Omen
Fifth Sign
There was tension among the police force surrounding the shop. They've already lost two civilians without even getting at least one of the criminals to balance out their scores. It intensified when they spotted an expanding light blue aura originating from within the shop. They didn't know what it was, and when it touched the bumpers of their police cars, it prompted them to back away. Soon it stopped expanding and when it did, the police observed it for a minute. They couldn't comprehend if their eyes were just playing with them, or maybe it was just light similar to how a rainbow was formed considering the weather.
But the sun wasn't out yet, and the sky was looking as gloomy as before. Heck, it didn't even rain hard yet, just a light drizzle.
Seeing no changes from their police cars, all policemen present agreed it was probably harmless.
Probably.
The one with the megaphone cautiously approached the light blue aura, bracing himself for the worse as he thrust an arm towards it.
Nothing happened.
Deeming it was safe to ignore the light's presence, the police force quickly got back to their previous position, only to realize how it's been a while since that robber came out with a hostage. They couldn't make any careless actions, nor can they make reckless assumptions. Their job was hard, and frankly, they've been subjected to culpable scenarios, especially with sticking to their protocol of avoiding using deadly force as much as possible.
"Before the light appeared, several continuous gunshots were heard. We believe the criminals had a falling out. I repeat, we believe the criminals had a falling out!" that was their latest update. Worst case, the victims' lives were probably claimed by the criminals' sudden outburst. They tried to give another warning by use of megaphones again, but they didn't get a response. The police force couldn't recklessly storm the shop and only waited for a visual report from their technology department who was currently trying to connect at the camera that was installed in that particular shop.
=/=
Meanwhile, Trafalgar Law took pains to keep Elka alive. He had to make sure all bullets flying towards Elka's direction was switched with anything light and blunt to avoid injuring the girl, plus, he had to defend himself. It didn't go on for long anyhow as the outraged stooge quickly ran out of bullets.
"Doctor! Don't kill them!" Elka shouted out of the blue.
This prompted her captor to gag her by choking her neck around his arm. "Shut up, bitch! You think he can kill all of us?!"
Of course I can. Trafalgar Law thought to himself. He dropped his meat shield, leaving it in such a sorry state before tossing his blood soaked knife towards Elka's captor. The knife stopped right in front of Elka, and both her and the robber stared down on said object as if it was something out of context.
The room fell silent. Everyone stayed still except for the one lackey who ran out of bullets, for he suddenly felt weak in the knees, dropping his weapon and falling back on his bottom in the process.
Law raised his hands up in surrender once more, but this time he was completely unarmed. He stared at the man and at Elka respectively, his eyes staying on the said girl. She looked fairly surprised and it thrilled the Warlord. He figured she thought he was never going to listen to her, and of course she was right, he just felt like giving her room to breathe before the main dish.
Elka's captor was stunned for a moment. Once he finally understood what was happening, he let out a small laugh and swiftly pointed his pistol towards Law.
"See that? You're just like those idiots outside! Can't do a damn thing when other lives are at stake!"
"I'll say this again." Law spoke, quietly.
The robber flinched upon hearing the man speak. Panicked, he quickly poked his gun back to the woman captive and threatened, "I'm seriously going to kill her! Shut up!"
"I just want you to free the girl."
It all happened in a split second. Trafalgar Law was standing right in front of him, his face just a few inches closer to him. Instinctively, he pulled the trigger, but after the bang he felt pain on his chest, and it seemed his shirt was getting soaked. And then it struck him, when did he broke his wrist?
The man's life quickly faded as the bullet pierced through his heart. His grip on Elka eventually loosened and soon, he fell down on his back, blood pooling underneath him.
"See? That wasn't even too hard, was it?" Law said, mocking the dead. He then placed a hand over Elka's shoulder. "You're a handful, you know that?" he whispered to her ear, almost teasing.
