Happy New Year, guys! :D

I'm posting some updates for the occasion :) Now, I know I have some reviews left to answer, but I haven't had much time to be online these past few days (the only reason I'm posting anything is because I've had my holiday updates ready for over a week). My mom's been at the hospital for the last four days and, while she's back home for tonight (she's asleep now), she has to go back to get an urgent surgery on Sunday. So I haven't been around, and probably won't be for a while. Depends on how things turn out :/


The Visit: Dinner

Sengoku observed Law as they ate. He wasn't too obvious about it, he didn't want to trigger any more awkwardness than what was already present in the mostly silent way they ate dinner, but he wanted to get to know him.

One detail he hadn't noticed the first time, as overwhelmed and distracted as he had been by everything he had learned, were Law's eating habits. Law's mostly normal eating habits. After years of exposure to Garp and his knowledge of Roger, Sengoku would have expected Law, as a D, to be as much of a black hole as them. He wasn't. Law was eating at a calm pace, with relatively good manners that didn't have people around them turning their heads in horrified astonishment or losing their appetites, and a reasonable amount of food.

However, he did seem to have a quirk, Sengoku noticed. Law hadn't touched the bread that had been brought along with their order.

"You don't like bread?" Sengoku asked, one of his eyebrows going up. Curious.

"No," Law answered with a small grimace, giving the bread a dark look as if it had offended him personally.

Sengoku had to smile at the childish gesture. It was the first time he saw Law behaving in a way fit for his age.

"Any other eating habit you share with Rosinante?" Sengoku asked, curious, because what were the chances for Rosinante to have found a kid who shared his dislike for bread?

Law grimaced again.

"No. He liked umeboshi." He said it with such disgust that Sengoku couldn't help but laugh.

Law glared at him, but he must have decided it wasn't worth yelling at him or argue, because he changed the topic.

"So," he started casually. Too casually, "what are you doing here?"

"I need a reason to be here?"

The look Law directed at him was impressive. Usually, it was Sengoku who looked at people like they were idiots for something they had said, it was uncommon to have that look aimed at him. Law's version of it was one of the best he had seen, and Sengoku briefly wondered how many of these same looks had been aimed at Rosinante.

Sengoku looked pointedly around.

"Later."

"Is it bad?" Law asked seriously, lowering his fork back onto his plate.

Sengoku shook his head.

"No. Just… private." He didn't add that he didn't know how Law would react to it, which was the main reason he wanted to wait.

Law nodded.

"What will you do about Vergo?"

Sengoku sighed. Couldn't he ask about something less delicate? At least, about this, he had an idea of Law's possible reaction, so he decided to answer.

"I'll keep an eye on him. If I remove him, Doflamingo will simply send someone else, and there isn't any proof that he is a spy." He added this last bit more carefully, though he didn't mention his third reason: that Doflamingo had the Tenryuubito by the balls —according to the information Rosinante had given him— and Sengoku wouldn't put it past them to cover Vergo if Doflamingo threatened them.

Law frowned, but he nodded reluctantly.

"You only have my word to prove it."

That was another thing. Law was a kid, and he had been a pirate. While most people would excuse his stint as a pirate due to the circumstances in which he had joined the Donquixote Pirates, his credibility would be even more questioned than simply due to his age.

"I'm thinking about setting Garp on him," Sengoku confessed in an attempt to lighten the mood and because he had considered the possibility.

That caught Law's attention, and an interested look crossed his eyes.

"How?"

"Vergo is a very promising fighter. If I tell Garp, he will want to test him."

Law didn't laugh, but a smirk crossed his face. A slightly creepy smirk, Sengoku noticed, and he wouldn't be surprised if that expression scared a lot of people in the future.

"If you do, record it. I want to see."