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Rena leaned against the wall between the outside doors of the pantry and the infirmary. Placing her hands on her face, she slid down to sit, bringing her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on her arms. Why was she crying? She felt so much pain suddenly. She was so conflicted with her own mind, but why? There weren’t any memories. So why? Why did her heart hurt so much?
She continued to cry, her sobs echoing softly in the empty corridor, not hearing the footsteps approaching.
Law watched as Rena ran up the stairs. He jumped up to follow her but paused, trying to decide if he should.
“Go, Captain. She’ll need someone,” Bepo urged gently.
Law quickly walked up the stairs. Just as he was about to walk around to the back of the ship, the kitchen door burst open, revealing a concerned and pissed Sanji.
“I sense a woman crying! Who made her cry?” Sanji demanded, his eyes blazing with protective fury.
Sanji looked towards Law. “Where is she?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” Law replied, his voice steady.
“Were you the one who made her cry?” Sanji asked, his tone accusatory.
“No. She was playing the piano, and it likely triggered a memory,” Law explained.
“Rena-chan was playing that angelic melody? She really is an angel~” Sanji swooned, momentarily distracted.
Law just rolled his eyes and continued towards the back of the ship where he heard soft crying. He rounded the corner and saw Rena curled up against the wall, knees to her chest, and head down. He stared at her for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Should he say something? What would he even say? He wasn’t that experienced in the ‘dealing with emotions’ department. After a few moments, he decided to sit down next to her.
Feeling the presence of someone next to her, Rena lifted her head slightly to see who it was. When she saw it was Law, she rested her head back down. She felt slightly relieved it was him but wasn’t sure why. Was it because he was the one who found her and saved her? Or was it because he was different from all the others? They all seemed so happy and lively, but Law was calm and collected. She could tell he had a weight on his shoulders like her, though she didn’t remember what hers was. Maybe that’s why she was relieved it was him. Because they were similar in some way. Her crying slowed down, and she finally lifted her head and sat back.
“Do… you want to talk about it?” Law asked, finally breaking the silence.
“I’m not even sure what there is to talk about,” Rena sniffled, her voice trembling.
A minute went by before Law spoke again.
“Did the piano trigger another memory?” he asked gently.
Rena laid her legs flat and fumbled her fingers around in her lap, pondering how to answer his question.
“It… wasn’t so much a memory. More like a feeling. But I got lost in my thoughts, and before I knew it, I was breaking down,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
“What was the feeling?” Law prompted, his tone soft and patient.
“That… playing the piano was something that brought me happiness before, but then I felt sadness. It started to hurt. Then I thought about the dream I had. It made me question if I could play the piano so beautifully and naturally, then why was I in that place. That terrifying place. But what confuses me the most is, in that dream, at that moment, I felt like I was supposed to be there. I was doing something, I had a reason to be there. But I don’t understand…” Tears started to stream down her face again. Her breathing began to quicken as she started speaking faster. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, or feel. What if I have some greater purpose and I’m just wasting time here because I don’t remember? What was my life like before? Are there people missing me? Do they think I’m dead? What am I supposed to do if my memories don’t come back?”
Rena was beginning to panic. Her tears were heavy, and her breathing rapid. Her hands had balled into fists, and her knuckles were turning white from the pressure. Law instantly recognized she was beginning to have another panic attack. Quickly but softly, he grabbed her hands and looked towards her face.
“Rena-ya. You need to breathe. You’re having another panic attack. We can figure those things out later, but right now, I need you to breathe,” Law instructed, his voice firm yet soothing.
It was too late. Rena couldn’t see through the tears. Her rapid breathing overtook her ears, and she couldn’t hear anything. As she began to lose her senses, the evil man’s blurry face popped into her mind. She could hear his menacing laughter. Her breathing increased even more. She could barely feel the hands wrap around her face and turn her head towards someone else. For a moment, her eyes broke free, and she saw Law’s face. His mouth was moving, but she couldn’t make out the words.
“I’m… so… scared,” she managed to mumble out the words before she blacked out.
Law sighed at the woman who was passed out in his lap.
“Just how many times are you going to pass out on me,” he grumbled as he picked the woman up and walked her into the infirmary, laying her down on the bed.
Law watched as the woman’s breathing steadied. She was calming down, but even so, he decided to check something out.
“Room. Scan.”
Everything looked normal, except for the two souls he could see inside her. One had a blue aura, which he assumed was Rena’s, but the other was gold. When he had scanned her before, both auras were fading, the gold more than the blue, but now the gold seemed to be growing brighter. He released his power, then stepped back, sitting down in the chair. He just looked at the woman with curiosity. Just who are you?
Suddenly, her long brown hair began to turn blonde. She slowly sat up and turned towards Law. Law’s eyes widened at what he saw. When Rena’s eyes opened, they were no longer blue. They were gold.
When Rena passed out, everything went black. She felt like she was falling into nothing. She felt nothing. Saw nothing. Heard nothing. At least the pain and hurt I was feeling before is gone. I probably gave the doctor a scare. I’ll need to properly apologize to him. And to the Straw Hats. They are probably all worried about me seeing as I booked it out of there.
“Rena…”
I hope they don’t think I’m weird.
“Rena… can you hear me?”
For now… I’m just going… to sleep. I’m… so… tired.
“Rena? Rena! No… don’t sleep. It’s me! It’s Versa. Please don’t sleep yet. I need to talk to you.”
“Who… are… you?” Rena questioned as she drifted off to sleep.
Versa sighed. “Well… I guess it’s better this way. I need to take control of your body, but I hate doing it without your permission. I think in this instance, however, you wouldn’t mind. I have a plan… You won’t like it and will probably scold me for it, but this is a desperate situation. So I’m sorry, Rena. I’m taking control for a while.”
Law stared in awe at Rena. Her eyes were gold, and her hair a golden blonde. He closed his gaping jaw, cleared his throat, and sat up straight.
Looking at Rena in the eyes, he spoke. “I’m guessing you are the other soul that resides in this woman’s body.”
“Yes. My name is Versa. We have a lot to discuss.”
“Yes. We do,” Law agreed, his curiosity piqued.
ns 15.158.61.12da2
