Beginnings
Part One
He ran. Through the town set ablaze, he just ran. With no signs of an end to the madness, he continued to run until he could get to his destination. Guns fired. Loud pops in the air followed by the smell of hot gunpowder made him run even faster. The smoke around him was thick and it burned his small lungs. But he didn't allow himself to stop from the pain. He knew he had to get to them. He had to help them. He had to see them. So he continued to run. Finally, without anyone seeing him. He made it to the clinic. Busting into the building, which had not caught on fire like the majority of the town had, he ran to them. His heart took a sharp jolt in his chest when he found them.
They lay out before him on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood, their blood. The iron smell of their blood filtered into his nose. The smell made him sick. So sick it made his stomach turn. They weren't moving. He knew they were dead. It hurt to see them there. He wanted to help him. But he knew he couldn't. They were dead. No one can help the dead. He cried. He wanted to call out for someone to help him, but he didn't. No one was there to help. People were there, but they were the cause of this. They wouldn't help even if he had asked them. So with the sadness in his chest, with the smoke burning his lungs and eyes, he turned and left them. He ran out of the small clinic just before the fire in the town spread to it. He didn't look back. Not even when he heard the sounds of the building starting to cracked and fall. He never looked back. He wanted to but he never did. There was no point.
As he ran through the burning town more gunshots ring out into the air. People's voices cry out. Both penetrated his ears. He wished it all would go away. He wished this wasn't happening, but it was. And there was nothing he could do about it. Soon the cries of the people are silenced. Only the sounds of the fire snapping, buildings falling, and the soldiers' voices remained.
"Search the entire town!" one of the soldiers says.
"We can't let there be any survivors!" another soldier barked out. "Those are orders from above! If you find anyone, kill them on sight!"
"Yes, sir!" a chorus of replies was heard before thundering sounds of boots on the streets echo into the air.
He ducked down a corner and hid behind a crate. His heart thundered in his chest. He knew if he was found he was going to die as well. This was an extermination after all. No one was going to survive this.
Once the soldiers had moved on, he carefully slipped out of his hiding spot and ran on. There was one place he had to get to. There was one more person he had to check on. He hoped and prayed she was still all right. But he knew deep down inside that she wasn't. She was sick to begin with. They all were. Even he wore the white patches of the disease on his skin. Even if he survived the fire and the soldiers, it would only be a matter of time before he died.
He finally arrived. His heart started beating faster upon seeing the woman lying on the ground. His eyes wondered over the bodies of the children that were near her. They were his classmates, his friends. They too were dead. Every single one of them. No longer would they speak with each other. No longer would they study, run around, laugh, or play. The entire town was dead. He was the only one who remained alive.
Tears stream down his cheeks as the woman looked up at him. She's not dead yet, but the life is draining from her eyes. She speaks to him. He can't understand her words. They are lost among all of the chaos. When he sees the life finally leave her body, he looks up to the building in front of him. It too has been set ablaze. Many lives were lost in there as well as the town. But one was most important to him. If only he could remember who he was coming to find, to save.
He dropped to his knees. The pain he was feeling became too much. This was all just too much for a child to see, to comprehend. This shouldn't have happened. Tears flowed from his eyes. A pain filled, terrified scream erupted from deep inside of him. He can feel something snap inside of him. Though he is not physically dead, he might as well have been. He was now emotionally and spiritually dead.
Gunshot and voices managed to pull him from his tears. He knows he can't stay here any longer. So forcing himself to his feet, he runs once more. Carefully weaving back through the burning town, he manages to avoid behind seen. He looks for a place to get away from here. He's too small to pilot a ship. And with all the soldiers walking around, there was no way he could get on board one anyway. Looking around, his eyes land on the only option for escape. And that is a pile of dead bodies.
He gulped. None of the faces looked familiar to him. He slowly crept closer to them, lifting the arm of a dead man up, he forced himself not to gag as he climbed under the bodies. Hidden with the dead bodies, he waits for them to be loaded up into the ships so he can escape. While waiting a body rolls over, slamming its foot into his face, making him jump and almost scream in fear at a dead body moving. He slams his hand over his mouth to keep himself from crying out. He looks towards the dead body when it started to snore. He blinks, confused. The body is just a body, an empty shell that shouldn't be snoring. But it does. The body rolls over again, kicking him once more, causing him to jump and finally wake up.
