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Part One: I’m Going Slightly Mad

Prologue: Coming Soon
 Until noted, ages are as follows: Law: 19, Shachi: 20, Penguin: 21, Bepo: 19, Luffy: 16. The rest of the Straw Hats are adjusted ages as well.   It started with a flyer for a carnival left on a Grand Line University copier that he found while copying a practice self-test he found online for “the boards1.” A battered, slightly torn piece of paper that was printed on bright red, hurts-your-eyes-to-look-at-it paper.Who in their right mind would print out such a thing, much less on red paper? he thought to himself. Placing the forgotten flyer on top of the copier, he made sure to make three copies of his self test. One to take the test with, one to take the test with in case he failed the first time, and a third copy just in case he failed the first two.It was the last time he thought about the brilliant red flyer until later that week.

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Sitting around his Grand Line University’s college dorm room, North Blue High School’s former track team captain and three-time national marathon youth division champion Trafalgar Law sipped at his beer. Being the youngest of the four former track team members sitting around the too-small room, he wasn’t quite old enough to buy alcohol himself, so his former assistant Captain Penguin had bought a case of beer with him.“Did you hear that there’s a carnival coming to town?” Penguin asked, tilting his hat back to look at his three friends.Thoughtful, Law stopped picking at the label on his beer.“We should go,” Penguin suggested. “All four of us.”“Yeah, it would be fun! Eating cheesy fries, hot dogs and nachos in the hot sun while drinking lemonade and riding rides until you puke, hunh Bepo?” Shachi said, patting Bepo’s shoulder.“It was one time! And I was fourteen!” Bepo cried out. “You’re never gonna let me live it down, are you?” The blond haired black man pouted.“NOPE!” Shachi and Penguin chirped together, wearing matching grins.“So Law, you’re going, right?” Bepo asked as he raised the beer bottle to his lips.Law sat back in his seat.“No.”“No?” all three men asked at once.“I have the boards coming up. I need to study. Besides, carnivals are for children.”“You’re only nineteen, Captain,” said Penguin. “You need to loosen up every now and then.”“Yeah Captain, live a little!” Shachi added.“No.” Law reiterated. “I also have to work on my internship applications.*”“It would be fun to go and act like we were kids again Captain,” Bepo murmured, hanging his head.Wiping his free hand on his pants leg, Law sighed.“...fine. I’ll go,” he capitulated. “But if I fail my boards, I’ll hate you three forever.”“YAY! It’ll be fun!” cheered all three men.Law frowned.“Why do I have a feeling that I’ll regret this?” he murmured while the trio high-fived each other.*~*~*~*~*“Step forward please, five dollars to enter, ride tickets are a dollar apiece or six for five dollars, available at each ride you want to take,”Law handed money to the bored-looking middle-aged redhead behind the ticket counter. “The park closes at midnight,” she told him, shifting around her cigarette as he took his ticket and held out his arm for the bright pink armband that showed he was too young to buy alcohol.“I heard you give that soliloquy to the fifty other people ahead of me,” Law said.“Step forward please, five dollars each to enter, ride tickets are a dollar apiece or six for five dollars, available at each ride you want to take,” she said to the couple behind Law.It was obvious she was ignoring Law’s snarky remark.“Took you long enough!” Shachi said, placing a heavy hand on Law’s shoulder.The blue-haired man frowned.“Okay, I’m here. Don’t expect me to ride anything with you three. I’ll simply watch.”“No way Captain! You’re riding everything with us!” Penguin exclaimed, grinning.“Yeah Captain, what’s the use of going to a carnival if you’re not gonna do anything?” Shachi said, guiding Law over to a roller coaster line.“I hate you all,” the blue-haired medical student grumbled.Waiting at the end of the line, Law didn’t see the teen until he found himself sitting on the ground, the back of his head against the metal fence.“OOPS, sorry sorry! I was chasing after my balloon and didn’t see you mister! You okay?” a young voice said.Shaking his head, Law squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to get rid of the spots floating in front of his eyes.“OI! Watch where you’re going kid!” Shachi cried out as Bepo held out his hand to Law.“Here Law, lemme help you up,” the dark-skinned man offered, holding out his hand.“Ooh, you’re gonna have a nice speed knot on your head!” the same unfamiliar voice said.“I think Captain got knocked silly,” Penguin commented to the voice.Dizzy from the hit, Law attempted to look up at the boy, frowning. “You knock...knocked me down,” he growled.“I lost my balloon!” the unfamiliar voice shouted. “Besides, I apologized!”“Monkey D. Luffy! What did you do?” cried out a female voice.“I bumped into this guy while chasing my balloon!” Law heard the voice, now named Luffy, explain. “It floated away anyways.”“You work here! You can always get another!” the female voice said. A slightly older teen girl with shoulder-length red hair and pale skin walked around the raven-haired teen and into Law’s range of vision.“I wanted that one, Nami! Its red!” Luffy explained.“I’ll buy you another one! Its coming out of your pay anyways!” Nami shouted back.“Hmph!” Luffy exclaimed, angrily crossing his arms.“What about my friend? Captain got knocked into the fence!” Shachi shouted.“Oh...here. Let me help you up,” Luffy offered, holding out his hand.Waving his arm around until it hit a hand, Law grasped it. Blinking a few times, he was finally able to focus on the skinny teen before using his hand as leverage to stand shakily upright.Surprisingly, the boy didn’t move an inch, despite Law obviously outweighing the teen.“I had my hand out too, Law,” Bepo bemoaned as he withdrew his hand.“It was only right that Captain had the person that knocked him down help him stand,” Penguin said.Towering over the boy, Law’s blurry gaze looked down at the raven-haired boy, his gold eyes taking in the short teen’s worn but clean jorts**, strangely enough with fur at the bottom of each leg, brilliant red t-shirt with the sleeves cut off and battered straw hat adorned with a red hatband that hung down his back by a worn white string. Wide dark brown eyes, the left outlined with a short scar glanced worriedly at him before they looked down as sandaled feet shifted in the trampled grass.

“A straw...hat? You...you knocked me down,” Law said again, wobbling a bit.“Maybe you should sit down. I hit you kinda hard,” Luffy said, slowly leading him over to the nearest bench.Getting out of the sun, the relative coolness of the shade felt good to Law. He sat down and placed his head in his hands.“Ouch,” he murmured more to himself.“I’ll get you some ice! Nami, keep an eye on him, willya?” Luffy asked before hurrying off.“Mr. Captain, please don’t sue my friend! He’s only sixteen and doesn’t have any money!” Nami said, sitting next to the blue-haired medical student. “Besides, he only works part time for the carnival. We all do.”Law turned his head and saw the young lady who was speaking to him. Blinking, he closed his eyes, glad that his head seemed to be settling back to normal.“It’s Trafalgar Law and I have no intention of suing anyone, especially a kid. Besides, it’s not a serious injury. Only a slight concussion,” he explained. “A couple of pain killers should get rid of the headache.”“How do you know? Are you a doctor?” she asked tentatively.“Not yet, but I’ve been studying medicine my entire life. I’ll be finding out if I passed my medical boards soon, so it’ll be Doctor Trafalgar when I pass,” he replied just as Luffy returned with a towel full of ice. Placing it carefully on the back of Law’s head, the teen sat on the other side of Law.“Wow mister. I feel really bad for running into you like that,” he said in a sad voice. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”“Its okay Luffy. Future Doctor Trafalgar’s not gonna sue. I have it on video.” Nami said, tapping on her phone.“What?” Law exclaimed, sitting upright to glare at her. “You recorded me? Without telling me?”“How else am I going to get evidence if you change your mind?” Nami said, smirking wickedly.Law sat back and groaned before he realized that Luffy was still holding the towel full of ice to his head. Taking the ice away from the teen, he frowned again.“You don’t have to hold it on my head, Straw Hat-ya. I already told your girlfriend I won’t sue you.”“I’m not dating Nami, she’s my friend. Besides Traff..Troforgo...Torao, you have pretty tiger eyes,” said the teen.Shocked at the admission, Law turned and looked at the teen. All thoughts of correcting his mangled name flew from his head.Luffy stared deep into his eyes, a slight blush on his cheeks, yet determined chocolate brown eyes easily locked with Law’s surprised gold ones.“I really like your eyes,” Luffy said again before standing and placing the ice pack back on the medical student’s head. “I should go. I’m supposed to be working.”“Damned straight you should be working! If I get in trouble, I’m gonna fine you again!” Nami shouted as she walked away, Luffy following her through the crowded carnival grounds. He turned around three more times to stare unabashedly at Law while he trailed behind her.“I think you have an admirer, Captain,” Penguin said, walking up to where Law was sitting. “I think he bumped into you on purpose.”“Yeah. That boy turned to look back at you a bunch of times, yet he didn’t bump into anyone even once,” Shachi remarked.“That’s silly. He can’t be more than eleven or twelve years old,” Law said, once more removing the ice pack off of his head. He put it on the bench next to him as Bepo sat down.“He’s sixteen, Captain. And...I think you should expect to see him again,” Bepo predicted.*~*~*~*~*Sitting next to Bepo with Penguin and Shachi behind them, Law held his breath as the roller coaster made its way slowly up the first hill. Despite the apathetic expression he wore, the blue-haired man was terrified. Regardless of how many times he had ridden on roller coasters, each and every time he was positive that this would be the time when the car would “fly off the rickety tracks, and smash us all into the ground.”Speeding rapidly down the first hill, Law held on tight to the shoulder bars, his eyes watering as he held them open. Determined to see the very moment the car he was riding in finally flew from the tracks, he was surprised when the ride finished all too soon and he found the four of them rolling to a slow stop by the exit.“Make sure you have all of your items with you as you exit the car,” said a bored-sounding voice. The green-haired man unlatched the shoulder harness and raised it up as Law unfastened the seat belt.“Zoro! That’s him!” a voice said as he stepped out of the car. Looking up, Law saw Nami pointing at him.Zoro’s gray eyes looked him over once and scowled. “Don’t hurt Luffy or I’ll break that pretty face of yours,” he threatened as a middle-aged woman got into Law’s abandoned seat.“Pretty face...what? Why would I hurt that kid? I don’t even know him!” Law angrily exclaimed.“He picked you. You have no choice in the matter,” Nami explained, shrugging. “He’s like that. Once he chooses someone, they’re his. For better or for worse. And he actually fell for you.”“Hn...that’s a first,” Zoro remarked, locking the middle-aged woman’s shoulder harness.Law’s face darkened. “Look. I have my internship coming up soon. I have no intentions of having any kind of relationship with anyone until I am done with it, much less a relationship with not only a child, but a male one as well. My life is about to become much too busy for anything with anyone. So you tell your friend to look elsewhere for a boyfriend.”“You’ll see,” Nami said turning away. “You have a little more than a year before Luffy turns eighteen. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”Law harrumphed and turned to exit the ride. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a quick glimpse of red, but it disappeared when he turned to look fully at it.*~*~*~*~*Frustrated, Law walked away from the dart balloon game booth after spending nearly a hour there...and much of his money...trying to win a giant stuffed polar bear. This game has to be rigged, he thought, just as the booth’s winner’s bell rang.“Eeeee! I won!” a high-pitched woman’s voice cried out.“A giant tiger plushie for the beautiful little lady with great aim!” the blond carny barker shouted, a battered, yet somehow still lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.Law turned to glare at the booth as the winner and her three friends clapped and took selfies with the handsome carny.“Fuck this, I’m hungry,” he growled. Still fuming at the loss of his money and the plushie, the blue-haired man stormed angrily away from the booth.*~*~*~*~*Walking behind his friends, Law munched on the onigiri that he had bought at the only booth he found that didn’t sell breaded fried food. Lost in thought, he nearly tripped over the person standing in front of him. Inhaling his bite, he coughed then spit rice and tuna off to one side as a brilliant smile appeared on his blocker’s face.“Hi Torao!” Luffy’s cheerful voice said. “I got you a corn dog!” He held out the mustard-covered food item.“I don’t like corn dogs. I don’t like bread of any sort,” Law said, frowning as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.“Oh…” Luffy replied shoving the entire corn dog into his mouth and chewing a few times before swallowing and tossing the stick into a nearby trash can. “Oh well, I didn’t know. But, that explains why you’re eating onigiri. I also like fish! Any kind of meat, really.”“Why are you telling me this? I don’t know you.” Law stated flatly.“Silly Torao! So that when we go out on our first date, you can take me anywhere to eat!” Luffy countered.“Why would I...you’re sixteen! I have at least two years on your age!” Law said, exasperated. “And my name is Trafalgar, not Torao!”Luffy clasped his hands behind his back and rocked back and forth. “I’ll be seventeen soon. May fifth. We’ll be back here after my birthday next year. I’ll be eighteen then.” he calmly explained before grinning shyly.“And I’ll be almost twenty one! Too old to date a kid like you! And who said I was interested in men anyway?” Law said, crossing his arms and glaring at the teen.“Idunno. But if you weren’t interested in me, why are we having a conversation about our first date?” Luffy asked, rocking himself back and forth.At that question, Law paused.Why are we having this conversation?“Made you think!” the teen chirped, grinning. “I’ll see you next year for our first official date, okay?” he added, waving as he ran off, disappearing into the crowd once more.“I heard you have a date with Luffy next year Captain,” Penguin said, coming up behind the blue-haired student. “Looks like you have a boyfriend.”“I certainly do not have a boyfriend!” Law countered, glaring at his friend.“Wanna go find Luffy and tell him that?” Shachi teased. “He must really like you if he’s willing to offer you food. I heard Nami at the goldfish ping pong game tell someone that that kid eats away most of his paycheck.”“Yeah, he’s supposedly a bottomless pit,” Penguin said, smirking. “Looks like you’d better start saving right now your money for that date next year!”Law glared at the pair before angrily taking a bite from his onigiri. Turning away from the duo, he nearly walked into Bepo.“Captain,” the blond haired black man said timidly. “Luffy won you a prize. He said you were kinda pissed at him right now, so he gave this to me to give to you.”Law jawdropped.There in his friend’s arms was the giant plushie polar bear he nearly went broke trying to win.“How...he...Straw Hat-ya won this for me? Why?” he asked.“Luffy said he watched you try to win. He also said you sucked at throwing darts,” Bepo said, chuckling.“Not funny,” the blue-haired man grumbled.“Sorry,” Bepo replied.Law held out a hand and stroked the plushie bear down the nose.“So soft,” he said to no one in particular. Eyes shining, he took the plushie from his friend’s arms and held it close. Turning his head slightly, he again saw a flash of red before it once again disappeared in the crowd.“C’mon Captain, you can moon over your boyfriend’s gift later. Let’s go ride the ferris wheel and spit on the people below!” Shachi suggested.“Gross,” Bepo said, heading over to where Penguin and Shachi were standing.“Yeah...I’m not doing that. I’d rather sip beer and watch the lights,” Penguin commented as he walked towards through the thinning crowd. He headed towards a nearby beer stand and proceeded to wait in line.“I’m done drinking alcohol for the night,” Law admitted. “I’m going over to that bench to wait.”“That’s fine. I don’t wanna carry your boyfriend’s gift if you decide you’re too drunk to lug that thing around,” Shachi disdainfully remarked.Law walked over to a nearby bench and sat down to wait as Bepo and Shachi joined Penguin in the beer line. Making sure the bench didn’t have anything that could stain the pristine white fur, he sat the bear down next to him.“What does that kid see in me? I’ve done nothing but give him reason after reason for not dating me. Not to mention I’m not sure if I like anyone, much less another man.”“Maybe you just haven’t met the right person...until now,” a soft voice replied from behind the bear.Surprised, Law looked around the plushie to meet Luffy’s eyes. The teen for once was wearing a serious expression.“Why me, Straw Hat-ya? Why have you decided that some guy that you just met today is the one you wanted to be with?” he asked.“I’ll tell you someday,” Luffy said, a bashful smile appearing on his lips. “But for now, just know that you’re the one I’m supposed to be with, okay?”“So...something told you that we’re “supposed to be together?”” Law asked, making air quotes.“Yup!” Luffy chirped.“So...you’re trying to win me over?” Law asked, frowning.“Yup!” was the answer.“What if I don’t want to just...arbitrarily be with someone who thinks “we belong together?” What if I don’t want to be with anyone? Don’t I get a say in the matter?” the blue-haired medical student asked, getting angrier at each word.“Then I’ll just have to try harder,” the teen replied. Leaning over, he suddenly kissed Law on the lips.Law’s head snapped back as if burned.“I. will not be kissed by some...child I just met today! I will not be kissed by anyone!” Law said, standing.Leaving the bear behind, he stormed towards the carnivals’ exit gate.“Captain! Where are you going? We’re supposed to ride the ferris wheel!” Penguin asked, watching as Law hurried past.“Captain, what about your bear?” Shachi added, two beers in his hands.“Law, what happened?” Bepo asked, tossing his beer into a nearby trash receptacle and hurrying after Law.“You three go and enjoy your ride. I’ll be waiting in the car,” he replied tersely.Weaving his way through the crowd, he angrily tossed his pink armband into the trashcan near the exit.“Thank you, come again!” a cheerful female voice said as he stepped through the exit and onto the parking lot.“Not likely,” Law retorted as he headed towards Bepo’s battered car.*~*~*~*~*Waking up the next day, Law rubbed his hand down his face.While waiting in the car for his friends, he dozed off, only waking when they returned. He vaguely remembered Penguin and Bepo helping him up the stairs and into his dorm room, where he fell onto his bed and fell asleep, fully clothed. Exhaustion and stress from the unaccustomed outing had hit him like a ton of bricks.I should work on my intern applications. Our grades should be posted any day now, he thought when he woke up from his nap. He yawned and rubbed at an eye then sat up on his bed. Gazing around his room for his laptop, his eyes passed over the foreign shape at first before doing a double take.There, in one of the four chairs around his tiny coffee table sat the polar bear plushie, now wearing a red ribbon, tied into a bow around its neck.

