Raine

TW: Law novel and Dressrosa spoilers

You woke up the next morning feeling strangely refreshed as you stretched your muscles that had finally gotten a workout for the first time in days despite the throb in your bicep.

Last night after dinner, you took a much needed shower—mindful of your injury. Bepo showed you a supply closet that was close by, which was filled with clean towels and clothes for anyone that lived on the ship. You recalled him mentioning the undergarments you were given were new, however, they were boxers.

It hadn't really been an issue—until you saw a pimple beginning to form on your cheek when you looked in the mirror after washing your hands and brushing your teeth. A telltale sign of what was to come in the next few days while you did the backwards math in your head.

"Shit," you cursed. Bepo hadn't said anything about where you could get feminine products—preferring to get them sooner than later to save you from that embarrassment. Especially considering the gender majority.

While you contemplated your upcoming dilemma in your bathroom, you heard a knock on your door.

"You awake, princess?" Penguin asked through it.

Sighing, you turned off the light and answered him, opening up the door.

He smiled. "Hey, mornin'. Figured I'd take you to breakfast "

You gave him a pressed smile and a short nod.

"Don't talk much at this hour?" He raised an eyebrow.

You shrugged, brain elsewhere as it swirled to find solutions to your current problem.

Penguin sighed, but jerked his head for you to follow him to the kitchen.

He talked as he walked. "I'll be showing you around…although you already know that."

Awkward.

"Um, but after breakfast, I'll give you a proper tour of this level and we'll make our way down to the second one. You won't really need to go to the third since it's where our mechanics are for the sub, so only a few of us who know what we're doing down there will hang around to ensure that everything is working properly and that we're on course to our next destination."

"Am I going to be forced to wear one of those Nika awful suits?" You grumbled.

He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a nervous laugh. "No, actually…since you aren't actually a part of the crew. Lucky you, I guess."

"Lucky me," you drawled.

Penguin opened the doors to the kitchen. Only a hand full of people that you didn't recognize were around. Conversation stopped momentarily as they glanced at you before it picked up again.

You inwardly sighed, but trailed behind your escort for today and grabbed a clean plate off the counter.

You and Penguin sat down at an empty long table across from each other after gathering food.

Another once over of the space, double-checking that the only other woman wasn't present—fueled your disappointment.

"Where is everyone?" You inquired, attempting to sound like you weren't looking for a specific person.

"Most have already started on their day. Today's a later morning for me. Got to sleep in an hour," Penguin answered, stuffing his face with bacon.

You prayed to whatever god that would choose to listen that you'd find her today or tomorrow—waiting any later would be cutting it too close for comfort.

"Mornin', Cap'," Penguin repeated his greeting.

You fought the urge to turn towards the entrance and focused on your food instead.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' you chastised yourself, shoveling your fork into your mouth.

Law grunted in response. You watched him walk past your table to the counter with a coffee mug out of your peripheral.

You heard loud puffs of air from where he stopped at the back wall of the kitchen, a couple of feet next to the sink. A few minutes later, the sound of liquid trickling into the ceramic cup and the delightful smell of coffee invaded your senses.

"Captain doesn't talk to anyone until he's had at least three cups of espresso," Penguin whispered.

"I heard that." Law leaned against the counter, blowing on his freshly made mug.

"Noted," you muttered to Penguin—unsure if this newfound information would be used to poke the snow leopard or avoid it.

Law narrowed his eyes at you two, but didn't say anything else as he scanned the rest of the dining hall. A crew member with a black striped mask and a mop of dark brown—almost black—curly hair on top of his head came up to him and was probably a whole foot taller than his long-legged captain. You couldn't gather much of the conversation since Law's expression remained neutral.

"See? Scary in the morning." Penguin sent you a pointed look. "Best to talk to him in the afternoon—unless you have to. Hopefully Uni will be alright."

You went back to eating, lost in forming a plan to try and sneak away to find Ikkaku.

"Oh, hey—Captain."

You glanced up, not realizing that Law had made his way over to your table, standing at the end.

'That man needs to invest in a bell.'

"How's the arm?" Law asked, gesturing his mug towards you before bringing it to his lips.

You blinked. "Oh. Uhm…it's good. Sore…but good."

"Don't forget to take your pills after breakfast." He scowled, brows furrowing together. It made the dark circles under his eyes stand out more.

