Bepo was beginning to feel a bit frantic. The Polar Tang is only so big but trying to find Ash was much harder than it should have been. He asked every passerby he encountered. They had either just seen her pass through or she was on another floor altogether. He raced about, here and there, and without any success. Where was she?! He had to find her and quickly! The Captain himself had entrusted this mission to him, and him alone. As the submarine's Navigator, he was exempt from most other missions and assignments by default. That generally suited him just fine. Battle was frightening and unpredictable, so he'd just as soon steer clear of it. But when the Captain approached him this morning with this particular task, he was all for it! He could still recall Law's proud smile. I know I can count on you, Bepo. He had said that with such confidence! He couldn't fail him now!
But this level of prolonged physical exertion (combined with rising panic which induced hysteria) made him hot and sweaty. He collapsed right in the middle of the corridor on the fifth floor. He wheezed as he struggled to catch his breath, his ears drooped down in disappointment. "Damn…it…all…!" He whined under his breath in defeat.
"Woah, hey! Bepo!" He looked up to see Ash hurry towards him. She dropped down to her knees and took his great furry face in her gentle hands. "What happened? Are you ok?"
He chuckled softly as he shook his head in exasperation at the irony of being found. "I'm so…happy I…found…" his voice trailed off as he fell unconscious.
Law was a ways back on the same floor when he heard a strange banging sound echo along the wall. He frowned in confusion. What was that all about? He quickened his pace towards it and came around the corner to see Ash hugging Bepo's still form close while banging her fist on the wall. His eyes widened in horror, and he hurried over. "What happened?" He hissed urgently through his teeth.
"I don't know," she admitted. "He just passed out."
He quickly summoned a room to conduct a medical scan with his blade. He breathed out a sigh of relief at the results. "He'll be just fine, it's only a minor case of heat exhaustion." He spread his fingers wide to increase the range of the room before flicking his wrist, palm-upward. "Shambles!" He said, summoning all three of them to the medical bay. Bepo landed lightly on one of the examination tables, but Ash landed on some stray roll of bandages left on the floor, slipped, and fell onto her backside. "You did that on purpose!" She snapped at Law. The slight rise in tone irritated her throat, making her cough a little.
His back was to her as he went through a small cooler to remove some towels. "Well of course it was intentional," he huffed defensively. Did she really think he was going to carry the Polar Mink the entire way? Then he turned around to see her pull herself back up to her feet and realized what she'd meant. "Oh," he said flatly. "No, I didn't mean for that." He passed her to approach Bepo's side. He unzipped the front of his jumpsuit and pulled it open. "Grab that large fan over there," he pointed out behind her. Then he carefully set the cooling towels along the inside of the suit. Ash retrieved the pedestal fan and set it up. "Set the motion to swing back and forth, not just on his face," Law continued with his instruction.
She did so and watched as he attended to the Navigator with such gentleness. There was even a hint of a tender smile on his face as he looked down. "How long, have you known Bepo?" She asked curiously.
"A very long time now, nearly fourteen years," he said softly as he dabbed at his great face with a separate towel, trying to remove the sweat before applying another cooling towel. "He was among the first recruits, along with Penguin and Shachi. The four of us go way back together. Much like you and Shirazuki," he reminded her.
She fell a bit silly just standing around, so she pulled up a chair and took a seat. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh, punishing him with extra chores like that?"
"Not at all," he said in an unapologetic manner. "He was charged with your safety and failed to ensure it."
"You didn't expect him to just hold my hand the entire time, did you?" She asked in exasperation. "Of course we'd eventually split up and search." He remained silent, not at all inclined to argue or defend his position anymore than he already had. She rolled her eyes as she leaned back against the chair. "I just don't think it's fair when he didn't do anything wrong." She mumbled. His gaze flicked up to see her looking a bit remorseful for her friend. He found that odd, considering that she would have been justified in blaming him for the unfortunate situation she'd found herself in. But the fact that she wasn't naturally inclined to blame did please him.
Just then Bepo groaned as he began to stir. She jumped to her feet and approached. As the Polar Mink slowly opened his eyes, he noticed Law and Ash lean in with relieved smiles. He blinked between the two before recognizing the wide ceiling of the medical bay. He face-palmed with his massive paw as he groaned. "I fainted, didn't I?" He whined miserably.
"That's what you get for racing about in a frenzy," Law gently teased as he began to remove the towels from his jumpsuit. "You know better than that."