Law gasped as he sat up in bed. Cold sweat was dripping down his forehead and body. His chest heaved up and down as his mind cleared and he found himself alive in his and his twin brother's shared bedroom. He scanned his eyes over the room to make sure he really was awake and that this wasn't just another dream or nightmare. It was real. Or he thought it was real. Everything still seemed to be in place. Their two one dresser was still on the left side of their window, the window was open to allow the cool salty air from the ocean in, the nightstand beside him and his lamp, their blanket was currently half off the bed as it often ended up being thanks to Luffy's wild sleeping behaviors, and Luffy was still sleeping in bed beside him on his left. He looked down at his brother. Luffy's leg was draped over his own stomach. He released a relaxing exhale when he realized that it wasn't the dead body that had kicked him. It was his brother that had kicked him and it just filtered into his dream. The snoring also came from his brother since he was currently snoring.
"Stupid, kid," Law said as he stared down at his sleeping brother's body. It was sprawled out over the bed. Luffy's head was where his feet should be and his feet was where his head should be. Except with his left foot that was still currently on Law's stomach. Every night was the same thing. Somehow Luffy was always end up kicking him in the stomach, face, or else where. He was really getting tired of it. He was ready for his own bed and room. Grabbing his brother's foot, he started to push the young boy off the bed. He paused when there was a soft knock at the door. "Yes? Come in."
The door opened, revealing one of their caretakers. Mrs. Bay entered. Her grey streaked hair was pulled up into a neat bun like it always. Her dark green eyes were smiling with slight worry, as were her lips. She looked at Law and said, "Oh, you are awake. I was starting to get worried. You're usually up and dressed by now."
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Bay," Law said. He ran his hand through his bedhead hair, messing it up even more because of the sweat that was on him. "I…didn't really sleep all that well last night."
"I see," Mrs. Bay said. She pushed up her glasses higher on her nose and walked over to the window.
Law watched her carefully as she crossed their room. He knew she wanted to ask him if he had that dream again, but he also knew she wouldn't ask. She rarely ever did. She usually left the asking up to her husband. He didn't mind. He wasn't one for talking about this particular dream, or nightmare, as it was. It only came usually about once a month or less. But for the past couple of months, the nightmare was increasing. He was now having it three times a month. He refused to let it bother him in the past, but with its increase of appearance, he was starting to wonder about it. Why was he having this reoccurring dream? Why was it always the exact same? Who were the people he kept looking for? The two adults that were lying in the blood, and the little girl he knew was in the burning hospital? He had no clue who they were or why he was even dreaming about a burning town like that. He didn't even know what town it was.
"I see you slept with your window open again," Mrs. Bay said. She placed her hands on the window ceil and looked out at the view of the ocean and of the town they had from their small house on the hill. "It got a little chilly last night. I wonder if you got a touch of a fever. Perhaps that is why you didn't sleep so well."
"It might have been. Luffy insisted on sleeping with the window open because he claimed he was hot," Law said. He swung his leg over the side of the bed and slid off of it. Once his feet touched he floor, he straightened out his twisted nightshirt while thinking how he apparently got a little wild in his own sleep last night. "But I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me. I don't have a fever. I just need to get more awake."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Bay asked. She turned around and smiled at Law, carefully taking him in and his face. "You could just stay in bed if you're not feeling very well."
"I'm fine," Law said. "I can do my chores and study."
"Well, all right then," Mrs. Bay said. She moved away from the window. She grabbed the doorknob and stepped halfway out the door before adding, "Breakfast is about ready. Get dressed and come on downstairs."
"Yes, ma'am," Law said with a small nod. He watched as the old woman nodded back to him and then left their room without another word. He smiled. Mrs. Bay was such a nice, lovely old woman, and sick. She cared deeply for him and his brother, but often didn't express that through words. He knew she preferred to show things through her actions and let people talk when they felt like it. She was a very good listener. She was also a very good mother figure to him and Luffy. He didn't often say or admit it, even to himself, but he really did love Mrs. Bay. He wanted to become a doctor like her husband so he could cure her of the illness she had.
With the thoughts of her unknown illness wondering through his brain, he walked over to the window and looked out it. He knew he was still just a kid, but he knew he would someday be a doctor. He would find a cure for this illness she had and cure her and hundreds of others. And with his Devil Fruit powers he knew he could make that dream come true. Lifting his hands up, he stared down at them and thought of his Devil Fruit powers, a Devil Fruit power that suited him strangely well. He wasn't sure what his Devil Fruit power was exactly, but it had the ability to preform surgeries and cause bloodless amputations. He knew he could use that. But first he had to learn how to be a doctor the regular way. And that was going to happen with the help of Dr. Bay.
"Look out! I'm hungry!" Luffy suddenly shouted in his sleep.
