Author's Note: Yay, new chapter! Hope ya'll enjoy :)

To Push23: Thank you so much!

To janebar10: I'm glad you like it so far! It's a fun story to write XD

To Jordansdevil: Yes... poor Lu is very scared. He really can't help it when he's so tiny! Thanks for the review!

To JinksDjay: I love mermaidAU's so I was very excited to start this story! Lol thank you! I was feeling very inspired so I just kept going and ended up with two chapters XD

To Smiley-Nami: Thank you!

To SvalbardGirl: Yep new story, Lol you've caught on! I too love stories where everyone wants Lu, it's just so exciting and adorable! Poor Lu, but he's in good hands. Thank you for your many compliments, I always look forward to your reviews :) Fluff and Fire is one of my favorites too XD See you next time!

To Guest: Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far! Haha Katalu is super cute and so is Lawlu... I'll have to think on it more as to which one I want *thinks intensely* maybe a bit of both? ULTIMATE FLUFF! YAASS!

To cat saezp: Hey there! I'm glad you like this new story of mine :) Exams are finally over so I can keep writing lol. Expect an update from Brothers Under the Moon soon ;)

To Maria5501: Thank you! I like coming up with unique/original AU's, it's a lot of fun to write! Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy the update!

On to the chapter!


When Law arrived home, he immediately noted that Cora was visiting as the man's sedan was parked in front of his apartment. He'd moved out of his adoptive father's house a few months before once he'd saved up enough money for the security deposit on his new place. Though, it turned out to be more difficult than Law thought to keep up with the monthly rent.

Parking his car, Law sat for a moment just staring at the hopefully inconspicuous cooler in the passenger's seat.

'Why do I feel so…nervous…?' The tattooed man thought while gently gathering the tiny creature's container into his arms, 'I've seen way too many movies. The government isn't going to be after me or anything…'

Hiking up to the second floor, Law prayed Cora wasn't attempting to cook. The last time he'd tried, their home at nearly burned to the ground.

Thankfully, his father wasn't in the kitchen when Law entered the apartment but was lounging on the couch flipping between channels on the television.

"Ah, Law, you're back!" Cora exclaimed, putting the TV on mute, "How was your walk?"

"Er… interesting." He answered, still cradling the cooler, "I found something on the beach that you should see." Not waiting for the man to question him, Law moved into the kitchen and placed the cooler on the counter. Rifling through the cabinets, he pulled out a cookie tray with relatively high ridges and shoved it into Cora's hands.

"Fill that about half-way with water, I'll be right back."

Leaving a very confused Cora, Law jogged into his bedroom and pulled his trusty first-aid kit out of the closet. Throwing it onto his bed, the former doctor went through his bathroom sink cabinets until he had collected cotton balls, toothpicks, and a washcloth.

Re-entering the kitchen with laden arms, Law found his beloved father spread out on a suspiciously wet floor with the tray laying beside his head.

"Cora, are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, just slipped, that's all." The man grumbled, picking the tray up again, "I can do this!" Law rolled his eyes, instructed Cora to disinfect the cookie tray before trying again, and turned his attention to getting his medical instruments set up.

Once his father finally succeeded at filling the tray up with water, Law took it from him and placed it on the center island next to his supplies.

"Law, are you going to tell me what this is about? What's the first-aid kit for? YOU'RE NOT HURT ARE YOU!?" Cora screamed, grabbing him and tilting his chin up.

"No, I'm not…hey stop that!" Law protested as the man lifted his arm gingerly, definitely checking for wounds, "It's not me that's hurt, it's…it's Mer-ya." Cora gave him a suspicious look.

"Mer? They're not in a gang, are they? If so, they should-"

"Cora, please!" Law groaned, grabbing the man by his shoulders, "He's not in a gang, he's in the cooler." At that, his father's eyes grew wide and he gasped, eyes flitting between him and the cooler.

"Oh. My. Lord. You've brought a head or some other severed body part into your brand-new kitchen… and you named it!? I thought we were past this!?"

"What!? No! Why would you think that!?" Law yelled, "I promise you, there is not a head in my cooler." His father breathed a sigh of relief and pulled him in for a quick hug.

