Law rubbed his eyes. He was sitting behind his desk, several binders sprawled out in front of him. He'd just spent the last few hours decoding messages and trying once again to work out Doflamingo's schemes to no avail. Each binder had a specific purpose — one contained information on rival pirates, another for bounty hunters, another for marines. Then there was the personal journal with which he wrote all of his personal notes, written in a code he had devised himself. There were more binders, of course, but they rested on the shelves to the right of his desk.
His rooms were the largest on the ship, sitting on the top level. The first level of the submarine was dedicated to his rooms, his operating theater, the "Freezer" as it was aptly named, and the officer rooms. His suite consisted of a large office, a bedroom, a large closet, and his own personal bathroom. Originally, he had planned on a much smaller suite for himself, but Krill and the others had splurged, going so far as to carpet the whole interior. Although initially upset, he had slowly become increasingly grateful for their indulgence. His office had two couches surrounding a large, dark wood coffee table that could extend when needed. This served as the conference room for the officers on the ship, which was useful. His extensive book collection could not fit in this room alone, however, so he did have books scattered throughout the submarine. The shelves in his office were neatly kept and had a railing in front of them in case of turbulence. These books were limited to binders containing reports, maps, books on travel, some of his medical books, and his mystery novels for those rare moments of downtime.
He glanced at the clock on the edge of his desks, and realized that the young woman had to have returned by now. Deciding abruptly that he needed some fresh air, Law grabbed a new medical journal he had bought yesterday as well as the plate Couri had prepped for him and headed out his door, down the hall, and onto the deck.
Taking a moment to stretch, Law walked over to the railing and leaned over. The warehouse was dark, and he took a moment to adjust his eyes while he carefully observed the movement below. It seemed that this mechanic preferred working in the dark. Law digested this for a moment, as it only seemed to fuel his theory that she was hiding this place from her abuser. In fact, he'd been considering the possibilities of what this woman was all day. Law liked puzzles, and she was a big one. He'd already figured out the abusive nature of whoever was caring for her, but that only seemed to solve the puzzle of her size, nothing else. Her diminunative stature was most likely the result of not getting required nutrition at key points in her development.
Speaking of nutrition, he called out to her.
"Mechanic, I've got the promised meal."
There was a pause in the movements from down below, and Law held out the plate. He assumed she must have better night vision that he did, to be doing high level mechanical restoration in the dark. "I'll leave it on the deck. I don't know if you are part cave animal, but I'm turning on the deck lights to read for a bit."
With that, he turned to the hallway for the switch just inside the door. With a quick flick, the lights of the deck illuminated the dirty area around him, and he blinked at the sudden change in brightness. He turned around to see her standing on the deck behind him, eying the wrapped plate in his hand.
"Our chef insisted on cooking for you this time," said Law blandly. "Our previous mechanic was a good friend of his, and he wanted to thank you for restoring our home."
She scowled. "I ain't done yet."
Law sighed. "It doesn't matter. I'm only passing the message along. Here, take it – there's utensils on the plate under the wrapping."
She paused, sizing him up. He frowned, then looked at her hands.
"On second thought, don't eat yet. Go inside and wash your hands first."
That clearly sent her off balance, and she took a step back. "… I've got my own sink."
"Good. Go do that and come back here to eat. I'm gonna read for a bit."
He stepped off to the side, leaned against the wall of the sub as he sat, and placed the plate on the deck next to him. Far enough away that she wouldn't have to be too close, and close enough that it didn't seem like he was trying to accommodate her. He pulled out his journal and focused on making sure that he seemed entirely focused on reading. She hesitated a moment longer before abruptly turning and jumping off the edge of the deck.
Inwardly, Law smirked. Seriously, he needed to know how she did that trick. She just jumped about twenty feet at least without making a sound. The wheels began turning in his head, and he continued to work at his theory he'd come upon this afternoon.
She was erasing her presence or suppressing it somehow. That combined with her enormous strength pointed to being a haki master on top of being a master mechanic. In a way, it made sense as if she could erase her presence she was less likely to be found by her abuser when she didn't want to be found. It also accounted for working in the dark. Bepo had said that any mink child could easily find their way around blind-folded in a strange place, let alone a familiar one. However, mink children were raised to be haki masters, human children were not.
But then again, according to Bepo she hadn't seemed surprised when he said he was a mink. A secret race of peoples that few in the world should know about, particularly not a sheltered child in an abusive situation.
This only raised more questions.
The woman in question returned, and slowly grabbed the plate from Law's side. As she backed away, Law spoke softly, keeping the majority of his attention on his book.
"What's your name? I'm rather tired of just calling you 'mechanic' as I have several others that already respond to that title."
"And clearly they do a bang-up job for you to come looking for me."
"There is a difference between a master and an assistant. Now again, do you have a name or should I make one up for you?"
Law kept his eyes on the book, even going so far as to turn a page so that she couldn't tell how focused he was on this conversation.
