind, he solved it by keeping his hands on his pockets although he knew he couldn't keep them hidden there forever.
Quickly, Law asked a nurse to lead him to the school. The nurse, upon reading the name printed on Law's white coat, eyed him for a time. The Warlord immediately knew it was a bad move to ask a nurse, of all people, of course they know the faces of their superiors, but his anxiousness was swiftly quelled when the nurse eventually pointed to a staircase and instructed him to go left upon reaching the second floor, saying he'd have to cross the long narrow path to reach the school's premises.
"It hasn't been a week, has it, Dr. Prez?" the nurse asked, seemingly wanting a casual conversation.
"Ah, yes." Law hesitantly replied.
"So, did you have a class today? I thought you were on duty, doctor."
Law thought fast. "I was called to substitute for a subject. It's only for an hour."
The nurse seemed surprised. "Really? We weren't notified. If that's the case, you should endorse the remaining patients to another." she tilted her head slightly in wonder. "What about Dr. Wells? She's probably free."
Law hummed. "Please do ask her in my behalf. It was sudden and I'm already late for the class."
The nurse did not quite release him yet. She commented about how his coat didn't fit him and about the way he wore his glasses. Law managed to ride the conversation and successfully excused himself although he was unsure whether he avoided suspicion, as the nurse seemed to look at him differently after.
Just as Trafalgar Law successfully 'infiltrated' the school, a new problem sprung: which of all those doors led to Elka's class? Was it even the floor where he could find the woman? It was impossible to check each door and all floors. If he wanted to find her quickly, he needed a map and an idea of where first year students took their class sessions. Fortunately, just beside the staircase posted a fire exit plan. Although it didn't give him the specifics he needed, it at least gave him an idea of how big the place was. Assuming each floor had the same structure, there were at least twelve doors excluding the fire exit, elevators and restrooms. Aside from finding out Elka's location, he needed a plan to blend in with the class without raising suspicion. Since Elka was a first year student, pretending as her classmate won't do.
Law began to walk down the hallway, carefully observing the hall and the people he came across. Most adult and older-looking people wore the same coat he had and it helped him make up his mind: he had to pretend as one of the medical instructors. Still, he knew students won't be so easily fooled, more so the actual instructors present in the institution. He needed a good excuse, just like his earlier idea, someone to substitute for. And as if fate wanted to play around with him, an elderly doctor called his attention.
"Excuse me, doctor. Which department do you belong to?"
"Surgery." Law smoothly replied. It was a good thing he kept vigilant of which ward his target was from.
The elderly woman narrowed her eyes on him. "Surgery? I've never seen you before." she voiced, obviously suspicious of him.
"Ah, I'm new. It hasn't been a week since I started." Law remained calm. He was aware of the difference between him and the real Oliver Prez in appearance but he had hoped that the man's short stay at the institution could at least sway their memory of him.
The elderly hummed, eyeing Law from head to toe. "And you are?"
"Oliver Prez."
She seemed to be contemplating for a moment before looking pointedly at him. "You seemed to have shot up a lot, Dr. Prez. I don't remember you towering over me this much."
Law inwardly groaned. One thing he should have paid attention was the height difference. "I'm sure your memory must have betrayed you, doctor."
She snorted. "Despite my age, my memory's as sharp as when I was in my twenties!" she stepped closer to him and continued, "Anyway, have you come for Dr. Zacharias?"
Law was surprised. He didn't understand what she meant.
Despite Law's silence, the elderly doctor seemed to take it as an affirmative response and proceeded to nag him about it. "That Zacharias really is irresponsible! He should be fully aware of how much workload he's taking! He couldn't possibly teach the kids if he's always called for an operation!"
Ah. So that's it. Law understood by then, he was expected to take this Dr. Zacharias' class in his stead. In short, a substitute, just exactly what he needed. But, the biggest question left still: was it Elka's class?
