To Serve at his Command| New Struggles and Enemies
A wad of cloth was shoved into Ace's mouth once he was placed onto the table. In the middle of the night, the group worked to keep him still, each holding down a different limb of his as the doctor neared his abdomen.
The old man sniffed when began to pull Ace's shirt up, eyes quickly lifting to meet Law's. "Where is it again?"
Law nodded to Ace's waist. "On the side—right there." A grunt escaped his lips when Ace tried to wrench his arm free. "Stop," he huffed back, pressing his shoulder flat on the table.
"Ace," Luffy whispered, trying her best to keep his other arm down. "The doctor is going to remove it…just hold still." She eyed the older man for a moment, watching silently as he examined the bullet wound.
"Nicked your side," he murmured, half turning to face a small end table holding his supplies. "Looks like it didn't hit any organs…"
"Will he be alright?" Luffy questioned, gaze falling upon her brother's pained face.
Slightly shrugging, the doctor reached out for what looked like pliers. "We'll see," he finally answered, motioning once to Law. "Keep him still now."
Unrecognizable words seeped past Ace's lips as the doctor penetrated his wound with the device, pushing in deep to find the foreign metal. His muscles flexed under Luffy's touch, trying desperately to free his arms.
"Hush," the doctor firmly ordered him without a second glance. Soon, a thin smile came to him as he pulled the plier like object out as well as a red chuck of metal along with it. "There we go," he happily announced before tossing them aside. Grabbing a bottle of some liquid Luffy didn't recognize, he began to pour some of it into the wound. "What caused you lot to come here beaten up as you are?" he questioned as he continued his work, lifting his gaze to search theirs.
As Luffy opened her mouth to answer, Law quickly took the lead, speaking over her and causing her to trail off.
"We were robbed," he lied, meeting Luffy's confused stare for a mere second. "A group of thugs wanted our money, but when they thought we were holding back on them, they shot him and attacked us."
Cocking a furry brow, the man turned his attention back to Luffy, eyes on the cut upon her cheek. "You might wanna get that checked on then—might need stiches."
Luffy nodded silently, gaze falling back down on Ace.
Retrieving some string and a needle, the doctor continued on. "You should go report this incident to the authority soon…they might be able to catch them fellows who did this."
"We will," Law calmly responded. "But we need to take care of him first before we do any of that." Luffy knew it was a lie—going to the authorities now of all times wouldn't fare them any positive results.
The old man offered a nod while arching his brows. "You can go to the sheriff's when this is all done—he'll need his rest, and I'm sure he won't notice you gone for an hour."
Luffy caught a look of frustration cross Law's face. "We'll handle it," he stressed, frowning when Ace jolted underneath him.
"I'm sure of it," the doctor replied as he finished his needlework. "That is all I can do for him now…time will tell if he'll make it or not."
Tensing up, Luffy slowly pulled her hands away from her brother's shoulders, watching as he laid there utterly exhausted. "Ace…?"
"He might get an infection," Law said, earning her gaze. "We'll need to tend to him if he does."
The doctor cleared his throat. "Would you two be requiring anything yourselves?" he questioned with a sniff.
Luffy shook her head, a small pout forming. They barely had enough money to pay for Ace's treatment. If they wished to get any further away from the state, they needed to hold on to what they currently had left.
"We don't require any more services," Law answered before releasing Ace. "Just…just take care of him."
Humming, the doctor agreed with a stiff nod. "If you say so," he said, gaze turning to Ace. "He can rest here for an hour or so, but I'll need you all to leave. I have many paying patients who need treatments done, you must understand." When he motioned to the door for them to exit, Law offered a slight wave of his hand to stop him.
"Can you allow us a moment alone with him, so that we can tell him when we'll take him home?" he questioned, gently so, as if not to anger the doctor.
Exhaling, the doctor eyed them sternly for a second before shaking his head. "You may, for a moment…the door is this way when you need it." Upon making his leave, Law went for the end table, scavenging through it quickly.
"Traffy?" Luffy quietly called out, curious as to what he was doing.
"Come here," he responded, handing off a pile of random stuff to her. "Hide it in your coat pockets…" After a minute or so of doing this, he nodded off to Ace. "Say what you need to, but we need to go hide out somewhere for an hour."