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“I said I have no idea how the bear got into your room, Law! Why would I put it there?” Shachi shouted at Law.“I have no fucking idea! Maybe you thought it was funny!” Law shouted back.“I was too drunk after the carnival to carry anything!” Shachi admitted, blushing furiously.“He’s right Law. Bepo and I had to use both our hands to carry his nearly passed-out ass to the car,” Penguin explained.“I almost lost the bag of prizes I had won,” Bepo added mopingly.
“Sorry, man,” Shachi murmured, looking at the floor.“Then how in the FUCK did it suddenly appear on the SIXTH FLOOR of my dorm in my room?” Law shrieked, incensed.“Idunno man, magic, maybe?” Shachi shrieked back, the orca hat he had won falling off of his head.“I’d start locking the windows if I was you Captain,” Bepo suggested, staring at the open window.“HOW is ANYONE going to get into a SIXTH FLOOR WINDOW?” Law yelled at the blond haired black man.“Sorry sorry. It was just a suggestion,” Bepo murmured.“Really, Captain. Think about it. Someone would have had to climb up six floors, open your tiny window, get the bear inside, sneak past sleeping you, put the bear in the chair, sneak back out that tiny window and then scale back down six flights. Does that really seem plausible to you? Or would it be more logical for someone to simply ask someone that lives in the dorm to let them in, come into your room through the door that’s usually unlocked most of the time for us anyways, put down the plushie and then leave?” Penguin asked, crossing his arms resolutely.The blue-haired student thought for a moment, then sighed. “Yeah...well, I guess the second scenario is the more logical one,” he mused. “Besides, why would any of you do such a thing? You simply would have woken me up and handed him to me.”“Daaaawwwww! Law’s already decided that the plushie is a “he!” Shachi teased.“Shut up,” Law said, blushing slightly.“He is a pretty badassed bear,” Bepo admitted, petting the toy on the back. “I approve!”“I don’t need your approval,” Law grouched.“Sorry,” Bepo said, his hand dropping down.“Either way, I need to work on my intern applications. I need you clowns to leave so I can do just that.” Law added, pointing to the door.“Okay, we’re going,” Penguin said, grinning. “After all, you have to be able to impress your new boyfriend by becoming an intern at a fancy hospital!”“OUT!” Law yelled.Laughing, the trio left the dorm room. *~*~*~*~*“You did WHAT?” Nami shrieked at the raven-haired teen.“I found out what uni Torao goes to, the floor he lives on, climbed up to the window and left the polar bear,” Luffy repeated. “It was only six stories. I’ve climbed higher before!”“Yeah, but you had a safety net before! What if you had fallen? You would have died from that height!” she yelled back, her face beet red and her hands balled into tight fists.“But I didn’t fall...” Luffy began.“This time! What if you fall the next time you climb up, or the next? Or the time after that? I’d be….we’d be….” she said, slumping in frustration.“Its okay. You still have Zoro and….” Luffy started once more.“It’s not the same! They aren’t you, Luffy!” she said, angrily. “You dumbass! Do you have any idea how...how...special you are to us?”Staring down at the ground, Luffy kicked at an imaginary pebble. “I’m not all that special.”“Yes! Yes you are, you stupid dumbass!” she cried out, grabbing his hands. “Next time, promise me you’ll do things the way other humans do things!”“I will,” Luffy interrupted, pouting. “But it’s not as much fun.”“Good,” Nami added, letting go of his hands. “I...we all just want you to be safe, that’s all. If something happens to you….”“I know, I know,” Luffy said, looking into her eyes. “Everything falls apart.”*~*~*~*~*Law turned the page of the book and jotted down a few notes before resuming his studies. A cool night breeze blew in through his open windows, ruffling the pages of the notebook as he went over to the microwave to reheat his neglected coffee mug. Leaning heavily against the table, he rubbed his bloodshot eyes while he waited.I’ll just sit down for a moment and wait for my coffee to heat up, he thought, moving over to his overstuffed easy chair. Sitting, he leaned his head back and was soon asleep.The sound of footsteps on the linoleum floor startled the blue-haired man out of his doze. Blinking drowsily, he looked up into dark brown eyes and a bright smile.I must be dreaming, he thought as he closed his eyes once more. Feeling a soft kiss on his forehead, he smiled gently before settling back down in his chair. Cracking open one eye, he glanced over to see a red blur exit out his window before he fell into a dreamless sleep.Waking the next day, Law yawned and stretched before he realized that he had not only slept the entire night away, but he had had the most restful sleep in months.*~*~*~*~*“WOW, Captain, you scored the highest out of everyone! A perfect score!” Penguin cried out. “Hospitals are gonna be begging for you to come intern for them!”“Shut up, you’re embarrassing me,” Law replied, not attempting to hide the huge grin he wore.“I’d expect nothing less from my Captain!” Shachi whooped, picking the new doctor up onto his shoulders. “Put me down!” Law grouched, his grin not fading when Bepo steadied him from behind. “But Captain, you’re the youngest person to become a doctor in Grand Line University’s history! How could we not celebrate!” Shachi bragged. The crowd around them stared up a the blue-haired doctor before momentarily parting, only to flow back to continue viewing the test board.“It’s a very impressive thing you did, Law,” Bepo remarked seriously.Law turned around to stare at his best friend. “Yes, I suppose so.”“We need to celebrate! Let’s go back to the carnival and get wasted and ride the rides!” Shachi recommended. Law's smile fell as he got down from his friends’ shoulders.“No. What if that boy harrasses me again? Now more than ever, I really don't want to be in a relationship, especially with a kid. A male kid,” he reiterated yet again.“If nothing else, you can let him down easily,” Penguin suggested. “From listening to his friends that day, you might be his first crush.”Law walked off a few feet and crossed his arms in thought. I should let him down easy, he is just a kid, thought Law. After all, he really was just trying to get my attention...even if I did end up with a mild concussion.“All right. We can go back,” the new doctor agreed. “YOSH! First round's on me!” Shachi cried out, grinning madly.The four friends quickly piled into Bepo’s car and drove to the carnival grounds.Driving up to the gate, the quartet looked around the densely fog-covered area. “Wha...what happened?” Penguin shouted, looking around.Bepo slowly drove close to where the ticket booth was while the others regarded the empty parking lot. Getting out of the car, Law strode purposely over to the ticket booth. The cigarette-smoking woman with the red dreadlocks that greeted each customer was nowhere to be seen.Craning his neck, Law gazed around, squinting his eyes in an attempt to look through the fog. “The rides were gone. Everything seems to have been taken away.”“But...this was supposed to be their last weekend!” yelled Shachi, his voice muffled.“Are you sure?” queried Bepo.“Yeah! I grabbed one of their flyers before, in case we wanted to come back!” he answered. “Penguin, do you still have it?”The oldest of the four stuck his hand into his pocket and brought forth the brilliant red paper. Opening it up, he read it over, the blond-haired black man peering over his shoulder. “He's right. They are supposed to leave on Monday. Today's Friday,” he explained to the other two.“Well, fuck,” murmured Shachi. “I wanted to get Captain drunk.”“We can still go to a bar,” said Penguin.“No we can’t. Captain’s too young to drink, remember?” Bepo replied.“Its okay Bepo. I wasn’t going to drink anyway. Lets just go,” Law insisted. Shoulders drooping slightly, he stuck his hand in his pocket and turned toward the car. Over the hood of the vehicle, he saw a glimmer of red in the fog and frowned at it before he got in.*~*~*~*~*“That was close, Luffy! Too close! I’m not doing that again! It’ll take me a good couple of days to recover from making the parking lot look empty,” Nami grouched, tiredly lowering her arms. The silver light from her blue staff dimmed, then went out. She looked at it, then stroked it lovingly.“I’m sorry Nami. I just wanted to see him once more before we left. But I didn’t want him to see me.” Luffy mumbled, hanging his head. Raising his hand, he glanced down at the red strand that made its way from his left pinkie finger to the car now pulling out of the lot. Glancing towards the vehicle, he smiled sadly as line after line of vehicles faded back into view.“See you next spring,” he murmured.

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Rushing, Doctor Trafalgar Law made his way from the doctors’ locker room to the nurse’s desk. It was his first day as an intern at Grand Line General Hospital, and he was already running late. Turning the corner, he nearly ran into the doctor in charge of interns.“Nice of you to join us, Doctor Trafalgar. I hope you take this much care towards your patients when you start your own practice!” the elderly doctor lectured derisively. She took a long swallow from a silver flask before returning it to her lab coat pocket.“I’m most sorry, Doctor Kureha,” Law replied, his face red as the other interns turned to stare at him. Huffing, Doctor Kureha turned and began to walk down the hallway, the interns following closely behind her. Law made sure to hang at the back of the group.“It’ll be okay, she’s not as bad as she sounds,” a kind voice stage-whispered. Looking down, Law saw that a tiny teen with a headful of curly, brown hair had spoken. Smiling shyly, he looked up at Law with huge brown eyes. “She’s really nice, it’s just her first time teaching interns.”Law couldn’t help but notice how cute the boy looked.“And how would you know that?” he whispered back. “Shouldn’t you be in middle school?” The teen blushed. “I’m I’m a first year intern too. I know that 15 is young to have graduated from Drum’s Medical school but…”Law gawked at the teen. “You...you’re 15? And I thought I was young becoming an intern at 19.”“Yeah...but I had help. Doctor Kureha’s my great-grandmother. I learned everything I know about medicine from her while at Drum,” the teen replied. “She’s been teaching me since...well, ever since I said I wanted to be a doctor when I was four.”“Oh.” Law said simply. “Nice to meet you, Doctor…?”“Oh, sorry!” the teen said, holding out his hand. “Tony Tony Chopper! Uh...I suppose it’s Doctor Chopper now,” he said, nearly bumping into the back of a stopped intern.“Are you finished talking, Doctor Chopper?” Doctor Kureha demanded sharply.“OH! Uh, yeah...yes Doctorine!” Chopper cried out.“Good! I’m here to teach you little shits my methods, not to listen to you talk like a group of magpies!” she yelled. And if any of you other than Doctor Chopper call me Doctorine, I’ll personally remove your eyeballs and surgically attach them to your ass so you can see where you’ve been! Do you understand?” she asked, both hands on her hips.“Yes ma’am!” exclaimed the terrified interns.“Good! Now come on, we have to check the first patient for head lice!” she chirped happily.The shoulders of everyone in the group other than Doctor Chopper fell at the mention of the creepy-crawly bugs.This is going to be a long first day, the blue-haired doctor thought gloomily.*~*~*~*~*Falling through the door of his new apartment, Law caught himself just before he faceplanted on the doorstep. Yawning, he placed his keys on the table, then toed off his shoes.Sixteen hours of following Doctor Kureha around, a quick bite to eat, and then another eight hours of overtime assisting with the victims of a bus crash. Law thought, another yawn catching him midstep. But I was finally able to assist on my first surgery as a doctor.Smiling to himself, he began to strip, leaving clothes everywhere as he headed to the bathroom for a shower.After what was probably the fastest shower he had ever taken, the blue-haired doctor wrapped a towel around his waist and headed to his bedroom. Avoiding most of the still unpacked boxes scattered around, he dug around in one marked "Clothes and bedroom shit" in Shachi's unmistakable handwriting to find a clean pair of bright yellow boxer briefs. Tossing the damp towel on the floor, he fell into his bed and pulled up the blankets. In seconds, he was in a dreamless sleep.Hours later, he awoke to the sound of his phone ringing. Sounding like it was coming from where he had last tossed his clothes, he stumbled towards the sound. His pants lying over a half-empty food box near the kitchen, he grabbed the device from his pants pocket and unlocked it right before it would have headed to voicemail.“M’shi moshi, This had better be good,” he growled.“It is, Law,” the voice on the other end said. “Is that any way to speak to your loving father?”Rubbing his hand over his face in an attempt to wake himself up more, Law sighed. “Cora-san, I just fell into bed a little bit ago. What is it you want?”“I can’t call my son to congratulate him on his first day of internship?” whined the friendly voice. “Though, technically that was yesterday….”“I suppose it’s okay if you do so,” Law said, shuffling to the kitchen. He opened a cabinet and grabbed a mug.“Good, because I was going to do so, like it or not!” Donquixote Rosinante, also known as Corazon chirped happily.“What time is it?” asked Law.“Its 1:46 in the afternoon. What time did you finish your shift?””Around 10 this morning, I think,” Law replied, filling the mug with water from the faucet. “I showered and went to bed.”“You actually slept? That’s great Law!” Corazon shouted.Moving the phone back from his ear, Law drank half of the water. “And I’d still be asleep if you hadn’t called,” he grouched.“Oh...OH! Then I’ll let you go back to sleep!” Corazon exclaimed. “Goodnight Law, and congratulations on your first full day as an intern! We’ll have to meet for dinner this week so you can tell me all about it!”“Okay,” Law said, yawning into the phone.“Go to sleep son, I love you. Good night,” murmured Corazon proudly before he hung up.“Mmmmm…” Law replied, but only the disconnect tone heard him.Drinking the rest of the water, he placed the mug in the sink, then stretched. Absently scratching his ribs, he shuffled back to bed, making sure to plug in his phone and place it on the nightstand. Lying down, he shoved his head under the pillow in order to block out the autumn afternoon sun.“I need to put up my blackout curtains,” he grumbled before yawning once more and quickly falling asleep.*~*~*~*~*
“Get down, Law, GET DOWN!” he heard his father yell.

A bullet whizzed past his head close enough to clip off hair as the older man frantically yanked down the boy and rolled away from the window, his young son in his arms.

Law heard his mother shriek as large pieces of rubble fell from the ceiling onto her outstretched leg.

“Mom, I’m scared!” his little sister cried.

“It’ll be okay Lami, just stay under the bed, okay sweetie?” his mother cooed, failing to hide the tremor of pain in her voice.

“Dear, I’ll be right over. Law, go hide under the bed with Lami, okay? Be a brave boy and keep your sister calm,” he heard his father say.

Crawling over to the bed, Law curled his body around his little sister.

“...I’m scared,” Lami whispered, wide-eyed as the siblings watched their father try to lift the heavy ceiling cinder blocks off of their mother.

The war zone the Trafalgar family was in was known for skirmishes breaking out over territory, but none had ever hit so close to their home before. The warlord that had taken over the region was determined to show off his power by keeping Flevence under near-constant attack in order to try and flush out the rebels.

This time, the Heart Clinic was right in the middle of the clash between the rebels and the warlord’s forces.

Donquixote Doflamingo simply didn’t care that his army was sometimes the recipient of medical treatment from the skilled pair of doctors. All he cared about was winning and taking over the White City and forcing its residents to fight against the rebels.

All the rebels cared about was taking back their territory from Doflamingo, and it didn’t matter who got in the way of that goal.

Being unwilling to take sides, both Doctor Trafalgars were often harassed by the rebels as well as the warlord. Food was often stolen and sold for high prices, medical supplies taken, and the doctors were frequently harried whenever they left the clinic either by the warlord’s forces or the rebels, depending on who had won the last conflict.

But this latest skirmish was the first one that had caught the family-run clinic in their crossfire. And the family inside was unprepared for the ferocity of the battle.

Law’s father continued to attempt to lift the concrete blocks off of his wife’s leg, the sounds of gunshots approaching the clinic.

“Law...they’re coming closer!” Lami shrieked, just as a nearby explosion went off, knocking the boy unconscious.

When Law awoke, night had fallen. Gunfire was still going off in the distance, but he heard nothing nearby.

Coughing softly, he rubbed at his face in an attempt to clear the gritty powder from his watering eyes. Bending his neck, he looked towards his parents.

The roof was completely demolished, crushing Law’s mother under the weight of the cinder blocks. However, his father was still conscious, raspy breathing filling the room, his body nearly completely buried under the wrecked ceiling. Slowly, the man looked towards the bed under which his children were hiding.

“Law...Lawrence, are you awake?” called out his father in a gravelly voice.

“I...I’m here,” answered the ten year old. “I’m unhurt.”
“Quick boy, take your sister and run! Run away from here as fast as you can! Get away from anything and everything that might hurt you two, you hear me? Find someplace safe and hide yourself and your sister until the battle’s over, then leave this area and don’t return! Promise me you'll run, fast and far, okay Lawrence? Promise me!” Doctor Trafalgar rasped forcefully before coughing wetly.
“I p...promise Dad! I’ll run. Fast and far, and I'll take care of Lami,” he whispered back. “Lami? Lami, wake up and say something to Dad,” he said, lifting his arm from around his younger sister.

