Goodbye

Chapter One

The only sound in the control room of the submerged submarine was Bepo's quill scratching the finishing touches on a map. On occasion, the polar bear navigator lifted his eyes to the Log Pose, checked the needle's deviation and made the necessary adjustments to keep them on track to their destination.

Law kept his eyes on the Log Pose. "How much longer until we reach Zo?"

Bepo wiped his brow with the back of his paw. The heat always got to the furry animal and he constantly whinged about it. Not today though. "Another ten minutes, Captain."

A grin tugged at Law's lips. His plan was rolling into the next phase and the enormity of it sent thrills shooting through his blood.

Law turned to Shachi. The younger man sat precariously on his chair, rocking backwards on it with his legs propped up on Bepo's desk and his arms behind his head. "Where's Penguin?"

"In the engine room with Jean Bart," Shachi answered. He sat straight again and pushed his sunglasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Want me to call him here?"

"Yeah."

"Aye aye, Captain." Shachi gave a playful salute and went off, returning minutes later with his best friend in tow.

Law had thought long and hard about whom would make the best substitute for him while he was gone. He trusted Bepo to the ends of the world and back, but the polar bear was too emotional and passive to be a leader. On the other hand, Penguin always kept a clear head and scraped through in pinches though he tended to slack off at times.

In the end, Law chose Penguin. If the Heart Pirates ran into trouble in his absence, Penguin would formulate a plan to decimate the enemy and execute it flawlessly.

But Penguin was not happy. He slouched against the wall and pointedly did not look at his captain.

"Our food supply is dwindling," Law said. "Give our cook extra money when he goes grocery shopping. Remind him not to buy peanuts because the new guy has allergies."

"Yeah."

"I know you and Jean Bart are taking a look at the engines, but if you can't find out what the problem is then take the sub to a shipwright. Ask them for more details about maintenance and buy some spare parts while you're at it."

"Got it."

"Bepo also needs a new brush. Pet shops don't sell grooming materials for polar bears so find one suited for large dogs with double coats."

A low whine escaped Bepo's throat. Shachi heaved a sigh—he'd been dealing with Bepo's anxieties all week and was long over it.

"But Captain," Bepo whined, "no-one will brush my fur for me while you're gone."

"Shachi will do it." Law pushed away the thought of being unable run a brush through the polar bear's coarse white fur, working out the knots, the debris and his stress. Shachi was the best choice because he was the second gentlest person in the crew, right after Bepo. Even though Shachi wouldn't show it, he would brush Bepo's fur with affection.

Bepo's liquid chocolate eyes turned to his friend. "Really?" he hopefully asked.

"Ah…" Shachi hesitated and then his shoulders sagged. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

That matter settled, Law continued his spiel to Penguin. "This landing will be no different to any other. Give everyone ten thousand beli and tell them to stay out of trouble—they must be back here by midnight. If they cause a ruckus, I'm not going to rescue them. I don't want any delays."

"What a surprise," Penguin muttered.

"Penguin!" Bepo cried. "How could you say that to Captain?"

Law didn't take offense. A lot of his men weren't happy with his decision to go to Punk Hazard alone. "That's not what I meant," he said. "My orders won't change just because I'm absent. I still expect you to maintain my rules and my orders and that includes curfew. I don't need any of you dying while I'm not here to protect you."

"What about the other way around?" Penguin demanded. His eyes flared up underneath the shadow of his hat. "You're entering dangerous territory by yourself and that's not what a captain does. There's a reason why he has a crew—so they can back him up when he needs it! What are you going to do if you need our help and we can't run to your side because we're ten islands away?"

Bepo's ears flattened against his head in remorse and he emitted another whine. Shachi patted his friend's back with a soft word of sympathy.

So it wasn't abandonment that ran through their heads, but the thought of being away from him? Law hid his mirth behind a snicker. His men were loyal to a fault.

"A captain doesn't unnecessarily put his crew at risk," he said. "The next stretch of my plan has to be done alone for discretion. If there are too many people, Doflamingo will suspect something and everything will be ruined then."

All three of his men flinched hearing Doflamingo's name. It wasn't the reaction Law had been hoping for. Now they were only going to think about all the risks that his plan involved.

True, Law's plan ran at a scale at blew their minds but it was necessary. He had to provoke a reaction from the Four Emperors instead of usurping one of them. What would that achieve, when the Pirate King had to rule all of the seas? And to do that, he had to face his childhood fear—Doflamingo.

But Law could do it. He knew he could. "Don't you trust my judgement?" he asked.

Bepo and Shachi reluctantly nodded. Penguin never got the chance to reply.

"Approaching land!" A voice rang out over the den-den mushi PA system. "Prepare for emersion!"

The rudder tilted sideways and the nose of the submarine lifted upwards, throwing them off-balance. Shachi yowled and grabbed onto Bepo, who scrabbled to hold onto the desk that was nailed down to the floor. Penguin flew across the room and hit the wall while Law simply leaned against the pull of acceleration.

The submarine burst from the surface of the water and everyone flailed for balance as the machine righted itself. Law grabbed his nodaichi, Kikoku, and headed for the deck, closely followed by his men.

