Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but Kyra is my idea.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
Kyra peers up from her seated position on the ground, eyeing the polar bear currently hovering over her. In Bepo's arms is the sheet-wrapped corpse of Fire Fist Ace. The bear has just returned after being sent by Law to fetch the body, and if Kyra is reading his animalistic features correctly, Bepo is very uneasy.
The sorceress crosses her legs and pats a thigh, indicating that he should set the body's head in her lap. "I've done this before."
Fire Fist Ace is gently deposited before her. Bepo takes several long strides back as soon as he is relieved of his burden, moving to stand rather protectively near his captain as the fur on his head stands on end. The rest of the crew is clustered just behind them, a crowd of the island's women watching at the edge of the forest. Jinbei waits with the Heart Pirates, a restraining hand on the shoulder of Straw Hat Luffy. The rubber pirate is nearly bouncing with excitement and anticipation at the notion that soon his precious brother will be among the living once again. He has been forced to wait a whole night for this, as Law had not allowed him to wake Kyra from her slumber the previous afternoon and had instead transported her to his own quarters. The mage roused this morning in her captain's bed - alone, thank the gods - and had been ambushed by Straw Hat as soon as she set foot out on the sub's newly repaired deck. So it is that only about half an hour after waking, Kyra is preparing to resurrect someone for the first time since her escape from Naval captivity.
Law moves forward and crouches next to her, for once not grinning or smirking but frowning slightly as though displeased.
"What should I be prepared for insofar as the medical care you'll require after this?" he asks quietly, ice-chip eyes boring into her own. She can smell his scent, like a mixture of medical antiseptic ointment and the sea he travels; she had woken up practically wrapped in it along with his sheets. Kyra swallows hard and looks away, forcing her attention back to the body whose head rests in her lap.
"I don't know," she begins, only to be abruptly cut off by the doctor.
"You said you've done this before," he reminds her, sounding irritated and slightly suspicious. She realizes he thinks she has lied to him, and turns a scowl in his direction.
"I have, but never after a full two weeks. Usually it's been kind of an instant thing." She can feel her cheeks heating and her scowl deepens. "I used to have control problems, okay? I'd kill people on accident and then freak out and bring them back to life. It took years to learn even a little control over my powers. I've gotten pretty good, but this guy's been dead longer than anybody I've ever brought back, so I don't have a clue what repercussions this is going to have."
Something in her captain's expression changes, letting her know that he understands. He reaches out to briefly squeeze her shoulder before standing and retreating to give her space.
"Be careful," he says with a warning glance to her. "I will not be pleased if you push yourself too hard so soon after coming out of your coma."
"How touching," Kyra mutters, letting a shield push out around her until it has expanded to within inches of Law and Bepo. It slowly begins to go from transparent to solid black, something that is apparently not pleasing to either of the present Supernovae.
"Hey, wait! I wanna watch what happens!" Straw Hat exclaims, pulling away from Jinbei and running towards the shield. He bounces off it, tripping over his own feet as he skids back and goes sprawling.
"What are you doing?" Law demands, back to looking somewhat displeased.
Kyra gives a shrug as the blackness spreads until only a skylight and a small circle through which she can speak to the surgeon remains, supremely unconcerned with his annoyance.
"I'm not a freak show you get to watch perform tricks. I want some privacy, not a fucking audience. I'll drop the shield when I'm finished. Try not to have a stroke or dissect anybody in the meantime."
And she waves her hand in a purposefully dismissive manner, sealing herself in a protective shell of onyx energy with no opening but for the one far above her, which bathes her and the corpse in sunlight. Once secured from prying eyes, the sorceress places her fingertips on the sheet that covers Fire Fist Ace's body. The cloth instantly vanishes, leaving the dead pirate dressed in the tattered shorts he wore at his execution. Dried blood is caked over his torso, sprayed out from the large hole in the center of his chest. The tattoo on his back is ruined, punched inwards and fried; she'll probably be able to fix that. In the interest of caution, since she has never brought back a person who's been dead for so long, she will undo his injuries before trying anything. First she needs to heal the extreme damage: pretty much regrow his heart, which has been mostly melted, fix his diaphragm, repair the missing chunk of spine, stuff like that.
For all she knows, to do otherwise might stick the man's soul back into the wrecked shell and kill him all over again.
Best to avoid that.
