A/N: Why yes, it is an update. One that I didn't realize I would be doing so soon, but I had a thought and started writing it and couldn't stop myself until I finished the chapter. In any case...
Thank you for the reviews/favs/follows! I wasn't too sure about posting this fanfic, but I have warmed to the idea now that I am actually posting it. I also have a good idea as to where this story will go now, which means I feel less hesitant about it. I am also a horrible person, so enjoy the humor while it lasts, before the drama part comes into play in later chapters (although it sort of already is). I am tormenting Law in this fic after all, and it isn't just limited to the Straw Hat crew (and remember the potential of ooc/ic mixed together based on the situations).
(A quick note: I will put any future A/N's at the bottom of the chapters if need be).
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Who was he?
That was the question, wasn't it? After all, he couldn't remember. He thought that he had, but perhaps not. He was sure that it was there somewhere in his mind though, but the dark haired man couldn't place it. But the matter of who he was exactly came to a crashing halt as soon as he slit his eyes open. It became apparent that the situation he now found himself in immediately upon awakening required his full attention. The worry of being unable to recall his own name was forgotten as a sense of dread washed over him.
Hell.
There was no other word for it.
He had woken up in hell.
The harbinger of death had come for him, to take him further into the bottomless depths, never to return. That had to be it. There was no other reason for why he was greeted by that very ominous sight, which made him promptly close his eyes, as if he could will it away. Although what he had just seen did a great deal to explain why he felt so drained and unable to move. That odd loss of control led him to believe that he was dead. It seemed logical. It was the only rational explanation for this vision currently being visited upon him.
The dark haired man chanced a peek at the sight to make sure that he had really seen things correctly. The vision was still there, so yes, he had seen it. To be completely honest, he'd have thought that the grim reaper or whoever it was that had come to collect him would be more intimidating. A harbinger of death with an afro seemed strange, even if the rest of the being was obviously a skeleton. Maybe it was a trick to get him to lower his guard.
In the haze that was his mind, the dark haired man thought that death was supposed to come quickly. Not agonizingly slow like this, nor as torturous as it was soon to become. Maybe he'd done something terrible that merited this cruel and unusual departure to the gates of hell. It certainly seemed that way when the dark haired man realized what the skeleton was doing.
It was singing.
Singing and playing an accompaniment on an instrument. It was an affront to make such a racket around someone who'd been unconscious until very recently, and it was akin to a never ending assault upon the terrible headache he now had coming to him. That alone made the dark haired man reconsider being dead.
Perhaps this noise was to be what ended him. He prayed for a fast death if that was the case. Anything to stop this torture which apparently passed as pleasant music. The skeleton had even spoken briefly before it had launched into another song. It made him want to curl in on himself, but he was too exhausted and barely able to move as it was. No, he could only lay there and wait for deliverance.
He thought he might beg and plead to make it stop, to move things along, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. There was no way he was going to stoop so low as to beg this creature before him to end things. He had never begged for anything from anyone, no matter how dire the circumstances. How he knew this, he couldn't recall, but it felt right to him. After what seemed like ages, the music finally and mercifully came to an end. The only downside was that the skeleton moved closer to where he lay, and there was nothing he could do about it.
This was it.
He was going to be whisked away to hell, or wherever it was that he would go when dead. Perhaps he was to be endlessly tormented with insidious sound that only just passed for music. The dark haired man lay inert. There was no point in resisting. It would be a pathetic display if he even had the energy to sit up. What could he possibly do to stop death from coming for him? Doing something now to delay things seemed like it would likely only encourage the skeleton to further taunt him.
To taunt him…
He recalled something then. It was a brief passing of a memory that he couldn't quite hold on to. But it was enough for the general idea. He knew, remembered, that he did not like to be taunted. The context to support this feeling was gone as soon as the idea had crossed his mind. It was as if the information was dangling itself just out of his reach. When the dark haired man tried to get to it, he managed to recall what had happened to him, and just how things had turned out this way.
He'd been attacked by the marines, and the only reason he could think of at the time was that it was because he was a pirate. Marines chased pirates. It made sense. He had then hidden himself out of sight, but those people had found him. The ones that seemed to know him. The dark haired pirate desperately grasped at that piece of information like a lifeline. He'd remembered what one of them had said. They'd told him a piece of information about himself.
His name.
His name was Law. That was right. He recalled that now. He'd do well to keep that in mind, in case he was knocked unconscious again. Trying to remember your own name certainly made a situation that much more miserable. Law also recalled that one of those people that had found him had unceremoniously knocked him out, after he claimed to not know any of them. Which was true enough. It wasn't like he could pick out any past memories of them at the moment. Law was far more concerned that he knew little to nothing about himself. Being driven into unconsciousness via a punch was certainly a setback.
