Summary: After the death of Corazon and his escape from Doflamingo, Law thought that he would never come to love or trust anybody ever again. That is, until this blond idiot came along and taught him the meaning of friendship... and the importance of ramen.
-"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend - or a meaningful day."
~ Dalai Lama
Walking in the Dark
Chapter 1
Trickster and the Surgeon/ A Fateful Meeting
The flames were stretching high towards the skies, painting it a deep, red hue - the same color as the blood that was spilling on the floor.
The horrifying screams were unbearable, nearly defeaning and threatening to swallow him up with their intensity.
He didn't know what hell looked like, but he assumed that this scenery was as close to it as it was going to get.
His knees found their way to the ground, and all he could do was stare with wide eyes as everything was incinerated around him.
Gun shots echoed, the sound of lead meeting flesh and blood spilling on the concrete floor haunted him.
And through it all, he couldn't move. Couldn't do anything about it.
"Nii-san."
And their voices… he kept hearing their voices. It didn't matter that he covered his ears strong enough to the point that he could crush his own skull, the voices still echoed all around him.
"Law."
'Go away.'
They simply got louder and louder. He shut his eyes closed, unable to see if they were actually there before him - staring at him with the cold, accusing eyes of the dead.
"Why didn't you save me?"
"Why did you leave me behind?"
"Law, you should've died with us."
"Hey… hey, Law."
"Law."
"It should've been you instead."
"Hey."
"Hey! Kid! What are you doing here!"
His eyes opened wide in surprise, and Law found himself being dragged out of his hiding place inside the cupboard by a large hand.
He cried out as he was hoisted up in the air by his ankle, his captor looking as angry as the other crewmembers behind him that had gathered around.
The pirate glared at Law as he dangled in his grasps, and Law's frightened expression was replaced with one of anger. He glared at the pirates he had found himself hitching a ride with and proceeded to struggle in the crew member's grip.
"Put me down!" he growled.
The pirate holding his ankle smiled. "Think you can hitch a ride for free, huh?"
He motioned with his free palm at Law, "Come on, pay up. Otherwise we'll make you pay in other w- guha!"
Law struck quickly by punching the pirate in the most painful place possible - his crotch - making him release the young boy who flipped and landed smoothly on his feet.
"Don't let him get away!"
The pirates hoisted their weapons up, but Law was already on the move. He proceeded to make his way out of the kitchen where he had been hiding and ran up the stairs, all the while avoiding the pirates trying to catch him with the stealth of a weasel, by going underneath and between the legs of the taller men who pulled out their weapons and reached out to grab him.
Once he was outside with the pirates right behind him, he headed towards the railings .
"How hard is it to catch a damn kid!?"
Law headed for the railing, only to have his path blocked by a couple of pirates. That didn't stop him, however.
Recalling his training from the legendary karate-man known as Lao G, Law pushed his feet forward and skidded on the floor, easily sliding between the legs of one of the pirates and taking them by surprise.
"Shit! He's getting away!"
Law had his hands on the railing and ready to jump when the loud sound of a gun going off echoed, and he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder. Law's eyes widened in pain. Somebody had managed to knick him on the shoulder with a bullet. But, he couldn't stop to look at it as he jumped over the railing and landed painfully on the wood of the island's harbor.
He groaned as he clutched his bloodied shoulder and struggled to his feet.
"There he is! Get him!"
Law's pained eyes widened and he stumbled into a sprint towards the town of the large island, fully aware of the pirates climbing down the ship and chasing him down.
It didn't take long before he reached the town and ran through the crowd of people that turned to look his way with curiosity. Still, he ignored the stares as he heard the sound of the pirates' yell slowly fading in the distance the further away he got.
He slid and turned right on an alley, knocking down trash cans and anything that could slow his pursuers down. Then, he hid behind a large dumpster and tried to stop his loud panting breaths so he could listen better for his pursuers.
He closed his eyes and listened as the sound of rushing footsteps and angry yelling passed by the alley's entrance.
Once the sound of the pirates' yelling was gone, he sighed in relief, and slid down to the floor, only to flinch in pain when he felt the wound on his shoulder twitch painfully.
He removed the hand that had been clutching the wound tightly and grimaced at the amount of blood pouring from his shoulder and staining his already dirty clothes.
Just what he needed. Another injury to add to the long ass list.
Law sighed and slowly removed his cloak so as to not rustle his wound. He moved his shirt slightly to reveal the bloody wound, wincing slightly when the cold wind of the island hit it. Using his left hand, he tore off a piece of his cloak's hem and proceeded to wrap it tightly around his shoulder.
At the very least, the bullet didn't really make that much damage. It could've been worse. It could've hit him point blank and lodged itself inside his body, causing an even worse injury that he would have trouble treating on his own. Instead, he was left with a decent size knick that wouldn't stop pouring blood so far.
