Amazon Lily
Part Two
With satisfaction, Neo closed the book she just finished reading and stood up from the couch. She placed her book back on the shelf then stretched out her mildly stiff body before leaving the rec. room. Walking through the quiet halls, she figured the majority of the crew was out on the island. She came to the galley and stepped inside. Running her eyes over the room she found Jean Bart and Conner were the only ones inside with her. She gave them both a small smile when they glanced up at her. "Is everyone else outside?"
"Yeah," Jean Bart answered. He filled himself a cup of water and drank it down in one gulp then filled it again.
"You've been reading for a while. They got bored of sitting inside," Conner added. He was sitting at the table with his own cup of water and a newspaper spread out on the table. He flipped to the next page with more aggression than was necessary. "I hate this place. So may women and we can't have fun with any of them. It's torture."
"The captain too?" Neo tilted her head.
"He's on the deck doing some training," Conner replied. He paused, looked up from his newspaper and scanned his eyes over the fuchsia colored bikini she was wearing then added, "Aren't you going into the village today?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded. "Kikyo wants to see me sparring with Margaret now that I'm more comfortable with them. We're going to be using their battle arena. No one else is supposed to be there today. So it's going to just be the five of us, plus their snakes. And the captain said it would be good if I trained with them a bit while we're here. To learn about different styles of combat or something like that."
"Well, it's nice to hear they are being so patient and accommodating for you. It also sounds like you're enjoying your time with them," Jean Bart said.
"I am," Neo replied. She collapsed her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels. "They're quite different from being around you guys all of the time."
"How so?" Conner inquired with a smile.
"I'm not really sure. I like it though. It's definitely a different experience from living with all guys, maybe that's why. You all are guys and they're girls," Neo said with a thoughtful expression. She then smiled sweetly at the two men in the room. "But the crew is my family. I will always want to be with you all."
"Well, that's good to hear." Conner winked at her. "We always want to be with you too. You should get going now. I'm sure the women will be here any minute to escort you to their village. You're so lucky."
"They should be on their way." Neo waved as she head back out into the hall. "See you later!"
"Bye." Conner and Jean Bart waved.
"Shouldn't you have warned her exactly what the captain is doing on the deck considering her naivety of her feelings towards him?" Jean Bart asked.
"Why, whatever do you mean?" Conner turned an innocent look at the older man.
"I don't see how the captain puts up with you all." Jean Bart shook his head.
"We all need a push once in a while." Conner shrugged. "Even the captain who's too cautious with her."
"Or maybe you're just too horny and want them to have sex," Jean Bart said.
"Hey! It's not like that at all! What kind of guy do you take me for?!" Conner demanded.
"Don't think I haven't noticed where your hand has been the majority of the time we've been in here," Jean Bart said.
"Why are you even looking?!" Conner demanded.
"Learn to be more discrete," Jean Bart said. "Imagine what the captain would do to you if Neo saw you doing that."
Conner gritted his teeth.
"He must really love her to spare all of your lives the way he does," Jean Bart said.
…
Neo stretched out her arms again while walking down the hall. The sub had grown warmer since she left the rec. room so she summoned a couple wind crystals to give herself a cool breeze. When she got closer to the main door of the sub, she started to hear a familiar 'whooshing' sound. She tilted her head and squinted at the bright light coming through the open door. "I guess the captain's working on his sword training."
She stepped out of the sub. Her eyes adjusted to the bright sun before her body froze stiff. Her winds twirled around her, causing her hair to fly straight up before her crystals vanished. Her eyes widened. Her heart thumped hard against her chest as her stomach flipped in multiple directions, probably inventing some new moves in the process. Standing in the middle of the deck was Law. He had his sword out. And his shirt off. His exposed skin was dotted in sweat from his work out.
Law seemed oblivious to anything and everything around him as he moved gracefully on the deck. His sword seemed to have a power all its own and Law was just a follower as the weapon led him through their current training regiment. His moves were graceful yet powerful, like a cat slipping silently upon its prey, readying itself to pounce. But he wasn't oblivious to the world around him. He knew Neo was there the second she stepped out the door.
