Chapter 6

"As if petty risks have ever stopped me"


"Are you Trafalgar?"

Law looked up from his lunch to see a tall, heavily muscled figure towering over him. The guy's head was shaved clean, his eyes slightly droopy, and there, what caught Law's attention the most, was a big mole on the middle of his left cheek. His hands were clenched in tight fists and his brows knitted together so hard his veins were popping on his forehead. The guy didn't look happy. Far from it, actually.

Law sighed. And he had even chosen a quiet, gloomy corner to eat instead of the nice, bright, open area next to the sea which most people usually preferred. Couldn't he just eat in peace?

"If I say no, would you leave?" Law asked after leisurely munching for a minute and swallowing his food. The guy narrowed his eyes, definitely seeing red.

"No"

Oh well, Law had tried to be polite.

"I'll rephrase that since it's clear you don't have enough braincells to catch implications." Law shifted a bit on his seat, looking at the guy dead in the eye "Fuck off. I'm trying to eat"

The guy scrunched up his face and his knuckles tightened even more, Law was surprised there wasn't blood dripping off it yet.

"Get up" the guy said through clenched teeth.

"What for?"

"I'll beat you to a pulp"

Well, that was totally original.

Law learned that one of the differences between the marines and pirates that he hadn't noticed before was just how vast pirates' creativity on making threats was. It could be disturbing enough that Law would even chuckle while being threatened. He remembered that once, in a rundown bar on an island near the start of the Grand Line, he had chopsticks against his neck, listening to some drunk saying that he would poke holes all over his body, fill it with pasta, bite and chew on it, spit it again to be thrown as Sea Kings' bait.

The guy ended up chopped and mangled beyond recognition, but at least Law had a good laugh.

In comparison, the marines' vocabulary was rather… bland. It's even worse when they slipped 'justice' somewhere in between the words.

Not that Law would voice that thought aloud, because he was, right now—as much as he wanted to kill himself for it—a marine.

Law dropped his spoon as his collar was grabbed and he was yanked up on his feet.

"I'll kill you, you jerk"

Another original.

"And what, exactly, did I do to have the honor of being targeted by whoever you are? I don't recall us being close enough for you to want to kill me" Law said, annoyance clear in his tone.

"You fuckin' mocked and humiliated my friend!"

Recognition followed by a lightbulb disturbingly flickered above Law's head. He smirked "And who is this poor friend of yours that you're talking about?"

At this point, Law could almost see steam coming out from the guy's head. Now, just a little more push…

"Oh. Are you perhaps talking about the loser I beat on sparring session yesterday? I'm sorry, I don't remember the names of weak—"

Law's sentence was cut short as a big fist connected against the left side of his face. He felt the stinging pain as he slammed into the benches nearby, rattling and knocking some of them. Law felt the familiar, sour taste in his mouth, and spat out the red liquid onto the ground. So the guy could pack a punch.

Perfect.

Law stood up straight, quietly sighing as he eyed his lunch scattered all over the ground. Yeah, the guy was going to pay for that.

"Just so you know" Law started, lifting his marine cap—Law would pay to just wear his usual spotted hat— up to have a closer look at the guy. Mole Guy—Law had decided to call him that, just in case they ever met again—had his muscles and eyes bulging, ready as ever to pounce someone, namely Law.

"Your friend was the one who didn't stand down even after it was clear I was going to win. I gave him the honor of going all out against him. Well, not all out, but eh. Anyway, he was the one who mocked my friend first, so you don't have any place to hold it against me" he added. And it was the truth. The loser had called Bepo a freak, and no one mocked Bepo. No one.

Needless to say, Law didn't have the slightest intention to be merciful after that.

And Law didn't really feel merciful right now either.


Law dusted his sleeveless marine uniform, straightening the crinkles and creases here and there before picking up his ruined lunchbox. He had taken some money from the guy's pocket and thanked him half-heartedly, noting there was more cash than he had expected. He knew that he shouldn't do this, that knocking out the guy was already enough, but what could he say. He was a pirate at heart, and pirates always collected the loot after fights.

