~Hey guys, been awhile since I last updated. Sorry about that, didn't mean to keep y'all waiting for so long. I got swept away by a lot of stuff. Anyway please enjoy this new chapter and please leave a review! ...please...
Long Term Hearts
Chapter 3: Donquixote Pirates
**********^.^**********
Yukimi and Law ran through the outskirts of a small forest as fast as they could away from the dirt road they just left. Yukimi glanced over her shoulder as a cartful of dead bodies was rolled away. "Law over here," Yukimi in her fox form said as she picked up the sound of a river close to them.
Law followed the fox as she led him to a river concealed by a cluster of trees. The sole Flevance citizen walked next to the river, gazing down at the clean water. He looked at himself seeing how grimy his reflection was. Law turned his head toward his fellow survivor, watching how she finally took note of how bloody she was, looking grossed out. Yukimi looked more like a red fox than a white one, he wasn't much different. The bodies they laid hidden in were bloody too, so the two were eventually painted with other people's blood. It was disgusting, to say the least.
Yukimi walked into the cool water and started rolling around in it. She looked over her shoulder at Law, "Let's wash off all this blood, Law. Don't worry 'bout being discovered here, I'll be able to hear anyone coming before they can get close to us." The fox then started profusely scrubbing away at her tails with a bunch of wet leaves together.
After about half an hour, the two were as clean as one could get in a river bath. Yukimi shook herself until her fur puffed out, making her look like a poodle. She frowned before smoothing out her damp fur. The fox glanced at Law, noticing him ring out his shirt. His tie was missing and his jacket was ruined, watching him toss said article of clothing aside and put his damp shirt back on. Yukimi lowered her ears, the boy was starting to appear pale.
Law put his beloved hat back on, which was thankfully not touched by blood, and looked back at the fox, glaring. He observed Yukimi change back into her human form before reaching back into her bag. She withdrew a scroll, placing it on the ground between them.
Yukimi crisscrossed her legs as she looked back up at the boy with her. The kitsune was startled to find him glaring at her, not saying a word. She quickly put on a small gentle smile as she unrolled the scroll. "I always have some food stashed in this. For times I find myself in an unpredictable situation where I have no reliable food source," Yukimi explained. "I thought…" The albino shook her head for a moment to rid herself of a thought. She looked back down as she opened her scroll, seeing the black runes written on it. Yukimi made a few hand signs before placing her hand down on it and summoned the food on her scroll. There were a few apples, some rice balls and a couple of bananas. Yukimi picked up an apple and handed it over to Law.
Law held up the bright red apple before silently taking a bite out of it, although a little vicious.
While Yukimi ate a rice ball, she noticed how Law held his apple in a strong grip. Finishing her rice, the kitsune fiddled with her ocarina, thinking. "...I can play my ocarina if you'd like, Law. I use it whenever I need to calm myself or another. My music is from the village that I came from. It's located next to a great lake wherein our legends say a guardian resides, protecting the village." Yukimi then begins playing the lake guardian's song. She closed her eyes as the soothing melody floated through the air and around them. As the song ended Yukimi opened her eyes, gazing down at her instrument in her grasp. "...I played this for Lami. She smiled as I played it, and I'm glad I was-"
The kitsune was suddenly knocked onto her back as she felt a pair of hands wrap around her throat. Yukimi tried taking a breath but couldn't. She focused her blood red eyes onto Law's glaring unfocused stormy grays. "What…?!" the albino wheezed out but couldn't do more than that. She then tried pulling Law's wrists away from her throat but he wouldn't budge.
"You left her! You left my little sister to burn! I hate you! I bet all that blood was hers, wasn't it?! I'll kill you for what you did!" Law shouted in hatred at her. He then started squeezing her throat even more as he watched the kitsune's red eyes begin to glaze over.