"What are you standing around for, doctor? Go see Dr. Zacharias already!"
=/=
"Ah, doctor! I'm sorry for the abrupt change, I hope it's not much of a bother."
The elderly doctor led Law to the gross anatomy department in which he finally met Dr. Zacharias, who was engaged on a phone sandwiched between his shoulder and ear as his hands were occupied by various papers. Not later, a telephone over his table rang and he immediately answered it despite his current engagement with someone else over his cell.
Law patiently waited for the man to finish his current engagements, silently observing the place. It looked similar to an office, only difference was the presence of medical equipment, medical placards, medical books and the white coats hanging over each chair's backboard.
"I'm sorry about that, um..." Dr. Zacharias glanced down at the name that was printed over Law's white coat. "Oliver." he finished, handing him two pieces of papers. "Just tell the kids I won't be able to meet them today. I know I made them wait so at least take their attendance for incentive. After that, you can dismiss them."
Law looked over at the papers he was handed with and found that it was filled with names. On the topmost center was the section and a letter followed by numbers: Section 1-A. T707. Law assumed it was the label of the assigned room for that class.
Dr. Zacharias didn't say anything more than that and simply hurried to exit the room.
=/=
Trafalgar Law quickly found his way to the said room. The elevator boy was nice enough to guide him around the building, ultimately leading him to the room he needed to be in. It was explained to him that the letter on the label was the first letter of the building's name, and then the first number that followed was the actual floor of the room.
Seventh floor, huh? The highest number among the buttons on the elevator was seventeen, and he couldn't even fathom how many a floor that one building had. Only, he wondered why there was no thirteenth floor.
Soon he found himself standing at the door of a room labeled T707, and he was glad everything worked out. Law had scanned the attendance sheet given to him and Lady Luck sure smiled at him as he quickly spotted Elka's name written on the first part of the paper. He couldn't exactly remember her last name but he had a strong feeling it was her, the Ardela Elka person.
The room was somehow noisy until Law made his entrance. The students that were scattered about immediately went to their respective seats and everyone quieted down. They quietly watched Law as he walked up his way to the room's front-center.
"Dr. Zacharias is unavailable so I'm here as a substitute." Law plainly announced.
Upon hearing him, a few girls at the back and some boys in the middle began whispering to each other. A handful almost squealed, seemingly thrilled. One even seemed to be mouthing his 'real' name which piqued his interest, of course there were more people who would recognize him. Thoughts of Ross crossed his mind though, and he wondered if those who were at Elka's level as a 'fan' of his world would even believe his existence.
Grey eyes glided over the many heads present in the room but he couldn't find Elka. Deciding it wasn't worth much effort since he could just call her out, he began, "To start, I'm going to take your attendance."
The students were fairly obedient, immediately shouting 'here' and 'present' while Law dryly called their names. He wouldn't even lift his head to check whether it was truly the person themselves responding until he called Elka's name.
"Ardela Elka?"
"Here..." Elka meekly replied, deliberately lowering her voice.
Law paused and scanned the room. Seeing as the dark doctor wanted to see her, Elka decided to raise her hand and her voice.
"HERE!"
Law smiled as he found Elka sitting in the front row. No wonder he couldn't find her, he kept looking at the middle and far back.
Elka was frowning when their eyes met. If it was possible to turn into stone for so much shock, she would have died by then. She couldn't believe her eyes when Law stepped in, wearing a white coat, eyeglasses, stethoscope and an actual ID dangling from his coat's breast pocket. She didn't even want to think about how Law did it and what he did to his poor victim. Dr. Zacharias was known to usually skip out some lectures due to his hectic schedule. Other sections under him had experienced the same thing but Elka couldn't shake off the suspicion of Law actually harming the good doctor. Dr. Zacharias was very considerate despite his disorganized trait when it came to time management and besides, he was fairly good with teaching when he actually do.