White magic wraps around her hand. Kyra places her palm over the center of the hole and closes her eyes, concentrating. Instantly a picture of the internal damage fills her mind, showing her exactly what she is dealing with. The sorceress very carefully allows small tendrils of her power to extend into Ace's chest cavity, probing the melted bones and caressing the charred organs. Ever so slowly, one strand of tissue at a time, Kyra begins to heal.
Time passes by, unnoticed and unimportant. Her entire concentration has narrowed down on the cadaver entrusted to her care. Piece by piece Kyra slowly regrows or repairs the pirate's organs, bones, muscles, and skin. She carefully works her way back to the surface, lingering at newly regrown muscles to ensure the heart is properly protected. The body - inside and out - feels hot to her touch; she assumes this to mean that Fire Fist will retain his Devil Fruit ability once she revives him. This is good, as Kyra had been uncertain if that would be the case. She has never resurrected a Devil Fruit user before.
At last everything is healed, regrown into its proper shape once again. Kyra takes a moment to catch her breath, noticing for the first time how tired and drained she feels. She is still not completely recovered from the war, and this prolonged healing session has zapped her of a great deal of strength. No matter; it is finished now, and as Kyra has yet to pass out from exhaustion or strain she will count herself lucky. Law will probably pitch a hissy fit, but screw him. She turns Fire Fist's body onto its side, tracing a finger over the newly-repaired tattoo that marks him as a Whitebeard pirate. She remembers seeing matching tattoos on the skins of her own crewmembers and makes a mental note to talk to Law about getting one of her own. If she is to be a Heart Pirate, she will wear their mark. Should for some reason she ever desert the crew, ridding herself of the tattoo will be a simple business with her powers.
The sorceress gently sets the body to lie on its back, head still in her lap. She slips her fingers into shaggy black hair, brooding. What should she do now? The vessel is ready, but how does she bring back the spirit after so many days? Experimentally, Kyra frees one hand and makes a 'come here' gesture with her fingers, concentrating hard on what she wants. She needs to feel it; the presence of the desired soul. All the other people she's brought back to life immediately after killing them had possessed souls with individual colors and textures that Kyra could feel and see just as easily as she could the lifeless bodies of the dead. Every soul is unique, and she needs the right one if she wants to give Straw Hat Luffy his brother back.
Heat envelops her of a sudden; she is abruptly surrounded by the image of a raging inferno.
LUFFY-SORRY-BROTHER-NEEDS-ME-LEFT-YOU-SORRY-LOVE-YOU-LUFFY-LUFFY-LUFFY-
Kyra's head pounds under the onslaught of this voice she hears. She presses her hands to her ears, trying futilely to block it out as it continues to wail.
LUFFY-POPS-EVERYBODY-LOVES-ME-LOVE-YOU-SORRY-SORRY-DIDNT-DESERVE-TO-BE-BORN-
"Ace!" she calls out, grabbing the man's head with both hands without realizing what she's doing. "Fire Fist Ace!"
FIRE-FIST-ME-ACE-MY-NAME-STRANGER-WHO-ARE-YOU-WHERES-LUFFY-WHERE-WHO-ARE-YOU-
"I'm an ally of your brother's!" Kyra shouts, trying to concentrate around the horrible pain in her cranium. "I'm a friend!"
BROTHER-LUFFY-LUFFY-LUFFY-FRIEND-YOU-WHAT-DO-YOU-WANT-WHY-AM-I-HERE-WHERE-IS-HERE-WHERE-IS-LUFFY-LUFFY-BROTHER-FRIEND-
"Luffy's here! He wants you back and I can help you! Calm the fuck down before you blow up my head!"
The illusionary fire around her simmers down exponentially. The heat goes from unbearable to pleasantly warm in a heartbeat. Kyra can feel something wet in her ears, trickling from her nose and eyes. She acknowledges that the moisture is blood and discards it as momentarily unimportant. What is important is that the immense pressure in her head has alleviated greatly; she can now think around it much better than she could a minute before.