Elka trembled at the touch. She very well knew what just occurred and she didn't have enough courage to glance back at her offender. She kept convincing herself she was going to encounter horrendous, graphic injuries in the hospital someday but a single voice told her, this is different. She could feel the warm blood droplets that was sprayed over her right shoulder up to her nape, and the stench of blood, although fairly faint due to the presence of functioning exhausts, smelled strongly under her nose.
"YOU BASTARD!"
After witnessing such sorcery, the remaining thugs lost their wits. Their standing leader died on them, and they didn't even capture how he got that bullet hole over his chest. He just suddenly staggered after the sound of gunfire, and although they were certain the one who fired was their boss, they couldn't comprehend how he would fire it at himself.
But their guns simultaneously got replaced by random objects from who knows where. They didn't know how it happened, when it happened, or better yet, what the actual fuck was happening.
Quickly though, few who brought an extra weapon, specifically a knife, brandished it in an attempt to threaten Law once more. One lackey had a bright idea of grabbing a nearby civilian and declared he would kill said victim if Law did not fall back.
"I will really kill him!" he shouted.
The Warlord only smirked in contempt at the guy's poorly executed provocation. Honestly, he was beginning to feel sorry for the remaining robbers as crossing him always meant death, but for Elka's sake, he told himself to be a bit nice.
Unless they test him.
"Go ahead." Law flatly announced.
The lackey was clearly shocked by the response he got. He was lost, and more so became confused. "What did you say?"
"I said, go a-"
"Doctor!" Elka yelled, finally snapping out of her daze. She had been frozen stiff for a while as she still couldn't believe - couldn't accept what was unfolding before her. She had to swallow hard, to punch herself awake, to accept everything was happening in real time. "How could you say that?!"
Suddenly, probably due to the adrenaline rush kicking in, another lackey dared interfere running up at Law. The Warlord responded quickly, he removed Elka's hair tie and held it in front of him, taking a stance to meet his opponent's blade.
"Shambles."
It happened fast. The two clashed and bewilderment enveloped everyone present in the room, victim and criminal alike, as they watched the clearly armed robber fall back with a stab wound over his chest. The man himself looked perplexed, staring incredulously at the cook knife that Law held in his hand.
"How...? Just now..you didn't have..!" the man wheezed, clutching at his chest before falling down on his knees.
Law smiled. "Odd, huh?"
And they relapsed in silence. The criminals looked like they were getting goosebumps, wide-eyed as they burned the image of Law smiling wryly at them.
"Bullshit!" one other lackey dared to assault Law but this time, thinking it was clever, he aimed for the girl standing beside him. He thought if he couldn't kill the guy, then he should just kill the woman he saved.
But despite not looking like it, Trafalgar Law was also physically strong, and swift. So he grabbed Elka by the wrist, yanked her behind him and-
"Don't kill them!"
Law was startled when Elka screamed. His concentration broke and along with it was the retraction of his 'room'. Unable to carry out his initial move, the Warlord opted to just parry the strike. In his annoyance, he grasped the man's arm, broke his wrist making him drop his weapon, buckled both legs, finishing it with a blow to his nape by the knife's hilt knocking him unconscious.
Elka, who watched their brawl in panic, clutched Law's arm after seeing him cripple his opponent. She pleaded the Warlord to stop, insisting he didn't have to shed more blood.
Angry, Law grabbed Elka by the collar. "Stop your nonsense and obediently get saved!"
"You don't have to kill them! Just restraining them is fine! Please!"
"They tried to kill you! Are you so naive to save your assailant?"
Elka didn't respond. She only held Law's gaze, glaring back at him defiantly. She thought she wouldn't get her point across even if they snapped at each other like that. They were still caught up in the heat of struggle, obviously not the time to fight against each other.
Law waited. He waited for the woman to speak. It was probably the first time Elka openly glared daggers at him, bravely defying him directly. He acknowledged Elka might have some moral issues towards his actions, after all, it seemed she was such a docile person, but he contended he was a pirate and Elka should keep it in mind.
Everyone was still and silent. Despite witnessing the two main stars of the event bicker, the remaining thugs couldn't get themselves to jump at them. They were distracted, it was a great opportunity to strike back at him, but they didn't because it finally dawned on them, they were doomed from the very beginning.
"WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED! THERE'S NOWHERE FOR YOU TO RUN! RELEASE YOUR HOSTAGES AND PEACEFULLY GIVE UP!"
Due to the commotion that has been going on, no one really did hear and understand clearly whatever that loud, somewhat static, voice booming from outside was trying to convey. Upon hearing the words and comprehending them, Law knew it was the perfect chance to end it.
"Oi, be grateful, you actually have a choice going on." Law turned and looked at the remaining thugs one by one. "Which will it be? Those 'people outside'..." Law drawled, halting for a moment assessing their mental state. "or maybe death?"
=/=
When the police decided to storm the place, they were met with a group of masked men - numbering to three. Their hands were raised up in surrender and stood still as they waited for their arrest. The police was fairly surprised by this, nonetheless, they proceeded to seize the criminals and secured the site of confrontation.
Entering the shop was most astonishing. Besides the catastrophic state of the shop where everywhere you look there were bullet holes, there was a masked man sprawled out on the floor drenched in a pool of blood and a few steps ahead of it was two other masked men, both lying face down, presumably still alive. At the far back was a bloody mess, a body filled with bullet holes lay there. They only determined it was one of the masked men thanks to the black mask covering its head, otherwise, they couldn't even tell what it really was. They found several victims, including Elka and Law crowding on a corner at the back, most of them sustaining scrapes from the bullets and sprayed with blood. Upon calling an ambulance for assistance, the police proceeded to gather the victims and asked for their witness statements.
Victims sustaining heavy injuries were quickly carried to an ambulance and taken care of. The two criminals that were heavily wounded were also brought by another ambulance with an officer or two accompanying them, same thing with the dead.
The victims were fairly cooperative and had identical testimonies. One particular comment was: 'the guy in black hoody saved us'. Despite this, they noted one little remark they got from two of the victims which said, 'the guy in black hoody was terrifying'.
When they asked Elka to testify, she told them the same statement but they added a few more questions.
"Is it true you were with your boyfriend?"
Elka paused, she thought for a bit before clarifying, "Yes, but he's not my boyfriend. He's my cousin, a very close one too."
The officer wrote it down on a small notebook and continued, "Is it true he accidentally killed one of the robbers to save you?"
Elka mentally took note of the word 'accidentally'. "Yes. The robber suddenly grabbed my hair so my cousin fought back to save me."
After writing it down, the officer sighed. "We apologize that you had to experience this. It must have been traumatizing." his tone sounded genuinely worried.
Elka felt the man's compassion it almost moved her to tears. "That's true, officer, it was truly...traumatizing..." she rasped.
On the other hand, Law was also getting interrogated. They asked the same questions and Law replied as Elka taught him.
"...I wanted to save my cousin." Law stated. He disliked what came after that so he ended it with, "I think that is all you need to know."
Like Elka, he was asked a few more questions.
"Is it - ah, she's your cousin?"
"...Correct."
"Is it true you accidentally killed one of the robbers in order to save her?"
"Yes."
The officer waited for a more detailed reply, but Law said no more than that, so he pressed on, "Can you elaborate?"
Law looked at the officer for a moment. "I was held at gunpoint." he paused. "It was self-defense."
The officer wrote it down and continued, "So you took his knife and stabbed him with it?"
Law faintly nodded. "...Yes."
"Is it true you played a hand for their leader's death and injuring two of them?"
"...Yes."
After jotting it down on his notebook, he apologized in behalf of the police force for letting him experience such tragedy. But before he released Law, he said, "A few victims told us you were terrifying. Any comments to that?"
Law raised a brow at the question. "What do you want me to say?"
The officer narrowed his eyes on Law. He contemplated whether it was even worth mentioning as he understood the man only acted accordingly during a dire situation. Deciding it didn't even matter as they already resolved the encounter, he dismissed the issue and offered another, somehow related, question.
"You..practically took care of four armed men. Did you perhaps have experience in combat?"
