Since setting out to sea, he has abided by a single rule as a pirate doctor - to not abandon any one of his patients. This time will be no different.
No matter the odds, Trafalgar Law will not let Murasaki Arisa die.
« Trafalgar D. Water L...
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"...a custom Tone Dial, huh?"
Arisa startled awake at the familiar voice, nearly falling headfirst from her perch on the branch of a maple tree. Her gaze fell first to the open book on her lap, then down to the face of the bemused-looking young man standing at the entrance to the interior courtyard, a shallow basket in one hand and a thick ledger in the other.
"Hachinobe," Arisa uttered blearily. She squinted up at the stony skies above. "...good... morning?"
Hachinobe Tatsuhito smiled serenely and dipped his chin. A tall and somewhat bookish-looking man, his appearance was characterized by a quality of distinct meekness which belied the extremities of his former profession. If Arisa's own features could be chiefly defined by their catlike angularity, his were the complete opposite. Every notable aspect about his countenance - from his nose, lips, and cheekbones - were rounded and elongated, all contours softened like a faded watercolor sketch. His brows were downturned and his eyes wide-set, lending him a look of perpetual guilelessness. As if to accommodate others to his imposing height, he had a slight slump in his posture, yet simultaneously managed to comport himself with an easy, careless grace which rid all beholders of any untowardly presumptions.
Barring her instructors and the shrine elders, the quiet spoken Tatsuhito was a close friend and one of Arisa's oldest acquaintances at Amenoka-ji. At four years her senior, he had just started out as a junior trainee under the codename Kijibato around the time Arisa had first been brought to the shrine. His career as yōgari had been uncharacteristically short, ending at age nineteen with an unprecedented decision to retire from field work in favor of undergoing further training to become Kurowashi-sensei's protegee as full-time instructor.
"Your definition of morning is really quite generous," Tatsuhito said pleasantly, tucking the ledger beneath his free arm.
Arisa rubbed circles into her temple, fighting back a yawn. She watched on as he made his way across the small square lot to a decorative fence that was erected near the base of her tree, over which the vines of several winter gourd plants had sprouted.
"What did you say before?" she ventured groggily.
Resting both ledger and basket at the maple's trunk, Tatsuhito produced a small pair of shears from his kimono and set to work harvesting some of the gourds.
"A custom Tone Dial," he repeated, jutting his chin in the direction of the ledger. "Kurowashi-sensei requested that I compile an expense report for this month. While doing so, I found an entry there which says that you ordered one for twenty-thousand berries a fortnight ago."
"What are you...?" Arisa squinted before stopping short, remembering. "Oh. Right... I did, didn't I."
"What do you need such a thing for? Is it for personal use? Or..." Tatsuhito glanced up at her as he snipped another gourd, a gleam of mischief evident in his dark eyes. "Don't tell me Riyu bribed you to get it for her."
