Joining Them Again and the Plan
The sound of shouting awoke Law from his peaceful slumber. He, slowly, opened his eyes to the glaring sun. He shielded his eyes with his right arm and rubbed at them with his left. "Hey! Are you okay down there?!" He continued to rub at his eyes to try to wake up some more. "Hey! Are you okay?!"
"Yes. I'm fine," Law called back to the person as he took in his surroundings. He looked up to see the Thousand Sunny next to his tiny boat. He groaned as he sat up and cracked his back. "I'll be alright. I was just resting."
"Hey, Luffy. Who are you shouting at?" Law knew that voice belonged to Sanji. He tensed up for just a moment. Law saw the man appear over the side of the ship. "Hey. Are you stranded?" Law was used to their friendliness by then.
"No. I'm just traveling," Law replied. He was thankful that his voice was a little higher like it was when he was seventeen. "Thank you for your concern, though." He sat in his boat and stretched.
"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Sanji asked. Law wasn't all that worried about them finding out it was him. He was happy that they were nice to him. Law was just thankful that they weren't Kid.
"Sure. I'll come up." Law stood and two ropes were thrown down to him. He tied them to his boat. It was lifted and Law was facing the crew. His hood was still up. "Thank you for inviting me for breakfast," he said. He pulled the hood down and everyone smiled to him. Luffy's reaction was different, though.
"T-Torao?!" Law was expecting Luffy to recognize him. The others looked confused, expect for Chopper. "Is it really you?! What happened to you?!"
Nami came up to Law. "How can this be him, Luffy? He's a little too young to be Law. And too short." She examined him. Nami stepped back from him with recognition. "You're the guy from the fight."
"Yes, Nami-ya. I was there when the fight started." She gasped. "And to answer your other question, I'm younger because of Bonney-ya." Robin stepped forward.
"From Sabaody, right?" Law nodded. He was still angry with the woman.
"As of right now, my body is about seventeen-years-old." Usopp stepped forward. He circled Law.
"How do we know you're really Law? You could be a spy or an assassin." Sighing, Law made a room. He switched himself with Luffy.
"Does that convince you that I am who I am?" The curly-haired man grumbled before going to stand next to Franky. He didn't look very happy about what happened. Law almost wanted to laugh at his actions.
"Where's your crew? Why are you traveling alone?" Brook asked. Law felt that it was a little strange that his crew wasn't with him.
"I wanted to go off on my own for a little while." He didn't want to tell anyone the truth. Law was keeping them safe from kid by traveling by himself. "It gives them some time to do whatever they want and whatever I want."
"Like a vacation?" Luffy asked. Law nodded. It was sort of like a vacation.
"Why did you not come say hello when we were on the island?" Franky asked. Luffy was looking at him, expecting an answer that was reasonable to him.
Chopper decided to step in and answer. "Law spoke to me before we left." Luffy looked pissed off about knowing that. "He didn't want Kid to see him. He had a bad run in with him a while ago." Luffy's anger quickly changed to relief.
"Eustass-ya and I had a...disagreement." Law crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't want to see him again." He saw the crew give him a look of sorrow. "And if I would've been found out by Eustass-ya, it would've started up a small war on the island. I didn't want innocent people to get hurt."
"Would you like to travel with us for a bit? Just until you get back to normal?" Nami asked. Law thought it over for a minute or so. If I stay with them, I will have protection from Eustass-ya. But if I stay with them, I will have to deal with Straw Hat-ya.
"Alright. I will stay with you until I'm back to normal." Luffy cheered while the others smiled. It was better option than being alone and getting caught by Kid. Zoro and Sanji were eyeing him. The looks were making him a little uncomfortable. "Are the Captain's quarters still open?"
Nami nodded. "Yep. Luffy didn't want any of us touching it." Law felt a little glad but also a little creeped out about his friend.
"Torao! We're going to have so much fun together! Just like when you were with us before!" Luffy's eagerness was a little embarrassing. Law wasn't a fun person to be around most of the time. He never understood Luffy's interest in him.