After gliding through a few more moves, on Neo's behalf, he looked at her. A smirk pulled onto his lips when she finally noticed he had stopped moving and was looking at her. She flinched and slowly backed up back into the sub until the shadows hide her from his view. Law chuckled and called to her. "Neo, come back here."
There were a few seconds when he wasn't sure she was going to come back out, but she eventually reappeared. Her hands collapsed in front of her. Her eyes were darting all over the place, but would always returned to his bare, tattooed, sweaty chest. Even though she didn't see it, he wiggled his finger at her, beckoning her to come closer. "Come here."
Her body automatically obeyed his command. She walked over to him and paused. He studied her inability to keep her eyes off his chest before stepping closer to her. He slipped his arm around her back, pressing his hand to her wrist. He took his sword and placed it in her hands though he had no idea what possessed him to do so. His sword was cursed. No one else should be able to hold onto it. Yet here Neo was taking a hold of his sword like it was just a normal everyday sword. Her arms dropped, causing the sword to clank against the deck, when he released his hold on it. Sure enough the sword didn't reject her at all. His eyebrows lifted upon his forehead. He wondered how this was possible but didn't voice his concerns.
The weight of the sword brought her back to reality and she was able to speak again. She said, "It's heavy."
"I suppose it is," Law said in a hushed tone. He then placed his hands on hers and on the sword. "This is Kikoku."
"Kikoku?" Neo asked as Law lifted her hands and the sword.
"It's my sword's name. It means, demon wail," he replied. He gently guided both their arms through a few moves. As they glided along, his sun warmed skin brushed against hers. He forced himself to not chuckle in amusement every time she tensed at his skin brushing on hers.
"I didn't know your sword had a name. I didn't know swords were given names. It seems like an odd thing to do," Neo spoke softly.
"It's not that odd, is it?" Law asked, guiding her through a few swipes of the blade. "The sub has a name."
"Polar Tang." Neo nodded slightly. "Sorry. Maybe it's not that odd."
"It just seems odd to you because I don't ever call my sword by name." Law lowered both their arms down, the sword's tip tapping lightly on the deck floor. He smiled when she turned her head to look at him. Her eyes glided over his caramel colored facial features before settling on his eyes. "Do your hands hurt?"
"No, they're fine. A little numb, but fine," Neo answered honestly.
Law nodded.
"I am a little dizzy. My chest is tight too," Neo said.
"That'll pass soon." Keeping his left hand firmly on hers, he raised his right hand and brushed the back of his fingers over cheek before cupping it tenderly. "You look very cute in that outfit."
Neo swallowed.
Law lowered his eyes to her lips. She was moving them ever so slightly in an attempt to form a response to him.
"Neo!" Aphelandra's voice suddenly called out making them both jump slightly. They both looked up to see the tall woman standing with Sweet Pea and Margaret on the cliff. Aphelandra waved happily, oblivious to what she had interrupted. "We've come to get you! Are you ready to go into the village now?!"
Law sighed, wishing they hadn't shown up yet.
Neo turned her eyes back up to Law.
His smile returned when he saw she wanted to stay with him. But he encouraged her to go. He knew they wouldn't be on this island forever and Neo needed to spend as much time with the women as possible. He already saw a positive influence they had on her since that first day she went with them into their village. He brushed his thumb over her cheek a couple more times before lowering his hand. "It's okay. You should go now. You have only a limited amount of time to spend with them. I can give you another private sword lesson some other time."
Neo opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out. So she just nodded in response.
Law reluctantly released his hold on her. He took hold of his sword completely as she passed it back to him. He escorted her over to the rope ladder and carefully watched her climb back up to the cliff. Even thought he knew she had her wind crystals and could fly, his entire body was still stiff with worry until Penguin took a hold of her hand and lifted her upon to the cliff. He relaxed then. She was now safe on the other side.
…
Neo followed the women through the village. Having grown comfortable with the inhabitants of the island she greeted them warmly when they spoke to her. Before long they were standing in front of a couple large doors mounted onto a round stonewall.
"This is it," Margaret said as Sweet Pea and Aphelandra pushed the doors open.
They all walked into the arena. Neo scanned the area was filled with stone benches. Stairs led down to a circle area with some form of a moat around it. There was also a set of stairs inside of the area that led up to an observation platform.
