Two Hearts

Already yours~ <3

Objectively, the book was fascinating. Infuriating, but fascinating. Objectively. He let out a puff of air as a dissatisfied snort. "Raccoon-ya didn't reference me." He grumbled to himself, leaning back in the egg shaped chair. He pushed the book up the desk, just out of the lamp-light with his foot as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking up at the dark ceiling of the ship.

Of course, the reason he hadn't been recognized was because his methods couldn't exactly be replicated. It didn't mean he wouldn't have liked credit for the idea though. He sighed, wondering how long he had been lost in the darkness of the room. Long enough that his legs had fallen asleep, anyway.

He made to sit up straight, only to find his legs unresponsive to his request. He blinked, looking back towards the light. His eyes focused quickly on the person standing in front of him. Her hand rested lazily on his shin, where the numbness started. She appeared to have short hair and a small frame, but the only source of light came from behind her.

He glared. "Can I help you with something?"

"Aw," she pouted, trailing her fingers up to his knee. A static numbness seeped through him, stealing awareness from more of his legs. She smirked as he tried to jerk away, and only managed to set his feet hard on the floor, nearly toppling himself out of the chair. "That's no fun!" Her voice was a sonorous alto, fully reflecting her amusement at his reaction.

Law reached for his ever present nodachi. His hand closed on air. His breath caught in his throat and his teeth clenched as the stranger leaned forward, hands on his thighs. He could no longer feel anything below the hips, except for the static of sleeping limbs. With half a thought, he created a swirl of air where Kikoku should have been.

"I put that away." She smiled languidly. Her fingers ran down his still outstretched arm, clasping his hand and suffocating his power. Within seconds, she had him incapacitated. "I think my ability is much more suited to this situation~!"

As much as it pained him to be caught unaware and in need of assistance, Law was not above yelling for his crew. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to fall in line with what the stranger wanted. Before he could fully draw breath, she had him straddled, knees pressed against the back of the chair, one hand on his shoulder, chest to chest.

Suddenly dizzy, Law's head fell back into the cushion. She released his hand, which fell to the side, completely useless, and ran her thumb over his cheek. "I don't really think we need an audience, do you?" her tone was low and intimate as she rested her forehead against his. "I quite like having you to myself."

The stranger settled in against him, stroking his arm absently. Completely paralyzed, Law felt more annoyed than scared. He would never claim that his Haki was as strong as Luffy's, but he knew bloodlust, and the stranger gave off none. However, her touch was as draining as a pair of sea-prism handcuffs, and it wasn't a feeling he was comfortable with.

"What do you want?" He tried to ask, but his muscles didn't seem to want to cooperate. A slur of words hung in the air, unanswerable.

Several seconds went by as the stranger sat against him. Without provocation, she stood. A faint blue glow emanated from her skin, harmonizing with the static in his body. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but it certainly wasn't something he had been seeking.

She gave him a sideways grin, reaching toward the light. With a quick motion, she pulled the cord. His eyes saw blue and green after images in the sudden black. The blindness made him all the more sensitive to the motion of the stranger. He could hear her steps as she moved behind him. A light breath against his ear sent a tingle down his spine. He grunted his displeasure.

"Isn't it exciting?"she whispered in the other ear, trailing her fingers over his shoulder and inside his shirt. He realized there was a difference in the static where she was currently touching him. It was more focused, as if the muscles were just about to regain full feeling. It was sharp, but not altogether unpleasant.

She traced his jaw with the ring finger of her other hand, running up under his hat. It phlumphed to the ground as she closed her teeth gently over the top of his ear. The static was drawn in two directions, changing the flow of the insistent tingling. If he hadn't been so irritated at the maddening situation, he may have found it both stimulating and enjoyable.

As it was, however, Law closed his eyes (it was the only thing he could really do) and willed himself to ignore her. It was not the easiest thing he had done, but it was most certainly something he was determined to accomplish.

He must have had some success as it was, since the next thing he knew he was waking up. His crew noisily prepared for the day, bustling about as if all was well. He was then aware of the irregular heat. Typically his medium-soft bed, with its thin white blankets, stayed fairly cool. He turned his head to the left and slightly down, glaring at the sleeping person tucked against his chest.

Her short copper hair was shaved on one side, and seemed to be fluffy on the other. Her skin was pale, and her face relaxed by sleep. She was rather petite, but not to the point of childishness. He estimated about a meter and a half tall, and maybe fifty five kilos. He glanced to the other side, relieved to see his nodachi leaned against the wall between the bed and his dresser, topped with his hat.

More importantly, Law found he had full control of his body, regardless of his proximity to the stranger. He carefully pulled himself out of bed, noting that he was fully dressed, as was his annoying stow-away. Her whole body aside from her face and hands were clothed. She seemed to have a white wet suit on under brown and red clothing. He glared down at her, wondering exactly what to do. She hadn't been intent on causing him harm, nor to the crew, but she was definitely a threat. What exactly was her power?

With Kikoku in one hand, he took her by the shoulder and rolled her over. She had scarring down the left side of her face. It was only two faint lines, but in the lighting of the cabin they were obviously the remnant of an operation. One went from the center of the bottom eyelid to her jaw, while the other was two and a half centimeters closer to the corner, angling away from the first at fifty degrees, stopping in the middle of her cheek, where her jaw hinged.

The stranger took a deep breath, drawing his attention to a note on her chest. Law's hand tightened on the scabbard.

It's already yours ~<3

It was all the reason he needed. "Room." Her skin glowed blue, as it had the night before, and he felt his energy draining once more. For just a moment, Law thought she would fight him. The blue faded to green, then dissipated completely. He turned over his hand, now holding a beating heart. Her beating heart.

He scowled at it. It was not completely organic. It seemed as though the basic structure had been replaced with thinly braided metal alloy and recultivated with natural cells. It weighed slightly more than the average heart, though it was no bigger. What sort of injury or sickness had caused her to need a new heart? And who had replaced it?

He took his jacket from the back of his door, storing the strange organ safely in the inside pocket.