Zoro laid down on the stony stair case of Mihawk's castle. Out of all the places he could turn up, it had to be the man he was destined to defeat.
The swordsman's wounds from Thriller bark were still healing, but had recovered enough for him to start training again. Even if that pink ghost pest wouldn't stop bothering him about all her hard work.
"Hey Greenie meanie,"
Speak of the devil.
"Huh?" he cracked open an eye, staring at the large sheet of paper that Perona shoved in his face.
"Straw hat pirates, that's your crew right?" she asked. Zoro sat up, cringing slightly at the pain in his abdomen. Perona dropped the paper into Zoro's lap, the front cover of the news stared back at him.
"Whitebeard, emperor of the sea has died." he read out loud. What did that have to do with-
"Not that you dolt." she pressed her finger on a smaller spot on the front page. Zoro's eyes followed and...
"No..."
Staring back at him was a small photo of Tani's wanted poster. Beside her wanted poster was a photo of Luffy standing with his hat to his chest, a bouquet of flowers at his feet. The headline underneath them... Spoke of...
"It's impossible!"
Zoro's jaw clenched so hard it hurt. The wounds from Thriller bark ached from his failure as a first mate... His failure as a friend. To protect the weakest member on their entire crew!
The swordsman stood up, ignoring the pain that jolted to life with the jerky movement. Perona was quick to complain. Zoro didn't care.
He had something he needed to do... Whether he liked it or not. The fate of his crew would depend on him taking this seriously.
He couldn't lose another important person in his life... Not again.
Wado felt heavy on his hip.
"What are you doing?! You'll open your-"
"Shut it Pinky," Zoro snapped, pushing open the doors to the castle.
He had a master swordsman to talk to.
...
Nami stared at the cloud farms with fascination, taking notes on how Usopp could improve on the clima-tact, when they meet up again.
The weather wizards were planning a course for Sabaody, in order to drop Nami off. The old men were very kind to her, even if she came off rather rude when first meeting them.
"Looks like Whitebeard kicked the bucket," one of the wizards said solemnly. Nami perked up at the name, that was Ace's captain.
"The war really did change the course of history. Imagine all the territories that Whitebeard held... That's gonna make our job a lot-"
"Oi, mind if I take a look at that paper?" Nami asked, though she'd already snatched the paper out of his hands.
Sure enough, the front cover was Whitebeard, standing in all his glory. The headline declaring him dead.
Nami's heart sank, poor Ace. Luffy wouldn't be happy to hear out his brothers grief that's for... What's that?
Two photos one of Tani, the other was Luffy. The navigator read the headline, then the paragraph of text. All the words seemed to say... That Tani was... That she...
That's not possible, she can't be!
Nami's eyes watered, tears threatening to spill. Nami's arm covered her eyes. She had to look away.
There's no way that Tani is...
"What's wrong?" one of the men asked. Taking the paper back from the sobbing girl, the older men read the articles and connected the dots.
Nami sobbed like a storm cloud, her tears like rain, cries like thunder.
The worst part... Was that she couldn't go back to her crew for comfort... Not yet at least.
Luffy's message was loud and clear. They weren't ready for the new world, not without a little more training.
"Change courses now."
"What was that?"
"I said change course!" Nami commanded, her eyes brimming with renewed vigour. "We've got some training to do!"
...
Usopp ran a lap of the island, all that weight that he gained from the strange foods on this island were seriously messing with his brave warrior body.
Hercules was a big help, with his awesome beetle themed armour! Luffy would have loved it, maybe even tried to remove it for himself.
The sniper pushed even harder to work off that fat. The moment his body was ready for sailing, he would be on his way back to his crew. They wouldn't be able to sail without their bravest warrior!
"Usopp-pon! Look out!" Herc called out, a little too late. A was of paper smacked into Usopp's face, squashing his nose in the process. A faint cooing sound was made, followed by the flapping of wings.
Herc removed the news paper form Usopp's face. Holding it up and reading the first page, Usopp quickly sat up to take a look too.
An article on the bottom of the front page grabbed his attention. The two photos were undeniably his nakama.
"You're kidding..." he choked on his shock, reading the article like it was some big lie. It certainly read like one... Because this just couldn't be!
She can't be...
