Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“You know you’re one of his firsts, right?”

And now he was choking. Because after all the tragedies, dangers, horrors and deranged psychopaths in his life? This was going to be the way Law left the world: by choking on the complimentary water provided by some café on a New World island that was half colorful coral.

“Oh don’t be so overdramatic,” Nami rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to daintily sip at some fruity specialty drink with enough alcohol that Law could smell it across the table.

Experience said that his eye would be twitching at this point but, well, he was a bit busy trying not to cough up a lung. Physically improbable, but you never know. Just when he thought he could handle the insanity that came with being in the vicinity of a Straw Hat, one of the less obviously insane ones sneak up on him.

He regretted everything.

Originally, they were supposed to have split up after leaving Wano to make themselves harder to catch. Alliance aside, the plan was for the Thousand Sunny to go flying off one way while the Scalpel submerged into the sea to swim the other way. In taking down the Emperor and his cohorts, their bounties had absolutely skyrocketed much to everyone’s glee.

Their increased bounties and general disruption of the New World’s power dynamic drew the renewed interest of various parties. Kaidou’s business partners proved to be especially unhappy with them. This point was proven as both crews were forced to dodge said shady partners on top of Marines, private navies, privateers, bounty hunters, and other pirates looking to take them down a peg. Each new wave and group seemed more determined than the last to beat the infamous Straw Hats and Hearts Pirates alliance. Supply trips onto islands were usually cut short, as even supposedly uninhabited islands tended to have enemies waiting to ambush them.

The frequency of the attacks and ambushes had put everyone on edge. Law didn’t remember the last time he allowed himself to take a nap with Bepo. More alarmingly, he didn’t remember the last time the Straw Hat’s one-eyed swordsman had taken a nap. The green haired swordsman only had five states of being: sleep, eat, drink, train, and fight. And the surgeon had seen Zoro sleep through three consecutive typhoons and half an hour of typical Straw Hat chaos. It was one thing when the insomniac couldn’t sleep; another entirely when the overgrown cat pretending to be a man rarely rested.

In the face of unknown numbers and jumping at spots on the horizons, there was an unspoken agreement that everyone would prefer to stay together. But honestly, if it wasn’t one thing keeping them from separating then it was another. On one island, they were headed off the other two routes shown on the Log Pose by pursuers. While on another island, they were only there long enough for one Pose to settle before having evade several groups of bounty hunters. Franky would insist on helping them fix the Scalpel or improve on the engine, a venture which Shachi heartily supported. One of the Straw Hats reopening a wound that the surgeon in Law just couldn’t leave alone (he honestly didn’t understand how Zoro wasn’t dead yet). There was even one time where Law just couldn’t bring himself to pull away from a rather fascinating lecture Chopper was giving concerning his Rumble Balls. It definitely led to some musing on Law’s part, as it could be a possible solution to the resulting fatigue from using his Ope Ope abilities. But the inevitable result of his fascination was that they departed the island together as the Straw Hat doctor continued.

Under the pressure of fleeing and fighting together, both crews became well-versed with each other’s ships. In their last battle with several Marine warships, Law heard Penguin’s delighted war-cry from the direction of Sunny’s figurehead as the Gaon Cannon was fired. Jean Bart had readily taken orders from Franky as the two large men hurriedly work to fix part of the Scalpel’s damaged outer hull. Bepo defended Nami from anyone who got too close on the Straw Hat’s grassy deck while the two had a rapid-fire discussion about which way they needed to navigate the ships. Chopper had been quick in familiarizing himself with Law’s medical workplace; unobtrusively inserting himself into surgeries and was immediately there with whatever the surgeon needed so quickly that he couldn’t have done better with a Shambles. The fact that Tony-ya was from the famed medical kingdom of Drum showed, because the tiny boy-reindeer may very well be the best medical assistant he ever had.

Seriously, one way or another, Law was going to steal that reindeer.

He could still vividly recall the one time they had really tried to separate. The privateers pursuing them proved to have done their research and had sunk underwater mimes and hanging, metal nets into the surrounding waters specifically meant to damage or tangle around Hearts Pirates’ submarine. Unfortunately, the resulting damage very nearly drowned Law’s crew. Salt water had flooded many compartments of the sub, and his most recent nightmares were of bloated, water-logged bodies in familiar metal rooms and his crew’s frantic reports and calls through the intercoms before being cut off by a static-y silence.

Of course, the Straw Hats wouldn’t leave an ally behind. So most of them had thrown themselves at the forces above the waves as Franky and Sanji had taken their smaller, shark-shaped submarine down to help. That adventure resulted in a real fear that if they separated, they wouldn’t be able to escape without being trapped in separate sieges. That their enemies’ go-to tactics seem to be ‘conquer and divide’ didn’t help the conception and so they had stuck together in the meantime. Even while their ships cut through vividly light blue water that indicated they were in the territory of a Spring island, everyone was keeping a wary eye on the horizon and waters around them.

Honestly, Law didn’t remember the last time his ship had been surfaced for so long. One reason why he had waited as long as he did before returning to the Grand Line was because he had been searching for a ship he could feel safe on. When the surgeon had first heard of the creation of a heavy-duty, medical submarine, he knew immediately that was the kind of ship he wanted. It fit his needs and talents: plenty of room, technologically advanced, medical attachments and equipment, sturdy enough to weather the harshness of the Grand Line oceans, and enough parts of the outer hull embedded with Seastone to ward off Sea Kings without affecting its crew. The vessel was one of a kind and truly a treasure in of itself. Most importantly, a submarine would keep himself and his crew out of Doflamingo’s reach, view, and strings. It put the entire ocean between himself and Doflamingo’s sky.

But now the pink, feathery bastard was no longer a factor. And after chasing and dodging a nightmare for so long, Law still sometimes got confused at seeing sunlight filter in through their portholes when the hum of the submarine’s engines signaled they were moving.

At some point after their second close escape, Luffy had determinedly announced that they would set course to try and find his other long-thought-dead older brother. Apparently, he had seen the headline about the destruction of Baltigo, but had put it off in order to rescue Sanji and rejoin the rest of his crew. But as he stared out at the sea from his lion-head seat, there was an edge of desperation and darkness in his gaze and the set of his mouth. And if Law thought that it looked as close to regret as someone like Straw Hat could get, the older man didn’t share. But whatever it was, it was enough to get the rest of both crews to quietly go along without the routine protests of danger.

The Surgeon of Death didn’t need to ask or puzzle why, not with something so obvious. He had kept tabs of the events leading up to the War of the Best, had been there himself, and had seen Luffy at his worst as well as his best. His ally believed stubbornly in giving people the space to make their own choices. But in the case of Sabo, the rubber man needed to check for himself to see if the Revolutionary was okay. Because the last time he trusted a brother to take care of himself after news of a devastating defeat, that brother died.

By pure chance (and everyone’s relief), they stumbled upon a small contingency of injured Revolutionaries who had been rescued by none other than Emperio Ivankov xemself. Luffy had burst out into slobbering tears at an injured, but very alive, Sabo before then attaching himself to his blonde brother like rubber rope. To be fair, the 2nd of the Revolutionary Army took it all in good spirits and laughing despite the fact that he probably couldn’t move his upper body at all. Meanwhile, the Straw Hat’s most recent acquirement in the form a Fisherman ex-Warlord had a warm, slightly teary-eyed reunion with a redhead Revolutionary girl. And most interesting of all, the sight of the aforementioned large-headed queen was enough to send Blackleg into conniptions.

(One day. One day, Law would see just what part of the Straw Hat cook made the blonde prone to have so many extreme physical reactions and survive.)

But ever since then, the group had been traveling with them.

In all honesty, this particular adventure started the same way as the Punk Hazard misadventure: with a call that was answered by the Thousand Sunny.

Yeah, after that half-frozen, half-burnt-crispy adventure, the Straw Hats had learnt their lesson. While nobody regretted that adventure in the least, a loosely arranged rotation of Den-Den Mushi watch was arranged after that. One that may or may not carefully did not include their captain. So when the call came, the ringing filled the space of the library and interrupted Bepo and Nami’s back and forth cartographic discussion. With a frown, Nami let the map they were looking over roll back up before picking up the receiver.

“Hello?” Nami greeted briskly, reasonably professional but still understandably suspicious. They hadn’t expected any calls from anybody in particular and recent events had brought her dangerously close to paranoia. “Who is this?”

“How’d ya do, ma’am,” an accented, guttural, male voice answered. The redhead navigator immediately tensed. She didn’t know this voice. Meanwhile, whoever was on the other side of the phone had plain and unfamiliar features. All the snail really showed was a wide mouth tilted in an almost disarming smile and dark eyes with a permanently nonchalant slant. Covering the snail’s eyes, she turned to Bepo and pointed urgently at the doorway while silently mouthing ’get Robin’. Muttering a habitual apology, the Mink trotted out of the room to go get the Straw Hat’s historian, no doubt either in the library or with the Revolutionaries.

“Name’s Captain Felicio of da Snake-Eye Pirates,” the unknown voice continued, introducing themselves, “And I’ll be speaking for both ma crew as well as da Judas Pirates. Would I be a’speaking to da Straw Hat Pirates?”

“Perhaps,” Nami confirmed, her voice stiff as she uncovered the snail’s eyes. Not one to fool around unlike some crewmates (and captain), she got right down to business and demanded, “How did you get this number?”

“Contact of a contact of the Barto Club,” was the rolling, easy reply. Even though the snail lacked shoulders, Nami could practically feel the companionable shrug from across the line. “By any chance, would I be talking ta ‘Cat Burglar’ Nami?”

“Does it matter?” said ‘Cat Burglar’ shot back. “Wait, he just gave you our number?”

“True, it doesn’t matter. Just that if it is, it’s a real honor, ma’am,” the other man replied amusedly despite Nami’s aggressiveness. In the meantime, Robin had silently swept into the room with her usual elegant but shadowy way with Bepo trailing behind her. For all his size, he was equally as quiet and light on his feet, though he lacked the quiet assertiveness of Robin’s presence. Trading looks at Nami, the older woman folded herself into a chair and studied the Den Den Mushi intently with her thousand-mile stare. “Ma own navigator has been watching ya progress. Real impressive work. And no, da Cannibal doesn’t freely give out your number. That lot’s as possessive, volatile and hard-headed as a tiger-bear over its honey stash. We expressed a genuine interest in getting in on da Straw Hat and Hearts Pirate Alliance. Had to get some particular people to vouch for us, jump through a bunch of hoops in order to prove our interest is da real deal, and negotiate. Da green-haired rooster really wasn’t all that friendly… Actually lost a couple of men to him…Made it pretty clear that if we were accepted into an alliance, we wouldn’t be on da same level as da—whatitscalled—‘Straw Hat Armada’?”

Nami’s face twisted into her habitual exasperated expression. To this day, she still found that bit of the Dressrosa pretty unbelievable. Her gaze was caught by Robin, who then raised an eyebrow and held out a hand expectantly. Handing it over the receiver easily enough, Nami took the time to study the features the snail showcased.

“This is Nico Robin speaking,” the dark-haired woman introduced herself pleasantly. “Am I correct in saying that I’m speaking to Captain Hornigold Felicio?”

“Well I’ll be, Nico Robin herself…,” the apparent captain mused in something like amused wonderment. “You’re a hard woman to find.”

“Thank you, I try,” Robin’s reply was equally amused and her sly smile never wavered. “Now please answer the question.”

“True. I am, indeed, Captain Hornigold Felicio,” the snail mirrored the nod from the other end. “Currently speaking for myself an’ Captain Alessandri Judas. I’ve heard you’ve gotten your fair share of proposals already, but never’the’less…we would like to inquire if your captain would be interested in joining up.”

“If you really are who you say you are,” the Straw Hat historian hummed pleasantly, “Then this isn’t surprising in the least. You then must also be aware that our captain and our ally haven’t accepted any of those other proposals since we left Wano.”

“False,” was the immediate, sure answer. “Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law have accepted two since leaving Wano. Both with small time groups and both were with people they had met personally. One was a rebel group led by a disowned, second princess looking to overthrow her tyrant father. The second was with the heir of the infamous Vongola Family. Surprising, considering that they are one of the major rival family of the Vinsmokes.”

Nami hissed in alarm. Those alliances were made during two smaller adventures that had happened in the past month. Both were dealings that happened very, very quietly and very privately (or, well, as quietly as the Straw Hats and two D captains could be). That he knew of those two alliances meant that whoever this was either kept a close tabs on them, was influential enough to get that kind of information, or both. Either way, it was enough to make her skin crawl. The thief in her abhorred the feeling of being watched.

On the other hand, Robin seemed both unfazed and mildly pleased if the slight lift in her smile was anything to go by, “I am glad to hear that your reputation isn’t entirely exaggerated.”

“True,” the captain chuckled. “It means you can try to dig me for information. Moving on though. From what I can understand, your captain isn’t interested in someone unless he meets them face to face. More than an alliance proposal, I’m proposing we four captains meet. No weapons, no crew, neutral ground.”

This actually managed to get a pause from the dark haired woman before she continued, “That’s a very risky proposal. If I didn’t know any better, Captain, I would say that it was a trap.”

“Believe me, I know what I’m asking,” the man replied, his voice dipping into a deeper tenor that carried the sense of captain. “And I know da trouble you lot having been facing with pursuers. Hell, I worry about them ‘cause I’m sure they’d love to get their hands on me! Won’t lie on this bit, it means da locale I’m proposing is risky as well. But I’m hoping it’ll assure you that I’m not looking to ambush no one.” There was a derisive guffaw on the other side of the line as the snail laughed. “And frankly? Straw Hat and the Surgeon of Death versus me and Judas? Ha! I deal in information, sweetheart. I know exactly how unclassed I am. I’m good, and I’m sure I can pull in someone better. But Trafalgar Law has one of the world’s strongest Devil Fruits and Monkey D. Luffy is that flavor of reckless determination that can consistently pull miraculous bullshit out his ass. This long in da New World, I can recognize a genius fighter when I see one.” There was another amused snort on the other end, as the seriousness faded. But while amusement bled back into his words, Nami could see that the snail’s eyes hadn’t lost that sly edge. “And da frightening thing is dat he’s still growing, ain’t he? It’d be interesting if nothing else. And being a pirate is about keeping things interestin’.”

The orange haired navigator crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as her dark-haired crewmate chuckled companionably. These were definitely situations where she was extremely glad for their historian. If this shady guy was some sort of information-broker, then (among the Straw Hats) Robin was definitely the most proficient in dealing with him.

“Forgive my suspicion, Captain,” the older woman hummed a polite not-apology. “You must understand. What with all the trouble lately...well. Our captain is very important to us. As is our allied captain. In fact, I personally owe Trafalgar Law a debt. During that final battle on the King’s plateau, Trafalgar Law actually left that final fight in order to save me from one of Doflamingo’s attacks.”

“False,” Felicio put out in a manner almost playfully banter-like if not for the slight narrowing of the snail’s eyes. “From what I hear, you were da one who protected him, Miss Nico. Da good Surgeon wasn’t in all dat good a shape, what with him gettin’ his arm cut off and all, then needing those little fairy folk to help sew it back on.”

“Really now?” she replied. “That’s not the way I remember it.”

“False. Dat is exactly how you remember it. Dat’s also the way da Pirate Prince and da Cannibal both remembered it. But you’re smart enough to test me,” he refuted with a self-assured air of confidence that put Nami’s teeth on edge. “And both are suspicious bastards in their own ways. I would say dat them actually telling me da story after such scrutiny is as good of a recommendation you’re gonna to get, Miss Nico.”

Said miss just hummed light-heartedly, her wide eyes continue to study the snail for any facial ticks the Den Den Mushi might reveal. “You are aware that our captain has a very different idea of what an ‘alliance’ entails, correct? To Luffy, the reason he only accepts alliances from people we meet is because to him, an alliance means friendship. The fulfillment or goals, protection, and strength doesn’t factor into it. Luffy doesn’t accept underlings.”

