AN: Hello! Please enjoy this chapter and do consider leaving a review if you've enjoyed it (:
Empty.
Law did another once over of the room he was standing in. It was definitely empty, he didn't feel any presences around or nearby either. He looked at the neatly made bed in front of him. Seems like she had enough manners to fold the blankets and fluff up the pillow nicely before she decided to disappear though.
The dark-haired man scratched the back of his head in annoyance as he walked out of the room and down the corridor. Thankfully they had been underwater since last night, so that meant that she was still somewhere on this ship. But where exactly…? He should probably try to find her before she killed herself by accident.
"Ara, Toraro-kun," a voice shook him out of his thoughts and he glanced sideways into the kitchen he had almost walked past. Robin was inside, a cup of steaming hot tea in one hand and a book in the other. She was wearing a cheerful smile like always, but for some reason, (he couldn't tell if it was the tone of her voice or if her smile seemed to be a bit brighter) she seemed to be suspiciously happier than usual.
"Robin," he greeted after a moment of caution, "did the girl from yesterday pass by here?"
"I didn't see her, is she not in the infirmary?" the archaeologist broke her smile for a surprised look.
Did she not go down this way then? Unless she had already passed by the kitchen even before Robin had arrived, though to be honest, he didn't think that anyone could possibly wake up any earlier than Robin could. Law shook his head and turned to leave.
"By the way," Robin called after him just before he was out of sight, "I didn't know your crew had such a charming young man."
He halted in his tracks at what she said and wondered if he heard wrong, "what?"
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing," the dark-haired lady chucked as she went back to her book.
He gave her a strange look before continuing down the hallway. Charming young man? He couldn't imagine any of his crew being anything but charming unless one of them decided to put on his best face to try and impress the Strawhat archaeologist. He had a hunch that it might've been either Sachi or Penguin fooling around again, but he didn't think either one could warrant praise from Robin no matter how hard they tried.
He tried to shake off the thought, this wasn't the time to be wondering who in his crew was trying to hit up Robin, he still had a missing patient to find. But just as he was about to completely focus on the task at hand, two familiar voices sounded down the corridor, engaged in a heated argument.
Speak of the devils.
"She had red hair!" Penguin was protesting.
"No, she was obviously a blonde babe," Sachi rolled his eyes in response. "Did you hit your head or something? How could you mistake blonde for red?"
"No, you hit your head, her hair was definit-"
"Ah! Captain!" the redhead cut off Penguin mid-sentence as he noticed Law approaching.
"Penguin, Sachi," he eyed them both, wondering what kind of argument about which girl they were having this time. He decided that he didn't want to know. "Have you seen the girl from yesterday?"
The two of them looked at each other before Sachi declared, "no, the girl from yesterday had black hair right? The only lady we saw was a blonde woman," he glared at Penguin as he replied, placing a rather heavy emphasis on the word 'blonde'.
"No, she was a redhead," Penguin argued back through his teeth.
"Wait," Law stopped them before they could continue, catching onto a detail that Sachi had mentioned. He didn't remember having either a redhead or blonde woman on board the last time he checked. "Who're you talking about?"
Both of them seemed to melt at the thought of whoever they were thinking of, their expressions turning silly. "A really pretty lady passed by through here a while ago, asking for directions," Penguin sighed dreamily.
Their captain looked at them in disbelief, "and you neither questioned her about her identity or the fact that stowaways are impossible since we've been at sea for several days now."
That sentence seemed to click. Both Sachi and Penguin broke out of their trance and stared at each other, confused. "Yeah, why didn't we?" the redhead ruffled the back of his head in bewilderment. That was so weird, how he didn't feel like there was anything to be suspicious about that young lady earlier. It was like he was under a spell.
Law sighed in annoyance. What was up with today? First, his patient goes missing, then one of their crewmates decided to hit on Robin of all people, and now there was another strange girl on their ship?
"Forget it, where did she head to?" he asked, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.
"She wanted to know the way towards the navigation room," Penguin answered in a half-defeated tone, still completely perplexed by the fact that they hadn't bothered to be the least bit suspicious or defensive earlier.
Without a reply, Law walked briskly towards the navigation room. He decided to deal with Sachi, Penguin, and Robin's admirer later. He had a hunch about what's going on, but he couldn't confirm it just yet. Just as he was thinking about what else could go wrong, Ikkaku walked past him quickly, completely not noticing him with her hands on her face. She was flushed red and looked like she was going to explode any moment.
