ages
law: 12
penguin: 14
shachi: 13
bepo: 8
fic is based on another works which i forgot the title and writer name. they created a lot of interesting concept but never finished all of them?? it's so frustrating i had to make my own version of the story.
it's kind of funny how law is younger than shachi and penguin. and from all the (probably not canon) one piece party manga i read the crew simply glorifies him in anything. it's sweet honestly
the chapter started kind of weak. i had fun writing how law met his first few crew members, next chapter should be where luffy finally appeared.
i'm contemplating making their relationship either platonic or romantic... would be nice if opinions were given.
cora-san died.
die– he, died.
dead, as in. not working anymore. heartbeat fully stopped.
he will never return.
'i love you!' a faint image of cora-san's silly face appeared in his mind.
as if his eyes are not red and puffy enough, more tears come brimming from his eyes. pathetic whines and sobs kept increasing in volume.
'stop that stop that stop that'
he repeats the words like a mantra in his head. hoping for it to work.
what happened is the complete opposite, however.
the dam is completely broken, with nothing to restore the walls. more water has flown in, and it went easier this time than before.
loud screams can be heard in the distance.
more of his sorrow and anguish flooded in. impossible to stop, all he can do is release them all.
it felt like forever, losing track of time for him to at least get rid of the overflowing feeling.
after who knows how much time had passed, he finally calmed himself. expression is still in distress, but infinitely better in feeling.
escaping the island was his crucial goal now.
wasting no time further, he tried his best to stand up.
his crying session from earlier did not help his motivation at all. though, knowing that cora-san – died, for him, he didn't want to waste his effort in vain. it is what keeps him going and he doesn't hesitate on using that all for the energy.
why him?
is the world really that cruel?
it was such a good time back then.
talking polar bear isn't what he expected for his first crewmate.
he found the poor thing barely conscious in a forest on a random island. he wonders where he came from, but dismisses the thought and focuses on treating the animal.
sitting in an abandoned house, the polar bear lay on the floor with only a thin towel as the cushion. he continued grinding some of the plants to make more effective medicine.
he stopped when he saw the bear trying to sit straight slowly. he quickly reached for him and tried to help his balance.
"slow down, you're still recovering. you should rest more."
the polar bear blinked and stared at him hazily, "who are you?"
he swallowed, "my name is trafalgar law."
'listen, law. the d's are the natural enemy of god. for the sake of your safety, hide your full name from everyone'
the animal blinked again, "why did you save me?"
he doesn't stare at him and only continues to rework his bandages, "why shouldn't i? you're injured, so i treated you."
"b-but, you're a human. i'm a mi- animal," he retorted weakly.
"so? why does that matter?"
a simple, short answer was all it takes to make the polar bear stop his denial. tears formed in his eyes and he made a quiet sob, wiping it with his furry arm.
"...thank you. a-and, i'm sorry..."
"why apologize!?"
"sorry!"
he sighed, "again, you should rest more. i'll continue making this medicine, by the time you wake up you can try it and should be good to go, and..." he trailed off, and darted his eyes to him. "i don't know your name yet. may i know it?"
he flushed, "i-i'm sorry! my name is bepo."
ignoring how he keeps apologizing, he gave a nod and smiled.
"you're all good now," law removed the last bandage on his arm and gave it a soft pat.
bepo stared at law, eyes blinking innocently.
"..what?" law asked.
bepo's face became red, he flailed his arm around in an attempt to reassure things. "nothing! i just—"
"you want to join me?"
he stopped his movement, surprised at how the boy managed to read his thought bullseye. his face becomes so red it's equivalent to that of a tomato.
he nodded, embarrassed, "yeah."
"just so you know, this voyage won't be easy. we're talking about pirates here, and you know they're vicious," law said.
bepo hesitated, but soon changed to a determined look, seeming to finally set his mind.
"but, you're a pirate, right? at least not now. but you are very kind to me, that is enough. i already pledge my loyalty to you, i want to follow you for the rest of my life!"
law smiled, liking bepo already for his pure intent. and maybe because he's a polar bear. he got a huge soft spot for fuzzy animals.
he reached his hand to him, "welcome to my crew, first mate!"
bepo stared at him in awe, and then smiled so happily. he accept his hand and they both stood up.
he went on and recruited another crew mates, shachi and penguin respectively. he meets them by chance on another island while searching for supplies with his newly recruited bepo.
law and bepo were ambushed by a group of bandits. they struggled, but then the group were easily beaten by the aforementioned boys that appeared out of nowhere.
"are you alright?" the one with the red hair and a cap said, reaching his arms to help law stood up.
"those guys are everywhere, this town is basically their base now. they always target little kids because they think we're tiny and weak," the other with a.. cap that says penguin? spatted. he really seems to hate the group.