“You are aware dat isn’t exactly a detraction from certain quarters,” was the chuckling response. “I’m considered pretty unconventional myself, so I get it. I didn’t become a pirate to become someone else’s lackey or to play to someone else’s agendas. However, I’m sure you noticed dat it isn’t so easy to do dat around here, what with all the different powers playing off each other. Sea Kings eating Sea Kings, and most people comin’ in end up joining up with a larger power. New World’s just the kinda sea you want to have friends in. Unfortunately, my kinda gig doesn’t exactly put me in position where I can trust very easily. Word is, he’s pretty respectful of a man’s freedom and takes loyalty pretty seriously. So I’ll take my chances with you guys.” The snail mimed a shrug. “That aside, I gotta say...you’re your captain sounds like a pretty wild guy. If nothing else, I’d love to at least meet him and the Surgeon. Ya Straw Hat and Hearts fellas make a lotta waves. Being that this is the part of da world where all da big shots are, that’s saying something in these seas. Just have him think about it.”

The pause here was longer as Robin looked over to Nami. Despite the fact they had only spent mere fractions of their life together, the orange-haired navigator instinctively knew the kind of debate going on behind Robin’s carefully guarded gaze. They had held these silent discussions between them numerous enough times that it was just as efficient as talking. Finally, Robin turned back to look at the Den Den Mushi and lifted the receiver back to her mouth.

“We’ll present your proposal to our captain,” she finally said. “How and where do you propose we meet?”

That night, Sanji had decided to cook some dishes of his own creation, heavily influenced by Wano dishes he had tried. The grilling of fresh fish, aromatic vegetables and herbs, and sizzling red meat had drawn everyone to the deck of the Sunny. So as per every other night, tables and chairs and blankets were set out as the Straw Hats, the majority of the Hearts Pirates, and their Revolutionary guests gathered around to eat and converse. Seeing as Robin was their go-to researcher in terms of shadier dealings, she was the one who presented the proposal during this time. After relaying the basic gist of their conversation, she moved on to telling them about the caller themselves.

“Captain Hornigold ‘Lucky’ Felicio of the Snake-Eye Pirates. A veteran of the New World with a reputation for his gambling habits, close escapes from Marines, and some rather strange ventures. He only has a bounty of 380,000 belli, but the fact that he’s been able to remain unaffiliated from any of the Emperors, Shichibukai, or crime families for nearly a decade speaks for itself. On a subtler note, he’s a rather reputable information broker. He would a pretty valuable source of information.”

“Huh?”

“It means he know things, Luffy,” Robin inserted without missing a beat.

“Aa! Got it!”

“I’ve heard of him. Strange guy.”

Sanji hmphed while taking a drag from his cigarette, “Well shit. If Dr. Literal Heartstealer here thinks this guy’s strange then that means we’re all screwed.”

Robin hummed in unfazed amusement and continued, “Secondly, we have the Judas Pirates led by a Sir Alessandri ‘the Knight’ Judas. Formerly a knight of a small but wealthy kingdom in Paradise, but decided to enter the New World as an actual pirate about a year and a half ago. He’s a rising-name among swordsman, and worth 450,000. About half a year ago, the Snake-Eyes and Judas Pirates made headlines for joining forces to fend off some of Blackbeard’s crew.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

It was Nami’s turn to start yelling. “Gah! Are you even listening to Robin?! Pay attention! And Zoro! No! Don’t even think about! Nononono! Get the look right out of your eye right now!”

“Gaaaahhh! I am! I am! I just don’t get it!”

“The fuck, witch?! Don’t go randomly pulling things like that! Not all of us are made of rubber!”

Robin continued smoothly, speaking over the commotion as if nothing was happening. “He knows about the trouble we’ve been having recently. In order to insure neutrality for both us as well as themselves, they have proposed a café in Pattaya Island as the rendezvous point.”

“That’s an island swarming with Marines,” Law remarked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Just like Robin, he suspected a possible trap.

“And very anti-pirate, or so we’ve been warned,” Robin confirmed. “Because the new Fleet Admiral moved Marine Headquarters to this area of the New World, there is some especially heavy Marine surveillance and activity in this part of the sea. Unfortunately, that makes any kind of meeting risky. It means that it will be hard enough to meet up there, much less set up an ambush or start a fight without getting caught. This way, all parties are encouraged to not draw attention to themselves.”

“It’s probably a test as well,” the girl named Koala hummed thoughtfully. “Lucky has gotten this far by surfing under the radar with the occasional crazy stunt. He probably wants to see if you guys actually have the capability of doing anything discretely.”

“Now that I think about it,” Jinbei mused, his finned hand coming up to his chin, “Wasn’t he the one who raided a ship for the sole purpose of stealing everyone’s hats?”

“This guy steals hats?!” Luffy yelped in genuine alarm, both hands immediately going up to grab the brim of his hat and food spewing out from between squirrel cheeks.

“It’s probably just a rumor,” Nami quickly interrupted, before thinking morosely. ‘Hopefully.’

Seeming to sense the growing unrest, Robin smoothly cut back in and drew focus back to herself. “He relayed that he has a handful of former Marines in his crew. As a result, Hornigold has even less interest in getting caught than us. Apparently, the punishment for helping and harboring Marines that deserted or turned has become quite…severe since Akainu came into power,” the historian agreed. There was a sudden increase in pressure around the two brothers at the mention of the Marine’s name, brows furrowing over round in a dangerous, simmering anger. “Lucky also provided several sets of directions, depending on which islands we may or may not be coming from. There are also suggestions and a map for places we can hide the Sunny and Scalpel on the island. Apparently, the idea is that the best place to hide is right under their noses. Though he insists on heavy disguises. He remarked that our attempt in Dressrosa was rather poor.”

“…This is Luffy levels of insane,” Sanji muttered.

“Hey, but that means it may just work, right?” Franky pointed as he settled his sunglasses on his head at a thoughtful tilt.

“Any thoughts, Captain?” Robin asked with genuine inquiry, even while some of the Revolutionaries shot her a look of disbelief. Thoughts wasn’t exactly Straw Hat’s strong point. Knowing him, many doubted that he was comprehensive enough of the situation in order to give any sort of opinion besides maybe some childish, inane comment.

“Hmmmmm,” Luffy hummed in thought, brows furrowed and arms crossed in an unusual display of deep thought. It was a rare show of Luffy the Captain, and unbalanced those who had so far only been exposed to his more day-to-day carefree, hyper demeanor. “What a weird guy.” Then to everyone’s surprise, he turned to Law. “Torao, what do you think?”

Law blinked, having half-expected Luffy to just jump at the chance to make new friends. Looking back at the two wanted posters presented to them, the surgeon mentally turned the idea over in his head, examining it from different angles. He had heard of the Lucky Felicio at least. A partnership with him could be…beneficial with their current situation. At this point, it was about balancing the risks versus the possible benefits versus their current problems.

“We should try for it,” he answered grudgingly. With how hounded they were, Law was starting to feel more and more like they might be backed into some corner. And he hated the feeling and possibility of being trapped. This new element very well might solve that and then some. None the less, no matter what the benefits, the idea of some unknown factor joining their alliance was still enough to make Law dark, almost violently, reluctant.

“EEEEEEEHHHHH?!”

Law raised an eyebrow at the members of the Straw Hat, his own crew, and Revolutionaries that clearly thought he would turn down such a risky, outrageous proposal. For some reason, they were looking to him to be the voice of “reason”.

He snorted. They should know better by now than to expect him to adhere to their sense of reason.

Zoro snorted and Robin giggled quietly to herself. It was funny how others seem to keep forgetting that Law was just as crazy as Luffy.

“Listen,” the older captain barked sharply, interrupted the protests. “Right now, we’re in a disadvantageous position. We’re dodging Marines, bounty hunters, and every pirate crew that wants a shot at us. Not to mention we have some pretty prominent members of the Revolutionary Army on board. Robin-ya is right, Lucky Felicio would be an invaluable source of information. And that’s exactly what we need right now. The guy is a pretty prominent information dealer in the underworld. And very hard to catch. If he’s sending himself to us, we should take the risk.”

“Dragon-san has been after him for a while,” Sabo piped up, pausing in his meal, though his hands continued to twitch at the food. Seriously, the way they stuffed their faces seemed to and their round eyes were the only resemblances between the two brothers. “A lot of us have been sent after this guy to try to recruit him. Only some of us have ever actually met him, and they were all turned down.”

“Lucky-boya is lazy-buru,” Iva confirmed distractedly as he examined his food. Smirking at a shuddering Sanji, he purred, “You’ve gotten better, candy-boy~.” Feeling the weight of everyone’s pointed stares, he blinked his large lashes innocently before continuing with a put-out sigh, “Van alliance with Lucky-boya is not a light thing-buru. He’s a boy that enjoys vis freedoms, independence and loyalty between comrades, and does what ve wants. He goes through great lengths to avoid getting caught up with any one ruling force, whether it’s a kingdom, the Marines, the Warlords, an Emperor, or even the Revolutionary Army. Vand Dragon is a man who respects that-buru.”

“My point is,” Law interrupted pointedly, his frown deepening. “The Revolutionary Army is currently scattered. I have very few informants or brokers that I’ve been able to trust since I lost my Warlord status. Having someone who can give us information on enemy movements or just a list of everyone coming after us could prove vital. Any hint of what to expect could give us an edge. As we are now if we take one wrong step, dodge one wrong way, it could prove fatal.”

Dramatic as the phrasing was, there was a ring of truth of it that caused a heavy tension to fall over the deck. But as with all things serious on the Thousand Sunny, the moroseness didn’t last long.

Grinning like the loon he not-so-secretly was, Luffy pulled a bone out of his mouth and grinned at the others around him before announcing with a satisfied finality, “Then let’s go to Papaya Island!”

“It’s Pattaya Island, not Papaya,” Law reflexively corrected him in an offhanded manner. “Okay, that decision aside, we need to move onto the main issue with this plan.”

“You mean meeting on an island full of Marines and citizens that hate us on principle,” Usopp muttered gloomly. “Right…”

“It’s not actually a bad idea,” was Sabo’s attempt to reassure his younger brother’s sniper. “Hiding in plain sight and meeting where they least expect us is pretty a effective tactic. Revolutionary agents actually do it pretty often. No, as much as I hate to say it, I think Law means the other problem with doing a covert operation.”

As one, everyone turned to look at Luffy.

Blinking unwittingly and with his mouth still full, it took a few minutes for Luffy to realize they were all looking at him. Turning his head back and forth, he blinked before asking blankly, “What?”

That seemed to prompt multiple exchanged glances and faces of comprehension being shared.

“Ve see what you mean-buru…,” Iva hummed in agreement.

“There’s no way this is going to work,” Nami deadpanned. In almost perfect synchronization, she, Usopp, Chopper, and Sanji waved their hands while shaking their heads.

“Nope,” was the general agreement.

“Huh, really?” Zoro questioned, scratching his head. “I thought he was pretty inconspicuous in Dressrosa.”

This was enough to have Nami smack the back of his head.

She gave him a hard look, hands on her hip and vein throbbing, as she growled, “You would think that wouldn’t you. Gaaahh! Why do we have so many idiots?! I don’t know what’s more unbelievable: that you,” she pointed at Frankie and then ignored his protests, “didn’t stop, that he went in as Lucy, or the number of contestants who didn’t recognize him!”

Franky nodded at the point, “Can’t really stop Luffy from acting like…well, Luffy.”

“So we just need a disguise that is so well-done that nobody will suspect Luffy even if he acts like Luffy,” the red-haired Revolutionary girl concluded, hand on her chin in a mirror to Jinbei. Turning to the handful of Revolutionaries she scowled at them. “Come on guys, we’re from the Revolutionary Army! Most of us here have done some espionage! Surely, we can think of a way for Luffy-chan to hide in plain sight!”

At this, Ivankov got a rather forbidding glean in xis eye. Sanji immediately caught this and scuttled to the other side of the ship with a dust trail behind him. Law had the suppress a similar urge, though he was still sweating bullets. While he found the Okama Queen’s powers absolutely fascinating and was curious about Iva’s unusual biology, the big-headed Revolutionary’s personality and deviousness was something that made Law very nervous to be in close proximity. There was just so much ridiculousness that he did not want to be pulled into. He just couldn’t handle that personality.The okama was a formidable fighter, but it wasn’t the fighting that Law was worried about.

It was everything else entailed with that scarily big, twinkling, scheming smile that spoke levels of ‘NOT-GOOD’ for everyone else.

“Straw Hat-boyo~,” Iva cooed. Anyone with sense (which actually left quite a few people) immediately scooted away from the straw-hat wearing captain. “I have an idea! If it works, you’ll be able to walk through Pattaya Island without anyone knowing you’re Straw Hat Luffy-buru!”

“Eeeeehhh?!” Luffy cheered, practically twinkling with how excited he was. “You mean like becoming invisible?”

“Hmmm, not quite,” the okama admitted. “But this way, you’ll be able to go out with Surgeon-boyo without worrying about disguises-buru!”

“Well that would be good,” Luffy pondered, not nearly as enthusiastic as before. In fact, his brows had furrowed in the way it usually did when he was confused. “I don’t really understand what we’re doing. But if you think this will help, Iva-chan, then I guess it’s okay.”

“Oi oi oi, Luffy,” Usopp rose, his voice growing louder to match his growing alarm. “We don’t even know Iva’s talking about. This might not be such a great—“

But Ivankov had already taken a sudden spinning leap from his side of table and into the air. Like a hot-pink latex and purple curl torpedo, he spun down towards Luffy much to everyone’s stunned alarm. No one was able to move much more than inches before Iva had her nails buried in Luffy’s shoulder.

“Emporio Estrogen!”

There was a low snarl that seemed to spur everyone onto their feet. Iva only just managed to spin away before a sword sang through that same space with a bloodthirsty song. Zoro’s lips were pulled back in angry, angry snarl that showed almost all his teeth. The swordsman that had seemed so lazy and apathetic a few moments ago had flipped and waves of almost-demonic energy seemed to drown the deck. Law had only managed to unsheathed a sliver of Kikoku, but it was enough for him to hear the insistent, whispering of his cursed blade for death.

Quickly sliding over, he kneeled down next to the younger D on the grass lawn. In the sudden attack, the boy had been knocked back onto the ground and was now curled up and into a small ball, silent in a way that did not help with his growing alarm. The surgeon had heard the name of the attack and could come to his own conclusions on what the Queen had done. But inserting any kind of hormone suddenly into someone’s body could have severe repercussions. And while Law was sure the Revolutionary Miracle Worker knew what xe was doing, Luffy had a specialized biology that seem to change with every major fight.

“Luffy-ya,” Law gritted out, tightly controlled; his voice hard and insistent in his agitation. When Luffy didn’t respond immediately, his already tight grip on his nodachi turned white. Meanwhile, Chopper had appeared on Luffy’s other side and there was yelling, screaming, and arguing ringing in the background. Reaching out, the surgeon gripped the other captain’s shoulder and shook him jerkily. “Let me see what’s wrong!”

“…Torao?”

Law froze. Because the inflections in the nickname was familiar. But the voice itself…

The surgeon exchanged a stunned, confused, ‘what the fuck’ look with the Straw Hat’s reindeer doctor before Chopper seemed to find his voice enough to tentatively ask, “L-luffy?"

Slowly uncurling, the rubber man unsteadily pushed himself up. The way he wavered and couldn’t quite seem to find his balance seem to suggest that he was light-headed rather than in any pain. Nonetheless, Chopper still used himself to bodily prop up one of Luffy’s shoulders while Law took a hold of the opposite elbow. Together, they gingerly wrangled a swaying, floppy Luffy into an upright sitting position. At some point, Law even had to hand over Kikoku to Bepo because flailing rubber appendages.

It was only once Luffy managed to get his bearings enough to not fall on his face that the doctors noticed just what the okama queen had done.

More specifically, in one particularly violent pitch forward, one of Law’s arm shot up from trying to rearrange Luffy’s flailing leg and up to his chest to try to stop the forward momentum. It took moments for Law to register he was touching something that wasn’t really suppose to be there. Seconds passed before the surgeon’s brain actually registered what he was unintentionally groping. Freezing as if Aokiji had flash-freezed him, the Operation Man vaguely noted that it probably wasn’t healthy for his blood to drain from his face that fast,
Retracting both his hand as if his ally was on fire (it wouldn’t be the first time), Law unintentionally put the full burden on an unprepared Chopper. The result was a flailing Chopper unable to stop a groggy Luffy from somehow pitching sideways and face-planting heavily into the Sunny’s mast.

Chopper’s panicked screaming about possible concussions was finally enough to catch everybody’s attention.