As his hand came away from Lami, he felt something sticky and wet. Raising his hand higher, he saw the limb was coated in blood. A beam from a nearby street light shone through a bullet hole in the wall behind her small body, illuminating a pool of red fluid surrounding them both.

Looking into his sibling’s face, he saw that her eyes were open and staring off into nothingness. Medical training taking over, he gently rolled her over and lifted the bloody shirt, exposing her back. There was a bullet entrance wound, but after carefully rolling her onto her back to examine her front, he realized that there was no exit wound.

Her tiny body had somehow prevented the bullet from hitting Law.

“Dad?” the boy called out softly. “Dad, Lami’s…” he choked out, unable to continue speaking.

Silence answered the boy, the sound of his father’s rough breathing no longer filling the room.

Lying back down, he hugged his sister’s body and waited for the gunfire to cease.

Dozing off and on, he awoke around daybreak to a deafening silence. Lying still, his arms around Lami's cold body, he slowly counted to a thousand before he dared to move. Unwrapping himself from his sister, he tenderly kissed her forehead like he had done so many times previously at their bedtime before he closed her eyes.

“I'll run, Lami. I'll run fast enough for the two of us. I'll run so fast that no one will ever catch me. And I'll live a long life for all three of you. I’ll make you three proud, I promise!”

Going into the small bedroom he shared with his sister, the boy grabbed the traditional spotted white hat that his parents had given him on his last birthday, then silently left the half-destroyed clinic. Making sure to look all around him in the pre-dawn gloom, he made his way into the street.

Bodies of friends, neighbors, people he had known for most of his young life lay everywhere.

He made sure to not look too closely at any of them.

A far-off explosion startled the boy, who hid in what once was a nearby clothes store, its roof and half of the front caved in. Finding a small space, he crawled in and hid until the sun was much higher in the cloudy sky.

Slipping from doorway to doorway, Law moved in the opposite direction of the explosion. Going around rubble from shattered buildings, bodies and vehicles, it took him most of the morning to go down the once-familiar street. As rain began to fall, he heard the sound of heavy machinery coming his way. Ducking into the bakery where his mother used to send him for bread and pastries, he felt the unstable floor give way beneath his feet. He managed to not cry out as he splash-landed into the bakery's cellar, ending up in water well over his head. Sputtering, he swam towards the surface just as the machine’s commotion and a multitude of voices stopped too close for comfort.

Trembling as he silently floated, Law nearly yelled in terror when something soft hit him. A loaf of bread rotated near him, pushed away from him by his previous flailing. Gazing around the small space, he could see many loaves of bread floating on the water’s surface, turning and spinning slightly in the current caused by water flowing steadily from a broken pipe.

“Hey, a bakery! Wonder if there's still something edible inside?” he heard a voice ask.

“I wouldn't, Tomer. Sarge said to stay near the tank in case there's a trap in any of these buildings,” another voice replied.

“I just wanna see if there's a loaf or some muffins still good inside, Jult. Couldn't hurt to look for a second, right?” Law heard Tomer reply.

“Okay, but if the rebels booby-trapped this place and your legs get blown off, don't come running to me,” said Jult.

“You worry too much,” replied Tomer, chuckling.

Treading red-tinged water as quietly as possible, his toes touched something solid underneath the surface. Taking a chance, he stood on the object, which allowed him to stand with his head out of the impromptu pool. Relieved that he no longer had to swim, he waited as the soldier’s boot-clad feet stomped around the former bakery.

“C’mon Tomer, we’re leaving!” he heard Jult cry out.

“Coming, coming. There’s nothing edible in here anyways.”

Law stayed where he was, occasionally moving his arms just enough to keep his place as the tank and soldiers moved away. Counting to one thousand once more when the sounds faded away to nothing, he swam away from the object he was standing on.

The boy shrieked when the headless body of the baker floated to the surface, no longer held down by his weight.

Pale, Law scrambled out of the cellar and into the main part of the store. Hiding behind what once was the service counter, he shivered, his arms wrapped around himself as if to ward off a chill.

Heading into the back room where the oven stood, the boy moved past the body of what looked like the baker’s wife, her corpse mutilated by a large hole. He poked around her outstretched arms and found two loves of bread. What looked like bullet holes and blood dotted their surfaces, yet the loaves still looked semi-edible. Gold eyes huge as he picked up the loaves, he placed the loaves in a paper bag he found under a leaning piece of wall, then left the building.

The sound of the tank was barely audible off in the distance when he again made his way down the street, towards what he knew was a road leading to another town. Being sure to stay off the road, he followed alongside it for a while, hiding in trees and behind shrubs. When the forest disappeared and the road ran alongside a field, the boy paused to gaze up to the sky, then at the blood-stained bread bag held tight in his arms.

Gagging as his memory flashed back to the bakery, Law dropped the bag and bent over, vomit and bile staining the bag further.

Feet seeming to barely touch the ground, he ran through the bright field of flowers, small birds and animals fleeing before his footsteps. Running faster and faster, he felt hot tears as they started to roll down his cheeks.

Law had never ran so fast in all of his young life, yet he knew that he had to get away from the carnage he had left behind. His parents, his sister, the clinic, their friends and neighbors, everything he knew had been destroyed by the short conflict.

He was alone.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Crying out, Law awoke from the flashback, cold sweat making him shiver despite the warm blanket he was under. Knowing that there was no way he would sleep again, he got out from under the blanket and moved to the box his clothes were in. Digging through the neatly folded items, he found a well-worn yellow and black gym shirt. ‘North High School PE’ emblazoned in black arched across the front of the brilliant yellow shirt, with a black ‘1’ on the back. He picked up a matching pair of black sweats with the school’s name down the leg in yellow print. A quick room search turned up his black running shoes, along with a pair of plain white socks. Donning the clothes, he stretched one leg against a stack of boxes before switching legs. Jumping up and down a few times to warm up his legs, Law retrieved his phone and bluetooth headset. Turning on the headset, and unlocking the phone, he found his music program and started up a loud song with a strong beat. He locked the apartment door and headed to the stairs, jogging down them as a prelude to running. He had chosen that particular apartment simply because of Grand Line University’s outdoor jogging track only a few blocks from the building.Running had always been his go-to activity whenever life got too heavy for the young surgical intern to deal with. A child welfare psychologist assigned to him when he was legally adopted by Doflamingo “Corazon” Rosinante once told him that, “Running is a healthy way to get rid of your aggravations. But make sure that you’re not running away from your problems. Instead, you should run headlong into them in order to solve them.”Law was convinced that the psychologist was a quack.
Late that spring while sitting inside the psychologist’s poorly air-conditioned office, Law had calmly explained, “I run because I’m damned great at it. Great enough to have won city-wide competitions by the time I was eleven, the regional circuit by the time I turned twelve and I’ve been asked to race in the nationals in a few weeks. Running kept me safe when my family was killed, it kept me sane when I went from foster family to foster family, and it will eventually pay my way into university and then medical school in the near future. I’d say that that is definitely not running away from my problems. Wouldn’t you?”

Used to snarky tones from teenagers, the psychologist merely wrote down notes on his yellow legal pad before gazing at the angry pre-teen.
“Just remember, running can’t solve everything. Especially if you’re running away from things. Try to run towards things every now and then,” he repeated.
The twelve year old huffed, crossing his arms and turning away from the psychiatrist. He refused to say another word until well after Corazon had him in the car driving them to the small house they shared.

“So Law...how did the session go?” the tall blond asked, careful to keep his eyes on the road as it unfolded before them. He turned onto the highway and accelerated.

“He’s a quack,” Law said, gazing out the side window. “He claims I’m running away from my problems. I’m not.”

Corazon remained silent as they sped along the highway.

“When was the last time you made any friends?” he finally asked in a soft voice. “We’ve been here for almost three months. Have you made any?”

Law crossed his arms again and glared at the blurry scenery outside the window. “I...am choosy about who I want to spend my time with. I’d rather be studying medical procedures or training for the national competition than hanging out with some horny teenagers.”
“You’re nearly a teenager, Law! You should act like one, instead of someone older than me!”
The pre-teen merely huffed again and closed his eyes, refusing to say anything else until they arrived at their home.

Unlocking the side door to the house, Corazon turned to the silent boy.
“You know I just want you to have a normal, safe life...right Lawrence?” the tall blond said. “To grow up into a healthy adult.”
Rarely having heard his adopted father use his full name, Law raised an eyebrow.

“I can assure you, I’m just as normal as the next athletic teenager,” he replied. “I’m simply focused on what I need to do to succeed, nothing more.”

“I’m sure of that,” Rosinante said, smiling. “I just want you to be happy as well.”
*~*~*~*~*Law’s mind focused as he jogged down the street and through the gate of the track.
Running.

I’m great at running.

A national champion.

It’s what got me into college.

It’s what I do when I can’t sleep.

I run.

Fast.
Unbidden, Law’s mind went to another memory as he ran.*~*~*~*~*
“That new kid in my class is weird. He’s always on the school track running, both before and after school. I don’t get it. How can someone run and look so pissed off at the same time?” the redheaded fourteen-year-old asked his older companion as they sat on the bleachers. “And it’s fuckin’ snowing to boot!”

Barely seen through the unseasonably early autumn snowfall, Law’s form was only visible due to the enormous black and yellow North High School gym shirt he wore.

A few seats away from the redhead, the second boy adjusted his cap. It was too large for him, but he refused to be seen without it. It was a fifteenth birthday gift from his mother. “Penguin” was carefully stitched onto the front of the black and white hat, a yellow brim and red pompom adorning the top.

“Idunno, Shachi. He’s just some short-ass transfer kid in your class. We got a bunch of them this year. Why do you even care?” he asked, trying to catch a snowflake on his tongue. The brim of his hat made the attempt nearly impossible.

“He’s been here like six months,” Shachi replied. “And all he does is study, take notes and run. He’s always pissed off, especially when the teacher asks him questions. Like, he already knows the answers and the teacher’s interrupting his reading! He’s a fuckin’ know-it-all. What’s his deal anyways?”

“Feh. I’m bored with watching this short shit run. Let’s go do something fun,” Penguin said abruptly. Brushing snow off his pants, he stretched and then began to walk down the bleachers to the half-frozen ground.

Unaware that he had spectators, and lost in thought, Law continued jogging. Making two more complete circuits around the track, he suddenly stopped running when the wind picked up, blowing icy flakes into his face. Wiping the stinging snow away, he turned to where he had left his backpack. He pulled out a huge towel rolled inside, shook it and wiped sweat and snow off of his face before wrapping it around himself. He took his spotted hat from the backpack and pulled it down over his ears. Glancing up at the evening sky, he turned to leave.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he heard as he picked up his backpack. Putting it on, he made sure that it was well hidden under the oversized towel.

“Hit him again Shachi!” he heard a voice shout, full of barely contained laughter. “Its funny when he apologizes!”

Heading towards the sounds, Law came across three figures -- two standing and one curled on his side on the ground, blood staining the snow.

“I’m sorry!” the curled boy cried out as a teen with ‘Penguin’ stitched on his hat kicked the boy in the leg.

“Oi, what are you doing to that guy?” Law blurted out.

“Kicking a new kid’s ass, what’s it to you?” a redheaded teen jeered. “You wanna be next?” He nudged the chubby body on the ground, who groaned in response.

For a moment, Law saw only a white bear head before he realized that the beaten boy was wearing a polar bear hat.

“I advise the both of you to leave him alone,” Law growled.
“Or what? What are you gonna do?” asked penguin-hat menacingly, hefting a board in his hands.
“Or I’ll have to stop you,” Law said matter-of-factly.

“You and what army?” asked the redhead.

Before either of the much larger teens realized it, Law had them both on their backs and was straddling them, a foot pressing heavily into each chest.

“I give! Uncle! Uncle!” the redhead shrieked, dumbfounded, his arms over his face.

“You win, okay? You win!” penguin-hat cried out, arms flailing in the snow.

“Th...thank you,” polar bear-hat groaned, getting up on all fours and spat a bloody wad to the side. Blood dripped onto the snow and he wiped at his nose with his coat sleeve. “Thank you,” he repeated shakily.

“Hold your head upright so the blood doesn’t flow down your throat,” Law directed. “And pinch your nose right here,” he showed him, pinching the bridge of his own nose.

“Uh...okay.” the teen did as told.

“You’re Bepo-ya, right?” Law asked, inadvertently slipping into his native tongue’s honorific.

“I...it’s just Bepo, actually,” the round teen said, standing. Red streaked his dark brown face as he swiped at it again. “Thank you, uh...um…”

“Trafalgar Law.”

“This is all...nice and whatnot,” penguin-hat wheezed. “But...I think Shachi’s having trouble breathing with your foot on his chest.”

Law glanced down at the other boy and jumped off both teens.

“Sorry,” he said, watching as both boys gasped for breath.

Shachi sat up and placed one hand on his ribs. “I...I thought I was a goner for a bit there! How’d a skinny little kid like you get so fuckin’ strong?” he asked.

“Yeah, I don’t even know how I ended up on the ground!” penguin-hat added.
“I made sure to take any martial arts classes I could whenever the chance came up,” Law explained. “In case people like you two wanted to try anything.”
“I don’t know what move you did, but it was cool! You’re strong for such a runt!” the redheaded teen said, admiration in his voice.

“I'm not a ‘runt,’ I just have yet to hit my pubescent growth spurt,” Law scoffed. He moved over and held out a hand to Shachi.

The teen looked up at Law, fear in his eyes.

“If you promise not to beat up Bepo-ya...Bepo,” he corrected himself, “ever again, I won't tell anyone I kicked your ass,” Law smirked.

Shachi looked at the outstretched hand again, then up at the confident boy.

“Swear not to tell anyone your short shit ass kicked my ass and stood on my chest,” he muttered, taking the offered hand and pulling himself upright.

“Deal,” the blue-haired teen said. “I also won't tell anyone I deliberately stood on your diaphragm so you'd end up somewhat asphyxiated.”

“My what?” the redhead asked. “What are you, some kind of medical geek?”
“I am not a ‘medical geek.’ I’m a future doctor. I'm studying to become a surgeon,” Law acknowledged, also helping penguin-hat off of the snowy ground.
“See? I knew he was smart!” Shachi exclaimed. “He’d always looks at the teachers like they’re dumbasses!”
“I can’t deny the irrefutable evidence,” Law replied, dusting snow off the large towel he was wearing. “Besides, I already know everything they think they’re teaching me. I studied it on my own.”“Whoa! He is some kinda brainiac!” penguin-hat gasped. “I’m Penguin, by the way.” He held out his hand.
“I surmised as much,” Law said, taking Penguin’s hand and shaking it. Glancing up at the teen’s head, he smirked again. “Why else would you wear such a ridiculous hat?”

“OI! My Mom made this hat for me! Besides, what about yours? What’s with the spots?”

“It’s a traditional hat….” Law said, his voice trailing off. He frowned at the unbidden memory of his father giving him the selfsame hat as a tenth birthday present.

“Dumb ol’ penguins are his favorite animal,” Shachi said, interrupting Law’s thoughts. Grinning, the redheaded teen added, “Orcas are WAY cooler!”

“I...like polar bears,” Bepo chimed in nasally.

“You can stop holding your nose now, Bepo,” Law told the chubby teen, the brief recollection abandoned. “It only takes four to six minutes on average for blood to coagulate outside of the body.’

“Sorry,” Bepo said, dropping his hand.

“How do you know that shit?” Penguin said, impressed. “What else do you know?”

Gazing up at a nearby tree visible now that the snow had ceased, Law took a deep breath.

“I know how to do the Heimlich maneuver. And CPR. Although I haven’t had to do either yet. I also know that teeth are much harder than bone, but a broken bone can regenerate, while a broken tooth can not, and not only will your heart rate sync to the music you listen to, your heart can beat outside of your body, given an electrical stimulus, and --”

“Whoa! That’s pretty cool shit for a kid to know!” cried out Shachi, impressed.

Law turned to Shachi. “I’m not a kid. I’ll be thirteen in three weeks, effectively making me a teenager like you three.”

“I’m n...not one yet either. My birthday isn’t until November,” Bepo admitted, wiping his bloody hand on his jacket. “We’ll both be teenagers then.” He grinned at Law.

Surprised at the reaction, Law stared at the chubby boy, then smiled shyly back.
“Wait...both of you are only twelve? And you go to our high school?” Penguin asked, incredulously. “How smart are you two?”
“I skipped grades,” Law replied in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Me too,” echoed Bepo.

Penguin and Shachi stared slack-jawed at each other, and then at Bepo and Law.

“Law, wanna...wanna come to my birthday party?” Bepo asked as red spots formed on his dark cheeks.

“Sure,” Law answered without thinking. He glanced at the snowy ground. “Of course, I’d like it if you could reciprocate,” he murmured shyly.