"I'll take her back to her room before we start the tour," Penguin promised, mouthful of fruit.

Law sent him a brief, satisfied nod before turning on his heel and leaving.

You frowned. "He takes his position as a doctor quite seriously."

"Oh, yeah—being captain and the 'Tang's doctor." Penguin skewered more fruit. "He can get downright annoying about it sometimes—if we're being truthful about it," he griped at the end.

"The 'Tang?"

"Oh, duh." Penguin smiled. "Our submarine is called 'The Polar Tang'. Many of us are from the North Blue. We call it the 'Tang for short."

"The North Blue…" you repeated to yourself. Padrino had spent a lot of time there. He had only been consistently in your life for the past ten years. Before then, visits were sparse and sporadic.

Your heart ached as you saddened, reminding you of who typically accompanied him on those rare visits.

'He betrayed Padrino, remember?'

"Princess?"

You looked up to Penguin, looking at you with concern. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

You smiled. "Fine." You looked down to your halfway finished breakfast. "Let's get the day started." You stood up from the table and headed to the kitchen area to clean off your plate.

Penguin's brows tugged together, but stood with his empty plate in hand and went to the sink, not bothering to question your sudden change in motivation.

He showed you around the kitchen, opening cabinets and telling you where things were before you left together with a cup of water back to your room to take your pain killers and antibiotics. After that, he showed you around the full floor.

It was in the shape of almost a 'U', mainly filled with crew quarters, more storage—including a pantry near the kitchen and medical storage filled to the brim with more supplies the entire crew would likely need in a lifetime. You also found out the door next to Law's office you were interrogated in was his cabin and that they were strictly off limits—unless invited in by Law himself.

"We're already submerged or I'd take you back out to the deck. For now we'll go down to the next level." Penguin briefly turned his head as he walked in front of you.

You followed him to the stairwell that was in the same hallway as the infirmary and the outside door—directly across the long stretch at the end of it. Your steps echoed together as you descended down to the next level.

"Where do the stairs up go?" You inquired, tilting your head. He hadn't mentioned anything about it.

"The observation deck. Not much is up there, to be honest." He shrugged. "We have a non-working elevator that goes to all floors. We haven't figured out how to fix it—and well…when you have a captain that can teleport, the priority on fixing it is low on the list."

You frowned. Fair enough.

The next floor was filled with more crew quarters—along with Bepo's room, which—according to Penguin—was as large as Law's with an en suite too. Apparently being the vice captain and a nine foot mink gave him special privileges.

Penguin was only slightly bitter when he explained Bepo's living situation.

"He's also the ship's navigator, so he has an office too—for cartography," he added as you passed by both rooms. They were directly under where Law's quarters and office were.

"Wait, really? He never told me that." Your shoulders slumped and your bottom lip pouted.

"He's not one to brag—not that it'd come off as bragging if he told you, but he would probably see it that way," he amended.

Well, that would likely explain why he never told you he was vice captain either.

You could forgive him—for now.

The only laundry room was on this floor. The idea of hauling your clothes up and down stairs was not lost on you—keeping your complaints about it to yourself. Last thing you wanted was for anyone to believe you were some selfish, spoiled princess. Even if you were—you didn't wanna prove it.

Where the kitchen would be on this floor, was a greenhouse. The smell of soil and a mixture of herbs, flowers, and plants poured into your nose. It surprised you that they had one. Penguin mentioned it was for growing their own veggies and for Law's medicinal needs.

He took you to the other side, passing Bepo's office and room, to where the infirmary would be on the upper floor. He opened the door and turned on the light.

"This is our training room as well as where we store our weapons."

Most of the floor was covered in soft mats. Mounted on the walls were weapons made for sparring and for killing. There was a boxing bag hanging in the left most corner—which had mats screwed into the walls to ensure it wouldn't do damage to the interior of the ship in case someone decided to use too much strength. A few pairs of boxing gloves were hanging near it. Near the right wall were dummies for people to slash and stab at. It was impressive—for a pirate crew—to have some place this large and stocked with various weapon types.

"Wow. This is…nice," you noted, stupefied.

'And yet, their fighting still needs work even though they have this space.'

You kept the thought to yourself—sure that Penguin would appreciate it as much as his captain did.

"It took sometime to…get what we have now on the 'Tang. It was mostly scrap when we got it, but this all is ten years in the making." Penguin's stance and smile was proud.