The guy was a pretty decent fighter, but even with his weight advantage, it wasn't enough to beat Law's techniques and experience.

Law pocketed the money and walked away casually from the unconscious body like there were never any fight to begin with. He was about to go look for Penguin, Shachi, and Bepo (They still had some mundane chores to do) when he noticed a familiar figure staring right at him, most likely having seen his little fight.

"Enjoying the show?" Law asked, smirking as he walked toward the white-haired person. The guy was buff, his face decorated with what seemed like a permanent scowl. Law would recognize that face anywhere, even without the cigar hanging on his mouth. "Smoker" he greeted.

Smoker didn't say anything. He just kept glaring at Law like he was some sort of troublemaker.

Well, he was.

It had been half a year since Law joined the marine, and he had shot through the rank so fast he was recognized as a powerful rookie. He was a warrant officer now, and next month, he would be formally inaugurated to be a commissioned marine officer.

He could have taken the test for promotion earlier, actually. But with his infamous cheeky and arrogant attitude, he got into a lot more fights than the higher-ranked officers would like, and he hadn't gotten any permission to get a promotion. At least, until a week ago when he fought a whole army of a small kingdom on an island near Marineford, won, and freed all hostages kept by the kingdom's corrupt royal family. With that feat, he got a promotion without having to take a test.

"Got into another fight, huh?" Smoker finally commented, voice gruff and grumpy as usual. Law snorted.

"As if you don't have one scheduled at least once a week" Law glanced back a little, jabbing a thumb behind him "and that guy threw the first punch"

Smoker grunted "You should get rid of that attitude, Trafalgar"

"Yeah, everyone hates my guts, I'm well aware. But don't pretend they don't hate your brash and wild attitude, either, Smoker"

Smoker puffed out some smoke from his cigar. Law knew the man hadn't gotten his devil fruit yet, so those little cancer cells must've been multiplying in the guy's body. Law's doctor persona was screaming bloody murder, but Law's pirate self succeeded in silencing him.

"Whatever. I still don't like you"

The man said with a grunt and walked away. Law raised an eyebrow. Well, looked like some things didn't change.

Smoker had been in the marines longer than Law. But, just like the teen, he got into so many troubles and fights due to his tendency to do whatever he thought was right that he wasn't really the first choice to be promoted in the higher-ups' books. But they were going to be inaugurated as Ensign together next month. Law could already imagine the headache Sengoku would inevitably have when the both of them finally reached a high enough rank to act more freely.

Law didn't like Smoker, of course. However, after two timelines occasionally interacting with the marine officer, Law realized that he was actually one of the very few decent guys in this not-so-secretly messed up organization. So, yeah, he didn't exactly hate the guy either.

He would rather die than admit that, though.

Law walked through a crowd who willingly made way for him (no one really wanted to have anything to do with the rookie, especially when they realized the faint trace of blood on his knuckles) before spotting someone with a familiar black hat near the shore. Penguin was loading some crates onto a boat, walking back and forth from the sand to the tool.

"Where are Bepo and Shachi?" Law asked as soon as he got into talking distance with his friend. Penguin let out a grunt as he stacked one crate on top of another, momentarily panicking when it looked like it might fall down, before answering "Buying lunch. I lost the rock-pqper-scissors" he scowled before jumping down the boat.

Law raised an eyebrow "What happened to your lunch boxes?"

Penguin stopped next to the remaining crates and looked at the ocean, momentarily debating something. Eventually, he huffed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "Some bastards took it, saying we should respect the upperclassmen or some shit. You know, the usual" and he was back to his chore, this time taking two crates at a time.

Law narrowed his eyes. 'the usual' was something normal, really. Seniority, discrimination, bullying, those shits were too normal of an occurrence in this world for Law to be surprised.

