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anubislover · 5 years ago

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Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 17: Getting Hands-On

Neither navigator made an effort to hide the despair on their faces as they walked into the infirmary. Why bother? Law would figure out they failed the second he realized they didn’t have the antivenom they’d set out for; just some canned goods and a journal describing the horrors that had taken place on the ship. That, and the bloody scrapes from the vulture’s attack stood out starkly against Bepo’s white fur, so even if they wanted to pretend everything went swimmingly, the doctor would call bullshit in an instant.

The large cat halted in the middle of the room, his pacing disturbed by their entrance. His brow furrowed at the subdued mood and nose twitched at the scent of blood and seawater. He gave a curt, questioning meow as he bounded over, circling the pair as he took in their minor injuries.

“I’m so sorry, Law,” Bepo said despondently, kneeling down so his captain could get a closer look at the shallow cuts across his muzzle. “One of the pirates flew off with the antivenom.”

“The captain’s a vulture in every sense of the word,” Nami sneered, tossing her own bag to the ground as she marched over to the cabinets to grab some antibacterial cream for the bear. She was wet, miserable, and trying to hide her internal panic with anger. “He told Bepo that if we want it, we need to trade the old man for it. But we can’t!”

Law snorted, which Bepo translated to “‘Why not’?”

Tossing Bepo the cream, she glared at his captain’s heartless response. “Law, the man was a prisoner on that ship,” she argued as she pulled out the leather-bound diary from her bag. “I read the captain’s journal—turning him over to those bastards is the last thing he deserves, even if he did attack us.” Flipping to one of the damning entries, she shoved the book under his nose. “They exploited his powers and tortured him. Made him help in what was basically slave trafficking. He had to turn children into animals to be sold as exotic pets or skinned for their pelts. Hell, I can’t blame him for panicking when he saw us—I’d have done the same!” Or worse, she thought to herself, remembering the cages and tools she’d seen in the cargo hold. I’d definitely turn the captain into a bug and squash him.

Yellow eyes darted across the page, taking in the captain’s cruel words before Law let out a few grunts.

Dabbing one of his cuts with the antibacterial cream, Bepo winced at his captain’s harsh retort. “Uh, Law says ‘The old man certainly suffered, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m literally dying because of him’.”

Nami’s heart twisted in her chest. Not just at how callous his words were, but at the fact that he was technically right. It was the doctor’s fault; if he hadn’t turned Law into a leopard, or his former captors into deadly snakes, none of this would be an issue. If they didn’t betray him, the venom would paralyze Law’s lungs and basically suffocate him from the inside. But then again…

Teeth gritting, she bit out, “Fine. If you want a more practical reason not to turn him over, how about the fact that we need him to turn you and the crew back into humans? Did you think about that?!”

Spotted ears flattened against his skull as he growled. “‘Of course I did! We’re in a no-win situation; I’ll either die painfully or spend the rest of my life as a snow leopard’.”

Bepo’s shoulders sagged further as the full weight of their hopeless situation hit him. “And who knows how long it’ll be until you go completely feral? Or the others? And if we can’t get you all human again, we’re stuck on this island forever—Nami and I can’t sail the Tang on our own.”

Tears of frustration welled up in Nami’s eyes at that. Damn it, things really were a mess, weren’t they? Nothing had gone right since the King Game! “It’s not fair! That was supposed to be an easy errand for some barmy old man! Law was supposed to learn a valuable lesson about letting his crew handle things, and the Hearts to not rely on his powers for everything! This was supposed to be a vacation!” she shouted, kicking the examination table in frustration so hard some of the zoology books tumbled to the floor.

“Nami…” Bepo whimpered, worried about his friend, but Law held up a paw to keep him from going to her.

Yanking off her wet boots and throwing them across the infirmary, she continued to vent. “I swear, I should have stayed in Weatheria! Then I wouldn’t have to deal with psychotic poachers or creepy octopus-men or underworld power struggles or any of the other crap I’ve run into since I agreed to this stupid deal! I’d be safe and sound with the Weather Wizards, training to be the best damn navigator Luffy could ask for!”

For a few moments, the only sound that filled the infirmary were Nami’s heaving pants as she caught her breath.

“I’m sorry we’ve caused you so much trouble, Nami,” Bepo finally said, hanging his head in despair. Law said nothing, but he too looked away from her, and the way his brow was scrunched up made it clear he was berating himself for all the danger he’d inadvertently put her in.

Anger spent due to her little temper tantrum, she rubbed her forehead and collapsed into a chair. “No, I’m sorry,” she sighed. “This isn’t your fault; danger’s par for the course when you’re a pirate. I’m just scared. I don’t like being backed into a corner like this. It makes me lash out sometimes. It’s like…it’s like when I first met Luffy. I was given the choice between shooting him with an explosive cannonball, or the pirates I was conning killing me. I didn’t want to die, but I couldn’t kill some helpless idiot in cold blood. There was no way I could win.”

“What happened?”

“One of the pirates decided that maybe I didn’t know how to light a canon, so he took the matches from me, and I…I attacked him. I couldn’t help myself! And then Zoro showed up and saved us both, and I stole the key to Luffy’s cage while we escaped in the confusion.”

“Sounds like your crew really has your captain’s back,” Bepo said, giving Law a sideways glance.

A tiny smile came to her face at the memory. “Heh. We weren’t even a crew then—just a misfit trio. Zoro’d known Luffy for like, a day, and I’d met him that afternoon. But the three of us still managed to save a village from Buggy and his crew and get a map to the Grand Line.”

Law let out a begrudging string of meows, and the corner of Bepo’s mouth lifted a bit. “He says, ‘If Mugiwara-ya was able to trust you and Zoro-ya to save him after just meeting you, I suppose I can show a little more faith in my crew’.”

“I’d be a lot happier to hear that if there was a chance you all could come out of this alive and human,” Nami sighed. “Except we’re still stuck in a no-win situation.”

“Maybe we could fight the pirates for the antivenom?” Bepo asked. “I know Law’s supposed to take it easy and not strain himself, but we’re kind of desperate. Snow leopards are supposed to be great jumpers—maybe he could snatch that vulture out of the air!”

“Or he could miss and it could fly off with the antivenom and drop it into the ocean out of spite while we’re stuck fighting whatever the rest of its crew was turned into.” She shook her head. “We’re at a major disadvantage—we don’t know what they are, their abilities, or even how many of them there are. Hell, we didn’t even think to ask the doctor about any of that—we just assumed none of them would be on the ship.”

Law sighed and grunted a few things, which the Mink translated. “‘It was an oversight on all our parts. We should have pressed the old man for intel before going in. Our desperation made us blind to the obvious pitfalls and our ignorance allowed the enemy to get a leg up on us’.”

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had an epiphany. Putting an enormous paw on Nami’s leg, he gave a few growls before a smirk spread across his muzzle.

Bepo blinked before grinning happily. “He says, ‘Call the doctor, Nami-ya—I have a plan’.”

XXX

One Den Den Mushi call later the trio was back on the beach, waiting anxiously at the destroyed party site. Naturally, they were all cautious and alert, keeping an eye out for venomous snakes, large birds, or other animal attacks that could come charging out of the jungle. After all, the vulture might have demanded a trade, but that didn’t mean he didn’t plan to betray them the moment he got what he wanted.

While Law prowled the jungle perimeter, Bepo built a small fire to keep the evening chill away and provide some extra light.

“Do you smell anything?” Nami asked, shifting her weight from foot-to-foot nervously as she guarded the bags of supplies. She didn’t know all of the details of Law’s plan, but she was positive it would be ruined if the enemy appeared before they could spring the trap.

The two animals shook their heads. “Nothing fresh. I’d recognize the vulture’s scent if it were nearby; he reeked of rotting meat. And Law says he can’t see or smell anything suspicious, either. Seems we’re safe.”

“Well, I don’t trust that to last long. They never gave us a meeting place, so they must be expecting to find us, and this is the most obvious spot.”

There was a curt chuff, which Bepo translated, “‘True, which is why we need to be on our guard and hope the old man doesn’t take too long to get here’.”

She double-checked the bags, which were filled to the brim with supplies. At the top were a pair of Law’s best black leather boots and one of his long coats, reluctantly donated by an extremely grumpy captain. “Is there anything we might be forgetting?”

Law responded with an irritated growl, and Bepo said, “Um, he’s a bit mad that it’s mostly our stuff you’re giving away and none of your own.”

“Well, it’s not like my shoes or clothes would fit him, Law,” she said breezily. “And I doubt he’d be interested in any of my books.”

“He says that everything we need to replace because of this is coming from your paycheck.”

“No, it’s all coming from the money we’ll get from selling the extra antivenom. Do try to keep up with the plan, Law,” she quipped, tossing a smirk over her shoulder.

The tip of his tail flicked back and forth crossly as he growled something under his breath. She noticed Bepo sweating as he busily set about adding more wood to the fire, his fake whistle making it clear he was simply pretending to have not heard whatever was said so he wouldn’t have to translate.

Nami found she didn’t mind that, mainly because arguing with Law just didn’t have the same thrill when he had to speak through a third party. Nor was it as engaging without glaring defiantly up into a pair of smug eyes, watching his mouth twist into a scowl or smirk in response to her verbal barbs. And though they’d never really been shy about fighting in front of other people, having Bepo actually involved felt…wrong. Like he was unwillingly intruding on something intimate.

She shook her head, refusing to dwell on that line of thinking. She needed to focus on the plan and the task at hand, otherwise she might never get to properly fight with Law again, and that would be an absolute tragedy.

The leopard’s ears perked up, and he let out a meow as he loped to Nami’s side, placing his body in front of hers protectively, shoulders tense and ready to pounce should the worst happen. “‘He’s here. I recognize the scent’.”

There was a rustling of leaves, and as predicted, an old man stepped out of the jungle and onto the beach. He was tan, gangly and thin, at least Law’s height, with a tangled white beard that reached his navel. His face was thin and gaunt with prominent wrinkles across his bald head and around his sunken brown eyes. He wore nothing but a pair of tattered trousers and what appeared to be a thin cloak made of woven grass, and while he was muscular from what was likely a physically intensive lifestyle of living in the jungle, Nami could easily count his ribs in the firelight.

She could just as easily count his scars, too—lashes, lacerations, claw marks, and Nami swore she even saw faded evidence of a branding iron. It also appeared that he was missing two of his toes on his left foot, though it was difficult to be sure with the sand and shadows.

Anxiously, he glanced around as if expecting an ambush, though his attention was quickly stolen by Bepo. “I don’t recall turning anyone into a polar bear,” he said suspiciously, stance shifting as if about to bolt back into the jungle, “and where’s that guy I talked to on the phone?”

“Oh, uh, that’s me,” Bepo said, raising his paw helpfully.

He gasped in surprise. “A talking bear?!”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, hanging his head gloomily.

“Wait, bears can’t talk, which means you must be a Mink, yes? I’ve heard about your kind, but I’ve never had the pleasure of encountering one face-to-face!” he said, eyes getting a little starry as he took a few steps closer to get a better look. “Simply magnificent! Look at those claws! And you’ve got actual fingers! Your coat is remarkably glossy, too! Tell me, what’s your daily diet?”

Sweatdrops fell down both Nami’s and Law’s heads at seeing the old man practically fanboy over Bepo. That was…unexpected to say the least. For his part, Bepo was extremely shy and flustered at the sudden positive attention from a stranger.

“Uh, hate to interrupt, but we’re supposed to be having something of a business transaction right now,” Nami said awkwardly.

That seemed to snap the old man out of his fascinated haze and he practically leapt away before coughing into his fist. “Ah, yes, right. Do you have the goods?” he asked, eyeing the bags skeptically. He kept close to the edge of the jungle, one foot back as if he were ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

Treating him like a skittish deer she didn’t want to scare away, Nami carefully began removing items from the satchels, making broad, obvious movements to show she meant no harm. “Most of the stuff on the shipwreck was unusable, so we replaced them with some of our own supplies. We’ve got pots, pans, blankets, canned goods, a can opener, boots…”

Law growled irritably as his clothes were handed over. The old man ignored him, instead admiring the shiny leather in the firelight. “These are high-quality. Normally I’m not fond of wearing animal skin, but beggars can’t be choosers.” He immediately slipped them on, along with the long wool coat, sighing happily as the warmth encased him. “To be honest, I don’t think I’ve worn real shoes in years. The most they ever gave me were sacks to put on my feet, and that was only after I lost a couple little piggies to frostbite,” he said, wiggling his booted toes for emphasis.

Given what she knew of his treatment, it didn’t surprise Nami, though it did further solidify in her mind that those pirates needed a harsher punishment than just being turned into animals.

“We even brought you books from the library!” Bepo said cheerfully, holding up the stack of encyclopedias. “Nami said you were a conservationist, so we thought you’d like these.”

He studied the titles before wrinkling his nose. “Do you have anything else? Maybe a juicy romance novel or historical fiction?”

“What happened to ‘beggars can’t be choosers’?” Nami asked, a little annoyed. If he wanted a specific genre, he should have said something before they’d gone out of their way to haul a pile of thick, heavy books across the water.

Chastised, the old man shrunk back instinctually at her tone. “Ah, I suppose you’re right. It’s just that I simply hate reading my own writing; especially my older works.”

Three jaws dropped as they connected the dots between the ragged man before them and the author of the zoology books they’d spent the evening reading. “Wait, you’re Dr. Monroe?”

“I am indeed, though no one’s called me that in a long time,” he said with a melancholy smile.

Head jerking between the old man and the stack of encyclopedias, Nami found herself both shocked and further infuriated at the pirates on his behalf. He’d been a respected naturalist, someone who’d researched and written detailed books on thousands of animals, and yet he’d been reduced to a prisoner and tool for a monstrous captain’s selfish gain.

Turning the captain into a vulture was an insult to carrion birds.

“I…I’ve got a few novels I could give you, Dr. Monroe,” she said kindly, ignoring the way Law raised his eyebrow at her. She wasn’t sure if it was due to the realization that she might have a juicy romance novel to offer or that she was offering up her own stuff for free. She hoped it was the latter. “I can understand not wanting to reread your old work for the rest of your life. There are plenty of maps I’ve drawn that I just can’t stand to look at anymore.”

“I…well thank you, missy,” Monroe said, genuinely surprised at her generosity.

“Heck, come check out the sub’s library; you can take your pick of anything there!”

Law gave a vicious snarl in response, ears flattening and teeth bared.

“Uh, except for the medical texts,” Bepo explained nervously, making it clear he was giving the significantly more polite version of his captain’s outburst. “Those are off-limits.”