Outside, Law took deep breaths of crisp, salty air into his lungs and, before his crew could protest, headed for the plaza. He knew from the News Coo that Punk Hazard had strange weather phenomena after Aokiji and Akainu of the Marines fought for dominancy. He needed to buy clothes to suit the opposing weathers in Punk Hazard.

Or maybe just for the frozen wasteland. There wasn't much he could do about the heat smothering the volcanic wasteland, other than stripping down to cool himself off.

A coat was definitely needed. Perhaps a new hat too. Law reached up to touch his fur hat, which was beginning to wear thin. It wasn't as warm as it once was but he didn't have the heart to throw it away. It was his beloved furry, spotted hat given to him by his crew.

Could there be anything worthy of replacing his hat?

The first shop Law entered was some franchise that sold a fashion line called Criminal. He'd never heard of it before but apparently it was popular amongst today's youth. Law sifted through the jackets and the coats but none of them were to his liking. They were either too dull, too colourful or plain hideous. Law knew he was being picky, but he had a reputation to uphold.

"Can I help you with anything, sir?"

A middle-aged gentleman with greying hair and a handlebar moustache appeared and rubbed his hands together with a bright, toothy grin. He had money-snatcher written all over him.

"No thank you, Mister Attendant. I'm just browsing."

The man continued as though he hadn't heard anything. He waved his arms enthusiastically and almost whacked Law's chin. "We have a large selection of the finest coats in all of Zo. You'll find something you like here, I guarantee it!"

Not if you keep pestering me, Law thought. His fingers itched to unsheathe Kikoku and chop the man up into three pieces. But he refrained for fear of appearing hypocritical in his crew's eyes.

Instead, he turned away from the attendant and a flash of yellow caught his eyes. Now that was what he was talking about.

The honey-coloured waist-length jacket had a fur trim around the collar, sleeves and hem. Even better, black swirls emblazoned the fabric and met in a large heart on the back. The yellow matched his submarine and the heart matched his tattoos. Perfect.

Law reached for it and handed it to the attendant. "I'll take this."

A beam split the man's face. "A fantastic choice, sir! I'll ring it up on the counter and… let's see, it comes to seventy thousand beli."

"You wouldn't happen to have accessories with that, would you?" Law mused as he pulled out his money pouch. He wasn't much of a jewellery fan but if there was anything as perfect as that jacket, then he was willing to pay for it and wear it. "I want hearts on them."

"Captain, no!"

Shachi's voice screeched through the shop and Law almost dropped his money pouch.

"Shachi? Bepo? Penguin? What are you—?"

"You can't buy something like that!" Shachi grabbed Law's arm and began pulling him out of the shop. The attendant made a noise of protest but Penguin glared and the man melted away with the perfect jacket clutched in his flabby hands. "We know you like showing off the hearts because of what it represents but it's too dangerous."

"I couldn't care less about the danger." Irritation flickered through Law. Why did his crew insist on sabotaging his shopping trips every time they docked on an island?

Penguin folded his arms, chin out and ready to argue but Bepo beat him to it. "Please, Captain," he said in the most forlorn voice Law had ever heard. "We want you to be safe."

Law sighed. Bepo's worrying keened against his nerves but he didn't want to agitate the poor bear further. He waved off the attendant who stood in the background and exited the shop. If Law couldn't have that jacket then he'd have to find something less elaborate. It'd be hard, though. Law may have held the jacket in his hands for mere seconds, but he'd grown attached to it.

"I can't believe that jacket was seventy thousand beli," Shachi muttered as they entered the flea market. Shouts, haggles and laughter rang through the square and the smell of freshly fried takoyaki filled the air. "What a swindler! The jacket's material wasn't that good. The fur wasn't even real. What idiot would pay seventy thousand beli for that?"

Penguin arched his eyebrows, barely visible under his hat, and jerked his chin at Law.

"Oh." Shachi realised his mistake. "Not that you're an idiot, Captain."

Law tuned him out. Shachi was always running his tongue and he'd long since learned not to pay attention to the redhead. Instead, his attention was snapped up by a vendor who waved and yelled to let everyone know about the fifty-percent off sale he was having on clothes.

The little stall was filled with racks and shelves. Law expertly ran his fingers through the clothes hangers but everything dimmed in comparison to the yellow jacket. He abandoned his search and looked for a hat instead. There were caps and trilbies and such, and Law wondered if any of them were good enough to replace his current hat.

He picked up a grey beanie from a mannequin's head. It had two rows of little black hearts knitted into the base.

Hearts.

Law tried not to appear too excited. Perhaps if he slipped the beanie into the pocket of his hoodie and left a few coins on the table…

"What's that?" Shachi's head appeared over his shoulder. His eyes widened behind his sunglasses when he saw what Law held in his hands.

"No!" Shachi's hand darted out and snatched the offending item away.

"No hearts," Penguin firmly said. Bepo echoed the sentiment with a furious nod of his head.

Law curled his lip. "Tch."

"We've got everything, right?" Shachi waited for affirmation from his friends. "Great, let's go back!"

