A/N: I've been writing for years and this is the first story I like enough to publish. I have uuhhh... like 100 pages already written of this? And I would really like some feed back. I'll be posting periodically what I finalize. If people actually like this, that'd be great! But honestly I just have to get this out there, haha.
This will take place before he's introduced and carry on through the manga. Since he doesn't have much cannon before the time skip, I'm making 98% of it up lol Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1:
Alternately named: In which there is fluorescent lighting
Law really was trying to get into the new medical journals he had just picked up. They were just about as interesting as they come too. They talked about devil fruit users and how logia types react to different levels of seastone. It was interesting!
But not the most interesting thing in his infirmary.
Law let out a sigh as he found himself reading the same sentence three times. He put the journal down and decided it was stupid to ignore it anymore. He wasn't getting anywhere until the girl they found woke up.
Law already knew who she was. Her bounty was quite large for someone so small. Law picked the poster off his metal desk and gave it a once over. Again.
The girl's name was Lilith or as the government nicknamed her, "Ship Sinker". Law could understand her nickname. They had watched her destroy 6 ships before something happened and she nose-dived into the ocean. But why was her name only Lilith? Was her surname a secret? Or maybe she didn't have one?
The government listed her as a known devil fruit user, but didn't list which one. It didn't even list what she could do outside of her devil fruit. There was no indicator as to how she fought. Period.
"They always list what they can do," Law couldn't help but think every time he read over it. There was so much mystery surrounding this girl and Law was wrapped up in it like a good novel.
Her picture had caught his attention too. It was just a head shot of her smiling from ear to ear and her deep blue eyes were sparkling like the open waters of the Grand Line. Freckles dusted her cheeks and her nose (when he had examined her before he noted that they decorated the rest of her body as well). Her wavy hair was a soft blond color and her olive skin was lightly tanned. Even though Law could tell she was underweight in this picture, she was…
"Glowing with life," was all he could come up with.
But in the present, her appearance was unnerving, if he was honest. Lilith was now lying on a medical cot with lacerations and bruises adorning her skin. Her black jeans were cut up and bloody and the shirt that she had been wearing was so far gone the doctor had thrown it away. He had slipped her in a white shirt that was much too big for her after tightly wrapping her torso. She had several bruised ribs that would take weeks to heal. It looked like she had gone through hell before she took her dive into the ocean.
But after just 10 hours on the ship, she had started healing very fast.
Law had done plenty of testing trying to figure out anything that could shed some light on what was going on, but he had gotten nothing. She was normal, as far he could tell; just healing faster than humanly possible. Despite her small frame, she seemed to have more than enough energy to accelerate her healing process.
Maybe that was why she was worth 57 million beli.
But his mind was quickly drawn back to what was under the shirt. It wasn't her body that had Law's attention, no. It was the black tattoos that decorated the left side of her body. There was a lot of black inked symbols and pictures of random things like a clock or a ship. Most of it was flowers of different kinds and simple space fillers. There was an inscription tattooed on her spine as well, but it was written in a language Law didn't recognize. Mostly, it seemed to be just random things, but Law knew that all tattoos had a story behind them and he really wanted to know hers.
To say Law liked tattoos would be an understatement.
Law was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a low moan. The doctor watched as the girl slowly came to. She blinked her eyes a few times, squinted at the florescent lights above her, and let out another dissatisfied moan.
"Always florescent. Why's it always florescent," Law heard her mumble under her breath. She slowly looked around her. When her eyes landed on Law, she closed her eyes and let out another dissatisfied moan.
"What are the last things you remember?"
Lilith closed her eyes and let out a long sigh as Law picked up her clipboard.
"Let's see… I had been destroying the 6th ship in the fleet and I was almost out of energy. My body was at its breaking point and the captain of that ship was out for blood so I did what any rational person would do; I expended the last of my energy to destroy the ship and him so they couldn't continue business. Then I hit the salt water and it drained the last of my energy. I should assume you saved me, yah?"
Law let out a low hum as he scratched out some words on her clipboard.
"What's your name?"
"It's Lilith... Why did you save me?"