“Oh, don’t worry; medical stuff has never been my cup of tea,” Dr. Monroe assured him, surprisingly less afraid of a large bear or an angry snow leopard than an annoyed young woman. Looking over the bags of supplies, he gave a grateful smile. “Besides, it seems you’ve held up your end of the bargain, and I admit, you’ve gone above and beyond what I expected. Oh! Were you able to find the antivenom?”

Nami’s teeth sunk into her lip as she recalled their failure on the shipwreck. “I’m so sorry,” she said, nails sinking into her palms because of how tightly her fists were clenched. “We had the antivenom, but then this vulture showed up and stole it from us—”

“The captain,” he deduced sadly, visibly deflating. “He gave you an ultimatum, didn’t he? You plan on trading me for it.”

“Sorry,” Bepo answered, hanging his head. “I tried to fight him off, but it was too risky with those glass vials.”

“We don’t want to,” Nami stressed. “I read the captain’s journal. I know what they’ve done to you. But Law’s dying—”

Dr. Monroe held up a trembling hand to silence her. Skinny legs started to tremble while his hands shook, but his eyes were resolute as he looked at the trio. “I understand. I…I guess you have no choice, then. I’ll turn you and your crew human again. A deal’s a deal, and I’d like to have one last moment of moral high ground before those bastards rip me to shreds.”

Quietly prowling forward, a low chuff came from the snow leopard as he looked up at Dr. Monroe with intelligent gold eyes.

Bepo gave a small sigh of relief as he translated, “Law says, ‘It’s good to hear you have a sense of honor. That’s why we’re not handing you over. Turn me human, and we won’t need the antivenom. My powers will take care of it’.”

“You can talk to animals?” Dr. Monroe asked Bepo, shocked and amazed.

“Uh, yeah. Sorry.”

Stars filled his eyes once more as he gazed in awe at the Mink. “Don’t apologize! This is marvelous! Oh, if only I’d had an assistant like you back in my naturalist days—the discoveries you could have helped me make…”

Law took this moment to cough rudely, interrupting the scientist’s daydream.

“Ah, yes, right. Turn you human. Well, if that’ll save your life and keep me from being handed back over to those psychopaths, I’m more than willing to comply.”

With more confidence than Nami would have expected from the old man, Dr. Monroe strode forward, gently placing his hand on Law’s head. There was a shimmer in the air around him, almost like heat in the desert, before the snow leopard began to transform. As his body shifted and changed, Law stood, once again human and on his own two feet.

Human and not wearing a stitch of clothing.

“Oh my god, why are you naked?!” Nami shrieked, hands flying up to cover her eyes as her face turned beet red.

“Because he wasn’t wearing clothes,” Dr. Monroe supplied matter-of-factly.

“Why didn’t you warn us first?!”

“Because on the off-chance that you really do plan to betray me and hand me over to those pirates as a twisted form of revenge, I might as well get the last laugh.”

Scoffing in annoyance, Law said, “Bepo, hand me Kikoku.”

“Shouldn’t you get dressed first?” the Mink asked, though he dutifully retrieved the nodachi from its hiding place behind a tree.

“I’ll take care of it once the venom’s out of my system. See if you can find me something to wear once I’m done.” Nami could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he added, “Don’t worry, Nami-ya; your virgin eyes will be safe soon enough.”

Instinctively she wrenched her hands away to properly glare at him, only for all the color to drain from her face as she witnessed Law’s body parts floating around in the dome of his Room. As they flew about, blood was slowly being drawn out of them, and she could see little particles of what she assumed to be the venom filling the air like a mist.

“I told you not to look, Nami-ya,” he scolded, though humor laced his voice.

She immediately spun around to face the jungle, feeling fairly sick at what she’d just observed. She was suddenly reminded of that time in the alley when he’d drawn the faulty birth control from her bloodstream. Was this what he’d done? She recalled feeling floaty and strange during the procedure. No wonder he’d ordered her to keep her eye closed.

“Monroe-ya,” Law began, unperturbed by his audience, “though I’m not in the habit of helping people who have both massively inconvenienced me and kidnapped my crew, my navigators are sympathetic to your plight. That, and I’m in even less of the habit of giving into the demands of lesser pirates. So, I’m going to take care of your former captors, but I’ll need your expertise to do it.”

“Good god,” Dr. Monroe said, his voice filled with horrified fascination as he unabashedly stared at the unnatural display before him. “What kind of powers do you have?!”

“That of the Ope Ope no Mi. Believe me, you’ll see far more of what I can do before the night’s over. Now, you said the pirates that are still alive are much worse than those we’ve already faced. Tell me what kinds of animals they are.”

He crossed his bony arms, mouth set in a frown that was nearly hidden by his tangled beard. “Besides the Eurasian black vulture, there’s a red spitting cobra, diamondback rattlesnake, hippopotamus, chimpanzee, and wolverine.”

“A cobra?!” Nami shrieked, horrified. She didn’t need one of the zoology books to tell her that was bad news.

Dr. Monroe waved his hand dismissively. “Spitting cobras don’t bite; as the name implies, they spit their venom, which is generally harmless against intact human and mammalian skin. However, you don’t want to get it in your eyes, as if left untreated it may cause chemosis and corneal swelling.”

“Noted. The rattlesnake’s bite is still dangerous though, yes?” Law asked.

“Quite. However, it’s the hippopotamus you should really worry about—naturally aggressive, charges like a tank, thick skin, and powerful jaws. He’s their heavy-hitter. The vulture is their leader and scout, often flying over the island to find me. Meanwhile, the wolverine is extremely ferocious for its size. The chimpanzee’s vicious and crafty, and has the advantage of thumbs, so he’s been able to disassemble several of my traps.”

“It’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

The old doctor shuddered, seemingly recalling the various horrors he’d endured. “I’m sure they’ve been dreaming of ripping me to shreds and feasting on my corpse, but up until now, it’s been too risky. Even if killing me did turn them human again, they’d still be stuck on this island. At least as animals, they didn’t need as much food or shelter. But I knew the moment your submarine showed up in the bay, my days were numbered.”

Nami could now understand why the pirates were so desperate. After all, they were on an island that wasn’t on any map, had a magnetic signal that was too weak to be detected by a log pose, and was basically a death trap for most vessels; this was likely the only chance they’d have to escape before their minds went completely feral. And of course they couldn’t just ask the doctor to turn them back—not after the hell they’d put him through.

Trying to think about anything besides the journal entries, Nami said, “I’m surprised that the snakes and vulture survived considering how little native wildlife there is on the island. You’d think they’d have starved to death after two months.”

Dr. Monroe shook his head. “From what I’ve observed, they’ve been getting by on birds and the rats that escaped the ship, with the occasional baby sea turtle for good measure. And of course, the vulture’s been feasting on the remains of his former companions.”

Once more, she felt ill. She wondered if those rats were the normal kind, or the humans they’d been using for making antivenom. Then again, the journal had said they’d eaten their former cabin boy, so it probably didn’t matter to them.

“What about you?” Law cut in, interrupting Nami’s thoughts. “You’re not as malnourished as I first thought, but you’re still surprisingly skinny considering all the fresh fruit and fish the island provides.”

“The crew goes out of their way to make my life difficult as a petty form of revenge and intimidation tactic,” the old man groused. “I try to fish, but if I stay in one spot for too long, they find me and chase me away. Same with the fruit—the chimpanzee and baboon would steal it for themselves, or otherwise just destroy it to spite me. And of course, whenever I’d make a fire to cook or keep warm, it made finding me so much easier, so they’d typically charge in and destroy my camp.”

“Wait, doesn’t that make having this fire dangerous?” Nami asked, concerned. “They’ll find us in no time!”

“That’s part of the plan, Nami-ya,” Law assured. “They think we’re going to make a trade, so of course they’d expect us to make ourselves easy to find.”

“Here’s a pair of swim trunks, Captain,” Bepo said helpfully, pulling the garment out of the beach bag he’d been rummaging through.

“Thank you,” Law said, and Nami could hear rustling as he slipped into them. “You can look now, Nami-ya, assuming you weren’t already sneaking peeks,” he sniggered.

Despite the glare she threw at him, Nami had to admit it was nice seeing him bipedal and blessedly human again. And though she refused to say it aloud, it was very nice seeing the way the firelight flickered across his taut muscles and reflected in his cunning gold eyes. The shadows cast across his lithe figure made him almost look unreal, and she found herself tempted to touch him to assure herself that her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

Of course, Nami had the feeling she didn’t have to voice her appreciation. The way Law smirked knowingly at her blatant staring said it all.

“So, that power of yours really pulled out all the venom?” Dr. Monroe asked, full of scientific curiosity.

Law tore his attention from the feisty thief to the inquisitive naturalist. “Most of it, at least. I’ll still want a shot of that antivenom to ensure I’m completely cured, but I should be out of the woods for the time being.”

A sigh of relief left Nami’s chest. She was so glad Law had decided to actually reason with the old doctor instead of selling him out. She was even more grateful for the fact that, despite what he’d been put through, he wasn’t a malicious person—just a scared one. That had been clear enough when he’d told them about the antivenom and had agreed to wait until they’d gotten it to make the trade, but his willingness to help them even when he thought they were giving him up to his tormentors proved he deserved their help. It seemed that, while the pirates had done their best to turn him into a timid slave, they’d failed to rip away his humanity.

It was why she now had faith in Law’s plan; people like the vulture and his crew never expected people to act altruistically. They’d naturally assume that all pirates were as monstrous as them. They’d never expect their enemies to talk things out like civilized people and come to a mutually-beneficial agreement.

Rubbing his chin in thought, Law continued his line of questioning. “You said you can’t always control what kind of animals you turn someone into—that if they have a strong will, they can overcome it. Yet their whole plan was having you turn people into rare animals.”

“Yes. Most of the time they kidnapped civilians, so it was easy to assert my will over theirs. It’s a bit like Conqueror’s Haki, I suppose; it can dominate weaker people, but the strong can resist it and turn into something else.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Out of curiosity, what were you trying to turn me into?”

“Well,” Monroe said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, “I was trying to turn you into a spotted seal. That way, you’d be unlikely to pursue me through the jungle.”

Nami could have laughed at the mental image—Law would have made a very grumpy seal. At least as a snow leopard he was able to maintain some grace and dignity, kitty antics aside. As a seal he’d have to flop around on the beach and make loud barking sounds to communicate.

He seemed to notice the humor on her face as he tossed her a glare before returning his attention to the naturalist. “And you got a snow leopard instead. However, I was able to take out two of your former captors in that form. Which brings me to my plan; did you change any of my crew into creatures that might be good in a fight?”

Dr. Monroe’s eyes lit up in understanding. “Ah, I see; use their transformations to your advantage! Yes, several of them could be quite effective in a fight, but my camp is on the other side of the island—how do you propose we get them before the pirates get us?”

Instead of answering, Law activated his Room, spreading it out across the entire island, eyes closed in concentration. In a blink, the bags and debris left from the party were replaced with an assortment of animals, several looking overjoyed to see their captain again.

Before any of them could raise a ruckus to celebrate their reunion, Law held up his hand for silence. “We don’t have much time; the enemy will be here soon. I was poisoned earlier, and while I’ve removed most of it from my system, they still have the antivenom I need to ensure I’m completely cured. They want us to trade the doctor for it, but as he’s the only one who can turn you all back, we’ve agreed to an alliance.”

Most of the animals appeared concerned at that, but Law continued, “Normally, I’d insist on you all being returned to your human forms first as a precaution, but Dr. Monroe has informed me that several of you have abilities that could be useful. So, I’m going to trust that, no matter what species you are, you’re still my capable, top-notch crew who can handle these beasts. Don’t let me down.”

There was a moment of stunned silence before the crew roared in approval, and Nami found herself smiling at the obvious love and trust they had for their grumpy, morbid captain. Though, honestly, she wasn’t quite certain about this part of the plan—sure, there was a gorilla, what appeared to be a four foot-tall bird, a mongoose, and a bear of some kind, but there were also significantly less-threatening animals like a tapir, a ring-tailed lemur, an armadillo, some kind of weasel, and a walrus.

Turning to the doctor, Law waved him forward. “I need your expertise, Monroe-ya; who should fight, and who should stay back.”

Though he seemed nervous to have the attention of his former hostages suddenly on him, Dr. Monroe looked them over carefully. “Right. Let’s start with the snakes—I’d suggest the mongoose take on the rattlesnake while the secretary bird handles the cobra.”

Looking at the three avians in the group, which included a puffin and a tiny, aggressively-buzzing hummingbird, Bepo pointed at the tall bird with long eyelashes and impressive plumage. “You mean that one?”

“That’s her. Very unique—there’s no other kind of bird like them, so they have their own classification! Most importantly, she’s tall enough to avoid the spitting cobra’s venom, and her stomp is strong enough to snap its spine. She’s like a ninja eagle on stilts!”

The bird puffed up proudly at the description and gave a hoarse croaking sound as she stood beside the mongoose who gave a little salute. Bepo grinned and stated, “Ikkaku says that she and Clione are ready for action!”

Law nodded in approval while Monroe once again looked at the Mink wistfully. “Oh, to have had you as my assistant…”

“Monroe-ya, stop fawning over my navigator,” Law cut in irritably. “We only have so much time to chit-chat. I’m assuming the gorilla will be suitable enough to take on the chimp?”

“Your extremely large friend has the advantage in strength, but that particular chimp is quite clever—he was the crew’s inventor, as it were, which meant he came up with most of their…contraptions,” he said with a shudder. Nami could easily guess he was the one who created the mechanisms used to torture the poor man.

The silverback gorilla grunted something and pointed at a porcupine, who nodded in understanding. “Jean Bart says he’s no idiot himself. In fact, he’s already got an idea for taking him down with Uni’s help.”

“Perfect. Which leaves the wolverine.” A large badger marched forward, glaring up at the doctor. “Hmmm, while a honey badger is remarkably tough, a wolverine is infinitely more aggressive, especially one as hateful as him. I’d suggest you recruit a larger animal for backup.”

Nami pointed to the large bear by the fire. “How about him?”

His wrinkled face twisted in disdain. “Missy, that’s a panda—lazy, stupid, and frankly the bane of my conservation efforts. Every time I requested funding, most it would go to saving them, even though they have absolutely zero survival instincts. I mean, they won’t even mate! Even with a human’s intelligence, I wouldn’t put a single belli on him in a fight.”

“What poor soul got saddled with this pathetic creature?” Law asked, amused when the panda in question scowled at him.

“I believe I heard his companion call him ‘Shachi’.”

Law’s smirk turned absolutely wicked as he approached the bear. “Are you at least still capable of doing kung-fu?”

Stubbornly Shachi tried to strike a fighting stance, only to wobble and fall straight on his ass, unused to his bulk and stubby legs. Pouting at his lack of agility and balance, he crossed his arms and sulkily growled something that could easily be interpreted as “shut up or else.”