Law didn't miss the man's suspicious gaze, quickly reverting back to indifference as soon as he noticed. He felt like taunting the man but he spied Elka from the corner of his eye talking to an officer with that miserable look on her face and somehow, it made him think otherwise.
"No." he decisively exhaled. "My instincts just kicked in. You are aware of the fight-or-flight response all humans are capable of activating in times of need, correct?"
The officer hummed, lightly nodding his head in agreement. "That's true."
Later, more ambulance arrived at the scene to carry the remaining victims sustaining injuries, including both Law and Elka. Despite Law suffering no physical injuries, he was taken to the hospital along with Elka as both were practically covered in blood. Also, given the statements the police gathered from victims, they understood Elka and Law needed the check-up most as the former having been taken as hostage and was forced to watch the latter fighting for her safety. Health care was the maintenance and improvement of, not only physical, but also mental health.
Elka was given a blanket to cover herself. The back of her shirt was soaked with blood and she had to endure its stench until they reach the hospital. She also sustained bruises on her arm and a large mark around her neck, making the medical aides who've seen it suspect she was strangled. They couldn't begin to imagine the trauma it might have brought her.
Law was sitting beside Elka. He remained quiet, he didn't have anything to say anyway. He stole a glance at Elka who remained equally quiet, studying her face. Elka held a blank face, her dark eyes glazed seemingly staring into space. Her breathing was slow and shallow, and Law wondered what was going through her mind. She was very expressive, and surprisingly, the lack of expression on her face troubled him somewhat.
Elka was silent throughout the ride. Law decided to give her space, shifting his attention to the medical aides who treated the other patients riding with them. Not later, Law was handed a damp towel to wipe the blood off his face. He frowned at the offer.
"Don't you think she needs this more than I do?"
The medical aide gave him a brief apology before calling at Elka. She didn't respond, so she gently touched her hand and squeezed it, a gesture to let her know she was not alone and to help ease her up.
Elka seemed to have acknowledged her presence by focusing her eyes on her.
"If you'd like, let me help you clean the blood off." the medical aide said, holding up the damp towel in her hand.
Elka faintly nodded her head without saying anything. The medical aide proceeded to rub off the blood on the girl's face, her neck and to her arms. She couldn't exactly remove the ones on her shirt so after that, she tried to talk to Elka and comfort her, which didn't seem to be very effective as Elka remained unresponsive.
=/=
By the time they arrived at the hospital, the light drizzle had become a heavy downpour. After the general check-up, Elka was given an ice pack for her bruises. The two were then free to go as they didn't exactly have serious injuries but without an umbrella, they were pretty much stuck.
Elka walked the hallways of the hospital following the 'exit' signs. Once she reached outside though, seeing how it was practically raining cats and dogs, she stood on a corner and gazed blankly at the open space. Law followed her, of course, and seeing her act like she was soulless irked him.
"Are you going to mope all day?" he asked, half-chastened, half-exasperated.
Elka kept quiet. She didn't even look at the Warlord and this did not sit well with him.
"I get that you're traumatized somewhat so you should speak. Tell me about it."
"I guess you wouldn't understand." Elka finally spoke, her voice brittle.
"You'll have to explain further if you want me to understand." Law flatly replied.
Elka spared a glance at the Warlord and found his unapologetic eyes fixed right on hers. She immediately swiveled her gaze away from the man. "I don't want you to understand. You don't have to anyway."
"That's true." Law paused. He didn't have to concern himself with Elka, he didn't have to get involved too much in her world, after all, he wasn't going to stay for long. "But I'm here right now and I have to know what's going on. What is it in this world of yours that you have such absurd ideals?"
"Which ideal are you even referring to?" Elka deadpanned.
"You didn't want bloodshed." Law stated. "Or is it you're such a righteous person?"
"We have a law." Elka quickly replied. "We have authorities doing their job in eliminating criminals. If it's unnecessary, bloodshed must be avoided."
"May I remind you, those criminals actually killed two people before your turn."