She surprised him, taking a seat next to his sprawled-out legs and facing him. Law looked up from his book, into eyes that were clearly analyzing him as he had been analyzing her.
She spoke softly, her scowl becoming less pronounced as there was a slight downward pull to her lips. "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet."
He blinked, and she rolled her eyes, the brief emotion gone. "Shakespeare, asshole. I don't got no name. Orphaned, abandoned, no fam. So no name."
He frowned. She was breaking out of every box she had put her in. It wasn't possible that she was quite this relaxed with him, not with her background and every other previous interaction they've had.
Or was it?
Had his strategies already succeeded?
He dropped the book to his lap as he studied her, making not effort to conceal what he was doing this time. She seemingly ignored him as she unwrapped her plate and dug into the fried rice. Watching her closely, he could tell that her body was tense and focused on him. He had a feeling that if his heartbeat was off slightly, she would know.
He grinned. She was playing chess, it seemed.
"How do you know Shakespeare? You barely speak English."
"Fuck off."
"No thanks. I prefer older women."
"I'm sure. They're easier to please, will take anythin' that'll throw isself at 'em."
His lips twitched as she taunted him with her faked accent. She was close to finishing her plate, and he was sure she was shoving the food in her face for more than one reason.
"I suppose I'll have to make one up, then."
She paused, looking up at him and scowling. She swallowed her bite before saying, "Just call me M for mechanic. And you know you've never given me yours. I know it, but that's kinda rude, don't'cha think?"
He leaned his head against the wall of the sub, book on his lap as he watched her carefully. She was clearly looking for something from him, he just couldn't for the life of him figure out what.
"Why'd you get those tattoos on your hands?"
He frowned. His tattoos?
He shrugged. "There was a tattoo artist in town, and I liked his work. He did the ones on my back and chest, too."
"You've got more of those ugly things?"
He paused, struggling to keep his tone even. "Are you trying to pick a fight?"
Her gaze matched his for intensity, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then she re-wrapped her now completely clean plate and utensils, placing them on the deck in front of her.
"I'll get to work now."
Law blinked, feeling for some reason like he'd lost this round instead of winning. He sighed. It didn't feel like he'd ever understand this woman.
It seemed like she was working inside the ship today, as she jumped off the deck and soon returned with a tool box. She walked by Law, and he could tell she was eying him as much as he was eying her, even if her eyes stayed focused on the hallway in front of her.
"Do you need me to show—"
"Bepo did last night. Do what you want, just don't get in my way, Trafalgar Law."
And with that, she disappeared into the depths of the ship. Law brought up a knee to rest his elbow on, and faced towards the darkness of the warehouse as he once again tried to piece together the puzzle that was his new mechanic.
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The rest of the night was uneventful. He did not see her again except in brief passing and did not hear much of anything either. Law ended up attending to his Freezer in his frustration, taking out an old corpse and fiddling with it before finishing off his night on reports, planning, and some training in the training room.
Finally, it was dawn. Law sighed. He was antsy, and desperately wanted some coffee. Perhaps a nap, as well. He left the warehouse without bothering M and used his powers to return to the same coffee and seal-bun stand as before.
Only this time it was different. The lady, an older woman who was previously happy to serve him, visibly paled when she saw him. He stopped in his approach when he saw her backing away and the slight shake of her head. Law's eyes narrowed, but he got the message and left to get his morning coffee elsewhere. Clearly the woman had only just realized who he was. Rather than make a fuss, as he was already irritable and tired, it was better to just find food elsewhere.
After finding a takoyaki stand for breakfast and another for coffee, Law soon returned to the warehouse. There was the mechanic, rubbing her eyes clearly as exhausted as he was. He frowned.
"You should get some rest. Clearly, you're working some other job during the day, but if you keep doing this you'll kill yourself. The human body can't live without sleep any more than it can live without water.
She glared at him, but the glare dissipated as she stared at the breakfast in his hands. He fought a grin. Must be a favorite of hers then.
She spoke softly. "I'm resting just fine."
"Right. Here's breakfast, and some coffee if you want it."
After her usual moment, she accepted the drink and food from his hands before disappearing somewhere. He sighed, before going onto the deck of the polar tang to drink his coffee and read in morning light.
A moment later, a cup appeared in front of his face. He blinked, looking into the scowling face of M.
"… You're a doctor. Even you should know you need more than just coffee. You need water, too."
After a moment's hesitation, he accepted the cup of water from her hand. Surprisingly, it was rather warm. She must have been heating up some water while he was getting breakfast.
"This is surprisingly thoughtful of you."
"Fuck off."
"And there's the mechanic I know."
She glared again before turning around. "I'm leaving. See you tonight."
"Take care."
Without another word, she disappeared. Law drank the water she'd given him, and was surprised at how clean and pure it tasted. It reminded him of the mountain water from back home.
Another day, another mystery.