Blinking, Luffy quickly turned back over to Ace, reaching her hand out to touch his shoulder. "We'll be back soon," she gently informed him, frowning softly when he barely nodded his acknowledgement. "Just rest up some, alright?"
Law had found them an alleyway a few blocks east from the clinic. There were a few crates scattered about, and after fumbling around with them for a good minute, he was able to create some sort of makeshift chairs for them.
"Start handing me the stuff," he quietly ordered when she sat down beside him. "I'll clean up your cut…"
In silence, Luffy handed over the items, unsure of what he needed. She watched as he laid a few of them on the crate corner, the others on his lap. When he pulled a piece of what appeared to be some type of cloth, Luffy cocked a brow.
"I think he was right about you needing stiches," he observed as he poured some type of liquid upon the cloth. When he brought it to her wound, she winced, pulling back an inch or so. A small smirk played with his lips, lasting for only a passing second. "I need to clean it," he restated, pressing it again to her flesh.
Remaining still, Luffy casted her gaze away. "It stings…"
"It's supposed to," he commented, pulling the cloth away. "But it isn't the worse part…"
Frowning, Luffy glanced over and caught him fetching the needle and string. A panicked groan escaped her, gaze snapping forward to avoid looking at it. "Do I really need that?"
"Yes," he answered.
"No," she weakly objected. "But do I really need it?"
"Yes."
Exhaling lightly, she pouted, hand lifting up to stop him, but pausing midway. Defeated, she muttered a soft "fine" before dropping her hand down to his knee. "If you hurt me, I'll squeeze your knee to stop, alright?"
A light breath of warm air escaped him, running along her neck. "Don't do anything that will make me cause you more harm," he warned her, bringing the needle to her cheek. The second it pierced her wound, Luffy let out a low whine. "It'll be fine," Law calmly told her. "Your brother went through much worse."
"That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," she retorted, clamping her eyes shut when she felt the string weave through her flesh. Her fingers began to tighten around his knee, prompting him to shift.
When he finished, he offered her a quick look over. "Is there anything else wrong?" he questioned, eyes falling to her hand on his knee. "Or was it just your cheek?"
"Just that," she answered, pulling her hand away and up towards her cheek. She stiffened when she felt him grab her wrist just before touching it.
"You can't pick at it," he informed her firmly. "You need to keep it clean to avoid infections."
Luffy allowed her hand to fall to her lap, a heavy exhale escaping her. It was hard to resist touching it, her finger ever so occasionally twitching.
They sat in silence after that for a few minutes, with Luffy observing Law as he tended to his own minor cuts. After such time, she brought her hands together over her lap, curious as to what he was thinking at that moment.
He's probably still furious over what happened with Corazon, she figured as a sad look came over her. I wish I knew what to say to him to make him feel better… "Traffy?" she finally questioned, stare avoiding his.
"Hmm?"
A slight tilt of her head. "Are you okay?"
Law nodded twice. "Nothing to complain about," he murmured. "Just a few cuts here and there…"
"No," she objected, slightly turning her gaze his way. "I mean with Corazon…"
"Oh." He grew mute, jaw clenching as he casted his eyes across the alleyway, towards the main street. "I…" he started, words falling short as he finally met her gaze, searching for a long moment. "It's hard right now…I keep reliving it in my head, moment by moment. I think I'm still in shock…"
Swallowing, Luffy nodded.
"I still can't believe he's actually gone," Law continued, voice growing soft. "Everything happened so fast…Doflamingo, he…he…"
"Why did he do that to Corazon?" Luffy gently asked, eyes falling to his fist when he clenched it.
Law shrugged. "I'm still not sure myself," he admitted. "The other day, Corazon told me he had fears that Doflamingo was growing suspicious, but I'd never think he'd actually kill him…" Law lifted his gaze up to the sky, stars reflected in his wet eyes. "At the warehouse, he accused Corazon of having the police show up…he…" Law looked to Luffy. "Corazon wasn't behind that…he would never, not at such a tense moment…"
"I believe you," Luffy agreed. "I think it was Iceburg who was behind it…"
He cocked a brow when he met her stare dead on. "The mayor…?"
Blinking, Luffy nodded once. "That man, Teach…he said that Iceburg was involved with the government this whole time…I…" Pausing, she found herself glancing to her feet, fingers tightly weaving together.