"You've been here since the crew became a thing?" Your brows scrunched together.

"Yeah! It started with Me, Shachi, Bepo, and Law. We all grew up together on Swallow Island. Our…caretaker gave us the 'Tang." He patted the metal wall. "We've been looking after her ever since. Fixing her up and into one of the fiercest pirate ships to enter the Grand Line." He paused. "It took us a while to renovate her to where she is today—needing money and more hands—but she's always been reliable!"

You nodded, looking around and filing the information on the crew for later. Any knowledge you could gather on them was power in your current position.

"I got one more thing to show you on this floor." Penguin turned around back into the hallway.

With one fleeting glance at the room, you followed him.

Instead of the wall being…well…a full wall like you were expecting like the layout above, there was an extra hallway, which Penguin took.

"You better not be planning to murder me down there." You eyed him suspiciously.

"Haha. Unfortunately for you, we plan to keep you alive."

You crossed your arms, but continued to trail behind him all the way to the end.

"I don't know how you feel about books, but…" He turned the spiral handle in the middle of the door. "This is our library."

You had believed the training room was impressive. It was nothing in comparison to this.

The room was in the shape of a circle. Portholes were spaced between multiple shelves surrounding the walls and the lighting was warm unlike the bright fluorescents you became accustomed to. Rich, flourish rugs decorated the steel floor. There were four desks in the front of the room, spaced perfectly away from each other with an aisle to walk down. Behind them were two couches facing each other and lounging chairs between them. As you looked around, you saw some bean bags and pallets set in what looked like random—yet deliberate—spots. There was a basket by the door filled with blankets and another by one of the couches. The back wall had a semi-circular, cushioned bench with more portholes. The vibe was made to be cozy—to make you curl up with a blanket and book for company and be captive here for hours.

Mouth barely agape, you took a step forward, taking the room in all its glory. You started towards the shelf to the left of you with Lady Finch's words ringing in your head as your fingers grazed spines of medical journals.

"Uneducated men and women roaming the seas like they own them…"

The next shelf was filled with books about mathematics. The next was history. Then science. Arts. Language. Every bookcase was dedicated to a different subject and sorted by their author's last name. Like everything else you had seen throughout your captivity here, the placement was thought out. Meticulous. Clean. The surface of the shelves were free of dust—besides some of the books themselves.

It was no palace library—but for a submarine filled with pirates? It was extensive.

When you arrived to the back of the room—near the bench—on the two bottom shelves of the last bookcase were the Sora: Warrior of the Sea comics Bepo had started lending to you. Tucked away and forgotten. A small smile grew on your lips—happy that you knew where to find them yourself.

"You're welcome to read to your heart's content—when you aren't busy with chores that is. We all pull our own weight around here in someway or another. I'll take you back up to the captain's office so we can pick up your schedule." Penguin gestured with his head for you to follow him out. Reluctantly, you stood from your squatted position and went back up the stairs to Law's office.

"Captain? We're done with the tour," Penguin called through the door after knocking.

Thirty agonizing seconds later, a muffled, "Come in," filtered through into the hallway.

You walked in with Penguin, taking in the room now that you weren't fearing for your life—at least less so than before. The room was lowly lit as if Law found light offensive. He probably did—unconvinced the man wasn't a vampire. You weren't ruling anything out just yet—regarding his…special interest in collecting as many organs as he could in his lifetime.

The light itself was warm—like the library. A yellow light on his desk, a floor lamp next to the first bookcase to the left of you, and another in the right back corner of the room.

The wall behind him had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves with books, small, anatomical models, and other things you couldn't quite place. There was a door on the right wall, behind his desk. You figured it was to his quarters. If the coffee ring stains were anything to go by, he needed that easy access so that he could plop down into bed after shifting through whatever paperwork or studying he had been doing. If he could get any sleep at all. The sunken eyes and dark circles shared that much for a man who liked to enshroud himself in an aura of mystery.

"Take a seat," he murmured, hand gesturing to the two, small leather chairs in front of him.

You and Penguin obliged as you settled into the chair on the left.

Law leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, mouth always in that neutral, straight line as he looked at Penguin. "How'd the tour go?"

"Good! Showed her the entirety of both main floors." Penguin smiled towards you. "I don't think she'll get lost. She picked everything up pretty quickly."

