Rubatosis: The unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat.
Obscure Feelings drabble prompt meme
When Ikkaku first joined the Heart Pirates, she was already aware of Law’s powers – after all, she’d seen him cut off her old boss’ still-screaming head and toss it around like a basketball. But it wasn’t until a run-in with some Marines about a month later that she saw his terrifying Mes technique.
There was something just so unsettling about it. Well, no, there were tons of things; the unnatural neatness of the empty square hole in the man’s chest. The clear cube it was contained in. The way it throbbed and peeked out between her captain’s tattooed fingers.
But the worst was how it kept beating. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub. And it kept getting faster the longer the guy stared at it. Not that anyone could blame him – his most vital organ was literally in the hands of the North Blue’s most sadistic surgeon.
Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.
Ikkaku felt her own heart race to meet that pace. She could feel it pounding in her ears. This was…this was so creepy.
Lub-dub-lub-dub-lub-dub.
Finally, Law seemed to notice his opponent wasn’t the only one staring in horror at the heart in his hand, and an expression of concern crossed his face. “Ikkaku, get to the engine room – it’s time to go.”
Despite there being no actual need for her to go to the engine room, she didn’t even think to question his orders. She just took the opportunity to get the hell out of there, dashing back inside the submarine, taking stairs and ladder rungs two at a time, running like the devil himself was on her heels. It wasn’t until she was deep within the belly of the ship that she collapsed to the floor, gasping and panting.
Except she could still hear the heart. The sound pounded in her ears louder than the pistons and the gears. If anything, the hum of the Tang’s engine seemed to amplify it.
LUBDUBLUBDUBLUBDUB
“Shut up shut up shut up!” she shouted, covering her ears with her hands, hoping she could drown out that incessant sound.
Her mouth snapped shut when she felt someone grasp her shoulder. Looking up, she found Law hovering over her, face contrite.
“Sorry,” he said, taking a seat beside her. “I sometimes forget how much that move can freak out the newbies. Should’ve given you a warning.”
“I…it’s fine, Boss,” she choked out, trying to force a smile. It was clear he didn’t buy it, though, so she looked away. “Shouldn’t you be topside, supervising or something?”
“Shachi and Penguin can handle the cleanup and claiming the spoils. What I should be doing is making sure my new mechanic isn’t traumatized.”
“Sorry.”
His hand slid to her neck to feel her pulse. “Don’t apologize. That’s an order. It’s natural to be…uncomfortable with seeing something like that. Human instinct. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
“But—”
“Penguin outright fainted first time he saw it,” Law interrupted, a tiny smirk tugging at his mouth. “Shachi vomited. And me…well, I might have panicked a little that first time I did it and ended up playing hot potato with the guy I took it from.”
Despite herself, Ikkaku giggled at the absurdity of that mental image. Beside her, Law’s smile grew a little more, both at the sound and at the way her racing heart began to slow down to a more reasonable level.
They sat like that for a while, Law explaining his various abilities and following them up with embarrassing tales about some of the more amusing reactions to them, his hand not leaving her shoulder even after her pulse had returned to its regular quiet, steady beat. For her part, Ikkaku didn’t mind, as his voice easily drowned out everything around her, from the engine to her heartbeat.