"Thanks," the sorceress says, speaking as she would to someone right next to her instead of shouting. "That's much better."
sorry-sorry-hurt-you-luffy-wheres-luffy-brother-left-him-needs-me-
"Your brother is fine," Kyra assures the presence fidgeting around her, brushing up against her before shying away. "My captain patched him up after you died. He'll be okay."
luffy-luffy-brother-fine-alive-needs-me-help-me-what-you-help-me-why-
"I like your brother. I like a guy who would throw his life away for his family the way you did. People like you are worth saving."
luffy-luffy-brother-family-save-me-please-save-me-brother-needs-me-save-me-luffy-luffy-needs-me-please-
"Okay," Kyra soothes, stroking her hands through pitch black hair. "Just calm down first, alright? I don't know if I can do this if you won't calm down. I want to help you, I want to bring you back to your brother, but I need you to work with me. This is a little different than how I usually do this, so I'm going to need your help. Okay?"
yes-help-you-help-me-luffy-luffy-brother-get-back-to-him-needs-me-help-us-
"Right." White magic slowly encases Fire Fist's form, draining more energy from its already exhausted mistress as she struggles to maintain her connection with the soul. "Just don't fight me. If you feel a tug or something, don't resist. Just let it take you. It'll be alright. Trust me, okay?"
wont-fight-wont-fight-trust-you-help-me-for-luffy-luffy-luffy-
"Okay." Kyra lets her eyes drift shut, locking in on the fiery soul that hovers so close she can almost catch the scent of woodsmoke."Ready?"
yes-ready-ready-ready-get-back-to-luffy-luffy-thank-you-
"Now!"
She gives a powerful mental yank at his soul. The body under her hands jumps as though shocked. Kyra bears down on the soul, forcing it to go where she wants it, forcing it to reconnect with its former home. His spirit jerks a few times in her grasp before going still, allowing her to do with it what she wishes. A heartbeat flares like an erupting volcano, strong and fierce. Pain sears her nerves wherever Ace's body rests as the last connection between soul and substance falls into place.
Kyra opens her eyes to real fire, actual flames, and the black eyes of Fire Fist Ace gazing up at her from a face wreathed in them. He is alive; it has worked.
He is also burning the ever-loving shit out of her.
"OW! SON OF A FUCKING BITCH, IT HURTS!ARRRRRRRGH!"
The newly resurrected human torch is thrown from the screeching mage as her shield abruptly drops. As fate would have it he collides with his brother, knocking the younger boy off his feet even as Kyra continues telling the world exactly how unpleasant third degree burns are.
"MOTHERFUCKER! THAT FUCKING BURNS!"
Law is at her side immediately, carefully examining her fried hands as whips of ebony magic lash out. Furrows are dug deep into the ground, spraying rocks and dirt everywhere. The Amazons and pirates are all pushed back by another transparent shield that pops up around captain and sorceress, protecting them from further attack. Kyra clenches her teeth hard around the agony in her limbs, meeting Law's scrutinizing gaze with watery eyes and notices that the sun is sitting low over the ocean. She has been working on Fire Fist Ace all day.
"Worked," she grits out, jerking her head in the direction of Straw Hat Luffy's jubilant repetition of his brother's name. The surgeon gives a single nod of acknowledgment before carefully scooping the burn victim up in his arms.
"We should at least bathe those in water before your magic heals them," he declares, striding over to the wall of the shield and lifting an eyebrow at her. The protective bubble immediately disappears. He carries her past the rest of the awestruck crew in the direction of the sub. "I believe I told you not to overdo it. Third degree burns count."
"Fuck you!" Kyra hisses, biting her lip as he jostles her slightly.
Law grins at her. "That's a nice idea, but first we need to strip you so I can clean the burns on your thighs."
Arrogant bastard! Does he really think she intended to torch herself? Obviously he's never had these kinds of burns before, then.
He proceeds to put her down on an infirmary cot, carefully working the fabric of her ruined pants down until she sits before him in her panties and a tank top. She snarls at him, wanting badly to smack him around for that last comment. Sadly, her stupid magic has grown fond of the sadistic asshole, and with burns on her arms and legs she won't be able to do any damage. Kyra is forced to grit her teeth and bear Law's gentle ministrations instead of knocking him through a wall or two.
"I hate you," she mumbles once the burns have been cleaned and her powers have healed them. She is extremely uncomfortable with her captain standing as close as he is, betwixt her bare thighs with his hands on her hips. The embarrassed mage squirms slightly, groaning in both exhaustion and annoyance when Law's grip tightens. "I'm fucking tired, you jerk! Let go so I can go sleep on something more comfortable than your stupid hospital beds!"