Law's mouth twitched into an almost frown. "Hmm," was the only response he offered.

"Did you have her schedule ready?"

"Yes." Law reached for the paper and handed it to Penguin. Finally, he looked at you—acknowledged you. "Your schedule switches every other day or so, as to not be too mundane. You'll notice you have breaks about every two hours. You have more than others since you aren't an official Heart Pirate."

"Gee, thanks," you uttered.

He ignored your sarcasm. "You're welcome to use the library or training room during these breaks. The training room is a privilege that can be revoked at anytime." His eyes slanted. "If you fall off the schedule or attack anyone, well…expect consequences that fit the decision you chose to make." His gaze hardened.

You rolled your eyes. "If I was going to attack anyone I would've done it yesterday or… I don't know, maybe when everyone was sleeping."

Law's brows pulled together into his angry frown, glaring again. Penguin coughed.

"Someday, your face is going to freeze like that you know." Your arm extended out to Penguin for your schedule. "Thanks, Cap'," you sneered lightly as you grabbed the paper. "Are we excused?" Your eyebrows raised as you looked back at Law, expectant.

His head turned to the side, slight as his mouth moved back into that more neutral line. "Find me tomorrow after lunch to take care of those stitches." Amber eyes glanced between you and Penguin. "You're both dismissed."

With a relieved sigh, you and Penguin walked out of the office.

"Well, princess. What's first on your list?"

You looked down to the schedule, noting the time on the clock in the hallway that was bolted up high.

Your mouth pressed into a thin line. "Bathroom duty."

XXX

Penguin used the rest of the day to show you all the hidden checklists tucked away in between crevices as to "not be an eyesore" as he put it.

"You'll see daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly tasks on each checklist. Initial whichever you complete." His finger pointed to the empty space between every item. "Any questions?"

"Uhmm…" You chewed at your lip. How do you tell him you don't know how to do any of this? Besides write and read, your cleaning skills were…well non-existent. "I…uhh…" Penguin cocked his head at you while you stumbled, heat growing in your cheeks. "You see… I don't know…how to clean..?"

He blinked. "Oh…right. I guess…you wouldn't know." He rubbed the back of his neck and gave an awkward laugh. "Being…a princess and all." He looked around the bathroom. "I'll talk to Captain about us showing you the ropes and be sure you at least have a buddy each day for a bit before doing some of this on your own. I'm certain he'd understand."

You inwardly scoffed. 'Yeah, the organ robbing captain that hates my guts is so understanding of my prestigious upbringing and wouldn't love the idea of torturing me through servitude of his precious submarine.'

Instead you only replied with, "Okay."

Penguin opened up the supply closet in the bathroom filled with cleaning supplies and tools. He explained what each chemical was for as well as—what he believed—the most efficient way to sweep, scrub, mop, and disinfect the whole place. Your arm throbbed in time with your back. Afterwards, it was lunchtime.

You asked Penguin if you could go back to your room for another round of painkillers. Once you swallowed those down, you went to the laundry together.

"Everyone is responsible for their own laundry, but when it comes to towels and the community things we use, that's what we switch off on. You'll also see that you have a slot each week for personal laundry. Since there's…22 of us on the ship, sticking to the schedule for laundry is best to avoid holding up the line," he explained.

"Nika, you guys are fucking meticulous," you mumbled under your breath.

"Eh-heh," that awkward laugh again. "Yeah… Cap' is…strict and would marry spreadsheets if he could."

"No shit," you grumbled.

By the end of it all, you were exhausted. And…fuck as much as you hated to admit—you missed having someone do it all for you. Something you refused to speak aloud.

You ate dinner and crashed on your bed, falling asleep as soon as your head hit the pillow.

XXX

Law woke up from his two-hour slumber to pounding on his door. He jolted awake.

"Captain!" Bepo called through the door.

Law shot out of his bed, stumbling to Bepo, grabbing Kikoku in the corner.

"What is it?" He demanded. Bepo's eyes were wide and his brow line creased.

"I was walking past the princess's room and I smelled blood. I think something's wrong with her!" Bepo wailed. "I knocked on her door, but she didn't respond."

Law's eyes grew wide. He put Kikoku back down and started towards your cabin, fearing the worse—not bothering to put on a shirt or change out of his sweatpants.