Not Tani. That just couldn't be possible! It's all a lie.
"Usopp-pon?" Usopp looked at Herc with wide eyes. He could feel his eyes watering, but refused to cry. Why cry over something so stupidly fake?
"It's... It's nothing," Usopp lied, "They must have misprinted or something," he reasoned with himself.
It didn't make him feel any better.
He reread the article over and over again. Looking for any clues of it being a joke-
Luffy's arm...
Luffy couldn't lie to save his life, it wasn't in his nature...
This was all real, and the captain had given out his final order until their break was over.
Guess Usopp has a lot more time to work on his super, brave warrior body.
...
Sanji enjoyed the pampering from the Okama on Pinky island. Always dishing out compliments on how pretty Sanji looked in the dresses they chose out for her.
The make up was a bit weird, but Sanji wasn't much for over the top colours. The way Nami does her make up was perfect, just like the woman herself.
"Oh my stars! Look at the paper!" Lottie called out, holding up the paper with a wide smile. "Iva-Chan has broken out of prison!" she squealed.
Many of the other okama joined the cheering. Sanji looked at them with confusion.
"Who?"
The okama stared at her with shock.
"Our queen! He's the most powerful, beautiful and stunning okama to have ever lived!" Lottie sang their praises. "They say, he can perform miracles on the human body. Give you your true form." they rattled on. Sanji felt her heart race with excitement, what a wonderful person.
"Mind if I take a look? At the paper." she held out her hand. Lottie handed it over, the second page showing off the amazing escape of...
"Of course it was Luffy." Sanji laughed to herself. The okama crowded around her, giving her curious glances. Sanji pointed at the photo.
"This one in the straw hat, he's my captain." that's when she spotted her. "Oh the girl in yellow! That's Tani," she smiled.
What were the chances that the two of them would be sent to the same location. How lucky for them.
"Did you say Tani?" Willow asked with concern on their features. Sanji nodded.
"She's the crew's tracker. Been around since before even myself." Sanji couldn't help but smile at the nostalgia.
"Silent bell Tanisha." Willow flipped the page over, showed the front page to Sanji. Willow pointed towards the bottom half of the page.
Sanji's cigarette dropped from her mouth. Both hands grasped the page with a death grip.
"This... Is... Oh my god!" Sanji dropped the page, before stamping her foot down on it. She couldn't look at such lies.
The newspaper had to be lying... There's no way!
Not their darling Tani... This had to be a joke.
Sanji grabbed her hair, gripping it tightly and pulling hard. Dropping to the ground and curling into herself.
This was all a huge nightmare, she was gonna wake up soon. It'll be early in the morning, before the sun has started to rise.
She would be up and making breakfast, Robin and Zoro would enter the kitchen together, the brute would make himself a green tea. Robin would silently read a book in the corner with a smile on her face.
Yes, that's exactly what would happen... Sanji just needed to wake up!
She opened her eyes and found the same god damn newspaper under her foot.
The Okama had stepped away from the highly volatile girl.
"I need to get stronger..." Sanji whispered to herself. Slowly standing up, she turned herself around and started running.
Running as hard as her legs would carry her.
Tani... Sanji promised she would get stronger, run faster, kick harder. Nobody else would be lost... Not if she could help it.
...
Chopper sat on the ground, grinding down the herbs he'd harvested from around town. The people were wonderfully kind, and with peace being made with the large birds that inhabited the island. This place was a doctors paradise.
There were bunch of plants that Chopper had yet to find documentation on, so many tests to run, potential cures to create! It was exciting!
If only he could stay...
His crew needs him, who knows how many injuries his crew have had without him being there to treat them! What if someone lost an arm? Or got a crazy rare sickness? There's so many things to worry about, when your crew is as reckless as the Straw hat pirates.
They're strong though. The toughest pirates Chopper had ever encountered, never failing to overcome any obstacle in their path.
"Extra extra! Read all about it!"
Chopper looked up to find the news-coo flying over head. The bird dropped a bundle of pages in front of Chopper.
"Extra extra!" the news-coo continued to call, flying away to deliver more papers.
Chopper grabbed the news paper and started reading through it. Maybe Luffy or the others would be on the-
Front...
Page...
A solemn Luffy with his hat over his chest... Tani's wanted poster...
