Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Chapter 11

Hidden

"You know, you really don't have to do this. I'm more than capable of unpacking myself," Nami stated sweetly, trying to hide any annoyance in her voice.

"This is true, but the young master insists I help you acclimate to your new accommodations," Viola brushed her off immediately, moving more of her clothes into the closet.

"Yes, and I appreciate that. I appreciated you joining me for breakfast, giving me a tour of the castle, bringing me lunch. Really, I'm so appreciative I can hardly stand it," she giggled nervously. Her tone was kind, but it was clear she was ready for some time on her own. There was a lot she had on her mind, and it was difficult to tackle any of her thoughts with Viola joined at her hip.

When she heard a knock on her bedroom door this morning, she couldn't help but be disappointed when it wasn't Law. She knew he saw her go in to have a private conversation with Doflamingo after dinner. Honestly, she expected him to come knocking last night, ready to grill her with questions about what may have happened. She could admit that she was eager to give him a hard time about not letting her know he had given Doflamingo a written report about their mission in Germa. She could even admit she wanted his thoughts on what the offer from Doflamingo really meant. What she wasn't ready to admit was that she wouldn't care in the least if neither of those things happened if it meant she could feel his touch again.

"You have some extremely beautiful pieces of jewelry." Viola had moved to unpacking a box of accessories.

Nami frowned when she saw her holding up the diamond and gold necklace. She hadn't had a chance to try to sell any of the things Ichiji gave her. There weren't any proper vendors for high-end jewelry in Zou, and she didn't have them with her during yesterday's shopping trip. At least, that's what she told herself. Truthfully, even if she had a chance to bring them with her, she wouldn't have gone near them. Just the sight of the necklace sent an unpleasant shiver up her spine, leaving her wanting to distance herself from the item for the fear of the memory that came with it.

"Why don't you wear this one today?" Viola asked cheerfully. She turned toward Nami, but the moment she took a step forward with the necklace, Nami flinched and moved away.

Viola froze. For the first time since they met, she looked at Nami. She really looked at her.

"It irritates my skin," Nami mumbled before moving to fiddle with some of her drafting tools on the other side of the room.

She could feel Viola's eyes on her back for several minutes before she finally spoke.

"I have to leave."

Nami was relieved if not a bit confused by Viola's abrupt departure. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more odd it felt. As soon as the door closed, Nami was at the other side listening for the direction of her footsteps.

She silently opened the door and slipped into the hall. The loud clacking of Viola's heels made it all too easy for Nami to follow at a safe distance. The sound eventually stopped after Viola headed down a particularly dark corridor. It wasn't an area included on the tour she had given Nami earlier that day, piquing her interest even further.

Nami waited to hear the sound of footsteps resume. A few minutes passed, and nothing. She crept closer to the entrance of the corridor. Viola should only be a few paces away. There were no other sounds in the hallway. What was she doing?

She crouched at the end of the wall and slowly peered around the corner. Nothing. She leaned further. No one. It was a dead end. No doors, no windows, just a few hanging portraits and a statue of what looked like a past king. Nami's gut twisted as she fully entered the short corridor. She was absolutely certain Viola came this way, but now there was no sign of her. It was like she vanished into thin air.

She frowned as she stared up at the face of the statue. How did Viola give her the slip? The labyrinth of corridors in the castle was frustrating to map, but she should have been able to keep up with one target. She sighed heavily. Viola finally gave her the solitude she asked for, but it was eating her up inside. She didn't feel like she was in danger, not any more than usual anyway, but she was starting to feel more unsettled by the hour.

She needed to speak with Law.

It was late afternoon when Law started making his way towards Nami's room. He would have gone to her sooner, but Monet had been far too interested in his movements since last night's dinner. They needed to be more careful.

Monet had lingered into the next day, ghosting his steps with her cold presence. It wasn't until he was called to Doflamingo's office that he finally felt free of her watchful eyes.

He wasn't intimidated by the king as he towered over him from behind his large desk. He didn't take the bait when Doflamingo offered him backhanded compliments and obvious slights to get a rise out of him. He wasn't surprised when he was asked to continue researching the Vinsmokes enhancements, with direct orders to prepare to start human testing as soon as possible. He was, however, annoyed when he was told Monet would be assisting him with this task.

A quick glance as he left the office reassured him that he was alone in the hallway. He didn't hesitate as he made his way toward Nami's room.

He wanted more than anything to speak with her. Even if he couldn't have that, even if he could just see her, that would be enough. He needed to know she was alright. He needed to know that whatever happened with Doflamingo hadn't shaken her.

