Hey guys!
So the portrait of Charlotte is up and ready on deviantart! Unfortunately, ffn has issues with links not opening to the linked page, so if you search up my deviant account, also under xxAir, you can find a picture of Charlotte there! I apologize if the photo isn't up to your liking, but that's is how my character was supposed to look like. If it's the coloring that's bothering you like it is me, then I can't help it. I don't usually color my sketches... but I will try to be better at it so let's hope!
Reviews:
Lucy Jacob: I was worried that the pacing was a tad slow, but I'm glad that despite that it is somewhat slow, it still fits the story. I promise that there will be more Law in this upcoming chapter. Quite a bit more compared to the previous. The last chapter was more so focused on Charlotte and the crew than with Law since I feel that she'd probably be more close to the crew members before she tries to get close to Law. So the last ark with the mystery (thanks for enjoying the mystery and the ark) was to build the relationship between Charlotte and the crew and this upcoming one will make up the loss with Law, hopefully. (I'm still in the midst of writing it and I never know when my writing may go on a tangent.) Though like the previous arks, there will be more than just one thing going on. This one has a bit more and has already underwent a second transformation... to include more moving parts. On a different note, YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN SNOW?! =O Where are you from? Do I have readers from the other side of the world? =D I hope I get the impression of snow correct for you and how it's like to see it for the first time! I'm going to try my best on that but I don't quite remember the first time I saw it and due to where I've been living recently, I think I saw way too much snow to have it ruined for me... so I can only hope to portray it to its justice without the cliche sounding descriptions though.
Sky65: No problem! Thank you for liking my chapter =)
chibianimefan26: Haha, it was unexpected for Charlotte to randomly start singing, huh? I also really like how the scene with Law and Charlotte turned out. I didn't know how it became like that but I do like it. I'm really glad you like the photo of Charlotte. I'm not the best at coloring, but yes, Charlotte has violet/lavender/purple hair. Her hair is just some shade of purple. If you missed it before, it's all good since you know now. =P
Guest: Hey, I haven't heard from you in a loooooong time. How are you? The romance is going to start soon or at least build up in this ark since there's more Charlotte with Law onscreen time. The reason why it wasn't so focused beforehand was because I didn't just want to jump straight into it and there was still the fact that Charlotte still isn't completely okay with Law stealing her heart and all. So there's that little hurdle to get over first, but after that things should be picking up. Another part of why it has been so hesitant could be attributed to the fact that I'm still not sure how to portray Law and his style of showing affection. I tried it at the back of the last chapter where Law rewarded Charlotte subtly by allowing her more time on the surface before they submerge. But yeah, it will come. Just hold on tight!
Please continue to review, I love hearing from you guys!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, just the OC
Chapter 14.
"What is this?" Law questioned, never taking his eyes off the meter connected to his patient's blood pressure. The question in general was directed towards a plate of food that Charlotte had all so gracefully thrusted onto the medical tray.
"Lunch." Charlotte replied choppily. "Milos say you usually forget to eat... and I can't finish my duties if you don't eat." She paused to cross her arms. She made no move to look Law in the eye, instead she let her eyes wander across the field taking in the infirmary.
There was someone else in the room besides Charlotte and Law. His name was Dan, Charlotte believes, a mechanic on the submarine as well. He was sitting on the medical table, topless, while Law continued his ministrations. It was the periodic medical examination that everyone was supposed to do.
"Hurry up. I don't want to be washing dishes all night." Charlotte huffed, jerking her head away.
"Leave it there. I'll eat it when I have the chance." Law replied easily without a break in his actions. His eyes was focused solely on the several needles that was currently telling Dan's state.
"I'm not waiting all night to wash your dishes." Charlotte warned. "So either hurry up and eat or wash it yourself."
Dan froze at the comment, no, order, that Charlotte had just launched into the world. He tugged the shirt over his head quickly, slipped off the bed, and waited till the system said that he was all good to go before he quickly filed out of the area. He never like the arguments that Law and Charlotte would get into. At first it was somewhat entertaining how Charlotte would rebel whenever Law told her to do something, only to end up doing it anyway. It seemed like the only one brave enough to defy Law was Charlotte and for some unknown reasons, Law would allow her to continue to do so. Sure he would give her punishments, but never nothing she couldn't take. There was even an ongoing bet on who would snap first.
"Did you forget that I am the captain here?" Law responded easily.
"No, I remember that clearly." Charlotte almost growled before composing herself and adding. "But even the captain should be capable of cleaning one measly little plate."
"I don't want to hear that from someone who can't wash dishes." Law remarked without a shred of hesitation.
Charlotte remained quiet at the accusation, warmth spreading across her face as her eyes decide to concentrate on some other random direction. She wasn't that bad, right? Sure, she got cuts and scrapes from the broken shards of china, but who doesn't? "H-Hurry up and eat already."