"Oh good… but, if it's not a head, then what have you got in the cooler?"

Law huffed and pulled on his still damp work gloves before moving to stand in front of the cooler that was now right next to the water filled tray.

"What I found on the beach." He whispered while slowly sliding the top open. Taking them both by surprise, a stream of water shot out of the container, nailing Cora in the face. Holding up a gloved hand, Law was able to block the second attack while cupping the tiny creature gently.

It definitely didn't like that. Law cursed as the thing squirmed intensely in his grip, this time almost escaping.

"Cora, a little help please!" The young man hissed while trying to move the merman over to the water filled tray. In seconds, his father was next to him with oven mitts on. With Cora stabilizing Mer-ya's chest and neck, it was much easier to get him onto the tray.

Once the tiny creature was on the tray and released, he immediately tried to crawl away from them. That is, until his tiny arms collapsed under his weight. Law took a few deep breathes to calm his racing heart while Cora took off his mitts and knelt down next to the kitchen island, a look of awe on his face.

"I don't believe it… it's-it's a mermaid!"

"Merman, Cora. It's definitely male." Law corrected, cracking a smile at his father's amazed face.

"This is incredible!" Cora exclaimed, "The find of the century, Law! Where-how-"

His father continued to ramble loudly making Law sigh in annoyance. It wasn't that big a deal. His attention was drawn away from Cora when a quiet whimper reached his ears.

Mer-ya was curled up into a ball, his broken arm clutched tightly to his chest. What was most concerning was the fact that he was trembling and… crying?

Immediately shushing Cora, Law leaned over the tiny merman and brushed wet raven hair out of its face, revealing red eyes and a quivering lip.

"I'm sorry, Mer-ya, were we too loud?" He asked quietly. The merman looked up at him, sniffled, and nodded while holding in a sob.

"You… you can understand us?" Cora asked, also in a whisper, earning a second nod.

"In that case," Law mumbled before fixing the small thing with a firm gaze, "Listen Mer-ya, you're injured. I happen to be a doctor and want to help you, if you'll let me." The merman shook his head vigorously and attempted to scoot away from them again, only to be stopped by Cora's large hand.

"It's okay, little guy," His father soothed, "My son is an excellent doctor and you can trust him, I promise!"

Mer-ya seemed to consider this for a moment and stared at Law intently, evaluating him. He then looked down at his battered body and severely bruised arm.

"O-Okay…"

Both Law and Cora started at the ridiculously tiny voice that came from the merman. It was rough, like he hadn't spoken in a while, but also quiet…and adorable. The creature looked up at him with watery eyes and swallowed hard before lowering himself onto his side, panting at the effort.

Law took that as a sign to begin.

Grabbing the washcloth, he started by dabbing gently at the merman's wounds, frowning when Mer-ya flinched and whimpered with every touch. He needed to disinfect them…

"Cora, could you get me some alcohol wipes please?"

"Of course!" His father replied before digging into the first-aid kit and passing the requested objects to Law. The tiny merman cried out when he pressed a wipe to his wounds, definitely in pain. Cora immediately ran a soothing finger over its hair, doing his best to keep Mer-ya calm.

On further inspection of the little one's tail, it was obvious that some scales had been ripped out and Law knew it needed to be wrapped.

"Mer-ya, is it okay if we move you out of the water?" Law questioned, "I need to bandage your wounds without them getting soggy." The merman nodded again and allowed Cora to pick him up without a struggle. Law quickly pulled out a plate and watched his father gently lay the tiny thing on it.

As he worked, it was obvious Mer-ya was in pain. The poor thing tried to hold in his whines and whimpers, to no avail. Cora looked almost in tears.

Once its tail was wrapped partially in bandages, Law noticed Mer-ya was looking a bit dried out. Cora seemed to have also noticed and rushed out of the room, quickly returning with a cotton swab which he dipped in water and wiped softly over Mer-ya's face and neck, where his gills were located.

It actually didn't take long to finish treating the tiny creature. The hardest part was fastening a splint for his arm out of toothpicks, some cotton, and string Cora had pulled out of his sowing kit.

