Chapter 16
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but Kyra was my idea.
Beta'd by Tomas the Betrayer.
Kyra has developed a profound grudge against raw electricity.
The island Law is so calmly sailing towards is being bombarded by lightning. The sub is a giant metal conductor. Kyra is therefore being forced to shield it constantly to keep the entire crew from getting shocked to death. Oh, and lightning doesn't just harmlessly bounce off of the protective barrier - it is channeled into it, and the greatly reduced shock is then absorbed by the unhappy sorceress. Which of course has led to a severe headache, extreme nausea, and more than a couple of nosebleeds in the past twenty minutes that they've been within range of the storm that seems to constantly hover over their first New World island.
Fucking great.
Kyra sits alone at the table in the galley, her new hat pulled as low as possible over her eyes and thick wads of tissue jammed up her nose to slow the bleeding. Everyone else is up on deck, protected by her powers and eagerly watching as their island destination gets closer by the minute. Kyra doesn't need to watch; she can feel the electromagnetic field around the place getting stronger. What is Law going to do when they dock, anyway? Make her stay here to protect his sub from getting struck by lightning, thereby getting all the instruments on the vessel fried from the oversurge? Or will he want her to accompany the party that goes ashore, keeping its members from death by electrocution? She can do both, of course, but she has already decided not to tell her jackass of a captain that until he asks. Getting continually shocked from two different shields is going to suck majorly.
Aside from which, Kyra has been trying - and failing miserably - to avoid Trafalgar Law as often as possible since he sexually assaulted her last week after Bepo was wounded. Now she has the feeling he will insist that she join the group exploring the island simply so he can continue harassing her. Gods know the man's cruel enough to deny her a break. It doesn't help that after the fourth night her wonderfully fluffy bear-shaped pillow had told her that she should take turns sleeping with him and their cuddle-slut of a captain. Since there isn't a snowball's chance in Hell of that happening again anytime soon, the grumpy mage has not slept well in three nights and is beginning to feel the strain.
They should be docking any minute now. The static zapping against her skin, even as shielded as the ship currently is, sets off bolts of phantom pain that race from her skull down her spine. If she lets her thoughts slip, Kyra is sure she can hear his voice mocking her as volt upon volt of electricity is applied to her brain by that thrice-damned contraption from the labs. She scowls and pulls her hat down lower over her aching eyes, shielding them from the bright lights of the galley. They haven't even docked yet and already Kyra is more than ready to get the hell away from this place.
"Hey, Kyra! Get your sweet ass out of that chair and come on!" Sachi yells in a cheerful voice as he bangs his way into the room. Penguin follows, hands stuffed in the pockets of his suit. The sorceress twitches at the extra noise, which seems to jackhammer its way into her skull to bounce around in a manner reminiscent of Monkey D. Luffy on a sugar high. This does nothing to improve her already impressive headache. Kyra accidently lets out a whimper of pain before clamping her lips shut, hoping beyond hope that neither of her companions heard her.
"You okay? What's wrong?"
No such luck. Figures.
Instead of answering, Kyra slowly levers herself out of her seat and shuffles from the room. Sachi and Penguin follow close behind her as she makes her way to the deck, the former actually silent for once and the latter giving off vibes of concern. The constant flashing of lightning from outside nearly undoes her when she pushes open the hatch; the dizzy and nauseated sorceress is forced to grab onto the closest person while she tries not to throw up or pass out. Naturally, because Lady Luck is always ready and willing to fuck her over, the closest person just happens to be the current bane of her existence.
"What's wrong, my magician?" the Dark Doctor inquires, looping a supporting arm around her waist as Kyra fights the urge to purge. "Are you sick?"
Kyra waves a vague hand in the direction of the island, still trying not to vomit and not wanting to tempt fate by opening her mouth. She clenches her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut, willing her rebellious stomach to stop attempting to leap up her throat.
"The island is affecting you?"
She nods vigorously, glad beyond words that her captain is a genius instead of an idiot.