'Is it her wound? Did she hurt herself? Purposefully? On accident?' His mind reeled. You didn't appear to be suicidal, but…fuck you were captive on his ship.

He was fucking dumb for giving you access to the training room too early. Fucking stupid. He knew better.

Law's hand paused before knocking on your door, trying to find what to say.

"Is everything alright in there? Bepo mentioned he smelled blood."

Bepo was tense behind Law, waiting for you to answer.

"Go away!" You yelled through the door.

Law gritted his teeth. "This isn't the time to be stubborn—if you're hurt—"

"I'm not hurt! Go. Away."

"Your highness, Captain can help you. He's a doc—"

"I know what he is. Go. Away." You seethed.

Law wasn't one to usually cross into his crew member's room without permission. He valued privacy and extended that same sentiment to his subordinates.

But you weren't a crew member and the situation was dire. Your stubbornness would be your sure death. Whatever—it wasn't like your relationship could get any more hostile if he entered.

His hand hovered over the handle, feeling wrong for what he was about to do—which was ludicrous. This was his ship.

"I'm coming in." Law pushed the handle down, grateful that they hadn't changed the locks back yet.

"Don't you fucking—"

But it was too late, he stood in your doorway. Golden eyes did an instant scan. You were standing at the edge of the bed, sheets stripped and balled into a corner. Head, arms, legs. You weren't bleeding anywhere that he could see.

Then he saw it. The spot on the middle of the bed.

Your face was mortified and as pink as the stain before your lips furled back.

"Get out! Get out, get out, get out!" You screeched pushing him back into the hallway. Your hands touched his bare chest, forcing him away. He shouldn't be astonished by the pure strength you showed—shoving his 180lb self without much excursion on your end despite your injury. You were an athlete after all—a fighter.

"It's fine—completely normal—" Law attempted to assure you as he scrambled for words. You weren't having it.

The door slammed in his face.

"Go. Away!"

Law sighed. This wasn't going anywhere. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is she okay?" Bepo asked.

"Yes, Bepo. Do you remember how we talked about Ikkaku that one time and you smelled blood from her room?" Law tried to keep his voice even and not start yelling at his vice captain about how much of a naive idiot he could be.

Bepo paused, as if he was thinking back to all of those years ago, searching for a memory buried under plenty of others.

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'." Law stopped himself from gritting his teeth.

"Sorry." Bepo bowed his head in shame.

Nika, for all the planning for you being on the ship, how could he forget about this one thing? The one thing that only people who were born female went through? On a regular basis nonetheless.

Some doctor he was.

"Find Ikkaku. She'll…help her out…" Law was already walking back down the hallway to go back to his room, hoping he'd fall back asleep even if it was a 0.05% chance.

"Aye-aye, Captain!" Bepo declared, saluting as Law walked passed him.

Law covered his face once he plopped down on the bed, wondering how that could've gone any worse—failing to fall back asleep.

About twenty minutes after Law left, you heard another knock on your door.

"What is it with you guys and not leaving me—?"

"It's me—Ikkaku. Bepo got me." Despite her projected voice, her tone was soft.

You glared at the ground, but stood up from against the door—like that would stop someone who could appear in your room anytime they wanted. Tentatively, you opened it. Ikkaku's face was filled with concern.

She walked in and handed you the items you needed.

"A fresh pair of underwear. I'm sure the boxers you've been wearing won't really do well with this. I haven't worn this pair yet and I'll let Captain know to get more the next time we stop for supplies…which should be in the next two days or so. As for the sheets and mattress, I know a thing or two about getting blood out of white fabric—considering our jumpsuits." Her small smile was friendly while she cocked her head.

You were still ashamed from it all. This wasn't supposed to happen—you were at least four days early.

"Thanks," you mumbled. "I wanted to find you yesterday to…talk about it, but I couldn't, and by the time dinner came around…I completely forgot." You blew out a puff of air. "I was so exhausted after all the chores. I can't remember the last time I fell asleep that quickly." You groaned, holding your face. "I can't believe they saw that. Saw…this." You gestured towards your bed blindly.

Ikkaku laughed. You glared at her.