The captain’s shit-eating grin showed he was less than impressed. “Oh, how frightening. What are you gonna do, big guy? Sit on me?”

“He says not to tempt him,” Bepo warned, ducking as the hummingbird dive-bombed him furiously. “And Penguin says he hopes you got turned into a sloth or something.”

“My first and second mate are a fat panda and a tiny hummingbird? I’m deeply shamed.”

“Law, for god’s sake, mock them later!” Nami groused, stomping her foot in frustration. She might have faith in his plan, but there wasn’t time to waste on teasing his buddies over their less-than-impressive forms. “We’ve still got a hippo problem!”

Resting his nodachi on his shoulder, he smirked at her over his shoulder. “Relax, Nami-ya. I know exactly which mighty beast in our arsenal can take him out,” he replied, indicating Bepo.

“Who, me?” the Mink asked as he glanced around, certain Law meant someone else.

“While I have no doubt he’s strong, I’m not completely sure a polar bear would win a fight with a hippopotamus,” Dr. Monroe interjected, mouth twisting in concern. “I mean, it’d be fascinating to debate with my old colleagues, but I’d rather not find out first-hand, especially with our lives on the line.”

Smirk widening, Law explained, “Except Bepo’s not some ordinary bear; he’s a Mink. I doubt even a hippo would have much luck against his Electro technique.”

“His what?” Nami asked, eyebrows raising. She knew Bepo was skilled in hand-to-hand combat, but she’d never considered he might have other abilities.

“Electro. It’s a power all Minks are born with,” Bepo explained. “It’s kind of like your Thunderbolt Tempo, except my body generates the electricity. I nearly used it against the vulture when he attacked us, but I couldn’t risk accidentally frying the antivenom. But you’re right, Captain—that hippo won’t stand a chance!” he said excitedly.

She felt a spark of hope. When Law had explained that he had an idea for dealing with the pirates, she’d assumed he’d meant he’d fight them himself. With his powers back he could easily take down the poachers in a second, but instead he was deliberately strategizing around his crew’s new abilities. He was allowing them to feel empowered after what was likely a frightening and frustrating night, while demonstrating his trust in them by letting them handle the situation.

He’d taken her words to heart, and Nami found herself oddly proud of him.

“What about the captain?” Dr. Monroe asked nervously, understandably not sharing her same confidence. “Secretary birds can fly, but she doesn’t have the experience to keep up with him if he tries to flee.”

“Let me worry about the vulture,” Law said dismissively. “I think it’s time we show those third-rate pirates who’s really king of the jungle.”

He turned to the rest of the crew, motioning for them to listen closely. “I know there are several of you who might feel slighted that I’m not requesting you join the battle. I did it not because I don’t have faith in your abilities, but because I have a far more important job for you—protect Nami-ya and the doctor. The enemy will be gunning for him, and if he dies, none of you will ever be changed back. You’re our last line of defense; I’m trusting you to put any grudge aside for the sake of the crew’s wellbeing. And mine.”

Though the leftover crew—which included an otter, raccoon, aye-aye, rabbit, and what appeared to be a deer with fangs—seemed disappointed that they weren’t being called to arms, they immediately perked up at his order. Nami had to admit, it was a good move on Law’s part; it kept the weaker and slower animals from getting hurt without damaging their pride.

Expanding his Room over the island once more, Law stated, “Everyone get in position—I’m bringing the fight to us.”

Nami, Dr. Monroe, and the crew only had a few seconds to comply before a bunch of seashells were replaced with a confused-looking group of animals. Just as the former naturalist had said, there was an enormous hippopotamus, a chimpanzee whose face was crisscrossed with scars, a cobra whose scales were the color of dried blood, and a brown rattlesnake with a striking black diamond pattern on its back. And of course, the black vulture stood at the front, its shoulders hunched as it focused its hateful gaze on Dr. Monroe.

It let out a low hiss as it stepped forward menacingly, only for the Heart crew to gather round their charge, with the walrus in particular using its massive bulk as a shield.

“He says, ‘You know our demands; hand over the doctor and we’ll give you the antivenom’,” Bepo translated helpfully, even as he glared at the angry bird. He wrinkled his snout, the red cut reopening slightly at the movement, the sting serving as a reminder of the last time he’d let the vulture get the drop on them.

With a scoff, Law replied calmly, “I do know your demands. I just don’t give a shit. You attacked my navigator and my cat thief; something I wouldn’t take kindly to, even if you hadn’t stolen the antivenom. I skimmed your journal, too—you’re a real piece of work. I actually have to applaud you for your commitment to being absolute scumbags.” Adjusting his grip on his sword, he gave a slow, mocking clap, his grin turning utterly sadistic as the animals glared daggers at him. “Ah, that feels good. Nothing like clapping your hands to show your contempt. Wings and paws just don’t give the same satisfaction.”

“Law, he’s saying that if you keep doing that, he’s going to peck out the soft flesh of your eyeballs.”

“Is he? Well, guess who has two thumbs and would like to see him try.” He stopped clapping to instead point both his thumbs at himself. “This guy.”

Nami was torn between yelling at Law for his childishness or cheering him on for being just an absolute asshole to a truly deserving piece of shit. She settled on giving an exasperated sigh even as she grinned slightly.

“He’s either extremely arrogant or utterly insane,” Dr. Monroe whispered to her, looking far more worried. Not that she could completely blame him—he didn’t know the Hearts or Law like she did, so this whole affair was much more of a gamble on his part.

Sympathetic, she patted his arm. “Believe me, Doctor, with him there’s no ‘or’,” she stated encouragingly.

Infuriated by Law’s disrespect, the vulture let out another hiss, spreading his wings in a grandiose gesture.

“He says ‘You don’t seem to understand the fact that we’re the ones holding the power. You’ve heard of supply and demand, haven’t you’?”

“As a matter of fact, I have. The thing is, you don’t have the supply.” Law held up the backpack, pulling out one of the vials to further emphasize his point.

Five sets of eyes widened as the pirates looked around, making a series of angry hisses and roars when they realized the same power that had teleported them to the beach had also snatched the knapsack right from their claws.

Realizing that they’d lost their advantage, the hippo gave a loud bellow as it charged forward, aiming straight for the doctor, determined to trample any of the animals that might try to get in its way. It didn’t expect Bepo to jump in the way, though, nor for him to grab it by the snout and release a crackling electric attack, blasting it with enough volts to stop it dead in its tracks.

Chaos swiftly broke out. The two snakes attempted to use the hippo’s distraction to sneak around, but the Hearts were prepared for such a maneuver. Ikkaku darted for the cobra, slamming her foot down on its back over and over, pounding it hard into the sand and ignoring its pained hisses until it was sure its spine was well and truly broken. In contrast, Clione used his agility to avoid the rattlesnake’s swift lunge, sinking his teeth deep into its neck at the base of the skull so it couldn’t fight back, holding on tightly while it writhed and slowly bled out.

In contrast, the chimp didn’t even get that far. Jean Bart grabbed Uni and gently tossed him to the smaller ape, who foolishly reached out to catch him. The porcupine’s sharp, barbed quills pierced the chimp’s hands, and Uni smacked him in the face with his tail for good measure. With his opponent suitably distracted and unable to use his hands, Jean Bart grabbed the chimpanzee and put him in a headlock, his muscular arms easily choking him out.

Meanwhile, the wolverine’s fight with Crozier was much less one-sided. It managed to sink its teeth into Crozier’s skin which, while his thick and loose hide protected him from the powerful jaws, left him pinned. However much to everyone’s surprise, Shachi lumbered over and swiped at the wolverine with his claws. On instinct the smaller mammal released Crozier, who took the opportunity to shuffle back, glancing up at the panda curiously. With a grunt that was likely some clever quip, Shachi turned around and sat down hard onto the wolverine, crushing it beneath his mass.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Law stated, blinking in surprise but sounding mildly impressed at his old friend’s contribution to the fight.

Seeing his comrades get taken down so easily by what should have been lesser animals clearly threw the vulture for a loop. He beat its wings, preparing to take to the air, when something small and quick shot forward. A horrific hiss of agony escaped him as Penguin furiously stabbed him in the eye with his needlelike beak.

Catching the two birds in his Room, Law Shambled Penguin over to his side before drawing Kikoku, vivisecting the vulture.

As the scavenger bird lay on the ground in pieces, showing as much terror as a creature like him could, Law looked at Dr. Monroe over his shoulder. “Considering how he tortured you for, what, two years? I’m open to requests regarding his fate. Shall I throw him into the fire and make roast vulture? Pluck his feathers to make a hideous hat? Feed him to the sharks?”

The naturalist appeared conflicted. His chapped lips were set in a frown while his wrinkled, sunburned brow furrowed. His eyes darted across the fallen forms of his former tormentors, internally mulling over Law’s offer.

“It’s ok if you don’t want to kill him,” Nami assured, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Dr. Monroe gave a little huff before shaking his head. “Oh, no, I want him dead. I want all of them dead. These bastards destroyed my life, killed my friends, and have put me through hell. It’s just…well, I simply hate seeing an animal in pain. I’m starting to regret transforming him. I suppose I’m still a conservationist at heart.”

She blanched, but she supposed she couldn’t blame him. After all, she wouldn’t have complained if Luffy had actually killed Arlong instead of merely defeating him. She just wouldn’t have openly admitted it, either.

“Well, if you don’t have any preferences, I suppose I’ll just help along the Circle of Life,” Law said, expanding the bubble to encase the other fallen animals.

“Tact.”

The former poachers were levitated into the air before being flung out across the cove, beyond the reef and rocks to land with a splash into the ocean. Nami wasn’t sure which would be a kinder fate—drowning or being eaten by sharks.

Either way, the battle had been won.

“We did it, Captain!” Bepo cheered, embracing him tightly. “Your plan worked perfectly!”

“Only because I had a capable crew to execute it,” Law said, smiling faintly as he allowed the happy Mink to cuddle him. The rest of the crew quickly surrounded him, chattering and squawking loudly in celebration.

Dr. Monroe, meanwhile, stood at the edge of the water and stared out at the spot where his former captors had been deposited.

“You ok?” Nami asked, standing beside him.

“Sorry. I suppose I’m just trying to process everything that’s happened. They…they’re really gone, aren’t they?” he asked, voice barely more than a whisper.

“They are. It’ll take some time for that fact to really sink in, but it’ll happen. I’ve got some experience in that department,” she said ruefully.

“Do the nightmares ever go away? The memories of what you’ve done to survive?”

Nami mulled over whether to tell him the truth or comfort him with a lie. Eventually, she settled on saying, “Not completely, but it gets easier. What’s important is that they didn’t completely take away your humanity. And now you’re free to live as you please.”

“You’re right. Thanks, missy,” he replied with a small smile. “And…and I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve put you and your friends through. You’re good folk. Well, your captain’s a little sick in the head, but there aren’t many pirates out there that would help someone like me the way you did.”

“There really aren’t. I don’t blame you for being scared. Hell, it took me way longer to warm up to them. So, what are you going to do now?”

“Stay here and live a peaceful retirement. Study the birds and sea turtles. I figure I’ve only got a few more years left, so why not enjoy it in a tropical paradise where no one can bother me?”

With a wide grin, Nami replied, “Sounds perfect for a guy like you.”

They were interrupted by a low squawk, and the pair turn around to find Ikkaku looking at them inquisitively.

“I’m not gonna lie, Ikkaku, I’m wholly jealous of your eyelashes right now,” Nami said, studying the bird’s face. She got a playful bat of her eyes in response before she jerked her head over at Dr. Monroe, tilting her head in question. “He’s ok. He’s just…got some damn good reasons to mistrust pirates. I’ll fill you in later.”

She nodded before indicating the rest of the group, her question clear; “can we turn back now?”

“Yeah, we should take care of that before something else crazy happens. This has been the worst vacation ever.”

She got a squawk in agreement, to which Dr. Monroe muttered an embarrassed apology. Nami turned towards Law, who was chatting with Shachi and Bepo over by the fire.

“You actually sat on him. I’m not sure if I should be impressed or appalled.”

Bepo frowned as Shachi grunted something. “What do you mean you got the idea from me?! Law’s the one who suggested it!”

The panda let out another grunt, which made Bepo droop. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Uh, guys, can we hurry up and get everyone back to normal before Bepo has to change his job to full-time animal whisperer?” Nami asked, strolling over.

“I suppose it is time for Monroe-ya to make good on his end of the deal,” Law replied.

The doctor grinned. “Absolutely. You kids have done me a huge kindness. If you’d never shown up, I’d still be plagued by those bastards. Now I can hopefully live out my days in peace. I think I’m looking forward to a nice, quiet hermit life.”

“Well, the sooner you change back my crew, the sooner you can get started on that.”

“Gotcha. Though, I gotta say, I kind of envy you—I can’t transform myself, so I’ve never been able to experience what it’s like. And you,” his eyes lit up, “were a snow leopard! One of the most beautiful and mysterious creatures I ever had the privilege to study! I sure as hell wouldn’t have minded trading places with you.”

“It had its pros and cons,” he admitted reluctantly, eyes flicking towards Nami. “Though I’m sure I’d despise it by daybreak—all that fur on a summer island would have been hell.”

Dr. Monroe’s eyes widened in understanding and chagrin. “Ah! I hadn’t even thought of that! You’re right; we should get you all back to your human selves before any of you get heat stroke.” He turned to some of the furrier crewmembers, giving a deep, apologetic bow. “I’m so sorry; I should have turned you all into animals more suited to the climate. I’m also truly sorry for keeping you in cages, and for ruining your vacation.”

Shachi grunted something which made Bepo frown. “Hey, it’s not Law’s fault that he got turned into something cool and you didn’t!”

The panda growled and crossed his arms.

“What’s wrong with being a bear?!”

Another grunt, and Bepo hung his head. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Watching the exchange, Law frowned at his second mate’s bullying before he got a wicked look in his eye. “Monroe-ya, how many people can you change back at a time?”

The old doctor lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “As many as I can touch or can touch me. I can probably get your whole crew back to normal in a few rounds.”

He indicated the panda. “Make sure Shachi’s in the first wave, then. I’d hate for him to make good on his threat of sitting on me, after all.”

Bepo nodded in agreement before a thought seemed to strike him as he glanced around at the crew with concern. “Um, Law, shouldn’t we wait—”

He immediately shushed Bepo. “It’s almost morning and they’re all impatient to become human again, right? I’d say we should get a move on.”

Nami sighed. She knew what he was doing, and part of her was tempted to stop him—the crew’d suffered enough that evening—but after everything that had happened throughout the night, she had to admit Law could probably use a laugh. And Shachi definitely deserved this for being mean to Bepo. So, she simply ushered Ikkaku to the side and whispered, “Don’t look—trust me.”