The headline.
Chopper stated at the page with wide eyes, his lip quivering, nose already running with tears.
She's... She's...
There's a cure for everything if you work hard enough to find it.
But a cure for... Well, even Chopper couldn't be so hopeful.
The little deer let out a hiccup, turning his eyes away from the ground up herbs.
Herbs that could be the root, leaf or stem of a new cure. One that could save anyone.
Bright cherry blossom pink came forth from his memories.
The doctors cure for the island.
Steeling his resolve. Chopper looked back at the herbs, his hooves grabbing the stone that crushed them.
Luffy didn't want the crew to come back together just yet.
So Chopper was gonna work as hard as he could to become an even better doctor than before. No cure would be too far out of his reach.
There wouldn't be any more losses on his watch.
...
Robin smiled towards the bridge that faded away, the boat she had boarded was on its way to the Revolutionary armies base. It would certainly be a treat to meet her captains blood father. Perhaps she could share a story or two.
Robin couldn't help but smile at the thought... Unfortunately she would have to leave on one of the escape rafts. Her crew needed her more than the revolutionaries did... Plus she liked her crew a lot more. They were the family she never had growing up.
Just thinking about them, made her smile.
"Derashishishi~"
"Oi... Look at this!" one of the men panicked. Robin turned around to find a small group crowding around something. Being the curious creature that she is, Robin decided to investigate.
Whispering her summon, arms over her chest. Ten eyes, and ears bloomed around the small group, hidden from their view, but still in place to read the news paper, and hear their hushed chatter.
"The death of Whitebeard will cause massive issues for us in the future."
"Yes, but the marines are in disarray after such an attack on their head quarters. We should inform the boss at once."
"Sabo's probably told him already. The kids got a weird knack for information gathering."
"What about the brat there." one pointed at a picture of Luffy. Well that's certainly a surprise to Robin. "Apparently the kid is Dragon's son."
"Who would've thought it possible," one man chuckled, but Robin wasn't paying attention to him... No.
What she saw with all ten of her eyes.
Was a truth that she refused to believe.
She despawned her extra organs, but kept her arms around herself in an embrace.
Robin had read some ugly truths before, history was full of them.
But this war... And it's casualties... Well only one of those really mattered to her...
Tani would go down in history, far too early than she should have...
Overwhelming emotions took hold of the often times, stoic woman. In the 20 years since losing Saul, she had closed her heart from the world. A heart that had been opened again, with the help of her crews love.
A crew she wouldn't get to see for a little while longer.
Maybe she could share a story of Luffy's adventures with the leader of the revolutionaries.
"Derashishishi~"
...
Franky tinkered away on a new face plate, having blown his entire face off in that super! Big explosion.
There was enough tech here to keep him entertained for years. So many blue prints and unfinished inventions from this Vegapunk guy. Franky would have to grab a few on his way back to the crew. Sunny deserved a little upgrade after all the work she'd put in.
Something buzzed to life, blinking lights and printing out a sheet of paper with black ink stained on the front.
Franky curiously checked it out, waiting for the paper to finish printing before tearing it out of the machine. His eyes reading over the page.
It took him a moment to register that the page was documenting some super! Big war that had just occurred all the way over at the marine HQ.
It detailed the major events of the war, from Whitebeard's arrival, to-
"Oi! Luffy," Franky cheered, turning to show it to his captain... Right, he isn't here.
Franky read the article, scanning for any mention of Luffy, or the other straw hats.
He regretted doing so.
Towards the end, he saw her name, with news that brought nothing but...
The printer groaned as more paper was inked and spat out. Franky dropped the article in his hands and snatched the new one.
On the front was all the photos that should have been with the article. Whitebeard, the destruction of Marineford, but most importantly.
Luffy standing with his hat over his chest.
Little sis Tani wasn't by his side...
"Screw that!" Franky slammed the page down with anger. How dare the world do that to his little sis?! She didn't deserve any of that!
Just thinking about the bastard that hurt her, made the cyborgs blood boil.
Nobody hurt his family.
Poor Luffy bro... What's that on his arm?
Oh. What a sneaky brat!
Franky laughed, grabbing a pin from the cork board and stabbing the article and photo onto the board.
He has some work to do, starting with his face.