How much damage did Iceburg cause? Was he behind the attack alongside Lucci…or was Lucci even involved at all? Shaking her head, Luffy heavily exhaled. It was too much to take in all at once. And I accused Law of betraying me…when…when it was Iceburg?
"It doesn't really matter right now who exactly was behind it," Law started. "All that matters to me right now is finding Doflamingo and getting revenge on behalf of Corazon."
"Traffy," she started to object, growing mute when he offered her a hard stare.
"He needs to pay for what he did," Law told her. "I will make sure of it, even if it takes me the rest of my life…"
"What are you going to do?"
Law slightly shrugged, gaze leaving hers. "Whatever it takes…"
Once more, it grew silent between them, Luffy uneasy at the thought of Law going after Doflamingo. The blond mobster had an entire clan under him, and she wasn't entirely sure of his fate from the attack on Teach's. For all we know, he could be dead right now like…Luffy shook her head, forcing herself not to think about that.
"Traffy, I need to apologize," she finally said, looking his way. "I…I'm sorry for accusing you back then—I didn't know…" Gently, she reached out for his hand, fingers tracing the back of it.
Law pulled away fast, arising and throwing her a strained glare. "Don't," he said before turning. "Not…not now, not after everything that's happened."
Widening her gaze, Luffy dropped her hand, watching as he took a few steps down the alleyway. He's mad…
"We should head back," he suggested then, tone seemingly cold and unwelcoming. "We've spent too much time as it is…"
Luffy sat in the back passenger seat with her brother, offering him support as he lay as best he could. Tired as he was, he remained awake, hand occasionally reaching out to touch his bandaged side. "Where are we going?" he questioned, glancing up at Luffy.
"Uh," she started, unsure of what answer to give him.
"We need to find somewhere safe to hide out for a while," Law answered as he drove. "I don't particularly have any place as such available…"
Shifting, Ace arched a brow. "We can head to Gramps place, huh?"
Luffy shook her head. "It's too risky to go there—Teach might know about it."
Frowning slightly, Ace proceeded to suggest going to Whitebeard's. "He can keep us safe, but…" Glancing over to Law, Ace silently mouthed, "I don't know about him, though."
"We need to go somewhere far away," Luffy told him. "Somewhere that doesn't involve all these mob lords and groups…"
Remaining mute for a few minutes, Ace lifted his hand up to tug on Luffy's sleeve, earning her attention. Shifting, he groaned and said, "You know, we can always head up the coast line…"
"…?" She arched her brows, confused.
Ace met her expression with a strained one. "To your father's house—he lives up there, doesn't he?"
Luffy's clenched her hand into a fist, surprised Ace would even suggest him. "He…yes, he does live up there, but…?"
Forcing himself up into the sitting position, Ace leaned over to the back of Law's chair. "We need to go there—it's the safest place."
"But Ace," Luffy tried to object. "I…I hardly know him, and I don't think he would welcome us in like this…"
Throwing her a weak glance, Ace shook his head in disagreement. "We have to try, and if he boots us out, then so be it. But…I don't think he will. Luffy, he…he can help us—nobody knows about him…"
Frowning, Luffy gave a slight shrug.
"If that's where we're heading, I'm going to need directions," Law said, earning Ace's attention once more. "Do you know exactly where this man lives?"
Ace nodded, prompting Luffy to stiffen. "How do you know?" Luffy questioned softly. She, herself, had only been there when a small child—she barely even remembered what her father looked like. Why would her brother, somebody who was not this man's son, know his location?
"Gramps told me a while back, just in case we ever needed to get in touch with him," he admitted before offering up directions to Law. "Don't feel bad about it, Luffy."
With the sun raised high in the sky, Luffy stood before the door. There were different smells of the sea meeting her nostrils, offering her vague distant memories.
"Luffy?" Ace questioned, face covered in sweat.
It had been a three day journey to her father's property, just enough money to keep the car fueled and to afford them a bite to eat here and there. Ace, unfortunately, seemed to grow ill as the days passed by. By the night of the second day, Law said he had developed a fever and needed proper rest.
Holding her breath, Luffy knocked on the door, clearly unknowing of what she would say if anybody opened it. She doubted that the man would even recognize her as his own kin, and the fear of him slamming the door in their faces left her nervous.