"Come on," Margaret said.
Neo followed the blonde woman down the stairs. A little over halfway down the other three women broke off from them and sat down. She continued to follow Margaret as they crossed a bridge to the fighting arena. Glancing over the side she found the moat was filled with sharp points. A shiver ran through her at the thought of falling on one of those. She rushed across the bridge to catch up with her friend.
"Are you ready?" Margaret asked.
"I am." Neo nodded.
"Then let's begin," Margaret said taking her fighting stance.
Neo lifted up her fists and stood ready for the woman to attack.
Margaret flew towards her, throwing several punches.
…
"Interesting…I wasn't expecting her to be this skilled with how timid she is," Kikyo commented. She, Sweet Pea and Aphelandra were still sitting in the stands while Neo and Margaret continued with their sparring session. It was coming up on two hours since they had started. Occasionally, Margaret would pause their sparring to give Neo a hint or some other helpful advice on how to improve a move or attack. Neo clearly and easily followed the woman's instructions. "She appears to have adjusted to our presence."
"She has." Sweet Pea nodded.
"She such a strange girl," Aphelandra said. "But I really do like her. I'm going to miss her when she and her crew leave the island."
Sweet Pea and Aphelandra gasped in anticipation when Margaret leaped up into the air. She brought her fist down in a swift motion. Neo back flipped away from the attack then countered it with a roundhouse kick. Margaret easily predicted the move and blocked the kick with her arm. She grabbed Neo's leg and flipped her around and slammed the girl on her back. Neo quickly rolled away from Margaret when the blonde woman's heel was about to come crashing down on her diaphragm.
…
"You're not bad at all," Margaret said. She pulled her foot back under her and charged at Neo.
Neo moved to plant her feet where she would be able to grab then throw the blonde woman over her shoulder. However, her foot landed on a small puddle that had gone unnoticed. Her foot slipped out from underneath her, throwing her off balance. A wind crystal flickered into view from being startled.
"What the…?" Margaret caught a glimpse of the light blue crystal shimmering in front of Neo before the wind snapped out of the crystal and slammed her in the chest. She gasped as she flew over the protective railing of the arena and plummeted towards the spikes below.
"Margaret!" the women in the stands shouted.
"No!" Neo pushed a strong gush of wind over the side and wrapped it around Margaret's body. She lifted the blonde woman back to safety before her own knees gave out on her. She collapsed to the floor of the arena. Panic settled into her chest, clenching her heart with an icy grip. She had revealed a crystal. And she had almost killed someone in the process.
Margaret dropped to her hands and knees. Her heart was racing from almost being impaled by the spikes surrounding the arena. She panted to catch her breath. "What was that?"
"Margaret!" the women cried. They jumped up from their seats and dashed over to their friend.
"Are you all right?" Aphelandra asked, kneeling down.
"Yeah." Margaret nodded.
"What happened?" Kikyo asked.
"I don't know. I was hit by a gust of wind. It came from..." Margaret lifted her eyes to Neo. Neo had her hands over her mouth and tears running down her cheeks. "What did you do?"
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Neo's breaths were raspy as she spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
The women carefully watched her for a few minutes. They were confused and concerned about the fear that was now present in Neo's eyes. After a minute, Margaret stood up and walked over to the scared girl. She knelt down and placed her hand on the terrified girl's shoulder.
Neo flinched away from her. She grabbed her head and shouted, "Don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! I didn't mean it! I didn't!"
Kikyo, Sweet Pea, and Aphelandra exchanged confused looks. They then turned back to Neo and Margaret. Margaret patiently waited for a few seconds before reaching for Neo again.
Neo jerked away from her again.
Margaret spoke softly to her. "I'm sorry. I forgot you don't like to be touched. But everything's okay. What you did…it was an accident, right?"
Neo lightly nodded. She quickly brushed the tears from her eyes. Law wouldn't be happy to know she was crying. "I…I didn't mean to do it. I'm so sorry."