Yukimi was beginning to see black spots form in her field of vision. She felt Law's grip on her tighten more and more by the second. Yukimi finally lets one of her hands drop from his wrists, desperately searching the ground around for her bag, having felt it come off her hip when Law jumped her. Her lungs were beginning to burn for air when she found the leather bag. The albino was mentally thanking her luck, that the bag was already opened, so she quickly searched for a kunai. Finally feeling the handle to one, Yukimi hooked a finger through the loop end so she could get a better grasp. The kitsune opened her eyes, not having realized she had them squeezed shut, and saw a blurry silhouette above her. Hot tears slipped down the corners of her eyes to the ground as she tried speaking again, only getting a choked sound out instead.
"Just die already, you horrible vixen!" Law hissed, venom dripping with every word.
Pain. That was what Yukimi felt. Not the hands choking her, squeezing out the last of her breath, but the boy's words. You'd think the words wouldn't hurt the kitsune, but you would be wrong. In fact, they hurt more than her lungs screaming for air. From the second Law started choking the albino to this moment, it felt like an eternity had passed for the kitsune. Finally, Yukimi thrust the butt of her weapon into the side of Law's face, effectively knocking the boy off her. Yukimi gasped loudly as she rolled onto her side away from the boy, coughing for the precious oxygen her lungs were dying for. It took her a minute before her ears could stop ringing from the beating of her heart and alert her to Law going through her bag that was a few feet away. It took her another three long seconds to comprehend that he was charging at her with a kunai in each hand. "Shit," the winded kitsune muttered.
Law was just a foot away from killing Yukimi when he suddenly felt two feet on his stomach, then the whole world turned upside down and wet. Before he could right himself up in the shallow bank of the river, Law felt a hand grab his collar, quickly finding himself slammed against a tree. Dazed for a few seconds like when he was hit with her kunai moments before, Law saw his reflection in glistening red orbs.
"For fuck's sake, Law! What the fucking hell is going through that head of yours?!" Yukimi shouted in his face as she bared her fangs, ears disappearing into her hair.
Law was about to stab the kitsune in retaliation but found he had dropped his stolen weapons on the ground a few feet from them. "What do you care?" Law asked angrily as he tried to stomp on the albino's feet. That only made things worse for him, immediately finding himself off the ground and pinned against the tree. Law grunted as he now held onto Yukimi's wrists and tried to kick her, only to have his legs trapped against the bark by her body. "You killed Lami! You must've killed Mother and Father too! I bet you were going to kill me ne-!" Law was suddenly slapped, shutting him up as a bright red hand shaped mark quickly appeared on his cheek.
Yukimi stared into Law's eyes in grief. Her ears drooped as her eyes softened. She slowly lowered Law until his feet touched the ground. The kitsune let go of his shirt as she folded her legs underneath her so she was eye leveled with him. Then Yukimi pulled the traumatized boy into her grasp. The albino felt him trying to get away from her, so she held on tighter. "Didn't you hear what I said in front of the hospital, Law?" she asked softly.
Law stilled in her arms. He did hear her, but he just wanted to take out his anger on the world. But when Yukimi mentioned his dead sister, he just snapped and ended up taking out his anger on her. The only other person who knew what actually happened and the only person he had left, even though she wasn't family. Law wrapped his arms around the kitsune's neck as new tears appeared at the corners of his eyes.
"Shh, everything's fine, everything's okay Law. You're okay, I'm okay. We're here away from those bastards…" Yukimi whispered as she gently rubbed small circles on his back.
Law felt Yukimi's tails wrap around him in addition to her grasp tightening. "...I'm sorry Yukimi-ya. I'm really sorry for what I said and did to you!" Law apologized as he leaned back a little to look at her. The boy grimaced when he saw the damage he had done. Yukimi had purple bruises growing around her throat. He regretted hurting the kitsune.
Yukimi could easily read his expression. "Don't go there, Law. You were just blind, that's all," she whispered as one of her tails wiped away the tears rolling down his cheeks. The albino glanced up at his right temple, eyeing the bruise forming there from her own retaliation. Yukimi leaned over and kissed his bruise.
Law blinked as he felt soft lips touching the sensitive spot on his head.
"Now, let's make a fire, okay?" Yukimi suggested as she stood up. "It's getting late after all. Will you go find some firewood while I make a pit?"