He gritted his teeth as he tied the self-made bandage into a knot and stood on shaky legs. The cloth wouldn't do much to stop the blood flow, so he had to move quick to gather the necessary supplies.
He placed his cloak once again over his body and repositioned his hat. He had to find medical supplies, and he had to make it quick. Not just for the bullet wound, but for all his other injuries that have gone untreated so far and could become more of a hassle in the future.
When he had been in the pirates' ship, the only thing he had managed to swipe from the pirates was food from the large pantry he had been hiding in. Because they hadn't hit land in a week since Law's tresspassing, he couldn't leave his hiding spot and venture further than the kitchen to find some medical supplies. Leaving him to untreated wounds. Some of which, were still burning from the assault of the last pirate captain whose ship he had infiltrated.
He reached into his pockets and pulled out only a few Beli coins, much to his dismay. He was going to have to rely on different measures.
"Where did he go?!"
While staying out of sight of those pirates, of course.
He cursed his luck.
\~.0.~/
Oritsu Island was known in North Blue as one of the most boisterous islands in the entire ocean. The reason for this was simple.
It was an island that dedicated itself to gambling and a haven for pirates, the occasional marine, and basically anybody who could venture into it with no problems and had a passion for betting and money. Casinos were more common than restaurants and shops, while those who inhabited the island lived in the outskirts of the loud city, away from all the noise and danger.
While Oritsu Island was known for its lavish buildings and gambling history, the real beauty of it made itself known in the night. When the city lit up with the most beautiful and animated lights that were produced by the buildings. They were lights that never went off until the sun came back up.
But, being a gambling island, it of course was not immune to any fights that could transpire between players that weren't happy with the results of their matches.
Such was the case for one Pirate Captain that had been making a name for himself in the North Blue for a while now.
This was getting ridiculous.
The pirate's eyebrow twitched as he continued to eye the cards clutched tightly in his hands' grips.
He swallowed the lump that lodged itself in his throat and decided to pray to the God above as he made a decision.
With desperate vigour, he slammed the cards on the table and declared his hand.
"Full house!"
This was it. This had to be it. He had a good hand and there was no way the kid's luck could keep going steadily the way it had. He smirked when he noticed the way his opponent's eyes slightly widened.
That smile wiped off, however, when the other player's lips imitated his own's actions and drew a bigger, arrogant smirk.
His opponent calmly placed the cards on the table.
"Royal Flush."
The pirate's eyes widened. This had to be a joke.
His opponent cackled as he wrapped his arms around the large stacks of tokens and pulled them to his side, to add to the already large piles of tokens that he had collected throughout this long, arduous battle of poker.
The pirate captain and his crew gaped, disbelief marring their expressions from the pride-crushing loss that they recently sustained.
What had started out as a pirate captain happily humoring an arrogant kid, turned into one of the most soul-crushing moments of his entire life. Even the civilians that had been lounging around the casino and playing their own games before the game started, were gawking at this kid's victory over one of the most notorious captains of the North Blue.
The kid continued to cackle as he counted his winnings over the older man, further bruising his already damaged pride and reputation.
Something which he would not stand for.
He frowned and reached for the sword sheathed beneath his hash, all the while glaring at the oblivious kid who continued to laugh boisterously, completely unaware of the danger that awaited him.
Or perhaps, it was Captain "Rusty" Flounders who found himself in trouble.
\.~0~./
It's not like Law was proud of what he did.
Then again, he couldn't exactly feel bad for it. After the shitstorm Life put him through (which he barely made out of alive) it was only right that Law did whatever necessary to pull through in such a crappy world.
Which is why he was once again running through the streets with a stolen medical kit in hand, a bloody wound on his right shoulder, and an angry doctor trailing after him. But, judging by the lack of screams behind him, he had to guess that he had already lost the old man a couple of blocks back.
Still he rounded the corner and glued himself to the wall, attempting to catch his breath and listening closely for the angry man's voice or the yells of a pissed off pirate crew that could probably still be after his tail.
Once he was convinced that none of his pursuers were nearby, Law sighed and slid down the wall, gripping the kit tightly to his chest.
This was what his life had been reduced to.
He placed the kit on the concrete floor and flipped the locks open.
Being on the run from the Donquixote Pirates that were - no doubt - still after him like wolf on wounded deer.
He pulled his cloak from his shoulder and began to untie the make-shift bandage that was already dripping with blood, making him even more aware of the lightheadedness he was feeling from the blood loss.
Sneaking into merchants' and pirate ships in order to venture from island to island.
He rustled through the kit's contents and pulled out the antiseptic, which created a loud 'pop' noise as he removed the top.