"What exactly did you do?" Sweet Pea inquired. "If you don't mind me asking. I know we said we wouldn't pry into your past, but…"
Neo bit her bottom lip in thought. She wasn't sure what she should do here. She wanted them to know then she didn't want them to know. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, Law's words on how it was her choice to reveal them or not filtered into her mind. His words on trusting her instincts also filtered into her mind. She did feel like she could trust these women. So she summoned her crystals and braced herself for the truth.
She slowly opened her eyes when the small group gasped at her shimmering crystals. "It's because of these crystals. I can control the elements, all four of them. I accidentally summon a wind crystal when I slipped. That's why Margaret went flying like she did."
"Interesting," Kikyo mumbled while inspecting a nearby water crystal.
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "I really didn't mean to use them on her. I just lost control a bit."
"I'm getting the feeling that you have a very turbulent past, huh?" Sweet Pea asked.
Neo nodded. She cautiously looked at them. She felt like she should tell them about her past. She sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. "I grew up being hated by everyone because of my crystals and how animals acted around me. That's why I have so many scars on my body. I did it all myself, but for this one on my left shoulder. I've tried to kill myself so many times. I never trusted anyone. But, about a year ago, the captain found me and took me in. The Heart Pirates have been helping me to gain control over my abilities since then. They've also been educating me. I guess I still have some work to do with my crystals. This is actually the first time I've sparred with anyone outside of my crew. I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to use my crystals on you. I really don't want to hurt anyone."
"That's so sad," Aphelandra sniffed. She brushed her finger under her left eye. "I don't know what to say."
"There's no need for you to apologize, Neo." Margaret smiled. "Like we already said, it was an accident."
Neo looked up at the blonde in surprise. She locked eyes with her for a few second before dropping her eyes back down to the floor. "You don't hate me?"
"Of course not." Margaret giggled slightly. She reached out again to place her hand on Neo's shoulder.
Neo flinched lightly but didn't pull away from her this time.
Margaret decided to pull her hand back. "I do understand that you didn't mean it. It was an accident. No harm was done. We're friends now. You can trust us."
"Friends?" Neo asked. She flickered her eyes back up to the women and actually looked at them directly before dropping her eyes again.
"That's right!" Aphelandra giggled.
"We are friends now. You will always be welcome in our home," Sweet Pea replied.
Kikyo nodded in agreement.
Neo passed a quick glance at each of them, resting her eyes on theirs for a few brief seconds. Their snakes gathered around her shoulders.
"See? Our snakes even agree with us. I still find it strange how much they like you. They're usually not this friendly towards outsiders," Margaret said.
"Yeah." Neo nodded with a light smile. "It's because of my crystals. Other animals have reacted this way to me too. I'm somehow a part of nature. They can sense that. I can also understand their language and they understand me."
"I guess that makes sense. If you can control the elements then it should be the same with animals. They are a part of nature, too," Kikyo summoned up.
A grumbled rumbled through Neo's stomach. Her cheeks tinted pink. "Uh…"
"Let's get you something to eat. It's about time we returned you to your crew anyway," Margaret said.
Neo nodded in agreement.
"It's time to eat! I'm hungry! I bet your crew is hungry as well," Aphelandra giggled as she stood up with the rest of them.
Neo stood up too. She followed them out of the arena. While heading towards their next destination, they inquired more about her crystals. She freely told them about what all she could do with them, even while they ate in the large dinning hall. Despite it just being normal meal, the food that was spread out on the table reminded Neo of a banquet she read about in one of her books. Several types of fruits, vegetables, fish, and other meats were scattered up and down the long rectangular tables. Other Amazons were in the building with them, but her group managed to get a table by themselves. Neo occasionally looked up at the doors and windows to make sure her escape routes were clear.
Then after they had asked all of their questions she had a couple of her own. "Would it be all right if I asked why there are only women on this island? I mean why can't men come here?"
"We have no idea how our women only have girls. It's just how this place is. As for your second question, it's because men cause a lot of suffering and cause wars," Kikyo said. "They're barbarians who know nothing but how to fight with each other."
"But you all fight," Neo said.
"We raise our girls to learn how to protect themselves and our homes," Kikyo said.
"It's probably similar to how your captain taught you," Margaret said.
"But if you all don't like wars and fighting and stuff, why did the pirate empress go to the war at Marineford?" Neo asked.
"Because she's a warlord of the sea of course," Aphelandra said.