"yeah, i'm fine now. thanks for the help," he grunted and grabbed the red hair's hand to stand up.
bepo stood up by himself and tidied some dust and debris that were stuck on his fur. after most of them were cleaned, he looked at the two boys, and was slightly bothered by how they didn't even question him on his race or appearance.
"by the way, the name is shachi," he pointed his thumb to himself, and then to the boy next to him, "and he's penguin. no, not the animal. don't ask why his parents named him that. probably for shits and giggles."
the boy, now named penguin, elbowed shachi.
"um... excuse me? why did you help me– us?" bepo quickly corrected himself.
"we just hated them. and also a reason to beat them up again. damn thugs are persistent enough to keep causing trouble, or even death to many other children," shachi replied.
law nodded. bepo is still curious and wants to know the answer from a different question in his mind.
penguin seems to have picked up on this though. he stared at bepo, who got nervous. "and if you're wondering, we don't even care about your race, we just wanna help everyone in need," he answered. bepo eyes widen, before nodding in understanding. but penguin started again, "you're a mink, aren't you?"
bepo was surprised, and he nodded. he trusts them enough, after all, they helped him and law.
"you know, another one of your kind got stranded here too. even if he only stays here for a couple of hours, we become friends and have a fun time talking to him," shachi explained.
bepo gaped. they met another mink? he never knew that some minks actually step a foot outside his hometown. he wished to meet them one day.
"t-thank you..." he bowed sheepishly.
"a mink? is that your kind?" law asked.
bepo raised his head and replied, "yes. we are a species that have animal features, but also the intelligence of a human. i'm sorry i didn't inform you..."
law smiled and patted his head, "it's okay. i didn't ask you back then, so it's none of your fault."
bepo smiled. law then looked at the boys again.
"again, thanks for helping us. you got any place for us to eat and restore our supplies?"
both of them nod, "we know a place."
after getting a treat from penguin and shachi at a restaurant, they bought the supplies they needed. although the way they do it isn't exactly... civilized.
they beat up the same group again and stole their money. very simple process.
after some work, they finally bought everything they needed and planned to head back to their ship.
shachi and penguin just stood there while watching law and bepo slowly moving farther away from them. shachi glanced at penguin, who seemed to have the same idea in his mind.
they stare at each other and know exactly what they're doing next.
both of them ran to law and bepo, yelling his name.
"law! wait!"
law turned his back around, confused at why they ran back to him.
after they caught up with him, they took a moment to catch their breath before raising their heads towards him.
"please, take us with you!" shachi pleads.
"...what?"
"exactly what he says. take us with you, we want to go from this hellhole," penguin added.
law hesitated. he doesn't dislike the idea per se, but he had something in his mind.
"are you sure..? we're pirates, you know?"
"i don't mind being a pirate, honestly. better than living whatever life i'm experiencing now," shachi commented.
law doesn't agree though, "you do know that a pirate's life consists of doing nefarious acts – which i'm supposed you're already familiar with or even doing it – getting tracked by the government, or even developed rivals or enemies from powerful crew?"
"i know, but—"
"we are aware of that. although what's different about our lives from the pirate lives is that, it's just more... interesting, you know?" penguin interjected.
law was absolutely bewildered by his response. he didn't expect that kind of reason.
"i mean, it is dangerous, yeah. maybe our 'boring' life is safer in comparison to pirate life, but it's just so dull. we are not living the fullest," he explained some more.
law has never encountered someone with this mindset, and though it may seem reckless and naive, he could somewhat understand it.
"what about this island? the bandits will continue killing the people here, and…"
shachi waved him off, "don't worry about that. to be honest this island isn't even our birth island, and we just completely obliterated the whole group previously. their morale should be pretty low now, and considering i brought you to beat them up they should be scared now and think our group is getting bigger."
law sighed. of course, he had just helped them beat up an entire group.
"i see. then, i won't hinder you," he turned his back around after a long pause, and walk towards the shore.
both shanchi and penguin gleamed.
"for a pirate crew, we really need a cooler ship than this dinghy wooden boat," shachi commented, examining the sailboat law stole.
law grumbled, "hey, it's functioning and i don't have money to buy a ship yet. it fits four of us just fine so suck it up."
shachi sighed dejectedly, and continued sitting in the boat in the middle of the sea.
"speaking of ships, i already have a ship in mind that we'll sail in the seas for the rest of our voyage," law started.
penguin stared at him with interest, "what ship? you seem to say it like it's a special kind."
he replied, "it is. it'll leave us undetected on the waters, giving us a lot of advantage so enemies won't easily find us and start a fight for no reason."
"tell us already!" shachi asked impatiently.
law grinned, "a submarine."
their reaction is not what law expected. both shachi and penguin stared at him with such a disappointed face that he could feel the gloomy atmosphere within them.
but bepo, his lovable first mate, has stars in his eyes.