"But you didn't have to kill them."
Law rolled his eyes. "And let them kill you?"
"You could have just restrained them!"
"And give them another chance to attack you?"
"Look, doctor, the police could have solved the problem somehow." Elka insisted. "You didn't have to aggravate the situation."
"I believe I actually alleviated the situation." Law argued.
"You provoked them!" Elka's voice rose. She sharply exhaled before adding, "You even looked like you were entertained! You're even worse than those criminals!"
Law's brow twitched at her accusation. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, her dark eyes forcefully meeting his grey ones. "I am a criminal."
Elka could only clench her teeth as she couldn't deny that. He was a pirate - a captain at that, and was fairly notorious for his cruelty. Heck, he was a Warlord by then, and she recalled what he did to become one - imagining it in real life prickled the hairs all over her body.
"I am of the worst generation, or did you forget? It's clear I am stronger and it's none of my concern if they couldn't tell the difference in strength." Law continued, his tone deadly quiet. "If you didn't want bloodshed, you should have asked me to help from the very beginning."
"And what? Let you murder them?"
"So you care about those lowlifes, what about those women who were actually killed? Wasn't that murder as well?"
Elka averted her eyes from the man after hearing his statement. She was ashamed - ashamed that she actually never noticed how two civilians were already killed by then; ashamed for suddenly thinking, if she asked Law for help right there and then, they could have avoided the deaths of the innocents; ashamed that she was too optimistic, blindly believing everything was going to be okay just like that.
"But..." Elka was fighting against herself. She wanted to stay morally and ethically right. She never expected that the whole concept was so confusing when she was suddenly placed in that situation without any warning. It was driving her insane. She wanted to avoid bloodshed, she wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible but during that scenario, who would have known what was the best option.
And besides, there was another reason for her hesitation.
"I don't understand why you would save those people. They threatened your life."
"It's not that I wanted to save them, I just wanted to stick to what is right!" Elka argued. "The police were there! They are the ones who have the power and right to judge them!"
"And what about your self-defense bullshit?!" Law was losing his temper. Elka was too stubborn, and fucking naive. "There's no absolute right and wrong. If the situation calls for it, you'll have to dirty your own hands."
"I was scared!" Elka confessed, almost sobbing. "I was confused! I was shocked! I didn't know what to do! I never experienced that and never did I hope to! I was just scared!"
"If you were so scared you should have asked me to protect you. I was right there." Law reasoned, regaining his composure. He was pleased Elka was openly expressing herself at long last.
"But I don't want to be saved by you! I don't want you to protect me!" Elka was gritting her teeth. She wanted to tone her voice down but she couldn't contain her emotions anymore. She was already exploding.
Law frowned. He thought that was the most idiotic reasoning he ever heard. "Why?"
"I can't rely on you! Don't you get it?! You're not even supposed to be here!" Elka paused for a moment, trying to calm herself down and stop the tears from falling, looking down to avoid Law's gaze.
Law got the gist of it, nonetheless, he waited.
"Just please listen to me from now on. Please." Elka weakly stated. She decided it wasn't even worth explaining to the Warlord. He was smart, she expected him to get it soon enough.
"I don't like getting ordered around."
Elka didn't respond.
Law sighed. "Just don't expect me to stand idly by when your life is in danger. You're my only lead to getting back to my world and I'm not too eager to lose you."
"I know." Elka was quick to reply but she refused to look at Law.
"I will protect you, Elka-ya."
Elka flinched upon hearing Law's declaration. Regardless, it only made her feel worse. She quietly pulled away from the Warlord and squatted down at a corner. "That sounds like an omen, doctor." she muttered to herself.
=/=
It was already dark out but the rain showed no signs of letting up. Elka remembered she still had her cell and checked the time.
It was already past seven in the evening.
She never realized how long they've been stuck in there. Even with their silence, the noise of the heavy rain was enough to drown them. They've seen countless patients come and go, some looking tragic while others probably just for a general check-up.