Stealing in order to survive.
He hissed as he poured the antiseptic over the wound and reached over for the stitches that he found at the bottom.
Barely even living at all.
His hands were shaking, making it impossible to slip the thread through the small hole of the needle. He cursed himself as he felt the sting of salty tears in his eyes. Shit, at this point he might as well pass out from blood loss.
'You were the one that was hurting...'
He took a deep breathe.
Now was not the time to feel pity for himself. He had a wound on his shoulder that needed mending, and a group of pirates that were after his ass. Not to mention that nighttime was slowly approaching, and he needed to find shelter.
He exhaled slowly, and opened his eyes now filled with renowned determination.
No, right now was not the time to feel pity.
He grabbed the thread and poked it through the hole.
This would be easier if he had somebody to help him, but beggars can't be choosers.
Or maybe his powers could help him with something like this. Then again, one could judge by the still visibile, but fewer, white patches in his skin, that he hasn't yet finished curing the disease that has plagued him for so long.
Still, he wasn't as bad as he was before eating the Ope-Ope no mi (or rather forced to eat), and there was no doubt that his lifespan had extended for plenty more years. He just needed more practice with his powers and then the White Lead Disease will be no more in his system.
Right now though, he had a wound to finish attending to.
Just as he finished applying the final stitch, however, he heard their voices.
"There he is!"
Law's eyes widened and he looked up to see the group of pirates from before standing at the end of the alley, the old doctor standing just as angrily with them.
"Get him!"
Law didn't hesitate - he threw everything in the kit and ran as fast as possible.
\.~0~./
"Well, you know what they say... beginner's luck, right?"
The kid was gloating.
The crew had been waiting for hours for Captain Flounders to finally give the order to behead the cocky brat, but so far, no signal had been given to so much as touch the boy. In fact, the Captain didn't look angry at all anymore… which was way worse.
Captain Flounders had three levels of anger: The slightly annoyed, the angry "angry" one that people usually end up in, and this one: the silent but deadly.
His face was cold, and expressionless like a white mask as he eyed the cards that were scattered all over the table. To any passerby, the Captain might look like he didn't care or was even dead inside, but the crew knew better: Rusty. Was. Pissed. And it only made them even more nervous causing sweat to pour down their temples.
Still, the kid laughed and remained oblivious to the Captain's explosive fury. Instead, he wrapped his arms around the remaining tokens and pulled them towards him.
"Tough luck, Captain," continued the kid, then he shrugged. "Might as well go cash these in th-?"
"How about one more game?"
The crew flinched and froze, their eyes bulging as their Captain finallly spoke after what felt like hours of silence.
The kid stilled, and his smile diminished slowly. His eyes flickered nervously and he cleared his throat. "I don't think you're in the place for another game, Rus-ossan."
The Captain's lips turned up into a cold, frightening smile. "Come on, kid, surely you can spend five more minutes with an old man such as myself. And this time," He slammed a small chest on the table and opened it up. Everybody within a five feet radius stared in shock at the shining gold that lit up the room. "It's all or nothing."
The kid eyed the gold with greedy glee, taking into consideration his choices and the consequences. Still, every time his rational brain came up with a reason to not take this chance, his heart jumped in by crying out "Gold" or "Money" every time, thus making every argument moot.
He smiled and motioned for the game keeper to gather up the cards. "Fine."
The Captain's smile widened and he gripped the Game Keeper's hand, frightening the poor skinny lad who froze and didn't dare move an inch for fear of his life.
"No. No more cards," he said.
The kid looked confused.
The Captain motioned to the other side of the game room, and the kid's eyes widened when he turned to see what the Captain was talking about.
Well, shit.
\.~0~./
Law didn't dare stop.
The guys had weapons and were hellbent on killing him just for hitching a ride in their ship. Thinking about it now, they couldn't seriously be wasting their precious time chasing a thirteen year old kid that stowed away in their ship, right? Surely they had a better schedule in hand?
But, instead, here they were chasing said thirteen year-old kid down the already darkened streets of what Law could easily guess was Oritsu Island, a place that he had visited only once and made him revisit a memory that he had no wish of revisiting.
"You simpletons seriously can't catch a simple kid?!"
Law gasped when he heard another gun go off and a bullet found itself lodged on concrete close to his feet, nearly hitting his flesh.
Shit, these guys were persistent. He made twists and turns that should've made it difficult for other people to follow him, as well as knocked down trash cans and crates to slow down his pursuers, and ventured in through the large crowds of people going from one casino to another. Yet, so far, Law had been unable to lose them.
He turned down another alley, only to be stopped by a member of the pirate crew standing on the other end wearing a large cocky smirk.
"Got you!"