More importantly, Elka was worried of what a few of her classmates might say. She knew there was a good forty percent of their population who knew, read, and watched the Manga/Anime One Piece. Despite believing that ninety-nine percent chance people wouldn't believe such fantasy-like phenomenon could occur, that one percent bugged her to no end. Her eyes were glued on Law's tattooed hands and she was beating herself about it. There was no way they wouldn't notice those.
Trafalgar Law continued the roll call. Once he was done with the last guy, before he could even think about what to say, the one thing Elka dreaded to happen took place. One person raised a question.
"Are those tattoos real, sir?"
Elka winced, not just at the question thrown but mostly because out of all her classmates, it had to be Lyra asking. Everyone knew she was an 'otaku'. Elka herself had had the chance to chat with her regarding the famous One Piece title, and boy did she know a lot. Lyra may be at par with Elka when it came to being a nerd about the said title and this made her all the more feel threatened and uncomfortable.
Trafalgar Law, on the other hand, simply answered, "Yes."
"But, aren't doctors not supposed to have tattoos?"
Elka was shocked with the direction Lyra's question was taking. Nonetheless, it at least eased her anxiousness and was instead replaced with curiosity.
"It doesn't get in the way of my work." was Law's curt reply.
"Aren't we required to keep ourselves neat and clean?" another asked, a boy from the far back.
Law wondered. "You mean to say I look dirty?"
There were a few gasps and murmurs that followed next but the boy managed to say, "No, sir. But..."
Law waited.
"But doesn't it make you look like less of a doctor?"
Law smirked. It amused him how these young students of another world were so concerned of appearances. Perhaps it was one of the things that Ross referred to as peace making people 'quixotic'. In his world, it didn't matter what you looked like, or what you are even for that matter. As long as you can do the job, and you do great, then you're a legitimate professional.
"Is there an explicit rule about doctors not having tattoos?" Law inquired.
None of the students spoke up, not even Elka. They couldn't answer, not because they saw the dark doctor's point, but because they themselves didn't know the answer. They weren't sure if such a rule existed, or maybe it was their own subconsciousness dictating their idea of professionalism. There were a lot of things to consider and most of them just wanted to look and seem 'clean' and 'proper'. Even Elka herself had to hide the fact about her hobby as she saw how majority of their population treated Lyra, who was strong enough to be public about being an anime/manga fan.
Law understood the entire class's silence and spoke again, "We're all human. We come in all varieties. I'm just another person with a story who happened to be the sort to show it off on my skin. Nothing complicated."
The dark doctor's answer left the whole class flabbergasted. It was simple, yet brilliant. He spoke plainly, and smoothly that it took them a moment to completely absorb what he just spat. They were speechless, none of them could think straight. His words lingered for a while longer, making each and every student present appreciate the truth of their world: they were humans, being a doctor was a title - they were just regular persons taking a degree, no different than the next person.
Elka herself couldn't believe what she just heard. His statement made her realize there was nothing wrong with being and acting normal. It was normal to like something - anything at all for that matter - and that would never make you less of anything because ultimately, it was normal and the variation was natural as well. She had repeatedly pondered about pushing her hobbies aside to ensure her future, but in the end, each of them had their own hobbies which made them unique - different from each other. Coming from a fictional character, she couldn't fathom how real his words were. He was fiction. One Piece was fiction. She knew Law's story, or did she really? Elka knew the manga/anime didn't cover his whole story and seeing him stand before her making such a strong statement convinced herself he was a person, a human being. Trafalgar Law was real.
The silence didn't go for long as Law quickly tried to resume the class session but the girl Lyra asked again.
"Where did you get the design, sir?"
Law looked at her, subtly glaring. "Did it seem like I wanted to share?"
"I recognize it." she insisted. "From a certain manga character."
Murmurs of disgust and wonder floated throughout the room making Elka frown. It seemed she didn't even care if Lyra pointed out he was the Trafalgar Law in the flesh or that he was an epic cosplayer. What hurt her was the fact that however empowering Law's words may be, people's mind won't easily be changed and the few 'deviant' were bound to adjust instead for the sake of peace and quiet.
