Surprise, surprise! You thought that there may not be a chapter update this week since I posted one up last week, but you're wrong! As per the regular 2 weeks cycle (and as a gift to all the moms out there), here's the next chapter! Hope you guys like the development happening between Char and Law (and of course, the rest of the Hearts)! Hopefully it doesn't feel too fast or slow! You let me know~~ Anyway, Enjoy this chapter and Happy Mother's Day to you all!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, just the OCs
Chapter 21
Law stared out at the rising sun in the horizon, a frown tugging on his lips. The others still haven't returned. The marine scouting festival ended the night prior and there was still no sign of the three. "Do you think they're alright?" Bepo questioned next to his captain, voicing the thought that they all had.
"Cole-ya, what happens if one was to say get scouted?" He asked hypothetically. Because that's what he really hoped it was. Hypothetical. That they would return any moment now as he stared off into the distance.
"They'd get taken to the Marine Base or brought to Marine HQ for the war and the tensions from the aftermath, I doubt they'll be taken to New Marineford just yet. It's more likely there's a training camp stationed somewhere on the island." Cole explained, drawing on his past life as a marine for details. "…that's if their identities haven't been discovered yet." They were lucky Charlotte only grabbed them versus their typical uniform with their Jolly Roger.
"If that was the case, then we'd hear the news by now." Jean Bart added with a sideways glance to their captain. "The captain's always worth more than the subordinates. They would have used them to draw Captain in." They all couldn't deny that fact.
"Good." It meant that the Marines didn't know that they were pirates yet. Scouted was a whole lot better than being jailed. "But their cover won't last forever." While Charlotte may get by since no one knew about her affiliation to their crew yet, Shachi and Penguin both have a bounty on their heads. "Bepo-ya, can you track them?" With an apologetic look, Law shambled Shachi and Penguin's sweaty clothes to the table.
Bepo stared at the offending articles of clothes. A paw over his nose. "Aye, aye… Captain." He nodded reluctantly.
"Capt'n!" Cole started only to pause at the stare his captain gave him. "Aye… Capt'n. I'll stay on standby." As an ex-marine he'd knew where to go to find them fastest, but the chances that the trainers would recognize him was also high. This was now a stealth and recover mission; a familiar face wasn't going to help with that.
"Bepo-ya, you're to stay with Cole-ya." Law added after a moment and the bear snapped his head to his captain, eyes silently asking why. They were all eager to help rescue their friends "Bepo-ya, you're a bear. You'll stand out the most."
At that, the bear's face went into shock and then his head dropped. "I'm sorry, Captain." He apologized and the others deadpanned. Did he forget he's a bear?
"Did you catch their smell?" Law pivoted and the bear sprang back up instantly, nodding furiously.
"You two are oddly relaxed given the situation." Charlotte commented lightly between bites as she stared at the other two's refreshed faces. They seemed to have had a good night's sleep despite being kidnapped by their enemies and taken to their base.
"I don't want to hear that from you!" Shachi retorted back immediately. The three of them sat amongst themselves in the large cafeteria, dressed in white and blue. A tray of food before each of them, untouched save for Charlotte's plate.
"There's nothing to worry about. By now, Captain must have realized something is up and will come to our aid." Penguin added with a proud smile.
Charlotte slowed her next scoop of food, pausing to quirk a brow at the other. Was he stupid in the head? "He, the pirate captain, high bounty target of the marines, will willingly walk into an army base full of marines and marines trainee to rescue two—"
"—three," They immediately corrected, both beaming.
Charlotte rolled her eyes at the correction, "—three whoever's in his crew?" She finished and scoffed. They nodded back energetically, proud smiles on their faces as if saying "that's just their captain. Isn't he awesome?" She frowned at the thought, muttering a half-hearted "Yeah, right" back. Unsure if she, herself, believed her own "yeah, right". Wasn't she wrong back in Kukonda Island too? She saw the look of concern on his face when he treated them. "You guys forget, what if he gets caught? This is a marine base full of marine officers." She'd be damn if she lets her target gets captured by someone else. "It's better that he doesn't come." She concluded with a spoonful of food to her mouth.
The two shared a concerned look. There were also marine captains and instructors here. "That's true… O-oi, what if it's poisoned!" The two quickly pivoted when Charlotte continued to eat, unable to contain their cringes anymore.
Charlotte stared at them blankly. "Why would it be poisoned? They served all of us from the same big tub." Charlotte responded back after a big swallow. The chances of it being poisoned was slim to none. It wasn't as if they realized who they scouted—kidnapped—just yet. "Plus, you should never waste food." She added and the two snapped their heads towards the huntress again.
