Shirazuki wrapped a strong arm around his friend, encouraging her to lean into him. Ash pressed a hand against his side, intent on refusing his support. But a sudden misstep on the cracked sidewalk made her change her mind about that. She grunted as a flash of searing pain ran down her left thigh.
"You're gonna want to have the Captain take a look at that when we get back," He murmured worriedly.
She shook her head stubbornly. "No, absolutely NOT," she said firmly. "He'll only say that it was my fault for being so reckless."
"Well, it was," he cautiously admitted. "And you were."
She scowled at him. "Well so what?" She snapped. "The mission was successful, so I'd say the risk was worth it."
He shook his head ruefully. "He's not that sort of Captain, Ash." He paused to take a breath, but she pinched his two lips together.
"Enough already, just help me board the boat but spare me the lecture," she grumbled half-heartedly. Her face fell at the sight of the boarding plank angled at such a height.
He nodded silently and reinforced his grip by placing a hand on her waist as well as they merged with the other passengers who were boarding the small barge. He frowned thoughtfully as he wondered just how this would play out. Ash's injury was fairly minor, at least by his own evaluation, but he wasn't much of a medic beyond basic first aid. He wasn't about to lie to his Captain, but he also didn't think it was his place to tattle on his friend either.
He noticed her tugging absent-mindedly on the Jolly Roger patch sewn onto her jean jacket. Ash was still very new to the Heart Pirate crew, not even a year in. He was aware of the pressure she was putting on herself, unnecessarily, to prove her worth to both crew and captain. It was almost as if, she was worried that one mistake or error on her part would make Law reconsider his decision. But that wasn't very likely at all, especially since they were dating…sort of.
Their relationship, understandably, was on the DL. Nothing very overt, just an occasion mark on her neck or wandering eyes in a crowded room. He suspected that it did have a little to do with Law not wanting to show blatant favoritism for a lover. But moreover, intimacy is such a private matter, and not everyone wants to be so visibly vulnerable. He reddened a bit as he could relate all too well with his own particular…predicament.
Once on board, she looked relieved to see a canopied terrace with some tables and light refreshments being served. Some rather elegant guests in modern fashion were tittering lightly with glasses of bubbly. He quickly turned on his heel and led her away from the scene.
"Hey, wait!" She protested.
"Pirates ride below, remember? With the rest of the rats," he repeated the old turn of phrase.
She pouted in huge disappointment, but she knew that he was right. Pirates are scum, lurking in the shadows while the World Government and its privileged favorites got to bask in the sun. She sighed wistfully as she missed that time, just a little bit. Her former Marine connections weren't always such a burden sometimes. Piracy was completely different from the life she enjoyed before; she was still getting used to it as she struggled to find her place within it.
"Cheer up though, I ordered you a goodie basket," he grinned with a faint chuckle in his throat.
"What?" She blurted out. "You didn't!" She said in disbelief.
"Of course I did," he continued seriously. "After all, it's the height of being an adult, to splurge on candy baskets," he quoted her silly childhood dream.
She face-palmed with her one free hand and shook her head. "You are such a-" she began to scoff but he ignored her as he stopped at their room and dug into his pockets for the key. Once inside there was a purple basket bulging with all sorts of delicious goodies. She stared at it in a rare moment of awe, blinking slowly in wonder. He let go of her and turned to hang his suede jacket along the back of a chair.
"Fine, you can be the mature one and go without," he teased as he plopped down on the bed and reached for the basket. He pulled the ribbon to open the cellophane wrapping and reached his hand in to pull out a box.
Her eyes went impossibly wide. "Are those…." She swallowed hard.
"Your absolute favorite candy in the North Blue?" He casually asked. "Eh, maybe, or some cheap knock-off of it." He cracked through the glued top and gently shook it from side to side in a playful tease. "Only you can be the judge of that."
She wrinkled her nose with a final fit of stubbornness before her hand shot out to seize the treasure from him. He laughed as she poured the box right into her open mouth. Just then the transponder snail in his jacket began to ring, and he turned to retrieve it.
"Have you boarded your transport?" Law's low tone crackled on the line.
He was about to answer but Ash took the mouthpiece from him. "Geez, you can't even wait for us to report in without-"
"That mediocre ferry runs on a bi-monthly basis and it's your only ticket off that rock," he shot back without missing a beat. "So if there's to be a delay, I wish to know about it immediately."
She stuck her tongue out, even though she was well aware that he couldn't see it. Shirazuki stood up and leaned in to join in the conversation. "Yes, Captain, we made it."
"Good," he said with a measure of satisfaction. "And the mission?"
"A complete success!" She triumphantly declared. "Definitely some of my finest work too, I must add-"
"So long as you didn't need to resort to unnecessary measures," he said dryly, with a hint of warning.
Her smile faltered and it was silent for a few tense seconds. Shirazuki cleared his throat. "Not to worry, Captain. She did well, very well. I told you she'd be a real asset to the team."
"I didn't need you to tell me that in the first place," he huffed slightly. "Well, rest up, you two. We'll rendezvous at the portside switch point in three days' time. Keep a low profile until then."
The snail's eyes drooped down as the call clicked at the end. Shirazuki pocketed the snail with a slight smirk. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he already has his suspicions about your injury."
"Don't be stupid," she snapped as her cheeks burned. "He may be a lot of things, but he's not psychic."
For the next two days, Ash took extra care to follow Law's direction. Not so much out of obedience, but because her leg was hurting quite badly. Sudden stiffness made the ache even worse, and it hurt to put pressure on it. Shirazuki was attentive to treating the actual wound, a deep gash on the verge of needing stitches. And perhaps it did, but she had flatly refused any sort of needle, and he didn't trust himself to do a good job of it either. Seeing a doctor was out of the question with a bounty on her head, it simply wasn't possible. The best he could do was clean the wound daily and bind it again with a fresh bandage. She laid in bed with her leg propped up on a pillow to keep it slightly elevated. Normally she would have been bored with being laid up but she was very tired and worn out. It felt relaxing to rest with the gentle swells of the ship rocking gently on the Grand Line.
During this time, Shirazuki took care of the remaining details of their mission. He also took private calls from his roommate Oki in the bathroom. Unfortunately, he didn't realize just how thin the walls were, so she overheard quite a bit. She'd smile at his covert efforts to flirt with his secret lover. She'd known for a few months now about their relationship, if it could be called that. Shirazuki wasn't gay but he was putty in Oki's expert bi-sexual hands. Everyone loves to be spoiled, and that was especially true for Shirazuki. She was a little sad that her friend hadn't trusted her to speak openly about this yet. But she could hardly blame him, after all, she wasn't spilling the beans about her own affair either.
She frowned worriedly at the ceiling. It…felt weird to both look forward to, and dread, reuniting with her Captain. She reached out to gently rub along her stiff thigh. What was she going to do about this? What would she say? She shook her head stubbornly. There was no sense in worrying, she told herself. She'd be better by then, especially with all this rest. She'd be back on her feet without so much as a limp. Then she wouldn't have to tell Law anything. He'd be too proud of her success to start nit-picking the details it took to secure it.