Stepping back to admire his work, Law smiled reassuringly at the merman. He'd had to cut strips of gauze very small, but they did their job. Mer-ya curled in a little to look over his tail and chest curiously.

"I'm sorry if you're still in pain, but I've done what I can for now." Law whispered to the creature who was now looking up at him. "We can partially submerge you for now, but your bandages will need to be changed frequently until your wounds close up a little."

The merman sniffled and practically crawled into Law's waiting hands as they moved him back into the water filled tray. As he was releasing him, Mer-ya latched onto his thumb and rubbed a cheek against its pad.

"Thank you… T-Torao." He whispered before collapsing into the shallow water with a quiet whine.

Cora gave him a toothy smile and practically skipped over to him from around the island once it was obvious Mer-ya was asleep in the tray.

"He's so adorable, Law! Did you hear that, he called you 'Torao'! Isn't that precious!"

Law huffed and returned Cora's hug as they watched the creature's chest move up and down.


Katakuri growled as he tore into the meat of a sea king one of his siblings had brought for him. It was juicy and full of blood, just like he wanted it, but he really wasn't in the mood to enjoy it.

Not only had Cracker managed to lose the Silver-Scale in the Riptide Current, but Raftel's new ruler of a few hours had already declared his people enemies of the Kingdom!

'And to think I thought Dragon and the nobles were bad!' He fumed, snapping a large bone with his teeth, 'The nerve of this-this servant to segregate us like this!' Katakuri had basically given up receiving aid from Raftel, especially under its new leadership.

They were on their own.

Luckily, Cracker had managed to retain a few scales from the tiny royal before loosing him which he had immediately sent to Brulee. Katakuri could only wait to see if they were effective in cleansing some of the sickness, even without the prince.

A few minutes after he finished his meal, Cracker and Brulee swam into his chambers, which was little more than a large cave carved out of the cliff face of their ravine. Though, his loyal subjects did insist on decorating it and crafting things for him, like a bed. That was nice to have.

"Brother, good news!" Brulee called, swimming to a stop in front of him, "The scales worked! About a third of our people have been cured, at least temporarily." Katakuri sighed in relief.

"Wonderful. Though, temporary you say?"

"Yes, if we cannot cleanse the source of the pollution, I fear their sickness will return." Brulee replied with a sorrowful look on her face, "Three scales are simply not enough…"

Katakuri had been afraid of that, though it seems the tiny size of the scales made no difference in the potency of their magic.

"We need the Silver-Scale…" He groaned, "Unfortunately, he rocketed himself up onto the surface where retrieving him will be difficult."

The Scavenger King disliked humans and saw them as nothing more than stupid, squishy snacks. But they were also obsessive and held a dangerous intrigue with Merfolk. If the prince had been captured by them…

"We could organize a search party?" Cracker suggested meekly, "All we would need is some of a sea witch's magic charms and we'd look just like humans." Katakuri shook his head at the request.

"Unfortunately, us shark-Mer retain our normal size even in the skin of a human. We'd stand out too much. I am also reluctant to send any of my warriors away in such an uncertain time." He replied, saddened by Cracker's defeated look, "Don't lose heart, little brother, we'll retrieve the young prince eventually. For now, we need to focus on strengthening our defenses and protecting our people."

His siblings bowed in agreement and made to swim out of his chambers, but stopped when one of Katakuri's guards swam in.

"Forgive me for interrupting, my King." The guard said, a little out of breath, "I have come to inform you that we have captured some small-Mer on the outskirts of our territory. They appear to be of Raftel."

Immediately intrigued, Katakuri and his siblings followed the guard to the "throne room" that backed up against the cliff face. He could see that there were three small-Mer being held at spear point in front of his throne (well… it was just a really big rock).

Picking up his pace and surpassing his siblings, Katakuri swam down and stopped in front of their new captives. They were quite funny looking with one having green hair, one with a strange swirly eyebrow, and the last cowering one had an abnormally long nose.