Law looked over at his sleeping brother, his twin. Luffy was now hanging half off the bed head first. Sighing, he wondered back over to the bed. He pressed his finger to his brother's forehead and pushed him off the bed. A thump resonated through the room from Luffy's head colliding with the floor.
"Ouch!" Luffy cried. He sat up and grabbed his head. "That hurt!"
"Well, it's what you get for sleeping like wild animal," Law said. He stepped away from his brother's body and over to their dresser. He slid open a drawer and pulled out his a clean set of clothes before heading for the door. "Hurry up. Mrs. Bay said breakfast is almost ready."
"All right!" Luffy cheered. He jumped up from the floor and ran towards the door.
"Hold it," Law said. He grabbed onto the back of Luffy's shirt, pulling him back into the room.
"Hey! Let me go! I'm hungry!" Luffy demanded.
"You have to get dressed first," Law said. He gave Luffy a shoved towards their dresser. "You're not going downstairs in your pajamas. Now get dressed."
"Aw," Luffy whined while he trudged over to the dresser.
Law sighed and shook his head. It was always like this. Sometimes he felt like Luffy's mother rather than his brother. Stepping out into the hall, he paused upon hearing Mrs. Bay's coughing. Though he couldn't hear Dr. Bay's words to the woman, he knew the old doctor was helping his wife get through this coughing fit. He tightened his hold on his clothes, pressing them closer to this chest. He had to grow up faster. He had to become a doctor. He just had to. Pulling his thoughts away from what was going on downstairs, he entered into the bathroom just as Luffy joined him.
Luffy rushed through his morning routine while Law was calmer about his morning rituals. His mind was lost on his dream of becoming a doctor and the nightmare he had. He barely listened to Luffy going on about his own dream. "What do you think, Law? Law? Law?!"
"What?!" Law asked when he heard Luffy yell into his ear. He rubbed his ringing ear and looked at his brother. "And don't yell at me like that! Do you want me to go deaf?!"
"I didn't yell that loud," Luffy said. "And besides, you were ignoring me."
"I wasn't ignoring you, I was lost in thought," Law said. He grabbed their shared hairbrush and ran it through his hair, taming some of his wild tresses, but his hair still stood up. It always did.
"You were ignoring me," Luffy said through his pooched out lips.
Law sighed. There was just no arguing with Luffy when he was like this. And that was something he knew very well. "Fine. I'm sorry for ignoring you. What did you want?"
"Do you think Shanks will visit today?" Luffy asked. His poochy lips were quickly replaced with a bright smile. "I was dreaming about him taking me out on his ship!"
"Not again with that pirate," Law said. He turned to Luffy placing his hands on his hips he frowned. "You know Grandpa doesn't like it that you talk to that pirate."
"Its just Shanks," Luffy said. "He's a good friend."
"He's a pirate, Luffy," Law said. He tapped his knuckles onto his brother's forehead. "Pirates are dangerous."
"Shanks and his crew isn't dangerous!" Luffy said, pushing Law's hand away from him. "He's mine friend! And I want to see him! Today!"
Law released a grumble of annoyance. He said, "Fine. But I doubt he'll arrive today. You know how they are. They travel all over the place. They only come to this island when they're in the area."
"I know. But when will they come here again?" Luffy asked. "I really, really want to see him."
"I know you do, Luffy," Law said. "But you have to be patient. Traveling by ship takes time. And his visits always are random. He'll get here when he gets here. But you better take it easy with the talk about him and becoming a pirate. You know Grandpa wants us to become marines."
"Yuck! I don't want to become a marine! I'm going to become a pirate!" Luffy declared.
"Sure you are," Law said. He ruffled up Luffy's hair as he step towards the door.
"I am too! You just wait and see!" Luffy called after Law as his brother disappeared down the small hallway.
"Sure thing, Luffy," Law said. "Come on. Breakfast should be ready by now."
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered and ran out of the small bathroom.
Law paused when he was at the top of the small staircase. The staircase that Mrs. Bay used to walk up and down, but doesn't do it much anymore. Since her illness settled into her about nine years ago, she and Dr. Bay had been living downstairs. One of the rooms had been converted into a bedroom for them to sleep in and a second bathroom had been added into the downstairs as well. He and Luffy had the entire upstairs to themselves. But it wasn't much. Only a small hallway closet, the small bathroom, and their small bedroom were the only things upstairs. There was an attic, but no one ever went up there anymore. The only occupants of that space were mice, maybe a rat or two, the occasional squirrel, and whatever critter managed to make their way into the small space.
"Let's eat, Law!" Luffy said, pulling Law from his thoughts of their small home.