Law chuckled at the display. Her face was really the most honest part of her. She could have easily denied the fact and ignore everything including the flush crawling onto her face. Instead, she made no move to deny her poor dish washing skills and even admitted to knowing how bad she was at it. He didn't expect that kind of reaction from the usually impassive and prideful woman. He'd thought she'd explode into another angry fit full of verbal abuse. She really did things on her own pace, without any regards to him or his readings of her.
"You done?" Charlotte questioned, her voice too cheery to actually be happy and words to snappy to actually be polite. No matter how she tried to hide it, Charlotte couldn't help but mask the annoyance and underlying bloodlust. She gave a half-assed smile towards the doctor as she reached for the barely touched plate. The only difference from the moment she took it into to his room and now was the temperature of the food. It was cold now. Charlotte didn't wait for a response, her fake smile twitched, threatening to fall off, and that was enough of a reply for the huntress to grab the plate and spin on her heels towards the door.
"Hm?" Charlotte hummed when her body didn't move exactly the way she wanted to. Platinum eyes flickered open, landing in a narrowed glare on her captured wrist. It was the one holding the plate. "You're done, aren't you?" She asked pointedly. Her eyes narrowed when Law didn't respond, only focusing on her hands.
"You've cut yourself."
What?
Realizing what Law meant, Charlotte placed the plate down and balled her hands, hiding the several cut marks lacing her fingers. They were the results of her washing, or more really her finding the broken pieces in the bubbly water. "N-no, I didn't…"
That's what she denies? Dan thought quizzically at the sight. Charlotte's face was almost comical with her lips drawn to the side and her eyes unable to stay focused on anything living. Or at least not until she caught Dan's mirthful face. Then her eyes steeled into an annoyed glare.
"Come to think about it." Law started, stealing the attention of Charlotte's heated glare. "You haven't completed your physical yet either." He said it as if he had just remembered, but the smirk on his face said otherwise. Charlotte had been avoiding it ever since the order came out.
"I'm fine." Charlotte replied immediately after. Too quickly to hold any truth behind her words. Though that was also clearly written in her body language. Her body, face, everything had steeled with a new kind of resolve. Her eyes were burning with a need to escape. Charlotte took one glance back at the untouched food and turned to leave, leaving the plate where it stood on Law's table. "I'll come back for it later." She had said it not as a change of topic or an excuse to leave, she had said it as a compromise. She'll skip her physical and in reply, she wash his dish.
Law sighed at the display. That was not a compromise; washing his dish was her duty. Not only was there no real benefit or compromise in that statement. There was also the factor, no, an unwritten rule really that all must followed to the tee: Skipping a physical on his ship was not allowed. In any way. "Room." He announced just as Charlotte reached for the doorknob.
Charlotte blinked in confusion as air rushed past her and the door that was so close within her reach was suddenly two meters away again. In that sudden distance was everything that should have been behind her by now. Dan… the infirmary bed… the medical utensils…
"You can start with removing your shirt, Miss Charlotte." The words never reached Charlotte or at least she didn't process them yet. Her mind still worrying about what had just happened.
…The plate with the probably cold food… and Law! Wait, didn't Law just said something. Charlotte's eyes flashed with recognition. She was on the medical table! Law had used his ability to move her!
"I rather not." Charlotte somehow managed to sound somewhat coherent and calm as she politely refused. Though those were just her words, her face and body on the other hand was a different story. Her platinum eyes were burning with the strong desire to escape similar to that of a trapped mouse. Her arm had shot up to shove at Law's face, pushing him away, while she quickly got to her feet and bolted for the door.
"Dan-ya, the door."
"Tch."
"Charlotte, there's nothing to be scared of." Dan reassured, blocking the door with his body. "Wa—WAIT!" Dan threw his hands up, shielding his face when Charlotte showed no signs of halting. In fact, the girl had started into a sprint. "STOP!" He yelped in a last ditch effort attempt, throwing his hands to defend himself.
Adrenaline ran through Charlotte's veins like an unseen driving force. Her platinum eyes seems catlike as she focused on her one and only escape. She darted to the side, ignoring the cry. With a push with her feet, she jumped towards the side wall, kicking off it and then off the threshold towards the small opening between Dan and the arch of the door. She twisted to the side so that her back was parallel to the ground as she high jumped over Dan.
Agile. Law noted the acrobatic moves, his eyes easily following the speedy movements. His lips curved upwards as he once again remembered the asset that Charlotte was to his crew. It was good timing too as they were so close to the New World. His smirk turned into a scowl at Dan's squinted face and defensive position. His crew on the other hand... it was clear that his crew would still new to grow before they could think about surviving there. His lips curved into a slant again as he spotted hands clenching around a red cloth. But his crew wasn't half bad either.
They did catch themselves a monster they couldn't bite just quite yet.
"Miss Charlotte, it would be greatly appreciated if you could comply." Law spoke formally as he stared down at the wide-eyed and breathless Charlotte. She had dropped from the sky, landing on Dan when the mechanic had blindly grabbed onto her flowy scarf as she went passed him.
