The Long Con [[ Nami x Law ]]

Ch 17 - Second Chances

The creaking of metal walls against soft ocean waves lulled Law out of his heavy slumber. It was comforting. The sounds of a submarine that others would find a source of anxiety always seemed to put him at ease. This time, though, it was almost eerily calming. The feelings of tranquility that washed over him were followed by a strange chill crawling up his spine. As if his own body was telling him to reject the peace he was feeling. There were other sounds now too. Gulls squawking in the distance and heavy footsteps moving near him. He was about to question why they were still surfaced when he started to remember all that had happened. There was no way this was the Polar Tang.

Law opened his eyes.

He was lying on his back on a stiff cot. He could hear what sounded like medical equipment to the left and right of the head of his bed.

His vision was surprisingly clear for how foggy his mind felt. He blinked slowly at the ceiling as he tried to understand the words being spoken around him.

"He looks like shit," a deep voice laughed.

"Yeah, that's nothing new for him though," another cackled.

"Give us the room," a soft, feminine voice sounded from just behind his bed. Law was barely able to recognize Niji and Yonji before the two brothers left the room.

As the door shut behind them, Law rolled his head slightly to try to get a view of whoever was left with him. He was still struggling to wrap his mind around everything he was experiencing. He was with the Vinsmokes. So either he died and went to hell, or he was alive and, well, also in hell.

He recognized the pink hair, guarded smirk, and telltale brow from her file immediately.

"Vinsmoke Reiju," he rasped.

"Trafalgar Law," she replied coolly, not even sparing him a glance as she continued to check the information displayed on the machines monitoring him.

"Where am I?" he asked, although he was fairly certain of the answer already.

"You are on my ship," she began, moving her eyes and hands to poke and prod at certain areas of his body. "A few days out from Germa. How do you feel?"

The sluggishness he felt upon waking was fading fast as he pondered her question. Despite all his body had been through, he felt... good. As he began doing his own head-to-toe evaluation of himself, he realized that Reiju had lifted his wrist to extend his arm in different directions. His right arm.

Law bolted upright, snatching his arm from her grasp to move the appendage on his own. He twisted and bent it in all directions while opening and closing his fingers, testing his range of motion at each joint. It was unreal. He looked to his bicep and traced his finger along a faint scar encircling the skin around his arm. His arm had been reattached, but if he didn't know any better, he would never know he had ever lost it. Not only did he feel no pain or tenderness, he felt stronger than ever.

The fabric that was covering him fell further to his waist as he shifted slightly, and he realized only then that he was completely naked apart from the white sheets on the bed.

"How long has it been..." he mumbled to himself, staring in the palms of his hands.

"Since your little fall on Dressrosa? Hmm, I'd say no more than two days."

That's not possible.

His eyes shot up to Reiju. "What did you do to me?" He demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" She leaned casually against the side of the bed, a relaxed grin on one side of her face.

It was obvious. He knew, but he didn't want to believe it. He should be dead after what happened on Dressrosa. There was only one person he had witnessed recover from extreme injury in such a short amount of time. Yonji's broken arm had fully healed in a few days. The Vinsmoke enhancements would be the only explanation for his reattached limb, his absurdly quick recovery, and his newfound feeling of strength. And if he had the physical enhancements, that means they also gave him...