"Never eat poisoned food!" They told her sternly, and she rolled her eyes at them. They groaned in response and swore to either pump her stomach quick or keep her away from poisoned food until they taught her some common sense.
"It can't be worse than eating a Devil Fruit." She muttered and made a yuck face with her tongue hanging out. The two begged to differ. You could die! They would have corrected if she hadn't spoken first. "Speaking of, they have one here too. A strange one with spots instead of swirls though."
The two pirates turned towards the huntress, wondering when in the time they had been kidnapped to now did she gather that information.
"I saw it when I went to brush my teeth last night." She answered easily. She deliberately taken the route to the farthest washroom from where she stayed just to walk around the base and get her bearings. Unlike the two dolts reliant on their Captain, Charlotte preferred to bet on herself. "I was finding an escape route. There are a few exits that we could use."
"How efficient…" The two blanched, thinking back to how they defaulted to their captain to pick them up. "Why didn't you leave yesterday night then?" Penguin questioned. On Kukonda, Charlotte left them to their own devises in the jail cell.
"You two weren't there." Charlotte responded immediately without much thought as if it was obvious. She flinched around the spoonful a second later, eyes hesitantly drawing towards the other two staring at her with beaming faces. She flushed, darting her gaze to the side. "I-I just want to avoid the troubles of coming back to grab you two dolts is all!"
"Suuuree," Their grins grew wider with their sing-song comment and Charlotte shot them another warning glare.
"About the… fruit, do you remember where it was?" Penguin asked, changing topic and stopping himself from saying Devil Fruit when another rookie walked by. He frowned when Charlotte shook her head.
"I saw it being transported." She took one last, large bite and washed it down with a big gulp of milk. She swallowed thickly. "Time's up." She warned quietly as two lieutenants showed up behind them. Shachi and Penguin tensed at the gun next to Charlotte's ear.
"Do you know what time it is, Recruit? Breakfast ends at 715 sharp! It's 717 and you three are still sitting here! Training starts in the armoury at 720!" One of the lieutenants announced loudly. "Move it!" He poked at Charlotte with his rifle.
She stopped his prodding with her karambit. "Poke me again and you'll lose more than that gun." She warned and the other scoffed at the tiny blade jutting out of her hand.
"Never bring a knife to a gunfight." The lieutenant advised and Charlotte turned to glare at the male over her shoulder, but he turned away, already making for the exit and missing Charlotte's death glare. "I want to see you lot there. You're all getting a modernized weapon of choice."
And so that was how they all realized that not everyone should have a modernized weapon of choice. Especially not Charlotte. Weaponry class started out fine with every rookie looking and being taught about the different types of gun artillery available for Marines. It wasn't until the practical portion did things go downhill. Very quickly.
Charlotte selected the gun closest to her. A semi-automatic. One she had absolutely no idea how to use. It didn't take her long to come across the part known as a trigger and moments after that, she had fired holes throughout the ground and the wall next to her. The gun jumping around in her arms and a surprised yelp leaving her and the many marines around her. Silence ensured once the gun bounced high enough and she lost her grip on the trigger. Just when everyone thought it was over, Charlotte's face split into a grin and they learned very quickly that Charlotte was trigger happy if given a trigger.
Clung.
Huh? She pulled on the trigger again.
Clung.
Charlotte's smile turned upside down as she fiddled with the gun, trying to figure out why exactly it had stopped firing.
"I-Is it over?" One of the ducking marines questioned. They were lucky that the aiming was a second thought for the huntress. She didn't even change her firing angle when everyone took cover. "I think she's out of bullets." Another one supplied.
Bullets? Charlotte paused, glancing up at the heads peeking over the crates. The gun around to point at the ground when she released her fist. "Um… do I need those?"
They blanched at her. Was she being serious? "Yes." They nodded and Charlotte's mouth morphed into a big 'O'.
"Remind me to tell Cole never to let Charlotte near the armory." Shachi whispered and Penguin nodded grimly, agreeing wholeheartedly.
"How about this one then?" At the innocent question, the ducking marines and pirates-in-hiding lifted their faces to glance at the lone woman standing amongst the artilleries. Immediately their eyes bugged out of their face at the bazooka she had somehow found and hoisted onto her shoulder. She wasn't even waiting for a response as she tinkered with the thing.
Click.
A light flared up from behind the huntress and her purple tresses flew out around her. The bazooka on her shoulder shifted and a whistling sound filled the air. Charlotte turned over her shoulder, platinum eyes filling with orange-red as she watched the fiery tail soar up and up.
"GET DOWN!" Penguin and Shachi shouted, tackling Charlotte and shoving her head down just as the stray bullet struck the far wall of the weapon's room.