To say pandemonium broke out at the discovery that, yes, Straw Hat Luffy was now a woman would be a severe understatement. Pandemonium was the Straw Hat’s regular state of being, and anyone and everything within the vicinity would just get pulled into it. No, this was a chaos in its purest sense of the word; all differing elements going at different speeds and at various wavelengths in a smattering mish-mash of colors all going off at once.

“IVA WHAT THE HELL?!” Sabo screeched in a panic, actually having gotten ahold of Iva’s hot-pink lapels and shaking the gaping Queen back and forth like a rag doll. “WHY DID YOU TURN MY BROTHER INTO A SISTER?!”

“BROTHER, SISTER, WHAT DOES IT MATTER IN THE FACE OF TRUE HAPPINESS-BURU!”

“LUFFY WAS PERFECTLY HAPPY BEING MALE!”

“AAAAAAHHHH!” Usopp helpfully inputted as he ran in a panicked little circle alongside a flailing Brook and a bouncing, teary Chopper. “LUFFY’S NOW LUCY! WE’RE FOLLOWING STRAW HAT LUCY! CHANGE THE POSTERS!”

Meanwhile, because Luffy didn’t actually have any shame, he sat there with his legs splayed open and peering down at himself. Blinking at himself, he looked at his hands, his arms, picked at his slightly longer and sleeker hair, and then took some time to peek down the front of his shirt and pants.

“Huh…,” Luffy noted, blankly curious and blinking now-rounder eyes as he looked down the bright, graphic shirt he was wearing for the evening. “That wasn’t there before.” Then looking down his pants again, he noted out loud. “And that’s gone.” It took a couple more seconds but the realization and implications finally seemed to fully dawn him. Evident by his sudden panicked, “EEEEEHHH?!”

“Strawhat-boya can’t just waltz into anyplace, but no one will be expecting Strawhat-girla~!”

“FUCK YOU, YOU OKAMA SHIT!”

Meanwhile, Law was sprawled out on deck, with an ice-pack over half his face. Apparently the shock was just that bad. So much for built up immunity. From where he was laying with his own crew circling worriedly around him, he could pick out certain elements more clearly than others.

“DON’T GO SUDDENLY MESSING WITH PEOPLE’S HORMONES WITHOUT THEIR PERMISSION, YOU MONSTER OKAMA!” was quickly followed by a rapid succession of impact sounds and the whistling of fast kicks or punches. Obviously, Blackleg had overcome his need to keep his distance in order to physically express his rage.

Robin laughed into her twinkling way, “Luffy makes quite the cute girl.”

Jinbe nodded dazedly, though he still seemed shell-shocked. “Even if he acted like himself, others will brush it off…”

“SHITSHITSHITSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTT!!!!!” Luffy screamed panicked, having joined Usopp, Brook, and Chopper’s little carousel of mindless, overreacting panic. It only served to amplify the others’ panic as their captain’s screaming was notably more feminine.

Law sighed before removing the ice pack. Despite the protest of his crew, he sat up just in time to wish he hadn’t. Seeming having been attracted to the sound of female panic (and probably Luffy’s bouncing new assets), Sanji noodled over to the group with literal pink hearts in his eyes.

“Luffy-chaaaan~,” the cook gushed. “Don’t scream~! Everything will be okay~!”

Seeing his reaction, Law’s gut curled as a thread of rage seemed to weave itself between his ribs. His jaw, which had fallen open in shock (along with everyone else who was watching that particular spectacle), snapped shut as his eyes narrowed. Physical changes aside, Luffy was still the man’s captain. Frankly, it wasn’t Law’s place to interfere with the way the other captain handled his crew, but it also didn’t stop the surgeon’s hackles from raising.

Obviously, he wasn’t the only one.

“Oh heellll no!” was Zoro’s loud half-growl, half-yell of fervent denial of the situation at large. “You back the fuck up, Perverted Nosebleed! If you can’t treat your own captain with respect ‘cause he suddenly has boobs, then you keep your shitty distance until Luffy gets turned back!”

This seem to almost physically snap Sanji out of his trance, because he flinched back as startled realization crept into his expression. As that realization dawned, his face quickly started losing blood and transition into something more green and horrified. The overall result was him staggering away dazedly, seeming fairly traumatized that he was flirting with Luffy of all people. No doubt he would be sulking on the edges of the crowd, a combination of horror and humiliation making him keep his distance. And if he didn’t, at least Roronoa was competent enough (and currently shark-tooth snappy enough) to make the blonde keeps his distance.

Good.

It really wouldn’t do if the Straw Hat cook kept niggling at the surgeon’s urge to see exactly how the bespoke man delivered literal flame attacks without the assistance of a Fruit.

“Pfff…what an unappreciative bunch-buru!” Ivankov announces, shoving a squalling Sabo aside and muscling xis way through the other protestors. “Now…for Law-boya…”

When Ivankov turned towards the other D, xe was met with the older captain looking slightly wild around the eyes. The speed of Law had leapt to his feet was only surpassed by the metallic click and hiss of a sword being ready to be drawn, and an equally threatening hiss of “Don’t even think about it.”

Alongside their captain, the Hearts crew had also pulled out their weapons or had sunk into a fighting stance. Every single one of them had a grimly determined air of someone facing insurmountable odds, but were going to face it anyways. Ivankov maybe scary as fuck and a member of the Revolutionary Army, but he was going to have to go through their combined dead bodies before they would let him attack their captain.

Bless their little hearts. Because while the older D always appreciated his crew for their willingness to follow him, he rarely ever felt this deeply grateful for anything.

(Law might have been a bit less grateful if he knew some of his members were actually very curious to see how exactly their captain would look like as a woman. As in, there may or may not be bets going around about it. Fortunately for everyone involved, the Hearts crew were loyal to their captain first and their curiosity second.)

“Come now, Law-boya! Ve won’t hurt you-buru!” Iva sang even as xe advanced. “Two candy-girls would guarantee nobody would so much as look your way-buru.”

Matching the queen’s pace, the Hearts crew warily backed away as a unit. Law’s glare sharpened even further as he sneered at the large-headed revolutionary advancing with xis hands held up, nails gleaning.

“Absolutely not,” he growls through gritted teeth. Seriously, if Ivankov got any closer, nobody was getting out of this circus with their limbs attached. “Fuck you! You’re not coming anywhere near me with those!”

“Hmmmm,” Nami hummed, her fist on her chin as she mused. “It’s not a bad idea. Actually, it’s a pretty foolproof in terms of disguises, and certainly more logical than most of our other plans.”

Fucking witch. There was nothing logical about it to the person actually being changed! (And frankly, the fact that this was more logical than most of the other Straw Hat’s plans says and implies nothing good.)

“I will fucking dye my hair!” Law spat out with an edge of panic, willing to try anything at this point to feel less like he was being cornered. “I’ll dye my hair, put on sunglasses, take out my piercings, WHATEVER! There’s no need to go as far as messing with my hormones!”

“But...Captain…,” Bepo piped up nervously. “You hate dyeing your hair…”

“I hate someone messing with my hormones even more. I’ll deal with it,” was Law’s growled response. Waving away Bepo’s muttered apology, he took a controlled breath to rein in his panic before turning his attention back to the paused purple-haired revolutionary. Glaring equal parts challenge and warning, the Hearts continued in calmer and more controlled manner, “Look, unlike Luffy-ya, I can be subtle. I have dealt with business in the underworld, if you’ve forgotten. And those kinds of dealings have always taken knowing when to throw around your weight and when to keep your head down.”

“Well…you are less conspicuous than Luffy,” the redhead revolutionary girl hesitantly deliberated. “But…ummm…not by much?”

This was enough for Law to scowl in offense and ominously not-asked, “What the hell is that suppose to mean.”

“Dressrosa!” some nosy idiot in the crowd piped up.

“A hundred hearts to Navy Headquarters,” Jinbe’s rumbling mutter could be heard across the deck.

“You were one of the three in the Sabaody Archipelago fiasco a few years ago!”

“Only because Luffy-ya brought the Navy down on all of us!” Law retorted.

“Just let him do whatever,” Zoro growled as he stormed pass with a squirming Luffy tossed over one shoulder. “We’re already going to have enough trouble dealing with this one—GODDAMIT LUFFY STOP SQUIRMING!”

Robin glided pass after the pair, an amused smile on her face. “It would have been interesting to see dear Torao as a woman though. I’m sure he would have made a fetching lady,” she added teasingly.

The aforementioned Torao gaped after the woman as the three disappeared into the Sunny, feeling faintly betrayed. The three—in addition to a worried Chopper, Usopp, and Carrot—quickly disappeared into the Sunny. Unsurprisingly, Brook was left behind in a smoking, stunned heap. Probably, they were going to give him a medical check-up and a switch of clothes. A lesson on how to act more like a woman probably wouldn’t hurt either if they were really going to go through with this scheme. And despite Sabo’s continued loud (and ignored) protests in the background, it seemed that was exactly what they were going to do.

“Hmph! Fine-buru!” Ivankov reluctantly accepted. “But Straw Hat-boya and Law boya won’t be able to pass off as siblings. And because of what happened with Ace-boya, I can’t imagine that would go over well-buru.”

That last observation caused a silence to abruptly settle over the deck as the atmosphere shifted to something much more serious. Everyone on deck—pirates, allies, and Revolutionaries—knew this was sensitive ground they were trotting on.

“No...,” Sabo confirmed quietly, reaching up to tip his hat just enough to cover his eyes. “With Luffy…no. It won’t work anyways. Go with something else.”

Nami nodded, and there was a tightness in her expression that wasn’t present even when the Straw Hats were at their rowdiest. Seeming to physically shrug off the suddenly weighted atmosphere, she looked around at everyone challenging, “Any ideas?”

Of all people who volunteered a story, Law had honestly not expected it to be someone from his crew. But from his own crew it came, and it left him wishing he had never given Penguin back his right lung.

“Why not a date?” the Hearts crew member piped up, despite Law’s dawning horror and increasing murderous intent. “With Straw Hat as he is now, we’ll pass him off as a ditzy girl going on a date to this festival-thingy with Captain.”

“LUFFY ISN’T READY FOR A RELATIONSHIP!” Sabo yelled, quickly switching back into overprotective brother mode. Clearly, his friends were done with his exasperating flailing and noise.

“Sa. Bo. Kuuuun…,” Koala growled warningly, reaching out to punishingly pull at Sabo’s cheek. “Do not pull the obsessive older brother act right now! We do not have time for it!”

“Buuuu-! Buuu-!” Sabo continued to protest, despite the fact that her stretching out his cheeks (and therefore his face) was slurring his words. “Luuuffi can’ date ’im! ‘e’s ‘o creepy!”

“Don’t insult Captain!” the Hearts crewmembers yelled in unison.

“Naaaammiii!” a ringing summon echoed from the bowels of the ship. “How do I use the toilet?”

The unadulterated horror on Nami’s face was mirrored by everyone looking nervously first at the door, then at the navigator herself.

Taking a fortifying breath, the redhead grinned the deceptively bright smile of “I’ll make you all suffer with me”.

“Aaaaah, this is going to be just wonderful,” she announced with the falsest and most dangerous cheer Law has ever heard. And he had been in the Donquixote Family.

Clearly, everyone was going to suffer for this.

Chapter Text

So far, this little adventure didn’t seem to involve needing to topple any countries or ruling parties. However, there was no way Law was remarking on that out loud. He had a very understandable wariness of jinxing their situation. That, and the equally valid fear of one of the Straw Hats overhearing and deciding to take it as a challenge.

Speaking of the Straw Hats… Despite Law’s coughing (dying) fit, the waiter had been completely oblivious to his hacking as he absentmindedly wandered over and refilled his glass as he was too busy ogling the Straw Hat’s navigator. Resisting the urge to tug his now-absent hat down, Law was instead left to glare through his sunglasses at his own faint reflection in the glass tabletop only for the sight of a strange, half-transparent figure with tinted glasses and blonde hair to piss him off even further.

Brown or any darker shade of dye wouldn’t have worked. Unlike any of Law’s usual plays, this one involved him going out in the open among party-goers on a Summer island. With that much exposure and the general colorfulness of the island’s style of dress, a shadowy, suspicious-looking figure would stick out like a sore thumb. Additionally, with how infamous they now were, a darker hair shade wouldn’t create a different enough illusion from his usual self. Red or orange would be too eye-catching (as proven by a certain Cat-Burglar), and thanks to a certain purple-haired King and at xis overenthusiastic (insistent) suggestions, Law was currently extremely aversed to any shade of blue, purple, or pink. Unfortunately, this meant his remaining options were shades of blonde.

Blonde. Blonde like Sabo-ya and Cora-san.

But also blonde like a certain flamingo Warlord.

Law finally gave in and ran one gloved hand through his hair, now slicked back and bleached to an almost white platinum-blonde. When he had first started dyeing, he had taken one look at the pale blonde he’d achieved with and nearly had a conniption before furiously adding more bleach. While his straw-hating toting partner could still occasionally pass himself off as a normal civilian (or at least come off as malleable, easily manipulated, and ultimately nonthreatening) despite being a highly-wanted man, Law had no such luck. From his sharply angled face to the bags under his eyes, his piercings to his tats, and his sword to his spotted hat. Law knew he drew eyes, even if only a passing glance because he registered and looked dangerous. Hell, he still attracted looks even now, though it was now assessing glances of a different sort. Meanwhile, his ally was objectively as physically plain and (deceptively) ordinary-looking as his worn straw hat. He was lanky and small for his age, gave off an air of being a very simple being, and was just so damn happy. So carefree even in serious situations like this; which left Law feeling like he was the one going crazy.

Logically, he was aware he was (by far) not the only person to ever feel like this thanks to the unpredictable captain and his equally chaotic crew. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Out of all the people Law met, there was no other captain so suited for the seas of the New World; both tended to consider logic as something of an afterthought.

Luckily for him, despite how much the hair bothered him it was only a temporary measure. With his Fruit abilities, he could remove the dye and make/fix any minor body modifications. So going for broke, he had also removed his goatee, redid his nose, sealed all by one of his piercings, and made his own skin a few shades tanner.

The last alteration was probably the most tedious as the process involved messing with the melanocytes skin cells in all visible areas. Worth it, as it resulted in the illusion that he had been under a Summer Island’s sun for longer than he actually had, maybe even get him mistaken for a local. However, the contrast between the now darker parts of his limbs made his remaining skin look starkly paler. Just glances of the lighter skin under his clothes was enough to send shivers of reflexive fear down his spine. In the end, he ended up doing a surgical, full-body tan just so he wouldn’t keep checking himself for white patches.

Pattaya Island’s culture and color was reminiscent of Dressrosa, but with enough more tropical influences that he wasn’t cringing at every flaring dress and pink thing flashing out of the corner of his eye. So considering that and what he had observed at Dressrosa, Law chose to go with black dress pants and a glaring red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbow. To securely cover the remaining tattoos on his forearms and hands (the ink would have been a pain to pull out of his skin then put back in), he had rolled on brown, fingerless gloves that stretched from his elbows down to his first knuckles and managed to cover the letters there. The final addition was a pair of narrow, rectangular blue sunglasses sitting over his face and frankly? Law felt like a fucking gigolo.

Unfortunately, that also meant he managed to fit in with his getup (which he realizes is the goal in the first place but STILL). While walking through the streets with the Straw Hat’s navigator, they had passed enough similar couples with the same image they were projecting (a young, beautiful flower of a woman and a suave, smooth-looking man) that Law was going to be sick if he heard one more stupidly flowery pick-up line or compliment.

He’d fucking leave already—screw all this shit—if the innocently smiling redhead (now noirette, thanks to more hair dye) sitting across from him hadn’t almost physically hauled him across the island. She just smiled and giggled dizzily like a ditz while perusing through multiple stores, all while her nails dug threateningly into the veins of his inner arm. Never would he have thought that there would be a time he would have preferred his allied captain’s method of carrying a man around like a sack of rice. But being manhandled and dropped and flopped around? It was nowhere near as bad as going on a shopping spree with the Cat Burglar.

Law now knew true fear and suffering.

He was only part of the expedition because of the collective decision (that had pointedly somehow excluded Law) that declared he would accompany the mikan-loving witch. Meanwhile Robin, Carrot, Usopp, and Koala had spirited away their male-turned-female captain. Something about finding something for the rubber captain to wear as the final step of the impromptu, three-part plan (gender, behavior, clothes) to change the Straw Hat captain’s image before he and Law went to meet Hornigold and his partner.