Law said nothing but he did shift his eyes up for a few moments to watch her. She popped one open and studied him. She really looked at him this time; he was tall and lean, with a bright white lab coat on over a yellow and black hoodie. A fuzzy white hat sat on his head which covered his black hair which extended into long sideburns. He also had a goatee and a few earrings in his ears. When she met his golden eyes again, her eyes widened in shock. She would be stupid to not recognize the Surgeon of Death.
Trafalgar Law
The Heart Pirates were a new rookie group going around causing absolute mayhem; taking down marine ships and taking from towns. The captain though, was known to be straight up sadistic. His devil fruit powers are something to be reckoned with. THere were so many rumors going around as to what he did exactly, but two things were for certain-
There was no way to escape him when he used them and
He was not merciful when he used them.
Lilith's blood ran cold and she scrambled further back on the bed. She pressed her back flush against the wall as she tried to put as much space between her and the Surgeon. Her heart was pounding and, on instinct, the air around her darkened.
"Is that your devil fruit? Darkness?"
Lilith said nothing as she watched the Surgeon with cautious eyes. His gaze was calm and he seemed very relaxed at the moment, but Lilith knew how deceiving looks could be. She quickly activated her Kenbunshoku Haki and her face scrunched up in confusion. There was no malice towards her that she could detect. Even if he was hiding it, she knew she would sense it.
"Perks of natural Haki users," she mused to herself trying to convince herself she was safe for the moment.
Lilith forced herself to relax and crossed her legs under her.
"If we're going to play 20 questions, do you mind if I have some water?"
Law nodded and filled a paper cup at the sink. He pulled up his chair and sat down next to her cot as he passed the cup to her. She quickly drank it all and let out a satisfied "Ahhhh". If Law was curious before, he was enthralled now. She was by far the most expressive person he had met. He couldn't help but wonder how old she was.
"Your devil fruit?" Law asked after a few moments of silence. She jumped and mumbled an apology.
"Sorry, sorry. These lights make me a little sluggish. Why does every infirmary have them? Isn't this place supposed to be where you save lives? This phony lighting is the exact opposite of life," Lilith paused her rant as she ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. Law said nothing, but Lilith wasn't counting on it.
"You aren't going to like it, but I don't know the name of my devil fruit. Neither does the government apparently but from what I've gathered I can control energy. I absorb it from anything that gives off energy, like these God damned lights. But just like normal people, when I expel energy, I get tired. When I expel a lot, like to take down 6 ships, I pass out. That's what happened."
"You willingly forced yourself to pass out to destroy that ship?"
"Yah. They're slavers. If I didn't, they wouldn't have stopped," Lilith replied matter-of-factly.
Law was taken back by her words, although it didn't show. That really wasn't something he was expecting. It was extremely notable though.
"To give her own life for others… That's just unheard of. And slightly stupid."
Law was brought out of his thoughts by her soft laugh.
"Yah, I bet my wanted poster doesn't say that about me, does it? Somehow the Government leaves that bit out," Lilith said sarcastically, as if she had been reading Law's mind.
Lilith was looking at her hands now. Her face was somber and Law could only wonder what was going on through her head. He decided to change the subject.
"What do you have against my lights?"
"Oh, haha," Lilith scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile.
"I absorb light energy unconsciously when I'm low on energy and florescent light just don't do it for me. It's like a, uh, pseudo- like eating tofu when you need a steak. Or wine when you need water."
Law raised an eyebrow at this and scribbled something else down.
"I'm sorry my lights aren't doing it for you," Law said with a small smirk on his face, which earned another light chuckle from Lilith.
"There's really no other way to explain it. It's like needing toe curling sex but all you got is your hand."
Lilith let out a full bodied laugh at her own joke which made Law's smirk grow. It morphed into a frown when Lilith started coughing and holding her ribs. Law quickly stood up and pressed a stethoscope to her chest. Luckily there was no fluid in her lungs, so Law got her another cup of water. She gave him a thankful smile and slowly sipped it.
"So why did you save me?"
"My crew's a sucker for a damsel in distress."
Law watched with fascination as Lilith's face morphed from relaxed and content to something between anger and frustration in a matter of seconds.