"No, no. I'm laughing 'cause the same thing happened to me too. Well—not the same thing but…" Her smile was warm as she recalled the memory. "I had all the things I needed, but Bepo had…smelled blood and went to Captain all worried. He was there in an instant, afraid I was injured. I just told him I had started my period. Captain's eyes got all wide and his ears turned red before he had to…remind Bepo that humans are mammals too and also have menstrual cycles." She giggled. "Bepo was so apologetic—he wouldn't stop saying sorry for a whole week." Her brown eyes softened. "I'm sure you know how Bepo is. You've spent the majority of your time with him more than any of us. He was just worried about you."

Blood rushed to your face. "Yeah, well the damn mink needs to keep his nose to himself," you grumbled, crossing your arms and looking away.

"Hey, better for Bepo and Captain to know rather than Penguin or Shachi." She gave you a pointed look before rolling her eyes. "They're so immature."

The heat crawled to your neck, wondering what that disaster could've been like. How it could've been worse.

"It's fine—completely normal—"

You closed your eyes and let out a breath—because of course the doctor of the ship would say that. You could only imagine how Penguin would've made things super awkward and Shachi may have announced it to the whole ship—no, scratch that—the entirety of the Grand Line.

And you weren't expecting…Law to be shirtless. Sweatpants hanging low, showing off his insanely sculpted body and…hair trailing from the bottom of his belly button to underneath his pants. Not to mention the full chest tattoo that you weren't expecting to be a heart. What makes a man who is so cold and…mean decide to get a heart tattoo?

Which made you ponder on the connection to his crew being named the Heart Pirates. His obsession knew no bounds. Maybe it had to do with the whole stealing hearts thing.

Then to top it off, he wasn't wearing his hat for the first since you had officially met him. Black hair sticking up in a horrendous bedhead that he was naturally able to pull off. Nika really had some sort of twisted fucking fate—what sane person finds their kidnapper hot?

You needed to get your brain checked out ASAP along with your vagina because how could your sexual organ betray you twice in one day? Brain and vagina reeling all 'cause your hands touched that stupidly, annoyingly perfect bare-chest of his???

"Go to your bathroom and change. I'll get started on the sheets." Ikkaku moved to the corner you had stuffed them in and scooped them into her arms. "I'll show you how to get the stain out of the mattress when I get back—incase you need to get any type of stain out of your clothes again."

You sighed and walked towards your bathroom. "Thanks, Ikkaku."

Her smile was small. "I got you, girl."

Your heart tugged as you closed the door. Spending time with Ikkaku and her taking care of you, made you miss your best friend, Analise. You hoped she was doing okay and not losing her mind or worrying about you too much. But you knew you'd be—if the roles were reversed. You'd cut anyone down who'd dare take your best friend away from her home. Ikkaku came back and showed you what to use to remove the stain, but that the solution needed to sit.

Breakfast was normal. Law didn't make an appearance for his round of coffee.

Bepo did, though. He started apologizing as soon as you entered the kitchen.

"Oh my gosh, your highness. I'm so sorr—"

"It's fine, Bepo." You cut him off before he could spill the beans. "Please, forget about it."

Shachi put his plate next to Ikkaku. "What's Bepo apologizing for now?"

"Well, this morning—"

You watched Ikkaku kick Bepo under the table from the island.

"Ow!"

"Oh, you know Bepo—always apologizing for no reason." Ikkaku waved her fork in the air.

Shachi looked between the two of them, then at you—shrugged. "Yeah, well—what else is new?"

You felt your shoulders drop in relief. When you got to the table and put your plate down next to Bepo, he was pouting, but his mouth remained shut.

Penguin walked in soon after. "Gooooood morning everybody."

Ikkaku made a face. "What's got you in such a chipper mood so early in the morning?" She grumbled.

"What do you mean? I'm always this happy!" He protested while grabbing a plate.

"Yeah, it's fucking annoying," Shachi added, stabbing his fork into some eggs.

Penguin responded with the mature act of sticking his tongue out at him as he filled his plate with food. He made his way to the table and placed his food next to yours.

"Ready for today, princess?" Penguin asked before stuffing his face.

"As ready as I'll ever be," you murmured.

"Aw, don't be like that, princess." Penguin elbowed your side. "You get your stitches out today!"

Your stopped chewing mid-bite.

Shit.

The plan to avoid Law as much as possible vanished quicker than it had came. You were fucked.

You shoved the urge to groan aloud and bury your face in your hands deep, deep down. Fate seemed to be hating your guts lately.