But really, were those acceptable in an organization meant to uphold peace and justice like the Navy?

Answer was, yes, if you're not caught.

And it looked like there were some slippery guys that Law needed to take care of.

"Stop it"

Law blinked. He turned his head toward his friend. "What?"

Penguin took off his hat and ran a hand through the mess of his hair before putting it back on firmly "Whatever you're thinking right now. Stop it"

"And what am I thinking right now?"

Penguin stared at Law and gave a dry look, "You're thinking of ways to torture the bastards, aren't you? Well, forget it." Before Law could respond, Penguin added, voice a tad lower "you're finally going to be promoted next month. Better not do anything risky"

Law was silent for a moment before he walked a step, brought one leg backwards and swung it, kicking the ground. The sand went flying toward Penguin who yelled in protest.

"As if petty risks have ever stopped me" Law said with a smirk as he shielded his face from the sand Penguin sent his way in retaliation. They fought using sand and water for a few minutes before Penguin stopped first, fed up by the itches caused by the sand on his skin.

"Honestly, we can take care of ourselves, Law" Penguin said as he cupped some sea water with his hands and let the water brushed off the sand on his arms. He was true. Bullying had never gotten far in the navy, at least not to Law's knowledge. So as long as they stayed in the radar and focused on their work, those so-called seniors would leave them alone eventually.

Law shrugged "I know. Doesn't mean I can't beat those trashes senseless"

Especially because part of the reason why those guys picked on his friends was because they were close with him.

Penguin pinched the bridge of his nose. His friend was making things difficult " We talked about this"

"And never came to an agreement. So technically, I'm still free to do whatever I want"

Penguin cursed under his breath, aware that Law was right. Realizing that there was nothing else he could do to prevent Law from causing more trouble than necessary, he went back to his work, grumbling as he almost threw the crates on top of each other.

"Law!"

Law turned around at the call of his name, smiling as he saw a familiar white, fluffy figure running toward him with another familiar person trotting behind.

"Hey Bepo, Shachi" Law greeted as the polar bear have him a quick, bone-crushing hug. It had only been roughly a year and the bear mink was already one inch taller than him. Shachi waved in response, a strawberry flavoured gum in his mouth.

"Have you eaten yet?" Bepo asked Law as he passed a crate to Penguin on the boat, helping him get the job done faster. Law glanced at the cafeteria lunch boxes on Shachi's—who opted not to help, the asshole—hands, smiling when he saw there were four of them instead of three.

"Not yet. It got ruined when someone picked a fight—"

Law's sentence was cut off when a speaker blared to life. It rang a monotone tune before a voice spoke.

"Squad 1 and 2, to the office immediately. Squad 1 and 2—"

In a second, some cadets stopped moving and hurried to the said place, while the others resumed whatever activity they were doing. Law frowned, kicking the sand again in annoyance. He was just about to have a nice mealtime with his friends and another mission was already on its way. Just great.

"You better go" Shachi warned nonchalantly, popping off the gum balloon he had made and pointing at a bone-white building where the office was.

"Yeah" with a last click of tongue, Law walked away, giving a lazy wave to his friends "See you guys later"


Law walked into the office and stood in line with the other members of Squad 2. He could never get accustomed to it, standing on attention with straightened posture, both hands on the back of his waist, head tilted just enough to show respect, and all. It felt suffocating and, well, useless.

He took time to sweep his eyes across the room that he had gotten familiar with for the past half a year.

The room was rather plain. The walls were decorated only with a clock, a calendar, some guns put on display (Law was pretty sure the guns were real instead of just a decoration), and a blue marine symbol painted on the wall opposite of the door. There was only one desk with three chairs aligned, reserved for the highest-ranking individual present, usually Vice Admirals. On one corner of the room, a flag of the World Government stood (Law had more than once thought of burning the thing just for the satisfaction of it), while another corner was decorated with a plant.