Shachi and Penguin stared at Law, bewildered.

“Uh...come to my party too,” he clarified.

Bepo watched as Law’s tan face turned red, too. “Yes, of...of course! I’d like that a lot!” Bepo replied meekly but grinning broadly.

“What about us?” Shachi huffed. “I’d like to go too! I love parties! I’ll even bring Short-Shit a present!”

Now it was Law and Bepo’s turn to stare at each other, before looking at Penguin and Shachi.

“On one condition,” Law stated. “That you guys join my gang.”

“What gang?” Penguin asked warily.

“The one that Bepo and I just started,” he said, winking at the chubby boy.

“Wha…?” Bepo began.

Law frowned at him.

Catching on, Bepo waved his hands around. “OH! I’m sorry! Right! Our gang!”

“Idunno…” Shachi began. “Hanging out with a couple of little kids? Could ruin my street cred....”
“Will you teach me your sweet moves?” Penguin asked Law.
“I suppose so. After all, I don’t want my underlings unable to defend themselves,” the blue-haired boy replied loftily.

“OI! Who you calling an underling?” Penguin retorted. “I’m a crew member!”

“Crew? Like in pirate crew?” Bepo asked.

“Yes. Yes...as in pirate crew. Like Gold Roger’s pirate crew,” answered Law.

Shachi whooped. “I’m in! I always wanted to be a pirate!”

“Okay, we’re in,” Penguin responded for both of them. “We’re your crew, Trafalgar,” Penguin told Law, Shachi nodding at his side.

“Yeah. But what should we call ourselves? Every pirate crew has a name. A cool name!” Shachi pointed out.

“Oh, that's easy,” Law replied. “Since I'm going to be a heart surgeon, we’ll be the Heart Pirates.”

“I...like that name,” said Bepo, smiling widely. “I'm the navigator, since I never get lost.”

“Done,” Law said, nodding at the dark-skinned boy. He turned to look at Shachi and Penguin, who straightened up.

“Yes Captain?” Penguin asked, saluting. After a second, Shachi also saluted.

“We need to trade contact info so that we can get ahold of each other. Penguin, you're in charge of that.”

“Yessir!” said the oldest teen, His chest puffing out proudly.

By the time they had traded addresses, email and phone numbers, and made plans to meet at school the next day, the sun hung low in the sky. The four split up on a promise to eat lunch together the following day.
*~*~*~*~*
Law banged open the back door to his home, startling Corazon, causing him to drop a dinner plate on the kitchen floor.

“Cora-san. I want to have a thirteenth birthday party.” Law said, sitting on the kitchen steps to pull off his damp running shoes.
“Don’t you need friends to invite in order to have a birthday party?” Corazon answered, turning to get the broom and dustpan.
“I have three friends now. And I already invited them, so we have to plan a party.”

Corazon dropped both the broom and the dustpan.
“You...made friends, Law? When?” he asked, shocked.
“Today after school. I stopped a fight, and we started talking, and now we’re friends.” Law explained, draping his wet towel and coat on the nearby coat rack.

“You and your friends stopped a fight?” Corazon asked, bending over to pick up the broom.

“No,” Law said, beginning slowly. “Shachi and Penguin were attacking Bepo. I intervened, we started talking and consequently became friends. Bepo invited me to his birthday party in November,” Law’s narrative picking up speed. “So I invited him to mine, at which point Shachi and Penguin objected to being excluded, and so I extended an invitation to them as well. So now we have to have a party!” Law finished enthusiastically.

Corazon stared open-mouthed at Law.

“You...made friends with two bullies?” he asked.

“Well, they’re not bullies now! They’re members of my pirate crew. We’re the Heart Pirates.” Law explained, walking over to sit at the kitchen table. He put his heavy backpack on the chair next to him and crossed his arms on the table.

“So...now your bully friends...and some kid...are a pirate crew? Like Gold Roger or something?” Corazon asked. He started to sweep up the broken plate. “And you want a birthday party for these...pirates?”

“Yeah...something like that. So I can have a party, right?” Law asked, golden eyes looking hopefully up at his adopted parent.

Corazon said nothing as he swept up the shards and threw them into the garbage can.
“If I agree to you having a birthday party, I will need to meet these three and their parents in advance. I don’t want some punks taking advantage of you by forcing you to have a party and then beating you up afterwards, Law.”
“That’s nothing to worry about,” Law snorted. “I effortlessly kicked both Penguin and Shachi’s asses before I invited them.”

“Oh ho ho! You beat them up?” the blond said, laughing. “I take it they didn’t like that too much?”

“Actually, they were rather impressed and asked me to teach them what I know. That’s why we’re now a pirate crew. I don’t want to be a teacher, I want to be a pirate captain.”
“You...well, I can see why. Gold Roger was a very impressive person back in the day. He made the news pretty often,” Corazon said, leaning on the broom.
“That may be true, but that’s not why I want my own crew,” Law said, pulling a thick book from his backpack and opening it. Flipping through it, he added, “I simply like the idea of people that do what I want, when I want.”

Rosinante could only laugh.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The End of Part One
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Part Two: Leaving Home Ain’t Easy

Chapter Five: Who Wants to Live Forever

Ages are now as follows: Law: 20, Shachi: 21, Penguin: 22, Bepo: 20, Luffy: 18. The rest of the Straw hats ages are adjusted as well.
 Days turned into weeks, and then into months and before too long, winter snow gave way to spring flowers. Birds returned from their winter homes, having built nests and started families.Unfortunately for Doctor Trafalgar Law, one exceptionally loud pair of birds chose the tree branch right next to his window to build their home. Sitting on eggs in the little nest, the female bird sang loud and proud while she waited for her mate to return.“FUCK! I’m trying to sleep here! Why must you build your nest right next to my bedroom window!” the blue-haired surgical intern shouted, putting his pillow over his head.The bird sang on as her mate returned with a bug in his mouth. Presenting it to his mate, she ate the offering as he took up the song. Swallowing the meal, she joined her song with his as they traded places, doubling the birdsong’s volume.Law groaned once more and flopped over onto his other side, the pillow still over his head. As the song increased in intensity, he sat up and threw the pillow at the window.The birds sang on.Reaching the nightstand, Law picked up his phone to check the time. 10:31am. On what was supposed to be his Sunday off work.Three hours and 12 minutes of sleep. I might as well fucking get up now, since it’s obvious the cacophony outside won’t let me sleep any later! he thought, grumbling to himself. Throwing his legs over the side of his bed, he yawned and absently scratched his chest. Reaching his feet out for his slippers, he nearly slid off the bed when his phone rang.It’s the emergency ringtone! he thought, quickly picking up and unlocking the phone before answering it.“Moshi moshi, Doctor Trafalgar speaking,” he answered calmly, despite his racing heart.“Doctor Trafalgar, we need you to come in to work right away,” the voice replied, a sense of urgency evident in its tone. “We've had a mass casualty incident, and we need you in surgery ASAP, please.”“I'll be in right away,” Law assured, promptly standing and going over to his dresser for clothes. “Do you have any idea what happened?”“A fair arrived in town Friday and the roller coaster malfunctioned. So far, at least 23 patients are heading in, a number of them with head injuries. One in particular also has what the paramedics say looks like a critical chest injury. Doctor Kureha's out of the country on sabbatical and Doctor Hiluluk got a concussion while skiing three days ago. You're the only heart specialist left.” The nurse spoke to someone out of earshot for a second. “The first ambulance is due here in less than three minutes.”“Thank you for the heads-up, I'm on my way,” Law assured the harried nurse before hanging up.Dressing rapidly in a spare set of scrubs and a leather jacket, Law nabbed his phone, work lanyard and keys and hurried out of his apartment. Adjusting his spotted hat, he made his way down to his car, forgoing the usual leisurely 40 minute jog to work in order to get to Grand Line General Hospital rapidly.Arriving at GLGH’s emergency room ten minutes later, Law came upon a scene of organized chaos. Paramedics wheeled patients into busy trauma rooms, nurses and trauma doctors evaluating bleeding patients as more were wheeled through the ER doors. A few more patients sat at the sign-in desk, arms or legs bandaged as they were admitted by secretaries. A redheaded teen girl sobbed in a chair as an EMT wrapped a bandage around her lacerated arm.“My best friend? How is he?” the girl asked, teary-eyed. “He was pretty badly hurt.”“I don’t know miss, but after I take care of your arm, I’ll go check,” the EMT replied kindly.Schooling his expression into one of determination, Law hurried toward the ER entrance. The security guard recognized him and waved him through.Hurrying to the doctor’s lounge, Law tossed his jacket into his locker, then traded his regular shoes for his work ones. Being sure to put a pair of booties over them, he hurried back into the chaos, just as a paramedic team hurried by. A flash of brilliant red captured Law’s eye. He turned to see a familiar face lying immobilized on the stretcher, an IV in one arm and a large bandage on his chest with another one around his head.Straw Hat! his mind cried.“Take him over to trauma room six,” Law ordered, hurrying alongside the stretcher and doing a quick visual evaluation. “Give me your report,” he ordered the female paramedic pushing the cot.“18 year old male, run over by roller coaster doing approximately 40 miles per hour, and found unconscious on scene after the twenty five foot fall. Head injury to the back of his skull, multiple lacerations and a large burn to his chest due to getting caught under the coaster’s wheels prior to the fall.“His redheaded girlfriend said he climbed up the coaster’s scaffolding to rescue a boy that had fallen from a stalled coaster car. The car was full of people and began rolling on its own, it hit him in the chest and he got stuck under the wheels for a short time. The people in the car also said he managed to free himself, but the coaster car kept going, and knocked him off the rails. That’s when he fell.“When we arrived on scene, he was unconscious and bleeding from the back of his head. Someone had bandaged his head before our arrival. We put him on the backboard and immobilized his head and spine, gave him a large-bore IV of normal saline(1), placed a burn dressing on his chest and monitored his vitals. He’s stable now, but has not regained consciousness.“Thank you,” Law said, backing out of the way as the two paramedics carefully but quickly placed the boarded man onto a trauma bed. Doctor Crocus, GLGH’s top brain surgeon and Law, along with a team of nurses and other healthcare workers, swooped in to begin treating the injured teen.*~*~*~*~*Sixteen hours later, Law was finally able to take a break from the bedlam of treating injured carnival patients, 28 in all. Taking a break, the blue-haired surgeon sat in the doctor’s lounge, sipping a cup of cooling coffee.“Trafalgar, your supposed to be off-duty now, correct?” the acting head ER doctor said as she entered the room and took off her glasses.“Yes Doctor Liu,” Law replied, yawning. “I was awakened from my sleep.”“I thought so. I knew I saw you leaving as I came in for work.” She chuckled. “Go home and try to get some more sleep. We’ll need you back here bright and early tomorrow evening.”Yawning again, the lanky surgical intern stood and made his way over to his locker. Putting on his coat, he exited the lounge, but soon found himself standing outside of Luffy’s room. Listening at the door, he heard nothing but the humming of medical equipment. Opening the door a crack, he peeked inside. Lying on the bed, hooked up to various different monitors and an IV line, the injured teen looked even younger than his 18 years.Law saw a shock of bright red hair on the bed beside Luffy. Nami, Law realized. She was holding Luffy’s hand, her body rising and falling slowly as she dozed.Satisfied that the younger man wasn’t alone, Law went to check out his progress on the closest hospital computer. Hmm...he’s still unconscious, and after an MRI, they found a bleed to his brain. Doctor Crocus went in surgically to relieve the pressure, Law thought to himself. But he still hasn’t awoken. The anesthesia has definitely worn off by now. That’s not unusual after brain surgery, so I’ll check on him later.Quietly closing the door, Law left to go home.*~*~*~*~*A week later, and Luffy still hadn’t woke up.By now, Law was a bit worried, but he also knew that brain injuries were tricky. Nami had come back every day, sometimes with other people that Law didn’t recognize. One time, he watched her walk in with a beautiful woman with dark hair and stunning blue eyes, and another time with a blond man that chewed nervously on an unlit cigarette as they made their way to the ICU. He even recognized the green head of the roller coaster operator.Zoro, Law’s mind supplied while he watched the green-haired man walk into a broom closet. Huffing, Nami went over, took the arm of the confused man and led him to the banks of elevators.Chuckling to himself as he pushed open the door to the doctor’s lounge, Law nearly walked into someone on their way out.“OH! I’m sorry!” he heard before recognizing the voice of his fellow first year intern.Chopper looked up at the much taller man and grinned.“HI! It’s been a while since we saw each other! I’m happy to see you, how have you been?”“Busy, Tony-ya, but then again, you knew that,” he responded, smirking down at the younger doctor.“Me too, but I’m not working now. I came to visit my friend. He got hurt pretty badly a week or so ago, and I’m checking up on him.”Law frowned. “I’m sorry to hear that, Tony-ya. Is there anything I can do to help?” he offered.“Not really. Luffy’s been in a coma the entire time, and our friends have been visiting him and talking to him in the hopes that he hears us and comes out of it. No such luck as of yet, but we’re hopeful!”Law’s stomach had dropped at the mention of the comatose teen, but no sign of it showed on his face.“Zoro said that you two know each other. He said that Luffy thinks you two are destined to be together,” Chopper said, hopeful. “I know him. He won’t let this injury get him down! He’ll wake up and he’ll be just fine!”“I hope so too, Tony-ya. For all of his friends’ sakes,” Law added, nodding.“Well, my shift’s done, so I’m going to go visit Luffy. I’ll see you later Torao!” The younger doctor chirped, his hopeful tone betrayed by the seriousness in his huge, brown eyes.Slightly miffed at the nickname he remembered Luffy calling him, Law sighed as the door closed behind the younger doctor.While Law worked his night shift, his mind kept going back to the comatose teen. How his friends rallied around him, making sure that at least one of them visited every day.But how long would that last? He knew that many of them traveled with the carnival, and that it was on a schedule. Soon the teen would be left alone when the carnival left for its next engagement.On his lunch break at 2am, Law made his way to the ICU(2). Peeking into the room, the surgical intern saw that Luffy was alone. The lights from the monitoring equipment cast an eerie glow on the skinny figure in the bed. Taking a seat on the nearby chair, Law watched the monitors for a while before he began speaking in a soft voice.

“I don’t know why I’m here, Straw Hat-ya,” the blue-haired man said, inadvertently slipping into his native language’s honorific to the younger man for the first time. “I noticed that you have many friends visit you during the day, but then I realized that they will probably have to go on to the next town when the carnival leaves. So in case you’re still...uh...like this when they depart, I feel that we...that I should get to know you. That way, you’re not alone when they have to leave. So I came up here to talk to you.”Law took in a breath and then blew it out. Shifting in his chair, he leaned his arm along one of the armrests and stared a bit longer at the raven-haired man.“I don’t know why you said that we are “supposed to be together” last spring. I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. But it seems that even your friends are saying it now. I didn’t know that you knew Tony-ya...Doctor Chopper, yet he said the exact same thing to me earlier tonight.”Law shifted in his seat, a frown marring his expression.“Why do you feel that we are supposed to be together? I don’t believe in destiny or fate or anything like that. I think that sort of thing is patently absurd. We, as intelligent human beings, make our own choices. Yet here you are, insisting that some...grand design says we should be together!”“Together in what way, exactly? As lovers? Dating? Married? I’ll have you know I’m not gay, nor straight, for that matter! I’m simply not interested in anyone right now. I don’t know if I’ll ever be interested in anyone! I have to focus my time on my internship, and that doesn’t give me time to have any kind of relationship. If you were planning on having one with me, that’s simply not going to happen!”“Ssssshhh! This is the ICU...doctor,” a nurse cautioned, her body halfway in the doorway.Law hadn’t realized he was shouting until the nurse shushed him.“My apologies. I’ll be quieter,” he promised.The nurse gave him a disapproving look, but nodded and closed the door silently behind her.Leaning forward once more, Law rested his forearms on his thighs.“Look Straw Hat. I’ve never had any kind of sexual feelings, nor any romantic ones for anyone. If you got involved with me, it would most likely be nothing more than friendship. I can’t promise you anything else.”Shaking his head, the blue-haired man sighed again.“I don’t mind having a new friend. Even one as weird as you. But, unless you come out of your coma, all we can be is acquaintances. I’m not very good at holding one-sided conversations. I don’t even know why I’m talking to you now. I’m not normally this talkative. I’d rather stand and observe everyone than actually say much, even at parties. Unless we’re discussing something I find interesting. Then I find myself speaking more, but that’s about it.”Sighing, Law sat back in the chair and observed the monitors’ readouts, lost in thought until the soft alarm on his phone went off, signalling the end of his lunch.“I’ll try to come back the next time I work. I usually sleep during the day, and I’m off work for the next two days. Your friends are sure to come back and keep you company while I’m gone, so you won’t be alone during that time.”Law stood up, then on impulse bent over to stare at the man on the bed. He inspected every inch of Luffy’s face before acknowledging that there was no change. No eye movement, no change to the way he breathed.Nothing.Sighing again, Law left the room to finish his shift.*~*~*~*~*As the sun came up, Law left the hospital building to head home. Having switched to his yellow and black jogging outfit, his matching black and yellow backpack bounced up and down while he ran down the street. Without thinking, the intern skillfully dodged kids heading off to school and adults going to work while he jogged.Lost in thought about what happened with Luffy the previous shift, a sudden yell frightened him out of his reverie.“LOOK OUT!” a man bellowed as a woman screamed.A young girl with her hair in two ponytails stood in the middle of the crosswalk.Lami! Law’s mind supplied at the sight of her. A bright orange sports car was barreling directly towards her. Caught like a deer in the headlights, she stared at the vehicle’s rapid approach.Without thinking, Law dashed out at top speed and scooped her up in mid-stride. As it zoomed by, the sports car hit one of his legs.Spinning towards the sidewalk with the girl cradled safely in his arms, he felt himself fall in slow motion. A burst of pain exploded on the back of his head, causing him to cry out in agony as his shoulder whacked the sidewalk.“Hey mister, you alright?” asked a concerned, pimply-faced girl, coming into his line of sight before blackness overtook him.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I’m dead.