"I am not a damsel in distress! I had the situation under control! My death would have even been on my terms! I don't know if I'll get a chance like that again," Lilith said as she shot Law a pointed stare. Law decided she wasn't angry per se, she just seemed to be frustrated. He simply raised his eyebrows at the statement.
"Would you rather be dead?"
Lilith's gaze immediately softened at the question, not a trace of fear like he was aiming for. She merely gave him a shrug in response. She took a long sip from her water and Law figured she wasn't going to give him a direct answer on that.
"So, what now? I should be good once you get me up on the deck. How far is the nearest island?"
"My navigator puts us 5 days out. We're following the currents to conserve on energy. I'm sure you know all about that."
Lilith rolled her eyes at the captain.
"Well fuck that's a long time. I didn't know I was so far from land. I can help out around the ship. I'm pretty good at just about anything. Except for super hard manual labor."
"You're willing to work?"
"Yah, can't expect you to keep me here for free and I'm definitely not sleeping with anyone."
Law smirked at her remark and went back to his desk. When he glanced over her wanted poster, another question hit him.
"What's your full name?"
"It's just Lilith. That's all I got."
Law hummed as he added that to the mystery. This girl was full of conundrums to which apparently she couldn't even answer.
"If you'd like to shower, there's one right over there."
Lilith hopped off the cot and started over to the fully enclosed shower.
"Can I take off these bandages?"
"Sure. We'll rewrap you after you get out."
Lilith walked into the shower and shut the door behind her. She pulled off her clothes and bandages and stepped into the water. She quickly cleaned herself and then turned to her clothes. The panties came clean quickly and the shirt wasn't even dirty, but her high waisted jeans were a disaster.
The legs of the jeans were ripped and permanently stained with blood. At least they were black. She turned off the water and released a small bit of energy, drying her instantly. She dried the rest of her clothes and slipped them back on.
"Uh, Doctor Trafalgar, does it necessarily have to be you who wraps me back up, or can I do it?"
Lilith received silence for a few moments.
"I'll do it."
Lilith let out a sigh, but tried her hardest to convince herself that the Surgeon of Death was nothing but a professional doctor. She snorted at that thought and figured she was just going to have to stomach it.
"At least he's young and good looking."
Lilith pulled the large white shirt over her head. It barely covered her panties but it felt like she was wearing a bag. She inwardly cursed at herself. She had always been small. She'd never really been able to eat well so she hadn't ever been filled out like she would have wanted to be. It proved to be a slight disadvantage when she fought as well. She was forced to rely on her swiftness, not strength. She won most of her fights with speed, her devil fruit, and her incredible wit.
She laughed under her breath at her own thoughts. She knew she was nothing but lucky when it came down to it. Between gaining Kenbunshoku Haki at an early age and finding her devil fruit, she knew that if she didn't catch her victims by surprise, she wouldn't win.
"If only I still had knives," she mindlessly thought as she stepped out from the shower. Law was still scribbling at his desk so she sat down on the edge of the cot. Her grumbles caught Law's attention and he glanced back at her. It took everything in him not to laugh.
She was grumbling at her feet, which were freely swinging. It wasn't that she was super short per say (she was 5-9 flat footed), but the cot was higher off the ground than normal. Law was 6 foot 3 after all.
"Problem, Miss Lilith?"
"Are you gonna wrap me up so I can get some real light? Or do you intend on making me suffer?"
"I hate you inform you, but you're in a submarine."
Lilith's face immediately scrunched up and she popped up from the cot with her arms flailing.
"What! What do you mean submarine? What kind of fresh hell is this! I'm a devil fruit user! You're a devil fruit user! This is suicide!"
Law let out a low chuckle.
"I can assure you that you are completely safe on my sub."
Lilith's face didn't relax any as she crossed her arms across her chest. The small flinch of pain didn't get past Law though.
"Let's get you wrapped back up then we can head to the mess hall."
Law pulled out some bandages and Lilith's face quickly dropped. She let out a small huff and quickly pulled the white shirt off, but covered her chest with her arm in a small grasp for dignity. Law got to wrapping her stomach, to insure the ribs healed properly, but his mind went right back to the tattoos.
"You have a lot of tattoos."