His gaze switched to the side, where he felt an itch prickling his skin (a common sign that someone was staring at him blatantly) when he found Smoker's glare boring holes on him, looking ready to maul someone.

Or... never mind, that was just the man's usual look.

Law raised an eyebrow, wondering why Smoker and—now that he realized—some others were giving him a once over and distasteful looks. He looked down at his body, looking for anything out of place.

Tacky uniform, check. Annoying neckerchief, check. Boring cap, check. His tattoos, double check. Nothing seemed wrong, so what—

Law felt an itch again.

Oh, right. The sand.

Trickles of sand were dripping off him and falling helplessly on the floor, leaving a pool of dirt around his feet and a trail of sand from the entrance. He should've cleaned himself a little after that little sand fight with Penguin earlier.

And now, even the Vice Admiral standing in front of them was giving him a funny look.

No one commented verbally, though.

"A command came into the Headquarters just now, to dispatch the 1st and 2nd Squads"

Law frowned in thought. Those were the best squads in the Infantry and Sailor Division, containing some of the best fighters who were only waiting for the time to be promoted into Commissioned Marine Officers. The members weren't many, just 10 people per squad, and it could be called an elite force for simple cadets.

The two squads rarely worked with each other unless the situation really demanded for it. That's why Law never really had a chance to fight side by side with Smoker, fortunately. The white-haired guy was a member of the 1st Squad.

But now, both of the squads were called in. 'commanded to be dispatched', in Vice Admiral's words. For someone to request the best squads from the Marine Headquarters, it could mean...

Nah. There were many other possibilities. Surely it couldn't mean what Law had in thought.

But of course, the universe hated him, and it turned out exactly as he feared.


A fist slammed to the desk in front of Sengoku, toppling a mug and spilling the remaining tea in it. The Fleet Admiral quickly snatched the documents to prevent them from absorbing the liquid, mildly annoyed at the display of anger.

"I am NOT doing it" Law hissed, his fist still firm on the desk, making it tremble slightly from the pressure.

Sengoku sighed, putting off his glasses to clean the smooth surface and putting it back on before responding "You know you can't just reject or pull out from a mission" he sounded tired and in need of a week-long holiday. Or three.

"I don't care. I am NOT going" Law said again, already going for the door and swearing up a storm in his head. He couldn't believe Sengoku planned for him to—

"Trafalgar"

Almost automatically, Law froze in his track. He turned around slowly, looking at the Fleet Admiral with narrowed eyes. Trafalgar. Sengoku only ever called him that when the man wanted to assert his superiority, a signal for them to act not as family, but as true marine officers. To tell him that he should mind his words and actions or he would have to bear the consequences.

So Law walked back, stood straight in front of Sengoku, and breathed in deep.

He wasn't the type to mind his words though, so the anger seeped into his voice, thick and clear.

"Are you really, seriously.." he started, tone low and dangerous. His eyes which were partially shadowed by the cap shined bright yellow "..expecting me to escort a fucking World Noble?" he spat the last words as if it tasted horrible in his mouth "Seriously?"

"Language, young man" Sengoku warned, his hold on the papers tightened as the documents crinkled.

"It's just this once. Saint Rosward is planning on going to the Sabaody Archipelago and spend a week there. There's talks about him wanting to move, but it's a discussion for another time. With the time needed to pick him up, drop him back, and go back here, it should take three weeks tops. With two weeks in the presence of the World Nobles."

Sengoku paused for a moment to let his words sink in "Just two weeks. I believe you can hold on that long, and it's not like you have to interact with him. Just keep an eye out for any danger and not let anyone touch the man and his family" Sengoku tapped the desk twice, thinking, before crossing his arms.

"I can't just pull you out of the team, the number of the personnel is already right as it is. And you're one of the best fighters, which is heavily requested. Besides, I believe you're the one who hates the idea of using our relation to have your ways in the Navy" Sengoku stared at his self-proclaimed grandson "Aren't you?"

