One Piece
The Five Second Rule
Chapter Four: Like Brother
Jonah woke up the next morning with an unbearable pounding in his head. He sat up and winced, his leg felt bruised as well. What in the world happened to him? The last thing he remembered was being Celine and Ryuu carrying him back to the submarine. Speaking of which, just what time is it?
Glancing around he noticed that Penguin was still asleep on the bunk across from his. Though that wasn't an awfully reliable indicator of the time. Jonah climbed off the bed and felt his head spin. Grasping onto the bed for support, he shut his eyes and took deep breaths.
When the spinning finally passed, Jonah opened his eyes and wobbled to the bathroom. Just as his fingers touched the cool metal frame, the door pushed open and Celine strolled out. She stopped mid-step, and smiled when she saw him.
"Hey!" she chirped. "How are we feeling this morning?"
"Shitty," he groaned. "Move aside."
Celine stepped out of the way and watched Jonah scamper into the bathroom. He slammed the door loudly causing Celine to shake.
'Well someone's feeling stingy.'
Feeling completely refreshed after her shower, Celine headed up to the deck. The day was still young, and if she were lucky, the sun would just be rising. One thing about living in a giant tin can was that you can never tell what the sky looked like outside. It was something that grew to annoy Celine tremendously over the past few days.
"Miss Celine. Perfect timing."
Stopping at the stairwell, she saw Law coming up the stairs with a large bag in hand. Eyeing the bad warily, she looked back up at the man.
"Good morning," she nodded.
"Yes, good morning," he returned the greeting. "Would you do me a favor and retrieve my sword from my bedroom downstairs? I can't carry both at the same time. I'll be waiting on the deck, please be quick."
Law continued up the stairs without another glance back. Celine stared after the man unbelievably. With a huff, she walked downstairs and through the med-bay. Although he had instructed her to retrieve his nodachi so bluntly, Celine was rather excited, as now she'll get a look into Law's private haven. His private quarters that not even his crew has seen. Celine quickened her pace down the aisle and stopped in his office. The large door was in view now.
Celine reached out and pushed the door open. The door made no sound as it swung open smoothly, a notable difference between the others doors on the submarine.
Law's room was overwhelmingly large, almost three times hers, and it did make sense for his room to be this big, as there's nothing else on this floor apart from the med-bay and his bedroom.
The large bed looked untouched, almost as if no one has slept on it in weeks. Which begged her to ask herself: just what Law could be doing that was keeping him from this magnificent bed? Stepping in, she noticed a pile books scattered on an end table next to a dark leather armchair. The gold rimmed leather looked a little tattered but still in an acceptable state.
Now that looked comfortable.
Perhaps he reads instead of sleeping. That would explain why there was such a difference between the bed and armchair. The nodachi she was searching for was propped against the armchair. This once again reaffirmed her suspicions that Law spends more time reading than sleeping. It was no wonder he had such dark hazy eyes.
Celine picked the sword up and headed back upstairs. There will be another time to bask in the wonder of Law's bedroom… or perhaps not. She struggled with the large sword as she wobbled out of the room. It looks like it's going to take a while for her to get up there. She's hoping whatever hurry Law's in can wait a little longer.
XoXo
Law had an uneasy expression on his face when she arrived on deck. The large bag was placed by his feet, and he had his arms crossed in front of him. Celine eyed him warily as she approached.
"Did I take too long?" she asked.
"No, it's alright," he picked up the bag. "Let's go."
"And where exactly are we going?" she followed.
"We have to visit a house in town," he replied.
"Whose house?" her voice sounded dismal.
"The bartender from last night," he said as they walked along the beach. "His daughter has some kind of disease"
"Is that where you were last night?"
"Yes," he nodded. "I wasn't able to identify what she had last night. I'm hoping I can find out more today."
"I see."
So he really was a doctor first despite being a pirate.
"He offered to feed us for rest of our stay if I could cure her."
Or maybe not…
"Is that the only reason why you're helping?" she sighed.
"Well not entirely," he smiled. "I've never encountered a mystery disease that I couldn't cure, I'm not about to ruin my perfect record now."
"And do you come across lots of mystery diseases?" Celine too smiled.
"You'd be surprised," he glanced her way. "… Are you having troubles with that?"
"No," Celine pouted, grasping onto the sheath tighter. "I'm more than capable of carrying it."
"Well it is a little big," he reached his hand out. "Let's swap."
Celine held the nodachi away from Law's reach, and she stepped back slowly as Law approached her.
"I said I'm fine with-."
Celine had held the sword slightly higher than she should have, and the blade had slid out of it's sheathe. The hilt of the blade landed on the sand with a quiet thud.
"-it."
'Oh god.'
Celine immediately picked the blade up and sheathed it. She said nothing and held the nodachi towards its rightful owner. Law simply smiled when he passed the bag towards her as he held onto his sword.
"Sorry…" she mumbled, clutching onto the large bag. "Let's get going before I do anything else embarrassing."
"It's quite alright, Miss Celine," Law chuckled. "It was rather amusing seeing you turn that shade of red."
She hadn't even noticed she was blushing before he mentioned it, and now she was probably even redder. Celine ignored his remark and marched on ahead, in vain attempt to hide her face. Law simply followed quietly in pursuit, enjoying every moment of it. But once they've reached the town, Law had to lead. Celine just looked down whenever he wasn't facing forward and did her best to avoid eye contact with him.
'Way to go Celine, dropping the captain's sword like that.'