That car hit me.

It knocked me into the pole.
I hit my head really hard.
I’m dead.

But...did I save that girl?

She looked like Lami.

Lami….

…….……………..
Law awoke to find himself on the side of a grassy hill. He stared up at the early morning sky over him and watched as birds wheeled through fluffy white clouds. Massive, ancient-looking trees calmly ringed the small meadow he lay in, their dark green leaves hung over his head, seemingly protecting him from the bright sunlight.Leaning on an elbow, Law rubbed the back of his head, which didn’t seem to hurt despite the blow he remembered it had taken.
Wait…

Lami!
He sat bolt upright as it registered that he was just in a city, nowhere near this idyllic forest.“Where am I?” he asked out loud.“You’re where you’re supposed to be,” came the answer.Law jerked his head around, searching for the source of the powerful, yet melodic-sounding female voice.“Where...where are you?” he asked cautiously.“I am where I am supposed to be. Of course, if I was you, I too would be frightened of a disembodied voice,” she responded, humor evident in her voice.Law jumped up from his spot, his body instinctively going into a threatening martial arts stance.“Come out where I can see you! Or I’ll have to kick your ass!” he challenged the speaker.“I don’t think you’re the type to hit a lady,” came the answer. “But in order to alleviate your fears, I’ll come out. Just promise not to hit me. I really don’t wish to harm you...right now.”Law gulped when the voice went from melodious to ominous in tone. Holding his stance, he waited.From beneath the branches of the tree he was under, a door opened in its immense trunk. A woman dressed in a nearly see-through gauzy dress of deep shades of green highlighted with black emerged, her long black hair a sharp contrast from her brilliant blue eyes. “Hello Torao-kun. I was wondering when you would arrive,” said the woman. She smiled at him, arms crossed across her abundant chest. Power seemed to emanate from her very being, seeming to flow towards and envelope Law like multiple arms, surrounding him and holding him tight. “I was beginning to think that you would never find this Land.”“...this land?” Law asked, forgetting about defending himself. “Where am I?”“It is one that runs parallel to your own Plane. Seen but only in dreams, or the minds of those that are receptive to it. Apparently, you are receptive,” she replied. “It took a hard knock to your head to overcome your natural obstinance, but you are here, and that’s all that matters.”The invisible arms disappeared, allowing Law to relax his stance. “So this is a dream.” he stated, frowning.“No. It’s as real as the hospital you just left. It’s just...often difficult for most people from The Plane to see except in dreams due to cultural disbelief.”He took in a deep breath, Law slowly blew it out. The woman watched, amusement playing across her beautiful face.“Come now, you have taken long enough as it is. We must be going,” she said, turning to walk deeper into the forest. The close-grown trees seemed to part as she walked, her gown flowing around her as she moved. “I...I’m not going in those woods. What if there’s a bear or a wolf in there? It’ll jump us and eat us,” the surgeon said resolutely. “Nothing will eat us here. I can assure you of that,” she said. Her figure began to meld into the deep forest shadows. “Unless I tell them to, of course,” came her disembodied voice.Law glowered at the spot he last saw the woman before he began to walk in the opposite direction, farther into the bright meadow.The breeze, which was blowing warm and fresh across the brilliantly colored wildflowers began blowing colder and harder the further away Law walked. Before he was halfway across the meadow, he was shivering with cold and leaning into the strong wind. Yet, the flowers and even the bees busily harvested nectar, undisturbed.“You really should listen to Robin. She knows what she’s saying,” said another disembodied female voice. “And I wouldn’t piss her off either. Even I don’t make her angry, and I’ve known her my entire life.”“Okay, now what the holy fuck is going on here?” Law spouted angrily. He stopped trying to fight against the wind, which died down immediately. “Why are voices coming from fucking nothingness telling me what to do?” “I’m not from “nothingness,” I’m right here!” huffed the voice angrily. Law turned in a complete circle, then smirked. “Like I said, nothingness. I see no one.” Right in front of the blue-haired man, a shimmer appeared, then formed into the shape of a pale-skinned woman with brilliant red hair holding a blue three piece staff. A short white shift adorned her hourglass-shaped body, a blue-silver color-changing ribbon crisscrossed her chest, its long ends floating behind her.“You’re...Nami from the carnival,” Law said incredulously. “But you...you’re…the wind...how did you?” Swallowing, Law steeled himself and folded his arms against his chest.“How did you get here? The last time I saw you, you were at Grand Line General Hospital, sitting by Luffy’s side.”Nami smiled, and the breeze that made her ribbons float lifted them up to twine in her long hair. “I’m a weather spirit. This is my home Land.”“Land?” Law asked, confused at the emphasis on the word “land.”Nami smirked, cocking one hip and leaning on her staff.“Didn’t Luffy tell you that he’s a sorcerer?”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Didn’t Luffy tell you that he’s a sorcerer?”
Law’s crossed arms as well as his jaw dropped at those words.His logical mind went into overdrive.Sure, the tree spirit...Robin...had appeared to walk out of a tree trunk, and Nami had literally seemed to appear out of thin air, but Luffy being a sorcerer? What kind of strange, goofy land of existence was this that a kid like Luffy has some kind of magical powers? Since when did magic even exist?Wait. They mean illusionist, don’t they? These tricks were all done with illusion magic. I’ve been duped and I nearly fell for it. This is some kind of joke. A terrible one. Law crossed his arms once more and glared at Nami.“And I’m a monkey’s uncle,” he replied. “Magic doesn’t exist. This is all some elaborate trick. I must admit you nearly had me for a moment there. Okay, joke’s over. What’s really going on here?” he asked.“Joke? You think this magic is a joke? Has it ever occurred to you that when magic left your world, it had to go somewhere?” Nami explained, furious.She took in a deep breath, then blew it out.“Okay, let me explain this to you before we leave so that you understand better. A long time ago, both your Plane of existence and this one had an equal amount of magic. But, a few thousand years ago, something called “science” began to take over your Plane. People lost their belief in magic, so it had to go where there were beings that still believed in it.“Because magic had to go somewhere, it started to flow through the fabric of the dimensional divide from your Plane over here, to the Land. Where before we could only do simple things like make grass grow faster, now, due to the influx of more magic, we can do things like this.”Nami waved her staff over a bee hovering near a flower. The bee started to grow until it was the size of a small dog.Confused that the flower was suddenly too small for it to stick its tongue into, the bee flew around Law, its stinger waving back and forth like the tail of a dog. The drone from its wings as it flew sounded like a military jet, the breeze from its wings blowing over Law.Terrified by the now gigantic size of the insect’s stinger, Law held himself still and watched wide-eyed as the creature buzzed around him.Nami waved her arm around once more, and the bee shrunk back to its normal size.The insect happily went to another plant and stuck its head into the conical blue flower.“What...how...how did you do that?” Law asked, amazed.“I took online university courses whenever I went to The Plane, so to put it in scientific terms, I increased the oxygen density around the bee, making her(1) able to draw in more, and thus, she grew in size. When I decreased it, the bee shrank. Its magic, but to call what I did by its scientific term it’s...”“Osmosis(2),” Law filled in, “which is the movement of a substance, in this case, oxygen, from an area of high concentration to a lower one through a semi-permeable membrane.“The bee had less oxygen inside than outside, so when more oxygen was added around it, oxygen flowed into the bee and it grew in size to reflect the overabundance. And when that overabundance was taken away, the bee shrank back to normal size.“Of course, the sheer fact that it grew so rapidly instead of evolving over generations to grow larger could be construed as magic in itself. It also must be how this world ended up with so much magic. It leaked from my dimension into this one through the dimensional membrane when science pushed it out.”“Correct! I knew you were intelligent!” Nami chirped, pleased at the answer.“And now...” Nami said, her entire perky demeanor suddenly becoming serious. “...I need you to come with me,” she ordered, holding out her free hand.Puzzled at the shift in her emotions, Law looked down at her delicate hand before cautiously taking it. He observed the back of her shift open and four long, gauzy wings emerge.“Dragonfly wings, Nami-ya?” Law queried. “I always thought that fairies would have butterfly wings.”“Do you really think that these,” she said, cradling her bosom in her arms, “could be supported in the air with something as delicate and light as butterfly wings?” Nami replied.Law quickly gazed at her ample chest and voluptuous hips. “I suppose not,” he acknowledged. “You would definitely need the extra lift.”“That’s right! Plus, the strength in these wings means that with a little help from my magic I can also carry you for short distances,” she explained, holding out her other hand for him to take. “Besides, like I said before, I’m a weather spirit, not a fairy.”Moving her wings slowly at first, they soon became a blur as she began to rise from the ground.Holding onto her hands tightly, Law watched as they moved upwards away from the ground, ending up with his feet just above the delicate multi-colored flowers. She took off towards the forest that the blue-haired surgeon had previously avoided.Flying swiftly, Nami zigged and zagged as she flew across the meadow and into the trees.Closing his eyes, Law winced at every sharp movement, expecting sooner or later to smash into one or another of the primeval giants within the forest. Gingerly opening an eye, his jaw dropped when he realized that the trees were actually bending out of the way of the pair, and Nami was simply flying around the occasional large animal that hindered their path.“How...how are the trees themselves moving?” Law asked, incredulously.“Robin,” the redhead answered breathlessly, veering around a large black bear and her three cubs.“This...is worse than any roller coaster I’ve ever been on,” Law admitted. He dropped the subject to focus on a tiny spot of brightness amidst the darkness beneath the trees.Panting, Nami headed straight for the light. Entering the small clearing, the weather spirit made sure that Law had his feet on the ground before her own three point landing.Dusting off her butt, she made her way on unsteady legs towards the cottage in the center of the clearing.A well-tended herb garden grew next to a vegetable garden, the bounty on the overburdened food plants just starting to ripen. Sweet-smelling smoke curled from the stone and mortar chimney. A wooden door, slightly ajar and carved with ornate runes and other intricacies led inside, the space beyond the entryway dark.“I was wondering what took you so long, Nami,” a voice said.“Robin-ya,” Law murmured to himself, recognizing the speaker in the black and green dress.“He’s stubborn and I had to convince him to come with me,” Nami huffed, pouting as she headed towards the open doorway.Opening the door wider, Robin smiled at the blue-haired doctor, beckoning him inward. “You should come inside. It’s difficult to explain the situation. It is one you need to see for yourself.” she said, sounding morose.“Situation?” Law queried. “What kind of situation?” he asked, trudging towards the darkness beyond the doorway.Inside of the dimly-lit cottage, a myriad of herbs, flowers and drying fruits hung from the ceiling. A beautifully carved wooden table and four matching chairs sat in the middle of the hard-packed dirt floor.Against the wall opposite the door was a stone hearth, a well-used, large covered pot hanging over low flames. Steam escaped from under the slightly open lid, filling the room with a sharp yet sweet medicinal smell.A book lay open on the table, surrounded by vials, bottles, jars and bundles of plants. A mortar and pestle with a small yet sharp knife sat on a marble cutting board, along with a partially chopped-up herb. It was obvious to the blue-haired man that their arrival had interrupted the cutting process.“I’m sorry we disturbed your work, Robin-ya. But, why am I here?” Law asked, looking around. He saw a quick flash of red out of the corner of one eye.“It is fine, Torao-kun. I no longer need to finish what I’m doing since your arrival,” she said, as she walked over to the table, placed a leaf in the open page and closed the book.“What do you mean by that statement?” Law asked.“Come,” Robin said as she held out her hand.Law simply stared at her, arms crossed.“I wish someone would explain to me what’s going on. This mysterious bullshit is tiring.”Robin placed her hand on her hip. “I am attempting to do just that,” she declared, with a hint of a smile. She walked over to one corner of the room and pulled aside a heavy black curtain covered in silver symbols. “Come,” she said once more.Sighing, Law proceeded to go around the curtain...and stopped.“Torao, you’re here,” uttered a weak voice. “It’s nice to see you again.”Lying in the huge bed, propped up by numerous pillows and under a myriad of blankets and quilts lay Monkey D. Luffy.Awake.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Wha...what are you doing here?” Law asked the teenager. “How can you be conscious? You’re comatose!”“I’m sick. Robin’s helping me,” Luffy answered. Covering his mouth, he coughed, the sound coming from deep within his lungs.It was then that Law noticed Luffy’s pallor despite his naturally tan skin, the sunken-in brown eyes, and slightly bluish tongue that licked bone-dry cracked lips before Law turned to Robin.“What illness does he have? I’m a doctor, I can help,” he offered.“This is not a disease that you would be familiar with, Doctor Trafalgar,” Robin stated formally. “It’s not one that happens on your Plane any longer.”Luffy coughed again, then reached a thin arm towards a bucket next to the bed. Nami picked up the bucket and placed it on Luffy’s lap.The raven-haired man coughed a few times more and then spat into the bucket, something solid hitting the water inside, as Nami wiped his forehead with a damp cloth.“May I?” the surgeon asked, reaching for the bucket.Nami handed it to him, then went back to wiping Luffy’s sweat-covered forehead.Law peered inside of the bucket and gasped. Floating on the water was what appeared to be numerous lavender-colored pieces of paper. He watched as a bluish one sank to the bottom.“There’s no actual vomi...” he began, when the door to the cottage opened and a voice cried out.“I found it!” said the high-pitched voice. “It’s only a temporary measure, but it’ll do for now!”Law recognized that voice.“Tony-ya? You’re here too?” he asked. He pushed aside the curtain and headed over to the table, his eyes looking around for the brown-haired teen.“Torao! You’re finally here! When did you arrive?”Law shrieked as a small furry body hit him in the lower leg.“A wild animal!” Law roared, panicked. He tried to push the clingy being away as it adhered to his pants leg. “A...tanuki?”“I”m not a tanuki, you bastard!” squawked the creature. “I’m a reindeer!”He stared unbelievingly at the small animal hugging his leg. It glared at him angrily and wiggled its blue nose.“Torao! It’s me! Tony Tony Chopper!” insisted the small creature. “The Land is my home plane! I’m a reindeer here! This is my natural form. I only visit your home Plane to enhance my medical knowledge. There are things there that I can’t learn about here. Not without going to a city. And what city here in the Land will let a blue-nosed reindeer study medicine? So, with Luffy’s help I found a way to shapeshift and visit your Plane to learn more and do my internship.”“A talking tanuki!” Law bellowed, lifting his leg and shaking it forcefully. The creature only held on tighter.“Torao! Stop it! You’re hurting me!” the being shouted.Law paused and put his leg down. The creature let go and promptly sat down hard on the floor.“I’m dizzy,” it complained, holding down the pink top hat on its head and then falling over onto his back. Law saw familiar brown eyes spinning in their sockets.“You’re...a two-legged reindeer,” Law murmured incredulously. “A talking two-legger reindeer.”“I just told you that!” Chopper yelled up at him.“He’s also the person that’s kept Luffy alive up until now!” Nami declared angrily.“It seems that Torao-kun wants to get rid of any medical competition,” Robin tittered, hiding her mouth behind the back of her hand.“That...that’s not it,” insisted Law. “It’s just that this is all so very new to me. Parallel dimensions. Women with dragonfly wings. Talking tanu...reindeer. Why is Tony-ya human on my plane? And what happened to Straw Hat-ya? What does he have? Am I simply here to treat him? I really wish you would explain what is really going on here,” Law vented, frustrated.Law watched as Chopper climbed up into the chair closest to the book and started pulling medicinal herbs toward him. It was obviously Chopper’s work area. “So many questions for a human,” Robin commented, amusement evident in her bright blue eyes. “You would think an intern would be used to listening instead of questioning.”Law’s golden eyes flashed angrily before he remembered Nami’s warning about Robin. Closing his eyes, he thought back to his aikido sensei telling him to take ten cleansing breaths before responding whenever his temper threatened to get the best of him. Law took a deep breath in through his nostrils and slowly blew it out of his mouth. Calmness washed over him. He didn’t notice the silence of the others as they waited for him to finish.“What happened? It got really quiet over there!” Luffy’s voice rasped from behind the curtain. Somehow, he sounded stronger than before.Giving up on his last four breaths but feeling clear-headed for the first time since he arrived on the Land, Law opened his eyes.“Okay. I’m ready to hear whatever it is you all have to say. But please go slowly. The idea of different planes of existence actually being real is still very new to me, despite what we previously discussed,” he said, his gaze turning to Nami.“Follow me, Torao-kun,” indicated Robin, gesturing with one hand towards Luffy’s bed.Law followed Robin around the curtain, and inhaled sharply at the sight of Luffy standing, albeit a bit wobbly. He placed one arm on Luffy’s waist and the other around his shoulders to support the raven-haired man.“Should you be standing Straw Hat-ya?” Law asked, concerned. “You were just vomiting a few minutes ago.”“I feel better now,” Luffy replied.Indeed, the younger man had regained some color, although he still looked sickly.“You should eat and then rest a bit more before you leave, Luffy,” Chopper said from behind Law.“Leave? Where is he going?” asked the surgeon. “How can he possibly walk across the room, much less go somewhere in his condition?”“But, I feel better now. And I’m hungry too!” the raven-haired man added, his voice even stronger than before. “Can I have something to eat?”“I just finished making something special just for you, Luffy,” Robin said, gesturing towards the main room. “Take a seat and you can have all you want.”“YAY! Good, ‘cause I’m starving!” shouted Luffy as Law helped him to the cleared end of the table. Luffy’s stomach grumbled in agreement as he picked up a spoon.“I’ll get it for you,” offered Nami. She went over to the hearth and dished out some of the contents of the large pot into a bowl. “Eat it all, it’ll give you strength for your journey.”Eager, Luffy scarfed down the food, his pallor fading with every bite. Finished, he held out the empty bowl for seconds.Law watched before before turning to Robin.“Okay, I’m ready to listen,” he told the blue-eyed beauty. “What’s going on?”“Luffy has a condition that needs to be addressed,” explained Robin. “In order for him to be properly treated, he has to go to another city, one that’s quite a distance away, to see a doctor that specializes in his condition. None of us can go with him, yet he still needs to be under a doctor’s care so...”“...So you needed a doctor to go with him and make sure he survives the journey,” Law finished. “Me.”“That is most correct, Doctor Trafalgar. And since you are already somewhat familiar with Luffy, it would be best if you were the one to not only go with him to make sure he takes his medication, but should he worsen, to be able to treat his symptoms. After all, we all want him to arrive at the city alive. Bearing a corpse would not do any of us any good.”“Morbid, Robin!” said a new voice at the now-open cottage door. A dark-skinned man with curly black hair and the longest nose Law had ever seen closed the door behind him and walked over to the table. He placed several fat, freshly-killed rabbits next to the chopped herbs.“Here's a few rabbits to help you out,” said the man. “I heard that you had arrived, Torao...uh...Doctor Trafalgar, so I went hunting. I would have gotten more but it was all I could get in the short amount of time I had.” Puffing himself up, the man grinned. “Of course, I would have gotten a moose, but I knew I was needed back ASAP to instruct you!”“Thank you Usopp, they will need food for the journey,” the dark-haired beauty replied, smiling slightly. “At least they won't starve while in my forest. “I'd hate to have to watch their bodies rot.”“Robin, be nice!” cried Nami.Usopp simply shook his head sadly.Turning serious, Robin looked at the blue-haired man.“Doctor, there are a few instructions I must give you before your journey. They will tip the balance to ensure that, barring any accidents, Luffy survives. So I ask you to follow them, no matter how silly they may seem to you.” Her tone brooked no arguments.Law nodded. “I’m listening.”The dark-haired woman turned to look at Luffy, who was eating yet another bowl of food, five empty bowls piled next to where he sat.“As you can see, Luffy has an enormous appetite. Under normal circumstances, it is easily dealt with. However, this illness has taken its toll on him. He should have eaten twice that amount by now.“This specially formulated food we’ve given him should keep him full for about three days before he starts to feel hungry once again. That gives you some headway on your journey. There will be more in your boat, of course. Luckily for you, the East Blue is a relatively calm riverway with plenty of inns and restaurants along its banks. You can stop and eat as you go along.“The first rule is this: Luffy must eat. Even if he says he’s not hungry, you must make sure that he eats. Especially if he says he’s not hungry. He cannot be allowed to go hungry under any circumstances. Four to six meals a day should suffice.”Law’s eyes went to the younger man once more, wincing as Luffy picked up his sixth bowl and dumped its contents into his mouth. “Weird, but understandable,” Law acknowledged, nodding in agreement.“Second rule, whenever he sleeps, you must touch him. Sleep with him in your arms, sleep back to back, sleep with a leg thrown over him. But you must remain in physical contact with him whenever he sleeps.“Now wait just a minute!” Law roared. “I’m not going to sleep with some stranger, especially a child in my arms! I’m no pedophile!”“I’m not a child, I’m eighteen!” Luffy shouted back, standing up. “I’m a man! I told you that I would be the next time we met, don’t you remember?”“Child, teen, man, I don’t care! I have insomnia and even if I was able to sleep, I still will not sleep with some stranger, much less one in my arms!” Law shouted back, his hands balled into fists.“Which brings us to the third and final rule, Doctor Trafalgar. You must keep Luffy safe. If anything happens to him, you too will suffer,” Robin said grimly.“So now you’re threatening me?” Law retorted back angrily.“No. You two are linked. If something happens to him, you will feel it. It’s as simple as that.” she replied.“Prove it!” Law shouted, turning angrily to Luffy. “Prove that you’re somehow “linked” to me! This is all such fucking bullsh...”Shocked, Law stopped in mid-word and grabbed his hand. He stared at an enraged Luffy, who had punched the hard wood table with his fist.“Wha...what was that?” the surgeon choked out.“That, Doctor Trafalgar, is exactly why you must keep Luffy safe. If he gets physically hurt, you will feel it as well. Right now, it’ll only happen when he’s upset. Also, be advised that this goes both ways. If you get hurt, he will know it,” Robin explained solemnly.Pale, Law made his way to an empty chair and sat down hard. Putting his head in his hands, he sighed.“This...this is all too much for me to deal with. I’m deposited onto some…”Land” with women with wings…”“Hey!” squawked Nami indignantly.“...women who appear to walk out of tree trunks, and I’m somehow physically linked to a sick teen that I need to ferry to some unknown city in order for him to not eat paper.”“Actually it’s not paper...” Chopper started to say before abruptly ending his sentence.Law had completely forgotten about the little reindeer. He managed to look up in time to see Nami quickly put her hands down by her side, a frown marring her pretty face. He turned to look at the reindeer, who stared over at the redhead, his eyes huge before turning to Law.“Uh...while you guys were talking, I made something for you to take with you that might help.” Picking up a small bottle, he waved it towards the midnight blue-haired man.“It’s a special mix of vitamins, herbs and flowers that will give Luffy a short, one-time burst so that he can move past any debilitation he may have in order to do...anything. It’ll be up to you to decide when it’s needed. I’d save it for a dire emergency,” Chopper explained.Resigned, Law sighed as he took the bottle from the reindeer’s hoof.“Tony-ya, I have to ask. How do you change from this…” he said, gesturing towards the furry animal, “...to a human?”“Oh that’s easy!” Chopper exclaimed. “Luffy changes me! He’s a sorcerer!”“So I’ve heard,” replied Law, exasperated. “But what exactly does that mean?”The furry reindeer smiled as he explained. “It means that when we need to go to your Plane, he changes us into regular humans. We can stay that way for a while, but we need to come back every now and then, due to our being connected to this Land.”“Does that mean that I’ll need to return to my own Plane sometime soon?” Law asked, sitting up and staring fearfully at Chopper.“No, Torao. We need to occasionally return to the Land because we’re partially made up of magic. You are human so you don’t need to return to the other Plane if you so choose to stay,” clarified Nami.“I’m human too!” Luffy chimed in. “But I was born here.” The raven-haired man regarded Usopp as he placed a pitcher of water and a full mug near him. Grabbing the mug, he drank noisily.“What Luffy was trying to say is that he’s human but his family is made up of sorcerers,” Usopp explained, watching Luffy gasp between gulps. “He’s actually still in training, which is why he uh….”“Which is why he messed up the spell,” Nami finished. “He was...looking for something and...it didn’t go the way he anticipated. The side effect is that it made him sick, and the only cure is found in Sabaody.”“I take it that’s the name of the city we’re heading to,” Law asked. He watched as both Nami and Usopp bounced their heads in acknowledgement.“The good news is that I found what I was looking for!” declared Luffy. “It sucks that I got sick though.”“Don’t you dare try any other spells until after you get cured in Sabaody!” shouted Nami, bonking the teen on the head.Even though it didn’t look like it hurt him, Luffy pouted at the hit and rubbed his head. “I can’t promise that. You know that Nami,” he said solemnly.She looked at him, then sighed. “I know Luffy, but I don’t want to lose my best friend, that’s all. I’m just worried. We all are.”“It’ll work out Nami, just you watch!” Luffy said, grinning. “We’ll be just fine!”Glad that Luffy was no longer upset, Law watched the interchange before he turned to the man with the long nose. “So you’re part magic too?” he asked.“Wow! That’s not something we usually ask someone when we first meet them!” Usopp cried. “But yes, I am. Promise not to hurt me if I show you?”Law gazed at him warily. “I promise, but even so, what could a mere human do to a magical being?”“Hmmm...good point,” replied Usopp.“You, more than anyone should know the damage humans can cause,” stated Robin flatly. “I’m sure that you deal with the damage a “mere human” can cause every time you go to work.”“Also a good point,” acknowledged Law. He turned to the newest person in the room. “Now that I know its coming, I’m ready. If you are a magical being, go ahead and show me whatever it is you wanted me to see, Usopp-ya.”Usopp grinned. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!”Law watched as Usopp began to change. Dark brown feathers began to sprout all over his body, while a white tail with a broad black stripe on the end made itself evident behind him. Arms turned into deep brown wings with a white crescent-shaped mark on each partially-spread wingtip. Usopp’s long nose began to curve until it became a sharp hook, as the white in his deep brown eyes disappeared. The black afro on his head lightened until it turned into a rich, golden color.Law gaped as a man-sized golden eagle(1) stood before him.“I’m a bird spirit, or more accurately, a raptor(2) spirit! What do you think?” asked the man-bird, momentarily turning to preen a wing. “Pretty impressed, I can tell!”Law shut his mouth and frowned. “And how exactly were you supposed to carry a moose with you?” Law asked smarmily. “Even at your size, it would be quite the feat.”“I could have if I wanted to!” cried out the eagle. “Me and my flock of 8 million birds would have found a way!”Law could only blink at the man-turned-bird as he went back to preening.“Okay, your bags are packed,” said Robin, tying shut an overstuffed brown leather backpack, then patting it. “Everything else you should need is already on the boat. You should get going, there’s still quite a few hours left in the day.”Nami closed and secured a waterskin, then handed it to Luffy.“Luffy, try to stay near the shore. You shouldn’t need to cross the East Blue for any reason. And don’t forget to show Torao how to sail.”She left the “in case you get sick again” off, but Law could almost feel it hovering between everyone in the small cottage.She looked at the dark-blue-haired doctor. “I take it you don’t know how to pilot a sailboat?”“Not a clue,” Law replied. “I’ve never even been on a boat before.”The redhead grimaced. “Luffy, be sure to at least teach Torao the basics. Promise me you will!”Gazing back between Nami and Law, Luffy nodded. “I’ll show you how, Torao! It’s easy!”“Easy for you, maybe. I only hope I don’t get seasick,” Law answered.“I packed pills for you in case you do get seasick!” Chopper piped up. “I wasn’t sure, so I planned for every contingency. All the meds and herbs are labeled, with instructions written on them.”“Thank you, Tony-ya,” said Law. “I hope I won’t need much of them.”“We’ll be fine Torao! Just you watch!” added Luffy, grinning.Despite the bright smile, Law couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Law grumbled and resumed washing his yellow and black North High Track Team captain's shirt, ignoring Luffy’s raucous laughter. Blushing, Law’s mind flashed back to the recent events that brought forth such mirth at his expense.
Robin handed Law the heavy backpack as Nami gathered the two water skins. She handed both to Luffy, who slung the straps around his neck and picked up his battered straw hat while he waited for the blue-haired doctor.