"What a surprise to have guests from the great city so soon after the Summit." Katakuri sneered, chucking to himself when the smallest one trembled in fear, "Was Raftel's new leadership not to your liking?" The one with algae-colored hair glared up at him and swam forward as much as his captors would allow.

"Don't give us that crap, Scavenger. We're here for the second prince and won't leave without him!"

Katakuri had to admit, the little warrior's attitude was amusing, though the blonde one didn't seem to think so.

"Zoro, what the hell!? He's a King, not a common criminal!"

"So? If he's got Luffy, he's an enemy of mine!" The blonde one then smacked "Zoro" on the head and forced him into a bow.

"Forgive him, Your Majesty, he's a bit rude."

Katakuri raised an eyebrow at the new speaker's more… polite… tone. His words didn't match his cold eyes.

"O-Oi, are you two trying to get us killed!?" The frightened one asked in a quivering voice from his hiding place behind them. That sparked a full-fledged argument between the three of them, making his guards look at him with questioning gazes.

"Stop your pointless bickering!" Katakuri demanded, silencing them immediately, "For the record, the second prince escaped us in the Riptide Current and is currently somewhere on the surface."

The three small-Mer looked at each other with worried expressions and began whispering in low tones. As Katakuri watched them, an idea came to him.

'These three seem to be guards are perhaps servants to the young prince, though their concern gives away their attachment. Perhaps I can exploit that…'


Sanji was startled out of his intense conversation with Zoro and Usopp when the two were ripped away from him by burly shark-Mer. Yelling in protest, he tried to swim to them, but was held back when two guards grabbed his arms.

"Let them go!" He yelled up to the Scavenger King, who had a somewhat unnerving neutral expression on his face. What was he trying to do!?

"Your arrival is most timely," The massive shark said with a smirk, "We were actually just deliberating how to retrieve the prince from the surface, and now there is a way."

"What are you talking about?" Sanji growled, thrashing against his own captors.

"Let's make a deal…" The King sneered as he swam lazily around the cook, "You seem more level headed than your friends, so consider my offer carefully."

Sanji swallowed nervously and nodded, prompting the Scavenger King to continue,

"As I'm sure you're aware, we cannot don an appropriate human guise without drawing suspicion. However, you can. Bring me the young prince and your friends can go free."

The chef ground his teeth in frustration. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, but Zoro just had to charge straight into a Scavenger patrol without even considering their strength! Now, it was Luffy or them… With a motion of his head, the King ordered swords held against Zoro and Usopp's throats, making Sanji freeze.

"Wait, I'll do it!" He yelled, managing to break free from his captor's loosening grip and swimming forward a bit, "That is, if you swear not to hurt them."

"On my honor, they will not be harmed." The King swore firmly, "Tell me your name, boy."

"Sanji."

"I suggest you swim swiftly, Sanji," The massive shark-Mer warned, "my patience has limits. In two-months' time, bring the prince to Akh-Shorn Reef and make sure he's unaware of the exchange or forfeit your friend's lives."

Sanji looked up into Zoro's eyes, noting the determination there. The marimo nodded discreetly to him.

'Stupid marimo...' The chef thought as he turned and swam towards the open ocean, 'His recklessness is what got us into this situation in the first place!'

During the coup, Sanji and Zoro had fought their way into the cave where the royals were taken, only to find it empty. Swimming around desperately, they'd located a terrified Usopp who said he'd seen a tiny (likely cursed) Luffy kidnapped from one of Teach's men by a shark. This, of course, prompted their rescue mission.

Luffy was more than their prince, he was their friend…the one who'd given them better lives. His endless optimism and kindness seemed to have no end. So how could they leave him in the hands of the Scavengers!?

That being said, diving into the current and attacking a large group of scavengers had definitely not been the way to go, but it was impossible to stop a determined and angry Zoro (unless you were Luffy).

'And now, I'm being forced to deliver Luffy into the hands of the enemy…' Sanji mused with a frustrated hiss. But, in reality, the prince would likely understand, which made it even more painful. The idiot was always willing to sacrifice everything for his friends, regardless of status. That was one of his qualities that made him so damn likable.

Sighing, Sanji increased his speed and made for the Kelp Forrest, where the sea witches dwelt.