"That is going to pose a problem, I'm afraid. I need you with us on that very island to keep us from risking electrocution, and I need a shield around my sub to protect it from the same. You can hardly do that if you are unable to function for whatever reason." Law's voice holds a musing quality, as though he is thinking out loud more to himself than to her. Seeming to come to a sort of conclusion, the infuriating bastard proceeds to stoop down and sweep her legs out from under her, catching her in his arms and holding her bridal style against his chest. The sudden movement very nearly causes her to empty her stomach onto his hoodie, and she buries her face into the fabric with a groan as her head very strenuously objects to his actions.
"You'll come to the island with me. Bepo and Jambarl will join us. Can you move the sub a safe distance so that the rest of my crew can wait for us to return?"
"Put me down or I'll puke on you," Kyra blurts out in a rush before once again sealing her lips against a rush of bile. Somewhere off to the side, she hears a few of the men start laughing hysterically.
"Please move the ship. I'm very curious to see what type of people live on such an island."
Gah, Law has such a wonderful habit of ignoring her politely phrased requests. Desperate to get away from this place even for a moment, Kyra unleashes her hold on the power within and lets it burst out. The submarine is instantly wrapped in a giant black sphere and blinks out of existence, appearing again miles away in a handful of seconds. As soon as the magic dissapates Kyra's nose starts bleeding more fiercely than ever before, but she isn't about to complain. The nausea and the crippling headache fade almost immediately, much to her relief. She removes her face from where it is buried in her captain's shoulder and takes a gulp of the fresh, clean, electricity-free air.
"Shit," she gasps, managing to wiggle enough to get her feet back on the ground while Law stubbornly keeps hold of her waist. "I don't like that place. Fucking lightning."
Removing her nose plugs, the sorceress pulls out a wad of tissue and quickly jams the fresh stuff in before she drips blood all over the place. That done, she glares over at the resident Supernova and tries to pry his long fingers off her hip. The man simply smirks and pulls her closer. She then elbows him hard in the solar plexus, instantly knocking the air from his lungs and causing his grip to loosen enough for her to jerk free.
"We're ten miles away from the outer rim of the island's magnetic field. Is it just four of us going back?"
It takes a moment before Law answers, which is no surprise considering how hard she just elbowed him. "Just the four of us, yes. The others will wait here until we return. Will you be able to keep us protected from that storm?"
Kyra grimaces at the question, looking off in the direction of the island as she nods. "Yeah. I'll just feel like shit the whole time we're there. For some reason my shield doesn't seem to repel lightning; it's absorbing it or something and I keep getting shocked. Being near that place makes me queasy as hell and gives me a headache like you wouldn't believe."
A tanned palm is laid flat against her forehead, pushing up under her hat while the other hand wraps around her throat from behind. Momentarily panicked at this possible attack, Kyra jerks forward in an attempt to get away only to be pulled firmly back. The hands do nothing to hurt her, lingering for just a moment before withdrawing. The mage spins around as soon as she is free to pin Law with a killing glare.
"Could you refrain from giving me a fucking heart attack?"
"You're not running a fever, and your pulse seems fine," the insufferable surgeon informs her as though she had never spoken. "We'll simply have to complete our business promptly so that you won't be exposed to the lightning for long. Were you having trouble breathing while close to the island?"
"No," Kyra grumbles, self-consciously readjusting her furry hat. Law sees this and grins, pulling his own cap down a miniscule amount while beckoning to Bepo and Jambarl with a free hand.
"Gable, let me have the Log Pose. All of you stay out of trouble. If another ship approaches the island, I want you to dive. Do not engage them. We'll be back once the Log Pose sets."
"Aye, Captain!"
The gigantic man and the polar bear amble over as Law slips his arm back around Kyra's waist, each of them moving to touch her as though afraid she might drop them mid-teleport if they don't. She could probably send them to one of the levels of that prison, Impel Down, if she wants to whether they touch her or not. Nevertheless, as soon as her captain gives the signal Kyra lets her magic loose again and takes them all back to that gods-be-damned island, landing just past the tiny docks and making sure that a shield is around them for protection. The Surgeon of Death doesn't bother to acknowledge any of the people near the docks who have stopped whatever they were doing to stare; he simply uses his hold on her to propel Kyra along up a dirt path to a ramshackle village, Jambarl and Bepo following close behind.
