See You Later
Law huffed. The tapping of his finger on the sheath of his sword floated through the mostly silent air. He knew this would happen. As sure as the sun rose in the east and set in the west. As sure as he was a doctor. As sure as he loved Neo most in the world. He knew this would happen. He just had no idea how to prevent it.
It was time to leave and Neo had the Straw Hats wrapped up in her vines. Those she was most attached to were closest to her. Robin and Luffy were at her sides. Sanji was behind her. Chopper was firmly held in her arms.
And most of the Straw Hats weren't helping the situation either. Luffy was grinning like the maniac he was, saying they were the same crew anyway so staying together was fine. Sanji, Brook, and Franky were crying about how sad it was they were departing. Robin was doing her best to console Neo while Chopper was crying so hard when he spoke no one could understand him.
The only two who kept a clear head over this whole this were Jinbe and Zoro. The former held a gentle, patient smile. Neo might not have spent as much time with him as the rest of the Straw Hats, but she was still clinging to him. Zoro looked annoyed, but Law could see a tinge of not wanting to hurt Neo in man's eyes.
"She's never going to let them go, is she?" Shachi asked.
"It's going to take a lot of convincing." Penguin said the words but doubt dripped heavily from them. His eyes dropped to the baby in his arms. Cora was sleeping peacefully, unaware of the trouble his mother was causing.
"Well, we all saw this coming," Topaz said. "Neo's not use to saying goodbye to people she cares about."
Kailen nodded in agreement. "Yeah. The only time she's really said goodbye to anyone is when the crew left Luminous."
"The captain will get her to let them go," Bepo said.
"Come on, Neo," Law called. "You have to let them go now."
"No. I. Don't." Neo glared and pouted. "You've said so yourself. I can do whatever I want."
Law released a heavy sigh. Never did he think those words would come back to bite him. "I know, love. But you can't keep the Straw Hats as if they are possessions."
"I can if I want!"
Luffy laughed. "Of course you can! We're friends! Friends are suppose to stay together!"
"You're not helping, Straw Hat!" Law snapped.
"Neo," Robin said, earning the half of the young woman's attention. "We might be separating today but that doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore."
Neo turned her wet eyes up to the woman. "But I won't get to see you for who knows how long. It could be another two years."
"That might be true, but it's equally true that we might see each other again sooner than later," Robin said.
"That's so true!" Sanji bit his sleeve, tears streaking his cheeks. "My sweet fairy! We'll miss you! But we will definitely see each other again!"
"This is nonsense," Zoro said.
"Shut up, you heartless moss head!" Sanji growled.
"It's so sad!" Franky's small hand extended from his bigger one to brush away his tears. "Saying goodbye is always hard."
"Will you idiots all shut up and listen to me?!" Zoro screamed then took a deep breath. "Have you all forgotten that Neo has a piece of Luffy's vivre card?"
"Vivre card?" Neo loosened her hold just enough to turn and look at the swordsman.
"Back in Dressrosa. Sabo gave us a vivre card of Luffy," Zoro said.
Neo blinked a couple times as she searched her memories of the card. "Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Robin gave Law a piece of Luffy's vivre card who gave it to me after I was over the shock of being pregnant. I put it in my Luminous shelf so I wouldn't lose it."
"That's right!" Luffy nodded.
"Shut up, moron," Zoro said. "You weren't there."
Chopper sniffed. "That means even though we have to split up for now Neo can still find us later if she really wants to see us." Tears fell like a waterfall over his fur. "But what if we want to find her? We won't be able to!"
With another sigh, Law reached into his pocket. "I thought this might happen. So I had a vivre card of Neo created."
"Law!" Neo squealed. Releasing her hold on the Straw Hats she leapt into Law's arms, her legs around his waist, and kissed him. "I love you! You're the best! I have no idea when you had that made, but you are amazing! I love you! I love you!"
The two crews snickered.