Celine couldn't help but think back to last night when Ryuu lifted Jonah so easily, while she struggled so badly. Now it was the captain's sword that she couldn't even hold properly. She wondered if she was strong enough to be a pirate. Though she hadn't seen anyone apart from Law fight, she'd imagine they were all very capable of handling themselves.
Sure, she did have her Devil Fruit powers, but they're pretty useless unless she can keep contact with someone for a whole five seconds. If she were facing strong opponents who knew of her power, she'd be dead in no time before her powers would activate. This was one of those moments when she actually wished for her powers to work sooner.
"Any particular reason why you're scowling at me like that, Miss Celine?"
"What?" she blinked a few times. "No, no, it's nothing. I'm sorry for that. I was just thinking over some things."
"Good," he turned back forward. "We're here."
Celine looked over his shoulder and saw that they were stood in front of a fairly decent house. Law knocked and almost immediately the door pulled open. Behind stood the bartender from last night, he smiled gratefully and allowed them in.
"Thank you for coming," he dipped his head low. He looked up and turned to Celine. "And you are? His assistant?"
"Something like that," she mumbled back. "I'm Celine."
"I'm Gerald," he smiled briefly.
"Let's go shall we?" Law spoke up. "I'd like to examine Miss Raena as soon as possible."
"Yes, of course," Gerald stepped out of the way.
Celine followed Law up the stairs quietly. She wondered what Gerald's daughter would be like. If she inherited her father's good looks then she must be one pretty girl. From behind her, she could hear Gerald muttering hopeful words to himself, saying things like 'I believe in him' and 'He'll be able to do it'.
Law pushed open a door on his left and Celine walked in after him. Lying on the bed by the window was a little girl with long golden curls. From where Celine was standing, the little girl looked frail and thin. The little girl's eyes brightened up when she saw that she had company.
"Hello again Pirate-san," she smiled as Law walked over to the bed. "Who's she?"
"Miss Raena, this is Miss Celine," Law looked back over at Celine.
"She's really pretty," Raena whispered up to Law. "Is she your girlfriend?"
Unless this little girl's doing it on purpose (which Celine doubts), then she's whispering really loudly. Celine heard every single word and had once again looked down in embarrassment.
"No, Miss Celine is a member of my crew," Law replied calmly.
"I'm Raena! It's nice to meet you!" the little girl beamed.
"You too," Celine smiled, walking over and placing the bag down next to Law. "Should I leave this here?"
"Yes," he nodded, then raising the sword towards her. "And if you can handle it would you please put this outside in the corridor?"
"Of course, Captain," she held it with two hands. "Is there anything else you need? Or can I head back?"
"Do as you like," Law mumbled back as he scrounged through his bag. "And please don't drop that again."
"Got it…" she rolled her eyes as she headed out the door.
"See you later Celine-san!" Raena waved after Celine.
"Bye," Celine gave her a little wave before she closed the door.
Celine placed the sword down carefully against the wall, and turned towards the stairs. Gerald was still stood by the door when she got down.
"Gerald?" Celine placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Huh?" his eyes snapped over to hers. "Oh, sorry about that."
"It's fine," Celine smiled. "I should be going now."
"No! Please, let me make you some breakfast," Gerald pushed her into the dining room. "I made a promise to your captain to feed his crew."
"Please, I'm quite alright…"
"I insist," Gerald sat her down on a seat. "I won't be long."
Gerald disappeared through a door. Celine gave up with a sigh and glanced around her surroundings. On a shelf, there were rows of photographs, and in each of them there was a woman pictured with Gerald. Celine recognized the blonde hair and immediately made the connection.
Like Gerald said, he returned in no time with a plate of eggs and ham. He placed them down on the table and waited for her to try it.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a lot of things around the house," he smiled sheepishly. "I promise to make you something better back at the inn."
"No, please don't worry about it," Celine picked up her fork and knife. "This is more than enough, thank you."
"You're very kind," he smiled, taking the seat across hers. "How is it?"
"Very delicious," this man cooked even better than Sera.
"I'm glad," he let out a sigh of relief.
"May I ask you something?" Celine spoke.
"Of course," he nodded.
"Is that lady in the pictures your wife?" she looked towards the photographs.
"Ah…" Gerald followed her gaze. "Yes, her name was Emma. She passed away two years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Celine turned back to Gerald. "She's very beautiful."
"There's no need to apologize," he smiled lightly. "And thank you. You really are kind, Celine."
Celine smiled and looked back down at her plate. It must have been difficult for Gerald to raise a sick child on his own and work at the same time. She can't imagine what would happen to him if he lost both his wife and child. Law better be able to do something to save Raena.
Speak of the devil, Law walked into the room. He had his nodachi in hand and a small vial in the other.
"Miss Celine. You're still here," he noted.
Celine raised her hand in acknowledgement.
"How is she, Law-san?" Gerald stood up.
"She's a little weaker than last night and she's got a fever," Law replied. "I don't know what exactly is happening to her yet, but I'll find out soon. Come, Miss Celine. We've got to get back now."
"What? Now?" Celine quickly finished her food.
"Yes, I've got to get this blood sample tested," Law held the vial up. "I'm leaving my bag upstairs. Is that alright, Mister Gerald?"
"Of course, whatever that's convenient for you," Gerald nodded. "Is there anything I can do for the time being?"
"Make sure she gets some rest," Law replied as he headed towards the front door. "Let's go."
Celine followed Law out of the house after saying goodbye to Gerald. Law marched towards the beach without another word to Celine. Just what was Law's hurry? And why was he being so quiet?
"Hey, Law…"
"Yes?"
"Is Raena going to be alright?" she asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," he replied. "I've read about a fatal disease a few years back, but I can't remember very well. I'll have to look through my books when I get back. I'll need you to help me get started with the blood test."