Law's eyes widened and he skidded to a stop, instead making a sharp turn to go back the way he came from, only to be blocked by the other members of the crew.
He cursed. He was cornered. Literally a rat surrounded by a whole bunch of stray cats.
"Alright, kid," spoke the pirate that had found him in the first place and was standing at the front of the crew. "Look, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
Law's eyes narrowed. "You're seriously wasting your time chasing a kid for sneaking into your ship."
"Oi, oi, I don't think you understand, brat," retorted the man, "For a kid to wriggle his way into the Rusty Pirates' ship is no small crime. If the Captain found out, he'd have our heads." He unsheathed his sword and directed it towards the small boy, who took a step back. "If you're not going to pay up, then taking your head to the captain should be a good enough reward to make up for the food and supplies you stole."
He took a step towards Law, forcing him to take another back. His eyes flickered right and left in an effort to find an escape route from the pirates that were inching closer and closer. There was no way out. He couldn't escape, and he doubted any of the players in the city would come in to help him. They were either too drunk, too focused on their game, or just simply didn't care that a thirteen year old boy was about to be decapitated in a dark alley.
There was only one way out of this.
The pirate stepped closer until he was only one foot away from Law, and he smiled as he raised his sword up in the air.
Law clenched his fists and crouched down slightly.
He had to fight.
The pirate brought his sword down with a loud cry, but Law was fast and he sidestepped before the sword could so much as scratch him, making the pirate hit concrete floor. Law sneaked below the pirate and raised his knee, making contact with the older man's stomach and causing him to gasp and bend over in pain.
Law didn't wait for him to recover, and ran towards the group of pirates that froze in shock after seeing their First Mate double over from a kid's simple kick.
He thought back to the few things he has come to learn since being force fed the fruit that granted him new and unimaginable abilities that could easily defeat large groups of enemies if trained right.
He lifted his hand and clenched his fingers.
"Room."
The pirates' eyes widened.
"What the-"
"What is this?"
A small, blue dome surrounded them. It flickered slightly as if the caster didn't have the necessary energy or experience to maintain it. Which was true.
Law's expression crunched up as if in pain or exhaustion, and raised two fingers up.
"Shambles!"
One second, Law had been heading straight for the pirates, the next, the kid was replaced by a small barrel that landed on the ground with a resounding thud.
The pirates gaped.
"A barrel?"
"How did he do that?"
"Where'd he go?"
The pirates looked around, in search for the small kid with white patches, only to find him gone.
"A Devil Fruit user," spoke the first mate who recovered from the kick to his stomach. He stood up and glared at the small barrel as if it were Law.
The pirates' eyes widened.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
"That small kid?"
The first mate didn't respond to their questions, and instead raised his foot and brought it down upon the small barrel, smashing it to pieces.
'And not just any Devil Fruit,' he thought, 'If I'm right, and this Devil Fruit is what I think it is…' His thoughts trailed off and his lips slowly raised up into a small smirk.
He looked up at the pirate crew gathered before him. "Find the kid! Bring him to me, alive!"
"Sir, but the Captain told us to meet up with him soon to carry out the plan," spoke the pirate standing on the other side of the alley.
"Don't worry about the Captain," spoke the first mate as he sheathed his sword, "I'll speak with him and get everything settled. The rest of you find that boy, now!"
The pirates nodded hesitantly and immediately left the alley.
The First Mate smirked. Looks like the Rusty Pirates weren't going to be leaving with just a shit load of money in tow.
\.~0~./
Crap.
He's never played Craps before.
Not only was it a game that he was unexperienced in, but the rundown the Captain gave him did absolutely nothing to help him understand even so much as the gist of it. His eyes narrowed as the dice he rolled once again landed on the number he wanted.
Make sure your dice lands in sevens. That's what he understood, and so far he had done well. As the game continued, he found himself winning just as he had before in the Cards table, with another small crowd slowly gathering to watch the young brat winning against a notorious pirate captain.
But, while the crowd was in awe over the kid's skill and luck, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was losing. It wasn't just that the captain kept smiling as if he wasn't about to lose his entire supply of money and gold, or the fact that the crewmembers looked just as confused as him over what was going on, but he got the feeling that the tides had switched against him and he was now the one being played.
He eyed the dice as it once again landed on the desired number and the crowd gasped lightly. The tokens on his side kept stacking up, but despite his easy winnings, he could tell that something was definitely wrong here. Still, that did nothing to deter him from flashing his victorious grin, nor mocking the losing captain.
"You still wanna go, old man?" he smirked.
The captain hummed as if in consideration and he took a puff of smoke. "How about this?" he spoke, his voice unwavered. "You get an eleven, and I might just throw in something much more valuable than the gold in my ship."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Such as?"