"Ikakku," he called her. Law was starting to see some sort of pattern here.
"C-captain!" she jumped as she spun around quickly. "I'm so sorry, I-I didn't see you there!"
"Who did you meet?" he demanded, already predicting what she was going to say.
"H-how did you know?" Ikkaku stammered before she shied her eyes away and looked down towards the ground. "I don't know who he was but as I was on the way to the kitchen, I tripped and this... this young man caught me..." a shy smile spread across her face as she squeezed her eyes shut in happiness.
"Were you not suspicious in the least?" Law asked as he watched the love-struck woman.
She stopped for a moment and glanced up at him, her eyes now clouded with confusion and all traces of happiness gone, "No, actually." Ikkaku furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to think back to the moment she met the young attractive man. All she could think of at the time was how handsome he was, and how gentle his hands were. She turned back to Law to add on, but her captain had already disappeared down the hallway.
As he neared the navigation room, he noticed a familiar figure in bright orange standing outside and peeking in. With his large size, Bepo wasn't doing a very good job at being discreet, but at least it didn't seem like anyone inside noticed him yet.
"Bepo," he called quietly and the polar bear jumped at his voice. "Captain!" he crept over with a worried look on his face. "I was on the way to the navigation room to check on our progress, but there's a strange boy with a tail inside talking to Carwyn, who's acting all weird."
"I know," Law replied quietly as he inched closer to the open entrance. He could start to hear two people talking inside, and instantly picked up Carwyn's voice as well as another unfamiliar boyish voice.
"...so well," the unknown voice was saying shyly, "I kinda need to get to shore..."
"Ah… we're a few days away from the next island though, I'm sorry…" his crewmate replied sheepishly.
Law peered inside. A tall brunette boy stood with his back facing them, talking to Carwyn who looked starstruck. And as if finding out his crewmate was gay this way wasn't strange enough, a long white tail with a black tip extended from the boy's pants, staying perfectly still and flattened behind his legs. Quietly, Law walked into the room.
"Isn't there any way someone can get me off this ship though?" the strange boy asked sweetly as he leaned forward.
"I... I can try but..." the older man blushed furiously when he met the other's coy eyes, fringed with dark eyelashes. Then suddenly, the young boy's eyes widened in shock as he yelped and Carwyn broke out of his trance, noticing his captain standing behind them. "L-let go!" the boy protested, as he tried to reach behind him.
"I knew it was you," Law smirked as he yanked up the other's tail. As Carwyn's eyes laid on the furry appendage, his jaw dropped. The attractive boy before him dissolved into the air, revealing a young girl instead. The tail that his captain was holding onto disappeared as well.
She jumped backward, edging towards the entrance of the room. Shit, she didn't expect to get caught so fast. She had planned to alter the ship's course to the nearest island discreetly without them knowing, but it seemed that she was too slow in entrancing her victim. Damn ship was too big, if she didn't have to ask for directions so many times she probably would've completed her task and gone into hiding by now!
The weird doctor from yesterday continued coolly without waiting for a response, "we're all in a submarine underwater at the moment, so doing anything funny isn't going to be good for Devil Fruit users like you or me."
She gritted her teeth as she finally realized why the whole place was so enclosed and every wall was enforced with plates of steel. Of all places she could be, she was in a freaking submarine? What was the next best course of action? Her eyes flickered briefly towards the entrance, and Law caught on.
"Bepo," he called and the polar bear stepped into view at the door.
It took a moment, but her eyes gradually widened in recognition as she saw the Mink. "Y-you-teia were the pirates on Zou!" she hesitantly stepped back. What were they doing here? Why was she even in their ship? She glanced at the polar bear that was trying his best to give her an intimidating look at the entrance. In that moment, she had to fight back a laugh. He resembled Zepo in so many ways.
But, as much as she wanted to trust him he was with a bunch of humans. Although they had been fairly well received back in Zou, she was still doubtful of their intentions. Humans were a race that tended to say one thing but do the opposite, and there was never not a time she had witnessed that they weren't cruel even towards one of their own. She didn't expect any less of these humans here either. Besides, she didn't have time to play with them, she needed to get back to Airnaheim!