Law couldn't even stop himself from stating his thought "Normally, yes. But I think, right now, nepotism would be really great"

Sengoku shook his head, putting the documents on the table, on the other side of the spilled tea. Then he reached for one of the cabinets, took a handful of other papers and sat back down, a pen in hand, resuming his earlier work before Law had come barging in.

"You're still going" he said, tone signalling finality. He stared at the teen, the glint in his eyes daring the young man from protesting further. Law held himself back from kicking the table or punching Sengoku on the sheen. Instead, he dug his nails deeper into his palm, and gave a quick, half-hearted nod, before striding outside. He stopped just at the mouth of the door.

"Just expect me to be the first to cheer if something does happen to the noble, Sir"

And he slammed the door shut.


"You're in an awful mood today"

Law didn't even turn around from his position, sorting the provisions as someone addressed him from behind.

"Yeah, well," Law said, rummaging through the crates and boxes, scrunching up his face a little as he saw some bread stacked neatly inside "got anything to say about it, Hina-ya?" He inquired, irritation clear in his voice.

The pink-haired lady leaned against one of the drawers, sharp eyes still lingering on the tattooed youth "No. Hina is just surprised"

Law scoffed, hands still busy in the containers, but part of his mind flew to somewhere distant.

In his past life, he had heard about 'Black Cage Hina' from the Strawhats, but it was just in passing and he didn't even have a chance to meet the marine in person.

Who knew she was in the same year, and even a friend of dear ol' Smoker?

Law's first impression of Hina was... She was weird. He blamed it on her way of speaking, referring to herself in a third person and all. And her hair - oh God her hair. Her bubble gum pink hair that would look really out of place in a fight, and reminded him of a certain princess of a certain kingdom.

But, despite her 'cute' third person way of speaking and the color of her hair, she was stoic and strict, whether to others or herself. She worked hard, too. How could she not? being one of the very few girls in the Navy surely hardened her wits and guts to the point she could drive some guys scurrying for higher grounds instead.

They weren't friends, but Law wouldn't really mind to say they were acquainted, either.

"No. Hina's just surprised" she fished a white packet from her pocket and took out a cigarette "Usually, you have this blank or gloomy air around you, except when you're out there picking fights or hanging with your only three friends. So it's rare to see you pissed off" Hina lighted the cigarette and took a whiff of the cancer abomination "expressing anger and all" she finished.

If anything, Law felt even more irritated. He already had Sengoku poking his nose into his business and observing his every actions behind those glasses. Not to mention his 'only three friends' that sometimes seemed to have acquired the power of an oracle and read his mind.

He didn't need anyone else keeping an eye on him. And certainly not someone from the Navy.

"Don't smoke here, Hina-ya" Law stood up, eyeing the well-stocked up rations. These would last them the whole journey going and back, but they had to buy and have meals on the island for their whole time in Sabaody archipelago. "Or better yet, just stop altogether"

Hina just brushed him off and went out of the room, but not before saying "Oh, you've still got some sand on you"


"The hell are you smirking about?"

Law blinked, his attention switching to the grumpy marine standing not far from him. Smoker looked like he was witnessing Law smiling and laughing maniacally while dismembering bodies.

"Nothing" Law said a little too quickly. He could see Smoker's eye twitch, and for a second, he feared the white-haired man would call out his little white lie. Much to his relief, the man dropped the conversation just as fast as he started it, grumbling under his breath.

Law turned his focus to the object of his amusement again, which turned out to be his oh-so-called client, Saint Rosward.

He knew the name sounded familiar.

It was one of the Celestial Dragons that Strawhat Luffy punched in the previous timelines (and most probably would be again if the damned butterfly effect wasn't too great).

It was kind of refreshing for Law to relive seeing the world noble getting a beating, even if it's only in his mind.