A moment later, about a half-dozen indignant yelps rang out, prompting Nami to chuckle and roll her eyes as Ikkaku looked up at her in confusion.

“I want you to remember the next time you decide you want to pull an embarrassing prank on me that I did not allow you to be seen naked by the rest of your crew.”

Secretary birds couldn’t make much by way of shocked expressions, but Ikkaku’s eyes definitely widened in understanding before nodding emphatically.

XXX

“Please tell me you’re not making coffee.”

Law glanced up at Nami as he reached into the fridge. “Relax; I’m making myself some warm milk to help me sleep. I’ve had an exhausting few days if you recall. So has everyone else, really.”

She couldn’t argue that. After the crew had been returned to their original forms, Nami had expected Law would make them leave right away, but he’d allowed them to spend a few more days on the island. Ostensibly it was so he could recover from the residual effects of the venom and finally collect the aloe he’d been looking for, but she suspected he was giving them all a little more time to relax considering the unexpected direction the trip had gone.

However, several of the crew had used that time to make sure Dr. Monroe was set for his much-desired new life as a free man and hermit. Upon hearing the doctor’s story, Jean Bart had been especially sympathetic and had strong-armed Seiuchi and Malamute into helping build a cozy cabin and permanent campsite. Cousteau had been kind enough to donate some of his fishing equipment and Crozier had given a bunch of tips for surviving in the wilderness, though his experience was admittedly more geared towards arctic survival than jungle.

Surprisingly, the Heart Pirates grew rather fond of their former captor. He and Cousteau had quickly bonded over a mutual love of nature. When he’d seen the greenhouse plans, he’d happily given his input, as he’d worked with many notable horticulturists. By the end of the second night, Penguin was laughing while telling the embarrassing tale of how he’d been trapped under his own hat upon being transformed. Even Law had warmed to him, as they’d conferred over better ways to treat Bepo’s injuries.

When they sailed away, Dr. Monroe had tearfully seen them off, though Shachi had joked that he was just sad he hadn’t managed to recruit Bepo as his new research assistant.

Yes, it had been a busy few days, but instead of being snuggled up in bed, Nami found herself in the galley watching Law pour milk into a saucepan.

“Tch. We’re tragically low on cookware. Ermine must have given the old man more of their stuff. I’m beginning to think recruiting you was a terrible idea—you’re turning my men into a bunch of charitable fools,” he said with a scowl.

Nami rolled her eyes as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Oh, hush—he more than paid for their labor with the antivenom.”

“Labor and supplies. He seemed especially happy to raid my library. By the way, were you able to provide him with any ‘juicy romance novels’?”

She attempted to hide her blush behind her glass. “No. Don’t be ridiculous.”

A midnight blue eyebrow raised along with the corner of his mouth. “Then I wonder where that racy paperback I found him gleefully reading on the beach came from?”

Pink deepened to red as she bit her tongue. Law realizing that she read erotic novels was nearly as bad as the fact that she was going to have to buy a third copy of To Catch A Turtle Dove. “It’s a mystery that may never be solved.”

“Pity. I was hoping the owner might be able to give me some advice on seducing you.” He gave a long, appreciative leer at her sleepwear; a pink spaghetti-strap tank top and matching booty shorts that definitely didn’t leave much to the imagination where her curves were concerned. “After all, you’re looking especially tempting tonight.”

“I think I liked it better when you couldn’t talk,” she groused, chugging her juice.

“Well, if it wasn’t the stimulating conversation, what brings you here, Nami-ya?” he asked, critically glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

She tried to give a casual shrug, only to wince as a twinge of pain shot through her back. “I wanted a drink. That, and I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted, rubbing her shoulder. “My back’s sore from when I crashed through the deck of the shipwreck. Add on all the hard work from the past couple days and I’ve gotten kind of stiff.”

“Do you need something for the pain?”

She waved off his concern. “I’m not seriously hurt and Ikkaku already got me a few aspirin; I’m just waiting for them to kick in. Sure wish she hadn’t already fallen asleep, though—I’d kill for another one of her massages,” she laughed. Ikkaku would probably do it, though; upon learning that her modifications to the Clima-Tact had made it harder to control, the mechanic had basically shut herself up for the past few days attempting to fix it. It was clear she felt guilty, even though Nami had assured her that there were no hard feelings.

“She does give exceptionally good ones,” Law stated, reaching into one of the cupboards. While he was distracted, Nami took a moment to cast an admiring glance at his once-more human form. He really was very lithe and muscular, especially when he deigned to wear a tank top instead of his usual sweatshirt. The tattoos decorated his long arms so beautifully, too, the swirls of the hearts in particular drawing her eye. And while his fur had been wonderfully soft, she found she rather preferred the dark blue of his hair and goatee contrasting with his olive skin.

“See something you like, sweetheart?”

Grateful that she’d gotten better at suppressing her blush, she gave a casual shrug. “Just glad you’re human again, though I kinda miss the ears and tail. They were so soft and fluffy,” she cooed, giving an exaggeratedly wistful sigh.

“They would have been hell on my reputation, though,” he said bluntly, taking the milk off the stove. “I’d be mocked or fawned over constantly, so my body count would at least double. And that’s assuming there aren’t any other side-effects to my brief feline phase.”

As he spoke, he carefully poured the steaming milk into a saucer. Nami’s eyes popped as he lifted it to his mouth and, instead of drinking it like a normal person, began lapping it up with his tongue.

Kyaaaaaaa! she mentally shrieked, ready to run to the control room to demand they head back to Cousteau Island—Dr. Monroe had assured everyone that they hadn’t been animals long enough for it to have affected their minds, but clearly Law had sustained some kind of kitty brain damage!

Those fears were immediately quashed when gold eyes flicked up to her, a mischievous smirk curling his lips.

“Oh, you asshole,” she growled, sorely tempted to smack him over the head for his stupid prank. “You’re lucky I don’t have you neutered.”

He let out a little chuckle at her annoyed expression, tipping back the saucer to finish off the last of the milk. “You could try, but I’d easily reattach them. That, and I can assure you, you’ll want those particular…parts of me intact.”

She rolled her eyes at his arrogance but decided this wasn’t an argument worth continuing. Instead she occupied herself with cleaning and putting away her glass, ignoring his expectant look as she refused to take the bait or get embarrassed at his suggestive teasing.

“So, Law, I hope you learned an important lesson from this little adventure?” she asked, rolling her shoulders in hopes of loosening the muscles.

“To appreciate having the use of actual hands. Never again will I take them for granted,” he answered bluntly, admiring his tattooed fingers like they were the most valuable treasure on the Grand Line.

“I was going to say ‘to put trust in your crew’ but I guess that’s true, too,” she replied with a shake of her head. “I get that you’re a control freak, but really, was it so hard to stand back and let someone else fight for you? To trust in someone else’s judgement and abilities?”

“Are you really still lecturing me about this?” he asked, jaw twitching in irritation.

“I’ll stop so long as you get it through your head that you’re not some all-powerful deity that needs to watch over us weak, stupid mortals.”

He chuckled slightly at her description and twirled his finger in a circle, indicating that she turn around. Curious, she obeyed, jumping slightly when she felt his calloused palms gently rest on her bare shoulders. However, any resistance she might have shown was swiftly vanquished when he proceeded to press his fingers into the tense muscles, rubbing small circles against her back to ease the hard knots he found there.

“Ikkaku may be the better masseuse, but she taught me a thing or two,” he murmured as he firmly dragged his thumbs down the length of her spine. “Tell me if anything hurts.”

Nami couldn’t stop herself from arching her back, groaning happily as she felt a satisfying pop. His touch was warm and sure, applying just the right amount of pressure to the points of her back that had grown stiff and sore due to their last adventure. The pads of his fingers worked in tight circles along her rhomboid muscle, easing the tension that had made sleeping so uncomfortable. “Ok, yeah, I’m beginning to appreciate your hands too. Almost makes up for the talking,” she moaned as he switched to long dragging motions downwards.

“I’ll admit, being a snow leopard was a unique experience,” he purred, rubbing his thumbs in small circles along her lower back, gradually increasing the pressure with each rotation to coax her tight muscles to loosen. “Frustrating as the circumstances were, having such heightened senses was a hell of an experience. My eyesight and hearing were keener than you could even imagine but having such a powerful sense of smell was absolutely fascinating.”

“Really? I thought you were annoyed that you couldn’t track scents?” she asked, tilting her head to the side as his skilled fingers began working up her neck, massaging the sensitive flesh at the base of her skull.

“That had to do with my inexperience. But the scents themselves were just so enhanced. It was like I’d gone around wearing a surgical mask my whole life, and I was taking it off for the first time!”

Nami had to smile a bit at his enthusiasm. She supposed it had to do with him being a doctor—having such keen senses for the brief period of time must have shown him just how limited humans were, and he was probably wondering if he could replicate any of it through his medical procedures.

Which, honestly, was pretty creepy, but also kind of charming in its own way.

Hot breath fanned against her ear as he murmured, “And I must say, Nami-ya, you in particular smelled absolutely delicious.”

She blanched, remembering the way he tore into those steaks in the infirmary. “You were thinking about eating me?” she shrieked, trying to jerk away.

He let out a low chuckle as he spun her around, pulling her against him so their chests were pressed flush together as his hands rested on her waist. “Hmmm, not in the way you’re thinking, though it’d be what you deserved after taking such blatant advantage of me.”

She was too flabbergasted to blush. “Excuse me?”

Tongue clucking like he was scolding a naughty child, he explained, “There I was, laying on the examination table, dying from a deadly snake bite, and you simply couldn’t help yourself; you just had to put your hands all over me.”

“I—what—you—you nuzzled me!” she defended, poking him in the sternum.

“I was offering you comfort, and you took that to mean you could fondle me? For shame, Nami-ya.”

She stared at him, flustered and aghast. “Are you seriously complaining? You were practically begging me to touch you!”

“I never gave you any kind of verbal consent, though.”

“The way you were practically melting into my hands said plenty.”

A wicked grin spread across his face, and she intuitively knew she’d walked right into his trap. Before she could attempt to wiggle away, he used the muscular length of his body to pin her against the counter.

“Let me go, Law,” she snapped, though she couldn’t quite hold back a groan as his skillful fingers once more worked at the tight knot of muscles that had formed between her shoulders.

“Mmm, are you seriously complaining? You’re practically begging me to touch you.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“And you’re such a tease,” he whispered, nipping the shell of her ear. “Don’t even try to deny you’re enjoying this; the way you’re practically melting into my hands says plenty.”

Said hands strayed down to cup her rear, giving a playful squeeze before backing up just long enough to hoist her up onto the counter, stepping between her legs so she couldn’t kick out at him. “Consider it positive reinforcement. I did go out of my way to give my crew the chance to save the day, plus I helped an old man who I really should have tossed into the sea along with his captors for daring to attack my crew in the first place.” Pressing his nose to her neck, he inhaled her scent. “You pet me, so I’m petting you. I’m just taking what I’m owed.”

“You—”

“Or I could demand monetary compensation for all the supplies you gave away.”

Her jaw dropped and she angrily smacked him on the head. “The antivenom will pay for those!”

“Yes, but not until we actually sell it,” he growled, grabbing her wrist and pinning it to the counter. “I should really be making you pay in the meantime. Instead, I’m being nice and letting you off the hook in exchange for sitting still while I have some fun.”

The angry retort she intended to make died in her throat as he pulled her flush against him, burying his face against her neck while his hands roamed her sides, grasping and squeezing the soft flesh beneath them. The soft sensation of his warm mouth brushing against her sensitive throat made her shiver, though it turned into a full-bodied jolt when he bit down slightly and massaged the firm meat of her ass.

She prepared to strike him again, but something stayed her hand. Law was groping and mouthing at her skin, but it didn’t feel sexual. Or at least, not nearly as much as it usually did. It wasn’t electric and coaxing, nor was it hot and dominating. It was desperate, but not in a way that said he wanted to ravish her on the counter. It was clingy, needy. Like a freezing man seeking warmth. Or like he had awoken from a vivid nightmare and needed some kind of contact to prove he was back in the real world.

“Law, what’s really on your mind?” she asked, confused and concerned.

“Nothing. I’m just enjoying the chance to feel up a beautiful woman,” he replied bluntly, giving her pale thighs a suggestive squeeze.

Pressing her hands against his chest, she pushed him back enough to get a good look at his face. Brown eyes met gold, and for a moment, his expression wasn’t that of the smug pirate captain, but of a worn-out young man. “Bullshit. I know your style; you like to tease through subtle touches. You’ve only blatantly groped me when you had to put on a show for Drake or Smoker. And since we don’t have an audience, there has to be another reason.”

His face twisted as he internally debated giving her a straight answer versus brushing her off. She could practically see him composing a list of pros and cons. So, Nami sat there quietly, refusing to back down but not pushing.

Finally, he said with a scowl, “Maybe I’m doing it because, powers or not, getting you flustered is something I can control. And maybe I spent an evening dying of snake venom wondering if I’d ever experience human contact again.”

She suddenly remembered how on-edge he’d been during his ordeal as a snow leopard. How he’d been pacing while she and Bepo had been retrieving the antivenom. Nervously checked over their injuries and snapped at them when they pointed out his limitations. How hard he pushed himself making his plans for Atifakuto because he didn’t know what to expect and felt he couldn’t leave anything to chance.

He wasn’t touching her because he wanted to mess with her. He wasn’t even flirting. Law was simply desperate for comfort but was too proud to ask for it. So he went for the next best thing.

“Being a leopard really scared you, didn’t it?” Nami asked softly. The coarse hairs of his sideburns tickled the soft skin of her palm as she cupped his cheek. “I get it; not having your powers must be terrifying. Especially for someone like you Captain Doesn’t-Sleep-for-a-Week-Because-He’s-Obsessively-Planning. But we had your back, didn’t we?”

Despite himself, Law leaned into her touch, all but nuzzling her hand. “…it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that helpless. It was more than not having my powers. I was slowly dying, and yes there was a cure, but the last time someone put their life on the line for me like that, they died, and there was nothing I could do to save him.” He averted his gaze, though she could still see the haunted look in his eyes. “When you and Bepo went to salvage the wreck, all I could think about was all the ways you two could die. If you failed, not only would I die powerless and alone, but the rest of the crew would be doomed. And there was nothing I could do about it.”

Hearing that, Nami found herself feeling much more sympathetic towards the Dark Doctor’s obsessive tendencies. He’d experienced enough pain and hardship to make him paranoid about losing people, and took on so much because when things went wrong, he was far too likely to blame himself.

The soft pad of her thumb rubbed soothingly against his cheekbone, just under the dark bag beneath his eye. “I’m sorry, Law. I still think you’re a massive control freak but…I get it.” She really did. He clung to control as desperately as she clung to freedom and money. He grew up without it, lost someone he cared for because of that, and was loathed to let it go.