“Stop brooding, Blondie,” Nami snickered. Despite her reprimand, there was a sneaky, blade-thin smile of amusement that was only barely covered by the rim of her upheld glass. “Count yourself lucky we didn’t insist you get that ‘injection’, too. Iva-san really has one of the best powers for subterfuge, and objectively it’s a good plan. At least we trust you to dress yourself.”

Law’s response was a withering look that could kill a healthy plant, “…Nami-ya, I am dressed like a damn clown. If I was brooding, then I think I’m allowed to.”

“Aaaahh, but Torao looks so cute,” the woman teased viciously, her smile turning into a full-blown smirk as he visibly cringed at her cooing.

“Please don’t,” Law gritted out, eye twitching. “That is creepy as hell even for me.”

The Straw Hat navigator (and her hefty pile of shopping bags) may fit right in with the aesthetics of the quaint little café and its dainty white coral chairs. But even like this, Law could sense a hard and well-hidden edge, the extra teeth, and the fearless spark in her eye. It seemed to be a common feature among all the Straw Hats; an edge developed from hurts and scars and pains and only softened and became more faded among their crewmates and when their rubber leader was around.

And the navigator was currently turning that rather insidious edge towards him. It felt like viciously sharpened cat claws threatening to rake down his back; ultimately not fatal, but promising to be painful. If that focused, predatory look didn’t mean this was a going to be something along the vein of a shovel talk, he’d eat his fluffy, spotted hat.

Goddammit.

“What?” he asked tersely, hackles raised up suspiciously.

All she did was snicker at him despite his glowering, distinctly smug and please with herself, “You’re not as subtle as you think you are.”

Well…That’s ominous. Roronoa-ya was right. This woman was a witch.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Her response to his statement was to roll her eyes and mutter something that sounded suspiciously like an exasperated ‘men’.

“Look,” she sighed with the air of someone bracing themselves for a serious, unpleasant conversation. There was even a set to her shoulders that made him brace his own because this wasn’t going to be short. “Lu…cy is actually very good at finding what he needs. Whether he means to or not, or if it’s that freak luck of his…well one way or another, jobs get done. Before I joined, back when I was tagging along with two idiots saying they’re going to sail for the Grand Line, I listed off a bunch of things and people they needed but didn’t have. A ship, a cook, and a navigator to name a few. Few days later, we land on Syrup Island and get a ship on top of picking up Ussop. Another few days after that, we land on a floating restaurant and Luffy convinces Sanji to join us even when I had already stolen their ship.”

“And as far as Lucy-ya is concerned, you were already his navigator,” Law mused, remembering this part of Nami’s story.

Nami snorted. “Pretty much,” she agreed casually, as if it was no big deal to admit that everyone on the crew seemed to have pretty much been shanghai-ed, pressganged, and harangued into joining.

And then just never left.

Law was carefully not thinking about what this implied of him.

“Sometimes,” Nami admitted quietly, absentmindedly stirring the ice cubes of drink, “It feels like as long as he just keeps throwing himself out there, the universe will just keep sending him whatever the hell he needs. The flip side is that it tends to send us to people and places that need him.” Law felt himself wince at that, because without a doubt, he was definitely in those numbers. Vaguely, he darkly wondered if the universe itself really bent to the Will of D. After all, he was aware that the number of factors that aligned to result to his own survival was nothing short of utterly spectacular. From Flevance to Doflamingo to Minion Island and then to growing up while hiding from pursuers, the fact that Law reached his current age was a damn miracle.

But how he survived wasn’t exactly something that he wanted to dwell over so he forcibly turned his focus back to his ally’s navigator. “Get to the point, Nami-ya. What are you trying to get at?”

There must have been something showing though, because the look Nami gave him was uncomfortably understanding. Fortunately, it lacked any traces of pity. She moved on as if she hadn’t paused upon seeing the dark look on his face.

“It helps that our captain has this weird sense for people,” she admitted. “It’s not just navigators and cooks and snipers he got. In the end…well, he has a habit of cutting through bullshit and seeing people as people. And no matter what you’ve done, he won’t hesitate to give you a chance. More than what he needs, he always manages to pick out who needs him,” Nami tch’ed in annoyance as she seemed to remember a particularly vexing memory. “Did you know when we were in Drum Kingdom, Chopper helped take care of me, that rubber idiot, and Sanji? But our captain picked him out because he was ‘cool, transforming reindeer’. Chopper wanted to go out to sea, and apparently we got there just as the island was being invaded by the former tyrant. Those idiots didn’t realize we got the doctor we needed until after we set sail. And that’s the repetitive minor miracle: the people he likes and picks up just happen to be able to fill in the needed roles for the crew or whatever adventure is going on at the time,”

It was Law’s turn to snort. Repetitive minor miracle, indeed. How many times now did Luffy just happen to pick up a sympathetically deposed prince or princess, or someone who just happened to know the secret passageway, or some powerful figure that would help them later on in a fight. Or, you know, a Warlord with a vendetta for revenge that just so happen to have a plan to take down an Emperor that just happened to be on the first New World island they approached. Sometimes, the Straw Hat’s ridiculous luck made Law just want throw up his hands and give up. Though seeing the outcome, maybe it was actually Law’s luck.

He didn’t know which would be worse.

“Figures,” he muttered, before carefully sipping his water.

It definitely did. His ally wasn’t someone who could look at anything in a completely objective manner. Everything seemed to be judged by part instinct, mostly impulse, and the rest by whatever was the appropriate emotion for the situation. So no, his ally was not someone who looked at people and thought of tools or schemes or objectives or plans. In the Straw Hats Crew, nobody was a tool for anybody else. It was a family where all dreams and plans were intertwined, a ship without politics or schemes or personal agendas. A very kind, if rowdy, ship.

“Zoro was the first member,” the navigator continued, “And the only one he actively sought out.”

This caught the surgeon’s attention. Luffy didn’t talk about how he picked up his crew. The past was the past and his nakama were now his and that was that. Storytelling was left up to the rest of the crew, and mainly by the crew’s sniper. And even with the way the long-nose told the stories in exaggerated and hilarious detail, it wasn’t difficult to pick up that the unspoken parts and tensions of the adventures often involved the crewmate’s darker past and emotional baggage. Law certainly wouldn’t wish for anybody to know about his sordid past and connection to the very villain they had faced off with in Dressrosa. But of course, as the crew’s resident story-teller and one of the first crewmates picked up, Ussop knew nearly all the joining-up stories.

All except one. All except the very first one kept between a captain who simply didn’t care about small details like the past and a swordsman who didn’t think it mattered, period.

Nami seemed to take the way he tilted head as an unspoken allowance to go on,

“I actually got the story from Coby,” Nami muttered conspiratorially.

Ah, the Marine. Yes, the pink-haired Marine trained by Garp the Hero and possessing the frankly frightening Observation Haki had popped up a couple of times on their adventures. Sometimes he had chased them, and other times had been policing the chaos and guarding civilians from the ensuing violence resulted from whatever battle they were engaged in. At some point, the rubber captain had casually commented to punching the Marine out during the Maineford War. Despite that, Law had never seen the pink-haired teenager look at the Straw Hats with anything but open, fond admiration and steadfast expectation. From what he understood, Coby was one an old friend; one that only the Straw Hat’s green swordsman had really met.

“So apparently,” the disguised navigator continued, “Coby used to be the cabin boy of some small-time, East Blue pirate that kidnapped him off his fishing boat. After our captain saved him, Coby guided them to the Navy-based island where that idiot swordsman happened to be imprisoned on,” her expression grimaced in annoyance and she set her glass down a little harder than was necessary. “That moss-head bastard had gotten into some fight with the commanding officer’s son and made a bet that he could survive Seas-know how long without food or water and tied up to a stake in the middle of an execution ground. So here’s the infamous pirate hunter, looking like death quite literally warmed over. Luf—cy marches up to him and says, ‘I want you to join my crew!’ ” After that particular impression, Nami rested her face in one palm with the clear impression that she was 100% done with her crewmate’s antics, even from back then.

“And he joined Lu-ya’s crew,” Law sighed, understanding her exasperation.

In moments of crisis, he had seen exactly how well Zoro played at being the Luffy’s first mate, though the swordsman was never called such. Lax and rolling with the chaos most of the time to fit his wild, crazy captain, but cutting to the heart of the issue at key moments to remind Luffy of what was important in moments of crisis and indecision. He could understand exactly what she meant though. Roronoa-ya was important in the creation of the Straw Hat Pirates, maybe even more so than Nami-ya who was the navigator. And Luffy-ya just happened to find and pressgan—recruit him first.

“Don’t ask me how he convinced him, ‘cause I don’t know and Coby still isn’t quite sure what happened even though he saw most everything,” the currently black-haired woman moaned, the sound muffled by her hands. Sighing, she pulled her face away from her hands and propped her elbows against the table. Without for ado, she rested her chin in her palms and seemed to inspect Law thoughtfully. “By now, I’m sure you’ve noticed that the silent sync communication those two do is a thing. Those two are on the same wavelength so often I wouldn’t be surprised if Zoro and Luffy just have an instinctual understanding of each other as idiots. But my point is, Zoro is…special to Luffy. You’ve seen it at Punk Hazard. Luffy listens to all of us, but…he actually listens to Zoro.”

“Another series of minor miracles,” Law drawled dryly despite the seriousness of the conversation. It earns him an amused huff from the woman,

“More than common sense or fun or control, Luffy needed a person who who’s ruthless at driving him forward, of reminding him and keeping him on track,” she continued with an edge of grimness, an admittance of something she didn’t necessarily like. “He trusts all of us, but Zoro gets just that little bit more of a say so when he talks. There’s…an understanding there between the two that just goes a little bit deeper. Among the crew, Zoro was the first one Luffy chose. And that means something. So while a lot of us didn’t trust you at first, it means something that you’re the first real official pirate alliance Luffy chose. No matter who else joins up, you’re always going to be Luffy’s very first ally. That means something.”

It was sunny. It was sunny and the sky was blue and Law shouldn’t feel as flayed open as he did. Those words shouldn’t put him as off-balanced as they did. But the world had suddenly shifted six steps to the left and it was like seeing the same thing from another age, things he had known were already there, and suddenly he could barely breathe as he registered the breadth and enormity of it. When he looked back at the Straw Hat’s navigator, she had an almost painfully understanding and sympathetic look on her face again.

“It’s mind-blowing, isn’t it?” she smiled, “Suddenly, actually realizing how important you are when you haven’t been important to anyone in a long time.”

“Nami-ya,” Law replied evenly, careful to pronounce his words without any inflections to betray how wrong-footed he actually was. “Why are you telling me this? You’re not usually this talkative.”

He almost felt like growling when she casually shrugged, “Someone has to talk to you about it. If not for Luffy’s sake, then at least to warn you. Our captain isn’t one to let go of things or people very easily. And process of elimination leaves either me or Robin to even remotely able to explain anything. Since I’ve been in the crew longer than Robin, I was the better choice.”

“…Was this meant to be a shovel talk?” he questioned uneasily, eyes narrowing behind his tinted lenses in further suspicion.

“Now why would we need to do that~?” Nami hummed cheerfully. “But if he breaks something because you made him mopey, I’m charging the damages to you with interest~”

Yeah…fuck that.

Law brooded on this, turning the situation over in his head, before finally asking, “Why are we only having this conversation now?”

“Well,” she snickered. Even the glasses she wore as part of her disguise gleaned maliciously. “We felt we had to say something in light of you being all jealous and broody.”

“Excuse you?”

Nami hummed nonchalantly, as if Law wasn’t radiating a dark cloud of ill intent, “Ever since we left Wano, we’ve been receiving more and more alliance requests. This would be the first time we’re actually considering one from anther pirate crew, and you’ve been grumpier ever since. And I’m not the only one to think you got sulkier after that dinner. It’s kinda cute to the rest of us, but Captain’s actually getting concerned. Do something about that or we’ll do something instead. Though…,” the corner of Nami’s mouth twisted and her eyes slid to a half, minor movements that betrayed her uneasiness. “How do you two plan to deal with Hornigold and his plus one?”

“I’ll deal with Hornigold,” was Law’s immediate response. “This guy is use to talking and maneuvering circles around the Emperors, the Marines, Cipher Pol, and even Doflamingo. If it comes down to terms, he’ll take advantage of anything Lu-ya doesn’t understand. The meeting place is a restaurant, so Lu-ya can eat his heart out. By the end of it, I’ll confer with Lu-ya to make sure neither of us look like we answer to or are superior to the other. If things go to wrong, I have several contingency plans and four of them are based off something that’s Lu-ya’s fault. But you know I can’t predict everything could happen, considering who is involved here,” he admitted, raising an eyebrow pointedly.

“Good,” she nodded, seeming satisfied enough. However, the return of the conniving smirk instantly raised the hairs on Law’s arms again. “Also? When did you become so protective, Torao~”

This caused the Hearts Captain to nearly snort out his draught of water, and he ended up looking at Nami incredulously, “Protective? Like he needs me to protect him. This is me trying to keep him from causing a ruckus. Get in, distract him with food, talk, get out, leave this island without letting facing off with an entire island base of Marines.”

“Here’s to hoping,” his companion agreed with a doubtful wince. She perked up as she spotted something over his shoulder. “Oh, here comes with the oth—oh. Oh wow…,” Nami trails off, eyes wide and face completely shell-shocked.

It was with a distinctly ominous feeling that Law turned around in his seat to see what exactly was so astounding about the returning party.

He nearly choked to death again; this time on his spit.

The thing was, the logic of the universe seemed to regularly bend for the Straw Hat captain. This wasn’t helping prove otherwise as his ally captain actually made for a very pretty girl.

Objectively, he wasn’t anywhere near as striking as either his navigator or historian. But the younger D had been a comparatively short but regularly proportioned young man with a good physique if a plain face, all while exuding a cheerful lack of awareness. All that seemed to have translated into making the Straw Hat captain look exactly like the archetype for the sweet but clueless girl-next-door. A harmless, happy, young woman that would fit in almost any town on almost any island as long as the signature X-shaped chest scar was hidden.

This image was further enhanced as the boy-temporarily-turned-girl’s entourage of fashionable females had put Luffy in an asymmetrical, bright green dress that was patterned with tropical orange flowers. It was the kind of loose and simple halter drape that seemed to the fashion worn by many of the local women. Whatever the case, gathered halter that looped around the still rubber neck was able to hide the distinctive scar on his chest even while revealing just of the captain’s new assets to show that he was very much a woman (that he wasn’t). A large, floral ribbon had been tied around the straw hat, finished off with a neatly done bow on the side.

There were no words for how disturbed Law was.

The only reasons his conditioned-to-a-fine-edge paranoia wasn’t kicking his ass into high gear was because:

1. That distinctly disgruntled look on the other’s face made him entirely recognizable even in a distinctly other body.
2. He was continuously getting subtly, but viciously, kicked whenever his legs so much as hinted at resuming the awkward, waddle-like gait he had taken since noticing certain parts missing.

“Oh my god, Luf—Lucy!” Nami burst out once the group got close enough, quickly corrected herself when she nearly sprouted Luffy’s name. “You look amazing!”

“You look…feminine,” Law commented neutrally, the muscle under one eye twitching.

“I know!” Luffy whined and pouted. Off to the side, two passing men lingered, peering over curiously until a sneer from Law hurried them along. “They wouldn’t choose one of my favorite colors! Not that green is bad, because Zoro is green. And the orange are like tangerines, which taste good, but…”

“That’s exactly why we chose it, Luffy,” Robin explained patiently. Law could imagine that she probably explained this multiple times already. “It’s because you usually don’t wear green or orange. This is a good time for you to try something new, yes? Remember, you’re undercover. Like a spy.”

Her captain seemed to perk up significantly at that, and he smiled, “Like a spy!”

Robin hummed and smiled fondly, “Indeed.”

This seem to settle Luffy for all of ten seconds before a disgruntledly puzzled look took over his features. Casually pulling a chair right out from another yelping patron, Luffy pulled it over to their accommodated table and straddled it backwards. With his arms crossed over the top of the chair’s back, he moodily rested his chin on top his crossed arms.

“Hmmm,” he hummed. “I just don’t get this whole hiding secret thing.”

