On your third day on the Polar Tang you were greeted at lunch by Sachi, Penguin, and Bepo. The mink held a small box out toward you as you finished up your meal.

"A... gift." You say.

"It is!" Sachi replies. "No offense, but you keep scaring the crew half to death, and this was the best we could come up with."

"A bell." You state taking the box from Bepo.

"Eh? How'd you know?" Penguin asks.

"Law asked me if I was against wearing a bell the first day." You explain flatly as you open the box. The small golden bell had a loop on one end and a yellow ribbon threaded through it.

"Sorry." Bepo apologies, lowering his head.

"No need. I had agreed." You admit, taking the bell out of the box and tying it around your neck. You left some slack, but had made a bow in the back automatically.

"Wow, I've never seen someone tie such a pretty bow without looking." Ikkaku muses. "Your hair didn't even slow you down!"

"Bows as accessories were common before the fall." You state automatically. "Creating different patterns with ribbon was a small indulgence."

Law comes into the dining hall, and looks over at the small crowd gathered around you before looking at you. The usual scowl on his face deepens a little.

"Tell me you didn't make her wear that." He grumbles, coming over to the table.

"I agreed prior." You state flatly before anyone else can answer.

"Prio-." Realization dawns on Law and he pinches the bridge of his nose. "It wasn't an order."

"It is an acceptable request." You admit. "It is not uncomfortable to wear."

He sighs before looking over at Bepo. "Any luck?"

The mink shakes his head. "No, captain. We're entering a new section soon though."

"I object to this course of action." You say.

"I'm not going to force you to go through with it." Law says, walking away to get himself something to eat.

You look toward Sachi and Penguin. "Do you not have better uses of resources?"

The two exchange glances. "Captain's orders." Penguin answers with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

"Captain always has a good reason for what he does, (Y/N), it'll work out." Sachi adds, ruffling your hair a little.

"If I do not utilize the provided venue then it will be nothing more than a waste of time and resources." You repeat, grabbing Sachi's hand and setting it back on your head. His face goes red, but you're not looking at him to notice. "That was pleasant, please continue."

"C-Continue?" Sachi stammers.

"She means keep patting her hair." Penguin says, punching Sachi in the shoulder. "I read noble society doesn't do much in the way of physical interactions."

Sachi's free hand is over his face, under his glasses. "I feel like I'm doing something inappropriate." He mutters, red to his ears.

"If it is unpleasant for you-."

"Not at all!" He interrupts, giving you a few more pats before pulling his hand away. "I just did it without thinking and thinking about it is... something."

"If Sachi's head pats are pleasant, you should consider hugging Bepo." Law offers, sitting across from you with a plate of rice balls.

"Physical interactions with minks were common." You state flatly. "More so than between humans. Displays of comfort and affection were often concluded behind closed doors."

Bepo apologizes, but you aren't sure why. Getting up from your seat, you stand in front of the mink, and after a second you open your arms wide.

"I would like to – erf." Bepo sweeps you up into a hug mid-sentence, pushing the last bit of air of your statement out of you unexpectedly. His actions cause the bell around your neck to jingle. You sink into the jumpsuit after Bepo situates you comfortably.

"You are comfortable." You say as your eye lids begin to get heavy. "Do all minks induce sleep."

"If there's one or two of them, yes." Law answers. "Many more than that and they can be too lively."

"Bepo, please set me down, I do not wish to sleep right now." You say as the mink carefully sets you on your feet. You start to walk away, wanting to walk off the sleepy feeling Bepo had given you, when Penguin stops you.

"(Y/N)... uh, can you, jump up and down a couple times for me?" He asks, taking a step back, and averting his eyes.

"... Yes." You hop in place a few times, the bell around your neck jingling softly.

"... Thanks." He says, stepping back further and out of your way as you continue to leave the dining hall. You can hear him trying to whisper as you leave. "Why doesn't it jingle when she walks?"

Days shifted along with the crew. You learned a lot in the short time, cooking, sanitization, sewing - you knew of such things, but had never learned them directly. Even with the bell you still startled half the crew most of the time, but you had begun to say "bell" every time you entered a room.

It was, after all, the intent of having you wear it. Making a musical sound was more effort than you had available, and so you settled on the word.

The result was that most of the crew started calling you Bell.

After a week had passed you had fallen into a routine, you were concerned you were angering the captain, but you couldn't drop the subject no matter how hard you tried. Something compelled you, but you couldn't define exactly what.

"I know that, (Y/N)-ya." He grumbles, putting away books on a shelf. "As I've said, there are people after that gold heart. If we open it and return your emotions we can lie and say we hid it somewhere."

"We could hide it somewhere." You reply.