...
Brook wrote down every note he could think of for his new song. The faster he could save the Satan worshiping villagers from their long arm tribe problem, the faster he could get back to his crew.
He'd only been with them for a week or so, if you included the little adventure into Tanisha's home world. That was plenty of fun, so many wonders, especially the music.
My! Just remembering all those odd sounds that blended strange sounds he'd never heard before. The world sure has evolved since he's been gone.
Soon.
He'll come back to his new crew, explore the new world (both literally and figuratively). Laboon is waiting for him on the other side of the world. Brook was so excited his heart could burst!
If he had a heart! Yohohoho.
"Some more paper for you! Satan sir." a nervous young woman tossed a stack of papers at Brook.
"Why thank you, madam." Brook gave a tip of his top hat, the girl bowed before skittering off. The skeleton got up from his chair, having to duck his head down before it smacked into the ceiling. Who would have thought being 8'11" would be such a burden.
Maybe he could remove a couple bones, to become shorter? Yohohoho.
Brook grabbed the pages, quick to notice that these weren't blank pieces of paper. The poor girl must have been so nervous that she threw the wrong pieces of paper... Oh well!
Maybe Brook can get some inspiration from the world outside-
What he read made his eyes pop out of his skull... Except he doesn't have any eyes!
... It's probably not the most savoury of times to be making skull jokes. Especially with a head line so tear jerking that Brook just wanted to cry... Except he didn't have any tear ducts.
Inspiration flowed through his old rattled bones. Though solemn as it was, the music would reflect the girl he knew for only a brief moment.
The blink of an eye... If the skeleton had eyes.
...
"Silent bell Tanisha, of the super nova's and worst generation. Executed during Paramount war."
...
Tani clawed her way to the cabin door, she was so close she could taste the oak wood that made up the door.
Her arms weren't knocking hard enough to draw attention, so the next best thing was to throw her entire body into the door and hope for the best.
"Help!" she shouted as loud as her dry voice would let her. She slammed against the door again. "Please!"
The more desperate she sounded, the better her odds of survival, right?
Tani slammed against the wood again... Well she would have, if the door hadn't opened. Instead she came barrelling towards the cabin floor. Shoulder hitting the wood of the ground.
"Shit! She's bleeding," a youthful voice, no older than the age of 14, panicked. "Bepo, go get Law." the kid commanded.
"R-right," a much softer, more timid voice replied. Followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, thumping away.
A pair of hands hooked Tani under the arms, while another held her legs. The pair lifted her off the ground and moved her somewhere more comfortable.
Tani's vision decided it wanted to swim, leaving her with a dizzy canvas of colours that assaulted her eyes. At least her hearing was perfectly fine.
"What's happening?" an old man's voice questioned from afar. "Is that a girl?" alright, that means there's no other girls? Maybe... Oh, that might be bad-
"What? Oh Wolf!" one of the boys called out. "She was slamming on the door. Can you keep an eye on her?" the kid asked. She was gently placed on a springy couch.
"Shachi and I, are gonna check the perimeter. Just in case her attacker is still lurking around." the other kid piped in.
"You two better take care of yourselves. Law will be pissed if you both get injured." Wolf? That's what... Shachi? No... The other kid? Wait... Tani had no idea who is who-
Did they say Law?
"In here!" the timid kid from earlier called out. Tani turned her head towards the kid, she attempted to blink away the murk of her vision.
The colour white was prominent. The much taller of the two new arrivals was as white as freshly fallen snow. The kid next to him, he was a mix of dark tan and bleach white splotches... Holy shit.
Tanisha Lowe, member of the Straw hat pirates. Traveller of dimensions!
Can time travel too?!
Well... That would explain the Sabaody encounter. Which means these people are trust worthy.
"Help," Tani sobbed. Looking at Law with trust in her eyes. She couldn't see his face, but the silent approach was enough confirmation that he was gonna help.
He was a surgeon right? That's his title in the future... Holy shit, she really did time travel. This is gonna be weird.
Tani felt the air change around her, a blue hue filled the room. She blinked harder, trying to get a better look at what was going on.
Something was off? From the last time she encountered the surgeon of death. Granted this is, who knows how far in the past. Still... Law hasn't uttered a word, nor made a single sound. No foot steps, clothes ruffling, nothing.