Despite having more important things to do, like loosening the scarf that was now choking off her air supply, Charlotte shot a glare towards Law as breathless as it was. Finally, hooking her fingers behind the fabric, Charlotte tugged it away from her throat as best as she could, and suggested another compromise, "I'll take off my pants, but my top stays on."
Perhaps if what Charlotte had said made any sense, Law wouldn't be so shock to find amusement in the face that Charlotte was wearing. Her face was flushed and her lips had drawn into a small pout. Baby tears stung the corner of her eyes making her glare look anything but childish. Actually, all of her seemed quite childish. The way her legs were sprawled out around her as she sat firmly on her butt. The giant tee that she was wearing came loose during the struggle and only made her frame look much smaller than it already was. It would have been a great weapon for his ongoing battles with Charlotte if he hadn't been so dumbfounded by what Charlotte had said.
"What?" was the only coherent response he managed to say. Never in his whole career as a doctor had anyone suggested to take off their pants instead of their top. Not only would it do nothing, it was also pointless; her vitals weren't located in her legs, they were located in her torso. Just as Law was going to correct her, she was already gone. She had slipped out during his confusion.
Law stepped over towards his still dizzied friend. Dan looked disoriented and slightly deflated from Charlotte falling onto him. That's right, his crew would be needing some help before they could fare in the New World. But they will as they continue to go on more adventures together. The one he wasn't too sure about was the one who had darted out the door with a look on her face that Law had never seen before. She was panicked.
"So you were purposely trying to avoid your physical." Law picked up a scalpel from the mess of medical appliances. A sadistic smirk gracing his shadowed face as he looked at the door where his mouse had escape. This is just the beginning, he'll have many more chances to get that physical out of her. "You can't run forever."
Eventually, she'll be cornered and it'll be checkmate.
…
"You're off dish duty." Law sighed as he placed another bandage on Charlotte's tattered fingers. The tan strip matched perfectly with the other eight or so decorating her hand.
Charlotte was sitting, perched, on a random stool in the middle of the infirmary. Her face was glowing despite the numerous cuts and burns on her fingers and other bruises from their prior struggles. This was the best news she could get, well, minus her heart back. "You mean I don't have to do anything anymore?" Dishes was the only duty she had been assigned to and she was horrible at it. Though that could be easily seen through the numerous plates she had broken instead of clean. "Ow, that stings!" She winced, glaring at the male pouring rubbing alcohol over her cuts with no mercy. He wasn't pleased with her. Then again, this was her fifth trip back into the lab in the last two days and they still haven't managed to get her physical done.
"No," Of course, she wouldn't be that lucky. "I'm putting you on laundry duty."
What? Charlotte blanched before her mind managed to climb over the piles of dirty clothes that she'll be tending to. "Do you know how much clothes we're talking about?" The pirates were a messy group of individuals, and although they were only fifteen members, they seem to have an endless supply of boiler suits which they all just love to wash in one go. Especially on Sundays.
Today was Sunday.
The only response she got was his infamous all-knowing smirk that she never wanted to wipe off his face so bad.
"'Crewmate', my ass." Charlotte grumbled as she hauled the wash load into a large bin. "More like housemaid." She continued, glaring at the slow drying machine. There was already two other piles waiting to be dried. Ever since she became a member of the Heart Pirates, she been told to clean this or that. Then they get mad at her for doing her job poorly. She was a hunter not a maid! How did they expect her to do things well that she had never done before in her life?
Groaning, Charlotte plopped into a random basket, and lolled her head back. That was when she spotted a different attire in themes of white boiler suits. This one was blue in nature and had black spots all over it. A mischievous smirk crawled its way onto Charlottes face and in the next moment she had flipped herself over and was ripping the jeans out of the tangled mess. Charlotte stared at the hanging jeans for a moment before licking her lips devilishly and throwing boiler suits everywhere to find the rest of Law's attire.
"There." Charlotte announced happily as she patted her hands off and stretched out her back. The garbage chute that Charlotte had failed to open many times before was now fully open. Relishing in her feat for a moment, Charlotte grinned proudly before bending over heaving the bag full of Law's clothes towards the chute.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte jumped at the sudden voice, turning around cautiously. Her shoulders hunched together slightly and a sheepish grin was clear on her face as she turned to see one of Law's most loyal henchmen.
"Oh, it's only you." Charlotte sighed, all sheepish nature gone. Without any explanation or further acknowledgement whatsoever, Charlotte turned back to shoving the pile into the hole.
Ignoring the brush off, Penguin peered over at what Charlotte was doing. "What are you doing?" He repeated.
"Throwing away some clothes since washing them takes too long."
"Oh… okay… wait, what… Is that Law's?!"
The next moment, he was fighting against Charlotte, pulling on the sack. "You can't just throw away all of Captain's clothes! He'd kill you!"
"Not if he has nothing to wear to do it!" Charlotte doubt that the prideful Trafalgar Law would be proudly walking around in nothing but his birthday suit. Actually—Charlotte stifled a laughter—she doubt that he could be intimidating at all in that situation. Her eyes snapped open and her jaws dropped when Penguin managed to pry the bag out of her hands. "Hey give it back!"