She hoped that he would at least recognize Ace. Her father had spent about a month at her grandfather's before leaving her behind. That was when she first met her brother, young and happily welcoming to her. There was another brother, one who disappeared during that time, and such a loss brought Ace and Luffy closer together as siblings.
A moment passed before she knocked again, louder this time. When it opened, she took a step back, tensing up when she felt Ace hold onto her for support.
The man before them blinked a few times, expression that of puzzlement. "Luffy?" he questioned, surprised. A smile played on his face, brows arching. "What are you doing here?"
"He…doesn't look like you," Law quietly muttered behind Luffy, clearing amused by the man before them. "You must take after your mother…?"
"That's not him," Ace dryly said.
"Why are you here?" Luffy began, taking in the man's familiar features. It had been so long since she last seen of him.
Shanks offered her a warm smile. "I would ask you that, but I suppose it would be odd considering this is your father's house…" Shrugging, he chuckled before motioning to the men behind her. "Is that one alright?"
"He's hurt," Luffy began, tone weak as she tried to wrap her mind around the new situation. "I…we came here for help…"
His smile slowly died off, being replaced with concern. "Uh," he began, half-turning as he glanced inside. "Okay, come inside, but…" Shaking his head, he stepped aside for them, holding the door wide open. "Just get in."
Helping Ace, Luffy lead the three inside, taking in the scenery briefly. Some of it seemed familiar, if she really thought about it.
"What happened?" Shanks questioned as he gently pushed past them, motioning over to a nearby couch for Ace. "Are you hurt, Luffy?"
"I'm fine," she answered, lowering Ace down before arising and facing Shanks. She observed him for a minute, still stunned to find him here of all places. "We…"
"We were robbed," Law cut in, earning the redhead's attention. The night before, they had agreed to keep to such a story, but Luffy found it hard to lie to her old friend. "He got shot…"
Shanks nodded, cocking a brow as he glanced to a hallway to his right. "I, uh…well, it's certainly a surprise to see you'd come all the way out here just because he got shot, and by a stranger I assume?"
"Yes…" Law slowly answered.
"Hmm…" Shanks turned his attention to Luffy then, head tilted slightly. "You wouldn't be here for anything else then, perhaps?"
Casting her gaze upon Ace, Luffy made a weak attempt to shake her head no. "Why…why are you here, though?"
Exhaling lightly, Shanks took to the opposite side of the room before sitting down. "I suppose that's a fair enough question to ask," he began, laughing afterwards. "I'm sure you weren't expecting me here, huh?"
"No," Luffy agreed, turning his way. "You disappeared, and everybody was worried…Buggy was worried…"
Shanks perked up at that, his smile ever growing. "He was?" he asked, clearly taken by such a statement. "I should visit him soon, then—I didn't realize he cared that much." After a second, he nodded off to one of the other couches. "You two should sit." When Luffy and Law did as such, he continued. "Well, this is going to be difficult to explain, but I'll try…Luffy, do you know who your father is?"
"Uh, yes…I have met him before, when I was younger," she answered slowly.
Shanks quickly shook his head, lifting his hand to stop her. "I didn't mean it like that—I meant…do you know what he does? His importance and such…?"
Cocking a brow, Luffy remained silent.
"He's a very important man," Shanks answered for her. "He, uh, well, to put it simply, he has plans on taking down the corruption in the government."
"Corruption?" Law repeated.
"It means exploitation," Shanks began, pausing when Law stopped him.
"No, I know what the word means," the doctor in training objected. "I just didn't realize that it was a problem in our government? And for Luffy's father to fight it…?"
"There are a lot of groups out there, mobs and such, and they're somehow able to terrorize their territories without facing backlash," Shanks continued. "The government allows some of these groups to go untouched—an alliance almost, and we, the everyday citizen, have to suffer."
Law and Luffy shared a silent but knowing glance.
"I know this must be rather surprising to hear…but just know, your father is against such alliances—he's working on making the world a better place for the average citizen." Shanks offered them a happy go lucky smile, as if what he said cleared up everything.
"That doesn't explain why you're here," Luffy commented.
"Ah," Shanks mouthed, hand lifting to scratch the back of his head. "Well, I agree with your father—a lot of us do, actually. We're all here fighting back and taking down the mobs and corrupted governmental offices."