With a smooth synchronization of movement and a casualness that spoke of repetition, Luffy’s entourage moved as one to correct his seating. Hooking his own arms under Luffy’s from behind, Usopp lifted his captain with a quiet “hup!”. Carrot quickly spun the chair around and helped keep Luffy’s dress in place as Usopp lowered his cargo back down. Stretching out their legs, Koala and Robin pushed at the captain’s ankles until his legs were pressed together. It was a series of maneuvers that involved the members moving smoothly around each and if Law hadn’t been watching them specifically, he would have missed it altogether. Especially as his ally captain had the same disgruntled look on his face, seemingly to not even have noticed his crew moving him around.

“Just don’t tell anyone your name or that you’re going to be the Pirate King and we’ll be fine,” Nami snapped. “If someone asks, let Law do the talking. And if you have to answer, Blondie here is your boyfriend and you’re here for the Annual Coral Harvest Festival.”

How they talked/nagged/annoyed him into doing all this he had no idea. But there was definitely a chuckling Ivankov hovering in the background clicking xer nails together diabolically.

“If anyone besides these captains you’re meeting with asks, you’re Lucy, okay?” the redhead drilled her captain fiercely. “Not Luffy. Just. Lucy. And you can continue calling Dark and Broody here Torao. Nobody should be able to draw that connection unless they’ve personally met you guys together before.” Glancing at down at her (new) watch, she nodded to them. “Okay, you have 20 minutes to get to the Tangarao Café. Don’t rush, but don’t get distracted. Remember. You’re a couple just wandering around, don’t let it look like you’re head straight there. And DON’T. TALK. To anyone if you don’t have to. Just…stick with Torao, Lucy.”

With the minimal amount of grumbling and a lot of sullen pouting, Luffy bounced up from his seat while Law casually stretched out his legs and slid to his feet. Heading out, the younger boy (because that’s what he is, Law reminded himself) casually looped his arm with older D as they reached the street. Not out of some sense for the situation or the illusion they were trying to build, but because he had spotted something colorful and interesting and was now pulling Law along like a lanky, runaway dog.

It wasn’t anything new. The younger captain was one of the few people who so much as breathed in Law’s personal bubble. And being the tactile rubber limpet he was, the younger had a tendency of touching. After spending hours being carried around like a sack of grain and all the shenanigans since, he was…okay, with his allied captain touching him. Certainly, he bore it better and more often than he would with anyone else. But right now? With an arm a touch slimmer than he was used to, holding his own arm familiarly against the side of a breast (and didn’t that take a minute to compute, apparently either they couldn’t get a bra on him or a rubber body means you didn’t need one)?

It felt like he was being touched by a stranger. Outside of him touching Bepo, him touching the occasional one-night stands, and his allied captain (and some of the Straw Hats when they were drunk or overzealous) touching him, he was not used to touching or being touched by someone unless they were in a life-and-death situation with at least three explosions happening in the background.

However, this was for the sake of the subterfuge and this was still Luffy and not actually some female stranger. But try as he might, Law still held himself stiffly and carefully hid his stumbles as he was energetically pulled along. Anyone stupid enough to so much as vaguely look in their direction was sent got an ugly, cutting look from the currently blonde. Even from behind the tinted lenses, it visibly sent goosebumps up more than a few arms and caused people to hurry along.

“Ne, Torao?” Luffy hummed. “Do you think the restaurant this Horn-guy wants us to go to has salad?”

So apparently, a female Luffy had similar eating habits as a male Luffy. Which is to say that his stomach was still a human vacuum cleaner and that meal times were still an exercise of survival of the fittest. And that while he still ate everything he could reach, a female Luffy has an urge to eat nine times their weight in salad and vegetables instead of eating the usual six times his weight in meat. In the end though, food was food, just as half-edible and questionable things and some specific crewmates was still food. It was still amusing to see Blackleg look so petulant at the large boxes of almost-entirely-meat bentos he whipped up out of habit.

“…I’m sure they do, Lu-ya,” Law quickly caught himself after the initially startle, still disturbed by the reminder that there was now a Luffy-that-does-not-eat-meat.

More importantly though, the older D was keeping an eye on their surroundings. As far as he could see, nobody was giving them suspicious second glances. Nobody was watching them out of the corner of their eye in that dangerous, watchful way. Law couldn’t see spot anyone following them. The crowd seemed to be flowing naturally. There wasn’t any sign of some kind of divergence that would filter the crowd, as authorities tended to do when aiming for specific people in a crowded area. Some narrowed eyes lingered on him, but none the dark gazes did anything more than pause and give Luffy a once-over. Carefully keeping his muscles lax, he moved on and noted who was watching and let his partner determine the pace.

As Luffy bent half-crouched awkwardly to peer eagerly into a tank of colorful fish, Law glared at the hovering storekeeper and warily kept an eye on the passing Marine guard. When his partner ooohh-ed and aaahh-ed over a full set of some kind of coral armor, the surgeon inconspicuously shifted them until they were out of the view of the Monitor Snails. Absentmindedly, he twisted his arm and the arm holding his so that the two were holding hands instead. This, at least, was more familiar and its own kind of relief. The fingers were as slim as before and the thick callouses were as present as ever. Like this, he could feel the distinctly rubbery texture of the skin and the feeling of being touched by a stranger disappeared. Now more settled, he was able to focus on scanning their surroundings; along the edges of the surrounding roofs, in the windows of the surrounding buildings, the passing Navy patrol, the tourists’ cameras, and the Snails dotting walls and resting on their designated lookout posts.

When they arrived at the designated café, Law stopped his partner from bouncing straight in. Covertly sweeping over the diners siting under the shaded patio, he examined their surroundings while his partner was examining the posted menu. It a small sidewalk café, one of a dozen upon dozens of small, cutesy eateries dotting the town. It was uncomfortably out in the open, just around the corner of an open plaza and seemed like it was reasonably busy. Altogether, just barely out of the way in the most open manner possible and nearly as teeming with on- and off-duty Navy personnel as the rest of the island. In his focus on picking out Navy soldiers in and out of uniform among the passing crowd and the diners, the surgeon almost missed the man in the back corner of the patio area waving him over.

In appearance, there was nothing to indicate anything off about him. Hornigold was a man with a mop of dirty blonde hair, a wide mouth, and perpetually half-lidded eyes giving him a sleepy look. Most notably though was that the pirate was lacking the distinctive face paint, the hoop earrings, the overdone tri-corner hat, and the dramatic red and blue jacket from his wanted posters. But then again, considering the man’s shadier career, both the usual over the top appearance and the current more subdued choices were probably on purpose. In his current worn khaki shorts, sandals, and baggy shirt, the captain looked just like any other lay-about milling around the island. His gaudy, painfully colorful (pink, red, green, purple orange) shirt was, in fact, typical of the island’s tourist shops. It succeeded in giving the man a harmless appearance and easy to overlook, even if it made it so Law could feel his eye twitch. For all purposes, he should be used to the bright, in-your-face color explosions after being on the Straw Hat ship for a couple of months now. It seemed natural of and fitting for his allies, but such bright, gaudy colors on anyone else reminded him how much of an eyesore they were.

But that was probably a carefully calculated choice in itself. Later on, if any witnesses asked, they would firstly describe the eye-catching shirt that distracted from onlookers from the rest of the man. Said man could discard the shirt at any time and instantly fall under possible searchers’ radars. He was simply the meandering tourist bumming around the island lazily for the Coral Festival. It was an impression reinforced by everything from the other captain’s lax, distracted, amused air to the way he slumped in his seat with his legs spread.

However, it only took someone who knew what they were looking for to spot the an almost unnoticeable knowing, quietly smug look in the blonde’s eyes; a look that tended to linger in most informants’ eyes. They didn’t have so much of an edge to them as much as a habit of looking on over the rest of the world. After all, they were the people who knew that they knew something you didn’t. Try as they might to hide it, that part of their personality (the part that drove them into the business in the first place and kept them there) tended to show.

Honestly though, Law would have overlooked them completely if not for the man’s tenser companion. Alessandri Judas was a career soldier down to the way he sat with perfect yet stiff posture, not unlike the off-duty Navy soldiers peppering the island. But there was a squint in his look that Law just knew. That was the look of a cold killer, even though someone had obviously tried to train the man to hold himself less tensely. But Law was familiar with watching for the tells of soldiers. Like the surgeon, that didn’t stop the man’s eyes from roving around restlessly, suspicious and watching for threats. His overall looks and coloring was a sharp contrast to the Lucky Captain’s. Where Hornigold had a naturally darker complexion even with his blonde hair, Judas was the dark of the tanned and of someone who spent most of their life under the sun and the light reflected by the sea. While the natural blonde had a light fuzz around his lips and along his jaw, his stiff companion had thick, dark hair on his face and head. Overall, he was just a bigger man than the blonde and the two were interesting study in contrasts.

“A table for two?”

The pleasant voice of the waitress broke Law out of his split second examination of the two men. No doubt, she had been attracted by an eager Luffy who was on bouncing lightly on his toes to look at the dishes served to already seated customers. Actually, it wasn’t just the waitress. Law noticed more than a few eyes focused on Luffy and the bouncing of his newly acquired assets. Hurriedly wrapping an arm around Luffy’s waist (and suppressing a flinch while he was at it), he bodily held the boy-turned-girl down while carefully kept a neutral look on his face.

“No, we’re meeting up with some friends,” Law replied smoothly. “Come on, Lucy-ya. Let’s go sit down.” As he pulled the smaller captain along, he shot to the waiter as they passed her. “Oh, and fifteen large servings of your house salad for the lady please.”

Said lady was picking his nose.

Ignoring the spluttering waitress and the people staring with the edge of disbelieving disgust, Law pulled Luffy along and plopped him down at the table where the other two captains were sitting at. Looking over his shoulder, he glared at the diners still looking and only sat down when they awkwardly turned away.

“We’re not looking for company, pal,” the Captain of the Judas Pirates growled, visibly incredulous at their presence. “Move along.”

“I’m not your pal and if you weren’t looking for our company, we really wouldn’t be here,” Law drawled.

“Well I’ll be! Fellas, I take back every remark I’ve eva made about how shitty ya Dressrosa disguises were,” Hornigold greeted with an impressed whistle as he looked them over. Meanwhile, his companion was throwing the Lucky Captain the same incredulous looks. “Clearly, it wasn’t because ye couldn’t do bedda! The Surgeon, in the blonde, himself. And you’re...,” Felicio trailed off as he squinted his eyes and registered that the other was distinctly female and not just in a dress. “You’re… B-b-but....you’re a girl…?”

“You wanted to meet in on one of the most Marine-infested islands in the New World,” Law interrupted as Luffy continued to look around, not seeming to pay attention to the proceedings at all. But it wasn’t the Straw Hat captain’s roving eyes the older D didn’t like. Glaring cuttingly at Judas, the surgeon continued even while he and soldier-turned-pirate sneered at each other. “And you didn’t expect that we would go through great lengths in terms of disguises?”

“True,” Hornigold responds with such a habitual immediacy that suggested a speaking quirk. “Bu…wow…how…?”

“Are you Horny-guy?” Luffy asked instead, held tilted with a flat, wide-eyed look on his face. It seemed to be his go-to expression whenever examining something he didn’t understand, which ranged from anything from a strange man-eating plant to “magic ocean currents”. Whatever the case, it was enough to send the rest of them into a stunned silence.

Bless Monkey D. Luffy and his ability to indiscriminately make people feel wrong-footed.

“Well…,” the only true blonde among them half-choked, half-snorted. “That isn’t false—“

“Stop flirting,” Law found himself snapping at the same time as Judas. The synchronization caused them to briefly resume their mutual sneering.

“You know who he is,” the rolling of Law’s eyes implied what the neutral, wary tone of his voice didn’t. Leaning over, he carefully rearranged his partner’s calf-length skirt as it was riding up. “A friend had an idea and did us a favor.”

“Ah!” the info-dealer nodded. “I expected, but could’na confirm. But wha beda place could da Army-on-the-run hide than with some of da most mysterious and unpredictable of peace mains. It’s no’ like da Marines an’ CP division dun’already think ya’re in contact. Bu’ da stronger lights always have made for da deeper shadows.” He was chuckling in delight when the waitress arrived with Luffy’s salads. Briefly striking up a short, flirtatious conversation with the girl as she tried to fit the salads onto the table, he then waved her away with friendly gesture and a giggle on her part.

Turning back, Hornigold raised his eyebrow at the wholehearted focus Luffy was giving to stuffing food down his throat.

Visibly deciding not to interrupt, he turned to Law with a grin that showed a little more teeth than before, “Let’s talk, yes?”

Chapter Text

Now that they had accepted the proposal to meet, there needed to be a set of core standards laid out. This was the most important as it would set the tone of the alliance, as well as the rest of the negotiations.

There would be no hierarchies in their alliance. No one crew ranked higher than any other, each captain retained all their usual power, and each crew was ultimately independent. Unless a crew decided they wanted to officially declare war or something of that measure that would draw in allies, there was no need for one crew to consult the others.

This was probably the most integral. Law was curt and upfront on this part, giving Hornigold with a flat look that still managed to be challenging. The other just chortled in amusement, clearly catching the implication that they could very well try (and undoubtedly fail) at trying to stop either the Hearts or Straw Hats from doing exactly what they would. They continued by laying out the cases that would require for one crew to notify the other.

In the case they were caught (whether by Marines, privateers, bounty hunters, or other pirates), they would not reveal information about their allied crew.

While Law was adamant about this, Hornigold was even more uncompromising on this front. He nodded to a suspicious, chewing Luffy (who no doubt was still watching to see if the Lucky Captain would try to steal hats), but the lazy-eyed man had a calculating look when studying Law. Hornigold and Judas had more reason than most to need confidentiality and allies they could trust not to lead the wrong people to them. The older D wondered what the deceptively lax man heard that caused him to consider the Hearts-Straw Hats Alliance.

Neither would interfere in the other’s business unless given express permission.

Law was careful to word it in a way that implied that only the Hearts Pirates would adhere to this. The Straw Hats did what they wanted, so it’s not like he could make any guarantees for them. However, this was a chance to draw out what activities neither the Hearts nor the Straw Hats would find acceptable. Slavery, human trafficking, and (on Law’s insistence) biowarfare to name a few. Participating directly in any of these activities would be grounds to break the alliance. In exchange, Hornigold listed a few names and groups that he would not tolerate the Hearts or Straw Hats getting involved with. Judas eyed the former Warlord as the former soldier continued the list, declaring that he refused to be allied with anyone working with the World Government or certain other governing bodies (including the kingdom he formerly fought for). Luffy had no particular demands and single-mindedly focused on eating, having lost interest in the conversation after determining their potential ally wasn’t going to be stealing any hats.

They would have a mutual-assistance agreement.

Law was confident in pushing for both Hearts and the Straw Hats on this front. After all, the Straw Hats would go through literal ice-and-fire hell to answer the emergency call of a stranger. Because of that, the surgeon was adamant had to set boundaries about that from the start and made it clear that they were not to expect Luffy to go so far as to break into Impel Down again.

They were fucking pirates. If they were arrested, then they were arrested and they had to deal with it. Even if Luffy had a history of impossible feats, they were not to demand it of him. Neither the Straw Hats nor the Hearts owed them this or could travel to a battle on the other side of the world unless given enough of a warning. They could not expect his ally to risk absolutely everything for them. Especially as, in all possibility, he would drag Law along with him. At the end of the day, the Hearts captain wouldn’t be able to stop Luffy if he decided he was going to do absolutely everything to help, but at least nobody was going to get that down on contracts. Boundaries had to be drawn and limits set. With Luffy’s more careful and suspicious watchers absent, Law would make sure nobody took advantage of his ally's good nature.

There was also the discussion about what exactly the assistance would consist of and to what extent, as well as what an emergency would entail. The surgeon was adept at keeping track of such details. It would become very necessary when they wrote up the contract that would be sent back and forth between the crews. Clauses would be challenged, drafts to be rewritten, and amendments to be made. When all parties were satisfied and at an agreement with the contract, they would meet up once again for the final signing. No doubt, Luffy’s navigator or archaeologist would take care of this part for their captain.

Fortunately, Hornigold was agreeable enough, provided they also apply the same for him. After all, in reality the roles of the Snake-Eyes and Judas Pirates versus the Hearts and Straw Hats were very different.

“Ya lot get in trouble an’ callin’, we’ll answer,” Hornigold concluded. “But our crews ain’t front fighters like da both of ya. We’ll help, but we’re gonna do it our way. Ya trapped in jail, we’ll sneak in to break ya out quiet like. Ya goin’ to war with that piece o’ shit Teach, we’ll provide back-up, info, men, an’ a bit of…waste management. But it ain’t gonna be like ya lot’s breakin’ down da front door or kickin’ asses black'n blue.”