Law watched Yukimi start digging a small hole with one of her kunai before adding in leaves and small twigs into the small pit. The boy turned away, walking off in search of good firewood. After all, it was slowly getting darker and harder to see.
Yukimi scraped her steel kunai against a chunk of flint she had found. The sparks lit the dry tinder and started a small fire in the little pit. Not too long after Law had returned with arms full of larger sticks.
Law dropped some of the sticks into the fire while he left the rest to pile a few feet away from the growing flames. Law sat next to Yukimi as she wrapped her tails around him to help warm him. He leaned against the kitsune as he stared into the dancing flames before them, thinking as Yukimi started playing her guardian's song once again. The kitsune, on her end, seemed to be relieved that the small white instrument had come out of their little tussle unscathed. While out gathering sticks, Law stumbled upon some port town apparently called Spider Miles. He had briefly caught sight of a jolly roger he's only seen in the newspapers before and he knew what crew was under that flag. The boy sighed, deciding on not telling Yukimi what he was going to do.
*^.^*
The next morning, Law left Yukimi a note written on the ground, with the help of one of her kunai. It read that he would be back soon and not to worry, even though he knew she would still go looking for him in the end. Law didn't want her to follow him so he left fake trails heading in the opposite direction of Spider Miles.
Soon arriving back to the port town, Law found a building that housed crates full of weapons and quickly armed himself with strings of grenades wrapped around his small body. Now he was ready to face the Donquixote Pirates.
*^.^*
Yukimi ran her hands through her hair in frustration, "Agh! Where the hell did that idiot run off to now?" The irritated kitsune glanced down at the ground noticing the fresh eaten apple core tossed into the ashes of the previous night's fire. "At least he'd eaten before running off to who knows where," she sighed.
Yukimi quickly gathered everything up, doused the ashes with river water, and took to the trees. She quickly spotted a trail leading away from their campsite, but something was odd about it. It was irregular and didn't match up to the way one would sneak off. The albino went back to the campsite where she did a three-sixty degree turn in her perch on her branch. There, another trail leading in the direct opposite direction. Yukimi faced the real trail before leaping across branches like she would in her fox form. Within minutes, Yukimi's ears picked up what sounded like a town up ahead. Then she started smelling the salt in the air, a port town.
Yukimi stopped on the last tree, overlooking a huge scrapyard full of broken and bent sharp iron and steel. 'What a dump,' Yukimi thought as she began hearing steel blades clashing against one another. "Where…?" The kitsune hopped down to the ground then quietly jogged through and around the jutted out metal shards. 'He wouldn't be here, would he?' Just as she asked herself that question, did the albino get her answer. 'What the fuck is he doing?!'
A sword went spiraling into the air as Law, gift wrapped in grenades, fell to the ground. Standing before him were two men, the tall one dressed like an entertainer and the other like a big blue blob with a bowler hat and shades. Law had already gotten back up with his sword and started attacking the taller man again.
"Who are these people?" Yukimi murmured to herself as she looked around for any indication or insignia. The kitsune's red eyes widened in horror at the large building in front of her. Slapped in black paint, was the jolly roger of the Donquixote Pirates.
"Don't kill him, Diamante."
Yukimi immediately pinpointed the one speaking, Donquixote Doflamingo. Suddenly the kitsune was very glad to be crouched behind a large steel slab out of sight from everybody. Even though the man wasn't wearing his recognizable large pink feather coat, that wide arrogant grin was a dead giveaway from his many wanted posters.
"This is just a trial before we take him into our family as an apprentice," Doflamingo finished as he watched the spectacle below him.
"You jerk!" Law growled as he was deflected again, frustrated by not being able to get a hit in.
"I know, Doffy," Diamante replied as he parried against Law easily.
Yukimi continued to quietly observe the scene as Law constantly tried to strike the much taller man in failure.
Law took a step back and looked up to where the leader of the Donquixote Pirates sat perched on the railing of a suspended walkway connected to the building with the painted jolly roger, "If I beat him, will you make me a commander?"