"You have blood on your face," the doctor informs her dryly. "Unless you want to ruin your sheets you should probably take a shower before heading for bed." He lets go of one hip to fish a tiny flashlight out of the pocket of his jeans. "Look at this light."
Kyra tries not to squint as Law checks her pupils, growling at him in annoyance when he takes her by the chin and turns her head so that he can peer into her ear. Apparently satisfied with his examination, the captain once again scoops the girl into his arm, ignoring her very vocal protests as he carries her out of the infirmary towards her quarters. As soon as her feet hit the floor Kyra is opening the door and rushing in, closing it in Law's face even as he laughs.
"I expect you at dinner, Kyra. If you don't show up, I'll have to come wake you."
"Go away!" she shouts at him, cheeks burning furiously at the half-joking promise in that deep voice. She darts into the bathroom and slams the door, effectively blocking out the man's continued laughter. Stripping off her shirt and undergarments, Kyra turns the water on hot and relaxes into the shower, deliberately not thinking about the absolute jackass who is her captain. She's got enough of a headache from the conversation with Fire Fist's soul; she does not need to make it worse by dwelling on Law.
Plus he'll probably find it extremely entertaining if he ever finds out Kyra has thought about him while in the shower. Fucking pervert.
She switches her thoughts to another topic: Fire Fist Ace. Third degree burns aside, Kyra is quite pleased with herself for the way things went. This was her first time bringing back a Devil Fruit user, and obviously the man's abilities were retained. It was her first time resurrecting someone after so long a period. She will have to ask Law to examine Ace to make sure he is physically mended. Barring any complications, Kyra is pretty sure she did everything right. Ace is the one-hundred-and-twenty-second person she has ever brought back from the dead. She wonders if it will always feel this good to give life rather than take it.
The exhausted sorceress doesn't bother with pajamas or underwear when she emerges from the shower. She crawls beneath her sheets bare as the day she was born and is asleep in seconds.
Hours later, Trafalgar Law strokes a feather-light fingertip down the length of his magician's bare spine. He is careful not to wake her as he caresses the pink, gnarled scars that compose the skin of her back. They are slightly sunken, strangely soft, and very smooth. Kyra is so deeply asleep that the only sign of life is the steady rise and fall of her torso as she breathes. She is lying on her stomach, a pillow clutched to her chest and the covers shoved down around her hips. The whole of her back is exposed to Law's curious eyes, awash with moonlight from the small windows along the far wall.
He has to wonder just how tired Kyra had been earlier, to go to sleep nude on a ship full of men. How tired must she still be, to not have jolted awake the moment the Dark Doctor stepped into her room or touched his skin to hers? He wonders how much whatever she was doing in that black dome earlier has taken out of her. Just how draining is it, bringing the dead back to life? Fire Fist Ace is in perfect health. Law has given the man a physical himself, fascinated by his magician's amazing ability. The heart, lungs, everything that had been incinerated is now in perfect working order. Fire Fist doesn't have so much as a scratch on him, nor does he remember anything between dying in his brother's arms and waking up in Kyra's lap.
The girl has literally performed a miracle. It wouldn't surprise him if she slept for a week.
Still, Law has to wake her. She has not eaten all day, has not had anything solid in her stomach for two weeks except those sandwiches yesterday afternoon. As a doctor, he refuses to let his crew hurt themselves by not getting the proper nutrients. Kyra needs to eat something. She can sleep all night afterwards. So deciding, the Surgeon of Death carefully works the girl's covers up to her shoulders, giving her the illusion of modesty before bending slightly and putting his mouth down by her ear.
"Kyra, it's time to wake up," he says, speaking in a firm, clear voice. She jolts slightly, muttering something under her breath before sinking back into unconsciousness. A grin spreads its way across the pirate's face; she's going to be stubborn, eh? That's alright - Law is stubborn, too. Crouching beside the bed, he reaches out and weaves his fingers into the riot of curls framing Kyra's face. He very gently eases her head over until they are almost nose to nose, so close he can count her eyelashes.
For a long moment, Law simply stares at his magician. She has a tiny scar next to her right eye. Both eyes sport dark bags beneath them that rival his own. Her nose is small and narrow, her lips full and almost pouty. She'd be quite the looker if not for her obvious exhaustion. He considers kissing the girl, fairly certain that would bring her awake with a delightfully amusing reaction. What does she taste like? Law wonders.
He'll no doubt find out eventually.