Without thinking, she pressed a comforting peck to his forehead before giving him a warm, gently teasing smile. “Next time you’re turned into a snow leopard, I promise to be a bit more considerate.”

That coaxed a wry half-smile from him. “If Monroe-ya ever does that again, I’m demanding he make you one, too. After all, a conservationist like himself could surely see how beneficial it could be to his repopulation efforts—”

“And we’re done,” Nami groaned, pushing him away. It was easily done, too, with Law stepping back with little prompting, making it clear that he would have let her go if she’d shown any real resistance.

Jumping down from the counter, she started towards the door, only to pause at his side. Nimble fingers wrapped around his wrist and gave it a comforting squeeze. “Get some sleep Law, ok? Your capable crew needs their powerful, scheming captain at his best.”

Though there was no smile on his face, his eyes were warmer, and he seemed more at ease. “I suppose they do. You should get some sleep, too; I need my cat thief ready for the job I have in mind.”

“And what job is that?”

“To help me win an auction for a vase laced with one of the deadliest poisons in the world.”

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anubislover · 5 years ago

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Welcome to the Heart Pirates, Nami-ya chapter 10: Heated Discussions

Nami wasn’t sure how long or how far she’d run through the winding backstreets of Grimm, but she didn’t stop until her legs literally gave out from under her, forcing her down onto the hard pavement of a dark alley.

Panic gripped her vital organs like a meaty fist. Her body was on fire, sweat dripped down her spine, and every inhalation was agony as her lungs struggled to draw in the barest amount of oxygen needed to keep up with the blood rushing through her veins. The Heart Pirate jumpsuit was suffocating her, holding in the unbearable heat and chafing her hyper-sensitive skin, but she was too weak and exhausted to take it off, forced to broil alive in the heavy canvas.

For a few minutes she just lay there, her sole thought a silent plea for her heart to stop trying to beating against her ribcage like Luffy’s angry punches. Orange hair darkened with sweat, tears streaked down her face, and the only sounds she could make were ragged sobs.

“Miss? Are you alright?” came a deep, authoritative voice from above her, and she trembled. Was it Arlong? Had he found her? Was he going to beat her for running away? Kill Nojiko and Mr. Genzo? Destroy some innocent villager’s house as a display of his “superior” species’ power?

Please, please don’t hurt them! I’ll be good, I swear! Nami thought, squeezing her eyes closed and drawing her legs against her torso to protect herself. It would hurt, but if she had to choose between getting hit and seeing the people she loved suffer, she’d take the blows every time.

“Miss, speak to me—are you hurt? Were you attacked? Do you need a doctor?”

Did she need a doctor? Dr. Nako had fixed up fevers, scraped knees, and stomach aches since she was a child. But no, Arlong would find out and make an example of him. Nami managed the barest shake of her head, curling even more tightly into a ball, mentally begging the stranger to just leave her alone before he got himself killed. People who tried to help her always died the most horrible deaths. Memories of Bellemere’s final moments, of blood and skull fragments splattering as Arlong shot her point-blank, made Nami start hyperventilating. She couldn’t see that again, not even to a stranger, no no no no nononononononono…

Large, strong hands rested on her back and legs, gently straightening her out. “I know you’re scared, but you need to stop pressing your knees into your stomach—it’s keeping your lungs from expanding fully, so you’re not getting the air you need.”

The voice was steady and knowing, at just the right octave to cut through the heavy pounding of blood in her ears. Unconsciously she obeyed, knees lowering, and her lungs swelled as she took several deep breaths.

“There you go. Just focus on breathing. In. Out. Here.” Nami flinched as she heard fabric rustling, trying to draw into herself again as she imagined her mystery man drawing a weapon, but she immediately relaxed as her nose was greeted by the clean, familiar aroma of oranges and mikans. “Breathe this in. Citrus scents reduce stress and anxiety.”

Like an ocean wave, the thought of Bellemere’s grove washed over her. She remembered the safety of her mother’s arms, how her hands always smelled like mikans no matter how many times she washed them. She remembered Nojiko making mikan shampoo for the first time, giving her a bottle before going off to rob more pirates. She remembered the delicious fruit dishes Sanji would make her, the times she’d find Zoro napping under the trees, the iced tea she’d share with Robin, watching Chopper try a fresh mikan for the first time, and knocking Luffy over the head when she caught him pilfering her fruit.

The smell made her feel safe. Like she was home, with her family and nakama.

After a few minutes her heart rate began to slow, aided by the hand on her back rubbing deliberate, soothing circles between her shoulder blades. “That’s better. Miss, can you sit up? I want to make sure you’re not injured.”

Nodding mutely, she allowed the man to help her sit upright and lean against the hard brick wall. She could breathe again, but she was still miserably hot. Lethargic fingers clumsily tried to unzip the top of her jumpsuit, desperate to vent the heat that had built up inside the thick fabric. Her hands were halted by a larger pair quickly grabbing them, however, as the voice shouted, “Whoa, whoa! Miss! There’s no need to get undressed!”

Her eyes finally opened enough to see a blushing, wide-eyed man around thirty years old staring down at her in shock and embarrassment.

“Please,” she whimpered, struggling weakly against his grip. “I’m burning up.”

His cheeks turned a dangerous shade of scarlet at her needy tone, and he looked away, clearly uncomfortable. “Are you at least wearing something underneath?” he choked out.

A tiny smile lifted the corner of her lips. It seemed her savior was either a gentleman or just incredibly shy. Good thing she’d had the foresight to wear a sports bra and shorts under the jumpsuit. “Uh huh. Please, I just…I need it off.”

“Ok. I’ll…help you undress, then.”

She audibly moaned in relief when the cool air touched her sweaty skin. Invigorated, she managed to peel the whole uniform off, a satisfied smile coming to her face as her temperature finally dropped. It was like jumping into a cool lagoon on the hottest day of the year, banishing the wretched layer of stifling humidity that had trapped her.

No longer panicking or burning up, Nami’s mind at last cleared enough to realize what she’d done. She’d managed to disobey every order Law’d given her—she ran off on her own, ditched her companions, and removed the uniform. She was in so much trouble when he found her.

She didn’t disillusion herself with the idea that he wouldn’t. Law’s abilities could let him scan the whole island and teleport her back to his ship in an instant if he wanted. It’s not like she could escape Grimm, either—she had no boat, no crew, and no real idea where to go, and she was smart enough to know he’d still probably spend his days searching for her, if for no other reason than she’d attacked his crew.

Oh, damn, I hope they’re alright, she thought, burying her face in her hands. Her wind attacks weren’t deadly, but accidents happened, and she really couldn’t remember exactly what she’d done in her panic. What if it had been strong enough to trip Ikkaku and crack her skull open on the street? What if it knocked Shachi over and re-broke his arm? What if it sent Bepo stumbling back into a stray, sharp piece of wood, impaling a vital organ? Nami might have been scared, but she’d never forgive herself if she’d brought any harm to them.

An awkward cough caught her attention, and forcing the dark possibilities that she’d killed her friends from her mind, Nami distracted herself by finally giving her savior a proper look.

Even sitting down, the man was large. About Bepo’s height by her estimate and as muscular as Smoker, he had a hooked nose, X-shaped scar across his chin, and blue eyes that stood out starkly against the black domino mask and the shadow cast by his pointed, plumed hat. His ginger hair was a few shades darker than hers, with thick sideburns framing his chiseled, lantern jaw. Nearly his entire outfit was made of midnight blue leather, from his gloves to his thigh-high boots to his bolero. Clipped to his broad shoulders was a long cape, also blue but lined with burgundy red on the inside. His chest was exposed, showcasing the enormous X tattoo adorning his torso, and at his side were two massive weapons—a saber and what appeared to be the lovechild of a mace and an axe.

That’s “Red Flag” X Drake, Nami realized, the Supernova’s wanted poster instantly popping into her head. He wasn’t quite as notoriously sadistic or infamously violent as Law or Eustass Kid, but it was easy to remember a pirate who’d defected from the Marines. She’d assumed he’d headed off to the New World like the others, but perhaps he was like Law and thought it better to wait things out?

“Are you feeling better?” he asked, deliberately keeping his eyes on her face.

“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Th-thanks for the h-help,” she replied with a stammer, desperately trying to convince her heart there was no need to panic again. Of course, her instincts knew better; X Drake was a pirate on the Grand Line and a Supernova at that. His bounty was even higher than Law’s, and probably for good reason. She was alone with him in a back alley with no crew to back her up, whether Straw Hat or Heart Pirate. A woman with her limited combat prowess stood a snowball’s chance in hell against him in a fight, and he was big enough to crush her throat with one hand if he wanted to.

Yet…he seemed nervous. The redness had faded from his face, but there was still a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks. His posture seemed casual at first glance, but she could see the subtle tension in his neck and shoulders. Most noticeably, he was doing his damnedest not to look anywhere below her chin, even though his greater height gave him an excellent view of her exposed cleavage.

Drake was a rival pirate and former rear-admiral of the Navy, but she got the feeling that if she really needed to, she could easily escape by flashing him.

“Good to hear, though I really don’t think you should be stripping around here, and especially not asking strange men to help you. Most might consider it an…invitation,” he said, awkwardly scratching his jaw as he glanced away, blushing harder at the thought.

A small smile curved her lips. Yup, he was definitely trying not to stare at her half-naked body. Who would have thought a man as infamous as X Drake would be so bashful? “But not you?”

“I prefer my invitations to be enthusiastic and explicit,” was his stiff reply as he leaned against the wall beside her. Nami didn’t miss the brief, almost guilty glances he stole at her from the corner of his eye, though. “And certainly not from a woman in the midst of a panic attack.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a wink. She was feeling much more clear-headed and like her normal self now that her brain wasn’t being cooked, and the knowledge that X Drake had such an easily exploited weakness to her body made her relax. “Why do you carry around mikan perfume, anyway?”

The pink tips of his ears deepened. “It’s not perfume; it’s orange extract. During my time in the Marines, I had many comrades who suffered PTSD or panic attacks, and aromatherapy has been proven to be good for reducing anxiety—particularly citrus scents. I rarely experience them myself anymore, but it’s still useful during periods of extreme stress. Seemed to be rather effective on you,” he said with a raised eyebrow before quickly glancing away.

Taking pity on him, Nami drew up her knees and wrapped her arms around them so he wasn’t given such a shameless view of her bountiful chest. “I grew up in a mikan grove. The smell reminds me of home.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, a look of understanding softening his stern features. “Does it? No wonder, then.” He handed her the bottle. “Dab a little under your nose and rub some on your hands—better safe than sorry.”

Gratefully she did so, relishing the refreshing, familiar scent of her favorite fruit. “Thanks. Guess I’m lucky you’re the one who stumbled across me, huh?”

“I’ll say. I was passing by when I saw you running like the Devil himself was after you. Piqued my curiosity, and I suppose not all of my Marine training has left me; simply had to help a damsel in distress.”

She chuckled, though it turned into a soft moan of relief as the bare skin of her back pressed against the cool brick behind her.

Drake’s brow furrowed as he looked her over critically. “You really shouldn’t sit around half-dressed out here, you know.”

“Because of men without invitations?”

“Because it’s far too cold to be walking around in so little, and with the sheen of sweat on your skin, you’re at a high risk of getting hypothermia.”

Nami stubbornly shook her head, though she frowned at the feeling of the damp ends of her hair against her bare shoulders. “Honestly, that damn jumpsuit was so hot, freezing to death sounds like a dream come true right now.”

“Yes, but I’m sure your crew would be quite distraught to find out you’d died in such an ignoble way.”

She stiffened at the mention of her crew. Was he talking about the Heart Pirates or Straw Hats? “Yeah, fair enough. I just really don’t want to get back in that thing,” she replied, toe nudging the boiler suit disdainfully.

Drake scoffed in agreement. “Considering whose emblem is on it, I don’t blame you.” Standing, he hoisted her to her feet as if she weighed nothing. Now Nami could see just how tall he was, completely towering over her. She thought he might get all flustered again as her cleavage was once more on display, but his intense blue eyes were fixed upon the swirling tattoo on her shoulder. “I must say, I’m surprised—I didn’t believe the outlandish rumors that Cat Thief Nami had joined the Heart Pirates, even after Jinzo started babbling about why he didn’t have my money. I figured he was just making excuses. And yet, here you are.”

She stiffened. Well, now she knew who the broker’s next appointment was supposed to have been. “Ah. I’m guessing he was mad?”

A red eyebrow quirked, and his lips twitched upwards in amusement. “He was quite vocal about what he hoped to do to you for costing him so much belli. You’re lucky I found you instead of any of his men. A woman by herself is already taking a great risk wandering around in these back alleys—even more so when she’s made an enemy of the island’s most unscrupulous black market broker.”

She gulped at the implication. Damn, Law really was right, wasn’t he? If someone other than Drake had come across her while she was helpless on the ground…

“Well, I appreciate the rescue,” she squeaked, deciding it was time to head back to the Polar Tang. Glancing up and down the alley, she tried to recall her steps. She’d pretty much run blindly through the alleyways, but she was certain her natural sense of direction could get her back to the docks. Sure, Law would be mad at her for running off, but he was a hell of a lot safer than Jinzo. She shivered at the memory of the man’s hateful stare as Law had led her away, certain she’d be in a hell of a lot of trouble if she ran into him in the grungy alley.

Mistaking her shiver for the cold finally getting to her, Drake unclipped his cape, wrapping it around her shoulders with a flourish, bundling her in tightly. “There. It would be a shame for you to die of exposure before I got you back to the ship.”

A small whine escaped the back of her throat as she was engulfed by the thick fabric, once more feeling stifled and too hot. She struggled to escape the long cloak, but he only wrapped her up tighter.

“Let me go,” so moaned pathetically, face once more flushing as her heart sped up. The material was softer than the boiler suit, but it was still heavy and suffocating, and Drake’s lingering body heat in the fibers made it worse. “It’s too hot!”

“Miss Nami, unless you’ve recently eaten some sort of fire-based Devil Fruit, I can’t imagine how you could be anything but freezing,” he said with a stern frown. “I understand you’re afraid of me, and with good reason, but I won’t hurt you if you come quietly. I’m not in the business of harming hostages unless absolutely necessary.”

“Hostages?”

A hint of a sly smirk tugged at his lips. “I confess, I am a bit miffed at you for causing Jinzo to reschedule on me—he owes me a lot of belli, and I was hoping to be off this damn island by now. Kidnapping you is not only cathartic, but profitable; your bounty’s hardly worth turning you in for, but perhaps Jinzo might make me a better offer. Or I could put your skills to use in exchange for your eventual freedom. After all, your thieving skills are quite notorious, and Trafalgar must have recruited you for a reason.”