The men in front of Law started laughing. "Can't help my nose from running!" Trébol, if Yukimi recalled correctly from the wanted posters, grinned as snot ran down his face as he laughed. Everyone around Law laughed at him. It was then Yukimi noticed the two children near her as they laughed too.
"Are you serious?" Diamante asked mockingly.
Law growled before he charged at the tall pirate. "Stop laughing! I'm serious!" he yelled only to be knocked down again.
"You can't kill a person with spirit alone," Diamante mocked standing over the boy.
Law stood back up as he glared at them, "I told you! I have explosives! I'm going to die soon anyway, so I'm not afraid of anything!"
Diamante growled before attacking Law, "Don't underestimate pirates!"
Law cried out as he was sent flying, sword, and grenades going everywhere.
Yukimi winced as Law fell into the scraps of metal on the ground.
"Aww," the girl frowned in disappointment.
"He was just a big talker," said the much larger boy.
"It's over! It's over! Let's go play tag!" the girl chanted as she and the larger boy ran off.
"Okay!"
Law slowly started to get up, "Dammit…" He turned toward the two men as Trébol began laughing again.
Yukimi waited to see if the pirates would leave Law or not, but sadly when they went inside the waste processing plant, so did Law. "Shit, why the hell would he want to join these horrible pirates?" Yukimi muttered as she stood up, still hidden from the building's windows.
Bang bang bang
Hearing someone walking up the metal stairs made Yukimi look back toward the building Law went into. She saw a man in a black feathery coat walking up the stairs, hands in his pockets. 'When did he appear? I should've been able to hear anyone trying to sneak through this scrapyard. I'm just able to keep quiet on these loose slabs!' Yukimi thought startled that she didn't hear this man approach the building. The albino watched him walk into the doorway at the top, only to slip backward and fall on his back. Yukimi couldn't help herself but snort for a moment.
CRASH!
Yukimi suddenly looked up to see Law flying through the air with a hundred shattered pieces of glass. "Law!" Yukimi immediately sprang from her hiding spot. She infused her chakra into her feet to make her jump farther, making her faster just in time to catch Law before they crashed into the metal yard. The kitsune gritted her teeth as she felt some metal pieces slice into her back. But Yukimi didn't care, she was just glad that she had caught him before he landed in the scraps. "The fuck...were you...thinking...you damn idiot?" Yukimi groaned through her teeth, wincing as Law shifted in her grasp, not having noticed nor heard the albino yet.
Law panted heavily as blood dripped from his nose and right temple, where his bruise was from earlier. He held a hand to his bleeding head as he turned back toward the building he was thrown out of.
Yukimi watched as his expression changed from pain to utter hatred. More so than the look he mistakenly gave her, directed towards the same man she couldn't hear coming moments before. She had to crane her neck to see him sitting on the rail, accidentally catching himself on fire from lighting his cigarette. The kitsune waited until the pirates were busy putting out the silent man before she started getting up, as painful as it was. Yukimi's movements and pained gasp brought Law back to his senses.
"Yu-Yukimi-ya?! What are you doing here?!" Law faced the kitsune in surprise.
"Sh-shut up Law," Yukimi muttered as she picked him up and checked to make sure they weren't being watched. The kitsune turned around and thanks to her chakra and speed, they were out of the metal scrapyard in two seconds flat.
*^.^*
Yukimi sat Law against a tree back at their campsite before taking out the scroll she had been using for their rations. She opened it further than the day before where a different set of runes were drawn into the paper. The kitsune made a few hand signs before placing her hand onto the scroll, summoning a first aid kit.
Law pressed his hand against his head, stopping the blood flow a little. He looked up as Yukimi sat next to him with bandages. It stung when she dabbed some rubbing alcohol over his wound. After that, he started hearing a low but light humming sound just above his ear as a soft green glow appeared in his peripheral vision. "What are you doing, Yukimi-ya?"
"I'm using my medical ninjutsu," the kitsune answered. "Though I was hoping I wouldn't need to bring out my first aid kit…" Yukimi sighed out. The albino was rather annoyed that, even though she had essentially prevented the boy from potentially being stabbed by a stray steel rod, Yukimi wasn't able to protect him from smaller debris from cutting him.