Shortly, Elka attempted to stand up. It's been more than an hour since she sat on her haunches that she couldn't feel them anymore. She leaned back against the wall to support her weight as she forced herself to get up but before she knew it, someone had pulled her up.
Shocked, Elka raised her head and found Law to be the one helping her up. He held his usual calm and looked indifferently at her, but the warmth from his touch relieved Elka's senses.
"I..." Elka hesitated but decided to say it anyway. "I want to go home."
Law nodded. "And what do you propose we do?"
"Run for it." her tone was firm.
Law smirked. "You're that desperate?"
"I just want to go home."
Law removed his hat and placed it over Elka's head. "Make sure you run fast."
The two darted across the streets, taking shelter every now and then until they reached the bus stop. They were fairly wet by the time they got there so Law decided to remove his jacket and give it to Elka. At first, the woman refused, insisting he keep hiding his tattoos, but when the Warlord pointed at her chest, she yielded.
Fortunately, their ride went smoothly until they found themselves standing right in front of Maris Dormitory. Elka proceeded to make herself known to the security guard and asked for permission to let Law inside as he will be staying in her room for a while. Obviously, the guard refused but after Elka explained he was her cousin, the guard opted to call for the owner and get her opinion about it.
After a while on the phone, the guard strangely looked at Elka and Law respectively, seemingly inspecting their every inch, from head to toe. She then inquired, "You got involved in a raid?"
Elka jolted in surprise. She didn't expect the news to come that fast, although it shouldn't be surprising considering the evening news starts at seven. She figured it was probably around eight already.
"The mistress wants to talk to you, Miss Elka." the guard stated, handing over the phone.
"Elka! I saw the news! I heard your cousin is still with you!" the mistress's voice was fairly loud, but despite this her tone suggested her worry.
"Yes. I know men are not allowed in here but, can you at least make this an exception?" Elka replied, glancing at Law who remained rooted in place.
"Yes, yes of course. I'm sorry for what happened, I hope you're okay now. I know you're going to need company and it's good you and your cousin are safe and unhurt. I saw from the news that your cousin fought back to save you."
Elka was going to answer back when suddenly, Ross's voice came from the other end of the line, interrupting her.
"The police said he actually killed the robber. Man, your cousin have skills." his tone was moderate but it failed to hide his excitement.
"Don't you be glad about that, Ross! Be sensitive!" mistress Glenn's voice interjected.
"Yes, yes, sorry ma! Also, sorry Elka." Ross sounded glum, making Elka lightly giggle.
"It's okay. I'm just glad mistress is okay with my cousin staying in my room for a while."
"He's staying?" Ross seemed to be glad. "Um, Elka? If it's not too much to ask, can I meet your cousin?"
Elka was surprised by this.
"Ross!" mistress Glenn's voice thundered in the background. "Ross, stop pestering Elka! Give me the phone!"
"Is Elka home now?" Elka recognized Lady Shiva's voice.
"That's right, sis. And his cousin's still with her." Ross answered.
"...Right." Shiva's tone sounded repressed.
Elka didn't know if it was okay to hang up by then until she heard the mistress telling her to go take a rest and finally hung up.
"I understand you'll be staying for a while, sir, so please write your name here and Miss Elka's room beside it." the guard presented a list to Law and guided him accordingly. He quietly obeyed and wrote down his name, and he asked Elka for her room number and wrote it down next.
=/=
As soon as the duo reached Elka's room, Law did not miss that huge sigh of relief Elka released. She took out her keys from her blue bag's back pocket and opened the door. Quickly, Elka switched the lights on and closed the door behind them. She then excused herself to the bathroom to shower.
Law began to undress when Elka stepped inside the bath. His clothes were wet and he knew it'd be bad for him to let them dry on him. He then picked up a random shirt that was lying in a pile Elka left atop her bed from that morning and wore it. Astonishingly, it seemed the woman was thoughtful enough to have 'borrowed' trousers along with a few underpants. Still, the surgeon was fairly hygienic and was uncomfortable at the thought of wearing someone else's boxers.
