Chapter 29: I'm not going to cry
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Come on kid! Spit it out already!" Gus said in between pants.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Bang!"
"Wa-Wait, wait, Gus stop it. I don't think she is going to talk." A man defended.
"She is shutting down, the kid isn't even calling for help anymore." Another man chimed in.
"If she was going to talk, then she would have done it by now….A-and this is getting too hard to watch. She is just a little girl, can you just show her some type of mercy."
"That's enough!" A deep rough voice shouted.
"My men say you haven't said anything yet... Give up now, tell me what I want to know and I'll leave you in peace. Hell, I may even let you go afterwards, it's your captain I want. I feel very generous today. "Boss Ruth spoke with a sadistic grin that reminded her of her abusive biological mother. "Where is your captain? Boss Ruth asked in a more serious tone.
"I...Don't know," Rinka was able to pant out, barely hearable.
"Law! Please help me!"She cried out.
Boss Ruth's face remained calm and unchanged, but a familiar chill ran down her spine. He walked closer to her and revealed what he had in his hand; a carefully folded whip just waiting to be used on someone.
"NO! Anything but that! Not the whip, please I will do anything." She pleaded while having a panic attack just by looking at the torture item.
"Then tell us where your captain is!" Boss Ruth shouted while holding up the whip to her face so she could get a closer look at it.
"Never!"She yelled back, trying to overcome her fear with pure willpower to protect her friends.
Then suddenly time stopped, all of Ruth's men including Gus had collapsed with their eyes rolled far back in their heads.
"Why you little, what kind of monster are you!"Ruth growled.
"Whop-eesh!"
"Where are they!"Ruth shouted
"I keep on telling you, I don't know. J-just let me go."
Another whiplash cut through the air and collided with her skin, making Rinka groan and bite her lip harder. She shut her eyes tightly in pain.
"Whop-eesh!"
"Why are you protecting them, pirates are nothing more but scum ? They are the worst of the worst. Liars, killers, cheats, thieves, drug addicts, prostitutes, alcoholics, gamblers, snitches..?"Ruth caught his breath before continuing his rants. "How in the hell could you even consider those people as family."
This is when Rinka had finally snapped. "No pirates in the world, not even the pirate king himself, can be more scummier than anyone born into a noble or royal family that abuses their power. And do you want to know why I know this?"
"Please continue." He allowed it.
"The common criminal looks positively humane in comparison to the people from rich and powerful families. It's because the world's in the hands of scum like them...t- that it's all screwed up...I mean…. Pirates are not the nicest guys, but at least they're honest...a- about it. " She said in between coughs.
"Whop-eesh!"
"Shut up, don't say I'm more worthless than a dirty pirate."
"Law please help me!" She chokes out.
"Well well, will you stop being stubborn and tell me what you know?" He asked softly as if showing her some type of sympathy.
"Never!" She hissed weakly.
"Whop-essh!"
"Where are they!"
"Never! They are my family…"She began to cry even more than usual. "That's all I wanted in my life, is a family who doesn't treat me like a curse or completely worthless ...A-and I'm not giving that up! So no matter how much you whip me...I-I will never talk.``She managed to croak out while coughing up even more blood in the process.
"Whop-essh!"
"Tell me!"
"I-I can't, I don't want to be lonel-y. M-My o..o-lder brother died, my mom is mean, I don't know where Phyllis is, they all I have l-lef..t. T-the...I don't care if ..their pirat-es" Those were the last words she managed to mutter before falling into unconsciousness.
Before the whip could make contact with her body again, rushed footsteps echoed through the dungeon hall and his subordinate appeared, trying to regain his breathing.
"Boss Ruth!"
"What is it, I'm kinda busy here!" He exclaimed while pointing to the girl who was hanging upside down.
"We're under attack!"The man said.
Boss Ruth gritted his teeth in annoyance and narrowed his eyes as he turned back to the barely conscious girl. "This isn't over!...Even when I catch your captain, I won't free you. I am going to sell you off into slavery. Maybe I can get over 500,000 beri for you if I'm lucky."
She only kept her mouth shut and stayed quiet. She was glad when he turned and finally left, closing and locking the door, while leaving her to hang.
-x-
Law ran down the hall, gripping his sheath nodachi. Behind him was a path of deformed, bloodied, unconscious or dead bodies. Yells and screams of pure agony echoed through the corridors as his crew fought against Ruth's subordinates.
*Where is she? Damn, please don't be dead.*
He saw Jean Bart lifting a soldier in the air and throwing him into 5 others with ease.
Law wanted the giant man for this rescue mission so he met up with him before leaving for the Bounty hunters' base.