After the most important points were established, they moved onto logistics. Due to Lucky's profession, there was a limit to how much information he could give them, though he would avoid giving anybody else crucial information on the Hearts and Straw Hats. Additionally, they worked out how treasure and costs would be divided in the case they worked together, payments for possible damages or torts, how much of a discount they were given as allies when paying information fees, and how punishment would be dealt depending on situations like one crewmember hurting another. On and on it went. While it was boring and seemingly too complicated for Luffy, they were all necessary details to prevent complications and strife later. So as the temporarily-female Straw Hat captain dumped a sixth large serving bowl of salad down her throat and received three more bowls from a clearly unnerved waitress, Law carefully negotiated the outlines of such details.

It was loose and, frankly, dangerously vague. Realistically, it was more like a set of warnings, which suited an alliance between/with loose cannon Ds' just fine. Studying the two sitting across from them, Law was mildly desperate for this to work long enough for them to get information, but skeptical that this arrangement would hold out in the long run. Pirate alliances tended to be tedious at best; only really working when there was an immediate goal for everyone to be focus on (getting to a certain location, finding a particular treasure, fighting against a particular enemy). Straw Hat alliances were a category all of its own, and not one the typical pirate was accustomed to. It was a lasting relationship (a genuine friendship) without one side holding power over the other, and therefore wasn’t considered very useful to the average marauding crew. Most would react the way the Judas Pirate captain was currently responding.

There was a clench to the man’s jaw, visible despite the beard, and a flintiness in his eyes that suggested he didn’t approve at all. There would be no gold besides what the Hearts-Straw Hats would pay for the discounted information, no tribute, no territory gain, no exchanging of desirable crew members, and no promises of some advantage. Law was tempted to tell the man to simmer down. As the physically largest and most built at the table, Judas’ frustration and anger was the most noticeable to any bystanders and, on the surface, the most intimidating.

But the Hearts captain was under no illusion that Hornigold was clearly in charge of this operation. The way he continued to relax in his seat and study them with a half-lidded, amused gaze supported Law’s hypothesis that the man was the flavor of eccentricity vested in neither the conventional pirate interest of treasure nor showy power. This was a man who raided a cruise ship just to steal the hats off the crew and passengers' head. A man who refused to bow his head or bend a knee or swear his services to any of the major powers in a sea where it was joing or die. He wouldn’t be shaken or disturbed by conventional means of intimidation. Or, like Luffy, he might not even care.

And therefore, there was a possibility that "Lucky" Hornigold might actually make a proficient ally to them.

“Alex, talk ta ‘Lucy’ here,” Hornigold interrupted Law to direct his companion to the Straw Hat Captain, having seamlessly picked up the name from earlier with the waitress. “I know ya’ve been wantin’ ta meet him for a while now. Here’s ya chance. Leave negotiatin’ ta me.”

“But—,” Judas spluttered, words practically blocking up his throat in his clear frustration.

Hornigold rested a hand on the other’s arm. “I know wha’ I’m doing. Now say hello ta our new friend.”

“…Hello, young sir,” Judas intoned with a mixture of resignation, disgruntlement, and something very close to nervous awkwardness.

“Hi, Beard-guy!” Luffy grinned. “Are you eating that?”

In response, the other man pushed his plate towards the smaller with the kind of quiet awe most people treated Luffy’s appetite with. Whatever he hell on the plate disappeared in seconds.

“I am…as Felicio says, a ‘big fan’,” the dark-haired man admitted haltingly.

Law was dangerously close to letting his head drop to the table.

Fuck.

Another fucking fan.

“True,” Hornigold chuckled. “Sir, let’s continue, yes?”

They quickly moved beyond the subject of money, treasure, and territory. After all, the Lucky captain specialized in information. It was here that the fishing really started. Now, they discussed to what extent of information they could ask for. What was priority, what they should keep each other updated on, whose businesses they were or weren’t privy to if was what really formed this alliance. How much and what kind of information Hornigold could pass off about them to throw off suspicions. What kinds of information would or wouldn’t be shared. After all, it wasn’t like Law himself wasn’t still privy to some avenues of information.

“I would’ve thought dis would’a’be much more straightforward,” Hornigold mused. “Straw Hat has a reputation of being very…decisive. Very blunt. Ya, on da other han’…it’s like dealing with a bull shark. If I move too suddenly, ya’re going to go for da kill. Is that why he brought you along? Because ya know how to play da game?”

“I wonder,” Law drawled dryly. “But it’s rich that you call me a shark. I wonder what that would make you?”

Hornigold shrugged his shoulders in the easy manner that perpetuated all his words and movement, “Now, now…I wouldn’t be very good at what I do if ya were able to get a read dat easily on me, now would’I?”

Meanwhile, the surgeon was peripherally aware that Judas was quickly moving from awkward to fanboying. It was definitely something teeth-grating, watching this large soldier-type fluttering around his partner (who he was pleased to notice seemed to pay minimal attention in return).

“I have looker past, I hope you will forgive my presumptions,” Judas admitted eagerly. And if there were ever a way to catch the older D’s attention, that was it. Luffy wasn’t one to talk about pasts, and those surrounded him took that lead. Anyone who had the gall to actually bring it up with Luffy incited a mixture of interest, suspicion, and wariness in the surgeon that combined into a potent mixture of sharp possessiveness. “Is it true that it was Vice Admiral Garp that hid you, Fire Fist Ace, and Revolutionary Chief of Staff Sabo away when you were little? Were you actually born in the East Blue? Or are you like Fire Fist Ace, who was originally from South Blue and was spirited away to the East?”

It was a whole stream of these utterly inane questions that rubbed Law the wrong way; like long, spidery fingers hovering over the back of his neck. Judas didn’t seem to really register the way the Straw Hat captain shrugged at some questions and ignored the rest. Unfortunately, the lack of response didn’t discourage the man even as the questions drove the dining young man-turned-woman into further disinterest. Meanwhile, the Surgeon of Death was careful not to show his irritation any more than was already obvious.

“It is just amazing what you do,” Judas confessed. “I left my country because I wanted to be free. Do what I wanted, rather than jump at the beck and call of a spoiled prince. And you…? You really do what you want!  Storming Impel Down and facing off with a World Noble? Those are the big things. But people seemed to miss the smaller things. Climbing onto Roger’s execution platform and then escaping capture by a bolt of lightning?! Goddamn miracle! Your miraculous escape using the Knock-Up Stream off the coast of Jaya! How many people can just DO that? That you reunited the two warring factions on Skypeia after how many years of conflict? I got lucky meeting Felicio, as it is his business to know of major and interesting events. Otherwise, I would be as ignorant of the amazing things you did as the next sea bum, but—”

As Judas continued to sing praises for the Straw Hat’s accomplishment, Luffy paused in his chewing.

Just a split second, a missed beat, a second pause before continuing.

But that pause was enough to alarm Law, though he continued to give the impression that he was listening to Hornigold’s terms. One only had to know the rubber captain a short time to know that anything that gave Luffy pause in eating was bad. And pause he did, as Luffy swallowed his last bite and set his fork and bowl down. Where his straw hat had originally been hanging from his neck, the slight captain reached behind and pulled it back onto his head. There was a certain kind of stillness to Luffy’s movement, a sudden and disturbing pause in the usual vibrating pulse of energy that usually permeated him; a deliberateness that made the usual movement seem strange and alien. The resulting image was foreboding, even with the cheerful, flowery ribbon draping across the visage of the usually smiling young man wearing a frown and shadows over his eyes.

Law had seen this purposeful, too-still set in Luffy’s body before.

“Luffy-ya, wait!” Law hissed with an edge of frustrated desperation, altogether forgetting the fake names because he recognized the signs. He didn’t know what had set his partner off, but they couldn’t afford a ruckus right here.

“Hey,” Hornigold cut in, his own voice suddenly dipping dangerously and no longer lax. “Somethin’ up?”

Everyone at the table was silent; three of them looking at each other warily without figuring out whether the fourth was looking at anyone at all from under the shadow of his hat.

“Young sir? Is there something wrong?” Judas questioned inquisitively, reaching out towards the younger captain. Law bristled at the out-of-place, self-entitled familiarity of the movement, his lips starting to pull back in a snarl and body tensing to stand.

The soldier-captain’s hand was caught by a smaller but (if the wince was anything to go by) stronger grip. Veins bulged in deceptively delicate looking female arms as Luffy’s hand clamped down hard. Current changes to his body aside, Luffy had lost none of his abilities, including the superhuman brute strength lined in a slim, small body. Besides the strained veins of the vice-like grip, there were no other signs of effort in his stance or face.

“Hey…Beard-guy,” Luffy broke the silence with a low murmur that still seemed to echo too loudly. “How did you know we were escaping?”

It didn’t matter that he currently had a female body in a low cut dress or that his signature straw hat was dominated by a flowery ribbon. When Monkey D. Luffy took that tone, it was like the universe focused its attentions and weight onto the situation at hand. There was an intensity to him when he got serious that only seemed to develop and increase over time. Even Law could feel a shiver go down his spine at the feeling of otherness his partner was suddenly exuding, to say nothing of Hornigold and Judas who had broken out into cold sweat.

Flipping up a dull butter knife into his fingers, Law casually tapped it against the tabletop. To anyone else, it would simply look like he was fiddling with the silverware. But for those who knew who he was, knew his powers, it was a loud and clear threat.

“Now that isn’t information you were suppose to know,” Law drawled, having only taken half a second to process. “Who are you two really working for?”

“Working fe’or?” Hornigold’s drawl deepened and rolled, though the amused tone was now replaced by a warning edge. “Don’t insult me. Imma no one’s underlin’.”

Law narrowed his eyes thoughtfully because it didn’t make sense. Talking to the Lucky Captain, he recognized the bite and the spark of wildness in the other man’s eyes. It was something that the surgeon saw in his own eyes and that of his fellow Supernovas. It was a spark he knew he sometimes wore on his own face, reflected back at him by a wild, toothy smile in the middle of the most dangerous and foolhardy plans and victories. They were aiming for the top, for the ultimate freedom. To actually be subordinate to someone else was an insult. Staring back with narrowed eyes, Law had a gut feeling that Hornigold wasn’t faking his offense.

“…No, you’re not,” Law admitted after his brief pause. Dark eyes slid to look at the larger captain sitting across the table from them, one that was still pinned under Luffy’s intense and heavy gaze. “But you are.”

“An’ ya’re makin’ these accusations on what grounds ‘xactly, gentlemen?” Hornigold’s instantly jumped to his partner’s defense. If nothing else, his tone had hardened.

“Let go of me, Straw Hat,” Judas agreed, his trapped hand now curled in a fist and his whole body shaking in threat of violence.

“Is it that Blackbeard-guy?” Law’s eyes flickered to Luffy briefly in surprise. His partner continued in that low, neutral tone that boded nothing good. “When we were heading for Sky Island, the one chasing us was him. Besides my nakama, only that guy and his friends would know.”

Tensing, the surgeon’s gaze snapped back to the two across the table. There was a flicker of tightness that flashed across Judas’ face that told Law enough. Just a split second, but Luffy’s steady, intimidatingly discerning gaze never left the other’s face and Law had been fast enough to catch it. By the sudden drawing back of shocked tightness in Hornigold’s body, nobody had missed it.

“I will not tell you fucking green-arsed rookies a thing!” Judas wrenched at his arm fruitlessly, the rubber captain did not so much as twitching as he held the ex-soldier in place. “You have no right to demand answers from me!”

The implications seem truly dawn on Hornigold. His face slackening with emotion as he almost slowly, reluctantly, turned his body fully to face his own partner.

“…Alex?” the man questioned,

“Shove it, Lucky,” the former soldier snarled, spitting out the other man’s epithet in disgust.

"Mugiwara-ya," Law warned. "If you equip Armament Haki right now, any Marine with the barest talent of Observation Haki will sense us."

Only the way the young man’s calf briefly touched the older D’s indicated that he had heard anything at all. Noticing Judas’ sweeping gaze, clearly looking for an escape, Law caught the man’s eyes and met the bearded sneer with a furious one of his own.

“You’re Blackbeard-guy’s crew,” Luffy concluded out loud, and there was something terrible about how emotionless the bright young man was in delivering the verdict. It Law’s stomach roll uneasily, like those times the seas were suspiciously calm and the weather was suspiciously good.

“Alex…,” Hornigold murmured, something almost pleading in his tone. “Please…dun tell me ya—”

The Knight was trapped and he knew it. Now all the table’s occupants looked upon him with open and hostile or a brokenly betrayed suspicion. Looking from face to face, something in the way his snarl briefly went slack in disbelief spoke of just how backed into a corner he was. There was no escape from this. No excuses, no dodging, and no leaving unless the three staring captain had an answer. Slowly, the spy’s snarl turned into a derisive sneer, and he laughing mockingly. The fist in Luffy’s grip tightened and continued to strain against the hold. All trace of the captain playing second fiddle to Hornigold and the overexcited fanboy vanishing.

“Well, you are certainly not as stupid as people think!” Judas chuckled in mocking praise. “Blackbeard sends his regards, Straw Hat. And that while he respects you even with ‘your shitty taste in pies’, as he said, it would have been more convenient if you had just died quietly in Dressrosa. So if it is alright for you, disappear.”

Law’s heart jumped to his throat and left him breathless through gritted teeth when he saw the combat knife practically leap into Judas’ free hand and lunge.

Assassin.

With a casual ease, the captain in a dress simply jerked-twisted the straining wrist outward. With so much weight and strength distributed into that trapped arm in the process of the lunge, the move forced Judas’ entire arm (and consequently the shoulder and body along with it) to turn with a pained yelp and slam into the table. Without a break, Law swiped the butter knife out at the combat knife, redirecting the blade to stab into the mosaic tabletop. And finally, surprisingly, Hornigold drove his knuckles into the soft spot at the side of Judas’ temple just above his left eyebrow. If Law hadn’t been watching Hornigold as well, he would have missed the sharp, quick snap of motion.

Trusting Luffy to react if Hornigold tried anything, Law's gaze quickly swept their surroundings to see if anyone had noticed. Disconcertingly, no one seemed to notice the violence. Either they had brushed off the image of a small woman holding the arm of a larger man and then missed the one and a half second of violence or…

Hornigold was grimacing, a look of twisted emotions, but it lacked the panic for someone who stressed subtlety so much.

"You're a Fruit User," Law concluded, completely unsurprised while simultaneously being a hundred percent done with this situation.

"True," Hornigold confirmed. "When I was younger, I ate the Mirage Mirage no Mi, I'm a Mirage Human. I’m good at…twinging people’s perceptions a little."

"Are you even actually here?" Law snarled.

"…True an’ false, " Hornigold shrugged. "Sometimes…an’ sometimes not so much. It comes an’ goes. A lot of ma Fruit’s power is passive. Dun worry. Most of da misdirection’s ma own natural ability and some of da fruit’s passive qualities. I’m betta with weapons, but both of ya can outdo me in physical strength alone.”

“All those close escapes…,” the surgeon growled. “With a power so inconspicuous, everyone thought that it was just luck. This meeting wasn’t ever on equal grounds.”

“It was,” the Lucky-not-lucky captain snorted, his voice flat as he raised a skeptical eyebrow at the younger captains. “You two are monster-class players. I even it out by havin’ a power tha’ makes it easier for me to escape ya both. I…,” he hesitated, a hand running through his hair and having lost that smug, knowing look. There was something so distinctly confused and wrong-footed in his body language, though nothing obvious. It was enough so that Law noticed Luffy was staring at the other captain with that wide-eyed, blank stare of scrutiny and knew it meant something. “I sincerely apologize dat dis happened. I…,” Felicio swallowed hard and there was a strain of grief in the lines of his face and the clench of his jaw. “I had no idea.”

“You’re an information broker,” Law snarled furiously. “How could you not know your ally was one of Blackbeard’s lackeys?!”

“Probably ‘cause he wasn’ just ma ally,” was his mirthless answer, a chortle that sounded more like a choke. “Love really makes fools of all of us.” The attempt of his smile was just painful and nothing like the easy, lax, confident smiles of before. He waved a hand as he pulled out a baby den den mushi from inside his over-large shirt. “I’ll take care of him.”

