It's been a week since Corazon took up Dad's offer to stick around with the Red Haired Pirates. During that week, I spent a lot of time trying to get to know Law… Key word: Try.
Law isn't exactly the most sociable person around someone who he barely knows—as far as I know. If anything, he was getting along much better with Robin than with me. Which kinda fucking sucks, because I was hoping for a new playmate. I don't care if Law is like nine years older than I am. He's still young enough to be considered a child, unlike Robin, who's almost an adult. I just…want to interact with someone who isn't so fucking tall.
Like—yeah, I'm still the shortest person on the ship, as well as the youngest, but right after me, is Law. He's probably smarter than I am—probably. I might want to find out how much—out of curiosity, of course!
…
Okay, so I want to abuse my status as the youngest person on this ship and annoy the hell out of Law. I just…want to vent a bit, because I had to deal with this sort of shit for fifteen years in my past life—I was freaking five when I became an aunt. Barely a month after my fifth birthday and bam, here comes my niece—spawn of my second oldest brother and his now ex-wife. And a few years right after that, came my nephew, who has been the source of my disdain up until my death (not gonna lie, but I really do hope my death was a huge slap to his face on how much of a dick he's been to me). The little bastard was the reason I had my first ever breakdown because he knew I couldn't touch him, otherwise his mother (my older sister) would get on my ass for it. Want to know something hilarious and by hilarious, I mean cruelly ironic?
My older sister was a Marine.
Of course, she is nothing like the Marines in this world, but still…the irony—it exists. I do try to forget about it, because I don't like irony when it's inflicted on me. I especially don't like it, considering how I have a friggen' bounty on my head, for what I did to those Marines… Thinking of it now, I might have been venting every suppressed fit of anger I held towards my sister—I don't exactly hate her, but she's not someone I'd like to spend an entire day with, for various reasons apart from the fact that she intimidates me. I consider her more intimidating than Mihawk, and that's saying a lot because how I act around the swordsman.
In hindsight, I should probably give the man more respect, but fuck it—he's wary of me and I want that sort of behavior to last because it amuses me.
"Why do you always make roses?" Law's question snapped me out of my thoughts.
I blinked, looking up from my work as Law stood in front of me. I thought about his questions for a moment before simply saying, "Because."
"Because what?" Oh, man, the temptation is too much!
"Because." Yes, I'm gonna be that person who deliberately acts this way to be annoying. Judging by the annoyed look on Law's face, it's working.
"That's not really an answer." I know, Law, I know.
Grinning, I decided to hold out the origami rose I had just finished making. "I make roses because the folds!"
"Folds…?" Law made a face.
"There's so many!" I added before throwing the origami rose at his face. I might have pouted when I saw Law catch the rose, because I had hoped it would have at least hit him in the face. "It's complicated, too."
"I can see that," Law said as he looked over the origami rose. "Hey…teach me how to make one."
Oooh, what's the occasion? "Tell me why and I'll do it!"
I stifled a laugh when Law scowled at me. It really was amusing to test his patience, but not for too long. Because as much as I want to vent for what I had to deal with as an aunt, I don't want to become my nephew—ever.
"I just want to…it looks fun." Ah, I see Law's finally gotten bored with how little there is to do on this ship.
Welcome to my world!
"Start with crane!" I said as I offered Law a piece of paper. "It easier."
Law just stared at the paper for a moment before shrugging and taking it. Afterwards, he sat down and I began showing him how to fold an origami crane. By the end of it, Law managed to make a wonky-looking crane, but for a first attempt, it was honestly better than mine had been. And by attempt, I mean rage-quit. I fucked up a couple of folds so badly, that the creases pretty much made it difficult for me to keep going…so I tore up the paper and started over again.
The thought of that memory made me narrow my eyes at the crane as I continued to stare at it. Law initially had this neutral look on his face, which was quickly replaced with a more…wary expression. It was around the same time I started glaring at his crane. It took me a few seconds to make the connection, to which I decided to ask, "What's wrong?"
"Are you mad?" he responded to my question with another question.
I blinked. "Maybe…but not at you—you did good."
"Ah…" Law almost seemed relieved.
…
"What did you talk to Robin about?" It's been a week and you've talked to her more than me.
"You," Law replied bluntly.
I almost felt my face heat up when he said that. Oh god, what did Robin tell him about me? "Really?"