He was completely silent.
He made quick gestures with his hands towards Bepo, who Tani remembered as the polar bear from Sabaody.
"Right, I'm on it." Bepo responded to Law, which meant he was using sign language. Law could talk though, well future Law can. Past Law might be a completely different case.
"Miss, if you don't mind me asking some questions." the bear spoke politely. Tani looked at him and gave a nod, ready for most questions sent her way.
"Um, OK. First, can I have your name?please." while Bepo asked her this, she noticed Law grabbing something sharp. She didn't like where this was going.
"Tanisha," she didn't take her eyes of Law, who placed the utensil on the coffee table. More tools were brought to him with that "room" power.
Yeah, the last time she saw him use that power. He dismembered people, and put them back together like Frankenstein's monster.
A fluffy hand held onto hers, snapping her eyes towards the soft face of Bepo.
"Miss Tanisha, can you please tell me of any injuries you know you have? It'll help Law, over here." he motioned to Law with his head. The boy was focused on preparing himself for the ordeal ahead.
"I was shot in my arm," she pointed at her wounded arm. "It's messing me up, I don't know what it is." she tried to relax, really she did. However watching from the corner of her eye, she could see Law filling up a needle with a clear liquid.
"Anything else at all, miss?"
"My chest hurts... It feels like it's burning." she hoped that wouldn't sound too weird.
Law looked at her chest, then at Bepo. His hands quickly relaying instructions to the bear.
"Right." he turned back to Tani. "Law wants to give you a warning before this next part." so we was gonna dismember her... Great.
"Whatever he's about to do. Can't be any worse than the last 24 hours of my life." she assured. Tani looked at Law (hopefully) dead in the eye.
"I trust you." she grinned. Showing off all her teeth, that's what Luffy would have done... If he listened to Chopper, that is.
...
Law looked at her with a shimmer in his eyes. That smile... The 14 year old boy grabbed the sedative, relaxing balm, and got to work.
This operation wasn't going to be pretty, he would know. Having a foreign substance that slowly poisoned you to death? Been there, never want to do that again.
He would need to move all of that substance into the liver, just like he did with the amber lead. It's lucky that part of the body can regrow after being cut.
However he couldn't have her awake for that, it was a delicate operation. One that would probably freak her out, no matter how brave she is.
'Count her down, starting from three,' Law instructed Bepo. The mink nodded.
"Alright Tanisha, we're going to count down from three." his voice was calming, something that Law really appreciated in times like this.
"Ok," she nodded, purposely looking away from Law. She must have known this was coming.
"Three," they said together. Law pulled up her sleeve, until the elbow. Making sure the arm was flipped, soft side up.
"Two," Tani's voice was nervous, but brave, Law admired that. He applied the relaxing balm, Tanisha hissed at the chill, numbing of her arm.
"One," she clenched her eyes shut in anticipation. Law lined the needle up with the right vein, his hands steady as a rock.
"Zero," he injected the sedative, quick and easy. Tanisha didn't even notice that he'd done it until he was applying the small cotton ball to cover the wound. Her eyes began to droop rather fast, not that Law was complaining.
Tani's head hit the pillow that Bepo placed beneath her. Still holding the mink's hand.
Let's get to work shall we.
...
A scream broke through the girls throat, her chest burned! She was burning! Lava was burning her.
Burning, burning, burning.
Tani clawed at her chest, trying to get the fist out of her body. Her throat hurt from all the screaming.
Luffy's face was the worst part of it all.
Wide eyes, staring at her with distress, mouth hanging open as he shouted at her.
"Wake up!"
Tani's eyes flew open, her lungs struggling to catch up with her winded breath. Her arms still pressing into her chest, which burned under the bandages that wrapped snug around her torso.
Her nails dug into the cloth that held her together, trying in vain to rip it off. Let her skin cool down and breath.
Where was she again?
A door on the other side of the room opened softly, the person walking in taking great care to be as quiet as possible. Tani's head snapped towards the one entering, dropping her hands away from the bandages.
White, fluffy polar bear-
"Bepo?" so that wasn't a dream. She really was in the past.
"Miss Tanisha, you're awake." he said softly, a small smile on his bear shaped face. He waddled over with a tray balanced in his paws.