"No. You'll thank me for this later." Penguin promised as he tucked the garbage bag behind him. It didn't matter if he has nothing to wear when he wants to kill Charlotte. He had her heart! He could easily end her without even as much as leaving his room. "You can't keep hating him forever." If these pranks of hers continue, Law might actually snap one day. It was already clear enough that Law had enough interest in her pranks to continue goading her on them. But there was an unwritten limit somewhere and Penguin has no idea if Charlotte knew about its existence or not. "You already forgave the rest of the crew."
"My beef isn't with the Heart Pirates." Charlotte started surprisingly logical and calm. Albeit that calm demeanor was completely wiped away in the next moment. "My beef's with Law. He took my heart." As if she needed to remind them of the fact. It was more like they remembered the fact more than her given how bold she is in trying to get back at Law. Didn't she know that she's completely at his disposal while he holds her heart? Or had she just forgotten what had happened on Amazon Lily?
Penguin sighed at the retreating figure. "You're going to have to let it slide eventually." He muttered knowing that despite its abnormality, Law would probably never apologize for the fact. He sighed. It was times like these that he didn't like being the sensible one. Lifting himself up, Penguin patted himself down and was able to leave when he noticed the black bag he had took from Charlotte.
"What am I going to do about this?!"
…
Staring at the slow machine, Charlotte felt her anger spike. She had wasted time trying to get rid of some clothes and she was successful in leaving them with Penguin only to return to this slow mess. It didn't even looked as if anything happened while she was gone. The same load was still in the machine, doing its slow thing. She growled as she brought her leg back to kick a bucket of clothes when she felt her leg slip out behind her, sending herself hurling forward. Picking her face out of the pile of dirty clothes, she glared at nothing, cursing at her luck before she remember the last time she was ungracefully hurled off her feet. The realization lit up her face like a Christmas tree. They had surfaced!
"What's going on here? Are we under attack… by white sheets?" Cole's voice could be heard alongside Shachi's as the two reached the decks, if the piece of wood they were standing was the deck. They couldn't tell, or see really. White sheets and other fabrics, mostly boiler suits, where hanging all over the place and obscuring the sea.
"I… don't know…" Shachi responded his voice trailing in confusion. But that confusion quickly died as she spotted a lavender head popping out from between two sheets. "But I know who does. What are you doing?" He questioned as she strolled towards the woman who was peeking around carefully. She jumped at his voice.
"You're the one who did all this! I should have known!" Cole shouted, pointing an accusing finger towards Charlotte. It was meant to be intimidating, but with the pointed finger shaking all over the place and Cole backing up slightly from Charlotte's cold stare, it seemed more like he was the one being intimidated than doing the intimidation.
"I'm… I'm not doing anything." Charlotte exclaimed, shoving the half full bin of tops behind her. If they had found the actions suspicious, they didn't show it. They glanced at her curiously though.
"Yeah, right! Look at the deck!" Cole retorted, hands guesting to the white flagged deck with more confidence this time. But as usual, he refused to make eye contact with the smaller girl, choosing to stare above her head instead.
"Oh, I'm doing laundry." She said easily, all nerves leaving her. "The dryer downstairs was too slow, so I thought—"
"What if someone thinks we're surrendering because of all this white… wait, why are you doing laundry?" He repeated the last part slowly as if he hadn't heard what Charlotte had said or like his slow mind was trying to wrap himself around the words instead of the white 'flags'. Either way, it was slow enough for the two to exchanged glances, wondering if the boy was okay. He was now mumbling to himself after all.
The twos' glances were interrupted when Charlotte's head snapped back as hands gripped at her shoulders. It was Cole. His face settled into a look of utmost seriousness. "Does that mean you're off dish duty?" He spoke with careful precision.
"Don't scare me like that!" She scolded, smacking Cole on the head. "I thought you had something important to say." She bent down to pick up the bucket that she had dropped during the commotion.
"It is important." Cole huffed and spotted Charlotte's retreating back as she made her way back down into the sub. Leaving the two alone. On the deck. With the white 'flags'. "Wait, what about all this laundry?"
"Take them down if they're dry! I'm going to shower."
The two pirate stared at the retreating figure with a look of slightly confusion. It made sense that she needed to shower, but they had never quite thought about it until now. It wasn't that they had thought women just smelled great – although they do – it was more like the question had popped into their mind but was lost, only appearing at the back of their minds where their consciousness didn't bother looking.
"Where do you think she showers?"
There was no gender-based showers on the ship, they were all public. But never had they seen Charlotte in there, not even accidentally. There was no shower schedule either, so it wasn't like she was purposely avoiding them. Not that she could anyway. By now, the girl should have bumped into someone during the showers, especially if she was just randomly deciding to shower whenever she felt like it. Yet they had never seen her.
Her or her naked body.
"Oi, what's with that look on your face?" Cole exclaimed, jumping slightly.