"Right," Law said, looking down at his brother who was already halfway down the stairs. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black shorts and followed Luffy down the stairs. Once he had reached the bottom, Luffy was already sitting at the table with his fork and spoon in hand. He took his time in walking over to the table. His steel colored eyes wondered over the house. This room was an everything room. Since some of the house had been converted into a bedroom and a bathroom, this room became the kitchen, dinning room, and the living room. Off to the other side of the kitchen was the tiny hallway that led to the doctor's clinic. Often he went into town to treat those who were sick, but a lot of the time he needed his patients to stay here. Usually those patients were ones who needed surgery. That was preformed in the clinic and they would stay however long the doctor deemed it necessary.
"Good morning, boys," Dr. Bay greeted them. The old man was already sitting at the table. He looked up from his newspaper to give the boys a morning smile before letting his black eyes drop back to the newspaper.
"Morning!" Luffy replied.
"Good morning," Law said. He pulled out his chair and climb up in it. His eyes fell upon their breakfast, one egg each, a piece of toast-an orange for him since he didn't like bread, a small bowl of oats, and a small cup of milk. His eyes then lifted up to Mrs. Bay. He easily noticed she looked sicker than she did when she was up in their room just a few minutes ago. He could feel his heart sinking into his chest. He didn't like to think that they could lose her one day, but he knew it was a possibility. Death came to everyone. There was just no way of stopping it. But he still wanted to delay it for as long as he could, at least until he could find a cure to her illness. "Mrs. Bay, I would like to help with cooking meals."
"Nonsense," Mrs. Bay said with a warm smile. "You work hard enough as it is."
"Yeah, but…" Law started but before he could finish, she cut him off.
"That's very sweet of you," Mrs. Bay said. "But if you took time to help me cook, you'd lose a lot of time to study. And that is more important."
"I know, but…" Law said. He wanted to argue with her, but he didn't know what to say. Mrs. Bay was use to taking care of them and the house. And she was correct. If he did take time to help cook it would cut into his study time. He only was six years old. Some called him gifted for being able to understand all of Dr. Bay's medical books and terms, but he wasn't sure if he was. It just felt natural to him to study medicine. It came extremely easy. Maybe he was gift after all and was just humble about it? He didn't know. All he knew was he was meant to become a doctor, a surgeon. It was his destiny.
"Don't worry about it, Law," Dr. Bay said from behind his newspaper. "You have more than enough to handle at your age. Not only do you have your studies, you also have all your chores. You need to spend more time playing. You're a kid. You shouldn't be this swamped as it is."
"You're not going to stop me from studying, are you?" Law asked. A pang of fear stabbed into his chest at the thought.
"Heavens, no. I'm not going to do that. You're gifted in the medical field. And I have plans to nurture that fully," Dr. Bay said. He flipped to the next page without looking over at Law. "Now eat your breakfast. Mrs. Barton is expecting you two soon."
"Yes, sir," Law said. But he didn't eat. He continued to stare at Dr. Bay. The old man still had his eyes glued to the newspaper. That hardly ever happened. Usually when it did, it was because of some big news. And if it were big news, the old man would always share it with them. It made him wonder what the doctor was trying to hide from them.
"Hey, Law, if you're not going to eat your breakfast, can I have it?" Luffy's voice asked.
Law snapped out of his staring to find Luffy's hand and fork moving closer to his breakfast. He slapped his brother's hand. "Stop that! It's mine!"
"But you're not eating it!" Luffy protested. He pulled back his now red hand and rubbed it.
"I am too!" Law said. He picked up his fork and sliced off a piece of his egg. "See?"
"No fair!" Luffy whined.
"You already had yours!" Law said.
"But I'm still hungry!" Luffy said.
"Here you can have my bread," Mrs. Bay said while scooting her plate across the table towards the young boy.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he took the piece of bread and shoved half of it in his mouth.
"You shouldn't do that. You're spoiling him too much," Law said.
"Well, you're like my own children. I'm entitled to spoil you every once in a while," Mrs. Bay said with a smile.
Law really couldn't argue with that. She did occasionally spoil them despite not having a lot of money. So he just sat quietly and ate his breakfast. Once he was finished, he picked up his plate and cup and moved it into the sink. He looked at the doctor when the old man grabbed his coat from the hook by the door and pulled it on. He asked, "Are you going on rounds today? I thought you were in the clinic."
"I will be in a little while," Dr. Bay said. He grabbed his brown fedora and placed it over his baldhead. "Mrs. Paxton is a bit anxious about her due date. She asked me to come over if I ever had the time."
"Are first time mothers always this anxious?" Law asked.
