~Unfavorable Circumstances~1074Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUN5dI5VMSj
1074Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXSUVhIgEGf
"Come on, no one will know!" Penguin encouraged feverishly. Shachi shook his head adamantly, holding his hands out in front of him.
"No way, man. Captain will find out. He always does with these stupid plans of yours." The two stood in the submarine's dimly lit kitchen, speaking in fevered whispers. After the initial escape from Marineford and stabilizing Luffy's condition, the crew could take a breather. So far, things had gone pretty much back to normal. As it so happened, no one was in the kitchen that afternoon.
"My plans are not stupid. And Captain's too busy making sure Strawhat and that fish guy live to notice." Penguin reached out for the handle to the storage room, but Shachi pushed it away.
"Even if he doesn't find out, Casper will filet us if he hears we stole food!" He was referring to the stoic old cook onboard. The two had felt firsthand what lengths he was willing to go to protect his kitchen.
"He won't find out, I promise! Please?" Penguin begged, clasping his hands together. Shachi shook his head again.
"No."
"But I'm hungry! I can't wait until dinner. It's only a little snack!" Penguin moaned. His friend sighed dramatically and began to walk away.
"You do what you want, but don't get me thrown into it." Penguin's hand appeared on his shoulder, holding him back.
"Rock, paper, scissors. If you win, we won't do it. If I win, we get the food. Both of us." Never one to pass up a challenge, Shachi hung his head and turned around.
"Why does this always happen to me?" He complained. They held their fists out.
"Ready? Rock, paper, scissors!" With every ounce of his being thrown into it, Shachi played scissors, hoping beyond hope that luck was on his side.
Unfortunately, Penguin held out rock, a pleased smirk on his face. Shachi slumped over in a depressing state, muttering about how the gods hated him.
"Yes! Let's do this!" Penguin turned around and opened the door to the food storage. Something blocked it from opening all the way, leaving only a small slit to squeeze into. It was a tight fit, but they both managed. The aroma of all the different foods filled their noses. It was dark inside, and Penguin began searching for the light switch.
"Where is it? Shouldn't it be closer to the door?"Penguin asked to which his friend shrugged, but quickly realized he couldn't see it.
"Well, Casper's always looking for ways to keep us out. Maybe he moved it?"
"Idiot, you can't just move a light switch. It has to be here somewhere." Seconds later, Shachi heard a loud crash close by.
"Dammit!" His friend cursed quietly.
"What was that?" He asked, still trying to locate the lights.
"I just tripped over something. Our escape from Marineford wasn't the smoothest, so there's a ton of stuff on the floor. Hey, if anyone comes in we can just say we were tidying things up!" He exclaimed happily.
"Do you really think anyone would believe that? And try to be a little quieter!"
"Of course, it's foolproof! Ah, I found the lights!" The room instantly lit up and revealed the shelves of food in a state of disarray. Boxes and barrels were strewn everywhere. Thankfully, none of them had opened in the process.
"Well, since we're in here should we actually tidy it up a bit? Maybe we could get seconds at dinner for helping Casper." Penguin nodded enthusiastically.
The two began placing the containers back where they belonged, helping themselves to a few items as they cleaned up. Barely five minutes passed before they heard a groan. They froze up at the sound.
"What was that?" Shachi whispered. Penguin shook his head, still listening for the noise. It appeared again, clearly coming from behind a shelf nearby. They shared a look and slowly advanced towards it.
Something was moving on the other side, barely shifting position, but the men picked up the faint rustling of cloth against the metal floor. Penguin took out the wrench that he kept on his belt at all times. He held it up defensibly. Shachi did the same.
They rounded the corner and spotted someone on the floor, struggling to get up. Containers surrounded it. A heavy box filled with wine bottles had fallen on the stranger's leg, pinning it to the floor and more than likely hindering their ability to walk if they got up. The person groaned again, but this time it sounded slightly feminine.
Shachi opened his mouth to yell out but Penguin used his free hand to clamp it over his friend's mouth. When he felt Shachi had come to terms with the situation he let go of his mouth and brought a finger to his lips in a universal sign for silence. His friend nodded and they both focused their attention back to the person on the floor.
Their uniform looked unusual; A crest was emblazened on the back and the outfit was grey. Shachi suddenly realized and gasped the tiniest of gasps possible. Penguin looked at him in confusion. Shachi mouthed the word 'Marine' to him and they looked back at the floor in panic.
The marine was trying to get up again, squirming around unsuccessfully as their leg was still trapped. Penguin came to a conclusion, as he stepped forward and raised his wrench. The metal tool hit their head with a loud thunk and they dropped back down to the floor, unmoving. He didn't hit them hard enough to kill or seriously injure, but the intruder would probably have a concussion after all was said and done. Both men sighed in relief.
"How did a marine get onboard?" Shachi asked hurriedly, the panic finally settling in.
