Two Hearts

Terminated

Time seemed to move so slowly from then on. The crew continually made stops to check on Aisuru, staying until either Iruka or Law chased them out. Aisuru was always glad of the company, even when she was barely awake. Bepo even came in to read her chapters from 'Plastic Hearts'. It was not Law's favorite series, but it gave Aisuru no end of enjoyment.

She took to saying "Where's your heart, Trafalgar Law?", just to annoy him. "Aww, come on," she would tease, "Isn't it sweet that somewhere out there you have a fangirl writing erotic novels about you?"

Law sighed, "That's the tenth time you've asked me today. No. It's creepy." He sat on the edge of her bed, shuffling cards. He had just shooed away Shachi and Penguin, claiming that Aisuru needed a quieter environment than they were capable of giving. As soon as they were gone, Aisuru had started quoting the latest chapter at him. "I should have let them stay," he grumbled.

She wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing her face into his. The machine started its angry whine, as always when she took it upon herself to be free of it. "But I like having you to myself."

"Aisuru-ya, just because the needles are gone doesn't mean you should be removing the finger clip." Contrary to his own advice, he held her arms to his chest, relaxing in her embrace. "You should stay in bed."

She nuzzled into him. "Then why are you holding me here?"

"Hey, Trafalgar." Ikkaku peeked into the room. She smiled and waved at Aisuru, then turned back to the captain. "There's a navy ship patrolling here. I don't think they've spotted us yet. Should we go under?"

Law tried to sound nonchalant, but he wasn't sure he succeeded. "Do we know who's captaining it?" He felt Aisuru's hum of disappointment more than he heard it. He needed to find Yuu Korou. He needed that Marine dead.

Ikkaku shook her head. "No idea. The captain hasn't been spotted." she leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. "So, are we diving?"

"Absolutely yes." Aisuru stood on the bed, using Law to stabilize herself, and pointed out the door, "Go tell Jean and Bepo that Law doesn't get to make this decision."

He frowned, leaning back to see her, "Hah? Who do you think the captain of this ship is?"

She glared back down at him, pointing at herself, "Me, if it involves your stupid need for retribution. You almost got yourself-" she poked him in the head, "-taken by the remnants of Doflamingo's family, just because you wanted to make them hurt."

"She's not wrong," Ikkaku tried to hide her amusement behind her hand. "I'll be sure to inform Jean and Bepo of Captain Aisuru's decision."

"No," Law felt a bit flustered. The way they had decided to remove his authority was obnoxious. "I need to know who is-"

"Shhhhhh," Aisuru bent over him, finger to her lips, "The safety of the crew is way more important than your stupid revenge games. Besides, when have any of them gone well for you?" She plopped down beside him, holding his right arm. "I like having you in one piece."

He sighed. "Fine. Ikkak-" She was already gone. "Oi... Don't make a habit of that, Aisuru-ya. It's still my ship."

Aisuru forced her way under his arm, beaming up at him. "I make you exactly zero promises!"

Law set the deck of cards aside and grabbed her chin with an overly stern expression. "You made me exactly one promise." His voice was low. "You promised obey me." He felt immense satisfaction as her heart rate increased. Her demeanor changed from childlike smugness to curious anticipation.

She had explained the way her devil fruit resonated with others, and exactly the different ways she could use her powers. Every devil fruit felt different to her, and his... He smirked.