KABOOOM!
"Oh, fireworks!" Charlotte cooed just before ash grey smoke flooded the world around them.
Law, Bepo, Cole arrived on a far hill just before a large white base branded with six blue block letters on its side. "They really don't like hiding the fact that it's a base, do they." Cole grumbled.
Law shrugged. "In the civilian's eyes they are just. They don't need to hide." Cole made a face at that. He used to believe that too. "Bepo-ya, are you sure they are here?" At the question, an eruption overtook the far south wing of the base. Smoke rose and the pillar that once stood there perfectly fine was charred black and on fire. Alarms went off and soon water was spraying everywhere to stop the fire from spreading.
"Never mind. They're here." He sighed. So much for keeping a low profile. At least now they'd be busy dealing with a gaping hole in the wall versus questioning why there's suddenly one too many doctors in the base. "Wait here, I'll be back." Law said before shambling himself into the base.
Inside the base, smoke littered the place, fogging people's visions and dubbing their lungs as smoker's lungs. Coughs and groans could be heard as the marines tried to fan the smoke away from their faces.
"Is everyone alright?"
"Anybody hurt?"
"I'm alive."
"Me too…"
"I'm good here too!"
"We're all good...?"
That was strange. No one was injured. Not even in the slightest bit. The most they got was the smoke from the explosion. It wasn't that the marines were disappointment in their luck. They gladly accept it if it wasn't for the fact that they were facing a lunatic with a bazooka. She fired it. That was for sure. The ground trembled, and smoke infiltrated their airspace. So, if she hadn't hit them, then what did she hit?
They mouths fell wide open once the smoke finally cleared enough so they could see. She had blown a hole into the wall behind her.
"Oh." She gasped. She was holding the bazooka backwards.
"Don't "oh" us. Do you know how dangerous it to fire a bazooka in such small quarters?!" Shachi and Penguin hissed, knocking their knuckles against her skull. "We're lucky that the room's only on fire versus having collapsed!" They shouted and everyone in the room froze. An unanimous thought filtering through all their minds. On fire?
"Quick, someone get a hose!" At the order, marines filed out quickly, returning moments later with buckets of water and a fire hose. Their aim focused on Charlotte, or more specifically the burning hole behind her.
"Wa—" She couldn't get a word out before she was drenched.
"Since the armory is currently unavailable due to… unforeseen circumstances. We'll continue training with hand-to-hand combat only." The lieutenants continued after a quick break.
The marine rookies charged forward, with their sparring partners at the sound of the bell. It wasn't long before pants, grunts and sweat filled the air as bodies entangled with each other. Everyone except for two recruits.
Charlotte's partner looked at her in confusion, unsure of if he should rush forward to tackle the still damp woman standing still in the middle of practice without a care in the world. Her attention focused everywhere else but her opponent. He pulled back when he realized she was looking away, already feeling bad enough for being paired up with a woman so thin he was worried he'd snap her in two from tackling her, but also terrified of her from the earlier mishap in the weapons room. His face bloomed red as he realized the water had made her white top a bit see through. "Um…" He started again, but Charlotte continued to ignore him, watching as the battles around them were quickly coming to an end. He scanned the fights around them in worry. Was he going to get a bad mark for not participating? But it wasn't his fault.
"Isn't that woman the one Captain Hina scouted personally?" A lieutenant asked quietly to the other marine instructor watching two. The male recruit threw his top at her, insisting she wears it while she only looked confused at the action. "Why isn't she attacking? She was so… excited earlier in the other room." He muttered, face deflating from thinking of the chaotic report he'll have to write up later. If it wasn't for her sponsor, he would have given her more of a beating to. "The two Captain T-Bone brought in are having a field day." He pointed to Shachi and Penguin who were paired together and battling it out like there was no tomorrow. The lieutenant's face paled at the large grins on their faces as they continued to plow through the training ground and taking other trainees as if they were nothing. What's with these three?
"On the contrary, she's gauging the abilities of those on the battlefield." A female voice corrected, smoke wafting from her lips. She came to check in after hearing about the earlier mishap. She stifled a chuckle at the annoyance on the male trainee's face when she dropped the extra shirt against the floor next to her.
"C-Captain Hina!" The marine saluted quickly, apologizing for insulting her selection. "So, she's a tactician then?"
"No," Hina quickly squashed the idea and along with the lieutenant's hope of redeeming himself. "I doubt that too. She's too hot headed for that." She saw the aftermath of the armory. "No, she simply observes and reacts almost instinctually. And her observation tells her that she's the strongest one on the battlefield. It may just be true." She tilted her head back towards the sparring field.