The captain smirked. "My entire crew and ship."
His crewmembers didn't skip a beat to oppose this.
"Captain, you can't be serious!"
"Come on, he's just a kid!"
"What the hell kind of bet is this?"
The captain sharply raised his hand in the air, ceasing his crew's arguments.
"So, what do you say?"
The kid's had widened considerably and his mouth opened and closed but no words came out. Eventually, he regained his composure and smirked once again.
"Wow, a captain giving away everything that makes him a Captain. That's really risky. You sure you want to go through with that?"
The captain simply continued to smile.
The kid sighed. "Guess there's no helping it then. What you say, goes."
He gripped the dice once again and shuffled them in his hand, at the same time, reaching down for that same power that he has grown so accustomed to and smirked as the invisible dome covered them once again, unseen by the people surrounding them.
Tension filled the silence and all the watchers stared unblinking as he finally threw the dice. Time slowed down as the dice rolled, and in that time, the boy did not stop to think about the severe mistake he had made.
The dice rolled and his eyes narrowed as they slowed down. The dice tipped slightly, something that went unnoticed by everybody except the boy and the Captain, who's eyes narrowed in sheer anger.
A six and five.
The watchers' eyes bulged out and they gaped.
"WHAT?!"
"He did it!"
"And the guy just bet his entire crew and ship against him!"
The boy smirked as the Dealer nervously slid the remaining tokens towards him.
"Well, that must really suck," he chuckled, "You have the worst of luck, but hey, I mean it's not like I'll leave you with nothing. You can keep your lackeys, I really only need the ship and-"
Everybody was taken aback as a large, meaty fist slammed against the table, completely shattering it to pieces and making splinters of wood and tokens flying everywhere.
The boy's eyes widened as Captain "Rusty" Flounders completely obliterated the table and stood crouched down with his eyes shadowed by his large hat and his body trembling in fury.
The boy gulped down the wad of saliva that gathered in his throat and raised his hands in defense. "Hey, hey, no reason to be a sore loser."
The Captain took one last shuddering breathe and stood up straight, his large form towering over the boy's small one.
"You know, I've been a Captain for a long time now," he spoke coldly, his voice causing shivers to rise up everybody's spine. "I've traveled across the four oceans, and even ventured into the Grand Line for a short period of time, and I've come face to face with so many kinds of people, all of them powerful within their own right.
The boy chuckled nervously. "Look, that's great and everything, but I'm not really interested in hearing about some old man's life."
The glare the older man directed his way had him gulping and nearly shake in his boots.
He. Was. Pissed.
"Do you think that I wouldn't recognize a Devil Fruit user when I see one?"
The boy slowly stood up from his chair and took some shaky steps back. "Devil Fruit? I have no idea what you're talking about, Old Man. I'm just a k-"
"I really don't like it…" the man took a threatening step forward, nearly covering the distance between himself and the boy, "When somebody makes a fool out of me."
He unsheathed the rusty blade he was known for and glowered at the frightened boy.
"Especially a lousy brat."
Yup. He screwed up.
Royally.
No pun intended.
\.~0~./
Law sighed as he slumped in a seat in one of the slot machines of the large casino. One of the beauties about Oritsu island, is that casinos here didn't really discriminate. Pirate, marine, old, young; the casinos didn't care so long as they got the money they wanted. And the lack of authority in this part of the North Blue made it easy to get away with it, not to mention that the marines that did come here were in no mood to report the happenings around here so long as they left with a pocket full of money. Which almost always happened if casino managers wanted to keep on doing what they were doing.
He had managed to get away and sneak into one of the many casinos that inhabited the island, where he finished tending to his wounds in the restroom before going into the game area to see if he had been followed inside by the pirate crew.
That had been a close call.
He clutched his chest tightly as he felt the debilitating weakness from having used his fruit power to get away from the pirates. Say what you will about the Ope Ope no mi; sure, it was powerful, but it also took away a shitload of energy in return. After the first time he had accidentally used his new powers, Law had found himself passing out from the amount of energy it took to create one of his 'Rooms'. Once he began cutting himself up to cure his disease, it hadn't exactly been an easy task.
Not to mention that his teleportation ability was all in all, exhausting. Law was lucky he didn't pass out as soon as he got away from the pirates.
Law shuddered. He really didn't want to be thinking about that at the moment.
He eyed the small patches in his arms.
He still had a long ways to go before he entirely got rid of the White Lead Disease that plagued him, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant experience.
Still, at least he didn't feel like he was on the brink of death, even though he currently had a group of pirates on his tail, and not just the ones on this island.
It was a crappy situation to be in, and he couldn't imagine how it could get worse.
"Get him!"