Looks like she didn't have a choice but to fight out of this one. Breathing in deeply, she tried to morph into her hybrid form to prepare for combat. But instead, a sharp pain lanced through her entire body and she fell to the ground in shock. She tried to get up on her feet again, but every movement just seemed to intensify the jarring pain. Her vision blotched with violent colors and she crippled onto the ground again with a cry.
"Your body is suffering from the aftereffects of having two drug overdoses," the dark-haired young man said indifferently as he dismissed her would've been victim from before with a wave of his hand. He then turned back towards her, "I would suggest you refrain from morphing unless you want to die."
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to focus through the pain and she glared up at him angrily, "w-what do pirates want from me?"
"Bepo wanted to save you," he replied simply as he gestured to the white polar bear still standing near the entrance.
For a moment she was so stunned that she forgot about the pain that was wrecking her body.
"You were there back on Zou right?" Bepo's voice sounded across the room, "you were always with Clover."
At the sound of her name, she felt a pang in her heart, as if the physical pain wasn't enough. After a few seconds of nothing but quiet, it seemed like the girl wasn't going to respond, but then she gave a weak nod.
"What happened to Clover after she went missing?" he asked slowly.
"Clover..." her lips trembled as she tried to think about what to answer, but another jolt of pain went through her body and she cried out, "ugh!"
"Save the questions for later Bepo, we need to get her to the infirmary," Law growled. The polar bear nodded and ran forward to pick up the shuddering girl. As they hurried towards the infirmary, a small part of her had to admit that she was thankful for the pain because then she had an excuse not to answer.
"Wait outside," Law told Bepo after the latter had placed the girl gently back on the bed. The polar bear nodded and stepped outside obediently. Then he walked over to a chair in front of a small desk and sat down. "Take off your robe," he said without a second thought.
"Excuse me?" the girl narrowed her eyes as she did the complete opposite and brought the robe closer to her. The pain by now had subsided to a low throb, so moving around was not as excruciating as before.
Law eyed her passively, "I'm not going to do anything to you, I need to see the extent of the damage done to your body."
The only response he received was an uncertain look mixed with suspicion as she sat there, unsure of what to do.
The doctor sighed, why did he have to deal with such difficult patients? He stood up from his chair, triggering a defensive glare from his patient, and walked towards the cabinets before reaching behind them. There was a moment as he adjusted whatever he was pulling out from behind, and then wheeled out a large object that was covered with a cloth.
"Look, if you don't believe me," he paused as he pulled off the cloth, revealing a full-length mirror beside him, "there's a mirror here." He glanced towards her and then walked towards the door, "I'll leave the room, remove your bandages and see for yourself how bad your condition is."
After the door clicked shut behind him, she stared at the mirror a little ways from her. Getting up, she approached it cautiously. She had nothing to lose just by looking into it, but she was starting to feel afraid of what she would see. Closing her eyes, she stepped in front of the mirror and carefully dropped her robe to the floor before undoing her bandages and letting them fall unto the floor as well. She shivered, now bare naked in front of the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to mentally prepare herself. Then she opened her eyes.
Her eyes widened as she sucked in a sharp breath, while the rest of her body froze into place. The doctor wasn't lying. What the hell was this? She had been split into two. Not literally, but the left side of her body, from her face to a portion of her thigh, was covered in white fur. A single black tipped fox ear twitched at the top of her head. The right side of her body, on the other hand, was human.
"W... what...?" she whispered in disbelief. Her trembling hand gently traced the thin line near her nose where fur separated from skin.
"You've had too much of a drug named Artificial Induction of Re-transmutation, AIR for short," his voice came from outside as if he had expected her reaction all along. "It was developed by Vegapunk for the purpose of forcefully stimulating Zoan type users to morph into their full animal form."
He paused for a moment before continuing, "it was discontinued because its effects only lasted for a limited amount of time, and an over-dosage would result in the user eventually being unable to morph into any form at all, as well as the side effects you're seeing now. Fortunately, you're still at a salvageable stage, but of course whether or not you want to be helped is a different story."
She stared at her hands. One covered in fur, the other in skin. "You-teia can help me?" she asked, sharply turning towards the closed door.
"If you let me," he replied. "But I still need to have a look."