Law scowled faintly. He highly doubted that he would have anything to do with such contradictory people in the first place, but perhaps it would be useful to stick around and learn more. He needed more knowledge. Just his name wasn't enough. Who was he, exactly? Where had he come from? Why were the marines after him? Who were the people he'd run into? Why had they knocked him out instead of continuing the conversation?
The dark haired pirate supposed he knew the answer to the last one. It was because he'd been ready to attack in order to defend himself.
"Excuse me?"
Law scrambled backward on what he had been lying on. A bed, he dimly realized, as he curled against the wall defensively. He sought out the nodachi that he had had, but could not see it in immediate sight. It would figure that they would want to disarm him, in case he tried to lash out at them. Although he didn't like that they had made the decision for him. They all were armed. Law's back rested heavily against the wall. He could now see that he was in a room of some kind, stocked with what looked like medical supplies, but apart from that, it was unfamiliar.
And all the while the damn skeleton was getting ever closer to him.
Law wanted to crawl through the wall behind him to get away, but felt that he needed to face death with more dignity. Damn that straw hat wearing fool. Luffy. That was that one's name. That idiot had put him at death's door with that punch of his. Luffy must have struck him harder than he'd meant to. A meeting with death itself proved that. But Law wasn't dead. He was still breathing, after all. Maybe it was just a mistake.
The skeleton rambled on as if unaware of how frazzled Law was. "I said that that last song was entitled 'remember me in the stormy weather'."
Law's gaze swept the entire room, but the only escape route was past the skeleton, and he felt that he wasn't in the best of shape to be making a run for it. He'd never make it out the door.
The skeleton came closer to the edge of the bed to look at him.
This was it. He was about to die.
Law watched the skeleton lean over slightly, and vaguely wondered what manner of death would be chosen for him. He hoped it would be quick, whatever it was. Law supposed that the skeleton was getting a good look at him. But the skeleton had no eyes, so he couldn't be sure that it wasn't looking at someone or something else.
But that was unlikely.
Just as Law braced himself for pain, the skeleton spoke in a curious manner. "Are you all right? You don't appear too well."
Law's tension left him at the absurdity of it all. The dark haired pirate dared to give the other being in the room with him a disgruntled look. Death could at least have the decency to take him away without inquiring after his well-being. Law was about to be carried off to hell. How was he supposed to feel about that?
The skeleton was fiddling with its instrument. "Maybe another song will help…"
Law finally found his voice, as irrational fear of the unknown was overtaken by profound annoyance. "No. No more songs." It was very bizarre to see a crestfallen skeleton. What was going on? When was all of the fire and brimstone and unending agony going to begin? Law caught the skeleton about to start playing, and the dark haired pirate forgot his fatigue, his tone clipped. "If you are going to drag me to hell, be quick about it. Do not make me suffer beforehand like this."
There was a long, awkward silence after that, and the skeleton appeared to be perplexed. Then, it nodded, as if confirming something. "Ah. I didn't believe it, but I guess everyone was right. You really don't remember."
Law frowned at that. "Remember what, exactly?" That skeletons had no business of walking around unless they were harbingers of death come to claim damned souls?
The skeleton with an afro did not respond. Instead, it had already made its way to the door and opened it. "He doesn't recall me either, but…" There was a pause, and Law could have sworn that they damn thing was smiling. "I do believe that he thinks that I am some messenger of death come to take him away. That sends a chill done my spine. Even though I have no nerves. Yohohoho!"
Law was seriously considering his sanity and reevaluating the potential that he was dead and in some afterlife already. This was just too weird to happen in reality. Most unfortunately, Law's day was to get worse as he was left without a trace of doubt that he was alive and breathing. Straw Hat Luffy made his appearance.
"What are you talking about, Brook?" Luffy, the one that had knocked him out, had just responded to the skeleton. "Why would he think you'd do something like that?"
Wait. The skeleton had a name? So help him, the skeleton and straw hat were in league with one another. That didn't bode well. Had Luffy made some bargain with the devil to get an unholy creature in the form of a skeleton?
Luffy bounded into the room, and caught sight of Law looking as if he wanted nothing more than to claw his way through the wall. Luffy laughed. "What are you doing?"
Brook gave the impression of being thoughtful as he looked between Luffy and Law. "Perhaps it is because he does not remember that I too have a Devil Fruit power that he isn't entirely sure what to make of me. He doesn't know the circumstances that led me to be in this state."
Law saw the skeleton's attention go back to him, and pressed his back against the wall heavily in response, as if he could will himself to phase through it.