Nonetheless, Lyra was strong. She was proud to be the way she was so she chose to voice out her opinions.
"I'm just glad an actual doctor is a fan of the title."
Law took a while before he understood the meaning behind her statement. He gave her a small smile and then offered to teach the class for the remaining hour of their session.
"It's anatomy, correct?"
The class answered positively in chorus.
Law nodded. "Which part of the human body are you done yet?"
"We're done with the skull, bones, back and chest muscles sir!" one answered.
"So it's the limbs next?"
Law hummed. He turned around and searched the whiteboard for a writing instrument and found two black markers and an eraser on the far corner of the said board. He began to scribble some letters and added some words next to them, to which the students quickly picked up right after he was done writing. It was a short abbreviation, an acronym to easily remember the names of the muscles grouped together with similar origins, insertions, and actions. He tabulated the flexors and extensors, with the upper and lower limbs separated with two vertical lines. He discussed a few important, major muscles of the upper limb and lower limb briefly as the students began taking notes and copied his writings on the board. He was also nice enough to answer a few inquiries raised, direct and brief.
Elka was attentive throughout the class. She had forgotten it was Trafalgar Law in the flesh teaching them. She took in every word, every instruction and every tips he could offer them. She took down notes, copied everything from the board and even added a few points whenever Law would say more. He acted like a proper instructor. He was brief but straightforward. He only told them the important points of each muscle and even gave them acronyms to easily memorize them, and Elka couldn't even remember when the last time she enjoyed a lecture.
It was easy to digest and most students looked fairly happy with Law's way of teaching. Every student were quiet and attentive, scribbling into their notebooks or papers whether Law opened his mouth or Law wrote on the board. There was a sense of wonder, joy and excitement among the students. Some even began nodding their heads in affirmation as the flow of information seemed to go to their brain smoothly and fluidly, like everything seemed so clear to them, it was almost like knowing those things should be common sense. Law easily won the hearts of the students and most of them even wished he wasn't a substitute but rather, their actual instructor for the subject matter.
Soon, the bell rang. Law was surprised upon hearing the noise but immediately realized its meaning when he heard the students sigh and saw a handful of them stretching their backs. It was time for a break. Class was done.
A few of the students admired their own work, staring incredulously at their notebooks and papers. Some began to admire Law himself as they realized he taught them without even carrying some notes or even an anatomy book. A few who realized this, mainly those who graduated with flying colors, quickly rechecked Law's writings on the board and compared it with the anatomy book only to find no flaws at all. The man before them was a real doctor, and a brilliant one at that.
"What's your next class after this?" Law asked, looking over at Elka.
"Um, sir, it's lunch break." a boy sitting just behind Elka answered instead.
Law smiled. "Is that so? What's your class after that?"
"Biochemistry, sir." the other boy sitting beside the previous boy answered.
"I see. You're all dismissed." Law looked pointedly at Elka and mouthed the words 'you stay with me.'
=/=
Elka spoke with a few of her classmates, two of which were close enough to be called her friends.
"By the way Elka, what do you think of him?" one of her friends, Kathleen, asked. Her brown eyes fixed at Law who seemed to be scribbling something over the attendance sheet.
"I like how he teaches." Faustine, another friend of Elka's, commented. "I sure hope he becomes one of our professors in the future. He just made my life easier."
"I agree." Kathleen replied. "And other than that, he looks real good. Only, I still don't like his tats."
Elka only smiled. "Since he's only a substitute, I doubt we'd be seeing him again."
"Don't say that." Faustine frowned. "I would really love to see him again."
"You're too negative, Elka. He's good. We should be seeing more of him with that kind of prowess." Kathleen seconded.
Elka narrowed her eyes at her tan friend. "Kath, I know you just want to stare at his face."
