A/N: Disclaimer- I do not own One Piece.

Ha. Made it. Extremely fresh chapter that came out of my mind just hours before posting. Usually I save a week for editing, but that didn't happen for this one. So, I will apologize for any mistakes ahead of time.

Enjoy.

Murder

Part One- Hidden Truths

Tea

"...Agh. Where is it?" Law grumbled as he plopped on the floor in frustration. He intersected the flaps on the cardboard box for the umpteenth time and scooted the box with both feet back to it's original spot. The box was heavy, but the flooring made the box obedient and it scooted back to it's place. Law checked the flooring if it was damaged or not. He then sighed deeply and laid on his back. He heard a low dull crunch as the keys in his back pocket clattered into each other and felt the cool floor stealing his body heat.

He wanted to arrange his newly bought books into his bookshelves- which would have only taken him a few minutes. However, as always, he had bought hard back books instead of the paperback ones. The hardbacks had always attracted him and according to him, if it was just a few bellis more, then why not buy the hardback? The only problem with these antiquities was that it took a lot more space than the paperbacks. Also, they weren't as obedient as the paperbacks as they won't budge into the remainder spaces in the bookshelves. He had tried arranging his entire bookcase-which had taken his whole morning- but it seems that his last three new books wouldn't quite fit anywhere. Then, Law decided to just arrange the new ones by his cabinets in his office. However, the books couldn't stand on it's own. He had thought of just leaving it laid on top of his desk on it's side, but Law wanted them to stand.

And so, that was how he started to pursue for a bookstand. He hasn't used them for a long time and couldn't quite figure out where he had boxed them away. He only remembers how he placed it away with a couple books he's finished reading. Law had been searching through his bedroom, his office, and the garage for them. He even went to the storage room, attic, and basement for them (and was quite amazed by his book collection throughout the house).

...Where is Shachi when I need him? Law thought as he stared up at the ceiling. He was his right hand man when it came to searching for stuff. More like... Where is everyone? Law sat up and rhetorically asked since he hasn't seen anyone since he started searching everywhere for the bookstand. Was it just him, or did the house feel a bit too quiet than usual?

...Maybe cause I've been too focused on searching...? Law gradually got up and thought about the next place to look for them. He patted his hands on his jeans to wipe off some of the dusts in his hands.

Maybe I'll just ask Killer if Kid had any extra bookstands. Law sighed and decided it was time for plan B. -Or ask Penguin to go buy me a new one.

"Killer! Penguin!" Law called as he walked out of the basement. "Killer! Penguin!"

Usually one of them replied to him as soon as they were called from anywhere in the house, but he heard nothing.

"Penguin?! Shachi?!" Law tried once more. Where are they? Law thought seriously. So it wasn't just him that the house felt empty?

"...Dr. Trafalgar?" A high soft voice came from one of the halls. It was definitely not anyone he called.

...Ah. Welma. Law frowned. She was a difficult one to deal with. In his opinion, she was quite an eccentric, emotional lady. She stuck her head out from behind one of the walls and smiled. As soon as he saw her face, he created his business smile and erased any aspects of his true impression of her from his face.

"Would you like to have tea with me?" She leaned away from the wall in an angle and her dark brown hair flowed straight down due to gravity.

"...Tea?" Law repeated to confirm if she really said what he heard. He raised a brow to insist his uncertainty.

"Yes, please do join me." She confirmed and slipped away. "I'll be waiting at the tea room."

...Tea? He wondered. This was a first. They never had tea together. Usually they privately met each other only in Law's office, as a doctor and patient. ...I was in the middle of searching for something too. Law glared at the box he scooted. He sighed and dragged his feet towards the backyard.

o-o-o-o-o

Eustass's estate had a huge magnificent garden in it's backyard. White picket fences and red bricks separated the plants by taxonomic order. Not a weed or wilted leaf was in sight. Amaryllis and purple hydrangeas were in full bloom. The trees were pure reds and yellows in the autumn air. It was as if it popped straight out of the "Secret Garden." At least five gardeners worked there to maintain it's seasonal beauty.

Law looked around briefly as he walked towards a certain hut. He wondered if Shachi or Penguin was helping out the gardeners as they frequently did. Then he spotted Crocus, the executive gardener, and asked if he's seen either of them. He gave him a blank stare and continued his work.

...Guess that's a no... Law observed and reluctantly headed straight to the tea room.

Right beside the trickling brook, there stood a small cute house. It was what Welma called "tea room"- although it was more like a personal tea house. It had a black shingled roof with light blue paneled walls and white trims. A huge bay window stuck out next to it's stain glass door. Remote from the house, it was a nice private place to have gossips amongst friends- which was why Welma always had tea in here.

Law took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He rarely entered here since he wasn't close to Welma at all. It was like another one of many Welma's rooms he's never entered in the house.