Law flinched and rapidly got off the chair and hid behind it. He peeked his head to see a group of people wearing a familiar insignia on their clothing.
'Shit', he cursed internally. 'How did they find me so fast?'
"Where did he go?"
He saw the pirates of the "Rusty Crew" standing in the middle of the gaming area, looking around for him if he were to guess. However, these pirates looked different from the ones that had been following him earlier. Still, he recognized their faces since he had seen them venturing into the kitchen and pantry various times while he was hiding.
They were probably warned by the other half of the crew of a kid that had sneaked into the ship and were now looking for him as well.
Great.
"Split up! Find that brat and bring him to Captain Flounders!"
Law stared at them for a second as they looked around the dark casino, lit only by the flashy lights of the games, before he began to back away slowly and eventually run off.
He hid behind games as well as people while trying to avoid the pirates looking for him.
"Hey!"
"Watch where you're going kid!"
He bumped into a few people and continued to speed-walk until, eventually, he found the exit, only to find it blocked by another member of Flounders' crew.
Law cursed and turned around to go the other way, only to find more pirates coming that way.
'They're freaking everywhere!' he thought in frustration as he continued to run and hide.
Eventually, he managed to find himself near the buffet area while trying to avoid the pirates roaming the casino.
He smiled when he saw the entrance of the buffet dining area, 'The kitchen has to have an exit.'
He narrowed his eyes when he saw a waiter guarding the entrance and checking people's wrists for a wristband. He searched around him and nearly whooped in victory when he saw a worker pushing a cart with cleaning supplies on it and heading towards the buffet area.
Law stealthily moved towards the worker, dodging people left and right until he reached the older man and pushed a customer towards him by the leg. The customer yelped from the shove, which caused him to bump into the worker and making him stop in his tracks.
The man quickly apologized and looked for whatever caused him to lose his balance, but by the time the men had finished talking, Law was already inside the large, yellow bag where janitors placed cleaning products.
Law felt the man begin to once again push the cart and his heart beat in anticipation.
"Huh? This actually feels a bit heavier," he heart the worker mutter. Law's heart began to beat much faster, but luckily the man didn't bother to look why the weight he was pushing increased.
"Hey, Mito-san! How are you?"
The cart stopped and Law cursed internally.
"Well, getting by. What about you?"
"Same old, same old."
Law bit his lips, praying to whatever entity that felt pity for him to make their conversation stop so they could move on.
"You here to clean the mess that guy made?"
"Yup. Still can't believe we let drunk people into the dining area, considering how fancy it is."
"Well, it's the way the bosses want it."
Law frowned. 'Oh, come on.'
"By the way, have you heard anything yet about the 'Projects?'"
The worker sighed. "No, not yet. But, honestly? I think we're going to lose this one."
'Mito-san' sighed. "I'm sorry about that," he said with all earnestly, "Just know that if you ever need anything, I am willing to help out."
"Thanks, Mito-san," he stated gratitiously. "Well, best get going. Vomit isn't going to clean itself."
"Alright, say hi to the family for me!"
"Will do!"
Law nearly sighed in relief when he felt the cart begin to move again. He heard the clatter of utensils making contact with fancy, pristine plates and the chatter grew louder while the noises of the coin machines sounded a bit further away.
"Oh, sorry about that ma'am, let me help you."
Law felt the cart stop once again. Quickly, he peeked his head over the bag to see the worker helping a lady by picking up a fork that she had most likely dropped. Looking around, he noted that people were too drunk and busy with their chatter to notice him, so he quickly jumped out of the bag and hid under a nearby table where there was only two people eating together.
He sighed in relief, grateful that the cloths were long enough to reach all the way to the floor.
"Hey! Have you two seen a boy running around here?"
Law's heart dropped and his whole body tensed up. Slowly, he glanced to the side and noted the dark, worn down boots he could see from the little view the cloth offered him.
"Boy? No, we haven't."
"Well, let us know if you see one!"
The boots moved away and Law's body relaxed slightly. He had to get moving. If the pirates were claiming to be looking for a boy, then management was going to get involved and start looking for him as well.
He grabbed the table cloth and opened it enough so he could peek outside. He noted a pirate near the entrance and another one asking questions. He scanned the dining area more until eventually, he saw a waiter carrying a tray of food and walking through a set of doors.
'Bingo,' he smiled. He trailed the path he could take quickly and began to move - going from one table to another, all the while keeping out of sight of customers, workers, and pirates until eventually he was a couple of feet away from the kitchen.
He watched from a table nearby, and eyed the doors.
How was he going to get in there?
Something caught his eye and Law turned to see a waiter walking towards the doors and heading to his direction.
He smiled. That's how.
\~.0.~/
Naruto panted as he hid under the table of the dining area.