"Yah. You're one to talk though."
Law let out a small chuckle.
"After the first one, they get addicting."
"Haha, yah. They sure do."
Law finished wrapping her torso, stopping the bandages right under her chest, and stood to his full height. Lilith couldn't help but crane her neck to look up at him.
"Gods, you're tall."
"Shouldn't you put your shirt back on?"
Lilith broke out in a blush that went from her cheeks down to her neck, which got Law to smirk again.
"Do you mind if I use your bandages to wrap my chest?"
Law's smirk didn't falter as he handed over the bandages. Lilith turned from him and took a few steps away, in an attempt to keep herself decent. She quickly (and expertly) wrapped her chest.
"Do you have scissors?"
"What for?"
"These jeans are absolutely disgusting."
Law hummed and handed her a pair and Lilith quickly cut the jeans to make shorts. They came to her upper thigh and were slightly shorter than she intended, but it sure as hell beat wearing blood stained jeans.
Now she just had slightly less blood stained shorts.
She handed the scissors back over, handle first and Law set them down on the desk, but kept his eyes on Lilith as she tried tucking in the shirt to the new shorts. Her brows scrunched together in frustration when the bandages started to get in the way.
"Why are you so expressive?"
"Hmm?" Lilith answered as she finished tucking the shirt in and smoothed it out a bit. She glanced up at him when she was done and gave him another shrug. A frown threatened to show on his face. Law couldn't help it. She was getting under his skin slightly. She was literally shrugging his questions off.
Law took in a deep breath and decided to lead them off to the mess hall instead of inquiring further. Now just wasn't the time.
When she got past being surrounded by her one major weakness, being in the sub was nice. It didn't jostle around like a normal ship and the cool metal felt a hell of a lot better than wood on bare feet. Lilith knew she was going to miss the outside sun though. She could already feel it.
It was like a nap when you needed a full 8 hours.
And boy could she use a full 8 hours right about now.
"Or some toe curling sex," Lilith thought as she chanced a glance at Law who was walking beside her down the halls of the sub.
Lilith was not happy to see that fluorescent lights carried out into the rest of the sub. They were a bit softer than the ones in the infirmary, so she supposed they were better. Not great, but better. As they approached the mess hall, loud shouts were heard and Law swung open the door.
Everyone's attention was immediately on Lilith and she froze.
It was like a quiet standoff and heat returned to Lilith's face. There weren't a lot of people, only about 15 people total, but the intensity from their stares was immense.
"Shachi-ya, go get Miss Lilith something to eat from the kitchen."
A man in a poufy green hat and sunglasses shot up and disappeared behind some doors.
"Hello, how are you feeling?"
Lilith's eyes went wide at the talking polar bear. He was wearing an orange jumpsuit and had sharp teeth like something from a horror film.
"Y-you're a talking polar bear."
"I'm sorry," he apologized and looked like he was going to cry. Lilith's demeanor did a 180. She immediately perked up and rushed to him on the other side of the benched table. She pet him on the head, in an attempt to comfort the bear.
"Oh no, no! I didn't mean it in a bad way. It's super cool!"
He still looked up at her with sad eyes and her face dropped. She had no real idea what to do.
"Oh don't mind him. He gets sad at just about anything. He's super emotional. I'm Penguin by the way. What's your name?"
"I'm Lilith! It's very nice to meet you. Thank you guys for saving me."
She stood awkwardly as the crew stared at her, but she gave them a warm smile.
"Lilith… isn't that the name of Adam's first wife?"
"Yeah, she was a demon though."
"It actually translates to night demon and she was supposedly the wife of Lucifer. They lady who gave me the name though, just thought it was pretty."
Silence followed Lilith's explanation for a few moments before Penguin spoke up.
"It is pretty sounding, so I can see why she would name you that."
A light blush dusted her cheeks as she gave him a large grin.
"Thank you, Penguin-san."
The man's eyes burst into hearts as he started rattling off more compliments, but Lilith couldn't make them out. Law took a seat just as Shachi brought her out some kind of meat over rice. She kindly took it and even gave a small bow to the man who only managed to stumble over his words. Lilith didn't acknowledge it though and took a seat and started to eat. Sadly, she got no real time to eat before the crew's curiosity took over.