"You do realize, I have zero to no knowledge on diseases, medical tests, and what not?" she opposed.
"Ask Jonah to help you," he replied.
"Yeah, but-."
"A little girl's life depends on it, Miss Celine," he turned to face her.
"… I understand."
'I'm just not sure if Jo's going to up for testing blood during a hangover.'
XoXo
"You're shitting me."
"I shit you not, Jo."
In the crew's bathroom, Jonah was sprawled over a toilet shamelessly, doing his best not to throw up.
"… Now's not a good time, Cel," he turned back weakly. "My head's spinning. I'll do more damage than good."
"Look, Law's already down in his bedroom going through his books," Celine crossed her arms. "If you don't do it, then a little girl's going to die."
"You don't understand… my body feels weak. I'll probably break all of Captain Law's equipment," he whined. "Please, go do it yourself…"
"… Fine, I will!" she dropped her hands. "… But can you at least talk me through it?"
"… Sure, if you can help me down to the med-bay."
That was as much help as she's going to get from him today. Celine helped Jonah off the floor and put his arm around her shoulder. It was easier to lift Jonah now as he's awake and only needs support.
"Who's this girl anyway?" Jonah asked.
"She's the daughter of that bartender from the inn," she replied. "He promised to feed us if the captain can cure her."
"Really?" Jonah sighed. "That's just like Captain Law."
"Well we've got to eat somehow since someone bought three crates of fruit," she rolled her eyes "Is he always like this? Does he always help strangers out like this?"
"Look I'm sorry okay? It was as much as Penguin and Shachi's fault," Jonah defended. "About Captain Law, every now and then someone would come along asking if we had a capable doctor, and if it's worth his time, then Captain would agree to help."
"I see…"
"Don't misunderstand me though," Jonah quickly spoke. "Captain Law's a great person to serve under and all, he's both fair and strict to his crew. He doesn't necessarily pick fights with anyone, but when someone does get on his bad side, he's ruthless. Well you'd know, from what happened back at your family's inn, and what happened to that Zed fellow."
"I suppose…" Celine nodded slowly. "But doesn't someone who goes and deliberately start a fight deserve it?"
Jonah lifted his head and stared at her momentarily before breaking out into laughter.
"What?" she scowled. "What's so funny?"
"You're right," Jonah chuckled. "That sounded like what the captain would have said."
"Shut up," she groaned. "Let's just concentrate on getting this blood ready. Is it difficult?"
"Not really," he shook his head "The hard part's to get the equipment ready, it's all really delicate."
"Well thank god, one of us can handle our alcohol," Celine smiled.
"Oi, quiet down, you want my help or not?" Jonah frowned.
"Of course," Celine replied.
XoXo
As soon as Law got back into the submarine, he headed straight down to his bedroom. Somewhere in his shelf, amongst his hundreds of medical books, there's one book that had information on a particular disease with similar symptoms to Raena's. The problem was Law couldn't remember the name of the book or the name of the disease, and he didn't have long as the girl's condition seem to have worsened over night.
It's also best if he hurried, as Celine was next door trying to prepare for the blood test. Even with the help of Jonah and she does set up the equipment correctly, it'll be for nothing if he didn't know what he's testing for.
Law frantically flipped through his books, he must have kept at least a hundred on his shelf. It'd take him at least a few days before he can look through them all. He prioritised his older books first, knowing that he's read the information a long time ago.
With a sigh, he shut the book in hand and placed it on the growing pile on the floor. He turned to pick up the next book and began skimming through the pages. A certain chapter caught his attention.
'Wilfred's Syndrome… Stunted growth… Weak body… Inherited… Average life span, thirty years if left untreated…'
It was all coming back to him, he's read about Wildred's Syndrome before but had forgotten about it over the years, as it was a very rare disease. If he remembered correctly, Gerald's wife passed away due to illness, it was probably the same disease.
Law read on, going through the diagnosis and treatments. If he had encountered someone with Wilfred's Syndrome those years ago when he first read about it, he wouldn't have been able to do anything to help. But now with his equipment and knowledge, he should be able to analyse the blood and develop a countermeasure within the day.
A knock came and Law looked up from the book.
"Come in."
The door pushed open slowly and Celine popped her head in. Law stood up with the book still in hand and walked towards the door, he pulled the door straight open.
"Have you found it yet?" she asked. "I'm done with the equipment so I was thinking I could help you if you."
"Found it," he passed her the book. "Wilfred's Syndrome. A deadly disease if left alone, but I'm sure we can cook something up."
"That's good," she let out a sigh of relief. "Then are you going to get started right away?"
"Yes, I'll need the whole day," he brushed past her.
Law walked into his office and evaluated Celine's work on his desk. Everything looked to be in order, which was surprising considering Celine's claims of having no knowledge in the medical field.
"Not bad work, Miss Celine," he remarked as he sat down.
"I follow instructions well," she placed the book on the desk.
"… Or so you think," he whispered.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Nothing," he shook his head. "Would you be so kind as to deliver the good news to Gerald?"
"Yeah, alright," she smiled. "I'm sure he'd be glad to hear his daughter's going to be okay."
"Yes… and also take the crew with you," Law snapped his plastic gloves on. "They should be famished."
After making sure Raena was fast asleep in her room, Gerald headed out to work. Even if he is slightly later than usual, his employees should have opened the inn for business. But instead, he found his workers outside the inn, warning people to not come in.
"What's going on here?" Gerald asked.
"Oh, Owner-san!" one of the waitresses cried. "It's terrible! There are pirates inside and they're refusing to leave!"