"Kyra," he says again, slightly louder than the first time. She jerks again, her eyelids flickering as a grunt escapes her lips. Smirking widely, Law leans even closer so that he is speaking against her lips. "Time to wake up, my magician."
Kyra comes awake with a jolt, reflexively yanking back from him even as she curses wildly. Law removes his fingers from her hair to keep from hurting her as she rolls away from him, wrapping herself in her bedding and going right off the edge of the mattress to land with a thump on the floor. She is huddled in a corner almost immediately, magic shielding as though she fears attack. The surgeon rises smoothly from his crouch, grey eyes seeking blue in the dark room as he slowly rounds the bed and advances on the cowering girl.
"It isn't usually a good idea for a woman to sleep in the buff around so many men, Kyra," he informs her lightly, putting his hand against the shield that separates them. It sinks right through; he is able to pass by the protective surface as though it were not there. The expression on Kyra's face changes from bewildered fear to understanding in a heartbeat.
"Law? What the hell were you doing?" she croaks, voice heavy from sleep. "Don't you know how to knock?"
"I'm the captain," he reminds her teasingly. "I don't have to knock. You need to get dressed. I told you I wanted you at dinner, remember?"
Kyra groans, moving over to throw herself facedown on her bed. "Not hungry; I'm tired. Can't I just skip a meal? One missed dinner is surely not going to kill me."
The sadistic surgeon lightly runs a finger up the bottom of a bare foot. His magician yelps and reflexively kicks out at him before rolling over and sitting back up, a very unhappy glare on her face. She looks much like a petulant child who has just been told to eat her vegetables by a stern parent. The image makes Law's smirk deepen.
"You've only had a single meal in the past two weeks, Kyra. You're going to eat dinner; the sooner you accept it the sooner you can eat and then get some rest."
She visibly perks up at this, apparently excited that Law is going to allow her to return to the land of dreams soon. He watches as Kyra drags herself from the bed and shuffles over to her satchel, picking it up and going into the bathroom. The door shuts behind her, and her captain sits on the edge of the bed to wait for her. Kyra is not pleased by this when she exits the bathroom, wearing loose pants and a long-sleeved blouse. Law notices for the umpteenth time that his magician is not wearing anything on her feet; he recalls how she tossed all of the socks he provided back in his face that first day and wonders what the story is there. Instead of asking he rises to his feet and lopes over, slinging an arm casually around her waist and steering her towards the hallway.
"Something to eat and then back to bed with you," he says as they make their way into the galley. His necromancer simply grunts at him, letting him push her into a chair next to the snoozing figure of Bepo. The bear almost immediately jerks awake, gazing around rather blearily before noticing the girl sitting next to him.
"Hi, Kyra," Law hears his first mate say as he moves to the stove where a pot of soup sits simmering. It is fairly late, and the rest of the crew has already retired for the night. The surgeon has purposely waited to wake Kyra, figuring she would not be in the mood to deal with endless questions. Fire Fist Ace and Straw Hat Luffy have both been invited to spend the night in the Amazon's city, so they won't have the chance to bother her tonight. Neither will Silvers Rayleigh, who showed up about two hours ago to speak with Straw Hat and expressed quite a bit of interest in Law's magician after seeing that she managed to bring a dead man back to life.
He sets a large bowl of the hearty soup in front of her, sitting in his customary place at the head of the table while the girl stares at the broth as though hoping it will disappear if she wishes hard enough.
"Eat," Law commands gently. Kyra gropes for the spoon in the bowl and lifts it to her mouth, not bothering to blow on the steaming liquid. Her hand is shaking so badly that most of the food ends up spilling back into the bowl.
It takes an unusually long time for Kyra to finish her dinner. Twice she falls asleep mid-bite, jerking back to awareness via an elbow from Bepo or a nudge to the ankle from Law's booted foot. About three quarters of the way through she pushes her bowl away and shakes her head, leveling a flat stare at the Dark Doctor.
"Bed," she states in a monotone that has Law grinning again. Her attitude is rather endearing - not many people have the guts to act as she does around him. He stands and waits as the girl slowly gets to her feet, looking as though she will pass out at any moment. As the floors of the submarine are not carpeted and there is a good chance a nosedive into unconsciousness would lead to severe head trauma, the doctor takes it upon himself to ensure that doesn't happen by scooping Kyra up in his arms. True, the move has the added bonus of drawing a 'let me go, fucking jerk' from the unhappy girl; but for the most part it's for her own good. Bepo watches from the table as the pair exit the room, Kyra's head lolling onto Law's shoulder as she falls asleep again almost immediately.
