Dark Ties: A One Piece Romance (Law x Reader)

Chapter 5: Fresh Air

My ghost drifts the mist

White as sin forgiven

My song reaches high as heaven

Of what I gained from living

Full moon, afternoon

Stars are strewn in full bloom

Happily ever after thoughts

Of what I've long forgot

Granite eyes glossed the page rather invested in its words. Night had fallen once again, and Law lay back in bed deep in an old and tattered book containing random thoughts and poetry. The book was bound by black leather and twine, desperately hanging on to the weathered pages. It felt like a delicate artifact propped in his hand.

Once morning came, Law's intricate plan would be put into action. The Heart pirates will set sail for the island of Hachinosu, more popularly known as Pirate Island. This was a dangerous place crawling with pirates of all kinds, and he couldn't afford any loose ends. At the moment he only had one, and that was Ash. One would say he should drop her off at the next habitable island so he didn't have to worry about it, but what if she could be useful? Not to mention the man's increasing curiosity for the girl.

Two hours have passed since he began digging through her journals. To his surprise, she seemed to be quite knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. Extensive drawings and notes of different plants, animals, and insects haphazardly filled the pages. It felt like he was reading an encyclopedia of the earth's flora and fauna. He found out the toxins she had came from a type of jellyfish that secretes it from its tentacles. She had directions and everything on how to harvest it, along with how to coat weapons with the substance.

Between the woman's research and artwork, she certainly seemed to be a wandering artist as she claimed. With all this extensive knowledge and cleverness...someone like Ash could be useful to the crew. Before he went any further with his thoughts, he had to eliminate the possibility of her having dark ties with anyone like the navy or other rivaling pirates. All he had found thus far was this old and worn book of poetry. Nothing stuck out as suspicious, but before he knew it, minutes and hours had ticked by.

Realizing this, he finally shut the book and placed it on his bedside table, sighing with exhaustion. He wished he could live without needing such an annoying thing as sleep. It was just a waste of time in his opinion. Hours he could be spending accomplishing things, and instead, he has just to lay unconscious suffering nightmare after nightmare.

He swung his arm over his eyes. A familiar image of gemstone eyes stared back at him. "You're as dry as a desert, you know that?" They spoke. He scoffed hearing the comment in his head again. "She even speaks in poetic sentences..." He chuckled, beginning to drift off into sleep. "Weird girl..."

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"C-Can't breathe..." Ash paddled for her life reaching for the surface above the waves. Her chest felt like it was going to explode from not being able to breathe. "Please...please...I don't want to die..." A vignette of black started creeping over her eyes. "Oh no...please..." Her hands swam and swam desperately to escape the water but she did not manage to move. It grew cold. "Mom...help me..."

Ash gasped awake in a cold sweat. She caught her breath and slowly sat up on the bedside clutching her face to hide the tears. "Stupid...so stupid." She mumbled wiping her eyes. Her eyes did a quick scan of the bleak room. It felt unsettling in there at night, only the glow of small lights of the medical equipment shining through the dark. They felt like the beady eyes of scary creatures that glared back at her.