"Yeah…I didn't want you biting or slapping me again, so I asked her what you were like." Law tugged down on his hat in order to avoid looking me in the eye.
I stared at him for a few seconds before a wide grin crossed my face. I don't know about you, but I honestly feel a little proud of myself to hear such a thing. It's the idea of having some sort of power that really sells it. Especially since I'm not gonna be a dick about it either—I'm mostly for annoying people out of sheer amusement, but I would rather step on Legos than hurt someone's feelings because it amused me. I might have sadistic tendencies, but I'm not that type of sadist.
"Hey…can I—can I look at your teeth?" Law's question caused me to stop smiling and blink.
"Hmm…?" You know, I have never had anyone ask me that. And you know what? I don't mind. "Sure, go ahead!"
It's just teeth—what can go wrong?
And not even a minute after the mere thought popped into my head, I came to instantly regret it when an experimental wiggle to my tooth from Law led to a disturbingly easy tooth extract. I didn't even feel anything—it just popped out so smoothly without any resistance.
"Uh…" A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Law's face as he looked at a triangular-shaped tooth that he now held in between his index finger and thumb. "It'll grow back? Please don't cry…"
"I'm not…gonna cry…" I say as tears begin to weld up in the corners of my eyes. "I'm fine!"
"A-Are you?" Law furrowed his brow.
"Yes!" I insisted, even though it was a lie. "Like you said—it'll grow back."
"Uh…yeah…teeth fall out and then new teeth grow in." Law was trying his best to reassure me with an explanation I already knew because this wasn't the first time I've lost baby teeth.
Still, the fact that I'm barely three years old is distressing, because…I don't think I'm supposed to lose any of my teeth just yet. So why…why did my tooth come out so easily?
…
I felt my heart practically sink into the pit of my stomach when the thought that I could be sick popped into my head. I never got vaccinated…Did I—did I catch something? Is that it?
No—it can't! It's too soon to be jumping to conclusions!
"Aha…ahaha…" I laughed nervously, almost as if to put my attention away from the nauseous feeling that was bubbling within my stomach. I swallowed hard and tried my best to stay calm. Then, I opened my mouth and reached in to wiggle one of my teeth. Within the span of a few seconds, another one of my teeth came out just as easily as the tooth Law had accidentally extracted previously.
It's almost as if my teeth are ready to fall out under the faintest application of force… Oh god—I really am sick. I mean—why else could this be happening? Stuff like this just doesn't happen—it shouldn't!
"D-Don't cry—hey!" Law wasn't reacting too well to seeing me on the verge of tears.
Normally, I don't like crying in front of others and I'll do just about anything to ensure that no one ever sees me cry. Even if it means holding it in, when all it ever does is just delay the eventual breakdown that only gets worse each time its suppressed. I just don't want to make a scene…
But I am seriously freaking out right now. This is the sort of situation that has haunted me in my nightmares. I'm only lucky that it's just my baby teeth, but…that still doesn't take away from the potential severity of my situation—the idea that I could have contracted an illness due to how vulnerable my immune system currently is.
"Uu…uuuu…" I'm…scared. "Uuuu…"
I'm scared.
"What's going on?" Corazon had a tendency to pop by every so often to check up on Law. Today was no different from any other day, much to Law's annoyance, except Law wasn't annoyed this time.
"Her teeth—they just popped out like it was nothing!" Law…Law was freaking out as he showed Corazon the tooth he had accidentally extracted from my mouth. "That's not normal!"
He was freaking out and it certainly wasn't making me feel any better. Like, what the fuck—I was expecting you to be calm! Shows what I know how you'd react to a situation like this!
Okay, calm! Calm, calm, calm, I am calm.
Calm, calm, CALM…I am very calm!
Calmcalmcalmcalmcalmcalm!
I'm…
Snap!
NOT CALM.
I started crying after that. I was loud, I was bawling, and I felt like throwing up. It was NOT a good time for me. Though, I guess I could say the same thing about Law, because of how disturbed he was to be so close to me while I was crying.
Meanwhile with Corazon, he oddly calm about this. Probably because he had no idea what the fuck was going on and none of us were hurt (visibly and physically, at the very least). He probably also dealt with worse, considering Doflamingo was his brother, but, again, I could say the same thing about Law and oh, god…where do I even begin with the kid?