"You want to risk your emotions falling into someone else's hands? What if a natural disaster breaks it unexpectedly? Or removes it from your reach?"

"That last one would be ideal."

"Yeah? And if you need it to save your life?"

"I..." You pause. You don't make a face, but even without any emotions guiding you, you know your answer will be upsetting.

"... Do you not value your life?" Trafalgar Law asks after a moment, his golden eyes trained on you, looking - as always - for some shimmer of emotion.

"I am a liability and a danger to you and your crew. I cannot say I am fond of any of you, but you have importance to me. I do not want to be the cause of hardship." You answer. "To answer you more directly, I do not. I was meant to see the end of my days a long time ago. I have no val-."

Law's hand is over your mouth so quickly your face hurts. He almost looks angry for a moment before he composes himself.

"Everyone has value." He says as evenly as he can manage. He drops his hand from your mouth. "No exceptions."

You open your mouth, but end up closing it. After a moment you begin to silently hand him books so he can organize the shelf more efficiently.

"You look like you want to argue."

"I do not." You answer flatly, but your brows twitch a little.

Law doesn't prod further, and you work together in silence for a while longer.

.

.

.

.

.

"I object." You say again and Law sets his head down on the desk.

"Your objection is noted." He growls into the paperwork in front of him. It's been two weeks, this is becoming a daily conversation.

"And functionally ignored." You state flatly.

"Not ignored." Law insists, looking up at you. The captain of the Polar Tang had tired eyes, and a strained look even on the best of days. You were certain you weren't helping, but the ramifications of the return of your emotions could make things worse for him and the crew, and so you were persistent.

"Your concerns are being taken into consideration," he continues, shuffling through pages as he speaks. "Once we reach an appropriate destination, we'll go from there."

"All of your time and effort to find a suitable island will be a waste when I do not chose to have my emotions returned." You want to have some kind of change in your voice, to drive your conviction home, but your want doesn't manifest.

"It will not be a waste." He exasperates. "It hasn't been a waste. (Y/N)-ya, I'm really busy, we can talk later."

"Yes." You bow a little and leave the room.

Leaving the office you head down the hallway and go to find someone you can help. It doesn't take long, there's plenty to be done on the ship, and the crew isn't too big.

Jean has you help him clean, leaving you to the lower areas and himself to the upper ones. After he nearly tripped over you, you started randomly bumping the bell around your neck to let him know where you were.

Sachi had you help him with some laundry. He didn't let you do anything, but he talked the entire time, telling you about the crew and captain. Sachi was how you had come to realize that your saviors were pirates, but you hadn't reacted to his words, so you weren't sure he knew you knew. He was very proud of the captain's bounty, though.

You helped Penguin and Ikkaku make lunch, and took a tray to Law's office. It was agreed only you or Bepo could get him to eat when he was distracted with work, and in your case it was because you did what Penguin and Sachi told you to do - stared at him until he started eating. You were sure it irritated him more than anything else, but you were stubborn about not leaving until the tray was empty.

After lunch you helped Hakugan with mending and making clothes. You weren't adept at sewing, but you could organize things for him and the others, and prep supplies. It seemed pirates needed to make and mend most of their own clothes, but it made sense - it was hard to buy what you needed when you were wanted. You understood that struggle directly.

The vestments you had been entombed in had been stolen in an attempt to obfuscate your identity. In the end the plan had failed, but given how the world had gone, you imagined anything would've only been a matter of time. You were doomed to your fate, one way or another.

After dinner, you read in Law's office. Books on history, newspapers from recent deliveries, fliers, and anything else the captain would let you access. The world changed quite a lot while you were entombed, but the broad strokes seemed mostly the same.

Law leans against his desk and looks over at you until you put a bookmark into the pages and close what you're currently reading.

"I said we could talk later." He says in a tone that says more. "How are you so certain?"

"...People do not understand how much of themselves are their emotions. I am empty. There is nothing within me." You say flatly. "Stoic. Repressed. Devoid. These words are still people who have emotions. They may push them aside, or utilize them in unconventional ways, or perhaps even convey them in unique ways, but none are emotionless.

"I am." You look up at him and Law is reminded how unsettling it can be to try and read you, or even truly perceive you. You can see the discomfort on his face. "The only thing that guides me are the last few thoughts I had before my emotions were sealed away. I cannot trust myself in any other regard."

"Do you trust yourself in your assessment of me and my crew?"

You're quiet for a long moment, walking yourself through the last couple weeks. "More than I trust myself." You answer eventually.

The faint smile on his face is reassuring. "I'm not promising it'll be easy. I can't even promise it will be the best course of action." He says quietly. "I just want you to make a decision once everything is in place."

"Very well." You agree and open the book you've been reading.