He is uncharacteristically gentle as he sets his magician on her mattress, quickly gathering her discarded bedding from the bathroom and making sure she is sufficiently covered. He is amused when she rolls over immediately, grabbing a pillow to hug to her chest and mumbling incoherently. Sitting on the very edge of her bed, Law once again tangles his fingers in her abundant curls and strokes her scalp. There are scars here as well: a round one that feels almost like a burn; a long one that carves deeply into her skin; a jagged half-circle in the perfect spot for a lobotomy. The girl shudders under his touch but does not move away. A single rope of black magic slowly curls up the surgeon's arm, sinking through his hoodie to caress his skin. Law watches, fascinated, until it fades away.
A quiet knock at the door catches Law's attention. He looks around to see his first mate's fuzzy head poking timidly through the crack between door and frame, ears laid back against his head.
"Is she okay, Captain?" Bepo asks, his voice easily carrying across the quiet room. Kyra stirs slightly at the noise, grunting once before calming again.
"She'll be fine, Bepo. Go to sleep. We're leaving tomorrow morning."
"Aye, Captain."
The girl whose hair is tangled in Law's fingers jerks as the door shuts behind the bear. Blue eyes meet grey, glazed with tiredness and slightly unfocused. The Dark Doctor graces the sleepy girl with a rare genuine smile, stroking his fingers over her scalp in an effort to soothe her.
"Ace okay?" The question is so soft that even in the silent room Law almost misses it.
"Fire Fist Ace is fine. He's in perfect health. You can see him tomorrow before we leave if you want."
Clumsy fingers grope at his hand. He lets her extract it from her hair and watches as she prods at the tattoo across the back of it. "Need one of these. Is this your jolly roger?"
Law shakes his head, placing her hand against the design painted on the front of his hoodie. "This is."
The girl yawns widely, not bothering to fight him when he laces their fingers together as her eyes close yet again. "That, then. I need one of those. Tattoo for a Heart Pirate."
He lets his smile deepen, squeezing her small but deadly hand as she drifts off into slumber. So she wants a tattoo, does she?
He can help with that.
"THANKYOU!"
It's too fucking early for this, Kyra thinks the next morning as she is crushed in the stretchy arms of Straw Hat Luffy. Law is standing off to the side with a smug little grin on his face. If only her magic would work against him - she'd be tossing him around right about now, see how amusing he'd find that.
Straw Hat screams into her ear, sobbing wildly on her shoulder as his resurrected brother tries futilely to peel them apart. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! YOU BROUGHT ACE BACK YOU'RE SO AWESOME THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"
Ace finally pulls the boy away, much to Kyra's relief. If not for the fact that the bastard would tease her mercilessly, she would try hiding behind her captain so as not to risk being grabbed again. Rather than feed Law's enjoyment, however, the sorceress stuffs her hands in the pockets of her trousers and scowls at the ground.
"He doesn't mean to be such an idiot," Fire Fist offers apologetically. "It's just... how he is. Sorry about that."
Kyra shrugs as though the matter is unimportant, shooting her chuckling captain a glare. "What are you two planning to do now?"
"The old man's going to help my brother build up his Haki. I think I'll stay with him." Ace swallows audibly, eyes glossing slightly as he looks out to the sea. "With... Pops gone and all... I figure I should lay low for a while. I'll figure out some way to let the other guys know I'm okay, but I don't want to deal with the Navy anytime soon."
Kyra frowns at the mention of 'the old man'. That damn geezer from the slave auction had popped up here sometime after she crashed yesterday. The fossil had called her 'Sleeping Beauty' again, much to her annoyance considering her entire freakin' crew had been within hearing range at the time. They've been casually calling her 'Beauty' for the past hour and the mage is just about ready to kill someone. Thankfully the geezer's not around at the moment; the Pirate Empress had dragged him off at some point after shooting a weirdly hateful look in Kyra's direction.
"Weren't you planning on looking for your crew?" she asks Straw Hat, who is smiling so hugely that she's sure his cheeks would ache if not for the fact that he is essentially made of rubber.
"Yeah, but Ace and old man Rayleigh want me to get stronger first." Luffy pouts, either at the thought of not seeing his friends for a while or the implication that he isn't strong enough to hack it in the New World.