Of course, Law did seem to have lowered his guard considerably during the entire week he had spent with the Red Hair Pirates. Not to say that Law still didn't keep his guard up, but he certainly softened up after what happened at the hospital and especially after talking with Robin. And it really shows, considering that Law never gave a rat's ass whenever he made Baby 5 cry, and yet, here he is, looking like he's internally screaming for help.
A few minutes passed and somehow, no one showed up…did they not hear me? HOW?! Dad usually scrambles into the scene the instant he realizes I'm crying, with Yasopp not too far behind him.
"D-Did you…?" Law looked questioningly at Corazon.
It took me a moment to recall that Corazon ate the Nagi Nagi no Mi, which made it possible for him to create a soundproof field. I almost forgot this guy was a Devil Fruit user…
"Yeah—didn't want to cause a scene…now open up." And just like that, Corazon just pried my jaw open as if it was nothing—what the fuck?!
It was so sudden that I stopped crying almost instantly. "Huwaaahh?!"
"Let's see the damage…" Corazon said as he looked into my mouth. "Hmmm…yeah, it's as I thought."
"Th-Thought what?" Law asked Corazon.
"If you look into her mouth where the gaps in her teeth are, you can just barely see white poking through the gums." I nearly choked on my own spit when Corazon decided to indicate where Law should look via touch. His hands better be clean, or I'm gonna freaking bite him after this! "Her teeth are already growing back."
"Haaah?" I blinked upon hearing this news. It was rather confusing to hear this because I wasn't expecting my teeth to have already start growing back so fast, like…that's not how it works? At least, I think that's not how it's supposed to work.
"Th-They are!" It seems that Law was just as surprised as I was. "Why is that?"
"Remember that your little friend is half-fishman—a mako shark fishman, at that," Corazon reminded Law and, by extension, me. "So at the very least, we can assume this is normal for someone like Mako."
You know, I almost forgot that I was half-fishman for a moment in my panic. While this sort of situation could be seen as unsettling for a typical human child, the same probably can't be said for fishman children—half or not. Seeing as my fishman origins are much more dominant than my human origins (as shown by the fact that I have shark teeth, dual-colored skin, and a dorsal fin), this probably shouldn't have been so unsettling if I had just taken that into consideration.
Well, oops.
"I see…" Law sounded rather relieved. "So it's nothing bad…"
"Nope," Corazon said as he finally released his hold on my mouth, taking a moment to ruffle my hair after that. "So don't cry—you'll worry your father and everyone else."
I sniffed as I wiped away the tears in my eyes. That was just so distressing…but I'm glad that nothing was wrong with me. I almost feel so stupid for actually getting scared over nothing, ahaha…
Snap!
"So is there anything you want to do with those teeth?" Corazon looked questioningly at me. "You want them back?"
Hmm…what use do I have for teeth like that? I doubt the tooth fairy is a thing and honestly, I have no use for any money right now. So what can I do with those teeth?
…
…
Got it!
"Heeeey, can I make 'em into a necklace?!" I looked excitedly at Corazon, my eyes practically lighting up with enthusiasm. I remembered coming across shark teeth necklaces from time to time in my past life, most of them usually being sold in shops near beaches. I always thought they were rather cool and seeing as my teeth are shark teeth—why not?! "Can I?!"
Corazon and Law seemed rather off-put by my sudden change in demeanor. After all, I was just crying not so long ago after a rather distressing freak-out. And now, I'm just asking if I can make a necklace out of my own teeth as if nothing wrong had ever happened.
"Y-You're weird…" Law was not pulling any punches, much to Corazon's annoyance as he bonked the preteen on the head. "Ow!"
"Be nice to your friend," Corazon lightly scolded Law. "As for you…knock yourself out—it's your teeth."
"Yaaay!" I grinned widely, not really caring about the gaps in my teeth anymore. After all, my teeth were growing back. And I was still as healthy as ever! "Law! Fold another crane?!"
"I guess." Law didn't sound so certain, but he seemed afraid to decline.
"Hey, you mind if I join?" Corazon asked as he seated himself onto the floor. Even when he was sitting down, the man was still taller than Law and I.
I can't wait to get taller… "You can!"
I was honestly expecting clumsy Corazon to have a hard time folding a crane anyways, so I was expecting some entertainment out of this. Instead, I got a neatly folded paper crane that was even better than Law's was. How the fu—that's not fair!