The others turned back towards the battlefield they had looked away from, shock on their faces. Charlotte was the only one left standing amongst the new recruits. Two of the five top contenders of this year's marine class already sprawled out on the floor by her feet, while the remaining three circled around her. Her original opponent flung out of bounds and slumped against the far wall. The towel that was around her neck now taut between her hands.
"What's going on? Wasn't it supposed be a one-on-one sparring assignment? Why is it three-on-one now?" The other shouted, face paling. This was just great! Rookie training gone awry when Captain Hina was around. Plus, after the earlier fiasco… he could just feel the demotion coming along. Hina ignored the outburst, eyes focused on what her recruit would do next. She still hadn't seen the full extent of the other's abilities. She knew she had a keen sense but what about her strength?
The rest of the beaten marines had crawled out of the training mats limiting their battle space and were sitting on the edges to watch the battle befall. Rumors and whispers started around at the potential rare moment where a rookie would top against the class' best on day one.
"What rookie moves like that?" One of the wounded top marine rookies spat as he plotted down next to two exhausted rookies. Shachi and Penguin's grin grew wide with pride at the comment. The two of them were out on a foul, having accidentally stepped out of bound, but not without taking out half of the other new recruits by accident in their tussle. "And she's not the only one." The other contender commented, plotting down on the other side of them. He raised his fist towards the one closest, Shachi. "Where in the Grand Blue did you two come from?"
"North Blue." Shachi fist bumped the guy and tilted his chin towards the huntress calling center stage. "Heard she's from the New World." The four turned back towards Charlotte, the marines whistling impressed at the new detail. All eyes on her.
Penguin watched as Charlotte's eyes darted between the three opponents every so often, checking for any movements. One of them charged at her, taking the moment her eyes left them to move and that was all it took for to get things moving. Like what they had witnessed in the past, without a glanced back at the attacker, Charlotte dodged the attack. She jumped over the marine, using his head for support as she swung her legs out to kick the other incoming in the face.
Charlotte pushed off the marine she had been using to balance, pushing him into the mess behind her. Her gaze lifted towards and for the first time since the sparring opponents thinned down, Charlotte looked at the crowd that had grown around her. Their excited faces and cheers as they watched her battle. Just like—Them. They; nameless eccentric masks etched with mirthful smiles stared back at her, watching her. Her battles for Their enjoyments.
And that was a mistake.
"For someone who doesn't like attention, she sure is good at…" Penguin's words slowed as his watched Charlotte's movements slow, eyes blown wide. "Behind you!" Penguin wanted to warn, but the words never came as a sudden chill flooded the room and Charlotte's platinum eyes became eerily pale. And just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared.
Charlotte fell limp against the mat, unconscious.
"Hey, what the hell was that!" Shachi shouted, stirring everyone else from shock and starting an uproar. "Oi, is this how the Class's Bests do things? Play dirty when egos are at risk?" Shachi shot back at the Marines next to them, and they flinched. His shades hiding the hardened glare burning holes into the marine holding a bloodied mace.
The Class's Best dropped the metal mace. The sound echoing loudly in his mind and drowning out the noise and chaos around him. Demands and questions to why he suddenly pulled a weapon in the middle of training filling the room. Honestly, he was wondering the same.
He stared at the unconscious rookie, unable to come up with an answer. Unable to remember when he even took a hold of the weapon. Unable to think of anything else besides the cold chill that rushed through him and in that split second, all he could feel was fear. Fear of what? The Marine thought, rubbing his neck nervously. A layer of cold sweat still there. He eyed the unconscious woman being carried away by the other two scouted in silence.
Shachi and Penguin stared at the man before them, their hidden eyes sparkling, and their mouths shaped into slight O's as they beamed at the familiar and handsome face. "Captain!" They cried joyously much to the other's annoyance. He quickly shushed the two, ushering them into the infirmary with a quick sideway glance around the hall to ensure they didn't get exposed.
He closed the door behind him and clicked the lock in place. He had thought he would have been busier hiding as a doctor given the explosion earlier, but he was surprised to hear that there were no causalities from the explosion. Supposedly it was a misfire by someone holding a bazooka backwards. How they managed to fire it backwards was beyond him. Nor did he care enough to look deeper into it. Not when he finally found his crew. Or more accurately, they found him.
In the infirmary.
Because they were injured.
"What happened, Penguin-ya?" Law asked, scowling and arms crossed.
