Law had decided that only he would get to know the secrets Toshiro had to give. Should something indeed come after them, he had every intention to let his crew and children escape and draw that threat away. So, despite the pleading and arguing of his subordinates and the puppy eyes of his orphans, Law would not let them know a single thing. Dextra tried to use what she'd explained to Toshiro as Observation Haki to listen in from afar, but some kind of barrier blocked her out, and she sulked in the room she shared with her siblings, defeated.
The Captain looked on at the faintly glowing barrier around his infirmary in fascination.
"Kido, you called it?" He turned back to the being who had cast it.
"Yes, Binding Kido specifically." Toshiro explained. "It ranges from barriers, bindings and various other supporting abilities. This one will keep out unwanted presences, including any risk of being listened in on. I was told about your Haki; it should block that as well."
"Useful." Law moved away from the door and over to where the small figure had decided to sit on one of the beds. "Now then, as much as I'd love to learn more about this Kido, I want to know what you were talking about earlier. You said you were half a person, known as a Nobody…not whole…"
"My lack of a heart is part of that." Toshiro motioned for him to take a chair; this would take a while. Interested, Law did so, sword nearby. Toshiro didn't seem to mind; he'd be doing the same if he was in such a situation. "I suppose I should start by explaining that I am not from this world."
"You mean…you're from another planet?" Law looked disbelieving.
"Keep an open mind, I did say you wouldn't believe half of what I told you." Toshiro seemed rather amused by the pirate's immediate denial of the existence of other worlds. "This place is one of many worlds, naturally they aren't supposed to know of each other, hence why I'm not really supposed to be telling you this. I thought my world was the only one with sentient life for many decades until I was dragged from it by darkness."
"Many decades?" The Nobody was once more amused that this was the fact the doctor was most baffled by.
"How old do you think I am, Trafalgar Law?" Toshiro answered with a question.
Law hesitated, remembering how the boy always seemed to stiffen and look annoyed when called a child in any way.
"Fifteen at most, and I'm only saying that because of your maturity, you physically look twelve."
There was that twitch of annoyance, then a heavy sigh.
"I'm over a century old." The 'boy' huffed. "Before you say anything, let me say that I am not human and was not human even before becoming a Nobody. I am what's known as a Soul Reaper, or perhaps Grim Reaper as some know it." He saw Law's increasing look of surprise and felt he should continue before the pirate bombarded him either with questions or angry shouts about his insanity. "I come from the Soul Society, an afterlife of my world where the living humans are. There, I am one of many warriors who assist in helping the dead move on and fighting those spirits that have become corrupted, generally protecting the balance of souls. Soul Reapers live for much longer than a living human, hence my age."
"If you are already dead how can you be further split apart as you have?" Now Law was getting to the questions about Toshiro's current predicament, and the Nobody was glad he wasn't getting off track.
"Among the various worlds are creatures known as Heartless." He explained. "They are the darkness in one's heart manifested as one dies, and they seek to consume the hearts of more people, creating even more Heartless like a plague. Sometimes, if a human has a strong enough heart, a shell will be left behind, a Nobody. They are completely without a heart, part of nothing, and they seek to regain what they've lost." He paused for a moment, looking uncomfortable, no doubt remembering his own separation. "My situation is a little unique…as I'm already dead, becoming a Heartless and Nobody works a little differently."
"How so?" Law was listening intently.
"Here, let me show you something." Toshiro held his right hand out. The flash was instant and the weapon formed without hesitation. It was an impressive weapon, a long katana as tall as Toshiro was, guard a four-pointed star with a purple wrapped hilt. The silver of the blade shone with an almost icy color. A long chain hung off the hilt end of the sword with a large crescent blade attached at the end.
"This sword is unique to me and me only." The small figure stated as Law looked over the blade, impressed. "Every Soul Reaper has their own. No two are ever the same." He seemed hesitant when saying that, though, but Law felt it wasn't his place to ask, not until he had the more important things out of the way. "This is Hyorinmaru, my sword. My zanpaktou. These blades are capable of sending off souls and eliminating the evil spirits where no normal blade can. In addition, zanpaktous have a soul within them, the soul that belongs to the name. We unleash our zanpaktou's power once we learn that name."
"So it's this Hyorinmaru you get your ice abilities from?" Law was intrigued.
"Yes and no. Zanpaktous are an extension of ourselves, so it is MY power, but we learn to grow and master our power through our spirits. Should my sword fall to someone else, they could not use any of its power. Only I can unleash it."
"So this spirit has something to do with how you could be separated?" Toshiro nodded, realizing Law was able to piece things together for himself and staying quiet. "If you are the Nobody, this spirit of yours must have become the Heartless, correct? You said before the heart you wanted returned was technically yours but in a spirit form."
"Yes, that's right, Hyorinmaru has been separated from me and become my Heartless." A solemn look entered his teal eyes. "A Soul Reaper's zanpaktou is a valuable partner, they are always with us, no matter what. Should we ever be alone, they will remain to guide us. But…I have now lost that connection. That's why…that's why the darkness is hard to control." He sighed. "I've heard from many that my connection with Hyorinmaru is among the strongest of any Soul Reaper. Rarely do we have problems with each other. Even when we separated and he was a Heartless ruled by instinct, he obeyed me. So…I am kind of…dependent on his presence." He looked very ashamed admitting that. "When I'm stressed, he always calmed me down, kept me cool, but now it's empty inside, and I'm constantly on edge. I stress for even a moment and instead of his calming aura I sense nothing but darkness trying to consume me." His hand went up into his hair again. "It's enough to drive anyone mad…"
Having remained quiet, Law had to agree, he was watching even now as the calm warrior slowly fell into a shivering mess.