They've been on the island less than five minutes and already Kyra feels like puking. Her headache is back worse than ever, and halfway up the main street in the village she realizes that she is practically leaning on Law for balance. Ugh, what is this place? How can anyone actually live here without getting killed? All the people the sick mage has seen so far are going about their business with nothing more for protection than standard umbrellas, as though it's simply raining instead of unleashing deadly bolts of lightning every two seconds. How is an umbrella possibly going to help anyone in this type of situation? Kyra hears the sound of a child laughing and is mildly horrified to see children running around playing with each other in this storm, every one of them bearing their own umbrella. What the hell?
Law goes straight for the town's bar, leaving Kyra curious as to just how in Roger's name he seems to know where it is without asking directions. As soon as they cross the threshold of the building and are safely inside, she lets her shield drop. The headache does not abate, though now that she isn't being continually jolted the nausea fades a little. The pirate quartet finds seats at the bar, the patrons in the building following every movement with curious eyes. Bepo especially seems to be drawing a great deal of attention, which is plainly making him uncomfortable if the way he is trying to subtly hide behind Jambarl's hulking figure is anything to go by. The bartender, a wizened old geezer with tufts of white hair sticking out of his ears and providing the only hair on an otherwise bald head, shuffles over to take their orders.
"Saké, for the four of us."
Kyra shoots Law a venomous look. The last time she was anywhere near saké, the Heart Pirate captain got disturbingly frisky with her. He better not try a damn thing here - she'll toss his ass outside with no protection.
The ancient barkeep soon presents them with drinks, his hands shaking noticeably as he slides the decorative cups to each of them. Kyra's eyes narrow in suspicion when the old man glances nervously over to the side, and she is quick to grab Law's wrist before the pirate can take a sip. He turns to her with a raised brow, setting the cup on the bar and motioning for the other two to wait.
"Is there a problem, Kyra?"
Kyra does not reply immediately, instead twisting her torso so that she might look in the direction the barman is now staring. Most all the other people in this bar have gone back to ignoring the newcomers, having long since become accustomed to a stream of visiting pirates. One group, however, is sitting at the far corner in the shadows and observing the four with blatant interest. One look at them, one second to remember where she has seen these men before, and she has her answer as to what has just taken place.
The Kidd Pirates are sitting in the dark corner of the bar, and unless Kyra is very much mistaken, their fashion-retard of a captain has just attempted to poison Law's group.
Kyra turns back to Law and waves a hand, causing the liquid in the four cups to vanish as the bottle in the bartender's hands disappears as well.
"Your boyfriend from Saboady is sitting in the corner over there," she informs the Dark Doctor casually, as though she didn't just possibly save his life by keeping him from consuming poison liquor. "He wants to say hi."
She jerks a thumb in the enemy's general direction, knowing the second Law sees them from the black look that momentarily darkens his handsome features.
"Ah yes, Mr. Eustass," he murmurs, rising smoothly from his barstool and reaching to grasp Kyra's hand. "Shall we return his salutations?"
"If you don't want him dead yet now's the time to say," Kyra replies, following along as her captain moseys across the room towards one of his more powerful rivals. "The dick did just try to poison me."
"No killing him. If he dies in a fight with the Heart Pirates, Mr. Eustass will fall by my hand."
She has to fight the urge to pout. "Spoilsport."
Law smirks. "Play nicely, my magician."
"Fuck you."
Kyra is saved from the pervert's reply when the pair of them step up to the table at which Eustass "Captain" Kidd sits with his crew. The redhead is grinning crazily at them, while his men bear expressions ranging from curious to cautious to bored to terrified. A man wearing a polka-dot black shirt with long, spiky blonde hair has his face hidden behind a blue-and-white striped mask, hiding his reaction to their appearance from the curious mage. So this is "Massacre Soldier" Killer of the Supernova fame, the man worth a bounty of 162,000,000 belli, last Kyra checked. The double scythes for which he is so feared are propped up on the wall right behind his seat, easily within reach should he need them. He does not appear terribly concerned at the moment, sitting there calm as you please with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Well, well, well," Kidd drawls out, amber eyes going lazily from Law to Kyra and back. "If it isn't the Surgeon of Death and his little live-in whore. How you been, Trafalgar?"
Kidd's full mug explodes in his grip, showering his pants with booze. Law merely smirks while Kyra glares at the redhead, fingers twitching against the desire to make him explode too.
