Chapter 8

Ikakku had been kind enough to offer to accompany Lyanna into the town so she could buy some new clothes. The boiler suits they wore were fine, but she had run out of clean, everyday clothes. It was also quite hot, and they hadn't been wearing boiler suits throughout the day. Ikkaku had been kind enough to lend her some things even though she was taller, and they didn't quite fit. The trip had gone well up until the very end. When they were walking out of the market, they were approached by a group of 6 strange men. Lyanna immediately realised that something was wrong. Their expressions did not appear pleasant or friendly, and both women were on their guard. Lyanna wasn't back to 100% yet, but she could easily put up a fight. She knew that Ikkaku was tough, so she felt they would be okay if they had to defend themselves, even against superior numbers. She couldn't sense anything particularly concerning with Haki either. The men asked the girls to join them for a drink, to which Ikkaku told them no, and that seemed to tick them off.

As soon as the men pounced, Lyanna used Observation Haki to avoid their strikes. She did her best to keep an eye on Ikkaku as they defended themselves. Ikkaku handled herself well, so Lyanna felt okay to focus on her own fight. Within a few minutes, the men were down for the count, either unconscious or disabled. Thankfully her companion only had some superficial scrapes, and Lyanna's previously cut hand hurt, but it didn't reopen. Her leg, however, felt like it was bleeding again, and she grunted in annoyance. Picking up the dropped bag of clothing she had purchased, they headed back to the port, raging about being attacked but enjoying the adrenaline rush simultaneously. They handled it fine, so at least they could take it as a confidence boost in their ability to look after themselves. Whatever they did, they weren't going to be able to avoid fighting since the men had focused on them.

When they arrived back at the Polar Tang, Uni and Shachi were on deck and came over to them, rushing when they heard the angry voices of the two women.

"What happened?" Shachi asked, noticing that Lyanna was walking a little slower than before.

"Just had to put some guys in their place." She answered as she shuffled on the deck.

"It's all dealt with," Ikkaku reassured her crewmates, but they didn't seem satisfied.

"Captain!" Shachi called out as Uni began pacing angrily, upset about the girls being attacked.

"What?" Law's voice sounded from inside, and he came through the doorway a moment later.

"Ikkaku and Lyanna were attacked in the market," Uni answered angrily.

"Who was it?!" Law's anger flared violently, and he gripped his sword tightly. His showed his fury, and she was momentarily stunned by how visible it was since he was usually so composed.

"It wasn't pirates, just assholes. They've been taught a lesson." Lyanna tried to calm him down, somewhat worried about what Law might do if he lost his temper.

"Where are they?" Her attempts to diffuse the situation didn't work, and Law was already stomping towards the market.

"Should we come with you, Captain?" Shachi asked, and Uni was at the ready too, and even though Uni's mask covered his face, she could tell his face was twisted in anger.

"Protect the ship!" He called back to them, already off the ship and walking down the jetty. Lyanna was limping awkwardly behind him, unable to keep pace with his much longer legs. Since she wasn't part of his crew, she had no intention of taking his orders, and just wanted to make sure he wasn't going to murder the guys that attacked them.

"Hey!" She yelled at him, but he ignored her and kept on his way.

Before she could stop him, he had rounded the corner where they'd been jumped, and the men were still there, nursing their wounds and sulking. One of them was still unconscious. She could only watch as Law created a sphere around the men, and only a few seconds and sword cuts later, they were in multiple pieces. They weren't dead, but it would be a while before they could be put back together.

Law finally turned around, and she saw the fury on his face. It made her flinch, and she instinctively took a backwards step in a moment of alarm. Lyanna didn't realise that she had clenched her fists and was readying to avoid an attack, sensing his intense anger. When he saw her reaction, he forced himself to relax and cautiously approached her. She felt better once he finally looked composed and at ease again but found her instincts didn't allow her to drop her guard just yet.

Rooting herself to the spot, she allowed him to approach her, and he even lifted his arm as if he was going to touch her. He must have thought better of it and let it fall back to his side before he gestured toward the port for them to return to the ship. It was silent between them, but Lyanna wanted to ask him why he had lost it. He was usually so stoic that it had shocked her to see him so enraged. She understood that he was angry about Ikkaku possibly being hurt, and maybe he cared about her too. But it was the intensity of the anger that stunned her. Admittedly, she had underestimated his compassion and concern for his crewmates when she'd first met him, so it may have been that he was a lot more worried than he let on.