Law, on the other hand, wished he could watch her perform this ninjutsu for himself as his inner doctor was very intrigued.
Yukimi wrapped the bandages she had out around his head before ushering the boy to the river to clean off the sticky blood from his face and hand. While he did that, Yukimi walked away from him to a more secluded spot. She took off her hoodie and pulled off her tank top, leaving her bra to cover her chest. The kitsune examined her bloody back on the river's surface. 'At least I don't have metal pieces sticking out,' the albino thought as she healed herself as best she could before washing off the sticky blood.
*^.^*
It's been a week since Law started going to the Donquixote Pirates and a week of constant arguments and rants between him and Yukimi, about him going to the dangerous pirates, though the kitsune was the one ranting. So yeah, with Law constantly being thrown out by the ever present Corazón and Yukimi having to catch and bandage him up, the kitsune's hair has become thoroughly messy from running her hands through it in frustration.
Here we can find Yukimi combing her fingers through her short hair as she tried calming down as she squared off with Law once again at the outskirts of the port town. "You have got to be fucking kidding me," the kitsune muttered to herself.
Law crossed his arms, "How is it that after everything that's happened, you suddenly have a foul mouth?" He smirked seeing how he had thrown the kitsune off kilter once again.
"Wha-!" Yukimi felt red in the face as she pointed an aggravated index finger at the boy, "Just because I've never once cussed around you and your folks before, doesn't mean I've never cussed before! I've always been like this and you're pulling all the fucking stops and pushing my damn buttons!" The kitsune growled as she turned and started pacing in front of Law. "You're not the only one that's been grating on my last nerves. That Corazón guy has been bothering me since he showed up! I swear...he's a fucking ghost with how silent he is! Do you know how accustomed I am with hearing a pin drop in a noisy room? Well with people walking around in that scrapyard over there, I should be able to hear that man like he was a fucking elephant, with bells on his feet while walking on empty cans!" Yukimi practically shouted toward the end of her long winded rant.
Law tried not to show it, but he was finding Yukimi's rant pretty amusing this time around. It was at that moment he noticed someone walking through the scrapyard. He quickly grabbed Yukimi's wrist and pulled her into cover behind a tree.
Yukimi quieted down and looked to where Law was glaring at. It was Corazón. They watched the man walk up the metal stairs of the processing waste plant, disappearing behind the door. "...Silent as the grave," the albino deadpanned as her ears lowered in annoyance. It took a moment for her to realize that Law had already begun walking into the scrapyard, but to her relief, away from the building. The kitsune followed him until he stopped at a large upright old tire.
Law climbed up the tire and sat facing the open water before them.
Yukimi sat next to him and mimicked him as he pulled his knees up to his chest. The albino sighed heavily, drawing Law's attention. "Alright, I won't stop you Law. But know that I'll be around to watch your back. After all, gotta stick together," Yukimi grinned. "It's us against the ugly world!" Yukimi chuckled as she pulled Law into a side hug.
Grumble
The kitsune's ears lowered as her tails sagged against the old rubber of the tire. She frowned as Law grabbed his stomach. He wasn't the only one hungry. Yukimi hadn't eaten in a while either. During one of their arguments back at their campsite, Yukimi had accidentally knocked the remaining food into the river. She had tried to rescue the food, but the river flow was stronger that day and had swept the food downstream and out of sight before she could do anything.
Grumble
The albino blushed as her ears drooped like her sagging tails. She hugged her knees tighter to try and muffle her own hungry body. Yukimi didn't need to look to know that Law was regarding her with a seemingly critical eye.
"It's time to eat!" Buffalo shouted somewhere in the scrapyard.
Law looked over his shoulder at the building with the jolly roger painted on it. He could see Corazón walking along the suspended path before entering the building.
"He must've come out earlier...maybe to smoke?" Yukimi thought aloud as Law made tight fists.
Law slid off the tire with a metallic thud on the ground. He then made his way toward the metal staircase at the building's side.