He sat down beside her, placing the tray on the table between his chair, and the bed Tani, was moved to.
"How are you feeling?" he asked. Tani smiled at him.
"I'm fine," she wasn't, but that's because her head is all messed up right now. Fresh wounds that will haunt her for god knows how long.
Bepo looked relieved.
"I'm glad. Law's very skilled in his doctor work." Bepo praised. Tani could see how much he respected the future captain.
Does help to know that they all stick together later.
"He did a super! job. I'm already feeling much better now." she assured.
And she was. There was no flickering, or stinging pain in her arm. Her torso had chilled out, the bad dream washing away with the burns.
"Oh, I have this for you." he handed her the tray. A bowl of broth and a glass of water was presented to her. She smelt the warm soup... Definitely not a Sanji quality meal, but she'll take whatever is offered.
"Penguin made it," Bepo smiled while Tani grabbed the bowl and tipped it to her lips. The warm liquid was heavenly on her parched throat. The taste wasn't half bad either, definitely smelt worse than it tasted.
She let out a satisfied huff, planting the empty bowl back on the tray.
"Tell Penguin, he did a good job." Bepo gave a nod. Moving to get up.
The door slammed open, spooking Bepo, who kept behind Tani to hide. Standing by the entrance was the old man from earlier, Tani can't remember his name right now. Beside him were Law, Penguin and Shachi. The latter two were excited to see their patient alive and well.
Law was pleased to see she was recovering. Removing a portion of the liver wasn't a pleasant feeling, especially after the pain killers wore off.
"Miss! You're alive!" Penguin and Shachi cheered. Running towards her at mach speed.
"How was the food?"
"Are you comfortable?"
"Does your arm hurt?"
"Are you cold? We can get you more blankets,"
"What size are you? We can get you clothes when we head to town today."
Tanisha looked overwhelmed with all the chatter. Post surgery often left the patient with slower processing speeds. All this talking was gonna give her a headache.
Law walked over to his crew mates, snapping a hand around the collars of their shirts. Careful not to place his hands on their skin, least he silence them. The captain dragged his subordinates out of the room.
He didn't trust Tanisha, 100% just yet. For all he knows, she could be a spy sent in from Doflamingo... It wouldn't be the first time.
"Oi, captain." Penguin started, Law looked up his friend. "Can we take her into town with us?"
'Absolutely not' he signed to the idiot.
"Aw, come on." Shachi cooed. "The fresh air would do wonders for her health."
"Plus!" Penguin tagged in, "She needs lady supplies, because she's a lady."
Law deadpan stared at them. What are they? 12?
'I know all the supplies she would need, as well as her body measurements' Law signed with irritation. Don't these morons know that moving around with such injuries is dangerous?
Then again, they were up and about five hours after Law reattached Penguin's arm, and performed surgery on Shachi after that explosion... Idiots.
"You're no fun," Shachi pouted. Law rolled his eyes.
"I can keep an eye on the little lady," Wolf offered. When did he get here? Never mind. Law shook his head.
'I'm her doctor, I'll be the one to keep watch of her' Law decided. The others agreed.
"Do you need someone here? You know, to translate," Shachi asked. Law shook his head, pulling a notebook out of his jacket pocket.
"Forgot pen and paper was thing, didn't ya." Penguin teased Shachi. The red head glared at his best friend. Law rolled his eyes, pulling his hat down to cover his quirked lip.
He would never admit it aloud, but he really did love his friends.
The captain left the hallway, entering the room were Bepo was chatting with Tani. It's probably the longest Law has ever heard the polar bear mink go, without apologizing for nothing.
A quick tap to the shoulders was enough to get the bears attention. Bepo was quickly sent away with a list that Law had prepared earlier. The mink was the person, Law trusted the most in this house. Penguin and Shachi were easily distracted, and Wolf was an old bag, who didn't know the first thing about women.
Bepo was the best option.
The rest of the household left, waving and calling out to Tanisha and Law as they made their way out.
Now...
Who are you? Tanisha.
...
It was... Awkward to say the least. Sitting in a room with someone you have already met, but a different version of them.
Tani doesn't know if this follows 'Back to the future' rules, or some other time travel rules. Hell! she doesn't know how she managed to throw herself into the past, of a world she doesn't belong in.
