The Long Con [[ Nami x Law ]]

Ch 8 - Senses

Nami opened her eyes and blinked until the metal ceiling above her came into view. She heard rustling at her side, and a familiar voice called her name. She turned to see Law's lazy grin. She closed her eyes again and smiled, knowing she was safe.

"How are you feeling?"

"Hmm, stiff." She slowly moved to a sitting position and took in her surroundings. She was in a medical bed inside Law's submarine. "How long have I been out?"

"Just shy of ten hours."

She stretched her muscles and grimaced.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My back," she replied. "It's not that bad though."

He moved behind her and lifted her shirt to inspect the area. He prodded gently on the skin adjacent to her dark bruises, and she flinched.

"It's from his hands." She answered before he could ask.

Law lowered her shirt and moved back in front of her. "I should have gotten there sooner."

She shook her head. "He did that before I called. It doesn't matter anyway. It's over now."

She stood from the bed and walked slowly to a mirror over a sink hanging on the wall. Her hair was a tangled mess and there was some less angry bruising around her neck, but other than that she seemed ok.

She caught Law's eyes watching her in the mirror. He stayed quiet, but she felt like he was holding back. She spun around when she remembered something. "Law, what did he inject me with?" She asked urgently.

"A powerful sedative," he replied calmly. He paused and said his next statement more cautiously. "He didn't have a chance to start the procedure before we got you out."

She swallowed hard and moved back to sit on the edge of the bed. "Procedure?" Thoughts of everything that happened that night flashed through her head as she tried to put the pieces together.

He sat down next to her. "Based on what was in their files, it looked like he was going to try to give you some combination of physical and mechanical enhancements."

She again appreciated how he never sugar coated any details, even when it might be difficult to hear. She looked down at her hands and a shiver went through her at the thought of what something like that would do to her.

"That doesn't make sense. You said only the Vinsmoke siblings are enhanced."

"True."

"I mean I know he liked me, but how could he be ok with letting someone outside of the family have their abilities?"

Law paused and studied her a moment. "I have a theory. Maybe you can confirm it," he started slowly. He grabbed Ichiji's file from the table and handed it to her. "We were correct in thinking he was affected differently than his brothers."

Nami opened the file. The first page still had the photos he showed her inside the lab. The next page was photos of specific body parts. There were also internal diagrams of mechanical parts fused within his body.

"He can suppress his emotions better than his brothers when he's calm, but when he doesn't suppress them, they manifest physically in an extreme way. When this happens he becomes completely single minded, focused exclusively on a singular goal. A useful trait for battle, this is likely why he was able to overpower both of his brothers while we escaped."

She continued to flip through the pages of his file, not understanding most of it. She looked up and waited for him to continue. All of this seemed obvious based on her time with him.