Kathleen grinned. "That, and of course the way he teaches."
"I can't deny, he does look good." Faustine voiced. "But did you notice? He would glance at your direction each time. It's like he was watching you or something."
Elka nervously giggled. "Huh? No way. And I'm not the only one seated here you know. Maybe he just saw Mara and Lani talking while he was discussing you know."
Kathleen was nodding her head. "Probably. I was actually surprised he didn't scold them. He seemed the type to be strict. Turns out I assumed wrong."
No sooner, their conversation went to getting lunch together at the school's canteen. As much as she wanted to eat together with them, there was a more pressing matter she needed to deal with so she made an excuse and told the two to just go ahead, at least promising she was going to follow afterwards. The two easily accepted Elka's reason, reminding her to just text them whenever. And just when her friends left, Lyra walked up to her.
"Hey Elka! Wanna have lunch together?"
Elka was surprised. Although they did converse a few times before and clicked as both were anime fanatics, Lyra didn't really invite her to lunch until now.
Besides, she only saw her as an acquaintance. Elka wasn't comfortable enough to get lunch together with the girl.
"Oh, Lyra. Sorry but I have somewhere else to go first." Elka shyly replied. She didn't know if the way she said it came out rude since they hadn't been talking much lately due to the previous major exams and their separate circle of friends.
"Is that so?" Lyra smiled. She then moved closer to Elka and whispered, "What do you think of Dr. Prez?"
Elka felt her heart skip a beat. She was nervous. She completely knew who that impostor was so she didn't know how to act. "Er, why do you ask?"
"He looks good but don't you think he resembles someone..unreal?"
Yup. Lyra was onto something and Elka didn't like it.
"Hey Elka! Lyra!" another joined them. It was Keiffer, the boy from the far back who challenged Law about his tattoos. He was a friendly and approachable person, everyone in their class liked him.
Of course, Elka incuded.
"Keiffer?" Elka wondered. Although the guy was a people's person, he rarely talked with her, but she figured it was probably because she was always together with her friends, Faustine and Kathleen.
There was a playful smirk decorating his face before leaning towards Elka's ear. "Be careful. He's into you."
Elka gasped. "What are you saying?"
Lyra hummed. "I think I get your point." hazel eyes locked onto Elka's obsidian pair. "When he took attendance, he only looked at you."
Elka fell silent, panic slowly consuming her. She didn't want to get found out but she didn't know what to do or say in that situation. She wasn't exactly close with the two so she didn't know how to go about making excuses against them. All she could think of was that if she ever opened her mouth, she might spill the beans. Saying less had always been the safest route to take and thus, she only gave them a small smile and a quick comment about the time getting wasted.
"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" Keiffer asked, curious. "It's rare to see you go alone. I always see you with Faust and Kath." he thought aloud.
"Well, um, I promised to meet up with, uh, my cousin. See, he's a, uh, migrant, so, uh, he asked me to help him." Elka was hesitant, and she had difficulties of coming up with a plausible lie when the man of all her troubles was inside the very room they were in. "He asked me to guide him around the area. Our next class is at 2pm anyways so we have plenty of time." she hurriedly added when she saw the couple's skeptic looks.
"But don't you think he looks like Trafalgar Law?" Lyra immediately changed the subject, visibly excited. "I mean, he could make an epic Trafalgar Law cosplay, I swear! His tattoos are already on point!" she exclaimed.
Keiffer frowned. "Cosplay? He looks good and if you think he looks like some cartoon character, then I guess I'm impressed with cartoons now."
Elka only smiled. "Yes Lyra, I think he would make a good cosplay too."
"Right?" Lyra looked at Keiffer. "And you there, movie-freak, if a person comes in and looks like Johnny Dep or Emma Watso, what would you feel?"
Keiffer blinked. He found himself imagining it and grinned in excitement. "That would be awesome!"
"Exactly! You don't have to be so discriminating with 'cartoons', as you say." Lyra argued, putting both hands over her hips.