Now, that was a close one.
Good thing luck was on his side.
He chuckled quietly at his inside joke.
The table had had snuck under had two people seated in it, so he tried not to touch legs or do anything that would give his position off.
Still, he had to find a way out of here.
He pulled up the cloth slightly and scanned the area until he found a cart with a cloth covering it and a tray of food on top, all the while being pushed by a waiter heading in his direction. He turned to see where the waiter was headed exactly and saw the doors that most likely head to the kitchen area.
He smiled.
Bingo
\~.0.~/
Law's heart beat in anticipation as the waiter grew closer.
Getting ready to carry out his master plan, Law's what body tensed up. Once the waiter was at a reasonable distance, Law grabbed the cloth from the other side of the table with two people, and pulled it.
He smirked when he heard the satisfactory sound of a woman yelping in surprise and kitchen cutlery falling to the ground.
"What happened?"
"I don't know."
"Here, let me pick this up , ma'am."
He quickly moved towards the other side and was pleased to find the cart with nobody around to see him, as the waiter was too busy helping the couple by picking up the cutlery on the other side of the table.
Faster than the eye could blink, Law sneaked under the covers of the cart and placed himself comfortably on the bottom rack of the cart, fixing the cloth so it would completely hide his figure.
"We'll call somebody here to clean up the mess, don't worry."
The waiter went back to pushing the cart, ignoring the fact that it had gotten much heavier than before.
\~.0.~/
Naruto held back the need to snicker as he heard the sound of doors opening and closing, as well as the voices of cooks moving around erratically and chefs yelling out orders.
And the smell… God, it smelled good. He wanted to stop and steal some food before leaving, but he knew that survival was far more critical right now.
He eventually felt the cart stop and heard the waiter throw some dirty dishes into the sink.
Naruto pulled up the cloth a little and scanned the kitchen, making sure that everybody was too busy working to so much as look in his direction. Eventually, his eyes landed on a door to the far right that had a window on it that let him see into the darkened night of the streets.
'Thank Kami,' he thought in relief.
Once again scanning the area, Naruto prepared to jump out of the cart and move towards the empty counter so he could hide behind it. Only to be stopped by a familiar loud voice.
"Is there an exit to the outside in this kitchen!?"
Naruto froze.
Crap.
His gaze turned to the other side of the room, where a group of five pirates and members of Flounders' crew stood blocking the entrance of the kitchen.
One of the chefs stopped barking orders and turned to them curiously, maybe even angry that his kitchen had been invaded by a group of rag tagged criminals.
"Yes there is. Why?"
"Ok guys. Look around! See if you can find him!"
The pirates split up and began to open and rummage through cupboards as well as pushed cooks out of the way to look behind counters.
"Hey! Who do you think you are!"
The pirate who had spoken earlier, a lanky man with a torn, dirty bandana smirked and pulled out a pistol that had been well-hidden within the folds of his dirty clothes, making the chef freeze in fright.
"We're members of the Rusty Pirates, led by Captain Flounders. A man with a bounty of 22,000,000 beri. And if you want to live, you'll tell us if you've seen a small boy wander around here."
"N-No. N-nobody is allowed in this kitchen," stuttered the chef.
"Well, then there's no reason why we can't check. Just to make sure," stated the cocky man before pulling his gun back.
"Look for them men!"
Naruto broke into nervous sweat.
Well… shit.
\~.0.~/
Well… shit.
Law cursed to himself as he saw the pirates searching throughout the place for him while he hid under the cloth of the cart.
'Now what do I do?'
He scanned the area. Looking for anything that might help him in this situation, only to come up blank. He was too injured and sick to take all of these guys on, so really his only option left… was to run.
'I'd better live through this…'
Law eyed the exit on the far left. Law has been running for his life for many years now, so he had gotten pretty good at it. Surely he could make it before the pirates' could process his appearance and pull the trigger.
"Look under the cloth of those carts!"
His body froze.
He didn't have an option now. He let go of the cloth as he saw a pair of legs heading in his direction and took a deep breath.
IF he wanted to live, now was the time.
At the count of three.
3…
Naruto's legs tensed.
2…
Law narrowed his eyes.
1…
A hand grabbed the cloth of the cart.
Now!
He jumped out from under the cloth of the cart, taking the pirate by surprise and making him fall to the ground on his butt.
"There he is! Get him!"
He headed towards the exit. Dodging cooks and even managing to avoid the grabby hands of the pirates, making them trip and fall to the ground behind him.
"Don't let him get away!"
A pirate got in front of him, with his arms wide and ready to catch him, only to be taken by surprise when the boy slid under his legs before standing back up and continuing to run.
The exit was within reach. Just a few more steps and he would be out in the fresh air, and able to hide in the shadows of the night.