Law grumbled with flushed cheeks. He passed his sword off to Bepo and wrapped his arms around Neo. Now that she had released the Straw Hats he was going to keep it that way.
The crews started boarding their ships.
"Yes! This means we can see each other when we want!" Luffy cheered. The majority of the Straw Hats cheered with him.
Robin laughed and took a piece of Neo's vivre card.
"Now that that's settle we really should set sail," Zoro said.
Neo whimpered. She tried to wiggle out of Law's hold but he held firm. "Law!"
"You've hugged them enough." Law's tone leaned into his captain tone before he warped them to the deck. "Time to say goodbye."
Neo tensed. She didn't want him to order her to say goodbye. He loosed his arms so she could turn to face them. "Okay. I love you all. Please be careful while sailing."
"Of course, my sweet fairy! Anything you want!" Hearts throbbed in Sanji's eyes.
"You be careful too, Neo. We'll miss you so much." Chopper waved with both hooves.
"I'll miss you all too," Neo said.
"Remember, you guys, the next time we meet it'll be as enemies! Don't whine to me if we're shooting to kill," Law said.
"Law!" Neo glared over her shoulder at him.
Law shrugged. "It's true."
"We will not hurt you guys." Neo faced the Straw Hats again. "Law knows better than to do that."
"It's fine," Luffy called. "We're still friends even if we have to fight one day!"
"See you around, Tra!" Chopper said.
"Buzz off," Law said.
"Law, be nice!" Neo tapped her heel on his shin.
Law cleared his throat but said nothing.
"Set sail!" Kid yelled.
"Hey!" Momonosuke called out. The dragon flew right up to Sunny. "You monsters!"
"Momo!" Neo said.
Yamato waved. "We came to see you off!"
Momonosuke transformed back into his human form and tackled Luffy. "Luffy! You bastard! What is the meaning of this outrage?! How can you abandoned the two comrades you have known the longest without a word?!"
Neo giggled. "Poor Momo. He thought Luffy left without saying goodbye."
"Well, they did leave the capital without saying anything," Law said.
"That's right. I forgot. They don't care much for big goodbyes." Neo watched as Luffy declared Momonosuke was like a little brother to him then gave him a flag with the Straw Hats' Jolly Roger on it. "I guess Momo's doesn't have much experience with goodbyes either."
"Hey!" Amara and Nina came flying towards them.
"You two still keeping an eye on Momo?" Neo asked.
"We will for a while longer," Amara said.
"We wanted to see you one last time," Nina said with a two hand wave. "We're really going to miss you!"
"We'll miss you, too!" Neo waved. "Be sure to take good care of Wano and Momo before returning to Zou!"
"We will!" Nina and Amara said.
Then they were off. The three ships sailing side by side as the sailed away from the island.
"All right, let's set course for Hakumai. The main port is there." Nami pointed to the left. "I was told there's a lift that can lower ships down."
"Phew. I thought since we scaled a waterfall to get here, we'd have to fall down it to leave." Brook brushed his forehead with his bony hand.
"Me too! Thank goodness!" Chopper said.
Kid laughed. "Yeah, that makes sense. You guys would use the main port. It's the safe and sound way after all. Perfect for your wusses."
"Safe and sound?" Law and Luffy grumbled through gritted teeth.
"Um, I could fly us down," Neo offered.
"No, Luffy! Being safe is good! Don't let him get to you!" Usopp cried out.
"Hang on, Captain! What's with that face?! We all think the main port is better!" Archer said.
"Jinbe, give me the helm!" Luffy demanded.
"Luffy! Don't!" the Straw Hats screamed.
"Neo! Do something!" Her own crew begged.
"Oh dear." Neo pressed a hand to her cheek. "Sorry, guys. Law has his mind set. You know how he gets with Luffy and Kid challenge him."
The crewmates grabbed onto their ships as they all went sailing over the tall waterfall.
"NEO!" Both the Heart and Straw Hats cried out to her.