"Pirates?" Gerald repeated.
Could it be Law's crew? He and Celine returned to their ship a while ago, perhaps he had instructed his crew to come to the inn.
"We'd certainly be killed! We should call the marines!" she carried on.
"Now, now," Gerald waved his hands reassuringly. "Calm down Nef. There's no need for that. Those pirates are my friends."
"What? Seriously?" Nef gasped. "But they're so scary looking…"
"Come on everyone, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Those words were said as he pushed opened the door, and as soon as he saw the scene inside, he wished he hadn't.
These men were obviously not on Law's crew, none of them were present last night with the crew. Gerald wasn't sure what they wanted, but it definitely wasn't a nice warm meal with sake.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" Gerald forced a pleasant smile.
"You own this place right?" the largest man asked.
"I do," Gerald nodded back.
"We heard there were other pirates here last night…" he spoke on. "We're looking for a woman named Celine and a man named Trafalgar Law. They're pirates from North Blue."
"There were pirates here last night, but I didn't speak to them," Gerald brushed off. "I don't know if they were who you're looking for."
"Gah! That's annoying," he growled. "Whatever, since we're here we'll have some sake."
Deciding it was better to just give them what they want so they'd leave sooner, Gerald rushed to the counters and prepared their drinks. Now he was just hoping none of Law's crew would come in.
"Nef," he called quietly.
"Yes, boss?"
"I need you to run down to the beach and warn Trafalgar Law's crew," he instructed. "Tell them a group of pirates are here looking for them."
"What?" she turned back to the pirates present. "But they're pirates, it's none of our business if they-."
"Raena's life depends on their safety," Gerald hissed under his breath. "Go!"
"All right…" she sighed, heading for the door.
The worst that could've happen happened. Just as Nef pushed the doors open, the Heart Pirates strolled in. Everyone but the captain and polar bear were here. Gerald chewed his bottom lip nervously as Nef sat them down across the room from the other pirates. Celine sat with her back facing the other pirates. With luck perhaps they wouldn't recognize her.
Nef then turned to face Gerald and gave him small thumbs up before running out the front door. Gerald speedily dropped off the sake and headed towards the other table skittishly.
"Hey Gerald," Celine gave a small wave of her hand. "Hope you're up to feeding all these guys."
"I'd be happy to," he smiled back. "But there's something I have to tell you all."
"Wait me first," Celine cut him off. "Law asked me to tell you that Raena's going to be alright. He's identified the disease and is producing a cure for her."
"Really?" Gerald brightened up noticeably. "That's wonderful news! Thank you so much."
"No, I didn't do anything," Celine shook her head. "If you want to thank someone, thank Law later."
"Yes, I will," Gerald nodded. "What can I get for you all?"
Each person ordered what they liked apart from Celine, who has already eaten earlier. Everyone ordered more than they needed to, taking advantage of Gerald's hospitality. Celine shot them a dirty look and turned to Gerald.
"Thank you for having us," she wished the rest of them would do the same. If Law were here, he'd certainly know how to handle a situation like this.
"Say," Kane too turned to Gerald. "Wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?"
"Oh, that's right," Gerald remembered. "Those men over there are pirates looking for you. They're after Celine and your captain specifically. I don't know who they are but they're definitely looking for trouble."
Gerald left the Heart Pirates to contemplate on the new information. No matter how she looked at it, she has definitely not seen these men before. One man did look to have an extra leg, but it was probably just the lighting.
"Are they people you've met before?" Celine whispered to the group.
"Never seen them before," Shachi replied.
"He did say he was looking for you and the captain," Kane reminded. "Maybe it's to do with that Zed guy."
"Now that I look at the guy in the middle, he does look a little familiar," Celine pondered.
"My guess is that those are the pirates that want to kill you," Ryuu glanced over at the other table.
"Gee, way to be subtle," she retorted. "What should we do? Do you think we should get Law?"
"Nah, there's no need to bring the captain into this," Penguin said. "We're more than enough to handle these guys."
"What? But they have us outnumbered!" Celine insisted. "And I'm going to be no help at all."
"We'll be fine, Celine," Kane reassured. "We're a lot tougher than we look."
"Yeah? But what about me?" she did her best not to sound too worried.
"What about you?" Ryuu asked.
"As I am one of their targets, I'm almost certain they'd come after me first amongst this group," she explained.
"We'll protect you Celine!" Penguin proclaimed. "Right Jo?"
Jonah who had been lying on the table since he sat down, grumbled slightly but said nothing more. The alcohol must have really gotten to him last night.
"Quiet down, dumbass," Shachi hissed as he whacked Penguin over the head. "You want the whole room to hear you?"
"Sorry…" Penguin mumbled, rubbing his head through his cap.
The crew decided to lay low for the time being and unless they attack, they won't. Celine liked this plan, no one had to get hurt (for now) and if possible, they can just avoid this confrontation all together.
Celine glanced over to Ryuu and saw he was playing with his bandana that was tied around his wrist.
"Hey Ryuu, give me that," she pointed at his hand.
"No," he pulled his hand away from her.
"Come on, if I wear it maybe they won't recognize me," she insisted, reaching for his hand.
"Fine, whatever," he pulled it off his wrist. "Take it."
The crew watched Celine fold the piece of red cloth into a triangle. She then tied it over her head carefully. No one would say it, but Celine looked good with the bandana on. The red complimented her dark straight hair.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"You look like a thug," Ryuu mumbled.
Celine pursed his lips into a fine line and kicked him under the table. He whelped a little as he shuffled his seat away from hers.