"Not all of them, but a lot of them are," Dr. Bay said with a nod. "And she's still pretty young herself. She's a bit unsure about all of this. I'm just dropping by to give her a little extra comfort. Her husband is almost as nervous as she is. Sometimes I think he's more nervous than she is. I'm just giving them a little extra attention to ease the dwindling time till the baby's arrival. It's a good thing for doctors to do this. Or I think so anyway. This builds up trust between the patients and doctor. And trust is very important in this profession."
"I see," Law said.
"Well, I'm off now," Dr. Bay said. "You and Luffy should get going too."
"Right." Law nodded. "Are you ready, Luffy?"
"Yeah! I'm ready!" Luffy said. He jumped off of his chair and ran towards the door. "See ya later!"
"That boy," Law said with a sigh.
"He's just young. So are you, Law," Mrs. Bay said.
Law turned his eyes back to her. She was still sitting at the table, a warm smile still on her lips.
"Try to have some fun today," Mrs. Bay said. "All right?"
"All right," Law said despite knowing he really wouldn't. With a few more seconds of staring at her, he forced himself to turn and follow Luffy out the door. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked along the worn path of the small yard outside of their home. He watched as Dr. Bay disappeared down the road towards the town. They were going in another direction. They were heading to the Barton Farm. It was a small farm that he and Luffy did some chores on. They help take care of the animals and gardens. From this, they got enough money to help pay for their clothes and some food that was produced on the farm. He was really grateful for this. While they really didn't do much, they weren't allowed to work the large farm equipment, but what they did it helped out Dr. and Mrs. Bay. Sometimes Dr. Bay's patients didn't have money to pay for his services. So working on a farm really did help when those times happened. He never was sure why Dr. Bay allowed people to not pay for his services for a while. But he understood when he saw one of the patients who couldn't pay. She was an elderly woman who couldn't work. She was fully reliant on others to provide for her. Even Mrs. Bay with her own sickness helped the old woman out. When she had enough supplies to make a pie or cake or cookies, she always made an extra one for the old woman. That was the kind of doctor he wanted to be as well. He wanted to help people but not limit himself to those who had money to pay him. He knew not everyone was lucky enough to have money and they still needed help from doctors.
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered.
Law looked up at his brother. Luffy was on the small stonewall that lined up against the worn path they were walking on. He huffed at his brother. Sometimes, a lot of the time, he wondered how it was possible they were brothers, twin brothers. They never seem to have anything in common. Luffy was more loud and out going while he was more calm and collected. But here they were. Brothers. Born from the same mother despite never having any pictures to prove their birth. Sometimes he had to wonder if they really were related by blood. Luffy had black eyes while he had steel colored eyes. They shared the same black untamable hair, but that's where the similarities ended. Where everything else was concerned, they had no similarities. He wanted to be a doctor. Luffy wanted to be a pirate. Luffy admired a pirate. He admired a doctor. Luffy wanted adventure on the open seas with a crew he gathered on his own and steal from people. He wanted to remain on the island and help people. Luffy liked a lot of meat while he liked grilled fish and onigiri. His skin was also darker than Luffy's.
How was it possible they were related? Who exactly where they anyway? They really had no idea who they were or where they came from. They knew very, very little of their mother while their father was basically a ghost. Often he thought that they didn't even have a dad. But the fact that they were born was proof they did have a dad. He often wondered about their dad too. He would think about the type of man he was. Was he a good man? A bad man? But then what kind of good man would run off and leave his children behind? He wondered if some kind of duties kept him away. He thought at one point that maybe their dad was a Navy soldier. But if he was then their grandpa would have told them about it. So that left him with the idea that their dad was a bad man. Maybe a bandit. Or someone who just like to travel and didn't care about responsibilities to his family.
Law looked up at his brother again. Luffy was now off the rock wall and was chasing after a couple of squirrels. That could be trait that rubbed off on Luffy. Luffy did want adventure and become a pirate. Maybe their dad was a pirate. He hoped not. But surely his brother's desire to become a pirate wasn't completely the fault of Red Haired Shanks. The red haired man was only here from time to time. He didn't know. And he knew that he would probably never know. This world was extremely big. They might never ever come to find out who their dad is or was. Perhaps he was dead and their grandpa just didn't want them to know for whatever reason or reasons. He pushed the thoughts from his brain just as they arrived at the Barton Farm. It was time to stop daydream and get to work. They had a lot of it. It was their job to feed the animals, clean out their stalls or homes when it was needed, and work in the garden when that was needed. One of the horses whinnied upon seeing the two brothers. "I know, I know. I'll have your breakfast soon. Luffy! Leave those squirrels alone and get to work!"