Law heard Welma's distant voice of inviting him in and he opened the door. The inside was quite small, but cozy with lots of pastel colors and small flowery prints from the walls, ceilings, and cushions. There was also a nice round table with five chairs surrounding it- with a set of teacups, a teapot, sugar bowl with both white and brown sugar cubes, creamer, and a glass jar of cookies on top of it's laced tablecloth. Welma stood by her seat and beckoned him over. Law was tempted to sit by the bay window with it's cushioned bench, but obliged and sat across from her.

...Such a dollhouse. Law thought as he took his seat. He briefly skimmed the interior and spotted a white door at the back of the room.

"What's that? A closet?" Law asked as Welma poured some tea for the two of them.

"Mm? That's the restroom. We hang coats on that wall behind you." Welma replied softly.

...A restroom in a small place like this? Well, I guess it's convenient. Law thought in awe as Welma placed the bone china in front of him.

"I see..." Law spoke without thought as he peeked into the tea cup.

" -the tea may be a bit bitter since I made the tea myself. I recommend putting in some milk. Would you like some cookies?"

"Oh, no thank you. I'm good with sweets. I think I'll try the tea by itself. What is it?" He asked as he continued to observe the tea. It was light in color- a faint olive color. The scent wasn't particularly aromatic- simple like black tea, yet with a hit of a refreshing minty scent.

"...The tea? What tea, you ask?" Welma stuttered. "I highly do recommend the milk..." She dropped her eyes from contacting Law's. "I really didn't do a great job with it..."

Law observed her intently as she continued to avoid meeting his eyes. He noted how her eyes were a bit red and slightly swollen. Her cheeks were covered with a thick layer of foundation, enough to hide any signs of redness.

"Hmm..." Law picked up the teacup and it's saucer. Not enough sleep?- but not only that. She's been crying. Every time I've seen her, it's been like this. Is she crying every night? For what reason? This may be a heavier problem than I initially thought. I should contact Tony-ya immediately after this in case. Law concluded as he took a sip of the tea. Law had a feeling that Welma may have depression- by the small signs he's been seeing this whole month. But since that wasn't his specialty he wanted to confirm it with Chopper- who has practiced mental health before.

Then his eyebrows crushed together in a flash and his eyes opened in shock.

The tea was ridiculously bitter.

He couldn't hide it in his face and it was a miracle that he managed to get it down. He could feel his tongue shriveling in disgust and his salivary glands secreting tons of saliva.

He was about to curse loudly, but remembered that Welma, who still avoided eye contact, was right in front of him.

"...I'm really bad at it aren't I? I truly suck at it." She continued sipping her own without much difficulty. She faced down- in which Law assumed- in embarrassment and shame.

Shit. Law thought as he regretted not being able to hide his expression. She was particularly emotionally sensitive right now and he had made a grave mistake.

"Oh no, it must be a special type of tea that may need acquiring of its taste to fully enjoy it." Law tried to move the blame away from her. "It just gave me a bit of a shock. But I'm fine with it." Law lied and forcibly smiled. "However, I think I would like to add some of the milk, may I?"

"Yes, yes! Please do! It'll make the tea much better!" Welma stated and placed the creamer closer to Law's hand. Law thought it was strange for her to be this assertive for him to put milk, but he waved it away and assumed that it was because Law made such a disgusted face towards the tea.

Luckily, the amount of tea in his teacup was only half-full. So he dumped in two sugar cubes and poured the milk in up to the brim. He mixed the tea with the golden tea spoon which laid in the saucer carefully and took a sip- it was still disgustingly bitter, but only a slightly a bit better.

Fuck. I want the cookie. Law glanced at the cookie jar for a moment- but he held his pride for that. I'll just chug it down. He told himself as he imagined himself drinking the tea like a shot glass.

-But usually people do tea because they want to chat... right? Then he imagined an hour wasting away to the chitchats. Ugh. I wanna hurry up and find the bookstand. He took another huge gulp of tea and smiled at Welma as if there was no mental struggle in him to hold down his desire to chug it down and get this tea done.

"Is it much better now?"

"Yes, thank you." Law lied. Welma then smiled and took another sip. Law was amazed how she was able to drink this thing without any difficulty.

"...Law, do you love someone?" Welma suddenly asked. She looked up from her cup and stared intently into his eyes.

"...Eh?" Law managed after taking another gulp. Law tried to hide his disconcert look. He exceptionally did not enjoy this topic. He felt pity towards this individual who only thought about being in love, imagining romance every single day, and how their mindset was that everyone had to be deeply in love with someone- a thought that truly disgusted him because it made a generalization. She had frequently asked him about this topic almost every time they met. He usually tried to steer his emotions from disgust to pity-that she didn't have any other hobby or anything to think about except love, every single time.

However, more than the usual pity he felt, he wondered why she asked this. Was this the topic she wanted to plainly discuss with him and wanted to have tea with him, or was there another objective? He couldn't really tell as she just stared at him in the eyes without a smile written on her face.