Shachi's face had been tinted pinked with a sheepish grin on his face when Cole turned over towards his mate. He didn't like the look on his face one bit and something was telling him that he wasn't going to like what Shachi was thinking. "Eh? Let go of me!" Still the blushing pirate refused to let go of Cole's wrist, pulling him towards the sub's door. "Where are you taking me?"
"I think we're in need of a shower right now too."
"You just want to see her naked body!"
Shachi made no move to defend himself. Instead a small drop of red poked from the bottom of his nose.
"I don't care about her stupid body. I WANT TO LIVE!" Cole screamed as he was pulled into the public showers. But he never did get any closer than the giant opening of the showers as Shachi stopped pulling at him. "Hm?" He peered in, slowly peeling his eyes open, not from wanting to peek at the girl's body but curiosity from why the other male had stopped won over his desire to be safe.
What?
There showers were empty. There was no sign of any life in the large area at all. Not even the air in the place seem wet from a fresh hot shower. Actually, the place was dry as if it hadn't been used in a long while. There were no small droplets of water either as if Charlotte did a quick shower or a last minute change of plans. There was no sign of her or her shower.
But didn't she say she was going to go shower?
Where does she shower then?
…
Hot droplets of water spewed out of the shower head like rain, striking her already soaked hair and rushing down the smooth curves of her soft body, undoing the knots as they past. Water wrapped around her neck and curved down her shoulders before running down her back where the purple Hoof of the Soaring Dragons marred her skin. Tilting her head back, Charlotte raked her fingers through her hair and then down her body softly, washing away more than just the dirt and sweat that covered her before finally shutting off the boiling waters.
Steam seeped out from the humid and cramp washroom, into the other room, quickly claiming the cooler space as theirs before letting their inhabitant step out into the quickly warming room. One slender leg after another. Until she stood before the full length mirror propped by the closet. Like always, a towel was draped over her shoulders, covering her chest while a pair of white panties covered her lower half. Part of the towel was sitting on her still dripping wet hair she was in the midst of drying. Her platinum eyes wandered all over the large room, taking in every detail of the unfamiliar bedroom. Her eyes danced across from book to book until they finally crawled onto the clothes she spread across the bed. Her lips curved down slightly at the sight of them. They were all too big and manly for her. Way too big. They were male clothes. She had stolen them from the laundry.
I'll probably need a new top… if I want to cover this hole. Charlotte thought as she nudged the towel away slightly to reveal where her heart should have been. In its place was a square void. The flesh and muscle around the area was gone as if someone had cut out a piece of her. Which in a sense is what happened. Though it was still weird to the girl. She could see right through herself. For example, the area that should have been covered by skin and flesh was now a window revealing nothing but… the open door of the room?!
…
Law walked across the metal hallway with vigor. He had to cut his experiment short today and that bothered him. He didn't get to use the specimen to its fullest potential as it died way too early for his liking. He needed to find a way to keep the creatures alive longer for his tests. But that wasn't why he was heading back to his room. Strung over his shoulder, attached to his nodachi like a hobo sac was the black bag of clothes. He had found Penguin with them. Next to the open garbage chute. It didn't take long for Law to guess what was happening and before the stuttering boy could say anything, Law shambled him.
Though as odd as it was to find Penguin trying to toss his clothes away. Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw after pushing open the metal door to his room.
There standing across from the open doorway, in the steamy room, was a female clad in nothing but a pair of white panties and a towel that barely covered anything. Her skin was still damp from the shower she had just taken. She didn't seem to have noticed him as she continued to rub the wetness from her violet locks while facing the mirror before her. Unfortunately for Charlotte, that meant that her back was to Law and his attentive eyes. Her bare back. Where the slave brand was forever etched into her skin.
Grey eyes left the large purple branding and met with platinum ones. Unlike his cool and emotionless stormy grey eyes, Charlotte's eyes were wide, swollen with shock. Neither of the two moved; Law stood by the doorway, fully dressed while Charlotte remained twisted at the waist in nothing but a towel and undies. Neither of them said anything either as both of them stood in their respective places in shock.
Law was the first to recover. He tilted his head to the side, allowing his eyes to roam across his room to take in every detail as if it was suddenly a new place he had never been too. Then to the wooden ground. Anywhere but the topless woman before him to allow her time to dress herself. His eyes landed on her clothes laid out on his bed, still untouched. She was probably still too in shock to have moved yet. "We'll discuss your use to my personal shower later." Law said calmly as he exited the room, closing the door behind him.
Hearing the door slam shut, Charlotte felt dread flood across her face as she realized a fatal mistake: Law had seen her back. Dread soon turned into rage as the fact slowly made it way clearer and clearer into Charlotte's mind. Law. Had. Seen. Her. Back! Forgetting about her drenched hair, Charlotte threw the towel aside and grabbed her pants and top. She quickly slipped them on and ran out after the male.
"Trafalgar!" Charlotte called as she pushed the door to the bridge open with her shoulder as her hands were busy pulling the tank down.