"Call me a whore again, I dare you," she growls, her headache pounding worse than ever. "I'll do women everywhere a favor and remove the part of your anatomy that makes you a man, you ugly okama-wannabe."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Eustass," her captain cuts in smoothly. "Might I ask what it was you convinced the barman to slip into our drinks?"
Kidd gives a sinister grin. "And what's it matter now, Trafalgar, since you didn't drink it anyway?"
"Well, depending on your answer, Mr. Eustass, I'll decide whether I'm going to someday remove your spleen or your kidneys."
Kyra instantly traps every other man at that table in their seats, insuring that none but Kidd is able to move so much as a muscle. Killer had tensed a second ago; she has no intention of allowing him to get his hands on those wickedly sharp blades of his. The other freaks are probably harmless, but better safe than sorry.
"Answer him or I'll rip your balls off and shove them down this guy's throat," she orders softly, jerking her head in Killer's direction. The Massacre Soldier is plainly straining against the hold of her powers, the muscles all over his body visibly bulging as he struggles to move. His fight is in vain, as Kyra's magic easily holds him in his seat with no visible effort from the sorceress.
"You threatenin' me, bitch?" Kidd hisses, slowly rising from his chair with an ugly look on his face. "How fucking stupid are you? You fogotten who I am?"
"Eustass Kidd, Captain of the Kidd Pirates," Kyra recites in a deliberately bored tone. "I hear you're such a good one-off lay that the Marines'll pay 315,000,000 belli to anybody nice enough to get you in their beds. That's a pretty damn expensive okama, if you ask me, but I guess there's no accounting for taste."
"BITCH!"
Eustass Kid freezes midlunge, hands still outstretched to presumably grab Kyra and inflict grievous bodily harm. Sadly, his body from the neck down is no longer under his control, leaving him no recourse but to spew filth from his lipstick-reddened mouth. His intended victim yawns theatrically.
"You honestly wanna spend the rest of your life singing the high notes?"
Really, how stupid is this guy? He tries to poison her captain and thinks there won't be hell to pay? He's just freaking lucky Law has already claimed his life, or he would be dying an extremely painful death right about now.
...Not that she gives a shit about Law, of course, the perverted bastard.
"Oh, it's not really important anymore, Kyra," Law concedes, an amused gleam in his lazy grey eyes. "I think Mr. Eustass has been sufficiently humiliated for his little stunt. Why don't you simply tell me how long it takes the Log Pose to set here, Mr. Eustass,and possibly explain how it is you are walking around this island without getting struck by lightning. Just a few easy answers and we'll leave you to your drinks."
"Go fuck yourself, Trafalgar, and take your little squeeze with you!"
How dare he say that to her captain? Where the fuck does he get off ordering Law to do a damn thing?
So preoccupied is she with her animosity, Kyra almost misses when Killer's scythes twitch ever so slightly from their position against the wall. Suddenly remembering who she is dealing with, Kyra makes a fist with one hand. The already pale Kidd somehow manages to go even whiter, his jaw dropping open and a single high-pitched whine coming out. Over in his seat, Killer redoubles his silent efforts to free himself and once again fails to make any headway. His boss gets the message, though, and the huge scythes settle down from his magnetic grip.
"You might want to answer that one, pal, or something much more valuable to you than a mug of beer is going to be blowing up in your lap."
Kidd gapes in pained silence for a long moment, every drop of color leeched from his face.
"Few hours," he finally rasps. "Umbrellas."
"Whatever you're doing to my captain, stop at once or die, woman."
Kyra nonchalantly releases Kidd from her hold, letting him cup his hands protectively over the family jewels so that she can turn her attention back to the Massacre Soldier currently stuck to a chair. She wonders what kind of reaction she would get from him if she magically removed that mask of his. She has a feeling he would be pissed.
"Kinda hard to kill someone when you can't stand up or move, isn't it?"
Killer says nothing.
An arm goes over her shoulders and forces her to turn, steering her back towards the bar where Bepo and Jambarl are waiting. Kyra goes without a fuss, carefully keeping the Kidd Pirates pinned down so that they can't attack while her back is turned. The barman has made himself scarce, and Law doesn't bother to call for him when he sits back down and motions for the mage to do the same.