"Aw, okay," Luffy said. He picked the squirrel up off his head and sat it down on the ground with the other squirrel. "Sorry. I can't play anymore. I'll see you later."
The squirrels chittered and chattered. They watched the young boy run away from them before turning and scampering away themselves.
The two brothers then settled into their morning chorus for the farm. They spread out hay for the cattle, gave feed to the horses, goats, and chickens before mucking out the stalls. While Law was hauling water for the chickens, he noticed Luffy was once again shirking off from his chores and was playing with the goats. "That child. He needs to stop goofing around so much. Hey! Luffy! If you get those goats angry again I'm not saving you this time!"
"Whatever!" Luffy shouted back. He didn't turn to look at his brother sigh and disappeared into the chicken house. He just kept his eyes locked onto the gray and white bill goat in front of him. While staring at the goat's eyes, he started making funny faces. The goat just watched him as he chewed on the hay he had in his mouth. "Stupid goat. Is all you do is stand there, chew, and stare?"
The goat did. He just continued to stand there, chewing on his hay while staring at the boy in front of him.
"I'll make you move," Luffy said. He looked down at the ground. Lying beside his foot was a stick about a foot long. He chuckled and picked it up before turning his attention back to the goat. He then started poking the stick at the goat's nose. "Come on, goat. You're very boring. Do something all ready."
…
Law grabbed the end of his bucket and poured the water into the chickens water bucket. He then turned his eyes to the nests. He checked to make sure all of them were still filled with hay and dry. When he deemed everything with the chickens looked just fine, he headed for the exit. Just before reaching the door, he heard Luffy's scream. "What is he doing now?" He ran outside to look for his brother. He found his other half in a tree. Hanging from a limb while the old billy goat rammed into the trunk of the tree. "Luffy! Where you aggravating the goats again?!"
"No!" Luffy shouted.
"Don't lie to me! That goat wouldn't be ramming that tree if you didn't bother him!" Law screamed.
"I wasn't bothering the goats! I was only poking him in the nose with a stick!" Luffy said. His little body swung from his hands as the goat rammed into the tree again. "Help me!"
"No! I told you before I wasn't going to save you if you bothered the animals!" Law said. He turned to stomp away from his lunatic brother. He stopped when he heard Luffy scream again. Whipping around, he held his right hand up just as he saw his brother losing his grip on the tree branch. "Room!" A smoke like ring spread out from his palm, it extended a blue sphere over the immediate area. "Shambles!"
Luffy's body disappeared from the air and was replaced with the bucket Law had been carrying. Luffy reappeared right beside Law. Law watched at the bucket he put in the place of his brother fell down and hit the goat on the head. The goat looked at the bucket as it rolled to a stop on the ground. He stared at the object curiously for a minute before walking over to it. He sniffed the bucket then, with his anger towards the boy forgotten, the goat walked away to join the rest of his herd in grazing.
Luffy stared at the goat walking off before he tackled his brother. "Wah! Thank you, Law! You saved me!"
"Ah!" Law screamed as his brother rammed into him, sending him flying onto his back. With one arm he managed to keep free from Luffy's grip, he bonked the young boy on his head. "You moron! Don't jump on me like that! And I wouldn't have had to save you if you had left the goats alone like I told you to!"
"But I just wanted the goat to move!" Luffy said. "All he was doing was standing there and staring at me while chewing! It was very boring!"
Law growled. His brother really was a real idiot at times. But he never could stay angry with him for very long. He wasn't sure why. His brotherly or his doctor instincts always took over. Just like they were doing now. His steel eyes were running over his brother's face. Luffy had a few bruises, tears, and was covered with dirt, but it didn't look like he gotten any serious injuries. It made him feeling glad his rotten little brother wasn't seriously injured. He didn't know what he would have done if he was. He had first aid training but he hadn't had enough practice to know if he could do it on his own yet. And he wasn't really in a hurry to find that out, especially if it was his brother that was the one hurt. He sighed, something he does a lot with Luffy around. His fist relaxed and he placed his hand on Luffy's head, messing up his already messed up hair. "Just stop annoying the animals, Luffy. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Okay." Luffy nodded.
"Come on," Law said. "Let's get back to our chores. Mrs. Barton will probably come out here soon with lunch for us."
"Right!" Luffy said. He released Law and jumped to his feet with his arms stretched out to the sky. "I can't wait! I'm so hungry!"
"Geez. All you ever think about is food," Law said. He picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off before walking away from his little brother.