Immediately the two stiffened, the unconscious body between them jostling slightly as they straightened into salutes. "We were playing a game when we got scouted by two Marine Captains to be their sponsored trainees." Penguin started his debrief and Shachi was quick to pick up where Penguin left off. "Immediately after, we were taken to this base and haven't been able to find a chance to escape." They gazes shifted sideways. "They haven't realized who we are yet, fortunately, but it's been tough to sneak out. They're too many eyes on us for us to move freely and they do roll call at the start of every drill. Ah, but we've been playing the part as rookies and attending training. This morning we started with a tour around the armoury where, um… Captain, we should never let Charlotte into the armoury."
Law quirked a brow at the unease the two were radiating. It was her. He sighed, easily connecting the dots between the explosion and their behaviour. "That's not what I'm asking." Law interrupted their long-winded debrief. As much as he appreciated their attention to detail, there were more pressing matters at hand. "What happened to her?" He pointed towards the unconscious huntress hanging between their shoulders. Her face swollen in two places.
Their faces turned dark, and Law motioned for them to lay her over the empty medical bed. "The Class Best played dirty and pulled a weapon on her from behind in a hand-to-hand sparring practice." They muttered with disdain.
Law hid a scoff behind tattoo hands as he watched the sleeping huntress, not sure if he was proud of the fact that she managed to best the whole class to the point that they played dirty or to be upset with the fact that she got done in by a club to the head "How did the hit land?" Her always on Haki should have caught the move easily. "Was she trapped?"
Shachi shook his head and Penguin turned to face their captain. "The attack was an easy one to dodge, but it was like she was distracted or something. She just… stood there and got clubbed." He said much to the Captain's surprise.
Penguin glanced back at the unconscious huntress. He could have sworn he felt a chill just before she went out. Like something ominous was about to happen, but it was gone just as quick as it appeared. Shrugging it off, the two mechanics headed back toward the door. "We can't stay long, Captain, or they'll get suspicious. Charlotte's been excused for the rest of today." He explained and Law leaned back against the medical table, his lips slanting upwards.
"Oh?" He played along. It wasn't every day that his most loyal members willingly walked away from him. Not especially after he came to pick them up and could get them all out with a simple Room and Shambles combo. "What's interesting at this base?" Not without there being something else in mind.
A dark grin stretched out on either of their faces. "A Devil Fruit." Law whistled at the surprising news. His lips pulling into a similar evil grin. "What's the plan, Captain?"
The loyal dogs. They knew he wouldn't give up on such an opportunity. And they were willing to go get it for him. "Bring me the fruit."
"Aye, aye, Captain!"
The door clicked as it closed behind the two. Pushing off the table, Law turned towards the huntress laying, unconscious yet again before him on a medical table. "You're not getting off from a medical exam this time." He promised. Fully trusting in the two to find the rare fruit.
"I'm surprised you haven't done a physical yet given how long she's been with the crew already." Rike's voice came from the transceiver end of the den den mushi, the snail doing its best to mirror Rike's expression as he spoke. Law called to provide an update and send the medical exam results over.
"No, she refused when I mentioned it last." Law spoke, remembering how Charlotte had requested off the ship at the time and managed to avoid it since. "I sent you over the files. Did you receive them yet? We'll go through them together." Rike was their next head doctor should Law be unavailable. It was pertinent that he was caught up with everyone's health was well.
"It's coming through now, Captain." True to his words, Law could hear the faint ticking noise of the encrypted message arriving along with Rike's furious scribbling to decrypt the message in real time. "I'm surprised you got her to consent to the physical this time." Rike commented as he worked.
"She's didn't. She's unconscious." He heard the other falter and the sound of wheels scrambling as he went to pick up his fallen pen. "She was knocked out during training. She'll suffer a concussion likely, but she'll live."
"Charlotte-san isn't going to be happy when she finds out." The younger doctor cautioned.
"I know." Law responded unfazed. He remembered her defiance in the attempts he had to get a medical previously. At first, he thought it was due to her lack of medical knowledge, especially when she suggested taking off her pants instead of her top for the exam. But now he wasn't so sure. Was there something that she didn't want him to know?
"You know, it's probably these things that you do that makes her more comfortable with the crew than with you." At Rike's scolding, Law immediately remembered how Charlotte had pulled away from him the other night yet latched onto Shachi and Penguin fine. It was him.A laugh, probably at the look on Law's face through the snail, drew him back from his thoughts. "Captain, don't tell you haven't noticed the way she avoids you like you'll burn."
Law didn't know to feel insulted or frustrated. "She's constantly around, hunting me." Bitter perhaps.
"Yes, but she stays at a distance, right?" The younger said and Law couldn't disagree. To think that his crew also picked up on it. He thought maybe he was just sensitive to the topic. "Captain, have you done anything with her? Spend any time to get to know her? Outside of the time she spends hunting you." Rike added the last part quickly before his boss could interrupt, and then continued on lightly when Law couldn't come up with an answer. There was the festival, but Shachi and Penguin took lead in most of that. "I wouldn't be surprised if she knew more about you than you knew about her. She's fast at picking things up."