"I'm sorry, but I don't." Law finally resolved on saying the truth as he knew it can be extremely bothersome to tell her that he likes some chick he actually wasn't interested in. He had seen her trying to be the annoying cupid to get a couple together for pure self-enjoyment and that in itself made him sick of her.

"Hmm..." She sounded very dissatisfied and took another sip of tea.

Ah. I should take another sip... Law thought as he watched her drink hers. He took another huge gulp quickly to let it pass through his taste buds. There was only a few gulps left. Hm. I think I accidentally ended the topic. Law observed the awkward silence. Maybe I'll use this chance to assess her mind set. If she is depressed, she might be thinking about suicide- but I shouldn't ask her directly. Hm. Her condition might not be too bad since I haven't seen her talk about dying yet...

"-Yesterday..." Welma started and it interrupted Law's thought process. He lifted his gaze from his cup to her eyes, but she was staring at her own tea. "I met with Kid here."

Ah. To talk to him privately. Law remembered him mentioning about it. Hm. I didn't know they discussed in here. Then as Law continued to listen, he started thinking on ways to ask about her mental state. But it was again interrupted with Welma's striking words.

"He told me he loves me and we had sex in here." Then she took another gulp of tea.

Law's heart froze. No, it felt like the whole atmosphere froze on him. It became hard for him to breathe and her words began to repeatedly echo in his ear.

After a moment that felt like several minutes- although it was actually only a few seconds- Law came back to his senses.

...Am I disgusted that they did it in here? Law tried to analyze his cold heart. Or was I just surprised how they still loved each other? -But they are married and since this is their house, it shouldn't concern me that they did sex anywhere in the house. Then he felt his heart sink a bit. Why am I getting sad? His mind wondered. His mind quickly turned to anger as it became frustrated with this strange emotion. Fuck. Why should I care where they fucked. Then Law noticed her staring at him.

"I see." Law replied, and unlike the bitter tea, he hid his inner thoughts successfully and smiled at her. "That's really wonderful how you two are getting along very well." Then he drank the tea slowly since he felt like wanting the extreme bitterness hitting his tongue.

"Uh... Mmm... Yeah." Welma spoke quietly.

Mmm... If they are getting along, maybe I'm reading into this too much and she actually doesn't have depression? His mind quickly moved away from his strange feelings to the subject in front of him. Maybe I was reading the signs wrong? -Then why was she crying last night? Law glanced at her eyes.

"Welma," he started as he remembered the medical manual on how to figure out whether the patient is thinking about suicide. He remembered the right questions to ask her and wanted to resolve it before this tea was over and contact Tony-ya as soon as possible.

"Law, you must have someone you love right now right?" Welma interjected.

"I'm sorry, but not at the moment." Law replied quickly and tried to end this subject to move on to her condition. He gulped down the last bit of tea. However, Welma wouldn't budge.

"That can't be. You must have someone that catches your attention every time. Why are you hiding it from me? I know you must love someone. I'll help you out. Come on, tell me who you are in love with right now."

"I truly don't have someone I love." Law spoke in all honesty- well, at least that he observed, he didn't feel like he was in love with anyone.

"Why are you hiding it?"

"I am not." Law kept his cool. However, he began to feel a little drowsy. He felt like he was struggling to keep his eyelids open. They started feeling very heavy. He shook his head violently to shake it away.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me? Why are you being mean to me? Why are you shaking your head? You don't need to do that, I get what you're saying. You think I'm stupid? But I know you're lying cause I'm really good at reading other people's thoughts." Welma spoke like a machine gun- one word directly after another.

"Welma, please... calm down." Law managed to say, but his words felt like they were getting slurred.

Fuck. Law thought as his head felt extremely heavy. He could tell Welma was still talking, but he felt panic as he couldn't catch some of them. It was as if he was watching an old film with multiple missing clips.

Was he getting sleepy because he stayed up late? But, although it's not healthy, he always did that on a daily business and never really got the drowsiness cloud over him.

...Was there something in the tea? Law started to wonder. Usually he was really good at catching drugged drinks due to the distinct medical after taste it makes in a drink. However, the only thing that lingered on his tongue was that awful bitter taste.

He could vaguely tell how Welma was still heated in talking about who he must be in love with. He wanted to ask her whether there was something in it, but his mouth wasn't operating correctly.

In the last moments before the sleep overcame him, he saw Welma noticing Law's condition as he started to slump his head on the table. She seemed to pause in the middle of her sentence and watched him for a few seconds. Then she smiled sadly and said two words. Law couldn't hear anything but managed to read her lips:

"I'm sorry."

Ah... She drugged me. And those were Law's last thoughts before he fell into a deep sleep.

A/N:

Thank you for reading.

This chapter actually broke into two parts. The second part will be updated on the 15th of December.