"Wait for me!" Luffy said.
…
Mrs. Barton, a tall, curvy woman with long brown hair and matching eyes, walked over to the two boys as they brushed off one of the horses. She placed her free hand on her hip and smiled at them. "Well, you two sure are hard at work."
"Thank!" Luffy said with a smile from on top of the chestnut mare.
"Are you too busy for lunch?" Mrs. Barton asked while holding up the picnic basket that was in her hand.
"No! I'm starving!" Luffy said. He tossed his brush on the ground and jumped off the horse. He ran right over to the woman as she sat down on the ground and opened the basket.
"Calm down, Luffy," Law said. He placed his own brush down on the ground and walked over to Mrs. Barton while Luffy started shoving food into his mouth. He sat down and took the plate of onigiri the woman was holding out for him. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome," Mrs. Barton replied. She then stretched out her long legs and rested back on her hands while watching the boys eat. "So how is Mrs. Bay doing today?"
"She's fine," Law said. "I think she's had a rough morning though."
"Oh," Mrs. Barton said with a light frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. I'll have a little free time tomorrow afternoon. Will you please tell her I'm planning on stopping by for a while?"
"Sure," Law said. "We'll tell her."
"Y-ah! W-ll t-ll h-r!" Luffy said through his mouthful of sandwich.
"How many times do I have to tell you to not talk with your mouthful?" Law asked.
"I -unno," Luffy said with his mouth still full.
Law sighed and forced himself to let it go.
…
"Geez what a morning," Law said as he and Luffy made their way back to their home shortly after two o'clock. Both boys were carrying a basket full of fruits and vegetables from the Barton Farm. "I felt like we were never going to get our chorus done today. It didn't help that you kept annoying the animals like you did. When will you learn?"
"At least we can eat now," Luffy said. He picked up an apple from the basket and tried to take a bite of it. Before he could, Law's fist slammed down on his head, causing him to drop the apple back into the basket. "Hey! What was that for?!"
"Stop thinking about food all the time!" Law ordered.
"But I'm hungry!" Luffy complained.
"You're always hungry," Law said.
"Just one apple?" Luffy asked. He held up the apple again and gave his brother big round puppy eyes.
Law's eyebrow twitched. Once again he felt himself caving to his younger sibling. He sighed heavily and said, "Fine. Just one apple."
"Yeah!" Luffy cheered before sinking his teeth into the juicy red and white treat in his hand. "So wh-t ar- -u go-ng to -o n-w? I -ink -m go-ng t- -o in- t-wn n se- if Sh-ks -ill -e -iving so-n."
"Don't talk with your mouth full. I'm going back home," Law said. "I want to start on my lessons early."
"Seriously?" Luffy asked before swallowing his apple.
"What's wrong with that?" Law asked, slightly offended.
"You study far too much. You need to have some fun," Luffy said. He tossed away his apple core then reached for another one. He protested when the basket and its contents disappeared from his hand. "Hey!"
"I'll take these home," Law said now carrying both baskets as this Room faded away. "You go see if Shanks is coming."
"I thought you didn't want me to do that," Luffy said.
"It's better, if only slightly, than letting you eat all these fruits and vegetables before we even get them home," Law said.
"Fine! I'll see you later!" Luffy said as he ran off towards the town.
Law watched his brother run down the hill towards the town before continuing on his way home. "Good now I can get some real work done without him hanging around and complaining he's bored."
…
"Hello. I'm back. Mrs. Bay? Where is she?" Once back to the small house, he entered into the quite kitchen and looked around for Mrs. Bay. When he couldn't find her, he placed the baskets down on the floor near the table and walked through the room. Going to the back of the room, he found Dr. and Mrs. Bay's bedroom door slightly open. He carefully opened it more and peaked inside. Mrs. Bay was lying on the bed, fast asleep. Walking as quietly as he could, he made his way over to her. Staring at her wrinkled face, he noticed she appeared to look older and paler than she did earlier this morning. He hoped he was just imagining things. He then grabbed her blanket and pulled it farther up on her shoulders before silently slipping out of the room. He closed the door then went back to the kitchen to wash off the fruits and vegetables. He then put them away before heading into the clinic where Dr. Bay kept all of his medical books.
He made his way through the small hallway and into the door that separated the two small buildings. The clinic was just as silent as the house. He figured Dr. Bay was still out doing some more rounds in town instead of coming back here like he said. So he passed through the waiting room and into the small office off to the side where the doctor had private talks with his patients. This was also the room where he and the doctor would do their studying. This room, like all the other rooms was small. There was only enough room for some bookshelves, one full size desk, a small study desk for Law to sit at and three chairs. One of the chairs was for the doctor while the other two were usually for patients. Law would use one of those chairs while studying. He ran his eyes over the books before grabbing a couple and settling in at the doctor's desk to study until the doctor came back.