Not later, Elka finally came out of the shower. Her hair was wrapped in a blue towel while her body was wrapped in a white one. "...You can use the shower, doctor."
Law only looked at her.
"...I'll buy an extra soap for you so wait a bit." she walked over to her closet and opened it, searching for anything to wear.
"I didn't expect you to get out of the bath like this." Law spoke in monotone.
"You don't have to look." Elka deadpanned, taking out a dark blue one piece dress.
Law spoke in a low, baritone voice. "Then I take it you trust me to such extent?"
Elka looked at him and smiled a little, "We're both doctors. I'm sure a little display of human anatomy can't bother you."
Law smirked. The woman was tough, but was seriously, for the nth time, and to reiterate, seriously naive. He didn't bother to instigate further as she did seem to be only forcing herself to look fine and calm.
"Anyway, I borrowed trousers from Ross as well. They probably won't cover your legs down to your ankles since you're taller than him but I hope you wouldn't mind." Elka stated as she went back to the bathroom to change. Seconds later, she came out wearing the dress and added, "And for the record, those boxers are brand new. Ross haven't used them yet. Don't ask why."
Law was surprised at Elka's revelation. He looked at the said underpants once more, just noticing the tags that weren't even taken off yet but they were already blurred and looked worn-out.
"Are you sure?" he inquired, genuinely curious.
Elka looked amused by this. "To think Trafalgar Law is actually a clean freak."
Law shot her a menacing glare. "As a normal person, I prefer my things clean."
Elka's eyes softened. "Don't worry, Ross is just a sloth. Lady Shiva told me he threw in his boxers on the washing machine without taking off the price tags. In the end, he still didn't use them because the colors suddenly faded since he didn't know the batch on the machine was soaked in chlorine." Elka giggled at the memory.
Law barely understood Elka, only picking up that they can wash clothes in a machine. Hearing the existence of chlorine made everything clear for him. "So that's why they looked splashed with white paint." Law said in comprehension.
Elka quickly halted upon realizing she actually revealed the reason as to why they were left unused. She averted her gaze, her ears turning red in embarrassment. "Uh, f-forget that, uh, thing... Just, um, go in the bath already." she stuttered.
As Law was about to get up, three light knocks on the door took their attention. "Elka? It's Ross."
Elka sighed. She gestured at Law to just get inside the bath and let her handle the guy to which the Warlord declined, insisting he wanted to at least see the boy's face for reference purposes. Elka didn't bother to retort back and proceeded to open the door, greeting the redhead.
"Good evening, Ross."
"Why are you being so formal?" Ross had a fine, smooth voice. He stared at Elka curiously. "I get it. Bad time, huh?"
Ross was a tall young man standing at a height of approximately 180cm. He sported a short red haircut, he had pale skin, a pair of blue eyes and a rather childish freckles over his nose and cheeks. He wore a plain dark blue sweater and plain blue jeans together with blue socks and slippers.
"My cousin's about to go in the bath." Elka told Ross, almost implying to just leave. "Where's your cap? Aren't you cold?" she added.
"Yeah, I am cold." Ross scratched the back of his head. "Can I come in?"
Elka frowned. "I'm going out shortly to buy soap."
"I have an extra." Ross was quick to reply as if he didn't even think about it. "Right. Don't go out. The rain's really heavy."
"You have an extra?" Elka was confused. Was the redhead implying he'd give her an extra?
"Yeah." Ross's eyes seemed to light up in recollection. "Right, it's in the cupboard. I'll go get it."
"Wait!" Elka grabbed Ross by the hem of his sweatshirt. "What do you mean you'll get it? I mean, why would you even give me your extra?"
Ross tilted his head in wonder. "...Because you need one?"
"No, I mean-" Elka halted. She figured it was no use arguing with the guy, he probably meant no harm anyway. She then released the boy and watched his back shrink until he was gone from her sight.
"Elka-ya? Did something happen?" Law inquired when he saw her looking troubled.
Elka only huffed and shook her head, but she remained standing by the door waiting for the redhead to return.