He squeaked as Ash threw her arms around his furry neck and squeezed. "I'm so glad that you're ok!" She gushed into his fur.
He blushed faintly but he patted her reassuringly. "I'm sorry to have worried you both."
"I never said I was worried," Law denied as he turned aside to throw the towels into a laundry chute set into the wall.
"I heard that you've been looking for me," Ash said as she released him but took hold of his paw instead.
"I was," he admitted a bit sheepishly. "I need your help."
"Yes, anything!" She readily agreed.
Law cringed as his face twisted with a measure of pure jealously. With his back to them, he was free to express this emotion. She was never this compliant for him, ever. But she'd do anything for Bepo, it just wasn't fair!
"Well, I had something planned for tonight's entertainment but since I've burned my paw," he waved the other bandaged one as a reminder. "I'm going to need some help."
Her face fell a bit, she really didn't want to get involved with that. "But if you're not feeling well, maybe you should cancel instead," she tried to drop a hint. "I'm sure that Law would understand."
He shot him a brief warning glare to not screw this up. "No, no, that's not necessary!" Bepo protested. "I just could use another set of hands."
She frowned uneasily but soon nodded in defeat. She couldn't bear to disappoint him. "Alright, what can I do to help?"
He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. "I could really use a shower first," he admitted as he zipped up his damp jumpsuit. "How about you stop by my room in about an hour?"
She nodded and turned to leave. This time it was easier for her to open the large doors.
"That was a close one, Captain!" Bepo wheezed with relief as he pressed a paw over his racing heart.
"Only because you lost your head and got into a panic," he mildly scolded but it was enough to make the Polar Mink slouch into a depressive fit. He sighed as he reached out to gently shake him by the shoulders to regain his attention. "You've got this Bepo," he reassured him with a smile. "Just think of how excited she'll be."
He brightened at that, and he nodded eagerly as a wide smile spread across his great face.
Shirazuki was covered with soot from head to toe from his shift in the boiler room. It seemed like no matter how careful he was, he always came back covered in a fine black powder. He carefully made his way down the corridor, trying not to leave a soot cloud in his wake. Only one more week of this, he reminded himself as he tried to rally his spirits. Even after two weeks of such manual labor, his arms still ached terribly. He couldn't understand how the others did this every day; he just couldn't adapt as well as they had to the tough working conditions.
As he came around the corner, he was surprised to find Law waiting outside his door. His cool gaze was judgement free as he approached him. "I have a favor to ask of you," he lowered his tone in a conspiring manner.
"Uh, sure," he said bluntly. "Let's talk inside." He went past him to unlock his door and pushed it open for him to enter first.
"Is your instrument in good repair?" Law asked once the door was closed.
He was surprised once again. "Yeah, of course it is. Why?"
"I know that you're not scheduled to participate in tonight's entertainment," he began as he handed him a small folder. "But I need you to play this."
He looked confused at the request until he noticed the title of the piece. "C'mon, that's child's play. Its practically the first piece anyone learns," he huffed a bit in exasperation.
Law, however, remained serious. "Then it shouldn't be any trouble at all for you," he smoothly countered.
His face fell a bit as that wasn't entirely true. He was physically exhausted from the days work. At this Law softened with a measure of empathy. He took a step closer and gently rested a hand on his shoulder. "I understand that it is asking a lot," he reassured him. "So perhaps we can cut a deal then?"
Shirazuki perked up at that curiously. "Such as what?"
"If you do this for me, I will excuse you from the remainder of your boiler room duty."
His eyes widened as his face lit up eagerly. "R-really?!" He then frowned in confusion. "But why? I mean, I deserved it. You don't have to-"
"I'm not doing this for you," he cut in. He thought back to what Ash had said in the medical bay. While he still disagreed, he didn't like the thought of her distress on her friend's behalf. She didn't need to deal with that additional anxiety right now. "Do we have a deal?"
He nodded resolutely. In the end, he didn't really care what his reasons were. He was just relieved to be done with it already. "I won't let you down, Captain."
"I've heard that one before," he gently teased with a smirk. "But I know I can trust you." There was pride reflected in his face, his crew was very special to him.
He turned to leave and Shirazuki called out to stop him. "Hey wait! So, when am I supposed to play this?"
He paused at the door with a secret smile over his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll know when." He gave a brief wink before turning away.
That evening, after quite a long practice, Ash and Bepo went the galley for dinner. He was in very good spirits while truthfully, she felt a bit nervous. Was it due to the innate difficulty of playing one instrument between two people, or that she was afraid of messing up and disappointing her friend? "I just can't wait!" He pumped his fist into the air. "We're gonna be the best!"