While they walked back to the ship, he purposely slowed right down for her, so she didn't have to rush. He surely hadn't missed her limping and was compensating for her, barely taking one step for three of hers.

"Are you alright?" He asked abruptly and in a rushed manner.

"Yeah, I think I busted the stitches on my leg, though." She felt terrible for ruining his handiwork, but his actions before caused her to not worry about apologising. It wasn't like she could have prevented it from happening anyway. She couldn't have physically stopped him.

He nodded but didn't say anything else and seemed to turn his thoughts inward. As they reached the ship, the entire crew awaited their return on deck. Law nodded to them to let them know everything was fine, and the tension in their bodies released. Before she could move out of his reach, he took hold of her hand, taking care to be gentle, and led her to the treatment room. When they arrived, he gestured her to sit.

"Let me see your leg." He asked softly and got some new dressings ready as she sat down.

She pulled the leg of her shorts up and saw blood spots on the bandage. Before Law was ready, she started removing the dirty dressing. When he saw her, he gave her an 'Oi' to stop, so she raised her hands in a compliant gesture. He took over from her and carefully unwrapped the bandage before disposing of it.

"It doesn't need more stitches. I'll pull the old ones out, though." He picked up his medical instruments and cut the old stitches before pulling them out.

Lyanna kept her eyes shut as he worked, trying to focus on accepting the pain and discomfort. After removing the stitches, he put some more ointment on the wound. When she felt his eyes on her, not in a clinical manner, she opened her eyes out of curiosity. He looked surprisingly subdued and seemed to be thinking of something to say.

"Sorry." He offered in a quiet voice.

Even though she had no idea what he would say, she didn't expect an apology.

"For what?" She asked incredulously.

"I didn't protect you, and I scared you." He answered sheepishly.

"You don't have to protect me. I saw Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi when I was a kid. It takes a lot to scare me… I'm used to you being so stoic, so seeing you so expressive surprised me." Her response was measured but didn't make him feel any better.

He must have known that wasn't all she had been thinking, so he picked up her right hand and put it on her chest, tilting his head to one side questioningly. She knew this meant he didn't believe her and habitually tried to get the truth out of her with her ability. Even if it didn't work, it told her that he didn't believe her.

"I thought you were going to kill them." She said with a sigh, and he took a deep breath.

"It did cross my mind." He looked off to one side while he confessed. "So… you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

She answered with a smile to reassure him. He watched her for a moment before seeming satisfied and returning to finish his task. After he'd finished with the ointment, he dressed the wound again. The silence wasn't awkward, but it was definitely heavy. Law wasn't exactly a conversationalist, neither was she, but it seemed they both had things they wanted to say. However, they weren't willing or ready to. He sighed softly when he tied the bandage, took off his gloves, and tossed them aside. He put his hands on the counter and stared at the wall for a minute, leaving Lyanna feeling odd sitting on the cot.

Before she could move to get down, though, Law moved in front of her. Instead of keeping a respectful distance, he nudged her to move her knees apart so he could close the gap between them. His hands came to rest on her hips, and Lyanna waited to see what he would do. The back-and-forth flirting had to come to a head sooner or later, so maybe this was the moment. His chin was tilted down to look at her, keeping eye contact until his gaze dropped to her lips. She felt anticipation as he moved one hand to her chin, lifting it upward to meet him. Slowly, he moved his face closer to hers, and she couldn't help but close her eyes. But a few seconds passed, and he hadn't kissed her yet. When she opened her eyes to see what was happening, he was still close, only centimetres away. Still, something was holding him back from continuing. Not wanting to force anything, she didn't initiate the kiss and just waited for him to figure out what he was doing. Instead, he just pulled her into a hug, wrapping his long arms around her and tangling his fingers in her hair. She returned his embrace without hesitation, her arms going around his waist, linking her fingers together.

She felt him press his face into the crook of her neck, feeling his breath fan over her skin. They stayed in each other's embrace for at least a few minutes, and Lyanna traced random patterns on his back with her finger while he nuzzled against her. After getting what he needed, he let go and moved back to the counter. Feeling the loss of warmth, Lyanna wondered if he felt better now. The look on his face told her he did, and she smiled softly before getting down from the cot. He packed up his medical instruments and threw out his soiled gloves. Lyanna figured it was probably good to give him a moment alone. She placed her hand on his back as she walked past him, heading for the door. Although he didn't stop her from leaving, she felt his hand brush against her own.

If she had looked back, she would have seen a genuine smile on his face…