Brook turned back to Luffy. "It follows that it would make no sense to him that a skeleton would be moving on its own. It is therefore plausible that someone who was ignorant would believe me to be some kind of demon or grim reaper." The afro sporting skeleton shrugged. "I did have some people think that they summoned me on a certain island."
"Awesome." Luffy immediately turned his full attention to Brook. "Did they really summon you?"
Brook laughed in return. "They did not. It was where I was sent by that Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma, two years ago. The timing was coincidental."
"I see..."
Law could tell that, even without the knowledge of what was being discussed, that Luffy didn't 'see', at all. The straw hat wearing young man was too absorbed in thinking about Brook being involved in a summoning to track the skeleton's words. Funny that Law even had an idea as to what summoning would involve, but nothing useful about himself. And for all Law knew, Luffy could have summoned Brook himself. But the way that the younger man was so amazed at the idea, it seemed unlikely that Luffy had done anything of the sort. Law noticed the skeleton's attention was suddenly back on him and tensed defensively in return.
"We should get Chopper, now that he's awake." Brook commented. "Perhaps he'll know what is the matter."
"Okay!"
Law had been about to gripe about Luffy knocking him out with a punch, but the young man had already left the room. More importantly, however, was the fact that Brook had started to play his music again. The grating noise spurred Law into action. He no longer had thoughts of escape. Law forced his exhausted body into movement. For some reason, in his mind, Brook was doing something to try and confuse him, in order to distract him. Law didn't know who this Chopper was. When he was on his feet, Law had a moment of clarity and realized with a jolt that he had heard the name before. Chopper was that animal that he'd seen before falling unconscious.
Another question drifted into his mind as he focused on the skeleton. Why would they want to bring him here? Wherever here was. It wasn't like anything any one of these people said was going to help. Unless it was something that would be useful. Like information about who he was. Law didn't like that there was a void when it came to what he knew about himself, apart from his name.
"Yohohhoo! And then there was another storm~"
Law's hand closed over the hilt of his nodachi, but he didn't know where it had come from. It was just there. It didn't matter right this instant anyway. He knew only one thing, and it was going through his head like a mantra. An obsession.
He didn't question why the thought had overtaken the more important one of finding out more about himself as he lunged at Brook and swung the blade.
The music needed to stop, and Law felt that he had to be the one to do it.
-x
By the time Luffy returned with Chopper, it was obvious that there was trouble brewing. It was hard to miss the fact that Law was advancing on Brook with his nodachi, and wore a crazed look to match his actions. Luffy didn't think twice about throwing himself between his two friends. "Hey! Knock it off!"
Brook hesitated, but Law did not. The dark haired pirate turned his attentions to Luffy and swung his blade at him instead. There was no room made by a Devil Fruit power to make the slash mostly harmless. Luckily for Luffy, Zoro had followed his captain to see what had woken him up from his nap.
Steel rang upon steel, and the green haired swordsman was suddenly there between Law and Luffy, and blocking Law's attack. Zoro strained against the nodachi's blade with two of his katana, and spoke to Luffy without taking his eyes off Law. "What are you doing Luffy? He doesn't remember who you are."
Before Luffy could respond, Law pressed his attack, and Zoro allowed it, drawing the dark haired pirate out of the room. Apparently it was what Law had wanted, because as soon as they were out on the open deck, he broke away from Zoro and warily circled him to one side of the ship's deck. It was clear from the dark haired man's expression that he was displeased to find that he was out on the open sea. Even if the island he could make out was only a few ship lengths away.
Zoro kept the dark haired pirate covered with his two drawn katana, even as Law sheathed his own blade and appeared to be thinking about something. It became clear what, when not a second later, the dark haired pirate suddenly leapt over the side of the ship.
"Ahh! What did he do that for? " Luffy exclaimed, as he rushed over to the railing. "He'll drown!"
-x
As soon as he hit the water and realized that the best he could do was flail, Law wondered if perhaps he should have just remained on the ship. Wait until a more opportune moment to make his escape. The dark haired pirate struggled a moment longer before being swept underwater. He attempted to hold his breath, but wasn't able to for long. The shock of being unable to swim and feeling powerless had already made him gulp down some of the salty water. But the predicament Law found himself in made him question himself as he sunk further down.
Why couldn't he swim?
Law couldn't think of a good reason why, but he felt even further drained than he had before. He could hold his breath no longer. Law flailed again in any case as the water forced its way into his mouth, chasing away what little air had been left. Law's thoughts were scattered even further as the panic of the air loss went to the forefront of his mind. He needed air. He needed to breathe. He didn't want to die like this. Something was telling him that he shouldn't go down this way.