Yukimi followed him but remained hidden behind piles of scrap metal as Law ascended the stairs. As he climbed the steps, the kitsune jumped, grabbing onto the railing beside him. He paused seeing her hanging there. "Nevermind me, keep going," she said quietly before disappearing under the metal.
So when Law continued up the stairs, he heard faint metallic steps under his feet. It confused him until he noticed a used cigarette on the path ahead of him. Forgetting Yukimi was still under him, Law stomped and ground the cigarette underfoot in anger. "That crazy bastard!" he hissed in hatred.
There were more footsteps coming from behind the boy. "There you are," Señor Pink walked up to Law. "Doffy wants to ask you something."
Law turned toward the well dressed man with a glare. "I have a question too!" Law said gritting his teeth still feeling his hatred for Corazón.
Yukimi froze from where she was standing upside down directly under Law's feet. She sniffed the air, catching the scent of smoke coming from near Law. The next thing the kitsune knew, she heard Law yelling at someone.
"What are you doing?!"
And before she knew it, Law was sent flying over the rail screaming and Yukimi didn't have the time to reflect on possible future consequences.
Señor Pink didn't catch it, but Corazón did. The boy was halfway down to the metal earth when a white blur shot out from beneath the suspended metal pathway and caught the screaming boy, before it and the boy crashed. Dust erupted from their crash, covering them up. He turned away and walked back inside.
"You have no mercy, Corazón. You hate kids so much…" Señor Pink murmured as he walked back inside after the executive.
The dust settled down around the duo after the men disappeared inside the waste processing plant. Law felt blood stream down his arm as he glared over his shoulder in utter hatred. The boy then felt someone coughing under him. He looked down to find he was cradled in Yukimi's arms. "Yukimi-ya, are you okay?!" the boy asked as he quickly saw her right cheek had a cut and blood running down from beneath the bangs covering her left eye.
"I'm fine…" Yukimi muttered as she felt more metal slice on her back, making her breath hitch.
Law knew the kitsune must have taken some considerable damage during the past week, always having to catch him when Corazón threw him out. It was concerning to him. "Yukimi-ya, are you okay? Where are you hurt?"
Yukimi gritted her teeth as she sat up, "Shut up for once, ya little twerp." She pulled down his fur spotted hat over his eyes to distract him. The albino smirked tiredly when the boy grunted as he fixed his hat. Yukimi then took hold of his bleeding arm so she could look at his cut. "You always have to make more troubling work for me, eh?" the kitsune remarked as she hovered her hands over the wound.
Law's eyes widened as he watched Yukimi work her medical ninjutsu on him. She had to do this multiple times during the past week, and not once did he ever tire from watching her heal him, not even by a little. It was always fascinating.
Yukimi sighed after she stopped the blood flow. She reached into her bag and pulled out some bandages she had started keeping in for Law's frequent injuries. After the kitsune wiped away the excess blood from his arm, the boy placed his hand on Yukimi's, preventing her from putting on new bandages.
"Do it later, Yukimi-ya. I don't think I will be long."
Yukimi lowered her hand with a disapproving frown, "Fine."
*^.^*
Yukimi pressed her back against the wall a few yards away from the door to the Donquixote Pirates' dining room, having followed Law inside the building without telling him. The kitsune didn't want him to accidentally give her away if something went unexpected. Her ears twitched as Law stepped inside the room full of pirates.
"What do you want? We're having dinner," came a woman's voice. There was a pause before she spoke again. "Throw him out," the woman said in a dismissive manner.
"It's fine," it was Doflamingo's voice.
"What?!" the woman sounded surprised.
"I called him," he answered.
"You did?"
Trébol started chuckling, "Hey, hey, Law! It's been a week now. Don't you wanna get out of here? You've been getting beaten by Corazón since you came here."
Yukimi gritted her teeth hearing that.
"Kids run away and so do adults. That's why we only have the best here," Diamante started. "How much longer will a powerless brat like you last?"
"I'm not going anywhere!" Law practically shouted.