"I'm sure what he means is that you look… different," Kane shot his brother a stern look. "A good different."
"You guys are terrible at this," she sighed.
The men gulped at her comment and did anything but look her in the eye.
The whole time while waiting for their food, Ryuu and Celine shoved each other under the table. Kane was getting a little annoyed over the whole ordeal. What were they? Children? No, they were worse than children.
Celine sent a sharp kick to his knee and he flinched up, his leg bashing into the table with a loud thud.
"Seriously, you two?" Kane grumbled. "Playing footsies at this age? What, are you guys five?"
Ryuu exchanged looks with Celine and a sly grin crept onto his lips. He turned to his brother and kicked him under the table. Kane winced and retaliated, striking him back.
"Now, you're a five year old too," Celine chuckled.
Kane wasn't sure what to say. Since joining the crew, Ryuu had mostly kept to himself. But now that Celine's here, he's starting speaking a lot more, even to the rest of the crew.
XoXo
Nef hurried along the sandy shores searching for the pirate ship, but the only thing even relatively close to a ship was a bright yellow submarine. As she got closer, she realized it was a lot bigger than she thought.
A rope ladder was let down from the top deck already. Was she just supposed to climb up? The climb took a lot more effort than she would have liked, but she was determined to complete her errand.
Sleeping on the deck was a polar bear.
Nef wasn't working last night and knew nothing about this Law's crew. Even though they were from North Blue, she didn't expect them to have a polar bear as a pet.
The bear looked up when he heard footsteps on deck. The two stared at each other in silence. At one point, Nef had wondered if she should just run away.
"Who are you?" he asked.
The bear spoke! Nef swallowed uneasily as she took a step back.
"I-I work at the inn," she stammered. "I'm looking for a Captain Law. I have news from my boss, Gerald."
"The captain?" Bepo stood up, towering over the small girl. "… I'll go get him. Wait here."
Not only did the bear speak, but he can walk on two legs too! Just what in the world was up with this crew? First a large group arrived at the inn, the girl was pretty but looked harmless enough, but the men were a completely different story. Not only did they all dress in the same jumpsuits, but they looked rather intimidating in them too. The two hatless ones especially, they were almost double her own size and both shared stern glares. And now there was a talking polar bear too!
She waited anxiously, wondering what kind of person the captain was. He must have been some sort of monster to be able to handle such a crew.
To her surprise, when the doors were pushed open again, a slender figure walked out. Pulling his medical gloves off, he blinked under the harsh sunlight. Nef watched as he stuffed the gloves into his back pocket and rubbed his forehead. Captain Law was no monster at all, in fact, he was one hell of a looker.
"What can I do for you?" he asked. "I'm afraid I'm in a hurry, and I don't have much time to spare."
"I just have a message from Gerald," Nef nodded quickly. "He has asked me to come warn you of a group of pirates that are at the inn. Apparently they were looking for you and a woman named Celine."
"But my crew headed towards the inn less than an hour ago," Law muttered as he thought it through.
"What? Then…"
That's when it hit Nef.
Celine must have been the woman that arrived at the inn earlier, and the men she was with would have been Law's crew.
"Oh…" Nef sighed. "Well shouldn't you come if that's the case? The other pirates don't look like they play friendly."
"Neither does my crew," Law smiled. "Apart from Miss Celine, everyone on my crew are very capable of handling themselves in a fight. If that's all, then I must head back inside."
"But wait-."
"As I said, my crew are more than capable and I trust their judgment," Law glanced back towards her. "I'm certain they'll find the best way to handle the situation."
Law didn't have time to dawdle around so he left it with that. Not that he didn't mean what he had said, every word he spoke he believed. With Celine as an exception, everyone else on the crew were gifted fighters. He wasn't very confident with everyone's judgment but he was positive Kane would keep them all in check.
XoXo
Unknowing to Law, across the island and back at the inn, the Heart Pirates have just been spotted. More specifically the other group of pirates recognized Celine sitting across the room.
The largest man had just revealed himself as Zed's little brother, Sid.
"Should have known they were related," Celine mumbled to herself. "No two person share such a pitiful bone structure."
"Well said," Ryuu grinned quietly, standing up from his seat. "And it looks like he heard you."
"What did you say?" Sid demanded, walking over to their table. "You say something, bitch?"
"Now, now, that's no way to speak to a lady," Kane too stood up.
"I ain't gonna play nice with the bitch that killed my brother," Sid snarled. "Where's the other bastard? Where's Trafalgar Law?"
"Look, you insult Celine, we don't give a crap," Ryuu murmured. "But if you insult our captain, then that's something else entirely."
Celine whacked her hand over his abdomen.
"Oh yeah? You wanna go, pretty boy?" Sid popped his knuckles.
Before either Sid or Ryuu moved, Kane had sent Sid flying across the room with a sharp kick to the man's head. Celine watched on, stunned over the older man's actions. No one had expected that, Kane was normally the calm, reserved one, and would never strike first.
"Celine, you might want to crawl to a corner somewhere and hide," Kane called over his shoulder. "Cuz' some crazy shit's about to go down."
The rest of the crew stood up with small grins on their faces, no doubt laughing at Kane's comment. For the first time ever, Celine felt intimidated by the Heart Pirates. Over the last few days, it's been all jokes and smiles, but now during a serious fight, she could see that they shouldn't be taken lightly.
Jonah rubbed the back of his head, anyone could tell he was annoyed and would rather be doing anything but this. Shachi and Penguin took their place next to Kane, both bearing provoked looks. Ryuu gave her a quick glance before joining the boys.