"I don't know! The question is, what are we supposed to do now?"
"Tell the Captain." Shachi answered instantly. Penguin looked at him as if his skin had turned purple.
"And risk him knowing we were in here to steal food? Can't we just keep him hidden until the next island and ditch him there?" He gestured to the marine. Shachi looked at him seriously.
"No. We have to inform the Captain. With a marine onboard, there could be ships after us. The entire crew could be in danger." At this, Penguin sobered up quickly. Never in a million years would he do something to put his crewmates in harm's way. He nodded in understanding.
"I'll stay here and make sure he doesn't wake up. You go get Captain." Shachi nodded and rushed off to find Law.
Penguin looked down at the prone figure, frowning deeply in thought. The person was face down on the floor so he couldn't see their face, but he took in the petite figure and long hair. His eyes widened as he realized.
'A woman?'
A pounding headache was what eventually woke her up.
"Ow…" She muttered, attempting to reach up and massage her aching head. One arm moved, the other was held back by something. She opened her eyes, blinking rapidly from the brightness of the room. Up above her was an insanely bright lamp. Looking at her now bandaged arm, she found it was handcuffed to the bed she was laying on. Upon a closer look, she found her leg in a splint and she felt her head wrapped in bandages as well. Once her health was checked, she examined the room she was in.
Besides the lamp above her, the room was darkened. The familiar smell of disinfectant and latex in the air was a dead give away, but that didn't make it any less disgusting to Summer.
'I'm in an infirmary.'
Her mind finally began to process the small beeps and strange sounds echoing through the room. Looking to her right, she saw another patient in the corner of the room. The man was in terrible condition. Almost his entire body was bandaged. Dozens of machine surrounded him and wires were attached to several parts of his body. From the small section of his face that wasn't bandaged, she spotted a shock of black hair. Below one of his eyes was a scar. She frowned in thought. The boy looked familiar but she couldn't be sure where she had seen him. Then it dawned on her.
'Is that…Luffy?'
The thought was so unlikely, but as she kept looking at him and seeing that messy head of hair, she had to admit that there was no one else it could be. It took a moment for her to remember Trafalgar Law's appearance at the War at Marineford. He had been trying to convince Buggy to let him take Luffy, but Summer had snuck inside the sub before she found out what had happened afterwards.
A door opened up and she swung her head left to see a man walk in. She instantly regretted it, as the sudden movement made her head spin. He turned on the lights, revealing the obnoxiously white walls. Their color did nothing to help her headache.
'Why can't hospital rooms be a happy color? Like a soft blue? Something that people actually want to look at.'
He walked towards her bed. The first thing she noticed was the yellow and black hoodie he wore with his jolly roger on it. His light blue pants had weird spots on the bottom and he wore black pointed shoes. His hands and arms were tattooed with tribal-style ink. She noticed his hat was missing from his head, revealing his unruly black hair. He stopped next to her bed, holding a folded piece of paper in his hand.
"So, our little marine is awake." He said. He pulled the stool by the side table closer and sat down. He was smirking at her, obviously amused at something.
She didn't say anything in response, still not trusting her voice to be strong enough. He continued to stare at her, unperturbed by her silence. She stared back, unaffected by his intense gaze.
"Although, that's not entirely true, is it? You're not a marine." It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway.
"That uniform is from Impel Down, correct?" She nodded again. "You're in too bad of a condition to be a guard there. What's more, I heard there was a large break out a few days ago. A few hundred prisoners escaped."
'That many got out? Damn.' She smiled slightly, once again nodding confirmation.
He leaned back in his chair. "Hmm. What is your name?" She knew the question was coming and had already thought up a fake name for it.
"Natalie." Her voice was clear and confident, much to her surprise. He didn't say anything but stared at her for awhile.
"Liar." He said. He unfolded the paper he had been carrying, and Summer now noticed his fingers were tattooed with the words D-E-A-T-H. He turned the paper around to show her what it was. She closed her eyes and sighed. It was her wanted poster.
'I don't want to see it. Take it away.'
It showed Summer, covered in blood, turned to the right looking somewhere in the distance. Her face was dirty but her outward expression was of pure indifference. Behind her, a marine base of some sort lay in ruins. Below the picture was the name given to her by the marines. She didn't even glance at the paper. Smirking, Law read it out loud for her, knowing she was uncomfortable with it.
"The Red Hunter Summer. Considered armed and extremely dangerous. Do not approach. If sighted, immediately contact marine forces. Bounty: 195,000,000 beli."
The bounty had risen since she last looked at it. Though she assumed the prison had taken notice of her absence and reissued her wanted poster. Judging by her bounty rise, they were desperate to get her back.
"Miss Summer-ya, I don't appreciate being lied to." Though his words were threatening, he didn't appear to be angry at all. Instead, he looked amused. She sighed again and his smirk seemed to grow wider.
