Lovely Snow [Trafalgar Law]

[XV] Prisoner

Miyuki's head slammed against the cold metal wall of the ships brig. Following a loud thud, Miyuki's head began to feel fuzzy and hot blood trickled down her face. Finally finding the strength, Miyuki pushed herself away from the wall. Blood trickled to the floor and Miyuki could feel the hair piece piercing her skin.

"We should set sail." Miyuki didn't recognize the new voice. It certainly didn't belong to the two men that had dragged her onto the ship.

"Commander, we caught a member of the Heart Pirates. Shouldn't we try to get the rest of the crew?"

"No. One is enough. We don't have the power to take on the Surgeon of Death in a fight."

"Understood sir. I'll start gathering the crew right away."

"Do so quickly Roger. We need to leave before the Surgeon realizes she is missing. Make sure you also call in reinforcements and let them know the location of the Heart Pirates. We may not have the man power to take them on, but they do."

This wasn't good. Panic started to seep into Miyuki's mind. She had gotten herself captured. Over a pathetic bounty at that. The only positive that she could find in the situation was that at least her crew was safe.

How long would it take the crew to notice that she was gone? The marines would most likely be far gone by then. Would they even come after her? Miyuki knew the answer was yes, but a part of her still doubted. She had finally found a home and a family and now it was being taken from her. Perhaps she was meant to be alone.

Horror took over and depression started to sink in. Her breathing became heavy and erratic. Pain filled her chest. Miyuki's hand desperately clung to the fabric over her heart. She was going to lose her family, her friends, her home.

"What happens now?" Her voice was weak and shaky. It was obvious how scared she was. Miyuki couldn't find the strength to look at him.

"You're new to this life, aren't you?" Miyuki weakly nodded. The commander felt a slight pang of pity for her. She looked so frail and innocent. He found himself wondering how such a girl could have found herself apart of such a pirate crew, or what she could have possibly done to earn herself a bounty.

"Based on how low your bounty is, I'd say it's safe to assume you didn't do anything too serious. Pirates are normally executed but there are exceptions. My guess is that you'll serve a few weeks to a month in prison at the nearest marine base, fined and sent on your way."

Miyuki nodded, a wave of nausea rushing over her. She could hear the pity in his voice. After she didn't respond for a while, Miyuki finally heard the sound of the commander's footsteps signaling his leave. With his absence, the nausea vanished but the pit in her chest remained along with the sinking feeling.

Miyuki gathered all her strength and winced as her fingers touched the ornament. Fighting the excruciating pain as she pulled the hair ornament free from her scalp. Blood seemed to tickled down a little faster after she pulled it away.

She looked down at the snowflake and attempted to wipe it clean, although her fingers were covered in blood. It appeared to be unharmed, for which Miyuki was grateful. Its metal structure was fine and none of the gems had broken or fallen out. Tears welled up in Miyuki's eyes.

They'll come, Miyuki told herself. She repeated this over and over again in her mind until a small wave of peace washed over her. They will find her.

Penguin came running into the islands book store. He nearly plowed straight into Bepo while looking for the captain. Penguin was panting, completely out of breath, frantically trying to explain the situation.

Law was calmly standing with a pile of books in his hand. Most of which were medical textbooks, but if Penguin weren't so panicked, he would have noticed a recipe book mixed in. A gift for Miyuki.

"Calm down Penguin-ya. I can't understand anything you are saying." Penguin sucked in a deep breath, attempting to calm his racing heart.

"It's Miyuki!" He tried again, much slower this time. "Shachi and I saw her talking with some marines. She looked scared and was completely unarmed. She almost got away but they grabbed her before she could."

Law stiffened, understanding the seriousness of the situation. "Did she put up a fight?" He didn't display it, but Law was worried that Miyuki had been harmed. If Penguin had come running to find him, he knew the outcome couldn't be good.

"No, she went quietly. She looked unarmed and there were two of them. I think she didn't want to cause a scene."

Law nodded, and handed the piled of already purchased books to Bepo. "Bepo-ya, Penguin-ya, find everyone and send them to the Polar Tang to discuss our battle plan. We are going to get Miyuki-ya back. As soon as we have everyone back aboard the Polar Tang, we are setting sail. This isn't war, it's a recovery mission." With that, Law walked out of the book store.

Images of Miyuki's innocent, blushing face when he placed the snowflake in her hair flashed through his mind as he headed toward the Polar Tang. Law was furious. He cared for Miyuki far more than he cared to admit. She was special to him and now she had been taken. He wanted nothing more than to go to war with the marines who had dared to take her from him. But, there was no telling what shape Miyuki was in. She may be injured. The thought put Law even more on edge. He would make them regret ever touching her.

It took a while, but the crew finally gathered aboard the Polar Tang. It had been nearly twenty minutes, and Law desperately hoped that they had not already fled from the island.

"I'm sure many of you have already been told, but Miyuki-ya has been captured." Gasps erupted from the crew. "Shachi-ya has discovered the location of the marines and will lead us there. This is a rescue mission and will be treated as such." Law paused. He had plenty of time to consider the next part, but he knew it would upset the crew.

"The rescue team consists of me, Shachi-ya, Penguin-ya, Bellamy-ya, Natsu-ya, Uni-ya, Clione-ya, Hakugan-ya, James-ya, Conrad-ya, and Ikkaku-ya. The rest of you are to stay aboard the Polar Tang and prepare to set sail." The crew broke out in protests but Law was quick to silence this. "I hand selected this team to consist of our best warriors and those that know Miyuki-ya the best. I understand you all wish to help free your crew mate, but you have an important duty. We are to set sail the moment everyone is aboard the sub."

Despite the crew's feelings on the matter, they understood. They all nodded and immediately set off to perform their duties. They would get Miyuki back, no matter what.

Word Count: 1213

Published: 4/24/2024

Unedited