She forced a smile as she didn't want to crush this rare enthusiasm of his.
The galley was bustling with a large number of crew members chatting and laughing and the food smelled as delicious as ever. She felt just brave enough to order a little extra tonight. There were rolls topped with melted butter and a crackling of savory herbs that looked especially tempting. She sat beside Bepo who joined Shachi and Penguin. They were so in sync that they were picking off each other's plates while bickering over something. They turned on the pair. "Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable?" They asked in unison.
Bepo blinked in surprise. "Aren't they a vegetable?"
She scoffed slightly. "What a stupid thing to argue about."
"They are considered a fruit," Law smoothly interrupted as he sat beside her. "But if you have the spare time to disagree over such trivial matters, then perhaps you could use some extra work?" He asked dryly with a raised eyebrow.
Both cringed slightly and shook their heads silently. He smirked at that and reached into his pocket. He set another dosage cup beside her plate.
"You know, if you gave me a bottle, you wouldn't have to hand this out all the time," She said as she took the pills. Thank goodness they worked fast; she was desperate for the relief.
"And deprive myself of the pleasure of your company?" He gently teased with a smirk.
She rolled her eyes as she took a bite of one of the rolls. She noticed his face turn a bit sour at the sight before his eyes dropped down to his own plate. "Why do you hate bread so much?" She asked curiously.
"I just do," he said flatly. "Not everything has some tragic backstory behind it." He grumbled slightly under his breath. He knew it didn't make sense to anyone but seriously, what was the big deal? Everyone has something they hate and would rather die than eat. Why did everyone find his disinterest so offensive? He wanted to redirect the conversation, and quickly, so he went for the obvious. "How's your hand, Bepo?"
The Polar Mink perked up at being addressed directly. "Its much better. Thank you, Captain."
She frowned thoughtfully at her plate as she marveled for a moment at the rarity it was for someone to fill the role of both Captain and Doctor. She recalled the time she was hired to help escort Chopper on Whiteridge Island. He was looking to restock on medicinal herbs and roots. Along the way he told her about their uses and how different it could be depending on their preparation (dried, stewed, ground to powder, etc.) During that mission they came across an injured child who needed treatment, and she got to witness firsthand what he meant. Her hand rested on her throat; her thumb rubbed along the side of her neck thoughtfully. Her brow creased further as she thought of the meticulous care Law had undertaken on her behalf. If left to yourself, you would have died… The enormity of it made her swallow hard and she winced at the lingering ache. From what she'd heard, Chopper had done his best for her, but he couldn't remove the poison. That was beyond the ability of any medic, no matter how skilled. Law alone had the ability and that was only because of a devil fruit. But it wasn't entirely fair to chalk his incredible talent up to some mysterious magical fruit. He still needed the knowledge to know how to use it, which would have been the end result of years of study and practice.
As a doctor, to take on the additional title of Captain, was as crazy as it was ambitious. The Polar Tang was an impressive vessel that dealt with pressure other ships never have to tackle. He knew this submarine inside and out, so no doubt he been very particular in selecting the crew he trusted to run it. Everyone here was vital to maintain its perfect performance. What was her role to be here? What was to be expected of her? When one accident or mistake could very well cost everyone's lives, she absolutely didn't want to deal with that level of pressure!
She nearly jumped out of her skin as she felt someone gently shake her by the shoulder. Then she noticed Law frowning worriedly before noticing that the others were staring at her too. "Huh? What? Sorry, I-" She blurted out, embarrassed to have been spacing out.
"Are you feeling alright?" Bepo asked apprehensively.
She quickly nodded. "I was just thinking, that's all." She shrugged off Law's hand awkwardly. He was much to close for her taste. She turned her shoulder slightly to the side, resting her head on her hand to block him from view. The conversation shifted now which she tuned out as she focused on eating. But she found her thoughts returning to Law's words during lunch. A Captains role isn't just to push people around…its position is meant to inspire others to greatness as well, to give them a chance to live their dreams too.
That sounded awfully selfless from such a cold, anti-social man. It was beginning to make her think that maybe she didn't know him as well as she thought she had. She glanced up to watch everyone as they interacted with smiles and laughter. This was a tight-knit group, very much like a family in many respects. She frowned uneasily at the sight. Just how was she expected to fit in here? It was a terrifying prospect to consider but one she'd have to when she made her choice.