Law hefted the overstuffed leather backpack by the top handle, then slid his arms into the shoulder straps.

“That pack has mostly glass bottles and jars in it, so try not to drop it. Plastic is rare here in The Land,” Chopper explained, jumping down from his chair. He moved over to the other doctor and gazed thoughtfully up at him.

The older doctor looked down at the tiny reindeer, familiar large brown eyes gazing up into his.

“I know you’ll get Luffy to Sabaody safely, Torao. Just remember everything we told you and you should be fine,” Chopper said, trust evident in his voice.

“I will,” promised Law. He reached down to pat Chopper on his shoulder, momentarily reveling in the softness of his fur.

“We’ll be fine, just you watch!” said Luffy, grinning at the small animal.

Law looked towards the younger man, his eyes momentarily focusing on a thin line of red that disappeared when Luffy walked closer to him. “What was…” he began, jumping slightly as the raven-haired man patted his shoulder.

Nami smiled as she added, “We’re all relying on you, Torao. Luffy is my best friend, and if you don’t get him safely to Sabaody, I’ll have to fine you heavily for the pain and suffering I’ll have to endure!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll get there and I’ll get cured and things will work out, you’ll see!” Luffy promised.

“Shall we depart?” asked Robin, gesturing towards the cottage door.

Law’s gold eyes roamed over to meet Luffy’s chocolate brown ones before both men nodded simultaneously.

“WE GO!”(1) shouted Luffy, throwing his fists into the air.

Law groaned, shifting the heavy backpack. “This thing is throwing me off balance,” he complained.

Usopp stopped preening his feathers and changed back to his human form. Walking over to the table, he picked up the rabbits and placed them in a burlap bag. “Its okay Torao, you only need to wear it to the boat,” explained the bird-man as everyone began to exit the cottage.

Robin led the way to the edge of the clearing, followed by Nami, Luffy, Law, Chopper and Usopp, the last one making sure to close the cottage door behind him.

Well ahead of the rest of the group, Robin walked over to an ancient oak and opened a door in its massive trunk, easily slipping inside.

The blue-haired doctor gasped. “Was there always a door there?” he asked.

“No. Robin is the tree spirit for this forest,” Nami explained, stopping at the doorway. “She can move anywhere in it, instantly.” The redhead ducked inside the treetrunk.

Law inspected the doorway, but saw nothing but darkness inside. Dipping his head slightly, he walked through the door.

Right inside of the tree trunk was a massive, sunlit chamber with innumerable and differently colored wood doors leading off in all different directions. Large doors, small doors, thin ones, wide ones, even cobwebbed and moss-covered doors that looked as if they hadn’t been opened in a very long time encircled the seemingly endless room.

Awestruck, Law looked around the room, almost bumping into Luffy when the younger man stopped suddenly.

“That’s right, this is your first time seeing this! Cool, hunh?” Luffy grinned at the blue-haired surgeon.

“It’s...very interesting, to say the least,” Law agreed, nodding. “How big is this forest?”

“It’s the largest one on The Land,” Nami said absently.

“...Oh,” Law replied. He frowned at the redhead. “It would have been less stressful for me if we had gone to the cottage this way verses flying like we did. I thought I was going to be smashed into something.”

“HEY! I did the best I could!” replied Nami, incensed. She pouted at the blue-haired man. “I got you there safely, didn’t I?”

“Safely...but terrified,” he added.
Nami harrumphed and crossed her arms. “I’d like to see you do better!” she replied indignantly. “Humans, especially male humans, are heavy!”
“You carried me before, Nami,” Luffy added, grinning mischievously.
“We were kids, and you were a lot lighter than you are now!” Nami added, smiling at her friend. “It was fun trying to not get caught by your Gramps back then!”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t have liked us stealing and eating the rice crackers he got from The Plane, they’re his favorite!” Luffy said, laughing.

Silently, Robin glided over to a tall door tinted in multiple shades of blues. A glass window near the top of the door shone mottled sunlight into the humongous chamber.

“This way,” she instructed, opening the door and motioning with her free hand. “This will lead you right to the bank of the East Blue river.”

“YAY!” whooped Luffy as he went through the door, followed by most of the party.

“Thank you very much,” Law said, turning to bow towards the dark-haired women and exiting. Robin smiled at him in return.

“Watch out for that root….” warned Usopp just as Law tripped over it.

Falling flat onto onto his stomach, Law slid down a red clay bank and nearly into the water, only to be grabbed at the last second by a giant furry hand. Nearly upside down. Law could only blink in shock at the large hairy being gripping his ankle.

Following behind, Luffy and Usopp howled with laughter, Nami chuckled behind the hand that concealed her mouth, and even Robin’s brilliant blue eyes flashed with mirth.
“Law! I warned you to be careful!” Chopper’s voice said from the hirsute entity that now held onto him, blue nose wiggling in annoyance.
His golden eyes huge, Law could only nod his thanks when Chopper sat him on the damp grass that grew alongside the path they were following.

