Law and Disorder - Chapter 1

Sanji

When their guest, ex-shichibukai Trafalgar Law, had volunteered to take the next watch, the crew had been somewhat surprised. Before they had docked onto the shores of Dressrosa, the pirate captain had tried to be involved with as little of the crew's antics and daily rituals as possible, settling with sitting sullenly against one of the ship's masts and staring out into the distance, only responding with single-line answers when he was spoken to. However, now that the terror of Dressrosa had finally been defeated, it seemed that the smug but warm Law that they had first met on Sabaody Archipelago was back, seeming quietly grateful for their assistance in what was meant to be a near impossible and suicidal endeavor.

But they had succeeded, as the Strawhats always did.

Law had warmed up to the crew considerably after that, and fueled by the thought of seeing his own crew again in the very near future, he appeared significantly more calm and less argumentative whenever someone on the crew did something silly or brought up something that he didn't quite agree with. Law sometimes even found himself roped into the crew's shenanigens, and though he was still obviously uncomfortable with some of the attention that the Strawhats were piling upon him, he had gradually grown accustomed to their wild and carefree personalities.

He couldn't help but be drawn into their "pace".

The crew had first declined when Law volunteered his services, stating that he was a guest onboard their ship and shouldn't have to participate in their nightly watches, but after he mentioned that all he would need to do was to create one massive room around the perimeter of the ship over the ocean and he would be able to sense anything entering or leaving it, everyone was sold. After a few loud but polite "good-nights" from the various crew members, Law had settled himself in the crow's nest. Taking a deep breath, he spread the fingers in his right fist open and created a large room that encircled the ship and a vast expanse of sea. Law's breathing felt somewhat more laboured as compared to when he usually attempted to make one of his rooms, but he chalked it up to the strain of fixing his right arm and the massive damage that he had sustained whilst on Dressrosa after everything was done. It was still no cause for concern. Law was, after all, much stronger than he was two years ago.

After about fifteen minutes of silent watching (or sensing, in Law's case), the surgeon of death couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable when the harsh winds of the night flooded into the crow's nest and bit at his flesh. His clothes didn't do much to defend against the cold air, and Law was so used to being in his heated submarine underneath the seas that being on the highest point of the ship in the middle of a cold night was a somewhat foreign experience. He might have been able to move some of the air within his room to create a soft barrier from the wind on any other day, but his partial exhaustion made doing that and simultaneous surveillance of the ocean a near impossible task.

Just as Law was about to resign himself to simply toughing it out for the next few hours, he heard the sound of shoes stepping onto the ladder that led into the crow's nest. Seconds later, a tray emerged from the trapdoor in the ground, followed by a head full of blond hair. As Law confirmed the darkened figure to belong to Blackleg Sanji, he let his guard down for a moment to address the man.

"Blackleg-ya."

"Law. How are the seas looking tonight?"

"Calm, which is a very good thing, I would suppose. I'm more used to travelling underneath the surface of the ocean."

"That's great. Here, this is for you."

Law stared wordlessly as the ship's cook placed the tray laden with perfectly-formed balls of fresh onigiri, a plate of grilled tuna and a cup of steaming hot cocoa onto one of the ship's swordsman's enormous weights. A little confused by the gesture, Law looked back up at Sanji, who already had his back turned to him and was preparing to step back down the ladder.

"You made this specially for me?"

Sanji seemed a little puzzled by his question, but answered it anyway.

"Oh, yeah. I always make a little something for whoever's on watch for the night. Usually I make sandwiches, but I remember saying after Punk Hazard that you didn't like bread, right? Onigiri is quick and easy to do, plus Usopp had caught extra fish the week before and the tank in the aquarium bar is practically overflowing with them. Perfect opportunity to make use of the fish, don't you think?"

Law remained silent for a moment, still a little taken aback to the concern that the cook had shown to someone who wasn't on their crew. From what he had observed of the hot-headed blond cook, Sanji was remarkably protective over both his crew and the food that he made, always ensuring that everyone was properly fed and finished everything that he placed in front of them during mealtimes, sometimes even forcing food down the crew's first-mate's throat when he decided to skip a meal to train. His temper disguised his true intention of making sure the swordsman never went hungry, one of the many observations that Law had silently made as he watched the crew's day-to-day interactions. His food was also, admittedly, some of the most delicious that Law had ever had anywhere along the high seas.

It was a little...odd to think that said cook had actually went out of his way to prepare food that he knew would be to his liking.

"Thank you for the food, Blackleg-ya."

Sanji merely shrugged as he reached into his jacket pocket for a fresh cigarette and his lighter.

"No need to thank me. I'm the cook, after all. I'm here to make sure no one goes hungry. And now that you're on the Thousand Sunny, you're part of us, are you not?"

Sanji then turned back to the trapdoor and started his descent back down to the deck, not staying long enough to notice Law's look of utter shock at the seemingly casual tone that the cook had just used to state that he regarded Law to be one of them. Law's eyes remained fixed on the open trapdoor for a few short moments as he continued to contemplate what Sanji had just said, before sighing resignedly to himself and turning his gaze to the tray of aromatic food sitting atop giant weights. The crew was making it harder and harder day after day for him to maintain the fact that he was involved with them in a professional alliance, not a friendly relationship. As he stared back out into the distance, he grabbed at one of the balls of onigiri and raised it to his mouth, chewing contemplatively.

He stopped and stared down at the rice ball in surprise when he tasted its seasoning. He vaguely recalled Sanji mentioning to him before that he had also been born in that particular part of the world, and a warm feeling of nostalgia filled him.

Spices from North Blue.

He didn't know if Sanji had prepared the food knowing that he would appreciate it, or if it was just merely a culinary coincidence. In any case, as Law sat up there in the crow's nest eating his food, drinking hot cocoa and thinking about the future, he felt more comfortable and relaxed than he had ever felt in a very long time. Doflamingo was defeated, Corazon was avenged, and he was about to see his crew again, all thanks to the help of the Strawhats.

Law allowed himself a small smile at the thought. This crew really was something else.


Author's Note - Welcome, everyone, to Law and Disorder. This is basically a small set of stories involving interactions between Law and every member of the Strawhat crew. This story, of course, assumes that the crew somehow met up again after the events of Dressrosa and are in the midst of sailing towards Zou. I started off here with Sanji as food is a fantastic writing device (at least, I think so). Hope you all enjoyed it. The next chapter will be based off someone else from the crew, and this entire set of stories will be finished once I've covered everyone.

Reviews appreciated.

~SUITELIFEFAN