Her cry never reached its intended target's ears and even if it did, he didn't seem to show it and she didn't seem to care all that much anymore. In fact, she had probably forgotten about all that was in her mind as she stared out towards the strangely shaped island. It looked as if the island had lurched towards one side, creating a high and giant cliff on the left while the rest of the island looked like a spiral. They were currently under the overarching C-shaped cliff. It had been gauged out by the waves so much so that if anyone was to fall over, there would be no way back up. Not even if the waves were calm as they are now. The fall itself was enough to kill someone. But none of that matter. All that matter was the fact that they were on an island.
Law turned back to face his crew, his grey eyes going right past Charlotte as he spoke. "We'll be travelling along the shore until we find a place to dock." There was no way they could just stop where they are now. When the waves get higher, their metal ship would be thrown against the side of the cliff, not to mention how were they going to get anywhere if they stopped here. There may have been caves on that Cliffside, but it was still too smooth to climb. "Until then, hang tight."
They wouldn't dock until tomorrow.
"LAAAND HO!"
Charlotte's eyes twinkled. This was good news. Very good. Now she'll just have to get her heart and she could bail. The last island had gone by before she could even conduct a proper search. Her plan to infuriate Law by staying longer and helping the townsfolk had backfired; because of it she didn't have any spare time to do a well needed search. But not this time, this time, Charlotte was determine not to help the villagers. Not that she often goes offering help. This time, she was going to find her heart and leave.
"Hey, is that my clothes?" But first, she needed clothes.
…
Stars filled the night sky on Kukonda Island and for once that day the ground that was burning so hot just earlier could breath, cooling down thanks to light touch of the wind. It was dark, pitch black on the island that never needed any lights during its summer days. With what the sun could bring them Kukonda didn't need any artificial lights. The sun rose to the sky, burning the ground and everyone on it with its blinding rays for a good sixteen hours of the day before it finally turned over and let the moon shine. Though by then, most people were exhausted and had turned in for the night, trying to get that healthy eight hours of sleep before they have to face another burning day. Even the stubborn night owls won't be able to stay up as there is nothing to do since they can't see. So it was usual to see no movement when the sun sets given that everyone had turned in for the night.
But not tonight.
A square vent flung open, creaking as it swung back and forth until a hand grabbed it, stilling it of its movements. The creaking sounds echoed into the still and vast room casting an eerie and ominous feel around the still place. A pair of feet appeared through the hole in the ceiling followed by a person dropping to the ground with a light thud that resonated around the empty hall.
Strangely enough, the shadow moved with knowledgeable purpose almost as if it could see in the dark of night. Its light footsteps moved quickly to cross the span of the black room, a room that couldn't be described in this darkness. They paused somewhere along the way and silence ensured again almost like the whole thing had been imagined. Almost if it hadn't been for a quick flicker of black in the only spot where moonlight shone into the room and then the disappearance of whatever it was that sat in that light.
Then as quickly as it came, the shadow made its way back into the vent and ran. It ran in the wake of the night, feet pounding in the sandy grounds and cloth flying all over the place. The shadow was dressed, wrapped head to toe, in an extravagant sari. One that it had donned for the job. The sari was the perfect disguise as it was common clothes in the summertime and it coved up almost anything that needed to be. So not only did it help to blend in, it helped to hide the person's identity. But since it was also very light and flowy, it made the worse of get away attires. It would be blown in the wind and tangled between long legs passing each other in quick succession or get caught in the nearby objects in the night. Either way the shadow needed something else to wear.
Besides, getting rid of the clothes used on the job was to get rid of evidence. Which made all the more reason for the shadow to switch clothes. Guessing with what the shadow had remembered of the town, there should be a clothing shop to the left… right about… now!
Crash!
Or not. The shadow was right about the clothing shop, just not so much about where the door was located. But mind him, it can't see in this bleak of night. No one could. It was amazing enough that the shadow had been right about there being a clothing shop in the first place. Scowling at its miscalculation, not that anyone could see it, the shadow made quick work to strip off the mannequin closest, swapping out their clothes with the mannequin. Then with skillful and blinded hands, the shadow wrap the sari perfectly on the mannequin before exiting out the way it had enter, disappearing into the dark of night.
The treasure that had sat in that dark room tucked neatly under the shadow's arm.
…
Charlotte grinned at her reflection. It had been so long since she wore anything remotely feminine. They had docked on a desert island after they circled to the spiral's start. The island was called Kukonda or something of the sort. Charlotte didn't really care. All she did care for was the fact that she could finally get clothes that could actually cover what she wanted cover. The people on Muses Island had paid her and the other performing pirates for their hard work and now it was going to fund her new attire since the rest of her beri had been confiscated by Law. Greedy bastard.
Currently, Charlotte was dressed in a skin tight black crewneck crop top and a long yellow sari embroidered with gold flakes and white flowers that wrapped around her body and trailed over her shoulder. She twirled once in the mirror, enjoying the image. It was just as lovely as how she'd thought it'd be. Charlotte had fallen in love with the outfit the moment she saw it on the mannequin. Not only was it pretty, it comforting on the hot island, and it was on sale too!