"The snake princess holds the position of a warlord to keep our people safe," Kikyo said. "With out that the navy would come in here and destroy our home."
"Oh," Neo said. "I think I understand. I don't like fighting either. But it's necessary sometimes, right?"
"Yes, it is," Sweet Pea said. "Though I think most people on the planet would love it if no one ever fought again."
"So how are you liking your stay on Amazon Lily?" Margaret asked.
"It's nice," Neo said. "I know it took me a while, but I feel a lot more secure here than I have on any island we've stopped at before."
"We're happy to hear that," Aphelandra said. "You're always welcome here if you're ever in this area."
"Thank you," Neo said. "I think I would like to come see you all again someday. If the captain would allow it."
"You do not need his permission to come see us," Kikyo said. "Those men are not a good influence on you."
"I'm sorry." Neo ducked her head.
"So what are your goals?" Margaret asked directing the conversation back into friendly territory.
"My goals?" Neo asked.
"What do you want to achieve in life?" Sweet Pea asked.
"Oh, well, I don't know," Neo said. "I never really thought about it. But, I guess, one thing I would like to find out is who I really am. And why I have these abilities." Margaret's snake curled around her shoulders. She smiled and scratched under his chin. "I'd like to know if there's anyone else out there that's like me."
"I'm sure there are," Margaret said. "The world might be a very big place, but I highly doubt you're all alone."
"She's right! I'll bet while you're sailing with your crew you'll find someone just like you!" Aphelandra said. "So keep your chin up and keep smiling!"
"Thank you," Neo said. "I'll try."
The women finished up eating then gathered the supplies for the Heart Pirates before making their way back to the bay.
Neo breathed in the smells of the forest when they stepped out of the cave. A few minutes later, the men greeted her happily, glad to see their girl was back and unharmed. After a small wave to her new friends, she immediately broke away from her female companions. She went right over to Law and sat down on his right side. He was sitting up against the tree like usual, this time with a bottle in his hand. Neither said anything at first. They just acknowledged each other with brief eye contact and a smile before she turned her eyes out to the sea.
Law carefully studied her while she slipped her arms around her thighs and rocked herself slightly. He could easily tell by how close she was sitting to him, and how she purposefully put him between herself and the others, that she revealed her crystals and more of her past to the native women and needed some security. He didn't say anything about it though. He want to see if she would openly tell him what she had done without him coaxing it or ordering it out of her.
They sat quietly for a few minutes before she finally did confess. She sighed then stopped rocking herself. "I accidentally revealed my crystals when sparring and almost hurt Margaret. I cried too."
"Oh? How do you feel about it?" Law watched her as she debated on her feelings.
"I was scared that they would hate me. But they didn't seem to mind since it was an accident and Margaret was unharmed. They understood I didn't mean to do it. I was able to actually ask questions while we ate. It was nice."
"Then you have nothing to worry about." Neo looked at him. He gave her a light smile. "You haven't sparred with anyone outside of the crew until now. It's understandable that you'd have a little slip up. But you did well in correcting your mistake. And you told me about it all on your own. I didn't have to coax or order it out of you at all. You've grown up some. I'm proud of you, Neo."
Neo blinked a few times at his words. Her cheeks were pink as she thought over his words. He smirk then went back to his drink while she continued to think over recent events. She was brought out of her thoughts when her eyes dropped to the bottle in his hand. She tilted her head questioningly at the bottle. "Do you and the crew really like that stuff? Is it really that good? You all seem to drink it a lot. Or the crew does. You don't seem to drink as often as they do."
Law studied her and the drink in his hand for a few seconds before holding out the bottle to her.
Neo took it and brought it up to her lips. She sniffed the contents before finally taking a small sip. She wrinkled her nose at the bitterness and forced herself to swallow the drink. "Yuck."
Law chuckled at her reaction to the beer he was drinking. "At least I don't have to worry about you getting drunk. Still, I don't want you trying any kind of alcoholic drinks without me by your side. These types of drinks can affect parts of the brain that control a person's movement, speech, judgment, and memory. It can cause them difficulty in walking, slurred speech, memory lapses, and impulsive behavior. It's also the reason I don't drink much. I like to keep my mind clear since I'm a doctor. And that's just some of the effects it has on humans. We don't have a clue what will happen if alcohol was to mix with your crystals. I don't want you to get yourself into trouble. Do you understand me, Neo?"