"Is something wrong?" Corazon seemed perplexed.
"She's just annoyed." Shut up, Law, I don't need you pointing stuff out while I'm salty.
"I'm gonna go to Robin now." That's enough origami for me today. Besides, I want to see if she can help me make these two teeth into necklaces!
…
…
By the time dinner came around, I managed to surprise Law and Corazon with a couple of necklaces I made using the teeth I had lost today. Dad seemed rather disturbed that I was using my own teeth to make necklaces out of them, but at the very least, he was relieved to know that I wasn't hurt or anything. I wonder if he was secretly jealous that he didn't get a necklace…hmm…
Well, these teeth are gonna come out eventually, so I guess I can try doing something with them. And by the next day, Robin made me promise to stop extracting my own teeth for the sake of making necklaces. It's not as if I was taking out all of my teeth, but I did have more gaps in my teeth, much to everyone's slight discomfort. They were just so used to seeing the complete set of sharp teeth that made up my smile.
And despite being disturbed at the fact that I gave him one of the necklaces I made, Dad was quick to wear it. He still didn't like what I had done, what with Robin being so quick to tell him what had happened. He even flicked me on the nose as he told me not do it again. But damn if he wasn't proud.
Yasopp was at least nice about it, saying that I didn't know any better (when I actually did, but no one needs to know that, ahaha…). Beckman, on the other hand, was onto me (that bastard was more observant than he let on). All in all, everyone was just concerned about me. It honestly felt nice to see how much everyone cared for me…
Because as soon as we arrived at our next destination, whatever sense of happiness I had felt during the past two weeks came to an end. Because for a second time, I was refused as a patient at the hospital Shanks took me to, because I was half-fishman. For a second time, Law was forced to relive his trauma regarding his Amber Lead Syndrome. For a second time, Corazon had to set another hospital ablaze because of the mistreatment Law received.
As much as I tried to hide it—tried to convince myself that it didn't hurt to be called a monster—the doctor's words still hurt. Because the idea that two children could receive such mistreatment was just so sad. But hey, that's how this world worked…doesn't mean that I like it.
I didn't cry, though. Law did, but he had every reason to cry. Unlike him, I didn't lose my home, family, and everything that I loved. So for the sake of everyone, including Law, I didn't cry. I smiled and pretended everything was okay, when it wasn't.
And really, it wasn't.
…
Law took a little longer to recover this time around from the harsh treatment he received. Corazon felt rather bad for what had happened, but dammit if he still wasn't going to try. He wanted to find a cure for Law—he wanted Law to live. He wanted Law to stop accepting the fact that he was going to die so easily.
Life in this world isn't fair, and Robin understood that from an early age. I understood that as well because I had a basic understanding of this world because of my past life's status as an observer. It was only going to get worse from here on out, but I did try my best to pretend that there was always a bright side worth looking forward to—if only to keep on smiling.
That still didn't make it hurt any less when we arrived at the next destination to check out a third hospital. Barely even a week had passed, due to how close it was and how fast we were traveling, because Shanks felt so anxious about my health and Law's.
So for a third time, I witnessed my father punch a doctor that said the hospital didn't treat my kind. Unlike the last two doctors, this one didn't even try to be subtle about it. The lack of satisfaction from the sight of watching that doctor getting thrashed didn't make me feel any better—because the damage had already been done.
Sighing, I just walked out of the room, not caring that I left Dad behind. Instead, I just kept going, ignoring the screams around me as everyone scrambled to get away from the child that was suffering from Amber Lead Syndrome—to avoid catching a disease that wasn't even contagious in the first place. Eventually, I came across Law, all on his own as he tried to hold in his tears and choke back the sobs that wanted to escape his mouth.
"Law…" was all I said as I grabbed onto the boy's extremely pale hand.
Law sniffed as he tried to hide the fact that he had been crying, even though the tears streaming down his cheeks already said more than enough. "What?"
"Let's go." I tugged on his hand, motioning for him to walk with me. I sounded so jaded, when I probably shouldn't have…
But I guess when you are a former victim of bullying, you just learn to stop caring—even though the bullying was never like this. Even though bullying leaves scars that will never fully heal, despite how much time has passed. Because no matter how many times you're told to move on and stop making such a big deal out of an incident that happened in the past, it isn't always easy.