Law's head snapped up in surprise. He held Kikoku out to block their path and narrowed his eyes. "That's strange. You always ask me to push curfew back so why are you returning earlier out of your own volition?"

"Bepo feels ill," Penguin said.

"What!" Law spun around and rested the back of his hand against Bepo's forehead, not that he could tell whether the bear was heating up or not because of all the fur. "Why didn't you say something earlier? Back to the sub, now."

Law half-walked, half-ran onto the deck of the submarine when—

"SURPRISE!"

He halted in mid-step. Everyone from the Heart Pirates stood on the deck, holding out a giant cake frosted with their Jolly Roger, and wearing party hats which looked ridiculous with their boiler suits.

"I'm guessing Bepo isn't ill." Law set his foot down. "What's this?"

"Your going away party," Shachi laughed. He took off his casquette and snapped a party hat over his head. Grinning, his fingers danced closer and closer to Law's head.

"Don't you dare." Law's tone left no room for argument but Shachi stuck his tongue out and seized Law's precious hat.

Law made a grab for it but Shachi skipped away. "Give it back, Shachi. Don't make me cut you."

"Hmm." Shachi tilted his head and pretended to think about it. "Nope!"

Law's hand went to Kikoku's hilt and Shachi dove behind Jean Bart with a yelp. Law showed no mercy when it came to cutting people up and that included his crew. Shachi had made so many blunders it was almost a ritual for Law to slice him up.

"Wait, Captain."

Law turned his murderous eyes onto Bepo, and softened immediately. The polar bear smiled and held out a box.

"What's this?"

"Your going away present," Bepo cheerfully said. "Everyone helped make it because everyone wants you to think about us when you're gone."

Law loosened his grip on Kikoku, sending one last death glare at Shachi, and passed his nodaichi to Penguin. He took the box from Bepo and unwrapped it, lifting out the new hat in surprise. It was larger than his previous hat, rounder, with a bill, but it was still fluffy and white and it had the spots Law loved so much.

Then out came the coat. Full-length, black, with a high collar and his Jolly Roger grinning up at him from the bottom.

"It was Penguin's idea," Shachi said, peeping out from behind Jean Bart's huge body. "He's worried you're going to freeze."

Penguin pulled his hat lower across his eyes and refused to acknowledge Shachi's comment. "You need warmer clothes where you're going."

"Put it on, Captain!"

"Yeah, show us what it looks like!"

Everyone eagerly looked at him. Something between embarrassment and annoyance tugged at his insides. But unwilling to disappoint his men who put so much effort into this, Law pulled the coat over his shoulders and jammed the hat onto his head. Everyone began cheering and the heat rose in his cheeks. Thankfully, his skin was too dark for them to make anything out.

"All right, men!" Shachi jumped onto a table and held out Law's old hat. "New game! Whoever wins gets Captain's hat. It's a lucky charm! Who's in?"

Voices clamoured over one another as they all fought for a place in the game. Law slapped a palm to his forehead. Trust his crew to do something as idiotic as this.

That night, Law zipped up his new coat and patted his head to make sure his beloved new hat was still there. Then he tore the map from Bepo's notebook, the one the bear had been drawing earlier that day. It was a map of Zo and the surrounding islands. On the bottom right hand corner was a smudged paw print where Bepo had accidentally lost focus. Satisfied, Law took Kikoku from the floor next to Bepo.

"Aye aye, Captain." The polar bear murmured, then continued snoring.

Law tiptoed around his men's sleeping bodies and off the deck. He needed to find a ship to take him to Punk Hazard. Chances were the fishermen wouldn't be willing but he could threaten them—after all, he was a War Lord now. If they absolutely refused, he could just take over the ship himself. He was an able navigator and helmsman.

"Going somewhere?"

Law looked up to see Penguin's silhouette against the darkened sky. "Since when isn't the captain allowed to go where he pleases?"

"You're leaving without saying goodbye?"

"I'm only going to be gone for a while."

"You're going to miss us, aren't you?"

Law smirked. "Say goodbye to them for me."

"Why don't you tell them yourself?" Penguin gestured behind him where everyone stood. When had they awoken? Law had been certain his men were asleep. Perhaps his cunningness was starting to rub off on them.

"See you soon, Captain!" Bepo waved with a giant grin on his face.

Shachi cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Make sure you eat properly. Don't forget, it's supposed to be three meals a day. Not three cups of coffee!"

"Don't stay up too late reading!" Jean Bart added.

"Call us soon!"

"Take care of yourself!"

Law didn't say anything. Because if he did, he didn't know whether he'd be able to stop himself from asking them to sail with him.

"Captain!" Penguin's voice boomed out. "We'll follow you forever. So come back soon!"

Hearing his first mate's voice, Law lifted his hand in goodbye. They never saw the smile on his face as he walked away.

I promise.

A.N.

This is my very first fic, inspired by ne0nn and by a doujinshi amaitsumi translated (Before Punk Hazard) on Tumblr.

If you liked it, please review! If you didn't like it, that's all right- I welcome constructive criticism!