"Could you possibly put your considerable talents to good use and fetch us something to drink that hasn't been tampered with?" he requests pleasantly. Kyra gives him a dark look before waving her hand in a dismissive gesture. A few seconds later a large pitcher of beer and four clean cups are sitting in front of them.
"I trust you around saké about as much as I trust those assholes over there not to leap up and kill us first chance they get. So they can sit there and fume until we go back to the sub in a few hours and you can put up with beer. Don't fuck with me today, Law; I get cranky when I have a headache."
For reasons beyond her comprehension, Law proceeds to throw back his head and laugh.
This has been a highly entertaining day, and Trafalgar Law is in a very good mood.
True, he had not anticipated the effects the lightning all around the island he has just left would have on his magician, and nearly getting poisoned by Eustass Kidd had not been on the day's itinerary. However, Kidd has been dealt with quite beautifully, and aside from fatigue there does not seem to be any lasting harm done to Kyra. The Dark Doctor will be the first to admit, the girl had looked absolutely eerie even to him back in that bar when she magically grabbed Kidd's balls like that. At the same time, he finds himself further intrigued by someone who readily and freely drew the wrath of the highest marked Supernova just because of a few vulgar comments.
The fact that he directed her to take them to Kidd's ship and then ransacked the South Blue native's treasure trove probably won't help that animosity die down any time soon. Especially considering Kyra's brilliant idea to paint the Surgeon of Death's Jolly Roger all over the ship with Kidd's own lip coloring, found in the captain's quarters. Yes, steering clear of 'Captain' Kidd for the foreseeable future is doubtless a wise idea.
He sits at the table in the galley, a small grin on his face as he listens to his magician recount the story of their day to Sachi and Penguin. The two friends are visibly amused, both of them laughing uproariously when Kyra tells them how Law scrambled the men left aboard Kidd's vessel as lookouts and how she later put lipstick from Kidd's rooms on the mouth of every one of them. Kyra looks equally amused, though much more tired than usual.
"Yeah, that way he'll know exactly who did it even if he's too stupid to guess from the scrambled crewmates," she assures Sachi, a sleepy smile lighting up her face. "Before we left, I asked Law's permission to write 'Law and his Demon Witch were here' in that red lipstick all over the door to the captain's quarters."
Penguin has a disgruntled look on his face that Law finds amusing.
"Can't believe they gave that pansy a higher bounty than our captain," the man mutters, clearly annoyed. "Captain's much more terrifying than some queer who wears make-up. Guy's a total loser; Captain's way more deserving of a higher bounty."
Kyra frowns momentarily, shooting a guarded look in the smirking surgeon's direction. "You go around butchering civilians?"
Raising one eyebrow at the question, Law shakes his head in the negative. His magician visibly relaxes, the smile instantly returning to her face.
"Oh, well that explains it," she informs them. "Kidd has no problem killing anybody breathing. That's why his bounty's so high, because he kills civilian of both sexes and all ages. He's just a slaughter-happy freakshow."
Law watches and listens for the next half hour or so as his three subordinates chat. His mind, however, is revolving around his magician and her amazing tendency towards stubbornness. The Dark Doctor knows very well that Kyra has not had someone to keep her company for the past three nights - he is the one who ordered Bepo to cease his side occupation as a security blanket until further notice. The girl has been trying with increasing desperation to avoid Law as much as possible this past week, and taking away her overgrown teddy bear was his attempt to force her to come to him. It is only slightly surprising that this plan has so far failed. Kyra, he is sure, is uneasy and slightly afraid of Law after his actions that night here in this galley; it is only natural that she would rebel against good sense and silently suffer sleep deprivation rather than approach the person whom she fears. However, after today with the way that lightning had affected his magician, the surgeon does not intend to let her continue to hide. She will need to sleep, which means she will be sharing a bed with him whether she likes it or not. Something drastic will be required to remedy this situation.
An idea comes to the doctor. Well, he is a pirate, after all. Ruthless measures are part of the job description.
Having so decided, Law temporarily vacates the galley to make a quick trip to his infirmary. When he returns, he finds that Sachi and Penguin have apparently retired for the night and the girl is slumped low over the table with her hat discarded next to her. Those dangerous hands are pressed over her eyes, rubbing harshly as though such an action will banish her tiredness. Such a silly, stubborn little girl his magician is.