"If so…"
Yukimi slapped her hands over her mouth to keep quiet from her sudden surprise, 'What kind of voice is that?!'
"Don't forget the 'Blood Law', no matter how you get harmed," came what sounded like an old man, "the Family will fall apart if a member defies us Executives' authority."
"I once laughed at Pica and almost died from torture," came Buffalo's voice followed by Baby 5's laughter.
"It doesn't scare me. I've seen hell," was Law's reply.
Yukimi swallowed at what Law said. It was true, Flevance had become hell so quickly, it was surreal. But it happened, end of the story.
"You can bluff as you like," Doflamingo said chuckling. "But Corazón is my precious, biological, younger brother. If anyone so much as cuts him once, I will...put them to death!"
Yukimi narrowed her eyes, thinking of how Law had so openly expressed to her how much he wanted to kill Corazón. The albino was kicked out of her train of thought from a sudden commotion.
"Look at his skin!" exclaimed a burly sounding man along with a gasp, surely from the woman from before.
"It's Amber Lead Disease! It's agonizing pain if you get infected!" the woman cried out.
"What?! It's contagious?! You're disgusting! Get out of here now!" Buffalo shouted in terror.
Yukimi instantly flicked out her kunai from her holster, ready to charge in there and kill the damn pirates, but was stopped by Doflamingo slamming his fist down on the table.
"Giolla, don't spread information which is nothing more than a rumor. Shame on you. Look, Buffalo believed you. Amber Lead Disease came from poisoning. It's not contagious."
"But stay away from me just in case!" Buffalo demanded still frightened. "I don't wanna catch such a disease!"
There was a pause where Yukimi tried relaxing her grip on her weapon, forcing herself to slowly lower it.
"Hey, are there any other survivors in the White Town, Flevance?" Doflamingo asked now curious.
Yukimi stilled. Will Law say anything? Surely he wouldn't. After all the trouble she went through in keeping her existence from these pirates from knowing. The albino shook her head, 'Of course not, you idiot! He wouldn't!'
Law hesitated but quickly answered, "I don't know. I was only desperate to escape."
Yukimi let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.
"How did you get out?" Doflamingo questioned.
"I crossed the border hiding under a stack of dead bodies," Law replied without emotion.
Yukimi shivered at the memory as she briefly heard someone muttering they were trying to eat.
"What are you holding grudge against?" the leader of the Donquixote Pirates inquired.
"I don't believe in anything anymore!" Law replied in a flat tone before changing into a more angry one. "I'm not afraid of dying!"
Yukimi placed her kunai back in its holster on her thigh, frowning.
"Corazón! Don't push your luck! I will get my revenge on you at any cost!" Law warned the tall blonde.
"Hey, are you stupid? Weren't you listening?" Baby 5 started accusing. "They'll torture you if you do such a thing! Impalement! Don't mess with pirates!" Baby 5 said before hitting Law. "Children are idiots. They think their apologetic tears will guarantee forgiveness."
Yukimi's ears then picked up whimpering, 'Is that Baby 5 crying? What, did Law glare at her or something?' Shaking her head, the albino took her leave.
*^.^*
Grumble
Law crossed his arms as Yukimi looked toward the tree canopy above them, "Don't lie to me Yukimi-ya, you're hungry."
Said kitsune slowly shook her head. "No," she started just as slowly, "you heard your own stomach and are trying to pin it on me."
Law narrowed his eyes at her as they sat on a tree branch Yukimi had seated them on earlier. "Don't think I didn't notice that you were giving me more food than yourself in our rations before we lost them," Law stated as he noted how the kitsune was avoiding eye contact.
Yukimi pursed her lips as she watched through the screen of leaves at the scrapyard beside them. It's been a couple of days since she snuck inside the hideout behind the boy next to her. She felt antsy every day now. Yukimi had managed to keep her and Law from starving by hunting small game such as rabbits, but there weren't many around, to begin with. "You're getting some food in ya Doc, so be happy about that alright?" the albino grumbled. She was also cranky from not getting enough sleep. Yeah, her paranoia of being discovered by the Donquixote Pirates was keeping her awake at night. That's why she had decided that the two of them start sleeping off the ground. Aka, sleeping in the trees.