Which led him to the question of why had he jumped off the ship the first place. Why had he attacked those people on the ship? The ones who had answers to his questions.
Why?
It was as if there had been a small voice in his head telling him that it was all right to attack people who claimed to know him. But that didn't make any sense. Nor did the idea that he was supposed to go back to that marine base he had just escaped from. Why would he want to go back there when it was obvious that the marines had nothing but bad intentions should he fall into their clutches?
Law's struggles grew weaker, until he merely went limp and was battered helplessly in the ocean currents. It was useless, as far as he was concerned, to even begin to try and make an attempt to swim again. Or force himself toward the surface in a spurt of flailing. His body wasn't listening to him. It was as if the sea itself were draining him of his strength. But that was foolish. Whoever heard of such a thing? He probably just didn't know how to swim for some stupid reason. Which led to Law's next thought.
Was he going to drown?
Law twitched uselessly, the panic increasing at the helplessness of the situation, before he became aware of the sensation of something going around his middle and hanging on. Was it an arm? Had someone gone into the water after him? The next thing Law knew, he was out of the water, but wasn't taking in any air. Something the person that had helped him out appeared to notice instantly.
"Breathe, damn you."
There was a harsh slap between his shoulder blades, but Law couldn't rid himself of the water. What was more, the person continued to slap his back, scolding him as they did so. Law was forced to take the strikes, as he couldn't fight back. Not that he would have, because he very much liked the idea of expelling water from his lungs and being able to breathe properly again.
"What the hell were you thinking, jumping into the sea? Don't you remember? You Devil Fruit users are useless in the water. You aren't able to swim and sink like a damn anchor. Remember that much at least."
Law choked as the hand struck him sharply across the back again, but it had the desired effect this time. It helped him to spew out a good amount of salty sea water he'd taken in. The fresh air was a welcome relief, as it allowed him to push away the last vestiges of panic. He wasn't going to drown. That much he was sure of. Law doubted his rescuer was going to dump him back into the sea. It was then that Law realized he didn't recognize the voice that had spoken. Not that he would have remembered who the person was anyway.
The voice spoke again from somewhere overhead. "Hold still, we're going back to the ship."
It wasn't like Law really had the means to resist in any case. He was still submerged partially in the water, and it wasn't doing anything to make him feel better. Law held still, limp over the other person's shoulder, whom he could now see had blond hair. Law went back to focusing on coughing up water as he and his rescuer were brought back on board the ship.
As soon as he was lowered to the deck of the ship, Law felt well enough to put as much distance between himself and the people in immediate view. If he skittered across the deck like a fool, he didn't care. He needed his back to something solid, like the mast, so that he could keep an eye on them all for anything that might seem the least bit threatening. Law settled for a glare, a small part of him blaming these people for him nearly drowning. Even if it had been his fault to begin with, it didn't change the fact that the green haired swordsman had crossed blades with him with intent to harm should he have managed injure Luffy. Law wasn't exactly sure why that would have been a problem, but figured that he would find out soon enough.
"Luffy, wait!"
Law ignored the feminine protest as he focused on getting air back into his lungs with sharp, gasping breaths. He wouldn't take air for granted now. But right this moment, he needed to be able to think clearly with what was left of his thoughts and the pieces of memory of the people around him.
"Hey! Chopper wants to see if you're hurt!"
Law coughed into a hand as he cleared away the last vestige of the water that he'd ingested. Feeling infinitely better now that he was not in any danger of drowning, the dark haired pirate lifted his head to lock gazes with the straw hat wearing young man. Who was much too close for comfort. And that was all it took for an irrational thought to take root in Law's mind, and stay put there.
Luffy was a threat.
A threat to him.
A threat that needed to be dealt with.
A threat that needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later, before something terrible happened.
Law wasn't sure why a hazy memory like that was in his mind, but the longer it was there, the more sense it seemed to make. After all, Luffy did have a skeleton with him. He needed to stop Luffy in order to keep the skeleton from whisking him off anywhere unpleasant. The thought nestled in his head, and swirled there until he could think of nothing else. And then another realization came to mind that solidified Luffy as a threat to him. Law had no weapon.
He was helpless without a weapon.
Defenseless.
He needed to attack.
Law needed to eliminate the threat. That was what he was supposed to do. Eliminate the threat that was Straw Hat Luffy. Someone had told him to do so, in return for something. Law vaguely recalled the conversation, though the memory was jumbled, as if one too many scenes were playing out, overlapping one another. It made it hard to distinguish what was and what wasn't fact, but he had the gist of it. That was enough reason to act.