Kyra hums vaguely, shooting another glare in Law's direction that she has no doubt is more pleading than threatening. She's waiting for him to make up an excuse to get them out of here; maybe give her an order or something. The sorceress does not regret bringing Fire Fist Ace back from the dead or doing Straw Hat Luffy a favor, but this prolonged goodbye with two young men who are pretty much strangers to her is extremely awkward. The infamous surgeon grins at her, moving over to wrap his arm low around her waist and deftly dodging the elbow she jabs at him.
"I believe it's about time for my crew to depart," he drawls in a mock-polite tone that sails right over the heads of the brothers in front of them.
Ace immediately bows at the waist, the very picture of manners. "Thank you for looking after my little brother. I owe you a great debt, Captain Law."
Straw Hat smacks his brother on the back, nearly knocking the man over with his enthusiasm. "Yeah, yeah! Thanks a lot for saving me! You're a really nice guy, Law. But don't think that means I'm gonna let you get to One Piece before I do! I'm gonna get really strong, find my friends, and become the next Pirate King no matter what!"
Kyra can't help but smile at the boy's energy. He looks a thousand times better than the pathetic creature who had just two days ago thrown her into a wall because of his crippling sorrow at the loss of his brother. The smile is quickly transformed into a scowl when the mage is yanked into another rib-cracking embrace by the rubber imbecile. She is about to tell him to put her the fuck down, godsdammit, when he whispers in her ear, his voice low and quiet and sincere.
"Thank you, Kyra. You gave me back my brother. If you ever need anything, or if you change your mind and want a place on my crew, it's yours."
Ace says nothing as Luffy releases her. He merely catches Kyra's gaze and gives her a look that says more about his gratitude than words ever will. Kyra nods once in acknowledgement before turning and walking away, Law's arm still firmly around her waist.
Back on the sub, sitting on one of the horrendously uncomfortable infirmary cots as Law gives her a brief examination and the vessel sinks deeper and deeper into the sea, Kyra thinks about the love those two brothers share for each other and smiles. They are both good people; the world would be a better place if there were more like them. She has no doubt that someday they will be back in trouble, causing mayhem somewhere along with Straw Hat's crew and what's left of Whitebeard's. That pair is going to be a handful for the Navy when they make their comeback. Kyra's already looking forward to it.
"You seem to be fine," Law tells her as one of his hands comes up to toy with a curl of her hair. "Any soreness anywhere? Pain? Discomfort?"
"No."
"I don't want you missing any meals for a bit. You've lost quite a bit of weight you didn't need to when you were comatose. You'll come to me for weekly check-ups until I'm satisfied with your progress."
Her captain is a shameless worry-wart. Kyra doubts the Navy knows about this; it would make the ruthless and terrifying reputation of the Surgeon of Death seem a little exaggerated. She tilts her head back slightly in a futile attempt to free her hair from those tattooed fingers, scowling when Law grins at her.
"Why do I get the feeling you're fattening me up for slaughter, Law?"
"Very astute. Only you'll be the one doing the slaughtering."
She eyes him uneasily, not sure what to make of that statement. With him, you never know.
"Is my magician uncomfortable?" he asks in a smartass tone that just begs for him to be magically bitch-slapped. Kyra tries, not really expecting it to work but still annoyed when it doesn't.
"Is my captain a cuddle slut?" she snarks back, reaching up and yanking her hair away from him. "I'm not a fan of being touched, Law, so don't unless you want me to make you a eunuch."
The Dark Doctor merely grins, hooking a hand behind her head and holding her still as he leans in until they are almost nose-to-nose. Just as the sorceress is wondering what in the hell the man's doing, Law swoops to the side and presses a hot, open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive skin right behind her ear. She flinches and yelps in surprise but can do nothing else. He lets go, leaving her feeling hot, violated, and something else that isn't quite so easy to recognize. The pirate is already at the door and her limbs feel strangely boneless all of a sudden.
"Bepo will collect you for lunch. You should get some sleep until then."
And he is gone, leaving Kyra absolutely bewildered and wondering what the fuck has just happened.
A/N: Please review. Beta'd by Tomas the Betrayer, but if you feel the need to flame because Ace is now alive again, make sure you send those comments to me and not him. It was my idea and I'll use your flames to make s'mores.