She doesn't lower her hands when he comes up behind her and weaves his fingers into her hair. Law tangles his digits in her curls, recalling what she said about how her mother once did something similar. Grinning slightly, the Supernova bends to put his mouth by Kyra's ear.
"Time to sleep, Kyra," he whispers to her, enjoying the shiver that courses through the girl's figure.
"Wha-"
Kyra is unable to say more, as Law has clamped his free hand and the chloroform-soaked cloth within it over the lower half of her face. She struggles viciously for a moment before going limp, dead to the world thanks to the chemical now in her system. Law pockets the rag and removes the single glove he is wearing, placing it in a separate pocket before carefully lifting the sleeping girl and heading for his room.
He might be going just the tiniest bit overboard, drugging her to knock her out like this, but is the surgeon really to blame when the silly woman is hurting herself with her stubbornness?
Not to his way of thinking.
When he wakes up early the next morning and feels her stirring, the Dark Doctor gives a smug and sleepy grin before wrapping himself around his magician like an extra blanket. It has been a quiet night; Kyra slept without a peep, nestled in Law's bed, covered in his sheets and using his chest as a pillow. No nightmares, no restlessness. The pirate is quite pleased with himself and the result of this particular experiment. He is now definitely proven correct in his theory that companionship is necessary for Kyra if she wants to sleep without her subconscious terrorizing her. The perks for him are very pleasant - he's obviously not going to complain about having the opportunity to snuggle with a half naked lady. True, he had been the one to remove Kyra's trousers before slipping into bed with her the night before, but he knows from observation that pantless is Kyra's preference when sleeping.
"Whuzzgoin - wha - WHAT THE FUCK, LAW? YOU BASTARD, DID YOU DRUG ME LAST NIGHT? I'LL KILL YOU!"
Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens.
"Good morning, my magician," Law purrs into her hair, still grinning and keeping a tight hold on the girl. She is currently doing a very good impression of an eel with all of her wiggling, obviously attempting to free herself from her captain's arms. Such insubordination she shows. "I'm happy to inform you that you have slept a solid eight hours for once. Do you feel better rested than you have lately? I can't have my crew suffering from exhaustion."
"YOU SON OF A BITCH I'LL KILL YOU GET THE FUCK OFF ME BASTARD!"
"Now, now," he chides her in a gentle, mocking tone, moving so that he might rub his cheek against the side of her head just to annoy her. "That's not a very smart way to speak to your captain, is it Kyra?"
To his surprise, Kyra actually throws her head violently towards him, striking his chin with her skull as he attempts to pull back. His grip loosens just a little, but that is enough for her to pry herself free. In an instant she is on him, her hands around his throat and her blue eyes glinting madly as she squeezes. Law takes a moment to admire her in all her righteous fury before bringing his own hands up and easily breaking her hold, rolling them so that he has her pinned to the mattress with both her wrists locked securely in the grip of one hand, straddling her so that she can't kick. Kyra lunges up as best she can, snapping her teeth at his neck, looking wild with her desire to hurt him.
"Fuck you, shitty fucking magic!" she suddenly screams, fighting madly to free herself. "He fucking drugged me! Just like he always did! I'll kill him! Help me, dammit! You're supposed to fucking help me!"
Ah, bless his magician's magic. Its refusal to cooperate with Kyra's attempts to cause him grievous harm really is much appreciated.
"What the hell did you do to me, you sick bastard? Why won't it protect me from you? What did you do to me?" Kyra has worked herself into quite a frenzy now. Such stress really isn't good for her. Law watches her squirm beneath him in her futile struggle to get away, keeping quiet for the moment, knowing full well nothing he says to her while she is in such a state is going to register anyway. He'll just have to wait until she runs out of steam. He keeps a firm grip on her wrists, puts his free hand on her hip while she tries her damnedest to buck him off. She'll stop eventually, and then Law can ask her why she assumes he did something to coerce her precious powers into siding with him whenever the two of them argue.
It is some time later that his magician lies still and quiet beneath him. Still but for the shudders; quiet but for the gasps that might be sobs.