"What I would like to know is what you are doing on my submarine." His words held an underlying threat. It wasn't hard to pick up the message he was sending of 'Tell me what I want to know or there will be consequences.' Summer then realized there was no way she could lie to Trafalgar Law. He knew who she was and what she was known for. He was at the complete advantage as well, her injury and lack of weapons preventing her from defending herself. For the time being, she had to cooperate with the sadistic pirate captain.
"I needed a way off of Marineford. Your submarine just happened to be there." He crossed his arms.
"I assume you came in with the ship that fell out of the sky then." At this she shook her head.
"I escaped my own way from Impel Down. I snuck onto a marine ship in disguise." She said glancing down at her guard uniform. "I watched everything from a distance."
"You are quite lucky to have avoided the battle." The words themselves sounded impressed, but his tone held no hint of admiration. Summer laughed slightly.
"I wouldn't call it luck. More like...happenstance." He raised an eyebrow.
"Happenstance?"
"Well, luck's never payed me any heed."
"Interesting…" He said. Internally, Summer could almost feel his mind turning over this information.
'Because that's all I am. Information.'
It made her sick.
'You're just like the rest of them. Don't act all high and mighty, you sadistic bastard.'
Though Law's pleasant...well, somewhat pleasant attitude, surprised Summer, she could sense the underlying caution and distrust between them. Sure, the conversation was trivial enough, but...
'I can't trust him.'
There was a few seconds of silence, save for the ever-present beeping of the machines attached to Luffy. She glanced towards the boy.
"That's Luffy, isn't it?" Her question brought Law out of his thoughts, a frown appearing on his face at her intrusion. He also looked over at him. He nodded. "How is he?"
"Physically, his wounds should heal. As to his mental state, I'm not sure." He glanced curiously at her. "Why do you ask?" She shrugged, not taking her eyes away from Luffy.
"It would be a shame for him to die after going through such an effort to save his brother. I mean, who else could have come as close as he did to stopping that execution?" Law's answer wasn't immediate.
"I am not here to discuss Strawhat-ya. I'm here to decide the issue of what to do with you, Miss Summer-ya." This brought her attention back to Law.
"What are you going to do with me exactly?" He smirked again and it was beginning to annoy her.
"Two things. First, seeing as you are injured and cannot move just yet, you will remain my patient here until you are fully healed."
'Well, that's reasonable enough, I guess. I've got no where else to go anyway.' She waited for him to continue.
"Second, you will join my crew."
'...Excuse me?'
"What?" She asked heatedly.
"You will join my crew." At this point she was done with pretending to be nice.
"And why the hell would I do that." He shrugged her obvious anger off.
"You aren't in any position to refuse. I could kill you, if that's what you want. I'd rather not, though. You interest me too much." She frowned.
"Interest you?"
"I've heard about your exploits before Impel Down. However, a year before those events and your childhood seem to be shrouded in mystery. Someone so mysterious will catch my interest."
His mention of her childhood instantly shut her off. Those memories were not welcome in her mind any longer. As soon as she was back in His control, her mind erased those times. No amount of convincing would make her remember them again. She looked away from him, forcing her expression to become indifferent.
"Nothing about my childhood is interesting, believe me. It's not worth the effort of finding out. And I'm not joining your crew." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his damned smirk again.
"Oh, I highly doubt that, Miss Summer-ya. You have nowhere else to go. And one way or another, I'll find out all there is to you. Whether it be by persuasion or force, I will come to know your past." She looked at him in annoyance.
"Suppose I do join your damned crew. I know you intend to use me. What possible use would I have to you?" At her rude tone, his smirk fell just a little.
"My chef needs assistance in the kitchen nowadays. You will help him there. You can cook, I assume?" Frustrated, she sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. I'm not incompetent, you know."
'What a douche.'
"Good. As soon as you can walk, you'll start working with him."
Law rose from his seat and walked over to Luffy, critically gazing at the injured boy. A clipboard sat on the side table and he wrote a few things in it. Once done, he walked over to the other side of the room where a second patient lay on the table. It was Jinbe, the Shichibukai. During her chat with Law, she hadn't even noticed the fishman's presence. After checking over both men, he turned back to Summer. Wearing that infuriating smirk.
"I suggest you get as much rest as possible. One of my crew will bring you your dinner later." He made his way towards the door.
"Trafalgar Law."
At the mention of his name, he paused and looked back at her. Once she had gotten his full attention, she continued.
"It would be wiser to stay the hell out of my past. You may not like what you find." He was about to speak but she beat him to it.
"It would be a shame if your crew's safety was compromised because of your curiosity, you know."
His gray eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Opening the door, he left without a glance back.
Summer closed her eyes in irritation.
'How the hell do I get into these shitty situations? Do you just hate me that damned much, whatever gods are up there?'
Luckily for her, they didn't answer.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