He couldn't let these people corner him. Law had no intention of allowing someone to prod at him for any potential injuries in any case. With a twitch of his hand, Law suddenly had the nodachi in his grasp, and without thinking further on the matter, he remembered promising something, to someone, and he figured it was to the hazy memory of the person he recalled talking to. But where and when had he...?
"Hey! What's the matter? Are you hungry?"
Luffy moved in closer, and the thought broke. It seemed like Law had been going somewhere with the idea, but now the threat was heading directly for him, and he dismissed it. It was unimportant right now compared to this. With no further thought on the matter, Law swung the blade at Luffy, and there was no hesitation at all in the motion. No second guessing at the thought of causing harm to a person that wanted to help him.
Help him...
Law's blade suddenly went wide, but Luffy leaned back and out of the way in any case, narrowly missing the arc of the blade. "Huh? I thought Sanji had the sword with him."
Law would have continued his assault despite having mixed feelings about attacking someone that seemed to want to help him, as Luffy was also supposed to be a threat to him. The black haired woman he'd seen before he'd been initially knocked out prevented him from doing anything further, however. Even if Law desperately wanted to.
"Seis fluers."
Law let out a hiss of exasperation as six arms came out of his body from nowhere to restrain him. This time around, while still bizarre, it did not put him off as much as the first time it had happened. Law growled something under his breath as Zoro moved forward to pry his hand way from the nodachi, before the dark haired pirate realized what he was doing.
What had just happened?
What was wrong with him? Hadn't he just been thinking that he wanted these people to tell him more about who he was? Why the in the hell had Law believed that attacking straw hat was a good idea, when Luffy seemed to be the leader of the rest of them? When Luffy seemed to want to genuinely help him? Even if the helpfulness grated on Law's nerves for some reason, there was no excuse for lashing out as he had.
Law chanced a glance up as he attempted to calm himself down. To think clearly. To try and show that he wasn't going to press on with an attack. For now, anyway, until someone gave him reason to. Law was thinking more rationally now that he had been stopped. The negative, destructive thoughts toward straw hat and the others seemed to fade, leaving Law confused and unhappy. What had come over him since he'd awoken? It was like he was a different person then when he'd first come upon the others. Or rather, they'd happened upon him.
The question on his mind repeated itself. What was wrong with him?
His mind troubled, Law's misgivings about the situation in general grew as he caught sight of the orange haired woman from before placing a hand to her head and sighing as she spoke, now that the danger had passed.
"This is going to be a problem."
It was indeed just that. A problem. And one that Law was uncertain how to tackle. It was almost as if there was something broken within his mind, in addition to those forgotten or otherwise jumbled pieces of memories. But dwelling on the problem right now would do him no good. The dark haired pirate needed answers, and he needed them now, regardless of what had just occurred.
Law lifted his head and ignored the arms that remained to restrain him. He kept himself focused on what he was going to address the others with. A question. Law silently looked around at the gathering of people on the ship's deck, before he voiced his most urgent concern. "You told me my name, but...who am I?" Then, in a firmer voice, Law added. "And who am I to you people?" Law tried not to come off as desperate, but it must have shown, because the demeanor of the crew changed in an instant. They were no longer wary and on guard, but in various stages of pity and confusion and understanding.
All except for the one with the straw hat.
Luffy's response was immediate, and the statement was made with such conviction and certainty that it was as if Law hadn't just attacked him moments before. It appeared to Law that in that moment, no matter what happened from then on, Luffy meant what he said, and nothing would change his mind.
"You're our friend." Luffy made a face, like he couldn't believe how stupid Law was being. "Why do you even have to ask?"
A friend...
Law wasn't sure whether he should be exasperated or grateful about that claim, so he decided to be a little bit of both. Luffy still appeared to be upset that Law didn't recall him or the others that stood around him. But at the very least, Law assumed that the claim meant that he wasn't going to be sucker punched into unconsciousness any time soon.
Not being punched again was something that Law could and would consent to being grateful for.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A/N: I will admit that I had a mini panic attack and feelings of uncertainty about posting the first chapter of the fic, mainly because I wasn't sure how the idea was gonna fly. And again, for updates, they will be random and apparently a surprise, even to me. I have the problem (?) that if even one person shows interest, I tend to feel that I need to update as soon as humanly possible so that they can keep on reading (but sometimes real life/motivation gets in the way). Normally longer waits mean I just can't get into the flow of writing, and don't want to post mediocre chapters (if anyone is curious as to why some fics have longer times between updates).
I'm working on restrictions for the OC's Devil Fruit, because it can't be too overpowered, even if it is convenient to the plot line. Feel free to call me out on things if I make that, or anything else in the fic contradictory in future chapters.