A dark snicker escaped his mouth when he saw the other shorter, snotty, fat trash, Saint Charlos, the memory of said noble's bloody face flashing through his mind.

Law really should try stopping the past images from emerging from the depths of his brain, though. Because with the way it was going, he really would end up being the one to sucker punch the guy.

Law wasn't one to judge from appearance. No, really - he wasn't. But seriously, that face was just too killable.

Good thing he got the night shift of the bodyguard duty, so at least the relatively bad lighting would prevent him from clearly seeing the guy's poor excuse of a face.

The bad news? He shared the shift with Smoker.

And right now, on the day they arrived at Sabaody Archipelago after picking up Saint Rosward and his two children, Law and Smoker were sitting around the same table in a restaurant, after being dragged by none other than Hina.

"What do you two want to get?" Hina asked as she flipped the menu book in her hands, eyes scanning the different foods and beverages listed on the laminated papers.

"The fuck out" smoker answered, one leg crossed on top of another, his cigar hanging loosely on his mouth.

Law had to stop himself from agreeing, because he was just petty like that.

"Hina doesn't think they sell it here" the pink-haired woman said, unfazed by the two glares directed at her, and casually motioned for the waiter for her order.

"One serving of sea food fried rice and iced lemon tea for Hina.." the waiter raised an eyebrow and looked at the trio before concluding the woman just referred to herself (he also had a fleeting thought that he expected her to order things like carbonara or something). Then Hina pointed at her two companions "..and two kids' special meal for them"

"OI!" the guys shouted in unison.

"What?" Hina snapped, closing the menu book and tracing her gloved hands on the leather bind before placing it on the table "you are behaving like children" she added, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

If possible, the guys' glares intensified.

Hina glared back.

The waiter stood there awkwardly, wondering if he should just jot down the orders and scram.

After a minute of the staring contest, the three of them knew this was going nowhere and reluctantly backed down.

It was going to be a long week...


The first day went by without anything worth mentioning, except the local's stunned faces at seeing the Celestial Dragons escorted by a squad of marines and their hurried attempt to show 'respect' by kneeling down. Law had thought it was funny, because the ones he was escorting were the furthest thing from respectable beings.

The second day was relatively 'peaceful', too. Though Law had to bite the inside of his mouth and ask Hina to slap him across the face to keep from seeing red and lashing at the nobles when Saint Rosward was explaining to Saint Charlos and Saint Shalria just how other people were beneath them and they were free to step on others if things didn't go their way. The father even gave the demonstration by kicking and whipping one of his slaves.

When Hina was confused by the request, Smoker saw the opportunity and smacked Law upside the head instead, and they got into a pretty bad brawl in one shady corner when their shift ended.

Problem came on the third day, when the family of world noble were having a leisure walk to Groove 1 (Law was bracing himself for more memories to involuntarily surface) and a random, cute, little boy somehow didn't see what was in front of him and just had to bump into the noble, Saint Charlos.

Law could hear every single gasp and see the look of pure horror on the people. The boy—who had fallen on his butt— was a bit confused and disoriented for a few seconds, before his face slowly contorted into fear when realization hit.

It felt like the temperature dropped a good ten degrees when no one talked nor moved, waiting for the world noble's reaction.

Which wasn't a surprising one, really.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Saint Rosward screamed and Law saw some of the marines cringed from the corner of his eyes.

"HOW DARE YOU LOWLY LIFE TOUCH MY SON!" Saint Rosward screamed again. By this time, the boy didn't even breath due to shock and fear.

Law glanced at Saint Charlos, who was definitely absorbing and learning this behavior from his father. Law could see the satisfaction in the young noble's eyes when the 'lowly human' was being chewed out by his father.

And suddenly, a heavy feeling settled in his stomach. Law had lived long enough to know just how this scenario would end.

And he didn't like it.

Law looked around. He had to do something. Anything. Or else the boy was going to be—

"SHOOT HIM!"

Shit.


A/N

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