“Yeah?” the older D demanded, words growled and darkened intimidatingly. “How do we know you’re not part of the ploy too?”

“I’ve worked ma whole damn life ta be free,” the actually blonde captain snapped, “And I’ve always held myself as a neutral balance to be able ta stay that way! Do ya realize how damaging this is for ma rep, how much damage this does?! It makes thin' even more dangerous for ma people! And if I was gonna side with anyone, it sure as hell wouldn’t be fuckin’ Teach!”

Law remained tense even as Hornigold seemed to stop himself, his next words catching in his throat before he swallowed them and slumped in his seat. The surgeon watched as the other captain reached down the neck of his shirt and pull out a small Den Den Mushi with a smaller, plumper white snail attached. A couple of rings later, and the Den Den took on the form and voice of a young woman.

“Captain?”

“Everyone dere, Pepper?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well, it seems our Partner has been cheatin’ on us with ol’ Eddie,” he drawled, not a hint of anything but casual amusement. “Take care of it, won’t ya?”

“…Got it, Boss.”

The Den-Den Mushi went to sleep without another word, and both snails was promptly shuffled back into Hornigold’s souvenir shirt.

There was a heavy silence. Law glared while Luffy stared at Felicio Hornigold with that blankly examining look and a certain air of expectation. The Hearts captain saw how the other captain met Luffy’s eyes, caught in the wide gaze. Something uncomfortable passed over the older captain’s lined face. Then disturbed and almost frightened. Finally, a strange vulnerability overtook the older man's features before finally ducking his head away altogether.

Nobody spoke, and the heavy silence drew on.

“I owe ya an explanation,” Hornigold sighed. Law snarled, verbal bile rising his throat and threatening to spew like a Knock-Up Stream. He barely managed to unclench gritted teeth to rip the other captain a new one (possibly literally) before the other captain held up a hand. “No, I know. Nothin’ I say can make dis better. Ya have no reason ta believe me, but I ask for da benefit of doubt. I did not betray ya ta Teach, and I did not mean for dis ta be a trap.  I promised ya a neutral and safe meeting and dat promise has been broken. So da least I owe ya is an explanation on why an’ how, though ya might not like da story.” The other captain inhaled, “Ta start off, I picked up Edward Teach back when he was’a brat,” Hornigold revealed quietly.

The surgeon’s eyes narrowed even as he internally spasmed at this reveal. He knew that Hornigold had been around for a while, but the man didn’t look as old as being Blackbeard’s former captain would imply. But then again, who knew the properties of the Mirage Fruit?

Hornigold couldn’t meet Luffy’s eye, but he still managed to meet Law’s poisonous glare with a weak, sheepish grimace of his own.  “Lonely kid and a crybaby. Knew somethin’ terrible happened ta him back den but I didna know what. And back den, I was still a green rookie. Made the mistake of not carin’ enough to check. Just’a new cabin boy, I thought. An’ everyone’s got a sad story. Everybody’s got a bit of a past, ‘specially da ones who run for da sea. Just’a kid, what could he do?”

The silence continued, the look of conflict on his face.

“He already knew a bit’a shipcraft. Bu’ we taught ‘im how ta be a pirate. I taught ‘im how’ta read. Gave ‘im ma copy of da Devil Fruits Analog after I accidentally ate ma own, ‘cause he always seem so damn interested. But he didna get along with da rest of the crew, an’ when we was settin’ up in da New World, we met Whitebeard. Teach volunteered to represent us an’ meet dem, vouch for our case of staying independent. Next thing we heard, he was part of da Old Man’s crew.”

This finally inspired a reaction from the Straw Hat captain, a deep frown creating a disapproving scowl on his face. Glancing at him, Hornigold chuckled flatly.

“Yeah, dat was our reaction too,” Hornigold agreed. “Dunno wha’ story Teach told da Old Man, but he’d gone an’ join da Whitebeards. Meanwhile, we coul’nt enter Whitebeard’s territory for da longest time til I had a face ta face with da World’s Strongest Man himself. Apparently, there was’a misunderstanding between how Teach felt and how I saw things. So for a while, da Whitebeards thought we was da scum of da earth. Even for folks like us.”  There was more pronounced grimace. “I warned him, ya know, da Old Man. I said dat a man who could turn on a crew he sailed with for years on end just like dat was bound to do it ‘gain. It’s like letting a sea scorpion-serpent have free range of your living space. Might not bite ya as quick when ya’re the one feeding it, but it’ll swallow you in the night soon as it thinks there bigger fish to fry. But by den, Teach was one’na his sons and he woul’na hear another word of it.” He ran an agitated hand through dirty blonde hair, a troubled look on his face that Law found no pity for. “That’sa why Imma never gonna be Teach’s man, and why I woul’na betray you for that piece of gutter-shit. I know ‘im. Even if this wasn’a suppose to be business and ta ma benefit, I’d do it out of spite. Bu’ I get dis doesn’t put me in da best light either. Sorry for da trouble.”

“This meeting is over,” Law growled. “We refuse your proposal for an alliance.”

Hornigold nodded without any surprise, eyes dark and tired and resigned.

Reaching to his side, the captain didn’t so much as tense as Law brought the butter knife up, the surgeon’s long fingers already curling. Instead, he plopped a leather roll onto the table between them, one Law regularly saw navigators use to store scrolls. And indeed, Hornigold shuffled the top off the three-foot roll to reveal thick curls of heavy parchment.

“This is a list of da groups currently after ya. An’ these are maps with some routes ya can take ta avoid zones where yer pursuers tend ta flock ta in order ta set traps. I’m also givin’ ya dis,” he explained as he set down an Eternal Log Pose and what looked like a badge with a gray coin set in the center on the table as well. “Be careful with these. It’s an Eternal Pose to an archipelago hidden from the Marines called Nassau. A pirate republic an' a haven. I’ll call ahead, an’ all ya gotta do’s show dem da badge. Nassau is protected. Once ya’ve entered, nobody can come after ya. If ya wanna lose ya current tails? You go an’ leave separately from dere. Too many pirates comin’ in an’ out an’ around da area fer ya ta be tracked easily,” he swallowed quietly, and murmured quietly. “Take it. Decide whether ya’ll use it or not, but I owe it ta ya lot ta at least try ta help ya. De promise of neutrality was broken. A debt is owed.”

As Luffy studies the one repentant and one unconscious captain, not even glancing at the offerings, Law hissed in irritation. Throwing subtlety to the wind, he seized the front of Hornigold’s shirt.

Pulling the man practically over the table, the surgeon growled, “For all we know this is another trap—“

“Okay.”

A familiar hand with the recognizable feel of rubber and callouses (because the feel of rubbery callouses would always be unique), came to a rest on Law’s forearm. It wasn’t a tight grip, just fingers encircling the gloves that covered his tattooed forearms. Law turned to protest only to see that Luffy was now looking at him, meeting his eyes with an unshakable determination.

“Okay,” the Straw Hat Captain repeated, as if that solved everything.

Letting go of Law’s army, Luffy clumsily shuffled the roll back together and slung it over his shoulder before grabbing the badge and Log Pose. Tch’ing in annoyance, Law roughly shoved Hornigold back, sending the man tripping into his seat. Catching the badge and Log Pose tossed to him, Law somehow managed to pocket both into his tight pants and started heading for out. Hornigold could pay for the bill.

Pausing when he realized that Luffy wasn’t immediately following, he turned back to see Luffy resting a hand on the sitting captain’s shoulder.

“You don’t seem like a bad guy for someone who steals hats, Lucky Old Man,” Luffy declared solemnly, and Law wouldn’t have heard it if he wasn’t focused on hearing what was being said. “Don’t lose.”

Felicio swallows thickly, a tired grief written on his face. “Thanks…Straw Hat.”

Their journey back to the ship was unusually solemn, simply them walking side by side without a word or smile. For Law, this wasn’t too out of character, but he was worried about the fact that the rubber captain seemed to be so deep in thought. It was the same look the younger man got whenever his mind wandered to something that had him quietly looking out at the sea or lounging somewhere with a frown and his hat shadowing half his face.

Whatever contemplations was going on, it left even Law’s throat clicking and catching in aborted attempts to…what? Alleviate the tension? Reassure his ally of…what? Because this uncharacteristic silence was making even Law feel wary and uncomfortable, uncomfortably side-eying the young man. But despite the temptation and the way half-formed words caught halfway out, the older D kept his mouth firmly shut. It was not his place to interfere. Whatever the Straw Hat Captain was turning over in his mind, the rubber young man had to figure out himself.

“Ne, Torao,” the younger captain finally broke the silence, his serious tone low and strangely careful despite the fact he was still in a female body. “We have to be careful, huh…?”

It was something of an obvious statement. They were in the world’s most dangerous sea harboring some of the world’s most wanted people on top of being very much wanted themselves. There were dozens upon dozens of different groups and individuals after their heads and trying to chase them down into the ground. Presently, they were disguised in order to sneak onto a Navy-infested island to talk to a fishy information broker, whose partner turned out to be one of Blackbeard’s spies. So obviously, yes. Yes, they had to be careful

But this was Monkey D. Luffy with all his casualness of the world in general. Who nonchalantly broke the cardinal rules of the world and didn’t bother to worry over such minor things like consequences. So there was a different meaning, a different weight, a different direction taken when it was this young man who mused that they should be careful. Because it wasn’t things like death (which he faced with a smile) or a challenge (which he charged at) or the loss of a battle and treasure (he was perfectly willing to run away while laughing like a lunatic and throw whatever shiny thing found back into the sea).

Law thought about the look of devastation on Hornigold’s face as he looked at Alessandri Judas. He thought about the way Blackbeard’s spy sneered and smirked at him and his rubber ally, but was refused to turn his body to face the Lucky Captain. The Hearts Captain thought about the shuttered, dead look that had overtaken the information dealer’s face; the revelation that there was only one way such a betrayal could be dealt with, the damning and falsely-casual phone call, the way he looked into some middle distance with a firm if grieving resolution in the lines of his body.

The surgeon’s grip tightened around the rubber hand he was holding.

“Yes.”

He could feel eyes looking at him; studying him in that wide-eyed, indecipherable focus that felt both like a test and as if there was no brain in that rubber head. It left Law unable to do anything but feel both uncomfortable and peeved that he was being examined the same way as the other two. The silence lasted a few more minutes, the younger man-temporarily-turned-woman almost audibly chewing on something in his mind over something he had deciphered about Law.

“Hey,” he piped up again. “Are you going to betray me?”

It was such a heavy question asked in such a careless way. No threat, no anger, no expectation for any one specific answer. Just the young man’s own simultaneously heavy yet light-hearted gravity and a neutral, wondering curiosity. Almost as if asking Law if he was sure—absolutely sure—he didn’t want to try Sanji’s freshly baked bread. Because even when asking about betrayal, Monkey D. Luffy will expect an honest answer and accept whatever was given to him without pause, even if it was a negative or a lie. And there was a weight to that trust, an intensity in the look when he asked.

Law remembers an ice cave and a naive question asked a bit more casually than this one. But at the time, he had given an honest enough answer. Now, there was a history between them that lent more depth and meaning to what was asked. Here, Law’s answer was given with conviction.

“No,” he sighed. He might regret this. Law knew better than most that you could never truly know what the future would contain. He might one day betray Luffy, truly betray him. After all, they were pirates. Criminals. The bad guys. But… “We may have a falling out or an arranged fight. But I will not betray you, Luffy-ya.”

When he turned to look at the smaller captain, he was met with the blinding grin that took up half of that rubber face. But before he could say anything else, they were interrupted by a sudden catcall.

“‘Sup with you, girl?! Why don’t you come hang out with us instead?”

Law glared out of corner of his eyes at the group of young men looking over interestingly in their direction. They lacked the battle scars and the air that veteran Marines tended to wear like their damn jackets, especially in this ocean. Only half of them moved like they had any particular training, and the other half of the group ambled along in a way that suggested the spent more time on land than sea. Most likely, they were a mixture of local civilians and either Navy trainees or fresh meat. No doubt the cumulative brain chemistry resulting from too many idiots in one place trying to one up each other in a display ego and insecurity was what spurred them on to do something so collectively brain-dead.

Tsking through gritted teeth, the Hearts Captain determinedly grabbed his younger partner and pulled him closer, quickening their pace. No doubt they were attracted to what they saw as a gullible, young woman they could easily pull into their shit. One vulnerable and up for grabs because her male escort wasn’t “man” enough to be respected or seen as a threat. After the shit the two disguised captains had to deal with, such a mundane threat was laughable.

Law didn’t particularly feel like laughing though.

“Come on! You don’t wanna talk, sweetie?!”

“What’s goin’ on, boo?”

“Hey mama!”

“Ditch the gigolo! Telling ya girl, this is where it’s really at!”

They were fucking following them down the fucking street.

“Oh my gods, look at this prize here!” 

Law determinedly kept his eyes forward. They couldn’t risk attracting the Marine attention that would result from a scuffle, especially considering there were Marine trainees in the group. 

“Listen. C’mon, listen! I know a place that’s hiring…”

There was the intense urge to physically stick their heads up their asses. It would certainly be beneficial for the persistent shitheads who were shuffling closer. Give them a new perspective on life.

“I’ll massage your feet, if you want. ‘Cause you’ve been running through my mind all day.” 

At this point, even Luffy was starting to pay attention.

“You ain’t like that one? No, she ain’t like it. You can tell she ain’t like it.” 

He sighed, exhaling through his nose calming and fortifying.

“Lu-ya, I need you not to tell Nami-ya about this.”

“Eh?”

“Smile, baby!”

The taller captain smoothly tugged his younger ally across his front, effectively pulling him away from the dead shit walking who had been hovering over Luffy’s other shoulder. Letting the calloused hand slide out of his own, he abruptly swung the opposite shoulder waist and shoulder around to slam his elbow into the catcaller’s face hard enough that the punk’s feet left the ground.

Law could feel his usual, thin smirk pull helplessly at his lips at the punks’ stunned look. The way they physically flinched back by what his crew called his creepy come-at-me smile was satisfying to say the least.

Judging by their surroundings (the idiots had followed them into a side street heading out of town and they had stopped in a part in between the ranges of the surveillance snails) and the fewer people (most who were either pointedly ignoring them or closing their windows), they had five minutes before someone with authority or a passing soldier (off or on duty) would interfere. Maybe thirty seconds less.

The still-blonde pirate captain’s thin smirk stretched into a truly murderous length. Unperturbed, his smaller partner answered his bloodlust with an excited wild smile of his own and an animalistic understanding in his eyes. If Law didn’t look below Luffy’s shoulders, it was just like any other brawl with the young man bouncing on the balls of his feet and chomping at the bit.

“Don’t lose the papers,” Law warned half-heartedly.

Four minutes and thirty seconds was more than enough time to finish and escape.

“You,” Nami accused darkly. “You are just as bad as Luffy!”

“I take offense to that,” Law huffs, brows furrowed and just this side of petulant. “No one is as bad as Luffy-ya.”

Zoro looked on with a raised eyebrow as their surgeon ally pointedly focused on nursing bruises (a souvenir from Luffy’s exuberant interference and then some from the redhead she-demon yelling at him) and determinedly refused to look in the navigator’s direction. Apparently, somehow, Law had decided to take on some ragtag group of bystanders. There was something about trying to keep it quiet, but it was Luffy, and you can’t expect much of anything besides him laughing and jumping into the fight. Skirt and all. And while Zoro’s captain had come out of it alright (and without anybody suspecting there was something off with his body, thanks to the massive gap in skill and physical prowess), the Hearts Captain had bruises from being physically thrown and dragged around by aforementioned Straw Hat Captain. And then eventually being slingshoted onto their fleeing ships.

Ha. At least it wasn’t Zoro this time.

Torao ought to be used to it by now anyways. Plus, unlike the rest of them, the guy with the Operation Operation Fruit could cheat in a way the rest of them couldn’t. Even as he was being yelled at, the dreary guy was using some trick of his Devil Fruit powers to accelerate the bruising and healing process even as he carefully rotated and flexed his jaw.

Honestly, the one-eyed swordsman didn’t see what was the big deal. So their captains got into a random brawl and probably two dozen people saw Luffy’s underwear because like the rubber man gave a fuck. Uncomfortable, but ultimately it wasn’t worth mentioning. Additionally, Zoro doubted their allied captain would have gotten into a fight in the first place if the deal with Hornigold hadn’t ended in such a shitty way. That and the whole Blackbeard spy thing was much more worrying. So the later squabble wasn’t a big deal except for the embarrassment and discomforting factors.