"So why were you destroying those ships?" a random pirate asked her.
"They were slavers and I kill slavers," Lilith replied smoothly.
"That sure is something," another commented.
"Yah, I guess. I was caught off guard by the ships though. They were made of this darker wood. They were black and took a lot more to destroy than normal ships. And they were manned by less. The whole thing made me nervous, honestly."
Lilith took the pause to shovel some food into her mouth.
"You had good reason to be."
Lilith shot a glare to the man who spoke but didn't bother to reply.
"Do you always go after slavers?" some random guy asked.
"Yah."
"Why?" She heard Law ask. Lilith stopped mid bite and met Law's gaze.
"Because I used to be a slave," Lilith answered as she dropped her gaze back to her plate and kept eating.
The entire hall was silent at her answer.
"How long?" Law asked.
"6 years," Lilith answered without hesitation. She paid the stares no mind. She was used to this.
"Do you kill the slaves too?" Law asked.
Lilith didn't answer right away. It was obvious Law had the last few questions planned out. She took a deep breath.
"There weren't any on the ships I just destroyed. The ships seemed to be new, so I think they were out to buy."
"What do you do if you come across slaves?"
"I try to save them of course. But mostly they're so far gone it's pointless," Lilith answered matter-of-factly and received a bit of backlash because of it.
"So what? You kill them?"
"Why would you do that?"
"I thought you wanted to save them."
"Why would you kill them if you're trying to save them?"
Lilith took her time swallowing her food and kept her gaze steady on her plate as the questions slowed. She didn't speak until it was silent.
"I kill them because I wish someone had the humanity to kill me all those years ago."
The mess hall was quiet again at her morbid response. Lilith kept eating though, scraping her plate clean. Suddenly, the polar bear started crying and latched himself onto Lilith making her flail a bit at the contact.
"You're doing such a good thing! You're too nice to have gone through something so sad!"
Lilith gave an awkward laugh as she tried to pry herself from the grasp but soon Penguin and Shachi and a few others joined in. She tried desperately to wiggle free but it was Law's voice that pulled them away.
"Get off her and go get her some seconds."
The group quickly dispersed and a new plate was set in front of Lilith. She wasted no time digging in and Penguin spoke up.
"So, Lilith-chan. What are your powers?"
"Energy manipulation. I can absorb or expel it."
"So you just blow ships up?"
Lilith nodded with her mouth full of food.
"Is that it? You just use your powers?" Shachi asked.
Lilith shook her head as she swallowed the rest of her food.
"No. I'm pretty great with a knife and my Kenbunshoku Haki is a weapon in and of itself."
"You use Haki?" Law asked. This was extremely interesting. He had barely gotten comfortable with his Busoshoku Haki. He had barely tapped into his Kenbunshoku Haki though.
"Yah. I've always been able to use it."
"That's impressive."
"Yah, comes in handy when I need answers."
"What do you do besides blow up ships?"
"Like, for money? Extract information, find people, kill people. Really just depends on where the money is," Lilith said as she flashed Law a smirk. The table let out a collective laugh and she continued scraping her plate clean.
"So where are you guys from?"
"The North Blue!"
"Oh. It's cold there, yah?"
"Sure is. It's nice here in the sub. It isn't as hot."
Lilith flashed Penguin a smile.
"I have things I need to take care of, so I expect everyone to start their nightly duties soon. There will be a meeting in the morning."
Law stood up from the bench and headed out as his crew wished him a good night. Lilith paid little mind as she finished off the second plate of food. It didn't take long for the rest of the crew to disperse. A full bodied yawn sprung from Lilith and Shachi gave a small laugh.
"You must be exhausted. Do you need help getting back to the infirmary?"
"That'd be great Mister Shachi. Guess I haven't caught up on energy yet, yah?"
"I'm surprised you're awake. I'd be sleeping as much as I could."
Lilith shot him a large smile as she followed him into the hallway. They quickly made their way to the infirmary. Shachi opened the door for her and she flopped down on the cot.
"Sleep well, Miss Lilith," Shachi said, but Lilith was already asleep.