Two Hearts

Yuu Korou

The crew was gathered at the dock, impatiently awaiting their captain's return. Jean Bart stood on deck with his arms crossed. Ikkaku waved. Bepo ran up to them, trying to take Law off of Aisuru's shoulder.

"Nope." She held fast to her captain. "I saved him, I get to keep him."

Bepo's ears drooped and he fell into pace beside them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

Law raised an eyebrow. "You get to keep me, huh?"

"Yeah, that's how it works." Aisuru rolled her eyes, "Sheesh, don't you know anything about saving people's lives?"

"I saved you twice," He reminded her with a smirk, "So I suppose that means I get to keep you." His only response was red faced silence. Regardless of the circumstances, it was a satisfying to know he could get that kind of reaction from her.

He knew, without a doubt, that he had made the right choice in allowing her to join the crew. Though they most likely would have skipped this island if she hadn't been aboard, he may not have survived it without her. He didn't like the thought of having too many people being susceptible to drowning, but Aisuru's unique abilities would give them an advantage in the conflicts that were sure to come. He knew he could count on her when things got tough.

All seriousness aside, Law simply enjoyed having her around.

A crowd of people were gathering at the other end of the dock, trapping them at the Polar Tang. At the lead was a Navy captain with a thick scar down the side of his face. His wide shoulders and relatively tall stature had him practically dwarfing the soldiers behind him. There was at least one entire crew, possibly two. Coby's pink hair stood out in the crowd.

Law cursed. He should have known they wouldn't be able to leave that easily; not when at least one Captain knew he was there, even when that captain was Coby. Besides, it seemed Aisuru was at least as deadly as he was, having ordered the population inside 'Clothes Out' to be executed and carried out one of them herself... It was no wonder they were being chased out.

Aisuru's mismatched eyes narrowed as she spotted the scarred captain. "Hey, so I have something to take care of, okay?"

They were finally at the foot of the ladder at the Polar Tang. She handed him to Bepo, who helped him stand upright. "What do you mean? You need to get on the ship. That's an o-"

"No." She put a finger to his lips. "Don't say that, because then I'll have to obey you. I need to take care of this, Law, or Korou will follow me, putting the whole crew in danger. Here," She pulled a small bag of multicolored buttons from her pocket and closed them into Law's hands. Hers glowed vibrantly green, sending invigorating tingles through his body.

Her shoulders drooped, and her posture lost some strength. "I don't like giving up my energy, so make good use of it, okay? It's probably just enough for a large room and one use of Shambles." She smiled, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Bepo. Go."

Law tried to grab her, to force her onto the ship, but Bepo was already climbing. His hand closed on air, and Aisuru turned her back on him. She walked several paces down the dock, looking back only to judge her distance from the ship. Law scowled, holding the railing for support. She was just inside the limit for his room. If she moved at all he might not be able to get her back, and that was simply not acceptable.

The ship watched in silence. Bepo stood by his side. Jean went to the wheel with Ikkaku. They needed to be ready to dive at a moment's notice. Law could barely hear the conversation taking place below over his heart beating in his ears.

The navy mobbed around her, nearly cutting her off from the ship completely. Every one of them had their rifles trained on her. Captain Korou, with his knotted scar and sharp brown eyes, stepped directly up to Aisuru. Law had a hard time believing the man was not literally standing on her toes. He grit his teeth, hearing something about Project Beloved.

Law knew that Aisuru considered Korou a threat. Her hands were by her side, posture straight. There was nothing playful in her stance. Even Coby, who she said helped her with the transponder snail, did not elicit more than a curt nod.

Of all the words he heard, not one of them was from Aisuru. She kept her voice low when she spoke, for reasons he didn't know. If she would speak just a little louder, he would have a better idea of what kind of danger this was.

All he could do was wait. Watching the shadows of clouds pass over the group, watching soldiers tense. He stared hard at Coby's face. The captain was blank. Law got no information there. All he could hear were bits and pieces of Korou's sentences. Just as the anticipation became too much, Aisuru turned around.

She smiled, raising her hand to wave. Korou pointed his hand at her, thumb up and fingers played. They all turned metallic silver. The world moved in slow motion. Law leaned over the railing, trying to reach the impossible distance. "Aisuru-ya!"

One step. The world lost all color, becoming shades of black and red.

The sharp tips of Korou's fingers pierced her. Her head tilted back, the thick spear of Korou's thumb shot out of her open mouth. The rest burst through her chest. All dripped crimson onto her white clothes.

Korou's hand twitched, breaking the stingers off. His hands returned to normal, leaving the stingers inside her body. He flicked Aisuru's blood on the ground.

Aisuru faltered. Her knees gave out.

Law held the bag of buttons in a tight fist. "Room! Shambles!" Aisuru finished her collapse in his arms. He clutched her to his chest, unsteady on his feet himself. His power vanished the second Aisuru was on the ship.

For an instant, the Surgeon of Death was paralyzed by the woman dying in his arms. She convulsed, blood falling from her mouth. The stingers seemed huge compared to her. Blood welled around them, ruining her white clothes. Her mouth was stuck open, stopped by the metal stinger. Her face was starting to swell; an allergic reaction to the Sting-Sting fruit. He could imagine her lungs filling with blood, stomach ruptured and leaking, heartbeat weakening. His world revolved around Aisuru's pale face; her desperate gasps for air.

Reality slammed him into motion. "Dive!" He commanded, sprinting to the operating room. The Polar Tang dipped, throwing him off balance. Only the ever present polar bear kept Law from tumbling down the hall.

Adrenaline alone kept Trafalgar Law alert and moving. Throughout the operation he found himself staring at trembling hands. He hadn't shaken so badly since... He cleared his head, focusing on the task at hand. Stabilizing her took much too long. He was forced to stop several times as he was attempting to drain an area in order to restabilize her. The only piece of good news he found was that Korou had missed Aisuru's brain. It was one part of the body he wasn't sure could be repaired.

Finally, finally, he clipped the last stitch. He checked her saline lines and those for the blood transfusion. Then he fell back onto Bepo, completely exhausted. He couldn't hear anything except the faint blips tracking Aisuru's vitals. "Bepo-ya," his voice was ragged, throat dry, "Bring me another bed. I'll be staying with her."

"Hhhhnnnuhhg..." Bepo wrapped his arms around his weakened captain. He looked to another member of the crew, who nodded and sped to the adjoining room. He returned, rolling the bed up to them.

Bepo carefully placed Law under the white sheets. He looked at Aisuru, hooked up to several machines, including the ventilator. He watched it breathing for her and sighed. Then he looked at his captain, who was barely awake, head turned to Aisuru. The polar bear sighed again, shoulders slumped, and pushed the beds together. He placed Law's hand over Aisuru's, watching his fingers curl around hers as he lost the fight to stay awake.

Ikkaku leaned against the door, arms crossed. "Well, I really hope she makes it through."

"Uh-huh." Bepo patted Law's arm, "Captain would be very sad if Aisuru was gone. So would Bepo..."

Ikkaku stepped in and grabbed his arm gently. "We'd all be sad if she was gone. Come on, I made snacks. It's ice cream day."

"Oh good." Bepo let her guide him out, looking over his shoulder at the receding doorway. "It gets so hot underwater."