He was so close.

He rounded the corner and heard a familiar voice.

"Looking for me?"

His heart sank as his eyes were met with mint-green hair and piercing amber eyes.

No.

"Actually, yes," he lied. "I'm told you'll be helping me with the enhancement research."

"Lucky me." She smiled deviously. "And here I was worried you were looking for that ginger again."

"Hmph, why would you think that?"

She leaned in until her lips hovered a fraction away from his ear and whispered, "Because you've been eye fucking her since the moment you stepped on this island."

He rolled his eyes, and she laughed as she pulled away.

"I'll admit I had a passing fascination. Aren't you curious why Arlong allowed a human officer in this ranks?" he asked idly.

She took his arm and started leading him in the opposite direction.

"Everyone has their little kinks. Fishmen included." Her voice was equal parts sultry and condescending. "Even the red prince, the picture of stoicism, has quite the fetish."

Law looked down at her, and she raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to put the pieces together.

"So it was you watching us in Germa."

Her crooked smile widened as she glared back up at him. Having Doflamingo send another spy to watch them during their mission shouldn't have been completely unexpected. He did not like this realization though, especially since he couldn't be sure at what point she arrived and how much she saw.

"You should have seen him coming out of your abandoned apartment," she cackled to herself. "He couldn't even wait until he got back in the car before he buried his face in her pillow case. Tell me Law, was it your scent he was sucking off those sheets too, or just hers?"

"Don't be ridiculous." He was annoyed at the accusation, but he didn't need to lie to refute it. "The bed was hers. I slept on the couch."

She hummed in approval. "Too bad for you then I guess. It seems like even the young master had a passing fascination with her, considering how long she was in that little private meeting with him last night."

He knew her eyes were on him, searching for a reaction. He hid his clenched fist in his pocket, the only outlet for his frustrations, allowing him to keep his otherwise aloof façade.

"What Doflamingo does in private isn't any of our concern."

"My thoughts exactly," she purred, squeezing herself closer against his arm.

"What I am concerned with is where you're taking me. My office is the other direction."

"We're going to work on your research."

"All my files are in my office."

Her lips curled into a viscous grin as she brought him in front of an elevator. "Yeah, but what's the fun of conducting research if you don't have a little lab rat to experiment on?"

Her touch was cold and unwanted. He fought off the urge to push her away as they entered the elevator. He didn't need to give her a reason to doubt him before she brought him further into the fold. He had been too risky since his return, and he was lucky he hadn't been under more suspicion already. He swallowed hard, preparing himself. This was a level of the castle he hadn't been given access to before. He needed to stay alert if he was going to get what he needed for his ultimate goal.

But he struggled to focus with her unpleasant touch. He shouldn't care as much as he did, but he couldn't help it. He should be focused on the mission at hand, but his thoughts betrayed him. After what she went through in Germa, the thought of Nami receiving any unwanted touch was grinding against his nerves. And if Doflamingo touched her, Law would set aside any plans he had that ended in the so called king getting a quick and painless death. He promised her he would protect her. He needed to know he hadn't failed in that already.

He needed to speak with Nami.

She was tired of searching for Law.

If he didn't want to be found, that was fine. They had agreed to be more careful when they got to Dressrosa. Surely, he was just keeping distance after yesterday. It was what they agreed after all.

And why did she care so much anyway? This was just supposed to be a quick, lustful affair. She couldn't let whatever she was feeling for him get in the way of her ultimate goal. She had to think about Nojiko. It was her own fault that she wound up in this mess. If she had just been more vigilant when she was stashing the money from her last job for Arlong, she would have noticed someone following her. She could have fled to another safehouse or found a better spot to lay low until she could stash the money safely. She grimaced at the memory. The sooner she could find information on Doflamingo worth as much to Arlong, the sooner she could move on from all of this. The sooner she could save her sister.

As she wandered the hallways of the castle, her ears perked up at a familiar sound. Viola's heels were on the move and heading in a familiar direction. Her body acted immediately on instinct. She was swift and silent as she closed the gap to her target.

She followed more closely this time. She was only a few steps away when she saw Viola turn toward the same corridor she disappeared from earlier.

Could she risk staying out of sight only for her to disappear again? She only had a split second to decide. She could always feign innocence if she was caught, right?

Nami turned the corner and came face to face with Viola staring back at her. Neither said a word and Nami stopped to blink, realizing that Viola's body seemed to be half way through the wall. Viola was frozen, wide eyes staring back at Nami until loud footsteps were heard around the corner.