"Your point?"
Rike sighed, taking off his cap and running a hand through his strawberry-blond hair. His captain was being stubborn now. Rike fixed the beanie back over his hair and while the snail couldn't capture all his movements, he knew the animal would capture the look in his eyes properly. "Captain, think of it from her perspective: the rest of us are just randoms sharing a ship with her, while you are her target. One that she has failed to capture and someone who has plucked her heart from her chest quite literallyand confined her to the submarine against her will with handcuffs to join the Heart Pirates. Those aren't exactly positives working for you." Rike listed easily and Law's frown grew deeper into a scowl at each one. "Now there's this exam as well."
Rike was right. It wouldn't be surprising if Charlotte disliked him because of those things. Is that why she avoids him? He wondered quietly, staring at his hands—the hands she always avoid. It doesn't matter. He repeated to himself.
He can be so stubborn sometimes. Rike thought with a slump. Despite the lack of words, Rike knew his captain well enough that he was telling himself that it didn't matter. But it did. Charlotte was to be a member of the Hearts, not some temporary passerby. It was important that all crew members got along together. Especially one that he had grown so interested in to do all of that just to get her to join. Before he could remind the doctor that, Law spoke first.
"Are you done transcribing the reports?"
"Yes, Captain!" There was some shuffling of papers and Law knew the other was scanning through them. He waited for the outburst that he knew was coming. "What in the world?!" There it was. "How many—why are there so many—they're old, but judging from their healing patters, she would have been—"
"A child." Law interrupted with a sigh. He was right to have done the exam. He picked up his clipboard, flipping through the pages he had sent over to Rike. "Her body's laced in several old wounds and scars. They date as far back to that of childhood." The words and its implications felt bitter on his tongue. It also made the wonders she held to normal childhood events clearer to some degree. But it begged the question: what childhood did she live in to get such awful wounds? Was this what she wanted to hide?
"Since it happened when she was young, the wounds have healed well and present no issue to her life."Rike continued, and Law nodded. His little apprentice was doing well. Though—his eyes flickered to the large scar on her shoulder. "Captain!" Seems like he noticed it too. "What does this mean? Her left shoulder… it's not showing up on the x-ray!" The answer was obvious. There were no bones to capture there. The issue with that was—"But she moves and uses her left arm just fine!"
Law followed along, tattooed fingers shifting the fabric away to see the large, jagged scar. It started on her left shoulder joint and stretched inwards towards her collarbone. He was perplexed by it too when he first saw the x-ray. He even scanned it a second time to make sure. Then he relied on his ability. "Her shoulder's artificial. Along with half of humerus."
He heard Rike's gasp at the implication. Her bones were wondered if the huntress new about her arm being part cyborg. He doubted it, knowing her, but to not know either seemed so unlikely. " What do you think could have done that to Charlotte-san's arm? From the scarring it looked to be a very bad… there are so many layered cuts on it like her flesh had been minced up."
Law scowled. "I can't say." A wound like that was not a savoury one to have and come out of alive. The two continued through the rest of her conditions with Law mostly doing it to test Rike's knowledge, having already gone through them once when he recorded everything. "Add her records with the others. I'll destroy the copy here." Law instructed once the finished.
"Aye, aye!" Not even a second later, he heard the familiar tell-tale sign that the call had ended, and the snail went back to sleep, leaving just him with his unconscious patient with the mysterious scar.
Tattooed fingers ghosted over the pink and raised skin almost as if unsure whether to touch the raised and pink mar. The bones underneath here are bionic. He remembered the shock that filled him when he realized. "Scan." He repeated, eyeing through her flesh towards the bones. He wasn't sure to be impressed at the delicate craftsmanship and complexity in the bionic pieces or to be disappointed that he hadn't realized earlier. His fingers sank millimeters lower, pressing gingerly against the raised scar tissues—
"No, no, no, no!" A young Charlotte screamed, her tearful eyes staring at the sharp knife teasing her skin. "Stop it! Stop it!" She screamed, shutting her eyes tight as she felt the blade press against her skin, again and again, breaking skin yet not drawing blood. A little more pressure and a river of rich red would be spilled, probably draining her instantly from the rate at which her blood was pulsing through her body. The thought scared her. Scared her beyond compare.