"You better calm yourself now before the darkness comes back." He stated calmly, starting to understand now why Toshiro was so desperate for him to use his fruit powers to reverse this transformation. After over a century with the spirit there to guide him he was without one, lost, and while he may be many times older than Law the small Reaper was clearly more a child than Toshiro himself wanted to admit, heavily reliant on his partner to aid him.
"R-right…" Toshiro latched onto the voice to pull away from the emptiness drowning him within. "Right…but…I guess you can see now…I NEED Hyorinmaru back. A Soul Reaper without his zanpaktou…and in a situation like mine…honestly it's kind of pathetic." The small figure went silent, eyes closed with a pained expression. How did Demyx manage this? How did he survive so long without his spirit there to help him? Perhaps he just wasn't as close, as Toshiro had stated earlier. "So…can you help me?"
Law was at war with himself. He understood now why Toshiro didn't want to tell them any of this, there was far more at work than anyone living on this world could have believed. He could say no, send this creature off and forget all about it, return to the ignorance the rest of his world held and focus on the One Piece.
But this warrior had just revealed possibly his most vulnerable state, that despite his power, clearly far more than what he'd already shown them, he was weak. He needed help, and he was trusting Law of all people to save him.
An incurable disease that only one thing could fix.
And Law had to curse himself for always inputting his own past onto others, for thinking that 'boy, wouldn't he have been glad for someone to save him then' and getting attached. The orphans on his ship were one thing, that had turned out alright, if a little difficult when Dextra got her fruit power, but this 'boy' was not an orphan bullied by a gang, he was a warrior, a high-ranking one no less, and could potentially kill them all.
And yet here he was, revealing his biggest weakness, desperate for help.
"I'll do what I can." Law finally gave in. "I suppose we would need your Heartless here to even try it."
"Right…and I left them all behind." Another heavy sigh. "But he'll find me…I'm sure he will. Heartless can travel realms the others can't, he'll get here."
"What does your spirit look like?" Law figured that was important to know if they ever spotted the beast and Toshiro wasn't around to point it out before they thought it a threat and made it mad.
"A large ice dragon, almost as big as your ship." Toshiro replied easily, as if such a thing were normal. "Though he used to be normal ice, now he's completely black since he's made of shadow- "
"Wait." Law cut him off. "Your inner spirit…a reflection of you…is a giant dragon?"
"…Yes." Toshiro looked cautious. "Do dragons mean something here?"
"Depends. No living dragons are here, that I know of, the only one I've ever seen was artificially created. Dragons are a symbol of power, is all."
"The same for most places." A small nod.
"For someone so small it's surprising to know your spirit is something so grand."
"I'm not that small." Toshiro grumbled, frowning when Law just chuckled. "Just because you're so damn tall doesn't mean I'm that small."
"I'm about average height for this world, actually." The pirate countered, only serving to irritate the small figure more.
"What is this, a world of giants?" Toshiro scoffed.
"In a way." Law chuckled again. "Good to see you've calmed back down."
Toshiro blinked, confused for a moment, before realizing the other had done that on purpose, getting his mind off the darker part of himself trying to drag him down, the memories plaguing him.
"You're cleverer than even I gave you credit for." He smirked, impressed. "I best watch my step."
"I was going to say the same of you, I'd prefer not to be fed to a dragon." Law retorted with a smirk in kind. "So then, are the people you ran away from going to follow you as well?"
"I'm sure they'll try, but without knowing where I went to it could take weeks for them to track me down, especially since I came to a random world." The Nobody frowned.
"How did you come here?"
"Like the Heartless, Nobodies can form a dark portal to wherever they wish to go. It's handy for switching worlds, but…it's not something I'm good at yet. I had no conscious control over the portal I made to here, and I'm honestly not sure I can do it again." Teal eyes narrowed at the floor. "I've only been a Nobody for a day and a half and honestly I hope I don't ever have to get used to it."
"If you could control it, though, you wouldn't even need to worry about freelancing on ships." Law stated.
"Doesn't matter, I'm sticking with yours now since you can potentially help me." Toshiro retorted easily. "And I try not to be a freelancer, I'll do work as need be to make up for the food and transportation offered, I understand nothing comes free."
"Especially not with pirates." A small smirk returned to the surgeon's face. "Should it come to it, would you help us in battle?"
Teal eyes narrowed.
"Depends on the opponent, I don't kill humans."
"Then don't kill them, but with your abilities you could definitely prove useful, even if it's just to scare someone off." The pirate shifted a bit. "I only kill those that deserve it, otherwise I keep to myself. I may be a pirate, but even I have morals, if a little twisted from a normal civilian's or the government's viewpoint. I'm not the type to slaughter everyone in every town I go to."
"Better than some of my colleagues." Toshiro said with a small sigh and a shrug, intriguing the pirate a bit. "I won't go into detail, not much point, but while I may avoid killing, I suppose I could assist. Don't expect me to steal or anything like that, whatever pirates here do, the whole point of trying to fix my situation is I stay away from the darkness, I don't think becoming a pirate, even part-time, would help me very much."
"Light or darkness in this world depends on perspective, you never really know who you can or can't trust. The higher ups in this world are about as corrupted as any pirate, but at least we make our intentions clear, whereas they cover it up to maintain power."
"I'm surprised the Heartless haven't already swallowed this world, then." Toshiro frowned, starting to close off a bit again. While this pirate offered a chance at salvation, returning to normal, this world clearly had some issues to struggle with. He would only stay here until he could confirm whether Law could actually fix him or not, and if he could, long enough to be fixed. After that, he was gone.