"Okay." Neo summoned her wind crystals. Within the last five feet of hitting the water, she caught Sunny and Polar Tang, setting them on the water. When Kid started to laugh, and claimed he won, she forced him and his ship far away from them so another competition wouldn't start.
"Thank you, Neo! You saved us!"
"No problem." Neo smiled. She turned to the Straw Hats as they turned and headed away from them. A whimper escaped her as she watched them get smaller and smaller. Her feet carried her to the railing where she draped over it. The moody gray clouds rolled in overhead, matching her mood to perfection.
"Is she okay?" Rosin pointed at Neo.
"She'll be fine. She just gets really attached to people she's bonded with," Penguin said as the rest of the crew picked themselves up off the deck and headed inside. He headed over to Neo and patted her back as she slump more over the rail. "You better be careful, little sister. The captain won't be happy if you fall over the side."
Neo whimpered.
"Come on." Penguin put some pep in his tone. "I bet we'll see the Straw Hats sooner than you think. And you know we'll see them once we all reach Raftel."
Neo whimpered again.
"And you can always keep an eye on what they're doing when they make the news. You know Straw Hat. We'll probably hear something about him within a weak."
More whimpering. The clouds above her started drizzling.
"Cora, your mommy has issues."
"Perhaps we should just give her space to wallow in her misery," Topaz suggested.
"No, that's okay." Neo forced herself off the railing and turned to their guest. The dreary clouds rolling away. "I suppose you want to talk more. It'll be a good distraction."
"How about we start with that sub of yours." Conner stepped back out on the deck. His eyes dropped to the sub, way smaller than the Polar Tang, as it was tugged behind them. "I've never seen one like that before. And it has the marine symbol on it."
"Oh, that." Rosin glanced at the slim water vessel then back at the pirates. "I probably shouldn't say anything, but since you've already seen it. That is one of a few prototypes the marine engineering are working on. They want something that's faster than their battleships. This one houses a fifteen man crew. It's one of the smallest they've made so far."
"Let me guess," Conner said. "It's an attempt at trying to catch pirates better."
Rosin nodded. "You got it. Though it'll still be several years before they are perfected. This one doesn't have active weapons on it."
"Just great," Conner mumbled to himself as he headed back inside. "Those marines. Always causing us trouble."
"So how did you manage to get one if they're only prototypes?" Topaz asked.
"One of the engineers is a good friend of mine," Rosin said. "He let me take it out since it's been docked for a while now."
"What if someone notices it's missing?" Penguin asked.
"My friend will cover for me. He's always taking it out himself or having someone else do it for test runs." Rosin shrugged. "Besides, I don't plan on staying with you pirates for long. I do have two kids at home. And a husband who can't even boil water." She pressed a finger to her chin. "I hope I made enough frozen meals for them. All well. They can always go out to eat. Shall we get comfortable?"
Neo nodded and grew some flower chairs. "Let's sit out here. It's a nice day."
At that point Law came back out. He sat down on one of the chairs and summoned Neo to his lap with a thought.
Neo followed his quiet order and sat down.
Law pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Glad your not pouting anymore."
"For the moment." Neo smirked at him. "But maybe you can do something to distract me from more pouting later."
Law returned the smirk. "I might be able to think of something."
Penguin shook his head and sat down. "Add your daddy to that list of issues, Cora."
"Still in the honeymoon phase, huh?" Rosin crossed her arms.
"Those two will never be out of the honeymoon phase," Penguin said.
Rosin shrugged. She took a step towards the flower chairs. Her foot slipped out from underneath her and she hit the floor hard. "Ouch."
"I see you can trip on air just like your dad," Law said.
Rosin crawled into a chair. "Yeah. I wish that trait had skipped over me. So will you explain how you met my dad after he died?"
Neo nodded and explained what happened in her past.
"Wow. You've really been through a lot." Rosin crossed her arms and legs and looked up at the sky. "It makes sense then. He knew Law and has been watching over him even though he died a long time ago. Now he's watching over you since you're so important to Law." She smiled, closing her eyes. "I'm glad."