Celine hadn't thought much of their fighting skills before, seeing their captain's alone was enough for her, but now standing here behind these men… they looked promising. And it felt good to know that these men were on her side for a change.
"You will pay for that…" Sid muttered as his men helped him up. "Boys, lets teach these fools a lesson. Remember we're after the girl, and avoid touching her at all costs!"
The fight started immediately after those words left his mouth. Kane charged towards Sid and both sides dispersed. Celine wasn't exactly sure what she should be doing now, it was obvious they were after her but the crew was doing a pretty good job keeping them away. Should she just crawl to a corner and try to hide? It wasn't like she would be much help anyway.
Celine turned towards the counter and saw one of the pirates heading towards Gerald. The man looked absolutely terrified, she knew he didn't stand a chance. Pulling her gloves off, Celine ran over as quickly as she could and jumped onto the man. The impact knocked the pirate to his back and his sword flew out of his hands. His face paled when Celine placed her fingers onto his face.
The pirate struggled under her weight and eventually pushed her off, he quickly picked up his sword again and raised it cautiously.
"I know all about your annoying little power," he panted as he grabbed a hold of his cheek, where Celine's hands were. "It's no use if you aren't strong enough to keep me pinned down."
Just as those words were said, a table was thrown across the room, knocking the man off his feet entirely. Celine turned sideways, her eyes widened in awe, to see Ryuu giving her a small wave before kicking another man aside.
Celine smiled back and turned to Gerald. The man was quivering from his fingers to toes, it doesn't look as if he'll be able to do anything in this fight. Celine re-gloved her hands and helped him up to his feet.
Judging from Gerald's expression and the shadow looming behind her, Celine realized someone was approaching from behind. Curling her fingers into a tight fist, she turned around and sent her hand flying. Amazingly the punch landed where it was supposed to, and the pirate fell back on the ground. Celine bent down to examine the man, he looked to be knocked out. Something Celine was strangely proud about.
"Hey guys!" she grinned. "Look! I got one!"
"… And we got everyone else."
Celine looked up and gulped. Sure enough, every other pirate was lying unconscious on the ground. Kane was still holding Sid by his shirt and tossed him aside when he noticed there was no more fight left in the other man.
"Man… that was almost too easy," Shachi grumbled. "And I was hoping we'd be able to get serious."
Penguin agreed with a nod and the two muttered on about their disappointment. Celine tiptoed over the bodies carefully as she made her way back to the table where the men have sat back down.
"Hey Gerald!" Kane called. "Would you hurry it up with the food? I'm really hungry!"
Gerald regained his composure after a moment and hurried into the kitchen.
"… You guys are really strong," Celine spoke.
"That was nothing," Penguin grinned. "You should have seen us fight these other guys back in North Blue!"
"That time in the town square?" Shachi asked.
"No! When we fought the Rim Pirates," Penguin shook his head. "Remember how crazy we went on that one?"
Celine listened quietly to them recalling the incident. Commenting how fun 'knocking people out' was, and how amazing it felt when they 'defeated the strongest man in North Blue'. Just what kind of people were they? Originally she had thought Law was amazing, but after seeing the rest of his crew, she was thoroughly impressed.
"But hey, Celine did knock that one guy out," Shachi smiled.
"That's a lot more than we expected," Ryuu chuckled. "Well done for that."
"Oh, don't mock me like that," she frowned.
"Don't worry about it Celine," Kane said. "Jo was pretty pathetic when he first joined."
"Oh yeah!" Penguin agreed with a nod. "But a few months with us and now he's kicking butt."
"I already have a headache after the exercise, but now I feel like I'm going burst," Jonah grumbled, back on the table again.
"Exercise," Shachi repeated with a roll of his eyes. "That's a nice way to put it."
"Wait, so you guys trained him?" Celine queried.
"Yeah, we taught him some basics," Shachi replied.
"Do you think you guys can teach me?" she asked.
"Uh…" Shachi drawled. "Can you, Penguin?"
"Um… I think I broke something during that fight, what about you, Jo?" Penguin patted the boy's back.
"Piss off," was all Jonah said.
"Kane?" Penguin tried again.
"I'm really not the training type," Kane shook his head. "What about you, Ryuu?"
"… Sure."
"What? Seriously?" Penguin exclaimed.
"It'd be fun to see her struggling with the moves," Ryuu smirked.
"I'm right here, you insensitive jerk," she kicked him again.
"Oh god, are we starting with the footsies again?" Kane sighed.
At that moment, the waitress from before returned to the inn. At first she seemed to be observing the Heart Pirates wordlessly by the door, but after taking a good look around, she shrieked at the bodies lying around the room.
"B-Boss!" she cried as she ran into the kitchen, avoiding as many bodies as she can. "W-What's going on?"
More yelling can be heard from the kitchen, until finally fiery hushed words silenced the girl's yells. Not long later, she returned out with a tray of food. She walked over to their table cautiously, careful with her steps over the bodies.
"Hey guys…" she chuckled slowly. "Here's your food…"
"Alright!" Shachi grinned.
Nef placed the dishes onto the table as quickly as her hands will move. It was hard to believe these were the people that Captain Law had so much faith in. After everything was done, Nef hurried back into the kitchen to join Gerald.
"Are you sure this is alright, boss?" Nef whispered. "What are we going to do once the other pirates wake up?"
"We can't call the marines, no matter what," Gerald told her. "Raena's life depends on their captain. For now we should probably throw them out though."
"And who's supposed to do that?" Nef crossed her arms.
"Gets the boys in the kitchen to help you," Gerald headed to the door. "I'll go clean up the broken furniture."