Her arms were pinned to the ground by the other combatant's feet as he sat on her, playing Duck, Duck, Goose extreme version across her thin arms. The blade bounced across her delicate skin, and her heart skipped a beat each time. Charlotte would have struggled against his hold, but she couldn't. Fear, fear of death, was immobilizing her. What if her movement had caused the blade to slip? He wasn't a professional. None of them were. They were just people driven mad in this sick excuse of entertainment. The blade stopped against the middle of Charlotte's throat.
"Goose!" He yelled and lifted his other hand to hammer the knife into place.
"NO!" Charlotte screamed. Her eyes drilled shut and tear drops squeezed out of her eyes.
But the pain never came.
"Joking." He whistled into her ear.
Charlotte's eyes shot open at his insane laugh and a sigh escaped her lips. He wasn't going to hurt her. He wasn't going to—
A scream ripped through her throat and as pain soared throughout her body. Her body writhing and she looked as if she was having a seizure in the middle of the coliseum as she struggled to throw the man off her or at least to free her arm so she could stop the excruciating pain. But he was much heavier than her and no matter how much she squirmed, she wasn't able to do anything to stop the burning sensation as metal dug between bones, separating her shoulder from her arm. Or the disgusting squelch of blood quickly filling the holes in her body.
"Thought I wasn't going to do it, huh?" He laughed again, twisting the knife back and forth. "Or did you really think I was going to let you off that easily by killing you outright?" He leaned into her, blade digging in deeper, until he was next to her ear again. "I'm not as nice as you. Killing all your opponents at first chance."
Squelch.
"Remember, there's an audience, an audience we have to satisfy, and an easy death isn't entertaining enough, right?"
Splat.
Charlotte's gaze fell to the side tiredly, reminded of the several hundred namelesseccentric smiley masks watching them in this sick blood game. Their cheers, smiles and laughter drowned out by her screaming, yet still so clear in her mind.
Crunch.
The giant screens hanging in the air above the ring focused on the two young preteens sitting in the middle of the arena. Flipping between close ups of Charlotte's battered face twisted in pain and the crazed look on the male as he continued to saw at her arm.
Blood poured out of her wound, pooling around her.
—Warmth ran through her body like electricity bolts at the touch. Platinum eyes snapped open, and Charlotte brought the first thing her hands could find towards the person on her right. Left hand pressing against right to try to drive the pen further.
"Nice of you to wake up, Hunter-ya." Law grunted, struggling to hold her wrist back and away from his face. The ball pen inches away from his eyes. He was lucky he managed to stop her. If he wasn't already on guard from going to peek at her shoulder wound, he would have lost an eye.
Grey eyes locked with cloudy platinum ones and Law scowled, remembering Penguin's earlier observation. The attack was an easy one to dodge, but she didn't like she was distracted or something. "While I understand that I am still your target, attacking as a form of payment for treatment is rude even for you." Law commented, with a grunt.
Charlotte blinked at the comment, dazed. Platinum eyes slowly becoming clearer. "T-target…?" The pressure lifted, and the pen clattered to the floor. "My bad…" Charlotte muttered, and Law halted from picking up the pen, watching the confused huntress with concern. Did she just apologize? He scowled. She was shaking slightly, skin littered with goosebumps and cold sweat.
"Are you alri—"
"What are you doing here?! Don't tell me you got caught too!" Charlotte interrupted, rounding on the other quickly. Instantly she was beside him. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. Damn it! She cursed mentally.
"What are you doing?" Law questioned back when the other lifted an arm to check his side. He wasn't the one injured here. He quickly slipped the pen into his pocket as she came to his other side, rather than placing it back on the table.
"Making sure you're okay. It'll hurt my pride as a hunter if someone does in my target before I do." Charlotte muttered back and Law quirked a brow at that. Did she just say he and his health was her responsibility while she's hunting him? She relaxed with a heavy sigh after deeming that he looked about the same except for the doctor get up. "If you're not captured, then why are you here?" There weren't any chains either.
"To come get you and the others." Law stated as if it was obvious, and Charlotte blanched at the easy comment. Shachi and Penguin were right! He did walk into enemy territory just to pick up some nobodies! "Why are you staring at me like that?" Law added after a moment. She looked as if her head was going to explode or fly off.
"N-Nothing." Charlotte coughed into her fist, spinning on her heel quickly to hide her slight embarrassment. Hadn't I already established that from Kukonda? Her eyes landed on the the mirror and immediately locked with Law's in the reflection and her face grew hotter immediately. She yanked at her scarf to hide her expression, ignoring Law's inquisitive stare.
"Ow," Charlotte winced at the sudden sharp pain when her knuckles brushed against her cheek.