Keiffer sighed. Although he never fancied cartoons - anime - he admitted it was just the same as in the movies and books, they were fictional characters, only the actors/actresses were real life people while cartoons were, well, animation, non-living things.
Elka quietly listened to them banter, holding a small smile while sneaking glances at the Warlord who remained in the room watching them. She wanted to tell him to just scram and wait for her outside but, she couldn't exactly convey it in a without alerting the other two with her.
Not later, Keiffer suddenly placed his arm over Elka's shoulder. "Anyway, let's go!"
Elka was shocked. "Huh? Go where?"
"Pizza Hat?"
"No, I have other plans. Like I said, I'm meeting up with my cousin."
Lyra picked up her bag and began to leave. "In my case, I'm going home. I mean, my dorm is just the building across. I'm not coming back though."
"What about Biochemistry?" Elka asked.
"It's supposed to be Med Week." Lyra frowned. "I'll just sleep in."
Elka understood her point and decided not to keep her longer. Keiffer also bade goodbye and left, mentioning he would come back as he was one of the performers for this afternoon's musical show.
When it was just her and Law remaining in the room, Elka was able to breathe in relief.
"That was a huge sigh." Law commented.
Elka glared sharply at the man. "What the hell are you doing?! Why are you here?!" she shouted in both anger and disbelief, not caring anymore if there might be people hearing her outburst.
Law smirked. "I'm here because you're here."
"You could have just waited there! Look! It's lunch! I planned to meet you there and what?! You're freaking in here!" Elka complained, pulling on her hair and stomping her feet in frustration. "What the hell did you even do to the real Dr. Prez?! And don't tell me you also did something to Dr. Zacharias. Gods! What about surveillance camera?! I won't be surprised if security suddenly busted in and arrested you, you freaking pirate!"
Smirking, Law merely listened to her complaining and whining as Elka struggled to keep her voice down while doing so. He had to admit, he was also amused watching her writhe in agonizing frustration and annoyance.
"Agh! If that fucking happens, I'm not helping you! You better not get me tangled when the police arrests you! O Lord, why does it have to be me?! Why me, for fuck's sake?!" Elka was already losing her mind. She had been bottling up so much anger and frustration against Law in fear of the man's retaliation, but at present, that fear slipped her mind as she couldn't handle it any longer. The Warlord was seriously testing her and the patience she carefully extended every time Law tried her had already ran out.
Trafalgar Law seemed amused. "Have you finally reached the boiling point?"
Elka immediately stopped. She couldn't believe what she heard. Did he just tease her? "I swear you're gonna get it sooner or later." she then took a deep breath and strove to fill her head with happy thoughts to lift her mood. She had to think of a way to get Law away from watchful gazes. She needed to know what happened to the real Dr. Prez so she could formulate a backup plan once they got found out.
=/=
Trafalgar Law and Elka were finally together. They took the fire exit staircase to hide from the students. Soon, they reached the lower ground floor of the building and found a lot of food stalls in the vicinity. It was crowded with both students and staff alike.
"Is this the building's mess hall?" Law inquired.
"No." Elka sighed. She knew she was forgetting something. "I forgot that this week is our Medicine Week. It's one of our school's events."
"And?"
"Meaning we won't have classes by the afternoon."
"But that thick-eyebrows said you have Biochemistry class."
Elka felt the corner of her lips raise into a smile at Law's description of one of her classmates. "Dr. Cerezo, the department of Biochemistry chairman doesn't really care about events such as these. Only those participating in major events this afternoon are exempted."
"I take it you're one of the students exempted?"
"No." Elka began to move, lightly pulling the sleeve on Law's coat to draw him with her. "I don't really fancy these events. I only like them because a bunch of food stalls come to the school."
Law hummed. "You think you could introduce me to that instructor who's going to meet you this afternoon?"