Oh no. The last thing she needed was to be the slave of another pirate captain. “Um, how about you ransom me to Law?” she suggested hopefully. “I’m sure he could pay whatever you were going to ask Jinzo, and then some!” Angry as the Surgeon of Death might be about her running off and getting kidnapped, surely he’d be able to rescue her if he knew X Drake had her, right? It’d be easy with his powers, and there’d be no need to buy her back when he could snatch her away with a flick of his fingers.

There was a brief, angry flash of sharp fangs as he growled, “Because the less I have to interact with that smarmy bastard, the happier I’ll be. Don’t think I don’t see through your little scheme; why would he pay when his powers can easily steal you back? Besides that, I’ll be damned if I let that ingrate gain an extra advantage by poaching Straw Hat’s thief.”

“Let me go!” she cried. Drake’s sudden switch from surprisingly helpful to a legitimate threat to her well-being demanded she pull together what little energy she had and escape. The problem was she was running on fumes and in the clutches of an eight-foot-tall former Marine whose bicep was thicker than her waist and could probably crush her skull with one hand like a rotten apple if he desired. Fighting was definitely out, and with the way he’d swaddled her in his cloak, she couldn’t even flash him like she’d planned.

Desperate, Nami attempted to wiggle out of the heavy fabric, but he grabbed the collar and tugged her close, looming over her threateningly.

“Don’t bother trying to run—even if you did somehow get away, you’re covered in both my scent and the citrus oil.” For a moment, his eyes shifted, harsh, reptilian yellow overtaking the blue, and he took a deep breath through his nose. “In a rancid cesspool like this, I’d hunt you down easily. If you come quietly, I promise you will be treated well; perhaps even invited to join my crew, if you play your cards right. If you resist, I’ll have to switch the orange extract for chloroform, and the next time you wake up, you’ll be in Jinzo’s possession.”

Once more, her heart began to race, but thankfully her mind wasn’t overcome yet with memories and panic. “Look, I…I’m sorry if I accidentally caused you trouble, but Jinzo’s a cheapskate who’d rather kill you to get me than actually pay. And if what you’re worried about is my alliance with Law, it’s just a temporary partnership! I don’t even like the guy!”

“Nobody likes Trafalgar; he’s a sadistic asshole.” A massive arm wrapped around her tiny waist and he hoisted her up so her feet dangled above the ground, pressing her against his scorching chest. “And if that’s truly the case, then you have even less reason to resist—think of it as a rescue.”

“From the way things look, the only one she needs to be saved from is you, Drake-ya.”

A blue aura surrounded them, and in an instant Nami was out of Drake’s grasp and firmly in Law’s, one tattooed arm wrapping possessively around her bare midriff while the other leaned Kikoku casually on his shoulder. Hard plains of muscle pressed against her back, and she could feel his sharp chin rest on the top of her head.

Nami’s body was tense, but not as much as it had been with Drake. Some of it had to do with the essential oil keeping her calm and the cool air once more regulating her temperature, but it was mostly because, dangerous as he was, Law was the devil she knew. No matter how pissed he might be at her disobedience, he would protect her; she was his property, right? Arlong had certainly punished her for her misdeeds against him, but he’d never allowed anyone not on his crew lay so much as a hand on her.

Pirates didn’t like other people touching their things, after all.

“Been a while, Drake-ya,” Law’s smooth voice caressed her ears. “Making a move on my Cat Thief, I see. How’s that going so far? Have you told her how many people you’ve killed? I’m sure that always impresses the ladies.”

“Trafalgar,” Drake spat, glaring disdainfully between the empty cape in his hand and the man standing ten feet away. “I’m quite certain the woman belongs to Straw Hat, not you.”

“Hmmm, normally, but since I was nice enough to save his life, I thought it was only fair that he let me borrow her while he trains.” Law chuckled and Nami felt his nose playfully nuzzle her temple as his hand slid up to splay just beneath her breast. “You know I’ve got a thing for feisty gingers.”

The former Marine snorted in response as he donned his cloak. “Well, since she’s apparently the reason Jinzo had to reschedule our appointment, I think it’s only fair that I ‘borrow’ her for a while as recompense.”

“Sorry, she and I have dinner plans tonight. Besides, I did you a favor—he’s not as good as Kimo when it comes to honoring deals. Had the nerve to try and give me less than a third of our agreed-on price. If it hadn’t been for my little kitten here, you’d be trying to negotiate with a corpse.”

Hearing Law call her “kitten” made Nami shudder, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on why. It felt disturbingly familiar somehow and made the hairs on the back of her neck rise as goosebumps rippled across her skin.

Drake crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Jinzo’s unscrupulous scum, but he owes me money. Money that your ‘little kitten’ managed to swindle from him, the way he tells it.”

“If he’d brought the amount Kimo had agreed to pay me, I wouldn’t have needed her uncanny haggling skills.” Law cocked his head to the side. “Out of curiosity, how much does he owe you?”

“600 million belli.”

“He only had 725 million on him for his four scheduled deals, and he only planned to pay me 200 million. So even if his other clients were working for free, he had no intention of paying your asking price.” He let out a wry chuckle. “The man must have a death wish, looking to cheat two Supernovas in one day.”

Drake swore under his breath. “Fine. If he won’t pay me properly, I’ll just have to wring his neck and take the money from him. But considering how you still ruined my plans to leave this wretched place on schedule, I’m ruining your dinner plans. Now hand the Cat Thief over,” he growled, gripping the hilt of his saber. “I have a greater need for her than you.”

The nodachi on Law’s shoulder shifted in response. “Look, not that I’m opposed to you getting laid—anything to get the stick out of your ass—but Nami-ya’s mine.” The woman in question could practically hear Law’s smirk as he continued, “Why don’t you try the brothel the next street over? I’m sure the lovely ladies there will be happy to service your ‘needs’ for the right price.”

Drake gaped for a moment before sputtering, “I’m not looking to sleep with her!”

“Now don’t be bashful, Drake-ya! Sexual urges are completely healthy and natural, and I certainly don’t blame you for wanting a sexy redhead. Hell, maybe she can finally help you ditch your V-card.”

“You know I’m not a virgin!” he snapped, face flushing dark red in humiliation a second later as he realized precisely what he’d said.

Law’s grin widened, more than happy to take advantage of the slip. “Oh yeah—I do, don’t I? Never imagined I’d get to tame a dinosaur, but anything’s possible on the Grand Line, right?”

Nami’s jaw dropped as her cheeks heated. Holy crap, Law and Drake? Together?! She had so many questions.

“You didn’t ‘tame’ me,” Drake growled as he forced himself to calm down, though his ears still burned to match his ginger hair.

“Oh? So you’d let any man ride you? Slut.”

Maybe it was her imagination, but Nami swore she could feel Law’s erection against her lower back. Was he seriously getting turned on by this? She began to feel warm again as her own arousal spiked, much to her irritation. Could anyone blame her, though? Drake was not an unattractive man, and the mental image of him and Law battling for dominance in the bedroom was certainly titillating.

“Trafalgar,” he snarled, eyes morphing into their yellow, reptilian state, “either you hand over the woman right now or—”

“Or what? You’ll take her from me? Sorry, Drake-ya, but you know what a possessive bastard I am. I found her first, so she’s mine.”

“I don’t see your name on her,” he said petulantly.

Law spared the woman in his arms a small glare. “She’s a crafty kitten that likes to slip her leash sometimes, but I’m happy to stake my claim here and now.” A tattooed hand cupped her breast as her rolled his hips against her ass. There was no mistake what he had in mind. “Feel free to watch—you might learn something.”

There he went calling her “kitten” again, and his shameless groping nearly made Nami choke. She’d grown used to his flirting and suggestive touches, but he’d never been this blatant! Hell, compared to this, he’d been downright chaste when they’d made out in the mansion hall and when he’d given her that hickey! Was it his weird form of punishing her for running off? Or was it just to mess with Drake? Law certainly seemed to enjoy riling the other pirate up, but did he need to go so far as to threaten to fuck her in front of him to scare Drake away?

More importantly, would that even work? Law’d basically been putting her scantily clad figure on display for him throughout the entire conversation, but Drake didn’t seem nearly as flustered as he’d been when it had just been the two of them. Maybe Law’s insults and innuendos had distracted him enough to look past Nami’s full breasts and sensual curves before, but the way he was looking at her now…

It was similar to the hungry gaze Law sometimes gave her, only more feral. Animalistic. And she wasn’t fully sure if it was directed at her, the Surgeon of Death, or both.

Whichever it was, Law was playing a dangerous game of chicken, and if Drake snapped, she was the one caught in the middle.

The idea that the argument might morph into a violent, sexual brawl made Nami renew her struggles. “Will you both quit fucking talking about me like I’m some stupid toy you’re fighting over?!” she snapped, twisting and writhing in Law’s arms. “If you want to measure dicks, go ahead; just leave me out of it!”

Both men seemed momentarily taken aback by her outburst, though Law recovered quickly enough to tighten his arm around her waist. The sheathed nodachi pressed threateningly to her bare throat, saying without words that she was dancing on thin ice, and Nami reluctantly stilled. Out of the corner of her eye she saw gold eyes narrow at her defiance before his expression morphed back into a cocky smirk. “See, Drake-ya? This little kitten’s way too feisty for you to handle.”

“I only hope she scratches your eyes out,” he countered, though he did back off slightly, his eyes returning to normal. Ignoring his rival, he addressed the Cat Thief directly, though it was obvious her bare skin distracted him. “Miss Nami, I’m sure with Straw Hat missing you’re only associating yourself with Trafalgar out of desperation. However, I can assure you that you can do far better than this psychopath.”

Before she could answer, the alley was once more engulfed in blue, and Nami groaned as she found herself redressed in the Heart Pirate uniform. Behind her, Law sneered, “Maybe she can, but she’s paying off Straw Hat’s life debt to me, so she’s mine until her contract is up. I might be willing to lend her to you in exchange for a few favors, but that’s something you negotiate with me—not her.”

The jumpsuit was hot, uncomfortably damp with sweat, and combined with Law’s arms wrapped tightly around her, even more suffocating than before. Nami’s heart was once more beginning to race, chest rising and falling hard as she fought to draw breath. It wasn’t as bad as before due to the essential oil still lingering under her nose, but her body was slowly reverting back into fight or flight mode.

Tension rose as the two pirates glared at each other, neither noticing nor caring about the woman’s distress.

Pulling off a leather glove, Drake’s hand shifted into a reptilian claw before their eyes. Flexing his talons menacingly, he growled, “A debt, huh? Well, if I kill you right now, that should clear any debt away and she’ll be free to do as she pleases. How about it, Miss Nami? Agree to help me strip Jinzo of every last belli he’s ever earned, and I’ll be happy to tear Trafalgar’s head off.”

“You threaten that every time, Drake-ya, and yet the only ‘head’ you’ve ever gotten—”

“Law, please, let me go,” Nami cut in, desperate to gain some breathing space and shed the jumpsuit like a snake would its skin. His body heat made it even worse, managing to seep through the dense canvas into her back, and his hot breath at her ear sizzled the damp skin. Despite the lingering smell of citrus, her pulse fluttered, anxiety strumming her veins like guitar strings.

“Stay right there,” the dark doctor rasped, Kikoku dropping to press against her waist while his free hand slid up to wrap threateningly around her throat, “or I really will put a collar on you.” Glancing back up at the former Marine, Law flashed a dangerous smile. “You know, Drake-ya, there’s no reason we can’t all get along. Hell, why don’t you join my crew? The pay’s good, and I wouldn’t mind my very own pet Allosaurus.”

Drake’s mouth twisted in a deep scowl, though Nami didn’t miss the way his eyes briefly dropped to Law’s hand as it trailed down to trace the Heart Pirate logo on her chest. “I’m no one’s pet, least of all yours.”

“You say that now, but I think you’d enjoy it—I know I would. Two sexy, fiery redheads, naked in my bed is pretty much my ultimate fantasy. I’d even let you help me train Nami-ya—she needs to learn obedience, but I know you’ve got no trouble following orders, eh, Navy-boy?”

For a moment, Drake’s eyes lingered on them, and she swore it looked like he was considering it, especially when Law nipped her ear, making her gasp, her chest expanding upwards as her cheeks deepened to an obscene shade of scarlet. She could imagine she looked like a wet dream; sweaty hair tousled, face flushed, cleavage peeking out of the jumpsuit’s opening, lips parted as she panted lightly. Law probably looked just as tempting, with his inviting golden stare, dexterous fingers, and wicked smirk.

Law was absolutely giving an enthusiastic and explicit invitation, and both pirates had shown that Nami’s opinion on the matter was a mere afterthought.

The man behind her shifted, and this time she was positive she could feel the Dark Doctor’s cock straining against her. “Law, please,” she whimpered, sweat breaking out across her brow.

“Mmm, much as I love hearing you beg, Nami-ya, you’re just going to have to be patient. Unless you want to put on a show for Drake-ya?” Long fingers pinched the tab of her zipper, slowly pulling it down to expose more of her cleavage. “Give him a taste of what he could have if he joins us?”

That seemed to snap Drake out of whatever lustful trance Law had lured him into, as his face went bright red and his scowl returned. “Ugh, you’re a disgusting cretin, Trafalgar. I’m not subjecting myself to your presence any longer.” Tipping his plumed hat, he spun on his heel. “If you ever come to your senses and decide to ditch this sadistic bastard, Miss Nami, feel free to seek me out.”

“Damn. I was hoping he’d try to call my bluff,” Law chuckled as the tall redhead disappeared down an alley. “I’d love to show him how I discipline disobedient kittens when they run off.”

“You’ve got the weirdest kinks!” she snapped, struggling desperately in his arms. The moist jumpsuit rubbed unpleasantly against her bare skin like wet sandpaper. The sensation finally brought to light why Law’s new nickname made her so uncomfortable—Arlong had often referred to her as a kitten. Usually as a term of affection, but also a way to further show how little he thought of her species, that he regarded animals typically kept as pets as more worthy of his respect than humans. “Let me go—I’m not your kitten!”

Law released her long enough to spin her around and start walking her backwards with slow, sure strides, gold eyes drilling into hers. “And yet it’s the most accurate description I can think of—you’re a clueless little kitten who has no self-preservation skills likely to get ripped apart by wild dogs!” With a thump her back hit the rough brick wall, but any relief the cool stone might have provided was short-lived as Law pressed his entire body against her front to trap her. “Ditching the uniform was bad enough, but running off on your own? Making a scene in public and attacking your crew? If you were even half as smart as you claim to be, you never would have taken such a stupid risk.”

“I wasn’t thinking—”

“Damn right you weren’t thinking!” he snapped. “I don’t care if you think the uniform’s ugly or uncomfortable, when I give you an order, you obey it!”