He knew he would need the former captain's brute strength and as always he is right.
He had to stop right where he stands, when more men covered the path in front of him.
Without a single peep; his first mate was already in front of him and attacked the men. Bepo
kicked and punched at the men, knocking them all down before they even had time to fire a shot.
It wasn't long before they reached a certain door, noticing the guards had their eyes rolled back far in his head.
Law ordered Jean Bart to break down the door where the guards were lying unconscious.
The smell of blood was really strong and they soon found out why, the little girl was tied up by her feet, she had numerous cuts and dark bruises all over her exposed skin.
All of the pirates widened at the sight, no one not even Jean Bart couldn't mask the surprise on their faces. The former slave has seen lots of mess up stuff in his life, including little kid slaves being whipped around by a world noble, but this is just mess up even by his standards. Law examined her body and his eyes narrowed when he saw the still fresh lash marks obviously done by a whip. They could feel fury rising inside of them.
A fury of seeing what they did to their de-age nakama, who already had a broken hand.
They took a mental note to find that the people who did this to her will make them experience far worse pain that they will be begging for death.
He ran towards the girl and peered at her bruised tiny body. He was already examining her wounds and planning which treatments he'll have to use when they get back. He used his sword to cut down the rope and caught Rinka in the most gentle way possible.
Rinka cracked her eyelids and saw a familiar yellow and black hoodie that was now wrapped on her like she was a baby.
Rinka blinked and opened her sore mouth to speak.
"La-w?" It was barely a light whisper, but he evidently heard her as he pulled her closer to him.
"It's okay, you're safe now, I got you, your safe, your safe. " He whispers softly in her ear while gently patting her head in the most comforting way possible.
She smiled slightly at her captain and nuzzled into the warm comforter of Law's chest.
"Bepo and Jean Bart, Give Them Hell!"Law ordered before exiting the torture chamber.
Both Jean Bart and Bepo cracked their knuckles. "With pleasure."
It took them awhile but after they found the boss of this joint, they did the exact same thing he did to a sweet, innocent, and most importantly defenseless little girl with a broken hand.
When Bepo and Jean Bart told the rest of the Heart Pirates on just how bad Rinka's torture was, they were on a whole new level of shock and horror.
They stripped Boss Ruth down into nothing more but his underwear, tied him up by the feet and started punching and kicking him into nothing more but a bloody pulp.
"Heh...you're nothing but a bunch of weaklings. Sooner or later the marines will find me. And then you will suffer the same fate as that little brat did. Yes, you should've seen how she screamed...music for my ears. But I guess you guys will soon feel it for yourself.
You shoulda saw her when I brought out the whip, she was pretty much having a panic attack even after being repeatedly punched over and over for hours." Boss Ruth chokes out.
Everyone's face was seriously dark, but not showing any real anger. They wouldn't give the asshole the pleasure of seeing their anger.
"Crack!" Ruth's bones made a cracking sound when Bepo landed a good hard kick on his stomach.
Ruth began to laugh hysterically. "Ahahahaha..Yeah! That little brat said all source of stupid crap like she was all high and mighty. "Yeah, Yeah she was like. 'All I want in my life, was a family who wouldn't treat me like a curse or completely worthless. And I'm not giving that up!" Ruth said in the same crying broken voice Rinka used when she told him that.
"She must had one fuck up childhood, to be that desperate to protected her so-call family." Ruth said, referring to the pirates. I even learned most of your guys' names when she kept on crying out for help.
'Help me Penguin, Help me Shachi! Bepo, Bart, Logan, Jerry! Save me Lucas, Thorn! Help me Jasper, Charlie! "Ruth said, trying to imitate the crying girl's broken voice.
Whomever's name was called out they only closed their eyes and gritted teeth in anger.
"Save me Aaron!"Ruth said in a girly voice.
Penguin, Shachi , Logan , Lucas stood there in shock while everyone else didn't know anyone by the name of Aaron.
"She was so desperate she was calling help for someone who she already knows is dead."Shachi muttered quietly under his breath.
4 hours and a lot of broken bones later, the marines had finally come. And both Penguin and Shachi had the honor of killing the sick bastard right before leaving him to hang.
-x-
" Am I dead? Is this the afterlife ?"Rinka mumbled to herself while looking around.
Everything was white , all of the pain in her body had vanished. It was like a paradise.
"Hello, my little Tulip." A familiar feminine voice called out.
Rinka turned around from where the voice was coming from and then started smiling and crying at the same time. Only one person in the world gave her that silly nickname.
"Phyllis!" Rinka called out while running toward the older woman.
Her smile then turned into a frown when she ran straight through her.