"Yes, I do. I don't want to drink them anyway if they all taste that bad. I'll stick with my sweet tea." Neo nodded. She gladly handed him back the bottle and went back to rocking herself. The two fell into comforting silence for a while.
Law kept glancing over at her. He couldn't stop his eyes from gliding over her island attire that reveals so much of her skin to him. And her curves. He never noticed them before, but he was sure noticing them now. The sight of them made his heart race erratically in his chest.
Neo then suddenly winced at a sharp pain in her back between her shoulder blades. She stopped rocking herself again. She released a faint whimper while trying to reach back to rub the hurting area.
"What's wrong?" Law asked, slight concern in his voice.
"My back hurts," Neo replied.
"Let me take a look. I'm going to unhook the back strap so hold the top to your chest so it doesn't fall." Law sat down his drink before reaching for the bikini top she was wearing. He glanced quickly over at the crew. They all were distracted at the moment, by the food the Amazons were giving them, so he unhooked her top. She obeyed his order and pinned the shoulder straps to her body to keep the top from falling off completely. "Where exactly does it hurt?"
"Between my shoulder blades," Neo replied with obvious pain in her voice.
Law inspected her skin, but found nothing. He quickly hooked the strap back up then started rubbing her back. He couldn't stop a smile when she tensed at his touch. After a few minutes of soothing rubs he asked, "Is it still hurting?"
Neo shook her head. "It's gone. But what was it?"
"Did you hit your back hard while sparring?"
"No."
"Well, it could have been nothing. Or maybe just a pinched nerve," Law replied, still with his hand moving over her back. "If it happens again, be sure to tell me. Even if it only lasts for a few seconds."
"Okay," Neo hummed. She hugged her knees while resting her cheek on them.
Law smiled again. She was obviously enjoying his hand on her back.
"Excuse me." Law and Neo simultaneously looked up when Margaret spoke. "Could you tell me how is Luffy doing? Has he woken up yet?"
"At the moment, he's doing fine," Law replied. "But he hasn't woken up yet. I don't know when that will be either."
"I see." Margaret nodded sadly. She lowered her eyes to the ground then raised them back up. That's when the young blonde noticed Law's hand was on Neo's back. She tossed her eyes back and forth between the two.
Law immediately caught her questioning gaze and let his hand drop from Neo's back.
She opened her mouth to question it, but was cut off by Kikyo calling for her. "Coming! Well, I have to go now. I'll see you later, Neo."
"Bye." Neo waved. She tilted her head slightly. "She looked like she wanted to say something else. What do you think it was?"
"Uh." Law's cheeks tinted. His hat dropped over his eyes. "Don't worry about it. It was obviously nothing important or else she would have said what was on her mind."
"I guess you're right." Neo turned her eyes out to the sea again.
Law continued to secretly watch her. A small smile had formed on her lips. He could only guess at what she was thinking as she continued to stare out at the water.
A little while later, Neo and Law's quiet time together was interrupted when Jinbe appeared. He walked over and sat down near the surgeon.
Neo smiled at the fishman. "How are you feeling, Jinbe?"
"I'm all right," Jinbe said. "My wounds are healing up nicely."
"That's good to hear," Neo said. "I was worried that you might-"
A loud crash interrupted her. Their eyes few to the cliff where the nose had came from. Neo watched as Law and Jinbe immediately got to their feet. She jumped and followed after them when they ran over to the cliff. She looked down at the rocking sub and crashing waves before questioned it. "What happened?"
Before Law could answer her, another loud, metal ripping, crash was heard. There was a collective, startled gasps, as Luffy came flying out of the sub and landed hard on the island. The crew stood still. No one had any idea what the bandaged teen was going to do. Luffy lifted himself up off the ground and screamed out in heart wrenching pain. "Ace! Where are you?!"
The air quickly fill with a thick tension that Neo didn't understand. Her body trembled and she took a step closer to Law. "Captain, something doesn't feel right. It's scaring me."