“You...you can change form too?” he asked, brushing off his shirt.
“Yes. This is the closest I can get to human without some kind of magical help,” Chopper explained. He frowned at the rest of the group. “It’s not funny, he could have broken something they’ll need on their journey!”
“Yeah, like my funnybone!” Usopp roared, causing yet another round of laughter.

Picking himself up from where Chopper had gently placed him, Law brushed off as much of the red clay from his front as he could before gingerly making his way over to the small boat docked nearby. 'Going Merry’ was painted on its side in red letters.

“Hiya MerryGo!” Luffy whooped as he ran past the group towards the small sailboat. Eagerly climbing over the side, he tossed the waterskins inside of the tiny cabin.

Law stumbled onto the boat as well, nearly falling once more when the backpack abruptly shifted one way and the deck another. Scrambling to take a seat on a bench, he managed to get onto the sailboat without falling into the water or landing on top of the pack.

“See you all later!” he heard Luffy shout enthusiastically.

Glancing up as he slid his arms free of the backpack’s straps, the surgeon caught sight of the younger man waving frantically. Nearly losing his balance when the sailboat hit a wave, Law grabbed the side of the boat as it began to drift downstream. Raising a hand, he waved feebly at the group still gathered on the riverbank.

“Safe journey you two!” he heard Chopper call out.

“That current should take you quite a ways. Luffy, start teaching Law how to sail already!” he heard Nami add.

“Oh, right!” Luffy said, dropping his hand and turning to face the blue-haired doctor. “Let’s start with the basics….”

“Hold it,” Law interrupted. He picked up the backpack and placed it inside of the cabin as well. “Okay, now you can start.”

“Okay! First off….” Luffy began again.

Law was surprised that the raven-haired man was a remarkably good teacher. Before the sun was halfway up the sky, he was guiding the little sailboat along the river. The slow-moving current made the boat a great deal easier to navigate.

“Now that I have the basics down, I’m going to wash my clothes,” Law said. He reached down to pull his shirt over his head, but stopped when he heard what sounded like someone being strangled.
Luffy was staring at him, both hands over his mouth and snorting hard through his nose as he tried not to laugh. “You looked hilarious when you fell and slid down the bank, Torao!” The raven-haired man laughed even harder at the memory.
“My tripping over that root was not very funny, Straw Hat-ya. I could have been seriously hurt or drowned had I hit my head on a rock,” the surgeon said, huffing. Law once again reached down to pull the shirt over his head. Holding it up, he inspected the garment.