Elka knew what Law was after and frankly, she was already fed up with all his shenanigans so she simply said, tiredly at that, "No."
Law didn't say anymore. He was waiting for Elka to continue speaking, expecting something along the lines of how he just wanted to do something in order to get himself in the room with her but he didn't hear anything more from the girl. He was partly surprised upon realizing a simple no was the only answer he received from Elka.
Not later, the two of them were standing in front of a certain food stall. Its display were various types of deep-fried bread, doughnuts to be specific, and Elka claimed that she loved those sweet stuffs. It seemed just by seeing the stall lifted her mood. Law believed it true when Elka even offered him to choose whatever he liked to try.
Law frowned. "I don't like bread."
Elka seemed amused. "But they're not exactly the baked ones bread. They're fried."
Law remained quiet, to which Elka took as confirmation. She ordered six pieces, four of which were the same chocolate flavors while the other two were different: one chocolate with almonds and one coffee.
"You have..quite a linear taste." Law commented as he watched Elka eat one of the chocolate-flavored.
"I love chocolate. I don't care what you say." she then moved to the next stall.
"Is it okay for us to stay in here? I thought you were worried about getting found out." Law followed Elka as she went from one stall to another.
"It's okay. Because of the crowd, I doubt anyone would recognize me. And most of our medical instructors already have their own group of friends, no one would probably even bother calling you out." Elka sounded confident. "Besides, it's an event. People are only concerned with what these stalls has to offer. They only look out for food, not people."
Elka would stop now and then and offer her doughnut to the dark doctor to which Law would refuse every time. But as Elka kept repeating the same phrase, Law began considering at least taking a bite to taste if there was a difference between the baked ones he disliked.
For the fifth time, they stopped at another stall and Elka scanned their display before trying to offer her doughnut again. Law only looked at her while she stared at the shelves housing different pastas. She took a bite and another at her doughnut and Law found himself focused at her lips as she did. That was the time when he realized how sensual Elka ate. It seemed she truly enjoyed her sweets, and those thin lips of hers looked so enticing to him he couldn't even comprehend how such thoughts were already plaguing his mind.
"Eh, would you like some pasta, doctor?" the unsuspecting woman inquired. She looked back at Law and found his gaze fixed at her, making her quirk an eyebrow in wonder.
"Elka-ya, may I have a bite?" Law finally spoke to which the woman responded with a surprised gasp.
In the end, Elka handed over her half-eaten doughnut but Law didn't take it. Instead, he grabbed Elka's wrist and guided her hand to his mouth, bending down to compensate for their height difference and chomped at the part of the doughnut where Elka last bit, keeping his eyes on her.
Elka felt her cheeks heating up as Law stared intensely at her while taking a bite out of her food. She didn't exactly understand what was happening. At first, she only thought about figuring out whether the bread Law disliked were the baked ones. She formulated that perhaps, it was a certain kind of bread he hated, not all breads in general. That was the root of it all and then that happened. She felt like Law was boring holes into her, and she figured there was a hidden message with his sudden gesture but she was in denial. There was just no way.
Law chewed quietly and swallowed, wiping the chocolate that stuck on the corner of his mouth with his thumb towards his lips and then lightly pressing that same thumb onto Elka's lips.
"It's good." he said, immediately moving closer to the stall and scanning the pastas displayed.
Elka looked dumbfounded. She quietly watched Law move away from her, her mind blank. She didn't understand what just happened. She replayed it in her head a couple of times until it sunk in.
Was that...? Elka couldn't bring herself to finish the question in her thoughts. It was like her mind was blown. Her heart was beating fast, her blood rushing to her face, she figured she must be looking like a tomato that time. There was just no way.
Soon, they finished checking out all food stalls present at the area and it seemed Elka was quite disappointed with the current lineup of food stalls for the day. Although Elka still felt her heart racing, and she couldn't face Law properly for a short while, she eventually overcame it as she convinced herself it probably meant nothing.