Her theory was that drug messed with her dimension magic. How? She has no idea. With the stuff gone, she can't keep a sample for Chopper, when she gets... Back... Wait.
How will she get back? Will it be like when she was sent home last time?
"Hey, Law." she grabbed his attention, silver eyes staring at her. "Did I show up with a backpack on? I need to check something." Law looked away in thought, tapping his pencil against the notepad he'd been doodling on for the last hour. Not a single sound being made.
The boy got up from his seat, which once again, made no noise. She knows that chair makes noise because when Bepo pushed off it about an hour ago, it scrapped against the wooden floor.
It was starting to really weird her out. Sound was the one constant in her life since being thrown into this world. Everything was much louder than it should be. Having one person, be completely silent was messing with her.
Law returned with that familiar old backpack, perfectly intact. Guess the power of a lava punch, was no match for ol' reliable.
Tani reached out for the bag, but Law hesitated. The girl picked up a shift in the atmosphere.
He didn't trust her yet. Completely understandable, she was a stranger to him, plus he's basically a kid still. Having a level of stranger danger awareness, especially in pirate infested environments, was a great thing to have.
"Hey," her voice was soft, "I get it." she honestly did. Law looked at her with a guarded expression, holding her bag closer to himself.
"How about... Hmm," Tani thought to herself... Bingo! "You can find the bell for me," she clicked her fingers. The sound echoing through the empty room. Law blinked, looking down at the bag, then Tani again.
"It should be in the smallest pocket, the one closest to me." she pointed. Law remained still, thinking the request over. Tani remained patient, trying to present herself as anything but a threat.
It took a few minutes at least, but Law finally made a move. Carefully turning the bag towards himself, and unzipping the smallest pocket. Inside he found colourful pieces of candy, wrapped up in even more colourful packaging. A couple of pens, loose pieces of paper. Shiny coins, the likes of which he'd never seen before... His gaze may have stayed on those for a little bit longer than it should have.
Tucked in the corner was a golden bell, with string tied into a bow. He grabbed the little bell, which remained silent as shook it. Not that he expected it to ring out.
Law handed the bell over, waiting to hear the sound of the bell. Tani gave a shake, her face lighting up with relief.
It was silent.
"Thank god. No Dragon ball, skyscraper adventures." she sighed happily. She tied the bell around her neck, letting it hang there quietly.
'What?' Law signed. Tani looked at him with a snicker.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure that's a story for another time... If you're willing to put up with me for a little while longer." she spoke sweetly.
Law looked at her, he still needed to monitor her health... And he hates to admit it, but she was far more interesting than he originally thought.
"I'll pull my own weight, if you're worried about that." she promised. "I have experience with cooking, cleaning, short and long range combat-"
Law shoved a piece of paper into her face. The handwriting was surprisingly neat for a doctor.
"Shut up," Tani read out, Law looked at her with an annoyed scowl. There was no heat behind it. She laughed, how cute.
"Alright then, Mr Surgeon." she teased. "I'll take that as a yes?" she grinned.
That smile... That god damn smile.
Law crossed his arms, giving her a nod of affirmation.
How could he ever say no, to a smile like that?
...
A/N:) hello everyone! This chapter is a little bit whelming after such a massive gut punch, so I hope the more chill vibe is appreciated :D
I had to rewrite it like five times! Little Law is really difficult to write, because
1.) he's a child, a very messed up one, but a child none the less!
2.) I'm terrible at wetting characters that are sus of each other, warming up to one another. Law would definitely be on the look out for any of Doffy's crew, or spies. So I don't want to make him and Tani super best pals just yet!
NOW FOR MY BIG QUESTION!
I want to write a Christmas themed something! But I don't know if I should do a big chapter that's just Christmas themed, or a small section of the next chapter being Christmas themed. It'll all depend on what you guys want! So feed back is appreciated :D
I love you guys! Thank you for all the love from the last chapter, it was a big undertaking that I probably won't attempt again for a while. I'm glad I managed to make some of you cry (I'm so sorry but like... That's awesome in a sense, because I could invoke such an emotion)
Big smooches! Lots and lots of smooches for all my lovely readers. You all mean the world to me :D