To his surprise, when he got out, Celine and a few of the members were already helping with the cleaning up. Almost half of the bodies were now piled outside the inn. Strangely enough, none of them awoke during the move, this shows just had badly there were beat up.
"I got these guys to help out," Celine pointed back at her crewmates. "We did make a mess of things, didn't we?"
"You didn't have to," Gerald half-smiled. "Thank you all."
"Hey, it's no big deal," Penguin tossed a body out the door.
"It's not like we were eating or anything, Celine," Shachi grunted.
"Be quiet, you," Celine sneered. "And get a move on."
Finally after hours of working, Law had finally produced what seemed to be a sturdy cure. He had managed to extract the virus from Raena's blood sample, and developed a countermeasure. So far it had worked with the collected blood, but he wasn't one hundred percent positive it'll work on the body. Right now he was hoping it'd do the trick, if not then there would really be a problem.
"Where are we going now?" Bepo asked.
"Back to the inn," Law replied. "We're going to tell Gerald the good news."
"Then can we eat?" the polar bear looked hopeful.
"Of course," Law smiled.
Bepo grinned as he followed after his captain. The thought of finally being able to eat pleased him so much. The whole day has been spent sleeping under the sun and assisting Law when he was needed.
Arriving outside the inn, there was a pile of unconscious bodies. Law smiled a little at the sight and headed inside. The whole crew was inside sat around a table with Gerald. The room looked emptier than he remembered, the furniture on one side of the room was notably gone.
"Law-san!" Gerald stood. "Is it done?"
"Yes, we can go see your daughter now," Law nodded back.
"Great," Gerald headed towards the kitchen. "Just let me tell my employees first. Excuse me."
A figure wandered back into the inn wearily. Every step took a lot of effort, that, everyone in the inn could tell. In fact, it was all the surprise that he was able to stand after taking such a beating from Kane.
It was Sid.
"You… you're Trafalgar Law aren't you?" he groaned.
"This one looks rather familiar," Law tapped his nodachi.
"You killed my brother, you bastard!" Sid cried.
"Zed's brother, Cap," Kane stood up. "I thought I got him for good. Apparently not."
"Getting sloppy," Law smirked.
As Sid was about to reach Law, he swiftly sidestepped and knocked Sid out the doors using the sheathe of his sword. Gerald returned from the kitchen and directed Law out the door.
"Are you going to treat Raena?" Celine followed after.
"Yes, Miss Celine," Law nodded. "Would you like to come?"
"I'd like that," Celine smiled.
A quiet moan came from the floor. Sid began to stir, slowly waking up. Celine looked down and saw Sid grabbed a hold onto her boot.
"… Not so fas-."
Law kicked the man in the head, and he immediately let go of Celine.
"Thanks," Celine glanced back at Sid. "Do you think the cure going to work?"
"I'm almost positive," he whispered quieter. "But there has only been one recorded incident, and it didn't go well."
"I'm sure it'll work," Celine tried to reassure him. "You're a smart guy, if you can't do it then no one can."
"Way to make a man feel better," Law chuckled darkly. "I feel more pressured than ever."
"You know what I mean," she glanced at him.
When the three arrived in the house, Gerald immediately rushed upstairs while the pirates followed in pursuit. Raena was reading a book when they walked in, but upon seeing the familiar faces, she put the book down and greeted them.
"Hello Pirate-san! Celine-san!" she grinned.
"Raena, Law-san is going to give you some medicine for your sickness alright?" Gerald stood by the small bed, grasping onto his daughter's hand. "It's going to be alright."
"O-okay, daddy," Raena nodded.
The little girl looked back and forth between the grown ups. From her father to Law, then to Celine and back to her father. Raena gulped when Law pulled out a small case from his pocket, inside were a long glass needle and a small clear vial.
"Celine?" he called.
Law handed her the opened box and he reached into his back pocket, pulling on his surgical gloves. Then he turned to Celine and reached for the vial and needle. With great expertise, he filled the needle with the vial's contents and placed the vial back into the box.
Raena whimpered slightly under Law's scrutinizing gaze, and grasped onto her father's hand tighter.
"Don't do needles well?" Law almost smiled at the girl's mortified expression. "Don't worry, it's not going to hurt too bad."
"Too bad?" she repeated.
Celine felt like smacking herself. Why would he go and add that last bit? Couldn't he tell she was on the verge of tears?
"What he means is that it'll just sting a little," Celine spoke up with a smile. "You'll be fine, sweetheart. Just don't think about it."
"B-But what if-."
"Ssh… just quiet down and close your eyes," Celine cooed. "It'll be over in a second."
Glancing back up at her father one last time, Raena then shut her eyes like she was asked to and waited nervously. She felt a hand holding her wrist in place, and then a tiny prick on her arm.
"W-Was that it?" Raena whispered, unwilling to open her eyes just yet.
"Yup," Law replied.
"Seriously?"
Raena fluttered her eyes opened and stared at the spot on her arm that was covered with a circular Band-Aid.
"I didn't even feel a thing," Raena beamed. "You're the best, Pirate-san!"
"What can I say?" Law stood up from the bed. "Here, Miss Celine."
Celine received the needle and placed it back into its place.
"So she's cured?" Gerald inquired. "For good?"
"Theoretically it should work, but let's give it a night. I'll come check on her tomorrow," Law picked up his sword. "For now, Miss Celine and I will retire back to your inn. It's best if you stay with your daughter tonight."
"I understand, thank you," Gerald nodded gratefully. "Please take care on your way out."
"Miss Celine, grab the bag would you?" Law ordered as he stepped out of the room.