There was a short pause before she spoke again quietly, "come in."
As Law re-entered the room, he saw her holding her robe loosely against her body whilst rolls of bandages lay at her feet in front of the mirror.
"Y-you-teia should at least tell me your name before asking me to remove my clothes," she stammered in an indignant tone as she stormed over towards him.
Law sighed as he scratched the back of his head, "Trafalgar Law- ugh, what're you doing?" he took a step back as she came dangerously close and started to cautiously sniff the area near his neck and chest. She gave him a strange look before proceeding to move even closer to him. Rising up on her tiptoes to reach him, she slowly rubbed the furry part of her cheek against his, not giving him any chance to react. As she lowered herself back to the ground, she mumbled softly almost as if she didn't want to be heard, "garchu, m-my name is Mint."
Ah right. Law had almost forgotten that she was also a Zou native since she was human.
She stepped away after she had greeted him and after a moment of hesitation, she let her robe drop. Her single fox ear was pressed flat against her head and she avoided his eyes.
He wordlessly examined her body for a moment. The fur had fortunately only spread across a few areas of her body. On her face, it had narrowly stopped just before her nose and mouth, before traveling down towards the middle of her chest and stopping a little way down her thigh. It didn't manage to fully cover her behind either, and only half of her left buttock was covered in fur.
"It looks like it stopped spreading across your skin, which is good news," he finally said as he stood upright and went back to his chair.
There was a moment as the girl named Mint stared at him in confusion, "how is that good news?"
Law paused for a moment, looking at the other dryly, "I mean, do you want to be covered in fur?"
The fur on her left side of her body started to bristle a little as she pulled back on her robes. "I am a Mink, of course I should be covered in fur," she huffed.
There was a moment as Law stared at her. "You're not a Mink, you're a human," Law replied slowly.
"I'm a Mink!" she insisted. Mint noticed his look of disbelief and turned away while replying casually, "I don't know what you're talking about."
She's clearly in denial, Law thought to himself in annoyance. Great, he just added another idiot to the ship. "Sure, whatever," he finally said, not even bothering to argue. "But while you're receiving treatment you shouldn't morph unless you want to die."
"So... I'll have to stay like this?" she mumbled, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked like a badly made patchwork doll.
"You'll recover in due time," Law replied as he prepared a syringe and beckoned her over. "This antidote will help ease the effects of the drug."
She glanced at him and then her eyes widened in horror at the needle. "Isn't there any other way to consume it?" she asked warily as she took a step back.
"No," he said coldly, tearing open an alcohol swab packet without breaking eye contact.
She hung around the edge of the room uncertainly. She did need to recover fast so she could return to Airnaheim. But seeing the needle made her think back to the times that she was forced to be sedated, it made her heart shrink in terror. But, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to walk over to where the doctor was sitting. She needed to do it for Clover's sake, she couldn't possibly fight them without having access to her other forms.
Mint stiffly sat down beside him and rigidly held out her hand.
"It'll hurt less if you relax," Law commented, noticing her shaking arm as he swiftly swiped the cotton swab over her skin. Mint tried to breathe and think about happier memories, but she still needed to fight back tears as she felt the sharp prick of the needle and the uncomfortable pressure of something foreign entering her bloodstream.
"It's done," she heard the doctor's voice say and Mint let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. "Hold this," he pressed a dry cotton pad to her arm now and after she took over, withdrew back to the desk.
She quietly sat as he packed up his equipment, "thank you," she mumbled after a moment of silence.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and both of them glanced up. "Can I come in now captain?" Bepo asked from outside. There was a grunt of affirmation from Law and the polar bear entered the room nervously. Mint felt her gut twist as she anticipated the question that Bepo wanted to ask. He fidgeted near the entrance and she bit her bottom lip.
"Do you know... what happened to Clover?" he finally blurted out.
She gritted her teeth, wanting so badly to lie. Clover had always reminisced about Bepo on occasion even after Mint had arrived on Zou, telling her about her childhood friend and wondering where he was in the world. And Clover was so happy, the happiest she had ever been Mint dared to say, when Bepo finally returned to Zou. But it was precisely because they were such good friends after being separated for so long that she couldn't lie to him now. She looked up at him, feeling tears prickle in her eyes.
"I'm so, so sorry..." she held back a sob, "Clover... is dead."