“It’s just clothes!”

“If it were just clothes, you wouldn’t have been the one to make it such a huge fucking deal! The fact that you couldn’t follow such a basic order proves you can’t be trusted.” Without breaking eye contact, he reached down, dragging the zipper up to her neck and buttoning the collar so not an inch of flesh south of her chin was exposed. “Now, unless you want me to make good on my threat to discipline you, you’re going to leave that as it is. You managed to punt any leniency I had for your bratty antics right out the window. We’re going back to the ship, where you will be confined for the foreseeable future. If I have to, I’ll chain you to a desk where you’ll spend the rest of the year drawing maps and sea charts for me.”

Her eyes widened at the threat. It was far too much like her dream; like what she’d gone through with Arlong. Panic made her adrenalin spike, and with ever less ventilation than before, the temperature inside the suit rose further. “Please, Law, I’m sorry. I just couldn’t—”

Furious that she was still trying to argue, his voice was as hard and biting as ice as he said, “I’m not interested in excuses, Nami-ya. You disobeyed me, and even more damning, you attacked my crew. I told you when we first met that I’d make you suffer if you brought any harm to them, and I intend to keep that promise.”

“I didn’t mean to! They were threatening me!” she simpered, trying to pull away, but like the man pressed to her front, the wall at her back wasn’t going to relent for the sake of a small, terrified woman.

“Threatening you? Ikkaku, Bepo, and Shachi? If you’re going to lie, at least make it believable,” he snorted, grabbing her left arm in a bruising grip when she tried to unzip the uniform.

“They wanted to tattoo me! To brand me as your property!” Unconsciously she clutched her shoulder, fingers digging into the scars left by her old tattoo. “I couldn’t let them do that to me. Not again.”

“And why would they want to do that?” he asked sarcastically. “Convince me before I cut out your slanderous tongue.”

“So that I couldn’t escape. So that no matter where I went or how I tried to hide, everyone would see that I’m yours,” she whispered, eyes dulling as she recalled the judgmental glares the villagers would give her every time they saw Arlong’s tattoo. Even if it had all been an act, they had cut deeply at the time, and even now she felt overwhelming shame.

Tsking in irritation, he finally gave her a few inches of space. “You make it sound like I’ve enslaved you—you’re the one who came to me, demanding the I let you settle Mugiwara’s debt. What we have is a deal; join my crew until it’s paid off. But it’s pretty hard to do that if Drake-ya or others make off with you, isn’t it? So if I have to make you wear a uniform or even tattoo my mark onto you, so be it.”

Nami’s mind clouded, fear firmly taking hold. She and Arlong had had a deal, too, and he’d used every dirty trick imaginable to deny his cartographer her freedom. What made Law any different? How did she know he’d keep his word and let her leave at the end of the year? What was stopping him from chaining her up and keeping her as a pet, from basically enslaving her even as he called her a valued shipmate?

It was too hot, her flesh felt like it was melting off her bones, blood was pounding in her ears, her scars throbbed, and her vision grew hazy as she began to hyperventilate. In her mind, Law and Arlong shifted and blended together, and trapped and scared against her monstrous captain, panic finally overwhelmed her.

“I’m not your fucking property!” she screeched, slamming her fists against his chest, nails attempting to claw at his face like a caged animal. Unwilling to let her gouge his eyes out, he grabbed her by the wrists, pinning her to the wall with his full body weight. “Get off of me! I’m not your fucking shipmate, or your kitten, or anything! I’d sooner die than let you use me again! I hate you!”

“Will you calm the fuck down?! What is your problem—” Law snapped, but his anger shifted to concern as he felt just how sweltering her skin had become and how erratic her pulse was. The last dregs of irritation vanished as he finally allowed himself to carefully study her, taking in her flushed and sweaty face, unfocused gaze, and shallow wheezes.

His brow furrowed as he stepped back, surrounding her with his Room and quickly Scanning her.

“Fuck,” her bit out under his breath. “So that’s your problem. Nami-ya, close your eyes.”

“Why the fuck should I do that?!” she screamed, attempting to dart to the side, but her escape route was swiftly blocked.

“Because this’ll be a lot less traumatizing if you don’t watch what I’m about to do.” When her eyes widened further, he smacked his forehead, annoyed at himself for his poor wording. “It’s the birth control medication I injected you with—you’re having a bad reaction to it. The chemical imbalance is giving you a massive panic attack, and the stress is causing you to overheat, which is slowly frying your brain. I need to remove the drug from your system, and considering how squeamish you are, I can promise, you’re not going to want to see how.”

“I…”

His expression turned desperate as he beseeched, “Nami-ya, please, I know it goes against your every instinct right now, but I need you to trust me.”

Swallowing hard, she nodded, forcing herself to close her eyes as tightly as possible and hold still despite her legs trembling with the urge to run. He was right; she needed to trust him. Law wasn’t asking as her captain, but as her doctor. He wouldn’t hurt her any more than Chopper would. He was trying to save her, and she needed to have faith that anything he did was for her own good.

“Room. Shambles.”

A strange sensation overcame her. It was almost like she was floating, and while she could still feel her individual body parts, it was…dull and disjointed, almost numbed, like when your foot falls asleep and you wiggle your toes.

Then came another odd feeling. The closest she could compare it to was what she imagined it would feel like to be a sugar cube slowly dissolving in a glass of water, but the heat and adrenaline slowly vanished, and bit by bit, her heart began to slow to a normal pace.

When she opened her eyes, she was sitting on the ground, the sweaty uniform in a neat pile by her leg. Law knelt before her, studying her face and body intently. His mouth was a hard line and his gold eyes cautious as he asked, “How are you feeling?”

“…cold.”

With a relieved chuckle, he pulled off his hoodie and carefully slipped it over her head. “Well, better than heat stroke and cardiac arrest.” He sighed, giving an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry the drug fucked you up so badly. I must have gotten the ratio off. I can’t even remember if I’d informed you of the potential side effects. At the very least, I shouldn’t have administered it when I was functioning on so little sleep—it was irresponsible of me as a doctor.”

Gratefully, Nami slipped her arms into the long sleeves, soaking in the residual body heat in the soft fabric. The sweatshirt was long enough to be a mini-dress on her, and she very nearly tucked her legs inside to block out the chilly air. Her skin was slick with sweat, and the cold air and stone beneath her was leeching the heat from her body. Now she understood why Drake had been so concerned about her lack of clothes. “It’s my own fault. I should have told you I was feeling weird. I just figured it was my body needing time to adapt and me being stressed about…stuff.”

The skin beneath the DEATH tattoos went white as Law gripped Kikoku harder. “No, it isn’t alright—I should have demanded a follow-up appointment to check how you were doing instead of putting my focus on fucking fertilizer. And I definitely should have noticed there was something wrong with you—you were literally having a panic attack in front of me, but I was too stubborn to acknowledge it.”

“Law, I know my body—I should have realized there was something wrong with me. And you were a little…distracted.”

“So, we’re both idiots, then?”

Nami couldn’t help the wry smile that tugged at her lips. “Guess so.” She glanced over at the jumpsuit. Part of her was nearly tempted to put it on due to how cold she suddenly felt, but one touch of the sweat-sodden fabric quickly changed her mind. “Look, I get that I don’t have much of a right to ask, but do I still have to wear this?”

Law frowned at the damp uniform. “Not until it’s been laundered and properly dried, at least. I’m taking you back to the ship regardless—I want to run some tests to be sure the birth control is completely out of your system, and you’re staying in the infirmary overnight for observation.”

“Yeah, makes sense,” she said sadly as the familiar blue aura overtook them. In a blink they were in the Polar Tang’s infirmary, their sudden appearance making Penguin jump from his place at the desk.

“Law! You found her!”

He tossed Kikoku to the first mate before hoisting Nami onto the examination table. “Yeah, but I’m going to need you to run some blood tests for me and fetch some clothes and toiletries from her room—she’s sleeping in here tonight for observation.”

Penguin nodded before rushing out the door, barely giving the navigator’s lack of uniform a second glance. Meanwhile, Law strode over to the cabinets, pulling out blankets, pillows, and towels. “What other symptoms have you been having?”

Rubbing her arms, Nami replied, “Nightmares and trouble sleeping, but that’s it.”

“Do you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight?”

“I should.”

“Good, then I won’t give you a sedative. I’m not risking putting anything else in your bloodstream until I’m 100% sure what caused your reaction.”

“Thank you,” she said softly, “for removing the drug. And…not making me watch how you did it.” Law was sadistic and cruel, but that moment of compassion spoke volumes of how much he cared about a patient’s well-being. It was a fascinating juxtaposition—the doctor and the pirate. One that made her respect for him rise a little.

“You’re welcome. Thank you for trusting me.” He gave a small smirk as he handed her the supplies. “Assuming there are no lingering side effects I should be able to declare you well enough to go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

Her head shot up in surprise. “You still want to do that? Even after I attacked your crew? After I tried to claw your eyes out?” Good God, she expected Luffy to be that forgiving, not the Surgeon of Death!

“You did it under the effects of a drug that I improperly administered—I have no one to blame but myself. Plus, I already made reservations.” At her disbelieving expression, he shrugged. “Honestly, Ikkaku, Shachi, and Bepo weren’t even mad; they were more scared something would happen to you.”

“Really?”

“Really. I was the one who was pissed.”

Draping a blanket over her cold legs, she snorted. “Clearly. Would you have really made good on your threat?”

“Which one?”

Unconsciously, her hand fisted the blanket. “Chaining me to a desk and forcing me to make maps for you.”

“That’s the one you’re most worried about?” he asked, bewildered.

“Let’s just say it’s something that would have happened to me if Luffy hadn’t intervened.”

Law’s brow furrowed when she didn’t elaborate, and he crossed his arms in irritation. “You’re welcome to your secrets and privacy, Nami-ya, but considering how you very nearly clawed my eyes out over it, you’re going to have to give a better answer than that. I can’t know what will trigger you if you don’t tell me.”

“Maybe I’m not comfortable with someone like you knowing my weaknesses.” She shot him a glare. “You seemed to take a lot of creepy pleasure in threatening to put a collar on me, among other things.”

The brim of his hat cast a shadow across his eyes as he scowled. “I’m a sadistic bastard—I’ve never hidden this. But I was trying to scare you into compliance, not give you a panic attack.”

“Either way, it doesn’t exactly inspire me to trust you.”

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. In the harsh light of the infirmary, the circles under his eyes seemed even more pronounced. “Nami-ya, I’m sorry I went too far. I was angry and keyed up from dealing with Drake-ya.”

A scoff and a roll of her eyes was Nami’s immediate response. “Yeah, sure, ‘keyed up’. Personally, I would have gone with ‘horny as hell’.” She blushed slightly at the thought. Looking back on it, that moment had felt like something from one of her raunchier novels. And she really needed to not imagine what the two Supernovas would be like together. Who would top? Drake was certainly the larger man, but she had a hard time picturing Law being submissive, control freak that he was….

She shook herself from her musings as Law responded, removing his hat to run a hand through his dark hair, “We have…history. Generally when we meet, we either try to kill each other or fuck. In such close quarters and with you as a liability, I didn’t trust my chances if it came to a fight, so yeah, I fully leaned into the sexual tension.”

After the day she’d had, Nami should have been immune, but she couldn’t help but appreciate how hot he looked when he mussed his hair like that. Her blush deepened as she glanced away. “Well, you should have left me out of it.”

“Drake-ya’s shy with women. I knew he’d turn tail and run if I got you involved.”

Much as she wanted to, she couldn’t quite argue his logic, mostly because it was completely fucked up. “Bullshit; you were totally hoping for a threesome. You are seriously such a freak. Next time, just teleport us out of there.”

“He was talking about kidnapping you,” Law countered, leaning in and resting his hands on either side of her thighs. His breath tickled her face as he continued, “I needed to make sure he knew you were completely off-limits.”

Her eyes narrowed as she leaned back slightly. “I thought we established that I’m not your property?”

“Nami-ya, that’s the way it is—if you’re not strong enough to protect yourself, you’re the property of someone who was strong enough to claim you.” For a brief moment, his eyes softened, getting a faraway look as he lifted his hand to gently brush his knuckles across her jaw. “I know you hate it, but for now, accept that it’s the only way to protect you from the monsters of the world. Because believe me; there are men far worse than me who’d love to get their hands on you. Men who don’t have my limits.”

Her breath caught at his gentle action, and Law seemed to snap out of his reverie, quickly pulling away to grab her chart from the filing cabinet. “Penguin should be back soon to draw some blood and examine you. I need to tell the rest of the crew you’re back, safe and sound. You’re still confined to the ship until dinner tomorrow as punishment for worrying everyone.” Without looking at her, he tossed her chart on the desk and left, all but slamming the door behind him.

Wide, brown eyes stared at the metal barricade in shock. What was that about? Where had that flash of softness come from? Was he seriously running off because of a moment of…what? Kindness? Affection? Concern?

It seemed like every time she thought she had Trafalgar Law figured out, he had to do something to completely throw her.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a brisk knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called hesitantly.

Penguin stuck his head inside, little stuffed bird on his hat bobbing slightly. “You ok?”

Tugging at the black sleeves of Law’s sweatshirt, she sighed. “Fine, I guess. Managed to not get kidnapped by X Drake, thanks to your captain.”

“You ran into Drake? My condolences.”

“He was actually pretty nice up until he decided to take me hostage.”

Penguin chuckled as he tugged on a pair of latex gloves, grabbing her chart and the medical supplies he needed. “No, the condolences are for having to watch him and Law interact. It’s been going on since we were terrorizing the North Blue, back when Drake was tasked with bringing us down. The boss is not subtle when he hits on him, and Drake’s usually a coin flip between trying to kill him and pinning him against a wall. Makes things super uncomfortable for the rest of us.”

His look of exasperation drew an easy laugh from the redhead. “Yeah, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife. Law all but proposed a threesome.”

“Unfortunately, I believe it,” he groused as he rolled up the sleeve of the hoodie to expose Nami’s arm. Swabbing a patch of skin with a sterilized cotton ball, he continued, “I’m not sure if Drake brings out his kinky side or if he just did it to mess with you two. Probably both. Boss has a thing for gingers.”

“Then why doesn’t he hit on Shachi?”

“Oh, he did, briefly, when we were teens, but once he realized Shachi wasn’t into dudes, he backed off.”

“Dare I ask how Law found out Drake was interested?”

Penguin threw her a teasing wink. “You’re gonna have to get me seriously drunk to tell that story; I’ve worked damn hard to repress it.”

Nami had to laugh. Though he could be an awkward flirt and sometimes a bit too hard on his crewmates, Penguin was an easy guy to like. He was definitely the big brother of the ship, bullying Shachi and Bepo during downtime but quickly stepping up and making sure they were alright when things got serious.