"Are you calm now, Kyra?" Law asks, low and serious, putting his face close to hers. The girl has closed her eyes tightly against the world, but he knows that she will feel the hot puffs of his breath against her face. Kyra shudders, turning her head away from him, trying to hide behind her captive arm as a single tear creeps from the corner of one eye down her cheek. Law removes his hand from her hip and brushes the tear away with his thumb.
"You drugged me, you fucker," Kyra rasps, her voice hoarse from all the yelling she has done.
"Chloroform. You've been foolishly stubborn lately, and your insomnia would soon have begun having ill effects on you. As both your captain and your doctor, I will not allow you to hurt yourself out of sheer stupidity. If you refuse to sleep in my bed of your own volition, then I will make you."
"Why can't you just mind your own fucking business, Law?"
He takes his hand off of her cheek and fists it in her hair, jerking her head back and startling her into opening those pretty blue eyes. He watches as she takes in his proximity, watches as she tries to shrink into his bed to put some distance between them. He follows, leaning down so close their noses actually bump together.
"What you don't seem to realize yet, Kyra, is that you belong to me," the Surgeon of Death explains pleasantly. "You are my magicain, my subordinate, mine. As such, anything that might be considered your business is also automatically my business. Your health is my business. Your life is my business. As you so aptly put it in your little message to Mr. Eustass, you are my Demon Witch, and therefore anything remotely pertaining to you is also important to me."
"I'm not a fucking possession!" Kyra snaps, jerking her head to the side in what is probably a bid to shake his fingers out of her hair. "You don't own me, I don't belong to anybody! I DON'T! I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY! I DON'T CARE WHAT THE FUCKING MAGIC SAYS! I DON'T BELONG TO YOU!"
Her powers are somehow telling her that she belongs to Law?
Oh how very, very interesting.
"This magic of yours must have really taken a shine to me," Law muses speculatively. "It refuses to attack me, and now you say it insists that you belong to me. Perhaps you should listen to it."
She makes a sound like a cat that has just had its tail stepped on, baring her teeth at him in an animalistic warning. Sadly for her, the twisted surgeon finds this rather endearing. It would be hard for him to find it threatening, when he is firmly pinning the girl's warm body to his bed and has her thoroughly incapacitated.
"Why does it bother you so much?" he questions, moving to press his ear against her neck so that he can listen to her racing pulse. "The thought of belonging to me. Why does it have your heart pounding so hard? Why are you so afraid?"
And Law looks up in time to witness his magician snapping.
"BECAUSE I CAN'T LET MYSELF CARE! I CAN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU BECAUSE IF I DO IT'LL BLOW UP IN MY FACE! BECAUSE ANY TIME I LET MYSELF GIVE A SHIT ABOUT ANYONE THEY DIE OR DISAPPEAR AND I CAN'T DO THAT ANYMORE! I CAN'T FUCKING CARE ABOUT YOU WHEN MY MOTHER'S OUT THERE ALONE SOMEWHERE AND I'LL NEVER SEE HER AGAIN! I CAN'T CARE WHEN YOU'RE A FUCKING PIRATE AND MERRICK KNOWS I'M WITH YOU AND HE'LL TORTURE YOU JUST TO HURT ME! I CAN'T CARE WHEN I'M NOTHING BUT A FUCKING MONSTER AND BEING AROUND ME'LL JUST GET YOU KILLED!"
She is sobbing, salty tears pouring down flushed cheeks to soak into Law's sheets. The door to his room suddenly bursts open and Bepo rushes in, plainly just having woken and not dressed at all.
"Captain-are-you-okay-what's-going-on-what's-wrong-with -"
Black magic rips through the room, plunging all three of them into darkness. There is a strange sucking sound, like the plug being removed from a bathtub drain; the pirate hears Kyra screaming - "GET ME OUT OF HERE I DON'T CARE WHERE JUST GET ME OUT OF -!" - and then silence in the hazy onyx cloud. When it clears, Law finds himself alone in his bed with his first mate still standing in the doorway. Something clenches in his gut. Standing, the Dark Doctor brushes past Bepo and jerks open the door on the opposite side of the hall, bolting inside and looking around. The room is empty. The duffel that always sits propped against the wall next to the bed is gone. A quick search of the bathroom shows that all toiletry items are missing.
And so is Law's magician.
A/N: Please review.