Well, and also they had gotten chased out of town. With even more authorities now after them.

Hornigold’s info was proving good so far though, so he was satisfied with the situation as a whole. The witch on the other hand…

With a wordless snarl, seemingly too exasperated for words, Nami stormed away.

Meanwhile, their own captain was sleeping off his recent change back into a real boy. Apparently, Ivankov’s powers took a toll on Luffy’s body in a way that it didn’t for anyone else. Something about exposure leading to immunity which led to there being greater doses needed or something like that. Honestly, Zoro wasn’t interested. His captain was fine, so that was that. Sometime during the explanation, Law had started muttering something about research, the purple-haired Revolutionary, and working up the nerve to approach that sheer mount of flamboyant ridiculousness and mortal danger embodied in one person. The sleepy tiger swordsman snickered to himself and made a note to be awake for when that little confrontation happened. After an examination by Chopper and a blonde Law respectively, the straw-hat young man was sent off to bed. Knowing Luffy, the green-haired swordsman was well aware that any extended use of “Iva-chan’s” power was probably their leader’s own choice. If their captain really thought it was dangerous, he would have actually dodged. As a result, the swordsman diverted the Witch and the Shitty Cook every time they looked like they were going to have a go at their large-headed guest. Their captain wouldn’t be too happy if his war buddy got hurt.

However, Flamey Overprotective Older Brother v.2 sure as hell wasn’t his responsibility. Sabo had been berating the Hormone Controlling Human for the reckless sex change for a while now. In turn, said Human was causally brushing off Sabo’s scolding. And from what Zoro could hear, Sabo was still going at it.

Speaking of ruckuses…

“‘Trying to keep him from causing a ruckus’, huh?” Zoro quoted Law’s earlier words in a mocking, sardonic tone. Nami had certainly brought it up enough times when screaming at Law. And in the quiet moments, the one-eyed man delighted in getting a turn to torment his stoic, fellow swordsman.

“Tch,” Law clicked testily. “I never said I wouldn’t cause a ruckus.”

Zoro snorted. Spoken like a true D.

“You lost me a hella lot of money,” the swordsman complained lazily. “I was going to finally make some headway with the debt the Witch keeps extorting from me.”

“What,” was Law’s reply. In response to the ominous not-question that was mostly a warning to shut-up, Zoro yawned widely before lazily shifting himself down onto the lawn for a nap. At this point, Law’s creepiness and unspoken warnings couldn’t stop most people on the Thousand Sunny.

“I bet that you would do something eye-catching at the rendezvous with the lazy-eyed guy and the spy,” the Straw Hat’s first swordsman shrugged. “Robin won with it being random nobodies that made you lose it.” Zoro paused in consideration before tilting his head back with a sigh. “But at least it wasn’t The Witch. She keeps forgetting that you’re the same as Luffy. Hide it better, but you’re just as ridiculous. There was no way that things were going to end quietly.”

“…Somehow, it feels like Robin-ya rigged the bet,” the surgeon muttered.

Zoro grunted in agreement, “Probably. But try bringing it up with her.”

Law grimaced, “No thank you.”

The truth was that, in the few quiet, in-between moments when they actually interacted, Law and Zoro got on quite swimmingly. There was something to be said about similar temperaments. They were both paranoid and suspicious and watchful, but these were points that helped them understand each other. They watched each other like hawks, waiting for one wrong or hostile move, and would only get on for as long as they had an alliance. Neither of them seem to have the same kind of standards as the rest of the world, nor did they bother to follow the rules the rest of the world seem to insist on. It meant that they were both drawn to one particular rubber lunatic who changed everything.

“You’re good for Luffy,” Zoro admitted. At the inquisitive furrow in Law’s brow, quietly confused at the change in subject, the Straw Hat swordsman shrugged before elaborating. “That idiot does better when he has someone to compete against.”

Yes, this was the best set-up, the one-eyed man mused. The Straw Hats were Luffy’s crew, his treasure and family and precious people. They supported him from behind and their existence pushed him to become stronger. His promise to the Red-Hair Emperor and his dream pulled him forward, made him chase after it doggedly. But Luffy was ultimately a creature that lived in the right-here and right-now. Before, Ace was something of an ever-present goal. Zoro remembered how the brothers kept trying to one up each other, easy-going in each of their insistence that they would always or would soon be stronger. But Ace was gone, and Luffy would surpass anyone who stopped evolving. In the here and now, having someone stand on the same footing, someone aiming for the same goals and dreaming the same dreams…

Law’s response was a dry chuckle, “Nami-ya said something similar.”

The green-haired swordsman scowled, but then let it go with a sigh. “She would. Me, her, the Cook, and Usopp were the four that entered the Grand Line with Luffy. We were there when Luffy became a pirate. It’s not a bragging thing, it’s just that we’d be able to tell it best.”

There were a few moments of silence, one that was slowly becoming heavier until it was borderline tense. Despite his deceptively lax sprawl and closed eyes, Zoro wasn’t sleeping. This was a silence of the unsaid, of a confession, and the Straw Hat swordsman had a feeling it was something the Hearts Captain needed to say.

“Straw Hat-ya scares me sometimes.” If Zoro noticed the sudden switch back to the epithet, he didn’t react to it. “He has a pace. And it feels like everything and everyone he touches is caught up in it. Unpredictable, powerful, dangerous,” Law grimaced at the familiarity of it. “Even started his pirate career with four loyal crewmates. Just like….”

Doflamingo.

He didn’t have to say it. Not aloud. Because very few things made the older D go quiet like that and the green-haired swordsman was someone who read silences better than he did words.

The older man huffed, a genuinely bothered scowl pulling at his lips and a hand absentmindedly tugging at the still blonde hair, “But unlike Doflamingo, he doesn’t try. And that’s probably the scariest thing of all.”

Silence fell. It was something unusual, but at the same time felt like something momentous. Zoro turned the confession over in his head, the thought that a certain part of Law feared his smiling, bouncy captain. Nobody who actually knew or met Luffy was afraid of him. Even those who knew his potential and power was caught up in his captain’s ridiculousness and charm. And by the time they remembered again, they already loved him too much. What should have been fear was instead awe and often hope. If anything, Zoro was the one to be feared and be intimidated by. So, in fact, was Law.

But the other swordsman could see where the older D was coming from. For someone afraid of being caught and trapped in someone else’s influence, Luffy would certainly be an exercise in contradictions. Easy to love, but hard to forget that this was the man who pulled the entire Maineford War battle into his pace. Easy to laugh with, but difficult to forget his rage at Doflamingo daring to try to steal his or his friends’ freedom. Easy to look to him as a savior, but not easy to forget that a serious Luffy’s reaction to someone in his way was to take them out. Because at the end of the day, Luffy was a pirate, not a hero. Musing, Zoro decided to ask the question that mattered. Because he couldn’t fix the other captain’s fears, and neither was it his duty to address it. Ultimately, his responsibility was to his own captain’s wellbeing.

“Then why don’t you run?”

An explosive barking sound that couldn’t quite be called a laugh seemed to burst from Law’s throat, accompanied by a sardonic smirk, “I’ve been trying to turn the world on its head for so long. It would be hypocritical of me to run from a man who’s doing just that, don’t you think?”

“You can leave,” Zoro grunted and stood up. Standing over the surgeon, he rested one hand lazily in his haramaki. “Luffy’s Luffy. You know how he is about people’s freedoms. If you want to go, then just go. No one will stop you. That’s the freedom Luffy believes in.”

“Freedom from obligation, from your past, from your burdens…,” the older D mused with a bitter, sardonic tilt of his mouth. “That freedom is rather frightening too.”

“Well, following him certainly isn’t for the faint of heart,” Zoro grimaced, because he could still vividly remembering what it was like at the beginning… “But there’s other reasons why you’re still here,” he smirked. “There’s other reasons why you’ll come back.”

“We’re all heading for the same place, of course we’ll meet up again.”

“No, you’ll come back,” Zoro emphasized with no small amount of smugness. “There’s a difference. But you already know that.” The one-eyed man’s gaze narrowed and slid to look out of the corner of his eyes, clearly listening. “Luffy’s awake.”

As if on cue, there was the muffled sound of a door slamming open and yelling coming from below deck. Law snorted and refused to think about how fond it sounded. Together, he and Zoro listened as (good-hearted) chaos and screaming started echoing around the ship. Eventually, Luffy was eventually herded to their part of the deck.

The rubber man (that was now once again in a male body) blinked at them with his wide eyes, brows furrowed in confusion, “What are Torao and Zoro doing? Is it interesting?”

The surgeon rolled his eyes, “Just talking about how you are one scary motherfucker, Straw Hat-ya,”

“Huh? I’m not scary.”

Zoro finds his mind wandering back a memory of large Straw Hat-themed ship where Luffy yelled about what wanting to be Pirate King and ‘no one important’ in the same breath. He can practically feel Law’s exasperated scowl.

“Sure you’re not, Straw Hat-ya. How did the operation go?”

“And what happened with you calling me by my name?” Luffy seemed to pinpoint. “I liked that. And fine. Iva-chan is grumpy, but I have all my parts again. But Iva said it was okay that we beat up those jerks. Dunno what they wanted, but they were annoying.”

There was a sound that could be called a groan in a lesser man. “Luffy-ya, just…be more aware of how people approach you. And I’m not just talking about Judas or those idiotic catcallers…”

“Huh, so it was dangerous?”

“It could’ve gotten dangerous,” the surgeon hedged. Because in all honesty, Luffy could have literally knocked out all the random thug nobodies in one (stretchy) swing. “There’s a good chance that over time, the people who approach you will be too dangerous for you to take on if you’re caught by surprise.”

“Hmmm,” Luffy hummed thoughtfully. “Okay, then. I don’t get it, but I trust Torao.”

Law sighed with a distinct air of resignation, “My thanks, Luffy-ya.”

Zoro rolled his eye, because the surgeon had been with them long enough to know exactly how futile trying to teach Luffy about “stranger-danger” was. Snorting at the way he could visibly see the older D soften when in the rubber captain’s presence despite earlier confessions of fear, he turned his back and strode away. Lazily waving a vague ‘I’ll-leave-you-to-it’ hand gesture at the two over his shoulder, Zoro went searching for one of his favored spots.

They clearly had things to discuss.

“I’ll be going soon,” Law admitted stiffly, letting his chin sink just enough for the bill of his hat to shadow his eyes and block out the younger captain’s face. In a rare moment of weakness, he couldn’t bring himself to meet Luffy’s gaze in the face of that admittance. Not after the frankly tiring amount of serious conversations he’d suffer just for today. He was done. “If this pirate republic is what Hornigold says it is, then it’ll be our best chance to safely split up and throw off pursuers.”

"Torao...," Luffy murmured. Suddenly, a determined look crept onto his face that spelled nothing but trouble for everyone else. Without warning, the rubber captain had lunged over to wrap his arms Law’s neck and head, pulling him against a familiar, flat chest. With the younger man hovering over him and the confining embrace, Law tensed at first, braced for the panic that came from the touching and of someone looming over him.

It never came. 

Maybe because his allied captain was smaller than him. Maybe because he was looming over Law with a large, determined smile that was all excitement and sureness and open understanding and 'I promise'. A smile flashed a thousand times in a hundred little situations and a handful of larger ones. It was a large cat purring on his chest. A rubber comforter pulled up against him. Home in the only way he would have ever accepted it after having pushed away the concept so long in his grief; determined and unrelenting without being smothering. Just arms resting easily around his shoulders and head and surrounding him.

“Don't worry,” the rubber captain chortled cheerfully. “We'll see you each other again!"

"Why do you always sound so sure about these kinds of things?” Law sighed into the scarred chest; fond and mystified in equal terms.

The older D could see without looking that the younger man was making a befuddled face down at him, "Eh? Because we're nakama. Of course, we’ll see each other again. Torao is important.”

'Why?' Law wanted to ask. ‘Why?’

"Don't try to find a reason for somebody's love!"

“Neither you nor Luffy have to live for anybody but yourselves and your achievements are nobody’s ‘cept your own. That’s your freedom.”

He was allowed this, wasn’t he?

There was a heaviness to his limbs as he reached up. A weight to it as he wrapped his arms around the young man who changed everything. Two arms around the slim waist as Law carefully didn’t curl up into the embrace, squeezing the other in a way that would have left a ring of bruises on anyone who wasn’t as simultaneously firm and plaint as a rubber stress ball.

"Yeah," his voice was scratchy. Clearing it, he tried again. "We're both aiming for the top after all. We’ll see each other whether we want to or not."

"Shishishishi!" and Law could feel the laughter through his own body. "Of course!"

Downwind from where the two captains were talking, Zoro leaned back against Sunny’s solid railing with his arms crossed behind his head, ready for a nap. Initially, Zoro was planning to go sleep in the weight room, which provided a bit more privacy and was a little further from the almost routine chaotic noise of the rest of the ship. However, after some musing about the situation he left behind, he ended up drifting to one of his usual spots on deck.

Depending on the day and the wind blowing, the acoustics of the ship allowed him to hear snatches of noise from most parts of the Sunny as long as he chose the right spot. The swordsman had long since learned to sleep through the familiar clamor and chaos of the rest of the crew. If he slept in the right spots, any unfamiliar chords of noise would wake him. And while he couldn’t hear everything that was being said, he got the general gist of the captains’ conversation. Like most things, Luffy had effortlessly dismissed or settled whatever issue Torao was brooding over.

Good. They couldn’t afford their ally to lose his edge now. The New World was merciless, its inhabitants and the major players even more so.

Zoro would be glad to always walk at Luffy’s side, just half a step behind on the rubber man’s right. Even when they had to separate, he would always come back. They all would.

The Surgeon of Death was a different story. But no doubt, he played a vital role in their climb to the top.

Luffy was going to be Pirate King, it was in his very nature to seek out new challenges to take on. After all, good challenges were half the fun. Zoro doubted there was ever a time that his captain didn’t try to take on something bigger and tougher.

Law was one more whetstone Luffy would use to grind himself into a higher polish, a sharper edge. But in him, the rubber man had also found someone who stood in the same arena. They would butt heads and push each other higher in the New World.

Yes…Trafalgar Law would do.

Chapter Text

Just who is going to be the third party....?

INTRODUCING:

THE STRAW HAT PIRATES led by “Straw Hat” Luffy.

THE HEARTS PIRATES led by “The Surgeon of Death” Law.

THE VONGOLA CRIME FAMILY led by its 10th head, “Neo-Primo” Tsunayoshi.

And FINALLY

THE BEST FOR LAST

Yeah I have no idea yet.

I need one more group. One tight-knit group with one central figure and a group willingness to protect that leader. Like the Vongola 10th gen, that will be incorporated into One Piece, but they don’t necessarily need to be pirates. For example, the Leverage team makes for a viable team of…well…thieves. Navy, military, mercenaries, bounty hunters, privateers, etc. It all goes except for island inhabitants. 

The current candidates are:

Naruto: Captain of the cursed demon ship Kyuubi (who is really more grumpy than anything else), with his crew of the Leaf Twelve. They are part of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves and a mercenary nation not dissimilar to the Vinsmokes.

Kanata Kara: Kia Tarj Izark and his fiancee Tachiki Noriko, both traveling as part of a roving, naval gypsy group with their companions.

Leverage: A team of thieves and con artists. They are very good at what they do.

Legend of Korra: An independent privateer group led by Captain Korra on a mission to track down and collect the scattered descendants of their country's Air Nomads. A member of their country's Water Tribe, Korra is unparalleled on or in the water and strong martial artists.

Kuroshitsuji: The Queen's Watchdog is commanded by Earl and Captain Ciel Phantomhive and his first mate, Sebastian. Technically, the ship is one of an entire fleet belonging to the Funtom Corporation, a naval trading/merchant company . However,  in reality the Phantomhives have always actually been under the direct orders of their country's Queen and often take care of the seedier, darker, and dirtier business needed. In certain circles along the Grand Line and the Four Blues, the shadowy presence of the Phantomhives are known simply as "the Aristocrats of Evil".

So if YOU have a suggestion, please share in the comments below! And if your pick is chosen, I would love to have you in a cameo during the fic!

Thanks for your time, guys!

Look forward in the future for Custom of the Coast!