"I'll take it!"
"Are you sure you want to buy that?" Rike Owens, a doctor under Law's nursing questioned. Charlotte had only noticed him when he went to reclaim the clothes that Charlotte had stolen from him despite the amount of times he was in the infirmary when she was. Too bad she had no intentions of returning the clothes off her back. Especially the ones covering her back. "The storeowner said that the island's about to change seasons." That was why the summer clothes were on sale and the winter stock were already out on the display. Kukonda was known to have sudden and dramatic weather changes, jumping from a boiling 40 degree summer heat to a minus 30 winter overnight guaranteed with a ton of snow falling like a sheet... or that's what the store clerk had said. Seemed a bit exaggerated to the two though.
"Are you kidding me? Do you not see how warm it is outside?" She pointed through the broken store window, not even caring to know why it was broken, and towards the moving ground caused by the intensive heat. "Look even the ground is on fire." The fiery ball of golden sun seemed proud of such a feat as it continued to shine its dastardly hot rays onto the sandy ground until it turned red, looking as if it was about to set aflame.
Rike couldn't disagree more. As much as he valued information as a medic, he couldn't help but feel a little silly as he looked at the fur-trimmed parkas covering one-half of the store. The fact that the world outside of them looked as it was being melted by the sun's rays didn't help. There wasn't even a shred of a sign that said that the sun would stop its torment anytime soon. Looking at the giant parka, Rike sighed again. He didn't want to wear that in that. But the better part of his mind was telling him to listen to the store clerk. They were locals here and they weren't.
"I'll take a parka." He just hates the rational part of his mind sometimes.
"Eh? Are you insane? It's boiling outside." Though for some strange reason, Charlotte felt like she was the insane one as she paid for the clothes she was currently wearing, despite it agreeing with the weather so well. Maybe it was the stares the store clerk kept giving her. The look that said she was a complete fool. Well she wasn't and if he didn't stop soon, he'll find that out the hard way.
"No…yeah." He resigned, agreeing with the other half of his mind as he paid for the oversized puffy jacket. He did feel like one as he moved to exit the store with the much lighter dressed Charlotte. The clothes she had 'borrowed' from him laid in the shopping bag meant for the clothes she was currently wearing. In his hands were the large jacket since it couldn't exactly fit into any of the 'summer' bags. Supposedly their winter bags weren't coming in until tomorrow so he just had to deal with carrying it for now.
Carrying it became less of a concern as the two exited the store and stepped out until the brutal heat. It should have been the merciless sun that became their worst problem before they managed to duck into another store. But it wasn't. The bigger problem was the several guns pointed at their direction by none other than the city's police force. They were trapped between the store and the semicircle of armed forces.
But why?
They shouldn't have been noticed yet. They wore disguises. Good ones too. Well, Rike did. Rike had his strawberry-blonde hair covered by his green beanie and the hood of his black vest. Tan pants covered his lean legs, stuffed into a pair of black combat boots and a studded belt hung from his hips. He looked more like a teenage in the middle of an identity crisis than a pirate. Charlotte on the other hand didn't have to. She covered the hole on her chest with gauze so it didn't attract unnecessary attention, but that was all there was to her disguise. Since no one knows about her affiliation with the crew yet. As far as anyone was concerned Heart Pirates was an all-male crew, and these two weren't part of it.
So why were they held at gun point?
Not that the two couldn't handle them. They were the local police force, not the marines located on the other side of the slanted island. Which meant one of two things: One; they didn't know who they were dealing with just yet. Police were lesser men than marines. Pirates and other big named criminals were dealt by the marines, the face of justice for the world. Or two; they were just very stupid law enforcers fed up with the marine base doing their jobs for them. Judging from the way their arms were already trembling from holding their guns up, it was more likely the first one than the latter.
Either way, it was their loss. Rike and Charlotte could easily take them and still be gone before word gets out of what had happened. But not without blowing their covers and word will eventually get out. That would mean putting the Heart Pirates on a time crunch when they just landed on the island. It wasn't that big of a deal since the island didn't hold anything that they needed as they'd just restocked on Muses Island. But Law had said not to get in trouble and if Law had said it, then there was no disobeying it less you wanted to be chop up into tiny squares to decorate the air.
Rike shot Charlotte a glance, trying to see if the girl would cooperate. He highly doubt it knowing her explosive nature, but he really couldn't risk getting on Law's bad side. He worked with him in the infirmary. What if he decides to use him as the next experiment just because of things going south here? His face drained of all color when he saw the irate twitch of her eyes. Great, just great. He was going to die some painfully horrid death on a bloody lab table just because the person he was with couldn't listen to an order.