His mouth turned down in a reluctant frown. “Look, I hate to bring down the mood, but as first mate, I have to know; why’d you run off?”

Averting her eyes, she nervously twisted the blanket in her hands. “What, Shachi didn’t tell you?”

Carefully inserting the syringe into her vein, he began drawing blood. “Figured I’d hear your side of the story before I made my judgement. Law gave me a quick run-down on how the medication gave you a panic attack, but something had to trigger it.”

“You mean besides nearly being cooked to death in that hideous jumpsuit?”

As he removed the needle and taped some gauze to her arm, he gave her a serious, but not unsympathetic, look. “Heat stroke can certainly cause a person to be unreasonable, but Bepo said you were yelling about not being ‘that monster’s property’. I know Law’s not the nicest guy around, especially when compared to Straw Hat, but he hasn’t done anything that would warrant that kind of reaction from you, has he?” he asked, eyebrows furrowing with genuine concern.

Blunt white teeth worried her lower lip. Part of her wanted to say he had—killing Harpin, threatening her, all the things he’d done to earn his reputation—but in reality, she’d seen much worse from other pirates, and he’d done enough halfway decent things—giving money to the jewelry seller, saving her from the Baron, his kindness towards his crew—that she couldn’t even bring herself to lie. “Well, no…”

“You don’t have to spill your life story, Nami; everybody has baggage and things that set them off. Everyone on board cares about you enough that we want you to feel happy and safe, but you need to trust us enough to tell us if we’ve done something to make you uncomfortable.”

She sighed. She may have been able to avoid this talk with Law, but it was clear Penguin wouldn’t be distracted by snarky jabs or petty fights. It was hard to argue with him, too, when it came from a genuine place of concern. And someone should know, right? At least a little bit? Enough to set some boundaries between her and the rest of the Heart Pirates. “Look, I admit, I was being a brat about the uniform, and Law’s stupid medication made things a hundred times worse, but when they started talking about tattooing your Jolly Roger on me…I snapped, ok?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not one of you. You guys aren’t bad—better than most pirates, at least—but you’re not my crew.”

“What’s wrong with getting along with your allies?” he asked as he labeled the vial of blood and jotted a few things onto her chart. Most might think he wasn’t really paying attention to her, but Nami knew by now it was his way of giving her a small bit of space; putting her at ease by not making her feel like she was being scrutinized and judged.

Smoothing the blanket over her legs, she replied, “Nothing. The problem is when they refer to Luffy as my ‘old captain’ and act like I defected from the Straw Hats. I’m here for Luffy’s sake, and in two years, I’m going to be his navigator in the New World. Nothing is going to change that.”

“You’re pretty loyal to him, huh?”

She caught his eye, and with a look that left no room for argument, stated, “If it weren’t for him, my entire village would be dead and I’d still be forced to work for my mother’s murderer. I owe him everything, Penguin. He didn’t recruit me—he freed me.”

The first mate nodded in understanding. “Kind of like how Law freed Jean Bart?”

“You could say that.” She rubbed the spot where Arlong’s mark once lay, fingers absently tracing the scars. “Look, I’m sorry I ran off and worried everyone. I’m really sorry I attacked them. But—I was forced to join a pirate crew when I was ten. They pinned me down and branded me with their Jolly Roger so the whole world would know who I belonged to. I can’t…”

He held up his hand to cut her off. “I get it. Even if it was just a joke, they triggered some bad memories. I’ll tell the crew to ease up on calling you a Heart Pirate, and absolutely no talk of tattooing against your will. But it’s still ok to consider you our shipmate, right? At least for now?”

She gave a watery smile, using Law’s sleeve to wipe moisture from her eyes. Funny, she hadn’t even realized tears had formed. “Yeah. I can live with that.”

Jotting a few more things on her chart, he handed her the fresh set of pajamas and one of the towels. “Good. I’ve gotta go run these tests; go grab a shower in the meantime. I’ll be back in an hour with dinner and to take your vitals, and then you’re going to get a good night’s sleep. Those circles under your eyes don’t make you any less hot, but this ship isn’t big enough for two sleep-deprived, stubborn pirates.”

Despite his light tone, Nami frowned. “You’re going to tell everyone about my past, aren’t you?”

A warm, gentle hand rested on her shoulder, covering up Arlong’s scar. “Not if you don’t want me to; it’s not my place. What you went through…I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t want to murder the bastards who did that to you.” Nami could feel the tension in his fingers and heard his teeth grit in anger. It was clear he’d connected the dots between the scars and her story. “I mean, to brand a fucking child…”

“I’m ok,” she said softly, as much to herself as Penguin. “Luffy freed me. It’ll never happen again.”

“Damn right it won’t.” Taking a deep breath, he pulled away, once more composing himself. “I’ll just tell the crew that you’ve been through some shit in your life, and because of it, you wouldn’t leave Straw Hat any more than we’d leave Law, so we should ease up. They’ll understand.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her hand a quick, comforting squeeze. “You really should tell Law all this, though. You’ve seen how intense he gets, but if he knows he’s opening old wounds, he’ll back off. Guy’s got demons even I’m not privy to, so he’ll respect there are certain lines he shouldn’t cross.”

With a smile, Nami returned the gesture. “You’re probably right. You really are everyone’s big brother around here, huh?”

“I’m the first mate; it’s my job to keep things running smoothly and take care of disputes between shipmates.”

“In that case, could you do me a favor?”

XXX

The next morning Nami was rested, physically feeling better than she had all week, but worried about facing the crew. Despite the affirmations that nobody was upset that she had run off, at least not once they learned it was in response to improperly administered medication, she still felt nervous. Penguin had told them to ease up on treating her like she was part of the crew, but was that a good thing? Would they now treat her like an enemy, or hold her at arm’s length? Was the easy camaraderie she’d started to share with them over, sacrificed for the sake of maintaining her status as a Straw Hat?

However, despite her nerves, she had no reason to skip out on breakfast in the galley. Law had stopped by the infirmary long enough to Scan her and give her a clean bill of health (and also steal back his sweatshirt) while Penguin had come through with her request.

“Think these’ll smooth things over?” she asked the first mate, holding up three wrapped gifts.

Penguin shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t think you even needed to go this far—none of them were really angry, and you didn’t injure anybody. But it can’t hurt…though I can’t promise Ikkaku won’t still make you suffer just a little bit; in a way, it shows she cares. It’s when she goes completely cold with a person that you know you’ve fucked up.”

“You know this from experience?”

“When we went to Amazon Lily and most of us went gaga over the women there. I think the fact that we acted like we’d never even seen a woman before really hurt her pride. She’s a tomboy, but she’s still a girl, you know? Probably sucks when every guy on board forgets that. Flat-out wouldn’t talk to anyone but Bepo for a week—hell, the silent treatment ended only a day before you got here!”

The mention of Amazon Lily piqued her interest. Hadn’t Law mentioned they’d been there once? And apparently, it hadn’t been too long before she’d arrived. “Wait, Bepo was the only one she’d talk to? Did Law act like a lovesick idiot, too?” It was hard to imagine, but if the women of the island were as beautiful as stories said, anything was possible.

“No, but he made a pretty stupid comment that rubbed salt in the wound.”

Though Nami was curious as to what Law could have possibly said to piss off Ikkaku, she was forced to push that mystery aside as they’d arrived at the galley.

“Ready?” Penguin asked, watching for any sign of distress from the navigator out of the corner of his eye. Though he honestly felt she had no reason to worry about his crew’s reaction, he wouldn’t force her to confront them if she wasn’t ready.

Taking a deep breath and adjusting the packages in her arms, she nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

The door opened to reveal the rest of the crew sitting at the various tables, sipping coffee and chatting quietly, a few catching up on what they’d missed over the past few weeks from the pile of newspapers. Several of them looked up and greeted her with sleepy hellos, and Nami nodded in acknowledgement, though her attention was mostly focused on the fact that, though there was bacon and eggs and a few rolls, breakfast seemed to mostly consist of assorted fruits.

From his spot at the table Law glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled at bemused expression. “Morning, Nami-ya. Care for an apple? Winter melon? Kiwi? Apricot? Pomegranate?”

Her brow furrowed at his casual greeting. After he’d disappeared last night, she’d assumed things would be awkward between them. His brisk visit that morning had only reinforced that belief, but here he was, making cheeky comments with that smug grin of his.

Before she could question him, or the fruit, Penguin lightly nudged her shoulder. “You didn’t hurt anybody, but that gust of yours did upend a few fruit stands, so Ikkaku had to buy it all to keep the vendors from causing a scene. You never know who might be a spy for Jinzo in this town, and from what I heard, you earned yourself a place on his shit list.”

“Which is another reason you’re not to leave the sub until dinner tonight,” Law added as he took a bite of a bright red apple. He met her gaze as he chewed before saying with a smirk, “That’s an order, by the way. One you won’t have a problem following, right?”

Swallowing down her instinct to argue with him, she nodded stiffly. “Right.” Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the table, bowing deeply as she held two of her packages out to Shachi and Bepo. “I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you yesterday. Please take these as a sign of my sincerity.”

“You didn’t have to, Nami,” the bear said, twiddling his claws. Despite his fur, one could almost see a pink blush on his cheeks. “Penguin explained what we did to set you off, and we weren’t upset at you.”

“Did Law get mad at you for losing me, though?”

His ears drooped. “Well, a little, at least at first—”

“Then I owe you an apology. I promised wouldn’t do anything to get Law mad at you, and I broke that within four hours of making it. You’re getting an apology gift.”

“Well, to be fair, you said you’d never intentionally get me in trouble…”

“Just take it, Bepo,” Law said, taking another bite of his apple. “You managed to get the greediest pirate on the Grand Line to willingly spend money on you; if you keep arguing, she’ll change her mind and charge you double for it.”

Nami glared at him, though it faltered when he threw her a conspiratorial wink.

“Well, ok,” the Mink agreed, taking the parcel at his captain’s encouraging nod. Shachi followed suit, though he appeared more suspicious than apprehensive.

“When exactly did you have time to get these?” he asked, eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses, “Because I sure didn’t see you buy anything that could be for us yesterday.”

Nami pointed at the first mate. “I made Penguin do the actual purchasing, but I told him what to get and it was my money he used to buy them. I never left the ship.”

Mollified, Shachi ripped off the wrapping paper, laughing heartily at the orca-shaped hat. “Oh, this is fucking perfect!”

“She asked me to get the ugliest, dumbest hat I could find,” Penguin said with a snort. “The local hat shop practically paid me take it of their hands. It’s like it was made for you.”

“Yup, and now you have to suffer for it!” he crowed, tossing away the green and pink and pink hat and replacing it with the killer whale.

Meanwhile, Bepo happily tucked into the enormous salmon, fresh from the Grimm fish market. He spared a thumbs-up, declaring his approval of the gift, and Nami giggled. He was like Luffy, in a way; buy him lunch, and you were friends for life.

“Take it easy, Bepo; you’ll choke on a bone,” Ikkaku said from behind her. Nami turned to find the older woman shaking her head. “You really don’t have to do this; we’re all just glad that you’re safe. Honestly, I’d settle for an explanation,” she said with a meaningful frown, “but I also get opening up isn’t easy, especially to people who aren’t your crew.”

“Yeah, but given time, I might be willing to open up to a friend.” With a nervous smile, Nami held out a box. “I kind of owe you this anyway, so you’re taking it whether you like it or not.”

Without a word the engineer opened the box, eyes widening at the slinky, silver dress that glimmered back at her.

“Thanks, Nami,” Ikkaku said with a small smile. “This’ll be perfect for when we go out tonight.”

“You still wanna go?” Nami gave Law a sideways glance. “Assuming I’m even allowed.”

Ikkaku scoffed. “You’re my only female friend on this ship; like hell I’m giving that up over a little freak-out. And of course the captain’ll let you join me for Ladies Night,” she said, raising an eyebrow at the Dark Doctor in challenge. “Right, Boss?”

Law held up his hands in surrender. “So long as she stays with you and you’re both on your best behavior, I’ll allow it. After she has dinner with me.”

Beaming in triumph, Ikkaku bumped her hip into Nami’s. “See? We can do each other’s hair, and you can complain about whatever stupid thing Law says or does tonight over drinks.”

A bright grin lit up the redhead’s face. Penguin had been right—they really weren’t mad. “Sounds perfect. And I’ll pay you back for the fruit, too, since that was my fault.” Whatever the cost had been, it was well worth keeping Ikkaku’s friendship.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. Just meant we got our produce shopping done a little early. But if you’re that worried,” she said as she strolled over to her table, grabbed a plain white box, and sauntered back, handing it over to Nami with a grin, “here. A peace offering of my own.”

Brow furrowing in confusion, Nami peeked in the box, only to immediately slam the lid back down, face a brilliant scarlet.

“You. Bitch,” she ground out. Ikkaku was so lucky she hadn’t really opened it in front of everyone—what was she thinking? Dear God, what if Law had seen what was inside?!

“Just a little something to help you out when those trashy novels can’t get the job done,” Ikkaku cackled, ducking away as the blushing thief attempted to smack her over the head. “And now we’re even!”

“What’s in it, Nami?” Shachi asked, shit-eating grin telling her he already knew. “What’s in the box?”

“A severed head,” she lied, glaring at him, white-knuckled grip crushing the corners of the package.

“Is it one of mine? I think I misplaced one,” Law chuckled from his seat. He reached for the box, grin stretching his face. “Let me check.”

“Hands off!” she snapped, yanking it away. “It’s none of your damn business!”

“Room.”

“Fuck you, Trafalgar!” she shrieked as the box vanished and reappeared on Law’s lap, replacing the apple he’d been munching on. Her attempt to retrieve the damming parcel was thwarted by Ikkaku grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around, laughing as she shrieked indignantly.

Opening the box, Law pulled out a pair of fuzzy black handcuffs. “Strangest looking head I’ve ever seen,” he said, twirling them around on one long finger. “Though full marks to whoever sculpted the dildo. Even got the veins right.”

The whole galley cackled as the blushing navigator buried her face in her hands, mortified. Part of her wanted to rip their tongues out, but another part accepted that she deserved this. Penguin hadn’t been kidding when he said she’d suffer, but she could also feel the mood lighten significantly.

“So, still up for Ladies Night after your dinner with the captain?” Ikkaku asked as she set her down, grin wide and unrelentingly smug as she threw an arm around her shoulders, playfully mussing her hair. “Or would Miss Straw Hat rather stay in and play with her new toys?”

Despite her humiliation, Nami felt a smile pull at her lips. “You’re an absolute bitch, Miss Heart Pirate, but yeah, I’m in. And for what you just put me through, you’re buying the first round.”

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