"Why can't I hug you?...Unless!"Rinka then realized the most heartbreaking truth.
"It's not time for you, but we will meet again. There are special people who are waiting for you. And you still need to keep your promise to your big brother." Those were the last words Phyllis said before everything turned black.
-x-
"Beep...Beep...Beep...!" Were the first sounds that Rinka heard when she finally woke up after being asleep for 2 days.
"Captain, she's waking up!" Penguin shouted in pure happiness and relief.
She turned to her right and saw Penguin, Shachi and anyone else who could fit in the infirmary room. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. "I'm not going to cry, I'm not going to cry. I cried enough already. I must be strong, if I'm really the strongest in the crew. Then if I cry then I am worthless. I'm not going to cry."
Everyone stood their in complete shock, the first thing the little girl tried to do after waking up from being torture half to death was try not to cried. She has every right to cry, and even if she was a serial killer she still has the right to cry and no one will judge her.
Penguin and Shachi tried not to cry themselves, they just felt so guilty. First she broken her hand because of them and they let her get kidnapped and torture half to death.
But they can't cry, they have no right to cry, the little girl that stood in front of them has been through literal hell that no kid, not even a criminal in level 6 of impel down should go through.
After the amount of torture she went through, pretty much anyone in the crew will cry about it.
Law slowly walked up toward the little girl and then gently touched her by the shoulder. "It's okay for you to cry, even strong people cried too." Tears escaped from her eyes since Law and no one else doesn't know the real reason she was trying not to cry. Then Rinka felt something warm and wet on her neck, when Law leaned close to her.
"Can we talk in private?"She whispers in Law's ear.
1 week later after going to the 6th flower shop, Law still couldn't find the flower that Rinka requested for. He already bought the candle, he just needed that damn flower.
Walking into the last flower shop, a smirk formed across his face when he finally found what he had been looking for.
"1 bouquet of those Cherry Blossoms over there." Law said while pointing at the plant.
"Here you go." The Florist said while handing Law the bouquet of flowers.
When Law opened the door to the infirmary room, he handed Rinka the bag of goods she asked for.
"Thank you." she said while giving Law a big hug.
"Well, I think tonight will be the perfect day for it. Today is your last day in the infirmary room and the submarine will not submerge until tomorrow. "Law said while picking up the girl and sitting her on her feet.
Later that night.
"Who is up this late?" Shachi mutters to himself while getting out of bed. Then everyone started waking up as well.
All of the men who had woken up started heading to the deck because that was where all of the noise was coming from. But then Law stopped them to move any farther.
"Hey Captain, are we under attack?"Shachi asked in a whisper.
He only shook his head in response.
Penguin peeked through the window and was confused when he only saw Rinka on the deck with something in her hand.
"What is she doing?"Penguin asked while turning back to Law.
Law signs, not wanting to tell his crew this. "She is paying her respects to Phyllis."
Everyone gasped in shock.
"When did she find out?" Shachi asked, still trying to keep his voice into a whisper.
"A week ago." Law muttered quietly.
-Flash back-
"Can we talk in private?"She whispers in Law's ear.
He nodded then told everyone to give them some privacy.
"Law, is Phyllis really alive?"She asked, even already knowing the answer.
He gulped. "Why are you asking that?"
"Because I talked to her and she said it wasn't time for me." She responded.
Law signs. "Yeah, I'm afraid she is no longer with us."
Then all of the tears Rinka tried to hold back started pouring out. Law pulled the crying girl into his chest so he could comfort her.
"I can't believe my big sister is really d-dead! Phyllisssss!" She whales in between sobs.
"I need you to get me some thing-g...I-I want to pay my respects."
-End flashback-
"That's the real reason why she didn't want to cry. She didn't want to seem ungrateful after finding out Phyllis is dead." Law explained.
Everyone was just speechless. They just couldn't believe it, she suffered through all that time because she didn't want to seem ungrateful, even at the young age of 8 years old, she is truly stronger than anyone in the crew, not physically but emotionally.
"Psss..quiet down, I think she's singing."Logan said while putting his ear on the metal door.
"I'm standing here but I don't know. What's going on that I can't see. This feeling is just too strong. I can't evade any more. A thousand words are in my heart. Place here so long ago.
I'll go ahead like icy snow." She sang her heart out.
"I'm flying away so should I say "Farewell"? It's hard to understand. Please help me perceive who I am.
I'm crying here, what do I feel? My data is not enough...My connections come undone. But I know, the answer is somewhere not far.
How should I answer my thoughts when I'm alone? One day I will be there, sincerely I will grow.
My words are unspoken, like jewels in a treasure chest...And even if it's so unclear, I will not shed a tear.