"I was expecting a cake stall. I guess I should be content with my doughnuts." she mumbled to herself as she took out her fourth chocolate doughnut.
"You sure can eat." Law voiced, sounding surprised. "It's a wonder you weigh less than expected with that much sugar intake."
Elka smirked at him. "Ha! Sugar is food for the brain! I'm not getting fat because I use my brain a lot, genius."
Law lightly chuckled. "That's not how it works."
"That's true." Elka grinned. "I already decided perhaps my metabolism is still as active despite my age."
"Could be." Law smiled. He never considered it previously, but by then he thought seeing Elka having that much fun and looking relaxed was better. It also eased him somewhat, and he didn't notice how much his heart raced whenever Elka grinned at him until now.
All of a sudden, the ground started to shake. The tremor wasn't all that strongly felt by majority of the crowd but the shaking became progressively stronger until it was so evident that it elicited fear and panic among the crowd. Most seemed to not know what to do while others began to drop down to the ground and find cover.
It was abrupt. The whole place came alive and began lurching one way and then the other. The air was filled with the building's inhuman noises: rumbles and groans, screeching of metal. The stalls began breaking down, the glass shattered while the woods thud against walls.
Then the lights went out.
Tension turned for the worse. The place had no windows, resulting in complete darkness. A cacophony of deafening alarm bells were unholy in the dark. There were crashing noises, hollers of people and worse, it seemed like the floor kept trying to toss them to all corners of the room.
"Doctor!" Elka shouted in desperation. She fell on her back and rolled on the floor. Immediately, she covered for her head, protecting it with her thin arms. She got knocked around by people's feet and legs. When she tried to stand up, someone stepped on her hands. Essentially, she got beaten down and as weak as she was, she couldn't even push them away or off her.
"Doctor! I'm here! DOCTOR!" Elka kept shouting. When her body hit a wall, she immediately took the chance to pull herself up by using it to support her body, and then she got tossed against another person and then back to the wall. She was glad only her body was getting battered, and she thanked the heavens that she hadn't banged her head yet. Sensations and images swarmed her mind. She was whimpering, consciously thinking she wouldn't see the sun anymore, profoundly sensing her impending doom.
"Please... Law..." she sobbed as she felt the whole building writhing. It didn't feel safe anymore. She couldn't rely on Law anymore. She had to find a way out herself.
Trafalgar Law felt some people grabbing him from all directions, a few hard and heavy things colliding against his legs. He would sweep those away, careening his way through the crowd in an effort to find Elka. It was bad enough that his eyes needed time to adjust to the darkness. Worse, there were too many people and they already got separated even before the lights went out. Law began cursing in his head as he tried to make his way to the direction where he last saw Elka standing. If only his ability could be useful at that time of need, he wouldn't even hesitate to do it.
Not later, Law found himself catapulted to a door. He got up and found that it was a half-opened two-door that led to a staircase. There were already some people struggling to climb up the stairs, a few even crawling and holding onto the steps. And that was when a small hand with a soft and smooth palm touched his.
It was Elka.
"Elka-ya!" Law exclaimed, immediately taking her hand and pulling her against his chest. She was shivering and he could hear her soft whimpers as he ruffled her soft raven locks. "Stop getting lost all the time, damn it!" he squeezed her tighter before lifting her up to his shoulders and hurried to climb up the stairs.
From the looks of it, the building was pretty sturdy as the ceiling and the stairs hadn't collapsed yet. It might be able to hold out for an hour before it gives in. Due to the darkness, only the few people who were close to that exit was able to start making their way out but he knew eventually, more people would find it. It was mainly the reason that moved Law to immediate action as he didn't want to get caught into a massive stampede.
A/N: Gahd! I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise of making this extra extra long. I already received my case report for a major subject and we'll be having a couple of exams this week so I had to cut this chapter here. I'm real sorry! I still hope you enjoyed this... That is all, thank you!