And it'll never be, because it hurts. It hurts because for a moment in your life—whether brief or not—you felt as though the whole world was against you. And nothing was ever done about it. Even if something were to ever be done about it, by then, the damage had already been done.
Robin understands that completely, for someone who had never once gotten a break until now, which is why when Law and I returned to the ship on our own, we went to her. And it was in her embrace, that both Corazon and Shanks found Law and me after having to practically tear apart the entire hospital together in order to find the two of us since we left without telling them. We must have scared them—and I feel bad for doing that, but we just couldn't stay in a place where we weren't welcomed.
At the very least, I couldn't let Law suffer on his own. It wouldn't be fair.
…
…
We avoided the hospital altogether, at the next destination we arrived at, preferring to try and make the best of the situation before we went to that dreaded location. Yasopp bought Law a cloak in order for the boy to have an easier time moving around without people staring at him for being so pale. Law wasn't so sure about it first until I told him we were matching.
The idea that he wasn't alone made Law feel a bit better. Meanwhile with me, I would prefer to live in the moment in order to forget what had happened and what was going to happen in a few days when Corazon and Shanks decided to give this hospital a shot. I already know what was going to happen, but I didn't want to let that ruin whatever fun I was having in this place that was celebrating the arrival of a new year.
This was honestly the first time I was ever around for such an event. It was almost easy to forget that in less than five months, Corazon was going to get a message from Doflamingo in regards to discovering the whereabouts of the Ope Ope no Mi and risk his life for it in order to save Law's life.
Almost.
…
…
"How come you don't like bread?" I asked Law before taking a bite out of my sandwich.
It was lunchtime and Robin decided to take Law and me to this restaurant she came across during the past few days we have been in this town. The restaurant had a wide-variety of foods to serve and I would have gotten something even better than a sandwich, but as of lately, I've been losing teeth (whatever was left over after what I had taken out to make necklaces) and the gaps in my mouth made it hard to eat any food that isn't soft.
So when I asked for a sandwich, Robin asked Law if he wanted the same, only for him to say he hated bread. So Law ended up getting rice balls, which he could have gotten back on the ship because Corazon was honestly good at making them, for a guy who was complete shit at making anything else.
"I just don't…" Law insisted as he finished off another of his rice balls. "It's bland, common, and cheap…"
Cheap…? Wait… "Law, how much bread have you eaten before?"
"Enough to make you sick…" Law didn't even hide the disdained look on his face.
"It's not easy being on your own, is it?" Robin seemed to have understood Law's situation, as I did just now.
"No…it isn't." The poor kid must have been living entirely on bread before finding the Donquixote Pirates. I honestly wouldn't blame him for hating bread after all of that.
…
"You wanna get candy after this?" I decided to change the subject.
Law stared at me for a moment before shrugging. "I guess…"
I was about ready to smile before forgetting that Robin was in charge of the two of us today. "I mean…can we, Robin?"
Robin chuckled. "If you two want…"
"Yay!" I felt oddly happy. I wanted to stay happy as long as I could because tomorrow was the day that Corazon and Shanks were going to take Law and me to the hospital. My stomach churned at the mere thought of it. I just…didn't want to go through that painful experience again. Even though it was already terrifying as is knowing that I wasn't as healthy as I could be, considering the lack of protection my immune system had, it still wasn't worth the psychological trauma that came with being seen as a monster.
And come the next day, I had to make a small stop before I met up with Law in the hallways of the hospital because my stomach couldn't handle the stress I was experiencing. Aha…only three-years-old and I already feel this much stress—how funny…
I wasn't looking so well when I got to Law, but he didn't need to know that. Not when he was too busy bawling his eyes out, unable to keep his feelings bottled up any longer. In less than a month, Law had to deal with being called a monster. He was constantly reminded of his disease during each hospital visit, of which brought up many painful memories that were affiliated with it. He was dying and he knew it…and though he acted as if he had come to accept his death, deep down…I feel he's really scared.
And I'm scared, too. But for Law's sake, as I walked him out of the hospital, my hand holding onto his, I had to stay strong. Even though it was so difficult, even though I felt sick, even though I had my own limits as well—I just had to because I was the adult in this situation. I might have only been physically three, but mentally, I was an adult…and for once, I wanted to act like that.
…
…
Robin wasn't too surprised to find Law crying when we arrived back at the ship. And neither was anyone else—the fact that they had expected this was sad. Of course, Beckman was more concerned over the fact that I wasn't crying.