'Cause even if I'm just a curse, I have to find out more!" She finished the last part of her song with tears coming down her cheek.
"Oh my god, it's so beautiful." Logan whispers with tears coming down from his face as well.
Rinka then bent down enough that her head was touching the wood. "Phyllis if you can really hear me! Then! Thank you for giving me another reason to live. Thank you for loving someone who doesn't deserve happiness !" Thank you for loving me." She screams to the heavens itself.
She got up from where she was kneeling , lit up her candle and threw the bouquet of flowers into the sea. "I know Cherry blossoms are your favorite flower since you got a tattoo of one. So thank my captain for getting them for you!"
Everyone who saw the whole scene was in a trans. Some crew members even started crying while denying they were.
Penguin and Shachi started crying the most with their hands covering their mouths. "She thinks she doesn't deserve happiness. She has been through hell itself."
All they wanted to do was rush onto the deck and tell her that she deserves the world but they remained silent. That was the reason she wanted to respect Phyllis's death in the middle of the night was for their sake.
Everyone hurried back to their rooms when they saw Rinka heading back to the sub's door.
The only person she saw in the sub's doorway was the pirate captain of the crew.
"Law, I want to sleep in your room tonight."Rinka said while hugging Law's leg.
Law picked up the girl and started heading back to his bedroom.
"Good night." She said right before drifting off to sleep.
Law gently brought the little girl closer to his chest and gave her a light peck on her forehead.
"Good night." He said as well.
For the past few days Law has never left Rinka's side, he would even go out of his way so he could spend more time with her. The last night before the predicted day when she will change back, he'd realized that he'd left too many medical reports piled on his desk.
He spent the next few hours filling out papers and was in no way surprised when, as he wrote down the final report at 2 in the morning, he found Rinka fast asleep on his bed.
He stood there for a moment, watching the kid sleep peacefully and somewhat wondering how the next day would change the tentative balance they'd worked out.
Then he hung his white coat and tossed his shoes away before climbing in.
It was the heat that pulled him out of his slumber a few hours later, and the weight at his side that forced him into the realm of his immediate surroundings.
Rinka had gone back to normal, and it was just Law's luck that she had done so in the middle of the night in Law's bed.
Law's face was a bright shade of red, the little girl who he shared a bed with for the past few days was now a full grown woman. No matter how much he wanted to, Law resisted the urge to touch her. It really took him a lot of self control not to even peek under the covers, knowing that her clothing doesn't fit her body anymore.
When Rinka woke up she looked around in the room she was in, and realized it wasn't her room. She then looked down at her sleeping captain and at her completely almost naked body.
She then let out a loud high pitch scream.
"Law, where are my clothes?!"Rinka demanded while pulling a sheet to cover her body.
"In the bathroom." Law groan.
There were too many things in her head, too many memories, all jumbled together and she would have concentrated to make everything make sense again. Not the mess that was her memory, not the clothes she wasn't wearing or the fact that;s she'd woken up all snuggled up to the most annoying person in the world.
It was so early in the morning that it was still night really, still time to make herself comfortable in her own room.
"Come to the infirmary, I need to give you a check up."Law ordered after she was done changing into her clothes.
Damn. Did he really have to go through this? She was feeling quite alright, thank you...but Law wouldn't leave her alone until she surrendered so she stepped up and stood straight, hoping it wouldn't take too long.
Law was busy examining the long scar on Rinka's left arm when she lost her arm a while ago.
Next he checked her back for any new scars. Law was shocked, the scars she gotten from her torture that happened barely more then a week ago was now 12 years old. After what seemed like an eternity, the young doctor finally declared, as expected, that she was in perfect health. Sighing in relief, Rinka put her clothes back on and exited the room.
But luck wasn't on her side.
"Now, about your memories…" Law stated.
When she was finally free to go, Rinka decided that she should give Law's suggestion a try.
She wasn't usually prone to self-introspection, but she was willing to try anything that could help her get rid of the disturbing feeling that she'd known and liked Law forever.
She jumped off the sub and went to the edge of the beach to sit under a tree, far enough not to hear the noise coming from the sub but still in sight, just in case something happened.
She was 7 and a half years old when her brother died.
Then she was 8 years old when she ran away from home. In that exact same month when she ran away from her that is also when she met Phyllis.
Then she was 8 and a half years old, waking up into a room she didn't recognize it.
She was 8 and sitting in the galley of the Polar Tang with the Heart Pirates. And then she was kidnapped and torture half to death.
Still, it annoyed Rinka that she'd remembered so little of life as a Heart Pirate she'd...clung to the bastard of a captain like that, and for so long.