Celine grabbed the bag and followed after her captain. Law seemed to be pondering on something as they walked. Not once did he look up or say anything. Her first guess would be he's worrying over Raena.
"Law."
"Hm?"
"No matter what you said before, I am sure you saved her," Celine held his shoulder, causing him to come a halt. "Your cure worked."
"And what if it didn't?" Law turned to face her. "It's too early to tell. What if I had doomed her instead?"
"You're a good man – a good doctor," she reminded him. "Trust in your skills."
Law eyed her for a few moments, his eyes looked erratic, as if he was searching for something. He slowly brought his fingers up towards her cheek. Celine's breath hitched when she felt his thin fingers run along her skin. The warmth overwhelmed her entirely and she felt herself growing hot under his touch.
"Thank you," he whispered as he dropped his hand. "I needed those words."
Celine had been counting the seconds in her head from the moment he touched her. If it were another second later, Law would have been collapsed on the floor. He probably thought of it too, maybe he was keeping count and had let go just before anything could happen.
"Miss Celine?"
Hadn't realized Law had walked ahead, she looked up to see him quite a distance ahead already. She tried to shake the thoughts off and walked after her captain. There were times and places for everything, and right now wasn't the time to feel sorry about her own problems. Law had just saved a little girl's life, it was definitely time to celebrate her captain's great accomplishment.
"Look at this, Miss Celine."
"What?"
Celine snapped out of her thoughts and turned to see Sid once again stood up. Many of his crew was beginning to stand up too.
"Some men just never learn," Law sighed, pulling down his cap a little. "Looks like the stupid ones will just have to be put down… permanently."
"L-Look," Sid yelled across to them. "We can take a hint, you guys are much stronger than us and we won't be able to beat you right now."
"Not so stupid," Law mumbled under his breath.
"So we'll leave you alone for now," Sid made an effort to sound threatening. "But don't think for a moment that I'll forget about this. You two killed my brother and deformed half of his crew. You will pay for that."
"Yeah? Why don't you try making us pay now?" Law's grip on his sword grew tighter. "It won't make a difference if it's now or later."
"Shut up, Trafalgar Law!" Sid shouted. "You're lucky we're pulling back now! Come on men!"
It couldn't be any more obvious, how painfully desperate Sid was to get out of there. He scampered after his men right after he said those words. Celine was just glad she didn't have to witness another fight today. That first fight at the inn was more than enough for a day.
"You're just letting them go?" Celine asked.
"Yes," Law nodded. "As I said before, I'm not worried about them."
"Why not?"
"The weak tend to band together in a vain attempt to feel stronger," Law told her, almost as if he was reciting a quote. "But that doesn't make them any stronger, nor does it make a difference if I fight them now or in the future. We'll kill them the next time they show their faces."
"Right…" she swallowed. "Kill…"
"Does it bother you?" he turned her way.
"A little," she admitted. "But they're bringing it on themselves for trying to come after us, right?"
"Exactly," he nodded.
"I saw the crew fight earlier today," she looked uneasy.
"And?"
"They're all… very strong," she noted.
"It's only normal, no?" he smiled. "It'd be useless to have an incompetent crew."
"Yes, I agree," she looked up to him. "Which is why I have asked Ryuu to train me."
"Ryuu? Really?" Law looked baffled.
"Yeah, no one else would do it," she sighed. "You take what you get."
"You could have asked me," Law's voice shook ever so slightly.
"W-What?" she exclaimed. "How can I? You're my captain… not to mention I'm so terribly weak. You'd probably just laugh at me."
"… Point taken," he smirked. "I think I might head back to the ship first."
"Why?" she asked as they stopped in front of the inn.
"I'm feeling a little tired," he shrugged.
"Are you actually going to sleep, or are you going to read all night again?" she placed the bag down on the ground and crossed her arms.
"…"
"If you're just going to read, you might as well come drink with us."
Celine picked up the bag and hooked her arm around Law's.
"Come on," she pulled him in. "I think you deserve a break from your nightly rounds."
Law grumbled under his breath as he was dragged into the inn. Another long night awaits him.
Guys… that was almost 9k words… and I was going to add more to this, but I decided I better split this before I make it a 10k chapter :P By the way that Wilfred's Syndrome thing, I made it up. I'm no good at medical stuff and what not, so didn't want to get into details :P
Thank you to everyone that favorited and alerted this story! :)
Reviews:
Guest – Tehe thank you! I'm glad you like it!
the everchanging – Celine's gonna have a bit more bonding time with Ryuu next chapter when he tries to 'train her' or whatnot :P Thank you for the review! :)
valeries26 – Thank you! :)
midnight1997 – Thank you so much! :D
Carefree Insanity – No, no! It's completely fine! I knew his sword was called a nodachi but I thought it was a variation of a katana. My bad… xD I'll change my mistake when I find time! Thank you for pointing that out! :)
Chococatx33 – haha, thank you for your review! :)
Justafangirl – Ahhh… that's what I was thinking to myself a while ago. I sorta want them to have a thing but it's not going to anything serious – I think. What do you think? :P Thanks for the review!
Shima Namida – Oh my gosh! Thank you! :) I'm happy you like it! I thought it'd be way to OP to have her be able to kill whomever with just a touch, and I thought with a few second barrier at least she'll be able to have short kisses and what not ;P Thank you for your review! :)
Okkkayyy.
Since Justafangirl has brought it up. I need to ask you guys. Would you like some Ryuu/Celine or should I keep it strictly Law/Celine? If you do ask for Ryuu/Celine, I won't make it very serious because it is a Law/OC story, but I will add something.
Let me know! :D