Law wasn't sure how long he had been studying for until noises from the house caused him to look up from his books. From the window in the room, he noticed the sun was starting to set. He had been studying for hours. He closed the books and replaced them on the shelves before heading back to the house. Walking through the small hall he could smell dinner being made. To his surprise, the doctor was cooking dinner tonight instead of Mrs. Bay. "Dr. Bay, you're cooking dinner?"
"Yes. Marina isn't feeling too well this evening," Dr. Bay said. He then smiled at Law from the stove. "But don't worry. She'll be fine. She's just a little tired. I told her I'd cook dinner tonight so she can rest."
"I see," Law said. He then noticed Luffy sitting at the table with his face planted in the wood. "What's wrong with you?"
Luffy mumbled something.
"What?" Law asked, tilting his head.
Luffy mumbled again.
"Will you get your face out of the table and talk like a normal person?" Law asked with his hand planted firmly on his hips.
Luffy rolled his head so he was now facing Law with a depressed expression. He said, "Shanks isn't here. And no one know when he'll arrive."
"I told you so," Law said. He then walked over to the sink. Moving a small stool closer to it, he climbed upon it and started peeling potatoes that the doctor had sitting out on the counter.
"But when will he come back?" Luffy asked in a very whiney tone.
"Luffy, stop whining!" Law snapped. "He's a pirate. They travel all over the seas. Traveling by ship takes weeks, months, to get from one island to another."
"But when?!" Luffy asked again.
Law sighed heavily while the doctor just chuckled humorously. "Fine. Let's see…he was here about two and a half months ago. So going by that, he'll probably arrive here again within the next month or so."
"Really, Law?" Luffy asked. He sat up straighter in his chair. His depressed look now replaced with a hopeful smile. "Do you really think that's when he'll show up again?"
"Most likely. Unless he gets killed or arrested by the Navy before that happens," Law added thoughtfully.
"Hey! Don't say that about Shanks!" Luffy screamed. He jumped off his chair and pointed at Law. "Shanks will never die! And he's too smart and strong for the Navy to even come close to catching him or killing him!"
Law stuck his tongue out at Luffy before saying, "Keep it down. Mrs. Bay is sleeping and needs her rest. If you scream one more time, you're going to bed without dinner."
"He-" Luffy clamped his hand over his mouth to keep himself from yelling. He didn't believe Law would actually keep dinner from him, but he didn't want to chance it. "Fine. I'll be quiet. But you better not talk about Shanks like that again."
"Deal," Law said before turning back to his potato peeling.
…
"I really do hope Shanks comes back here within the next month," Luffy said as he hung out the window and stared out at the moonlit and star speckled sea.
"I'm sure he will," Law said from his dresser. He pulled out a black shirt and pulled it over his still damp hair. He shut the drawer then walked over to their shared bed and climbed onto it. The cool, salty sea breeze flowed into their room, causing him to shiver a bit from his wet hair. "Close the window and get into bed. It got too chilly in here last night. We're still damp from our bath. I don't want either of us to get sick."
"All right," Luffy said. He dropped down from the window and closed it, but left the curtain open. He then ran over to the bed, jumped onto it at the foot, and crawled up to the top. He slipped his legs underneath their covers before plopping down onto his pillow. "Good night, Law."
"Good night, Luffy," Law said. He flipped of their lamp on his side of the bed. Before he even got to lie down on his pillow, Luffy was already snoring. "Well, at least he never has trouble going to sleep."
Law sighed and lay down to stare up at the ceiling. He was tired from the day's work and wanted to sleep but also he didn't want to sleep. He really didn't like that he kept having that dream. And he didn't like that he kept dreaming about people and a town he didn't know. Or he didn't think he knew them. Something about them was familiar. It was almost like he was having a memory from another life but in the form of a dream. He had to laugh at that. There was no possible way that this could be memories from a form life. Once you died, you're dead. You're not reborn or anything.
He rolled over onto his left side. His eyes landed on his brother's sleeping form. His brain got to thinking about his thought from earlier that day about him and Luffy. Or was he wrong? Was that dream he was having really a memory from a past life? That would explain why he and Luffy had nothing in common. He shook his head. "Stop it. That's just silly. There's no such thing as former lives. That dream is just a stupid, silly dream. It means nothing."
With a solid nod and huff, Law forced the idea out of his mind and closed his eyes.