'What did I do to deserve all this shit?'

There was no way you weren't a mass murder in your past life at this point.

After breakfast, you went back to your room to take your medicine before checking your schedule.

"Hey, princess," Penguin called through the door. You opened it, being mindful to shield your body in the doorway to keep the bed hidden.

"I talked to Captain last night after dinner. He's agreed to let you shadow me so I can show you the ropes and stuff for the next few days."

"Oh." You weren't expecting him to be able to convince Law successfully. "Cool—I guess."

"What's on the agenda for today?"

"Kitchen, greenhouse, and laundry." You listed.

"Awesome! Let's get going then." He turned on his heel back to the dining hall. With a quick look back to your bed, you scurried after him.

'Breathe, Ikkaku said she'd take care of it.'

Penguin showed you what to do with any left over food, the correct temperature to wash dishes, wiping down all the surfaces, sweeping, and where to take the trash. He remained patient with you through it all while you were able to bite back most of your gripes

"We mop once a week—unless you spill something. Captain hates sticky floors, so try to keep your balance."

When that was done, he took you down to the greenhouse. He explained how the plants were sorted by how much water they needed as well as their type.

"There's also little notes taped on the side of their pots that explain their needs in detail—like how often they need to be rotated. Any brown or yellowing leaves you see, pluck them and put them into the compost bin in the back corner."

By the time you finished caring for all the plants, it was lunchtime. Nerves settled into your stomach, anxious for what was to come.

You poked food around your plate, only taking a couple bites every five minutes.

"You okay?" Penguin's eyebrow raised.

"Peachy."

"Riiight." But he didn't question any further.

He took you to the infirmary while your heart pounded with each step you took—unsure what to expect and what was to come.

The antiseptic smell hit your nose as soon as you walked in behind Penguin. Law was collecting his tools at the counter, back facing you.

"Hey, Cap'. Brought princess to ya."

"Take a seat on a bed." Steady hands didn't hesitate their gathering as Law spoke.

Timidly, you sat on the edge of the bed closest to the exit—ready to bolt as soon as he gave the command. Penguin stood at the end, waiting with you.

A minute or so later, Law came over with the Mayo Tray he had prepared, rolling it over to you. His face didn't give anything away.

As always.

He zeroed in on your wound in an instant, gloves already on. Law grabbed your bicep and lightly squeezed around the wound.

'Shut. Up.' You demanded to that annoying, invalid feeling in your chest.

"It's healing nicely. No discoloration or swelling." He reached for an alcohol swab and cleaned the area before discarding it and grabbing his surgical scissors and tweezers.

"Hold still," he murmured. You watched his eyebrows furrow together as he cut the string and pulled it out.

It was strange—hardly any feeling to the act of it at all.

Once the suture was fully freed, Law wiped your arm again with a new swab. He then applied a cream to it and bandaged the wound before handing you a plastic container.

"Here are some extra bandages and antibiotic ointment. Change the bandage and apply the ointment every few hours. Keep the area dry and clean as much as possible." His golden eyes narrowed. "Just because the stitches are out doesn't mean you can stop taking the antibiotics. Finish them." He scowled at the end. "If you see any signs of infection, find me immediately." His face remained stern.

"Yeah, okay," you uttered. As if that would be easy.

Or maybe it was. You weren't sure what he did during the day. If the coffee rings in his office were anything to go by, it showed that he was chained to the desk itself.

Law rolled the tray back to the counter on the far side of the room, beginning to disinfect his tools. "You're excused," he clipped.

Exhaling loudly through your nose, you and Penguin made your way to your room to put away the container. The bed was made with new sheets—Ikkaku had stopped by.

That…went better than expected. Law hadn't showed any sort of acknowledgement about the whole…ordeal this morning. You were left dumbfounded that he didn't have some sort of witty, sarcastic remark to say or that he didn't embarrass you in front of Penguin. Or the rest of his crew.

Wouldn't a man who hated your guts do just that—no matter how immature it was? Doesn't he want to slander your name throughout the New World all because of your close connection to Padrino?

It didn't add up.

"We're free for the next hour or so if you wanna chill. I can come grab you for laundry later." Penguin leaned in your doorway, crossing his arms against his chest.

You nodded, heading towards your freshly made bed. "Works for me."

"Great. See you in an hour!" Penguin smiled, too cheerful.