“Go ahead and laugh, Straw hat-ya. By the time you finish, I’ll have this shirt clean,” Law said, dipping said shirt over the side of the boat and scrubbing at it.
Law picked up the shirt yet again, carefully examining the red mud staining the yellow and black fabric.“I’m never going to get this mud out of this shirt washing it in just river water,” he lamented. “I’ve had this shirt since my first year in high school.”Luffy’s laughter faded away. Tilting his head, he smiled faintly. “That shirt means a lot to you, hunh Torao?”Law sighed despondently. “Yeah. When I first got it, it was huge on me, since I was only twelve when I joined North High’s track team. Now it’s a bit snug, but I can still wear it.” He sighed as he looked down at his black track pants, also stained red with mud. “You have a thing known as “soap” here in this Land, correct?”The raven-haired teen stared at Law. “Of course we do!” Luffy cried. “Where do you think your Plane got the idea from? A sorcerer messed up a spell and accidentally invented it! It’s a well-known fact!” “I’m not from here, remember?” Law replied snarkily. “I don’t know anything about its history.” He examined the mud-encrusted shirt once more, then held it up towards Luffy. “So show me where the soap is on this boat and I’ll wash my shirt. Hopefully it won’t stain.” ‘I can do you one better,” Luffy said, smirking. “I can clean it with magic!”“Uh, that’s really not necessary…” Law began. But it was too late.Reaching into the back of his red sleeveless shirt, Luffy pulled out what looked like a long, forked stick(2) with a single leaf still attached to it. As he waved it around and spoke in a strange language, an intricate glyph made of dazzling blue light began to form in the air. The younger man finished speaking, then blew the glyph towards Law.Law watched helplessly as the mud fell off of his shirt in a red shower of dust, leaving the front once again bright yellow. However, the black letters that once read ‘North High School PE’ had morphed into something else. “What the fuck did you do to my shirt?” Law shouted angrily.“I cleaned it,” Luffy explained simply.“But it...it never had a hood on it! And what’s with this smiley face? It looks like a wagon wheel with a face!” Law bellowed at the teen. “You’ve changed my shirt to something else entirely!”Luffy stared at the blue-haired doctor. “Your pants changed too.” he said, pointing.Law looked down at his black sweatpants. The black sweats with his former school’s name on them in brilliant yellow had changed into blue jeans with black spots.“What. The. Fuck?” Law asked, dropping the shirt onto the deck. Letting go of the rudder, he stood up and quickly pulled down his transformed pants and black boxer briefs to gaze down at his genitals. Feeling faint, he quickly sat back down, his pants and underwear now around his ankles. “I thought...you had changed my body parts too,” he said, relief evident in his voice. Luffy gawped at Law’s nudity before he shook his head and replied. “No, it was a fabric-cleaning spell, not a body changing one,” Luffy replied, ogling a bit longer at Law before falling over backwards into the cabin. “Oh, right. Nami said to not do any spellcasting,” Luffy murmured weakly. Law quickly pulled up his underwear and “new” jeans and hurried to lean over the other man. “You okay Straw Hat-ya?” he asked, opening one of Luffy’s eyes and peering into it.Momentarily spinning, Luffy’s dark brown eye ceased its motion, focusing in order to stare deep into Law’s golden ones. Cheeks lightly spotted with red, he smiled shyly. “You still have very pretty tiger eyes, Torao,” the raven haired man said softly, Law frowned at the younger man. “You fall over backwards after exerting yourself, and now you want to flirt?”A light blush coloring his face, Luffy shrugged with one shoulder. “It’s not my fault! I can’t help it. You’re just so pretty, I had to say something!”Shocked at the words, Law stared down at Luffy. “Pretty? You think I’m pretty? I’m not a girl, you know.” “I...I knew that! It was just the first thing that came to mind, that’s all!” Luffy replied, his blush deepening. “Handsome, good-looking, attractive, hot, it doesn’t matter to me what words I use, I still think you’re gorgeous.”Law sat up and turned his face away from the younger man. “I suppose the rest of the Heart Pirates were correct in their assumption. It is a crush.” he muttered to himself.“Pirates?! You know pirates?” Luffy asked, abruptly sitting up, eyes shining. “Who are the Heart pirates, I never heard of them.”“It’s simply what I call my friends from school. There’s no such thing as pirates anymore,” Law stated. “At least not the classic ones most people think of.”“You shouldn’t say that! What if some nearby ones hear you?” Luffy cried out, glancing around surreptitiously. Still wobbly, he stood up and brushed off the seat of his jorts. “I’d better keep a lookout, just in case!”“Suit yourself,” Law said, watching as the raven-haired man staggered off towards the bow.(3) He watched as Luffy fell onto his knees, one arm going over the side of the small boat.“Luffy!” Law cried out. He rushed over to the raven-haired man. “You could fall over the side if you’re not careful.”“I’ll be okay. I just…” Luffy yawned. “...need a nap.” “Hold on, Straw Hat-ya. I’m supposed to be touching you when you sleep, remember?” Law reminded Luffy. “Oh...yeah….” Luffy said as he yawned again.The doctor gazed down at his patient, then sighed. “...Fine. Come sit next to me while I steer.”“...Okay.” Luffy replied sleepily. He turned around on the small deck and sat next to the surgeon. “You called me by my name,” Luffy murmured, yawning again as he settled against Law’s shoulder. When Law looked down at Luffy, the younger man was sound asleep and snoring lightly, his left hand flopped across his lap.“I suppose I did,” the older man said, smiling faintly.Law at first ignored his sleeping charge, preferring to focus on steering the Going Merry through the calm, wide river. The cool, slight breeze made guiding easy for the beginner sailor.Yet, curiosity overcame the blue-haired surgeon. Taking the chance to really study his patient, Law regarded the sleeping man. Windswept black hair blew away from a high forehead, leaving Luffy's face plain to see. It was a suntanned, handsome face. Large eyes gave the illusion of the eighteen year old being younger, his thin frame accentuating the illusion. Despite being crudely stitched, the scar under his left eye had healed well.Blue jorts and well-worn sandals bordered gangly legs. One skinny, tanned arm stood out against his bright red vest, lying palm-up.His battered straw hat hung on his back from a string, the woven straw at its crown three different colors, denoting repairs. He’s really not that bad looking, even if he is annoying, the blue-haired man thought. He couldn't help the smile that came over his face when Luffy let out an especially loud snore.As he watched, a red string tied in a neat bow materialized on the younger man’s pinky finger. The string ran down his leg, across his foot and faded into nothingness.“Wha...what was that?” Law cried out, leaping to his feet.“What was what?” Luffy yelled back, jumping up and taking a fighting stance. The tiny boat rocked from side to side at the movement.“It was ...it was a red string! Tied to your finger! It...it’s gone...now,” Law muttered, feeling silly. “Oh…” Luffy said, blushing as the wind picked up. “The rudder!” he shouted, just as the Going Merry hit a wave and began to list sideways.Both men leapt for the rudder, Law reaching it first. He pulled it, leaning back hard in order to counterbalance the boat.“No! You’ll overbalance her the other way!” Luffy cried out.Alarmed, Law let go of the rudder as Luffy grabbed it. Wrestling both rudder and boom (4), Luffy managed to keep the boat upright, despite the buffeting waves. Carefully watching the skilled young sailor, Law marveled at Luffy’s ability to keep them from flipping over. Plopping down by Law’s side, Luffy guided the boat down the river, explaining how he managed to keep the Going Merry upright, and showing Law what to do if the same thing happened again. Once the lesson was finished and evening approached, the younger man cautiously let Law take over, giving him advice here and there. Still wary, Law guided the Going Merry towards a small dock, Luffy taking the rudder at the last moment. They stopped with a slight thump against the wood. Luffy clambered off the boat and tied it to the empty dock.“Come on Torao, this place is really cool!” he shouted, sandals slapping on the wooden planks and towards a path in the forest.Law climbed off the boat, and promptly fell face-first onto the dock. Lying face down, the blue-haired doctor panted hard, his hands clutching in vain at the weathered wood while his entire body insisted he was still on a rocking boat.“I...can’t move,” he wheezed. “The ground is moving.”“Oi! Come back here dumbass!” Law heard a new voice yell, its owner approaching.“Shitty sorcerer, this landlubber’s got sea legs!(5) His balance is off after sailing all day! It’s gonna take a while before he gets his land legs(6) back. Stupid asshole! How did you forget that?” “Idunno, I guess it just slipped my mind,” Law heard Luffy reply. “C’mon, help me get him up,” the first voice said.Breathing in the cloud of cigarette smoke that was blown into his face, Law coughed as he was lifted to his feet. “Yeah, this little asshole forgot about sea legs and land legs. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to sailing by the time you get to where you’re going,” the owner of the smoky cloud explained.Turning towards the new voice, Law gazed into the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Yeah, hi. I’m Sanji, by the way,” the owner of the blue eyes said, introducing himself. “Try to walk, it’ll help you get used to being on land again much faster if you do.”Still feeling the effects of sea legs, Law walked with his head down. He concentrated on his feet, and not on the feeling of the ground moving as if he was still rocking on the deck of the Going Merry. The ease with which Sanji assisted him, told Law that the slight man was stronger than he appeared.Sanji blew out another puff of smoke from the bent cigarette hanging loosely from his mouth. “C’mon, dumbass and help me with this guy.”“Okay Sanji!” Luffy chirped, ignoring the insult. He moved over to Law’s other side and placed an arm around his waist.After walking for a while, the midnight-blue-haired doctor ventured to surreptitiously examine his living crutch as best he could.Black leather dress shoes polished to a mirror-like sheen lead to long, thin legs clad in black dress pants. A black suit coat with gold buttons framed a light green shirt and a loosely-tied blue and white striped tie on a thin body(1). Yellow-blond ear-length hair outlined a handsome, finely-chiseled face, the left bangs swept over to hide one eye. As he watched, the stranger tilted his head slightly to expose an eyebrow that curled in a concentric circle.The blue-haired surgeon lifted an eyebrow of his own at Sanji’s unusual facial feature, but said nothing as they travelled down the well-worn path.“I think I can make it on my own,” Law said after they had journeyed for a while longer.“I’m not carrying your lanky ass if you fall,” the blond said resolutely.“I’m going to keep my arm around you in case you get dizzy,” Luffy said just as resolutely as Sanji stepped away.Luffy’s arm felt comfortable around Law’s waist. “That’s fine,” Law answered, still not one hundred percent sure that the unsteadiness wouldn’t return.“Well, I’m not hauling him around if he gets wobbly again. He’s no lovely lady, so I don’t feel obligated to carry him,” Sanji said, flicking ash off of his cigarette.“It’s okay Torao, I can carry you if you need me to,” Luffy offered, a light blush coloring his face.Sanji gazed cooly at the short man. “You really got it bad, don’t you?” he said, grinning mischievously.“Wha...I do not!” Luffy shouted his blush deepening.“Has what?” Law asked, staring at the ground as if he expected it to shift again.“Nothing!” Luffy cried out at the same time that Sanji muttered, “Lovesickness.”Law raised his head and swept his eyes over Luffy’s red face, then to Sanji’s, expecting to catch the blond in a lie.Sanji’s expression reflected nothing but truth and humor.“Wait...you’re that plushie carney….” the doctor began just as shouting came from ahead of them on the path.“Sanji! Come quick! Zeff’s hurt!” he heard a deep voice yell. “He got stung by Grandpa Stabber!”“SHIT! I’m coming!” Sanji yelled back in reply. “Luffy, you got this?” he asked hurriedly.“Yeah. Go!” the younger man assured him, his arm tightening on Law’s waist.The pair continued walking as Sanji ran off, grumbling,”I hope the old fucker didn’t do what I think he did.”Lagging well behind the blond, Law could see the redness of the setting sun reflecting off a large body of water. As they emerged from the trees, Law saw that they had arrived at a huge lake. Moored to the right of where Luffy and Law emerged was a light green, fish-shaped ship with a few smaller ships docked nearby, floating in the calm water. Painted on the side of the fish ship were the words “Restaurant” and “Baratie.”A number of people in chef’s hats and aprons ran around the beach in a panic. “Owner Zeff! Owner Zeff!” One of the chefs called out before falling down on all fours, bawling as they approached the ship. Sanji was nowhere to be seen.“What happened?” Luffy yelled into the chaos, his voice easily carrying over the bedlam.“Owner Zeff went fishing but got stung by Grandpa Stabber while trying to land him! He got a huge dose of stabberfish venom and we don’t have any antidote!” shouted back a muscular man in a chef’s apron, a white rope tied around his shaved head. He also fell to the ground on all fours, punching it as tears rained down onto his hands.“Don’t worry Patty, Torao’s a doctor! He’ll help Zeff!” Luffy yelled back. He turned to gaze up at the much taller man at his side. “Right?”Silence fell as all eyes turned to them.A deep blush colored Law’s tan face when he realized that Luffy’s arm was still encircling his waist...and everyone was looking at them.“I...I’m not familiar with a...stabberfish...but I’ll do what I can,” Law promised. Determined, he set his jaw and shouted, “Someone needs to go back to our boat on the East Blue and grab the huge backpack inside the cabin. Be careful with it, there are glass bottles in it.”“Carne, you bastard! You, you and you go to the dock and get that backpack!” Patty ordered, now standing and pointing towards a chef wearing sunglasses and two others.Shouting “out of the way, coming through!” the trio ran towards the path Law and Luffy had just come down, their voices quickly fading into the distance.“I can walk just fine now Luffy,” Law admitted, stepping away from the younger man.“Oh...okay,” Luffy responded, disappointment at being separated from Law’s side evident in his voice.“You’re in charge? Show me the patient,” Law demanded of Patty, who was ordering more chefs around.“Sure thing Doc! Follow me,” he said, heading towards the restaurant.Law rapidly followed the much taller chef, Luffy not far behind them.They headed towards the restaurant, the other chefs practically falling out of their path as they walked.Law noted that Sanji was still nowhere to be seen.Inside, yelling that quickly became gagging could be heard from the top of a spiral staircase. Patty led them up the stairs and down a long hallway. Heading to the door at the end of the hall, Law could hear more shouting behind the door.“I said I’m not gonna die, stupid Eggplant! I refuse!” a hoarse voice bellowed.“And I said without the antidote, you could die from the stings you got, you shitty old fucker!” Sanji’s loud voice replied back.Patty knocked three times on the door before pushing it open. “I brought Luffy’s friend Torao, Owner Zeff. He’s a doctor. He said he could help you.”“He’s not from The Land, how the hell could he help?” Law heard Sanji bark. “He probably hasn’t even heard of any kind of stabberfish, much less a rare, purple-nosed one!”Law followed the large chef into a plain, wood-lined bedroom with barely any decoration. A simple bed held an older man with a blond goatee and a matching braided mustache that stretched out past his face. Large bluish-purple splotches stood out in harsh relief on his pale, sweaty skin. The man turned to gaze at the newcomers, his expression stern.Sanji sat on a stool next to the bed, holding a metal bucket, wearing a worried expression. The butt of his damp cigarette was well-chewed, a few loose tobacco flakes littering the front of his otherwise immaculate suit.“I’m fine, I just need some rest,” the older blond grumped. “Just...let me sleep.”“You sleep, and you die, dumb geezer! You’ll stop breathing if you sleep!” shouted Sanji. He glared at the trio. “And you can do what for this shitty old fart?” he asked.“Chopper sent all kinds of stuff with him, and a big medical book too!” Luffy answered. Going over to where the blond was sitting, the younger man put a hand on Sanji’s shoulder. “He’ll be okay. Torao will help.”Sanji sighed around his mangled cigarette. “If you think he can...then I’ll trust him too.” He gazed up at Law, who stood awkwardly in the doorway. “If he dies, I’ll kick your ass all the way to Sabaody and back again!” he snarled, though the worry came through in his voice.Pale at the thought of ‘how to treat a purple-nosed stabberfish sting,’ Law simply nodded his response. “I will do my best to help him,” Law replied. “I’m waiting for someone named Carne to return with the book Chopper gave me.”“You hear that, you stupid old shithead? This guy’s a doctor, let him help you, all right?” Sanji yelled.“Yeah, yeah, I’m not deaf! I’ll let him help me, if only to get you to shut the hell up for a minute! You’re making my head hurt,” Zeff growled in response. His eyes widened as he slapped a hand to his mouth.Sanji rapidly lifted the bucket and held it up just as the older blond spewed greenish-yellow liquid into the bucket.“Stubborn old fart. Why would you go fishing for Grandpa Stabber? Especially alone? You know that sneaky fuck is long-lived because he’s so clever, right?” Sanji mumbled, still wearing the worried expression when Zeff sat up to take a breath.Law studied the mustached blond and took mental notes of Zeff’s physical condition, making sure to pay special attention to his skin’s bluish-purple splotches as the man leaned over yet again to heave more bile into the bucket.“Give him some water, otherwise he’ll dehydrate,” Law barked. “Uh...sure,” Patty said. He hurried over to a dresser where a pitcher and glass sat. He filled the glass, then handed it shakily to Law.“Try to drink this, Zeff-ya,” Law encouraged “It’ll at least give you something to vomit.”Gasping as he sat back, Zeff took the glass, thirstily gulping down half of it.“Slow down! Take smaller sips or…” Law began, taking a huge step backwards as Zeff started another round of puking. “...you will vomit more,” he finished.A set of thunderous footsteps ran up the stairs, causing everyone’s head in the room to turn towards the door.Out of the corner of his eyes, Law saw Luffy take a step back just as the door slammed open, narrowly missing him.“Oi Carne! Zeff’s sick here! Take it easy!” Sanji roared as the chef with sunglasses burst into the room.“Sorry!” Carne replied, falling to his knees and panting hard.“You better not have destroyed anything in your rush to get here,” Law added, striding over.“I made...sure...to...take..it easy,” Carne wheezed. He held up two backpacks, the leather one filled to near bursting, the other bright yellow and black.“You found my other backpack?” Law said, noting it as he reached for the overstuffed one.“Yeah. I figured that it was someone’s private stuff. Besides, I didn’t understand the stuff I saw inside,” Carne admitted.“That’s because it contains items from my world,” the doctor said absently, moving over to sit against the far wall where he could easily observe his patient. Taking a book out of the huge backpack, Law sat cross-legged on the floor and opened it to the front. Skimming quickly through the table of contents, he found what he needed, a section on poisons.Turning to the first page describing stabberfish, he looked at the drawings of vicious-looking fish, all of them with different number of syringe-looking appendages where their noses should have been. Finding the page on the purple-nosed stabberfish, he resisted wincing at the menacing array of needlelike projections coming from its snout. He mentally counted 12 needles on its snout before he began reading the description on the bottom of the page, brow furrowed in concentration.‘The sting of the purple-nosed stabberfish is one of the most dangerous venoms of the stabberfish family. Fortunately, this fish is only found in certain lakes. It can reach a length of seven feet(2) long at sexual maturity. Because this particular fish continues to grow throughout its life, much larger specimens have been found, with the largest recorded size so far found reaching a length of well over fifteen feet(2) long. Unfortunately, the larger it becomes, the more potent the venom becomes.’ he read.The blue-haired man read quickly, the silence in the room broken only by the sound of Zeff’s retching and the occasional turn of a page.
‘The more venom the patient receives, the closer the purplish-blue blotches on the patient’s skin becomes. If the patient is completely purplish-blue, the doctor must administer the antidote within 15 minutes or the patient’s respiratory system will cease to function.
‘The symptoms, although easy to diagnose, become life-threatening over the course of the envenoming, culminating in a patient dying when they attempt to sleep due to respiratory failure. Unfortunately for most victims, it means four sleepless nights just when their body is telling them that it is what they need most. Keeping the victim awake is vital for a complete recovery.
Be prepared to tie the patient down in your attempt to prevent them from sleeping as envenomed patients have been known to become extremely violent towards their caretakers in their attempt to sleep. Leather or strong rope is suggested.
A study by Doctor Kureha found that sleep is possible, if the patient’s breathing is supported during that time. Her ‘Assisted Breathing’ study also found out that recovery begins after only three hours instead of the normal four days the patient would otherwise have to stay awake without an antidote. Be advised, this method leaves the patient ravenously hungry for one to three days. Make sure to have a large supply of highly nutritious food ready in order for the patient to recover properly from the venom. Doctor Kureha’s method only works once per envenomation, so if you fail to have sufficient food nearby, you will need to have the antidote or resort back to keeping the patient awake for four nights. Marking the section in the book by folding down a few pages, Law stood up. “How big is...Grandpa Stabber?” he asked.“About 27 feet(2) long,” Carne answered. “Owner Zeff's one lucky bastard. He didn’t get all of the needles. Only a few got him.”“I see,” replied the blue-haired doctor. “Where is the closest place that would have a supply of purple-nosed stabberfish antidote?” Law asked.“Probably at Shimotsuki Village, a six day boat ride from here,” Sanji answered solemnly.“I see,” Law repeated. “Then it seems that we will have to resort to Doctor Kureha’s method.” Closing the book, he put it down and turned to look sternly at Patty. “Can you find me a few things? If you have paper, I can write down what I need.”“Sure, sure,” Patty answered. He pulled out a notepad and pencil from his work apron and handed it to Law.Law quickly wrote down what he needed, and handed it back. “Can you read my handwriting?” he asked.“Yeah, I can. Some of these things I’ve not heard of before, but the ones I’m familiar with, I’ll make sure you have them, okay doc? I’ll make it fast,” Patty promised, opening the door.“Don’t forget the liver, it’s very important,” Law called after him just as Zeff let out a huge yawn.“Don’t you dare close your eyes, you shitty old prick!” Sanji yelled, his expression grim.“I won’t,” Zeff replied, his grumble punctuated by another yawn.“We need that equipment now,” Law said mostly to himself. Picking up his personal backpack, he moved over to the side of the bed and pulled out his stethoscope. Listening carefully, he counted the older man’s breaths and heart rate as Zeff’s yawns became more frequent.“Hm….”“ ‘Hm?’ What do you mean by that?” Sanji cried out, his voice squeaking at the end.“Nothing really. He has a strong heart and good lungs,” Law replied, draping the stethoscope around his neck. “That’s good.”“...Okay,” Sanji said, blowing out a breath around the soggy cigarette as the sound of rapid steps were heard approaching the bedroom.“That was fast,” Law observed as Patty opened the door. “We’re chefs. We know exactly where everything is,” said the burly cook, grinning as he handed Law the list. “Everything will be ready by the time you need them. I have many of the other chefs preparing things right now. But what is “kale?” he asked.“If you don’t know what it is, don’t worry about it. There are plenty of other things on this list that will work just fine. Just be sure to have quite a lot ready, he’s going to need it.”“Okay doc. Carne and I will be on it!” Hope was evident in Patty’s voice as they left the bedroom.Sanji glared at the blue-haired doctor. “Just what the fuck are you assheads going on about?” he growled.“We are going to use Doctor Kureha’s method of ridding Zeff-ya of the venom,” said Law while continuing to dig through the leather backpack. “Ah, I thought so!” he exclaimed, pulling out a black nylon case.Just then, the older blond let out a huge yawn and fell back onto the bed, sound asleep.“NO!” Sanji yelled. He yanked Zeff by the shoulders, shaking him violently. Panic tingled his voice as he realized each breath was shallower than the last. “You need to stay awake, you fucking shithead!”Law rapidly assembled and checked the equipment he found in the black case and then rushed over to Zeff.Sanji's hands still gripped Zeff’s upper arms as he attempted to wake the older blond.“Move!” Law ordered.The younger blond froze, blue fire flashing behind his eyes. “He needs to wake the fuck up, you stupid quack! He’ll die if he doesn’t stay awake!”“He’ll die if you don’t move out of my way,” Law replied ominously.“Sanji, move!” commanded a voice from near the bedroom door.Law felt a wave of pure, raw power that almost made him follow the demand. Shaking the fuzziness the order left in his head, he nearly fell onto the prone body on the bed.A body that had stopped breathing.Recovering quickly, Law opened Zeff’s mouth. He swiftly but expertly inserted a straight, lighted metal blade attached to a handle(3) in Zeff’s mouth, then a long plastic tube down his throat. Putting aside the lighted blade, he attached what looked like a blue-tinted clear bladder to the tube. Squeezing it, Law watched the older chef’s chest rise, then used a plastic syringe on the tube. Taking a long piece of tape, he wound it once around the tube, then attached the ends of the tape to Zeff’s cheeks. Hastily checking his watch, Law took care to squeeze the bag every few seconds, nearly collapsing it each time.“Wha...what are you doing?” Sanji asked shakily, a few more tobacco flakes drifting like snow to land on the legs of his pants.Using his free hand, Law placed the ends of his stethoscope in his ears.“I’m helping him. I squeeze this plastic bag and it inflates his lungs so he gets air to breathe.” Law explained. He squeezed the bag a few more times, listening carefully with the stethoscope at both sides of the older blond’s chest and then over his stomach.“Right now, I’m checking to make sure that this tube is in his lungs and not in his stomach. I’m going to be squeezing it every time I breathe so that he also breathes along with me for the next three hours. That way, he can get the sleep his body demands to fight off the venom, but we won’t have to be concerned about him suffocating.”“I...see,” Sanji replied, watching as Zeff’s chest rose and fell with each compression of the plastic bag. “But won’t your hands get tired?”“I’m positive they will. That’s why I’m also recruiting you to take over once that occurs.”“I can help,” said a voice near the door.Law raised his head, only to end up staring directly into the huge brown eyes of his other patient.“Luffy, you are sick yourself. I think it would be best if you reserved your energy for the journey. I don’t know how long it will take to get to this...Sabaody...but I’m sure you’ll be exhausted by the time we get there,” the blue-haired doctor cautioned.“I was in college classes when I was on The Plane,” Luffy continued. “I’m an EMT student.”Law eyes opened wide in surprise at this declaration.“I signed off on my bag valve mask and intubation practicals."(4)Law blinked dumbly back at him.“I can take over whenever you need a break. I feel fine right now. The food I ate should last for a couple of days. Robin told me so.”Law gazed over at the younger man for a moment with a new level of respect. “That...that is good to know, Straw hat-ya. But for now, I’m all right.”“Okay. I’m just letting you know. Sanji might forget to squeeze the bag valve mask,” Luffy said.“I won’t forget, you rubber-brained moron! He’s my...Zeff is my...he’s special to me, okay?” the blond growled back.“Okay,” Luffy replied, nonplussed. “I’m just sayin’ that you’re not used to doing this. I am.”“Whatever! Right now, I only care that someone’s helping the shitty old man breathe, I don’t care who!” Sanji countered, his worried blue eyes not leaving Law’s slender hand as it continued to rhythmically squeeze the bag.Law watched the interchange, his hand never ceasing as the bag helped the older man breathe.After bagging the chef with one hand for a good 42 minutes, Law felt the need to switch hands. Doing so, he opened and closed the long fingers of his freed hand a number of times to relieve some of the cramping.Luffy watched the proceedings silently, huge brown eyes not missing anything Law did. The room was silent except for the sound of Law assisting Zeff’s breathing and the whooshing of the older man’s breaths as he breathed out.After another 26 minutes, Law motioned for Luffy to come closer.Leaving his place near the door, the silent teen knelt next to the blue-haired doctor, who was sitting next to Zeff on the bed.“I’m going to give my hands time to rest, Straw hat-ya,” Law explained to Luffy. “I need to finish reading the chapter of the book that talks about this method. If your hands get tired, let me know and we’ll switch over once again, understood?”“What about me taking over?” Sanji asked, worry showing in his blue eyes."It’s okay Sanji. Torao and I got this,” the youngest man said confidently.Sanji nodded at Luffy, the worry in his eyes changing over to trust at the raven-haired man’s words.Quickly, Law and Luffy switched places, not interrupting Zeff’s breathing at all.Going back to where he had left the medical tome, Law picked it up and once again began reading.The flickering lamplight cast dim shadows over the tiny print. The words on the page began to blur. Law squeezed his eyes shut. The stresses of a full twenty four hour work shift, finding out about the parallel world, meeting new beings, learning how to steer a boat and a medical emergency were finally taking their toll on the exhausted surgeon.Before he could reopen his eyes, Law was fast asleep.“Torao! Wake up Torao!”Law started.“Something’s happening! What do I do?” Luffy’s worried voice shouted.Groggily, Law looked up, only to see what seemed to be dark blue smoke coming from Zeff’s open mouth. The ominous-looking cloud expanded with each breath.“Quick! Open the windows!” Law shouted. The open book in his lap slid to the floor, landing with a heavy thud.Sanji jumped up from where he was sitting. Long legs striding across the room, he slammed open first one window, then the second. A cool night breeze blew through the bedroom, dispersing the dangerous-looking mist. Only a pencil-thin blue line emerged from the older chef’s mouth with each breath, but was rapidly sucked out the nearest open window.“What was that?” Sanji cried out, panic in his voice.“The cast-off toxin,” Law replied. He picked up the dropped book and began to read aloud the last passage he remembered before drifting off.“During the last hour or so of bagging, the patient will begin to exude a purplish-blue cloud of cast-off venom. Be sure to open a window or have some other ventilation to clear out the room in order to not inhale the toxin yourself or re-envenom the patient.“The blotches should fade as the venom is exhaled, indicating your patient has exuded the toxin. Their energy should return at the normal rate of seven to ten days.“However, the patient will need extra sustenance continuously during the first one to three days due to the arduous work of their body ridding itself of the venom. A highly nutritious diet is recommended.”“You mean we could have given him the venom he just got rid of?” Sanji shouted incredulously.“Apparently so, Sanji-ya.” Law rubbed at an eye. “I don’t recall dozing off, but that paragraph was the last thing I remembered reading.”Frowning, Sanji grumbled at the comment, but otherwise said nothing.“You worked really hard before coming to The Land to take care of me, didn't ya, Torao?” Luffy asked solemnly. His hand never ceased squeezing the bag.“Yes...yes I did, Straw Hat-ya. I have been awake for well over 56 Earth hours,” Law admitted, yawning.“You need sleep, Torao. The old man will be fine while you take a nap. Promise,” Luffy murmured softly to Law.Law blinked drowsily at the youngest man, his eyes questioning the comment.“If the stupid rubber-brain promised you, he will keep that promise, no matter what,” Sanji reiterated. “If you want to sleep, do it now. When the crappy old fart wakes up, he’s going to be pissed and probably make you work, so you might as well.”Law gazed back and forth between the two men, then seemed to make up his mind.“Alright, I will nap for a while. But if you have any difficulties, or any questions, or anything else happens….” he began.“I’ll wake you up again, right away. Promise,” Luffy said, grinning.Rising from his stool, Sanji removed the soggy cigarette from between his lips and tossed it into the abandoned vomit bucket next to the bed, then brushed the loose tobacco flakes off the front of his suit. Reaching into his inside breast pocket, he shook a fresh cigarette from his pack and placed it into his mouth, not noticing the crazily bent filter.“You read that one of the side effects from healing from this kind of toxin treatment is being ravenously hungry. If it’s okay with you Doc, I’m going to start work on some food for Zeff.”Law dipped his head once in acknowledgement. When the door closed behind the lanky blond, he turned to Luffy and watched as the younger man’s hand continued to rhythmically squeeze the breathing bag.“Sanji-ya must have an exceedingly high level of trust in you to leave,” Law noted.“I promised him. He knows I always keep my promises,” Luffy replied, shrugging.“Then I will trust you as well, Straw hat-ya, and take a quick nap,” said Law.Luffy grunted his understanding and turned to face Zeff, his hand never ceasing nor slowing down with its work.Closing his eyes, Law was once again fast asleep.