Zoro walked up to him with Sanji right behind him. The swordsman grabbed him by his left arm. "Luffy, we're going to borrow him for a minute or so, okay? We'll be quick about it." Law felt fear grip him as he spoke.
Luffy started to pout a little. "Okay. Just make it as quick as you can. I want to spend some time with him." Zoro nodded and started to lead Law to the kitchen with Sanji in tow. No one was in the kitchen. It was only Law, Sanji, and Zoro. The man let him go after he got him to sit down at the table.
"May I ask why the both of you decided to bring me here?" Law was a little worried that they didn't like him or had a problem with him. He didn't want to get on their bad side. Also, he didn't remember them having a problem with him before.
"Listen, Law. Luffy has been having a hard time since you left the group," Sanji started as he lit a cigarette. "He has been picking fights with Pirates all over the Grand Line for no reason."
Zoro sat down across from him. "Some of time, he wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to the room you stayed in." The man talked with a straight face, but his words were filled with worry for his Captain. "He wouldn't tell anyone what was wrong, and he attacked anyone who even came close to the room."
To say Law was surprised out be a big understated. He was flabbergasted. "Does anyone know why he was acting that way? Are there any ideas?" He wondered if Luffy was okay. The two men shared a look between themselves.
"Yes and no. We can't really tell you right now," Sanji answered. Law raised an eyebrow at the answer he got. "Let's just say that we are going to try an experiment. Luffy is our guinea pig and you're a factor."
"Do the others know about this experiment?" Law felt a little bad for what they had planned for the younger Captain.
"We have been discussing and decided to meet up with you for a while now to try it out," Zoro explained. "The others will be helping us." The man lowered his head. "We're going to make you disappear for a while every so often." The plan sounded very weird to him.
"We will observe the reaction of our Captain while you're gone." Sanji blew out some smoke as he spoke. "Don't worry. You will still be on the ship but hidden from Luffy's view." Law thought it through.
"Will I be able to observe his reaction as well?" Zoro shrugged while Sanji nodded. "Okay then. When will we start this...experiment?"
"How about tomorrow? We will let Luffy get used to you being here again before we start the project." Law nodded in agreement. He was interested in seeing the man's reactions to him not being there.
Nodding, Zoro left the kitchen and Sanji went over to the sink. Law left right behind Zoro. He wasn't used to being shorter than most of the crew. As soon as he left the kitchen, Law was pulled up by two arms. Zoro didn't seem to notice what happened. "Torao! That was a looong talk. What di you all talk about?" Luffy was dangling from the top deck.
"Nothing really important," he answered. Law looked down to see that he was dangling about a foot or so off the ground. He looked back up to the smiling face above him. "What do you want to do, Straw Hat-ya?" He knew he needed to be around him the entire day for the experiment to work properly.
"Sanji's going to be cooking breakfast in a bit. What do you want to do?" Law thought for a moment. "Do you want to go read in the infirmary? Chopper got some new books a little while ago." Law perked up at that.
"Are you really okay with that?" Luffy grinned and nodded. "You can stay with me if you want to." Luffy agreed and lowered Law to the ground. He followed him inside to the infirmary.
Chopper was there and he knew what Law was there for. He handed him all the new books that he had gotten. It was about a stack of ten books. "They're good reads. I have read only a few of them, but they are good nonetheless."
Taking the stack, Law went over to the desk and sat down. Luffy crawled under it and laid his head down in Law's lap. The man ignored him as he started to flip through the pages of a book on medicines for new illnesses. He was interested in the new diseases that have appeared in the past decade.
"Torao?" Law took his eyes from the book for a second to glance down to Luffy. "What have you been doing in the past year we've been apart?"
"I've been traveling all throughout the Grand Line helping sick people amongst other things." Law finished reading the page and flipped it. "What have you been doing? Aside from searching for the One Piece, of course?"
He felt Luffy tracing circle on his right thigh. It felt a little weird, but Law didn't tell him to stop. "We've been helping others that have troubles. Nami has been building up her money and Sanji has a new admirer on some island we visited a few days ago." Law chuckled. "I've been doing okay, I guess."