Without so much as a word, Viola grabbed Nami by the wrist and pulled her into the frame of a large painting on the wall. She lost her footing as she stumbled over the bottom of the frame, but Viola steadied her by pressing against her. She placed her free hand over Nami's mouth as she slid the painting back into place behind them.

They both waited, not daring to move a muscle until the sounds of footsteps outside had long since faded. Viola gave Nami a hard look before releasing her and silently motioning her to follow. Nami obeyed. If Viola wanted to turn her in to the king for finding this secret, she surely would have allowed whoever was outside to find them. But she didn't. In fact, she looked terrified at the idea of being found by anyone.

She followed Viola to a hidden room connecting the passages. Truthfully, it was just a wider section of the cramped passageways, but it appeared that Viola had space enough for a small chair and table. The table was covered in books and trinkets, and above the desk was a picture of the same former king she saw a statue of in the hallway.

Viola was visibly furious at being found. She was quick to point out that Nami could have gotten them both killed, but even despite her anger, she pled earnestly for Nami to keep this a secret.

Nami didn't respond immediately. She was still taking everything in. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation yet. Although it did give her some comfort knowing these passages are part of the reason why the castle had been so hard for her to map.

"Does your king know about these hidden passages?" Nami finally asked.

"He knows of some of them, but he swore me to secrecy. He is too large to use them himself, and he doesn't want anyone else using them. Including me.

"I only use them to visit this room. All of the items here are related to the last king. It is the only place left such things exist. The rest were burned or sold or melted for scrap. I just... I need a place to remember them."

Nami wasn't sure what to make of Viola. She didn't know much about the former king or why she would need such a place. She wondered if Law could tell her more once they were able to speak again.

"Nami, be honest with me. You are thinking of telling Trafalgar about this place, aren't you?"

Nami hesitated before answering. "I think we can trust him." The words come out more weak than she would have liked.

Viola scoffs. "There is no one on this island that you should trust."

"Does that include you?"

"You can trust that I would do just about anything to keep this place and these passages a secret." Viola pauses for a moment in thought. "You really think you can trust him?"

"With everything we went through... It might sound stupid, but I trust him with my life." Her voice found its confidence with the last words. "I know I haven't been around the family long, but neither has he. Maybe you can't trust any of the others who have been here longer-"

"What do you mean, neither has he?"

She didn't like the look Viola was giving her. "Well he- he told me back on Germa. I remember because I asked him why the two newest people working for Doflamingo would be trusted on such a mission."

"And what was his answer to that?" Viola asked skeptically.

"He said.. He said he convinced him to." Why was she so unsure of herself all of the sudden? She swallowed hard, desperate to remember his exact words. "He convinced him that we were both disposable if anything went wrong. That we hadn't been around long enough to be associated with the family to outsiders."

"I supposed the part about Doffy thinking you both are disposable was true enough." Viola's voice was cold.

"I don't understand. What are you saying?" Nami's heart was clenched painfully tight in her chest.

Viola tilted her head and looked a bit more thoughtfully at Nami before responding.

"Trafalgar may have joined the family recently, but he is far from new here."

"What?" It was the only response her brain could communicate to her mouth. "What does that mean?"

"It means the dark doctor was brought in by Doffy far before I was."

"No. That's insane. Even I know that once you join the family, you can't just come and go as you please."

Viola shrugged. "This is true, but I know that it happened with Trafalgar."

Nami shook her head. "It doesn't even make sense, though. Even if what you're saying is true, why would Law lie to me about it?" It was the truth of what actually bothered her. She said she trusted him with her life, and she had meant it. She knew he had secrets. They both knew they kept things from each other, but one thing she did not expect him to do was lie to her.

"He is the Surgeon of Death. Who knows what madness he's plotting," Viola muttered.

"He's the- He's the Surgeon of what?"

Viola tilted her head and looked back at Nami. "The Surgeon of Death," she said again. "It's the nickname he received after killing 100 of Doffy's enemies. They say that's what made him agree to let Trafalgar back in the family."

Nami didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure what to think either. The person Viola described couldn't be the same gentle man who held Oso, who wiped away her tears in the middle of the night, who protected her when she needed him most. A deep frown set her face. There was no lie in Viola's voice. It twisted her gut as she was forced to face all of the questions about him she had refused to consider when she had instead buried herself in his embrace. She was pulled from her thoughts when Viola voiced the one question currently burning a hole in her heart.

"Honestly, Nami, are you sure you know him at all?"