Luffy couldn't help but frown. "Have you known about my father this entire time then? Back when I first met you and Buggy and the rest…?"
Shanks nodded softly. "Why do you think we came to meet in the first place? Your grandfather sent news to your father when you left to find work in the city—he was worried, and thought maybe your father could do something…what, I don't know." Pausing, he brought his hand down to his knee, breathing lightly. "Your father asked me to find you, since I was in the same area your grandfather had mentioned."
"You…" Luffy started, words falling short.
"I knew who you were before we met," Shanks clarified. "I was asked to keep you safe, offer you a place to stay…Your father couldn't do these things himself, he was busy running an organization and all."
"Why did he never reach out for me?" Luffy questioned then. "If he cared so much, I just don't understand why I never saw him again after he left me at my grandfathers…"
Shanks met her puzzled gaze with a weakened expression, as if unsure how to answer. "I can't answer such a question on his behalf…but, if you would like, you can ask him that yourself, now."
Luffy grew tense in her seat.
"He's here—obviously, he's here, but you're older now and maybe you'll be able to understand more of his world…" Arising, Shanks glanced back to the hallway. "Would you like to meet him again?"
"I…" Licking her lower lip, she nodded, head turning when she caught a figure in the hallway shift.
The redhead motioned with his hand at the figure. "She wants to see you," he spoke.
Stepping out into the room, Luffy's father met her wide eyed gaze first. His face wasn't exactly as she remembered—aged and tired. "Luffy," Dragon said, voice hard, but not enough to scare them off. "It's been a long time…we have much to talk about."
To be continued…
Next time: Epilogue and plans on when I'll start part two.
As always, thank you so much for reading!
Kimi Saruby: It's super flattering to see that this story gave you a bit of croc/luffy feels. And I'm glad I didn't kill Ace off either, haha. I almost did. Thank you so much for the compliments and for reading!
Sellen: Ahh! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And it's just so surprising to see how many people are feeling bad for Crocodile :O Thank you so much for reading!
VongolaDecima: Haha, I hope this chapter wasn't a letdown in regards to Shanks & Dragon…they weren't really shocking, and I decided to save some truths for the beginning of part two. I honestly love you for loving this fic—you are too kind to me. Thank you so much!
Nicorxbin: omfg you're too much xD
RazzleDazzle: Ahhhh, omg, stop it trash baby u/3/u making me blush and stuff. Thank you so much!
Inoriblack: Oh my! First, thank you so much for giving this story a shot! And your compliments are sooooo flattering, like thank you :')
Kiki's Cat: Ahhh, omg your review u/3/u…you're too nice! But yes! It was starting to become almost sweet, or pure as you said, towards the end…like Croc was opening up to having Luffy around and stuff. In regards to Dragon & Luffy, I'm probably going to end up being a little bias and making their relationship strained at the beginning, where, as part two continues, they can work on forming a healthy bond. Anyway, thank you so much for the kind review and for reading!
ManOfManyTales: Hahaha *rubs hands together all evil like* Luffy will definitely have a moment of devastation in regards to the relationship falling apart in part two. Thank you so much for reading!
Akera99: I know! :O I originally wasn't going to have part one ending like that, but then I kind of wanted to be mean to crocodile, so it happened D: FORGIVE ME. Thank you so much for reading!
Milkachocolate: Luffy, like you said, went into full on protecting mode, and croc was being too dramatic anyways haha. Yes, I couldn't kill off baby Ace just yet ;-; He still needs to have some big bro moments with Luffy. OMG nooo, you are not a pervert…this is a very important question—honestly, the most important of questions. YES, the smut train will return in part two, so I hope you'll have a boarding pass ready when it hits, haha :D Anyway, thank you so much for reading!
OnePieceTreasure: Crocodile's fate will be revealed in the epilogue ;) The necklace pretty much represented a collar, of Luffy *belonging* to Crocodile, and when he ripped it off of her, it was to symbolize her gaining some freedom, if that makes sense haha. Anyway, your concerns and questions will be answered as part two starts rolling :D Thank you so much for reading!
YOIUP: Ahh! Happy birthday then! Thank you for reading this trashy story on your special day! :D
Staticy Fox Atra: There are honestly too many ships going on in this story hahaha It's complete trash. Thank you for reading!