"You got knocked out during training." Law supplied the explanation quickly and matter-of-factly, and she immediately stared back at him as if asking how. That's what I wanted to know. He thought with a sigh but continued the diagnosis. "You have a concussion from the attack and a bruise on both your cheeks. One from the attack and the other from where you face planted as you landed."
Charlotte stared at her swollen face in the mirror. She looked like a lopsided football! "Who the—" Her words fell flat along with her expression as the memories from her earlier training session came in. She lost to a rookie marine… now that was going to be a bruise on her ego for a while. "Hey Doctor," She called. This was her one and only warning to the other. "If you don't want trouble, then you may want to get the others and leave pronto. I have a little score to settle with a certain rookie marine." The revenge plot already formulating in her mind as she headed towards the door.
A bag of ice appeared before her suddenly, blocking her way.
"It's not for your revenge plot." Law interrupted with a tired sigh.A bag of ice was not enough to ice a guy to death. "Your thoughts are quite easy to read on your face." He commented after she glanced back at him confused. "The ice is for your bruise." He motioned for her to sit on the examination bench. He plopped a bag into each hand. "Hold this to your face." He instructed.
Charlotte did as she was told and sandwiched her face between the two bags. Law tried to stifle a laugh at the sight but failed and Charlotte immediately chucked one of the bags at his face. "Does this even do anything?!" She was already feeling stupid for listening to the other's instructions.
Law caught the ice easily with a frown. "It does. I just wasn't expecting you to sandwich your face like that." He said and coughed quickly to cover the snickering smile from growing on his face again. He walked up towards the huntress and pressed the bagged ice to her left cheek gently. "Just resting it next to the bruise is fine." He instructed. Charlotte copied the action on the other cheek, leaning into his other hand holding the bagged iced.
His eyes caught sight of the tiny movement. And then the space between their skin. His hand was so close to her. To her cheek. To. Her. Skin. His fingers shifted, hovering over her cheek. He could touch her and then what? Would she jerk away like before? Or would she lean into him like she just did with the ice?
"She's more comfortable with the crew than with you."
Law frowned mentally and let his finger returned to the back of ice. It doesn't matter. It doesn't bother me. He tried to convince himself, yet his attention was focused on the female, studying her. There was still so much he didn't know about her. Law watched the concentrated look on her face and grinned. She really knows nothing about medical treatment. How peculiar for someone so injured.
"Hey," Her eyes darted to his,"You just insulted me, didn't you?"
Law flinched, caught. He coughed, turning away with a faint pink dusting his cheeks. "Why did you take the hit? Penguin-ya said you could have dodged it." He pivoted quickly, and Charlotte didn't respond. "It has something to do with why you avoid attention, doesn't it?"
Her head whipped to his. Bullseye.
"Penguin said you were distracted by the crowd."
Platinum eyes turned ghostly.
"Most people avoid attention if they're hiding or running from something." Law watched as the huntress stiffened, several emotions flashing across her face. The largest being panic. Trauma? He wondered, noting her reactions into the mental file he was composing of her. Eyes lingering on the hidden scar on her shoulder.
"…If you're here, getting out would be much easier now!" Charlotte pivoted, finally speaking. They just need to grab the other two and teleport out with Law's ability.
"How were you planning on getting out? Shachi and Penguin said you guys were under tight surveillance." He heard from them that Charlotte had been scoping out the place.
Charlotte quirked a brow at the comment. If he's met the other two already, then why were they still inside the marine training camp if Law's goal was to get them all out. "We are. But that doesn't matter if we just take them all out." Charlotte said easily while stretching.
"I thought you didn't like attention." Was she being serious about taking out a whole marine base just by themselves? Didn't she know the amount of danger that would expose her to?
"I don't." Yep, she was absolutely serious.
Law sighed. This was more tiring than he thought. Slumping back into his chair, he stared at the huntress, wondering how to best relay his next message. She never did respond well to his orders, and which mean he needed to word it so that she wouldn't take it as an order. "There's been a change of plans. There's a Devil Fruit somewhere in the base. We're going to take it before heading out." He said slowly, gauging her reaction carefully.
She simply stared back at him. "I know. I was the one who found the fruit and told them."
That Law didn't expect. "You know where it is then?" This would be much faster than he anticipated then. Charlotte was given a free pass for the rest of the day. She could grab the fruit and they could be out of here before anyone is of the wiser.
"Nope." Huh? Law blanched. "They moved it."
"…and you're a hunter." Law muttered after a moment of thought.
Charlotte gave the other a quizzically look. Wasn't that obvious already? "Yeah, and?" Law's lips pulled into a smug smirk and by the time he lifted his gaze towards the huntress, she had a pretty good understanding of what the doctor was getting at. "Oh, no. No, no, no way in hell!"
