"You turned down WINDY?!" Kid's exclamation as he ran inside told Law he'd heard about the interaction. But did he have to talk about it so publicly? Killer was right, they needed to have a family meeting.
"Turned who down for what?" Corazon asked curiously from across Law. They were working on a puzzle that they'd found in a second-hand shop and he'd cajoled Law into helping when it became obvious the missing pieces made it too hard to do alone. Penguin was walking in after Kid but Killer sat beside Sengoku reading the cartoons from the man's paper as said man finished some last-minute paperwork. Penguin and Kid had decided to stay later at the tavern while Law and Killer had opted for time at home.
Kid jumped up to land beside Law on the couch. "Willow Windy. She wanted to have sex with him." He replied bluntly, causing Corazon to choke slightly on air. "She's really pretty. I don't give a shit about that kinda stuff right now, but all the older kids say she's a hot commodity—and he turned her down!"
"Good." Sengoku said as he signed another paper, putting it on a stack before binding them carefully together. "He's far too young for something like that."
"How old was this girl?" Corazon asked, still shocked.
"A year older than me." Law replied a bit absently as he successfully connected three clusters with a single piece. He rocked at this puzzle. "She took the rejection well."
"Where'd you hear about it?" Killer asked his captain curiously.
"If you two weren't such antisocial freaks—"
"Don't call them that." Corazon protested.
"—weirdos," He corrected dutifully. "Then you'd have heard 'em all talkin' about it. They think you're a goddamn saint or something—"
"—sweet fluffy homicidal puppy was a favorite." Penguin chimed in with a grin and Kid reached up to rub Law's fluffy hat roughly.
Law smacked the hand away.
"Accurate." Penguin giggled when Law flicked him off.
"—you got 'em all feelin' sorry for you or something. Is it true? You can't get it up?" Kid asked crudely causing both Corazon and Penguin to choke and go red.
"Hormone levels indicate that I should already be experiencing sexual urges. I feel nothing." Law replied boredly. "I have yet to discover an actual reason for the lack of such bodily functions as 'getting it up' but am not overly concerned about it."
"Maybe you're brain damaged."
"That's not nice." Penguin huffed. "He's only had three concussions major enough to alter his personality."
Everyone looked up from their tasks at that and turned to look at Law.
"Don't do that. It's creepy." Law said. "And it's four, not three."
"The fuck? Your brain was actually damaged?" Kid demanded in horror.
"How?" Killer demanded.
He raised a brow. "How was I damaged or how has it affected me?"
"Both." Sengoku said as he set his pen down to focus fully on him.
Leaning back against the couch, Law looked at the ceiling as he recalled the injuries. "First…was when I was four, I believe. I fell off the bed's bars when I was climbing over them and the impact somehow made the retention of memories…stronger? I can't forget anything. Oh, it'll get buried and take me a few minutes sometimes, but I can remember all the way to my first steps." He shrugged in disinterest and went back to the puzzle. "On the minus side, I will never forget the horrors of potty training."
Kid made a disgusted face. "Gross."
Law ignored him. "Second time was when I was seven. The river flooded and we were all blindsided by it. My parents were quick enough to get Lamy, but Mom's hand slipped from mine because of the mud we'd been playing in." He swept his hand to the side. "I was gone. It ran into the cemetery a few miles down and I bashed my head on a tombstone before Oraka-ya fished me out. She was the groundskeeper and heard the water. This scar is because she caught me with her gardening hoe." He showed them the scar that stretched from his elbow to the inside of his wrist.
"Jesus Christ, when'd that get there?" Kid asked in shock as he grabbed Law's wrist.
"My pale skin acted as camouflage." He replied. "Now that it's darkening, my scars will become more prominent. He let him trace the scar as he continued on to the effects. "That one affected my sense of smell and my hearing. It's why I can't stand umeboshi—the vinegar is too much for me."
They all took that in for a moment. Then Killer asked, "The next one?"
"Ten. Happened while escaping the guards on the other side of the barricade." He replied. "I snuck onto a pirate ship while they were fighting the Marines and ended up getting clipped by a cannonball below deck. That was a crazy day." He rubbed his head at the phantom pain. "They escaped into the Calm Belt. Idiots would've made it across if not for the racket they were making. Seaking missed me by a hair as it bit through the vessel and—it's blurry. Everything was all garbled because of the concussion and all I really remember is the water was so cold. Then Penguin was in my face."
"My uncle went missing again." Penguin told them. "So we were out looking for him and he's got these patches of grey on his chest, kinda like Sencho's hat, so I thought it was him, but found a human kid bleeding all over the place. I called for help and we got him back to our house and did what we could. We didn't think he'd make it cuz he slept for almost seven days."
Corazon made a pained noise at that.
"That's when the periods of mild catatonia began." Law continued on to the effects. "I'm not entirely sure why it only happens with depression, but we've learned to catch it before it really sets in…most of the time." He shrugged. "Fourth time was here while I was waiting for a ride back to the North Blue. We were doing field exercises in the Whale Forest—which we do around summer since that's the absolute worst time to keep your brain functioning in the heat…ugh, it's horrible." He shook his head. He shouldn't complain. At least he didn't have fur. "We were ambushed by invaders during one of the sessions. None of us were good at seeing with our ears yet and the forest is very loud, so we didn't realize it wasn't part of the drill until Maggie-ya screamed and went down. We smelled blood and I was the first one that got to her. As the others fought off the dozen or so enemies, I tried to stabilize her long enough for the healer to arrive. We almost lost her, she'd been impaled, but I was able to patch up the pierced organs before they failed—I always carry spare needles and thread. Not sanitary, but infections can be fought."
"Better than her being dead." Penguin hummed.
Law nodded, connecting another section to the blob that was coming together. "As his comrades were killed by the students and teachers, one of the pirates attacked me. I couldn't defend myself, if I got distracted Maggie-ya would be dead. Luckily Tristan-ya arrived just as I was hit and was able to take over. She told me that Pedro had been the one to take down my assailant and carried me to the hospital where I slept for two weeks. The injuries had happened in too close a time-frame for me to escape unscathed. The older wound was worsened and caused periods of rage following the catatonia. That's mostly gone now, but the effects of number four still afflict me."
"What did it do?" Penguin asked anxiously.
"Nothing I haven't been able to compensate for." He reassured him. "My balance is just fucking terrible."
"WHAAAT?!" The other two kids and Corazon cried out in shock.
Law looked at them in amusement. "You haven't noticed? I'm always locking my knees, sitting down, or leaning against something. Walking's easier now, at least."
"You are very good at hiding it." Penguin defended.
Law smiled, pleased.
"Geeze, think you know a guy…" Kid muttered. "And none of those coulda caused your ED?"
"Oi, it's not ED." Law said in annoyance. "And no, none of the areas affected are linked to the areas responsible for such functions. The only things that could prevent even the most basic erections are spinal damage or the hindrance of blood flow. There is no sign of either."
"You'll be the most boring adult." Kid huffed. "Remind me not to invite you to any of my parties."
"I wouldn't go to your parties if you paid me." Law scoffed in derision.
"That's because you're boring as fuck. Oh, wait—"
"Haha, did you think of that all by yourself?" Law taunted.
"Spineless porcupette!" Kid growled.
"Useless midget!" He shot back furiously.
Kid tackled him and the puzzle was ruined as they crashed into the table before the floor. No one paid attention to the puzzle, watching them wrestle.
"You really can't tell." Killer mused.
They nodded in agreement but after a few more minutes, returned to what they'd been doing before Kid had brought it up.