"It sounds like you all have been doing a lot since I've been gone," Law stated. Luffy nodded and Law went back to reading. He could still feel Luffy drawing patterns on his thigh with his fingers. It was relaxing, but at the same time, strange.
...
After a while, Sanji came into he room. "Hey, Law. Have you seen Luffy anywhere? I can't seem to find him in his usual spots." Law pointed to the table and moved a little bit. Luffy waved a hand at him from underneath the desk.
"Did you need something, Sanji?" Luffy asked as he stayed under the desk and in between Law's legs.
"Breakfast's ready," Sanji answered. Luffy dashed out from under the desk to the door in a split second with his arm around Law. Sanji smiled at his eagerness and Law's expression of surprise at the other's actions.
In the kitchen, everyone was seated in their usual spots around the table. Law sat right next to Luffy because he made him. "It's good to have you eating with us again," Robin said after he sat down. Luffy had let him go as they sat down.
"Feels just like old times." Law had a plate placed in front of him. It had everything but bread on it. He looked up at Sanji who gave him a kind smile.
Luffy looked excited to eat. Like every time he saw him eat. Everyone ate like it was normal. It felt different to be eating with the Straw Hats again after a year of being away. Luffy didn't try to steal his food and Law ate everything on his plate which was new to the others.
"Law, you ate everything. That's new," Nami commented as she continued eating. He had just finished his food a few minutes ago. He looked down at his clean plate.
"Since I have my seventeen-year-old body back, my appetite was big at the time." The crew seemed to be surprised by that. Luffy just grinned. Law got another helping of food and ate it all once again. He was stuffed after a bit and decided to go back to the infirmary to continue reading. Luffy followed him.
In the infirmary, Law felt a tap on his arm. He turned away from his book to see Chopper looking up at him, nervously. "May I help you, Tony-ya?" He felt Luffy grip his leg as he turned his body a little to the reindeer.
"I want to do a physical on you to see if you are okay. Is that alright with you?" Law nodded and felt Luffy let him go as he stood up.
Moving to a bed, Chopper started with his basics. He cheeked his heartbeat, lungs, ears, and all the other things. Luffy stood next to Chopper as he worked. "Do you feel any different than you did before you were changed?"
"No. It's just a little different to be shorter than most people again." Chopper nodded as he stepped back. "I feel fine. Even great." He was glad to know that he was still healthy.
"So, he's all good?" Luffy asked. Chopper told him that Law was perfectly healthy. This excited the man. "Torao is healthy!" he chanted a few times. Law was happy with the young man's enthusiasm. It was just like his old self.
"I hope it stays that way." Chopper looked concerned for him. He wasn't sure about the side effects of Bonney's powers other than on herself. Law was certain that nothing bad could happen, could it? "I will keep an eye on you until you are back to normal." Law thought it was a good idea.
Getting off the bed, Law walked up to Luffy. "What do you want to do?" He knew that Luffy didn't want to just watch Law read all day. Law had some energy he could burn off, anyway.
"Let's go fishing. Sanji said that we need more fish." Law agreed and followed Luffy to the deck. They got fishing poles and started to fish. They caught tons of fish and everyone was happy with that. Sanji made grilled fish for dinner and Law ate four helpings of it. The crew was astonished at his appetite. It was something they were going to have to get used to with him being back in his seventeen body.
When night came around, Law trudged to his room. They said it was the same as when he had left. Getting to it, Law was surprised that it was exactly the same as he left it. Seeing the bed, he almost jumped on it in joy. He was tired. Luffy had worn him out that day. They ran around and played games. Luffy seemed so happy that he was back. He agreed with everything that the kid had wanted to do. It was exhausting even with his younger body. Law laid down and closed his eyes. He was worried about what would happen tomorrow. He fell asleep a few minutes later.
Hope you all are enjoying it. Let me know what you think. I love you all very, very much. Have a glorious day. Tatty-bye!