Law placed his hand on her arm and gently pushed her behind him. "I know. Just stay behind me, Neo. Straw Hat's not thinking clearly right now. I don't know what he's going to do."
"Okay." Neo nodded. She obediently took another half step behind him.
Law kept his arm out to protect her. He stood ready to fight Straw Hat if he had to.
Neo watched quietly when the rest of the crew started to try and contain Straw Hat. She reached out and clenched a hold of Law's shirt. Leaning into his back, she said, "He's in so much pain. It hurts. Captain, is he going to be all right? Can you make the pain stop?"
Law cast Neo a glance over his shoulder. He wasn't sure how to response to that. He was a doctor, but he healed physical wounds not mental ones. Neo was the exception to that. He knew how to handle her. He didn't know how to handle Straw Hat here.
When it was clear that Straw Hat wasn't going to actually attack any one of them, Law took Neo's hand. He guided her to a spot of his desire. He sat down first then pulled her down in front of him between his legs. He kept his knees bent up and rested his arms on them, keeping Neo enclosed and protected.
Neo gave Straw Hat another look. The crew was chasing him around now, trying to get him to hold still. She then leaned her back against Law's chest. She lifted her hands and started to fiddle with Law's fingers to keep herself distracted from all of Straw Hat's yelling. It wasn't an easy task considering the teen kept yelling and was being constantly tackled by the Heart Pirates.
"Ace!"
"Please! Stop it, Straw Hat!"
"He can't hear you anymore! He's gone!"
"Ace?! Where are you?!"
"Calm down, Straw Hat!"
Jinbe shook his head with a deep, thoughtful sigh. He then sat down near Law and Neo. Once comfortable, the fish man pulled his eyes over to the surgeon. He raised an eyebrow at Neo fiddling with the surgeon's hands and at how tolerant Law was being with her. He opened his mouth to question the situation, but quickly shut it after Law shot him a harsh warning glare that screamed to not speak of anything dealing with what Neo was doing. He cleared his throat and then asked, "So what's going to happen to Luffy?"
"Well, if he keeps up this reckless behavior he's going to end up killing himself." Neo tilted her eyes up to Law when he said that. He looked down at her. Her eyebrows were turned up in slight concern. She still had her fingers laced with his, he squeezed her fingers gently. He kept his eyes connected with hers even when he felt her relax in his hold.
"Isn't there something you can do for him?" Neo asked.
"I'm afraid not. I've done all I can for him," Law replied.
"Hey, Jinbe?" Neo then asked.
"Yes?" Jinbe asked.
"Why does Straw Hat keep calling out Ace's name?" Neo asked.
"Ace and Luffy were brothers," Jinbe said.
"Oh," Neo said sinking back into Law's chest. "That's why he's in so much pain?"
"It is." Jinbe nodded. "At the war Ace took a punch from Akainu that was mean for Luffy. So Luffy saw his brother die right in front of him."
"That's terrible," Neo said. "I wish there was something we could do for him."
"I agree. And there might be something I can do for him." The two turned their attention to the fishman when he spoke. Without another word, Jinbe stood up and headed over to the crew.
"What do you think he's going to do with Straw Hat?" Neo asked.
"I don't know," Law replied. They watched as Jinbe grabbed Straw Hat and disappear into the forest. Straw Hat's cries fading the farther they went in.
"They're going into the forest? Won't they get into trouble?" Neo questioned.
"Straw Hat won't since he has permission to go wherever he wishes on this island. I doubt Jinbe will get into any trouble since he's with Straw Hat and he's not a human man," Law said. He looked down at Neo again. She still held some concerned in her eyes about Straw Hat as she stared in the direction Jinbe took Straw Hat. He couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. Neo never has shown concern about anyone outside of the crew before. He wondered if she sensed the same thing about the black haired teen as he did, that Straw Hat could be trusted. Or if this was just her growing more accepting of people. He placed his hand on her head, regaining her attention. "I don't want you worrying over Straw Hat anymore. Whatever happens now is out of our hands."
"All right." Neo nodded. She leaned back again his chest with a sigh. She stayed quiet as Law kept one hand on hers while picking up the straw hat that was discarded on the ground nearby and studied it with his other hand.