"About what?" Neo asked.
Rosin looked at the pirates. "That my dad didn't give his life up for nothing."
Law twitched.
"He was serious about his job as a marine and rarely bonded close with people because of that and Doflamingo." Rosin's eyes locked onto Law. "You must have really impressed him to get him to abandon his mission."
Law shrugged.
'You're not going to tell her about your past?'
'It's none of her business.'
'I know. But it feels like she should know.' Neo tensed at the wind's sudden shift and stood.
"What is it?" Law asked.
"Ten wind elementals are coming this way."
A few seconds later the wind elementals landed on the deck, one of them rather familiar. They all took to one knee in front of Neo in a respectful bow.
"Raina!" Penguin stood and rushed over to the elementals. "It's good to see you!"
"It's good to see you all, too, but I'm afraid this isn't a social visit." Raina looked at her friend then at Neo. "Princess Neo, we apologize for the sudden arrival. But there is an urgent matter that requires you to return to Luminous at once."
"Urgent matter? What's happened?" Neo asked.
Raina took a slow breath and released it. "The human navy has found our home and is current attacking it."
"What?!" Neo gasped.
"The vice admiral of that ship said he will stop only when you return and speak with him." Raina winced. "We barely managed to get off the island. The soldiers are shooting fragments of pollution stones at us."
Neo clenched her fists. Thunder rumbled above them.
"Shanks is also being brought back to Luminous," Raina said. "Tao thought it would be wise to let him know of this development."
"How did they even find Luminous? And why would the navy attack?" Neo scratched her head. "Especially after that newspaper article the five elders put out."
"It's possibly a power play," Law said.
"Power play?" Neo turned to him.
"They want you to come see them," Law explained. "They likely assumed you wouldn't answer their call and is using your home island as a way to get you to come."
"Stupid navy." Neo shook her head. "All right. Let's go back to Luminous." She turned to Penguin. "Please tell Basil to prepare some food for our guests."
"That's not necessary," Raina protested.
"It is. I know you all came a long way," Neo said. "You need to eat a good meal if we're going to return to Luminous without any problems."
"Very well." Raina nodded.
"Here." Penguin passed Cora back to Neo. Just as he entered into the sub, Topaz, Healer Zinnia, and Kailen came out.
Raina squealed. She stepped closer to Neo and took Cora's little hand. "Oh my gosh! He's so cute! Is he Penguin's?"
Neo giggled. "No. This is Cora. He's mine and Law's."
The wind elementals gasped. "You had a baby?!"
"We sure did." Neo grinned as she gaze down at Cora. "Though he wasn't planned, I'm glad he's here."
"Oh! Too cute!" Raina gushed over the baby.
"What's going on?" Topaz asked.
"The navy has found Luminous," Law said.
"Is anyone hurt?" Healer Zinnia asked.
"Pollution stones have been shattered and shot at the island," Law informed her. "But not yet."
"Oh dear." Healer Zinnia pressed a hand to her cheek.
"How did they manage to find that island?" Kailen asked.
"Most likely they sailed around until the managed to come across it," Law said, his brow knitted.
"Can I hold him?" Raina asked.
Neo nodded and passed Cora over to her. She then turned her attention to Law. "What are we going to do? It's not like we can erase the navy's memories."
"True." Law pulled Neo to his side. "But it's equally true that they can't make an eternal pose for the island. Once we've dealt with them and removed the pollution stones we can have the elemental change the landscape within a few miles of the island to confuse the navy if they decide to come back."
Neo pressed against him, wishing they were already back on Luminous.
Whelp, I was wrong. There is a little bit more cannon material involving Law in the new chapter. I won't say what it is, but I will say my baby Law better be okay! And, of course, I'll add in any cannon material with Law and company. Though I do hope Oda doesn't just show the beginning of it then leave us hanging for the conclusion. I really don't want to take another extended break so soon after the last.
Yes, Rosin is an OC.