He stretched an arm out towards the door, ignoring the shouts behind him. Not noticing that the pirate from before pulled out his gun once again and pointed it at him.
'Almost… there…'
Freedom was in his grasps.
At least, it was supposed to be.
A gun shot echoed in the kitchen, it was nearly deafening and definitely took him by surprise.
But, that's not what stopped him in his tracks.
He suddenly felt a sharp pain on his head and body as he suddenly collided with something hard that had been moving at the same speed as him. This in the end, resulted in - not only the bullet flying over his head and lodging itself onto the wall of the kitchen - but also in his body tripping and falling to the ground, entangling itself with another one almost his same size.
Law groaned as he rubbed his head and pushed himself off the floor with his hands, before looking up to glare at the idiot that had bumped into him.
"Watch where you're going you idiot!" he growled.
Naruto lifted himself off the ground and glared back at the black-haired kid with the weird, fluffy hat that dared yell at him.
"Me?! Why don't you watch where you're going?! You bastard!" he yelled back.
"Get him, men!"
The boys' eyes widened as they looked up and saw the pirates heading towards them.
They cried out and quickly got up, only to smash heads on their way up, making them yelp.
"Idiot!" They both yelled at each other.
The pirates stretched their hands towards them, only for the two teens to start running towards the door.
Law gripped the handle, only for another, tanner hand to do the same, resulting in them essentially holding hands on the knob.
Law growled. "Get off you idiot!"
The blond kid growled as well. "I could tell you the same thing!"
Finally, Law simply growled and twisted the knob, opening the door, but both boys wasted no time as they ran into one of the many dark alleys of the town. The pirates following right behind them.
Law turned to glare at the blond boy running alongside him.
"Why are you following me, idiot!"
Naruto glared at the teen running alongside him, panting all the while. "I could tell you the same thing, Bastard!"
The sound of another gun shot broke their glaring contest and both boys began to run faster instead.
"If we don't get him, the Captain will have our heads!"
"Faster, men!"
Naruto knocked over a trash can, with the raven-haired boy doing the same thing to one on his side.
Still the gunshots didn't cease, but both boys picked up speed and moved erratically so the bullets wouldn't hit them.
"Can you stop following me!?" yelled Naruto.
"Me?! You're the one following me! Go away!" the teen yelled back.
Law knocked over another trash can.
"Why don't both of you stop running and you turn yourselves in!?" yelled a pirate from behind.
They both turned to glare at the pirates. "Shut up!"
Eventually, they exited the alley and entered a crowded, lighted street where people were laughing and going from one casino to the next.
Law and the blond separated into the crowd, but still somehow managed to stay close enough to be able to see each other if they glanced in each other's directions.
Finally, was they continued to run in the same direction from the same people chasing them with the intent to most likely kill them, they finally realized something that had them turn to look at each other with an honest, curious expression.
"Wait, why are you running?" they asked at the same time.
"There he is!"
Both boys turned to look forward once again and skidded to a stop when another pirate crew appeared in front of them. This one being the one that had woken Law up (rudely) and chased him off the ship.
The pirates smirked.
Both boys gulped as they stared at the pirates in front of them and heard the ones approaching from behind.
They glanced at one another.
Naruto chuckled nervously. "Temporary truce?"
Law gulped. "Yeah."
"Get them!"
The boys screamed as they turned left and ran into another alley, trying their best to escape the large group of pirates that were after their heads, each for different reasons.
Unaware of the hectic, adventurous future that now lay ahead of them.
They say that friendships are strange things.
Bonds form between two strangers; some of them unbreakable, yet others far too fickle.
Still, the beauty of it all was how two strangers could make a connection in an instant and grow together. Despite the fact that they could be different in more ways than one, they could still have a chemistry that could make them dangerous and potent.
They become siblings without having to be related. They form an unbreakable bond that not even the strongest weapon on Earth could destroy. They could do many wondrous things individually, but even more so when together.
True friendship derives from the ability to connect with one another, an ability to understand the other and to be understood without even saying a word.
And there was nothing in this world that could be more prized than true friendship such as this.
A bond that could transcend the most disastrous times. One that could bend and crack, but never truly break, and always mendable.
On this day, a bond unlike any other formed. Two boys who were broken in more ways than one by this cruel world around them found each other, and in the process of their friendship, they healed one another without even realizing it.
On this day, an alliance - a brotherhood, like one the world has never seen before, was born.
One that would take the world by storm…
… and leave a lasting legacy behind.
A/N:
... I don't know, don't ask me.
It's mostly a one-shot of an idea I once had that sat on my computer for a really long time, but didn't really felt like going through with it in the end. Still, I wanted to post it, so here it is.
Thanks for reading.