"Well as a doctor in training, I advise you to eat more."
Yukimi raised a brow as she looked back at him, "Hm touché."
Law rolled his eyes, he knew what was going on. Yukimi maybe a ninja, but he could read her like an open book. She was nervous being so close to the Donquixote Pirates. He's seen her wringing the hem of her hoodie when she's off in her own world. The circles under her eyes were darkening and making her already red eyes look a little unnerving. "Yukimi-ya?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you so nervous here? Aside from the Donquixote Pirates are dangerous people?" he added the latter as an afterthought.
Yukimi didn't say anything for a while as she stared off into space towards the scrapyard. Her tails and ears sagged, "Remember how old I am?"
Law nodded, "Two hundred eighty-four."
"When I was one hundred twenty years old," Yukimi closed her eyes as she began. "I came across another kitsune. I never knew his exact age, but I remember the number of tails he had. ...Nine tails Law," she whispered the last part with a faraway look. The kitsune pulled Law closer to her in a side hug. "That's old and powerful, but he was off."
"Off?" Law looked down at the albino's hand when she started wringing her clothes again.
"Kinda insane...broken...a shell of his former self I bet. He had this mark on his back… I wasn't able to help, because within the day I met him, he committed suicide."
Law didn't say anything as she let go of their side hug to clench her clothes tightly with both hands.
"He told me he was an escaped slave of a Celestial Dragon. He was treated like an... like an animal," Yukimi spoke with a shudder before taking in a small breath. "I never told your family but...I have a phobia called Aniphobia."
"Aniphobia, to fear being treated like an animal," Law stated as he glanced at the kitsune's white, black tipped ears and tails.
Yukimi swallowed thickly before continuing, "I've heard somewhere in the Grand Line, there's a place where people get sold off as slaves. From pirates with high bounties to the exotic to the unfortunate common person, are all sold off to the highest bidder. Anyone can sell anything there. Bounty hunters mostly, but pirates can sell too. It's the one thing I truly fear. To be bought, to be sold to someone is like a death sentence in a way. Especially if you're bought by those scum who call themselves World Nobles." The albino raised her hands as they started shaking. "E-everytime when I think about being treated... like an animal, I f-freeze up and it gets hard to breathe…" Yukimi's whole body started trembling as her chest began to rise quickly, a cold sweat appearing over her already pale complexion. She was about to take a twenty-foot drop below when a hand shot up toward her face and snapped its fingers rapidly.
In that split second, Yukimi felt her mind and heart skip, causing her to switch forms to her fox self. Law picked her up and placed her on his lap, preventing her from tumbling down. He ran his hand from her head and down her back, soothing her. "In other words, you have panic attacks Yukimi-ya," Law informed as he held her close to his chest as he calmed her down.
Yukimi leaned her head against him, nodding. "I've read in the papers how ruthless the Donquixote Pirates are. They are the type who will do anything they please, at any time they wish. And if anyone gets in their way, that's the end of them." The fox sighed before continuing, "People like that, make me nervous to be around. Who says they won't take an interest in catching me and selling me? Even if we're not in the Grand Line…"
Law looked back up toward the scrapyard through the cover of leaves as he spotted someone walking through the metal covered ground. He paused his stroking as he glared in hatred, "Don't worry Yukimi-ya. I won't let them find you."
Steady breathing distracted Law for a moment, making him look down at the fox in his arms. He sighed when he realized Yukimi had passed out. Glancing at the scrapyard then back to the fox in his grasp, Law narrowed his eyes. Making sure he had a firm grip on her, the boy slowly and carefully navigated down the tree. Once his feet were on solid ground, he quickly sought and found a hidden spot under some bushes to hide Yukimi while he was gone. After making sure the white fox couldn't be seen, Law began to make his way toward the scrapyard with a frown set in his features, "I'll take out Corazón, Yukimi-ya. That way you'll have one less Donquixote Pirate to worry about."
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