Listening to an order was something Charlotte really couldn't do. It felt like it was against her well-being to listen to someone's command. Like if she did, she would physically get ill and become less Charlotte and more whoever ordered it. No matter how much wiser or safer it would be. So when Charlotte saw Rike's silent warnings to not do anything stupid like go into an irritation-induced tantrum, a mischievous grin crawled onto her face. The urge to go into an irritation-induced tantrum was pulling at her like a coin to a magnet. The different scenarios of her tantrum played in her mind in a frenzied loop. She could grab the nearest gun, cock it, and fire it right between the eyes of the man standing before her. Then she'd crouch, dodging panicked shots from the policemen, only for them to kill each other. Then whoever is left can meet her best bud—her karambit. Or she could yank on the closest gun, pulling the poor male towards her while she quickly severed his head from his body. Then using that decapitated head she'll—no, wait, she was supposed to play nice with the Heart Pirates. Which meant listening to what Law said no matter how ill she'll feel… but what was it that the man had said again? Something… he had said something. She remembered watching his lips move, but she couldn't quite remember what the buzzing noises that escaped those lips were. What was it?
Rike watched the girl beside him radiating the strangest arrays of emotions. First it was a strong desire to slaughter, one so cold that it almost felt nice under the sun's impending rays, then it was a quick flash of disappointment mixed with agitation, before finally, it is what is now: a strong and tense aura that seemed to be exhausting the girl. He didn't know what it was or about, but it didn't look all that comfy as Charlotte's face crumpled together as she stared at a random spot.
Could it have been something about the dishes? But he had kicked her off dish duty. A thought that had the girl's frown curving upwards slightly. Maybe it was the laundry she was doing. He didn't seem all that fond that he couldn't submerge the sub because of the clothes she had hung there or the fact that he couldn't see anything as soon as he left the sub's inner halls. It was probably something about that or clothes… yes, clothes seemed right. But what about it? He shouldn't have known what she did with his clothes. Apparently Penguin took the fall for it. It wasn't like she was spending his money to buy new clothes either. This was the money that she had earned after he had confiscated hers. Besides, when did he care about what she wore? Her thought processes froze as the scene of Law seeing her naked back flashed back into her mind. Her mouth fell into a tight scowl immediately along with the air around her. No, she shook her head. Law was above bringing personal matters onto the table in front of everyone. He wouldn't dare bring that up before everyone. He was more the type to question about that later—in private. Something Charlotte couldn't help but be grateful of, not that she'll ever let him know that. Shoving that thought into the back recesses of her mind, Charlotte tried to remember what Law had so importantly declared on the deck before letting everyone split. Clothes seemed to be on the right track though; she had a good feeling about it. Maybe it was—
"Y-You!" Charlotte glanced at Rike for a moment, silently asking him what had happened. She had been too focused in her thoughts that she had forgotten about them. He just shrugged in response, not understanding why the solider had suddenly shouted at them. Or more specifically, Charlotte from the way he had motioned to her with the barrel of his gun. Charlotte raised a finger to herself questioning the male that had spoken as if the nudge with the gun wasn't enough of an indicator of who he was speaking too.
"You are under arrest for stealing the remedial core!"
A/N: Kukonda means Mania, a mental illness marked with periods of great highs and lows. In this case represent the extreme weathers.
- The purpose of the last ark was to help Charlotte get used to the Heart Pirates and their doing and by doing so, becoming more okay with them rather than showing them hostility all the time. Unfortunately, Law wasn't included in that bonding/healing moments as it will take Charlotte a bit more to forgive Law due to him ripping out his heart and all. I tried to put some into the last ark by having that scene where Law despite being tight on schedules decided to give Charlotte a few more moments on the deck as a thanks for befriending the crew and all she did to help reunite the crew. There was also Charlotte's response to it that didn't hold any hatred or other bad feelings in it. What I was trying to get with that was that they were both starting to accept each others in the smallest bits. Though I not too sure if this intention was clearly transferred to you readers via text. If not, this upcoming ark, albiet long, will be build on their relationship. It can't really avoided, the getting over the stolen heart topic, since they do live in closed and close quarters. So for all those waiting out more on LawxCharlotte, read on. I just really hope that I can portray Law's unique style of showcasing his affection well. Personally I am still unsure on how to do it.
- As a heads up, this upcoming chapter may become long as it had developed while I was in the midst of writing it and now it's almost double it's original length. If you guys write, you might understand what I mean. Like when you write one thing and as you keep writing it turns into a giant mess of loops and backtracking and going to all sorts of other places before reaching the goal. Or is that just me? Haha... welp.
- On a different note, I will be resuming school starting in September so I'll be busier in the upcoming times with packing and filling out school forms and everything else like catching up on the homework that I should have had already done. I knew this was coming so I did write a bit ahead so that I can (hopefully) keep up with the chapter/two weeks upload deadline. But I have yet to finish writing this ark since it got longer and one scene is really hard to write so I'm constantly adding new things into the upcoming chapters. Hopefully I can get the ark done before the next chapter is supposed to be up so there's none of those last minutes changes. This chapter was a clear example of that... I ended up writing four more pages of on sub interactions last night at like 1am... So I apologize for the wait, but I do hope you guys enjoy it~!
As always R&R I want to hear from you guys! Don't be shy, I don't bite!