"submarine..." shachi mumbles depressingly.
"why are you guys so disappointed!? what's wrong with a submarine!?" he yelled.
"i just thought it'll be cooler... like a super large ship with unique systems..." penguin said.
law sighed, and had the urge to smack their head. but bepo pacified him with his smile so he held back and calmed himself.
"look, i know it's not favourable for you guys but it's very much favourable for me. i have my own reason as to why i chose submarine, and if i were to explain to you guys, you will probably be shocked, and..." he trailed off. should he tell them? but he just recruited them a few hours ago. being honest, he probably wouldn't mind if they changed their mind over the reason. the motive and truth behind him being a pirate.
but... he didn't want to lose his new members this fast. he didn't want to lose anyone again. perhaps it's the deep trauma he subconsciously felt, from losing his whole family, and a new family member close to what he can call a father.
'pipe down, law. it's just a random boys you met. they're promising yeah, but they don't mean anything to you,' he scolded himself.
'yet,' he adds with a heavy heart.
and all of that internal fighting was just because of a submarine.
"and..?" shachi inquires.
law sighed, giving up and ready to face whatever action and emotion they're going to give, "what i'm about to tell you might make you guys change your mind on joining me. and if you decide to leave, then i won't stop you."
their eyebrows were raised, curiosity more noticeable. but shachi quickly shook his head.
"if you don't want to tell, it's okay. we won't pressure you further and i understand that. you don't need to," he said reassuringly.
but law disagreed. he had to tell them, otherwise the pain of keeping a secret, even if it's something he should hide for his own good, it's too high.
"i need to tell you guys. please listen to me," he took a deep breath, "the reason i use a submarine is because i'm possibly– no, definitely, getting tracked right now. by a huge pirate crew no less."
they were all shocked, but showed a sign of letting him continue the story.
"the pirate name is the donquixote pirates. i'm sure you have heard of them before.
"i joined them on a whim, i only had a few years before i'll die of a.. disease. i thought of killing as many people as i could before i inevitably die. but i guess i didn't die, because someone in the family– sacrificed his life for the sake of helping me continue living," he choked on some part, but continued to explain.
"i'm sorry i didn't tell you this earlier – especially you, bepo. you see now? i'm too dangerous to be close by. they could come any second and kill us all. hence why i chose the submarine. to hide myself in the seas while i scheme for plans to get my revenge."
he looked away, and was already expecting a terrified face. but after he braces himself to look at them again, what he sees is something unexpected.
none of them faltered. in fact, they all seem to accept the fact and show no resignation.
"law, i already pledge loyalty to you. i wouldn't leave, and i want to stay as your crew mate until the end." bepo patted his shoulder. "i know it's dangerous, but that doesn't matter. what matters is keeping you protected and safe."
"what bepo said," shachi joined in. "we're part of your crew mate now, aren't we? it's our job to protect you now, even if it's really risky."
"and besides, when you're a pirate on the seas, dangerous stuff like this are to be foreseen anyway," penguin said. "and really, it is our job now. don't think too much about that, we'll follow you no matter what."
law gasped, "but—"
"no buts!" shachi and penguin yelled, shushing him off. law closed his mouth, and stared at them in disbelief.
'is this for real...?' he thought.
not caring that his tears spilled, he let out a broken, but genuine smile.
"let's sail in these merciless seas together, captain!" they chorused.
few weeks have passed by, and they keep their profile as low as possible. they understand, law had just escaped from doflamingo's wrath and it'll be wise to not cause any attention.
it's stressful for law, but with his small but caring crew, he felt a small hope and assurance.
all four of them already have experience with fighting, and with their small body and harsh environment they live in, they build agility and strength, giving a lot of advantage when taking care of adults.
even with all of that benefits, they still struggled with some cases here and there. not picking up strong enemies was a challenge, it's like every person they fought had a connection with stringer and dangerous people.
it reminded him of doflamingo's business. it makes him sick.
he tried his best to shrug it off. right now, he needs to get stronger so he won't falter when he faces doflamingo soon.
that's a wrap. next chapter we will be introduced to tiny luffy finally joining (accidentally) the crew!
again, i still don't know if I should make it romantic or platonic between law and luffy. i mean, they met this young, and the crew acts as a family toward law. so luffy should be like a lil sister for him.
i don't wanna make it like "yeah they're all family but luffy is different and i have a crush on her for years for no reason" but i feel like it's the only thing i can do???
welcome to leave suggestions :D i'm multitasking in struggling on 5 different subjects. mainly schools.
another site note: none of my fics are proofread or beta'd. they're all checked solely by me, so i apologize if there are a lot of errors or mistakes here and there. who am i kidding, it's everywhere, isn't it.