"You okay?" Beckman truly was onto me…
"I'm fine," I said…like a liar, trying my best to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach. "I just…need to go to the bathroom."
…
Sometime afterwards, in which I ended up losing a tooth during my visit to the bathroom, I found Law hiding away from everyone else in a barrel, trying to become one with his cloak as he cried. I wasn't that surprised to find Law in this specific barrel—after all, Law would know about this particular barrel because I told him about it. I told him if he ever needed a place to be by himself, to just look for a place full of barrels on the ship—and he took my advice.
Sometimes, people wanted to be alone…but at the moment, Law needed a friend. So I knocked at the side of the barrel, unable to even peer into it due to how high it was for someone as short as I was.
Knock! Knock!
Law sniffed. "Wh-Who is it?"
"Me," was all I said.
"Oh…what you want?" Law sniffed again, barely managing to choke back a sob.
"You okay?" I'm pretty sure it was obvious that Law wasn't okay, but it didn't hurt to ask.
"What do you think?" Well, now Law sounded annoyed.
"I figured…" I smiled weakly as I sat down on the floor, with my back against the barrel. "I lost another tooth."
"And…?" Law didn't seemed to be in a mood to talk, but I at least wanted to try and get his mind off of things.
"I dunno…I just wanted to tell you that." Even though I was keeping quiet on how I lost my tooth. No one needed to know what I happened while I was in the bathroom. They especially didn't need to know that I washed my mouth out afterwards… "Law…"
"What?!" Law snapped. "Can't you see I'm not in the mood to talk?!"
"I can see that, but I don't want you to be alone." I inhaled and then exhaled shakily. "I don't want to be alone either…"
"Then go with Robin," Law huffed. "I don't see why you'd want to be alone with me…"
"Because you're sad…" I frowned. "That's why…"
"…Fine." Law sighed in defeat. "Just…don't talk to me too much."
"Okay…" I can understand that. I inhaled and exhaled again, though much more calmly this time as I pulled out the stack of paper I had on me to fold. I had a feeling I was going to be spending a good amount of time here. So I came prepared.
And when I finished folding an origami rose, I threw it into the barrel. Law peered out of the barrel moments afterwards, looking somewhat annoyed as he looked at me with his red face and eyes. His extremely pale skin made it so painfully obvious that he had been crying.
I just smiled back at him as I handed him a sheet of paper. "Wanna fold?"
Law said nothing as he snatched up the paper and went back into the barrel. About a few minutes later, a paper crane was thrown out of the barrel. My smile only widened at this as I started folding another piece of paper. I made an origami frog this time around and made it "hop" into the barrel. For a second time, Law peered out of the barrel and snatched up another paper I offered him.
This time around, I received an origami angelfish. The folds were a little sloppy, but for someone who was still learning, like Law, it was good enough. I tossed in an origami star this time around and instead of handing Law just a single sheet of paper, I gave him more than that when he reached out for a third time.
This process repeated itself many times. Law and I didn't speak to each other during this time and it was only until we both ran out of paper that Law decided to come out of the barrel. He crawled out from the top and plopped down onto the floor right next to me, carrying everything I had thrown into the barrel in his cloak.
I smiled at Law as I did the same with the origami he had thrown out of the barrel. Law didn't really smile back or anything, but he at least looked better than before.
"You're weird," was the very first thing Law told me after all that.
"Ahaha, I guess I am!" I laughed. "Saaay…do you know Bink's Sake?"
"What's that?" Law looked questioningly at me.
"It's a song that makes me feel happy when I sing it!" I replied. "Maybe it'll make you feel better if you sing it, too."
"I…don't know it." A small bead of sweat rolled down the side of Law's face.
"I'll teach you!" I was honestly happy that Law was at least considering my suggestion. Even if he doesn't sing along, at the very least, I hope the song makes him feel a little better. I know it always makes me feel better… "I mean—if you want."
Law stared at me for a moment before sighing and saying, "Do what you want."
"Ahaha, okay!" I grinned widely. I made sure to clear my throat before anything—just in case. I inhaled deeply…and then started singing, "Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho! Yo-hohoho, yo-hohoho!"
I never noticed how used to I was to singing this song with the rest of the Red Hair Pirates until now, when I was singing it on my own. It was a little embarrassing, now that I can hear my own voice…but I still kept going.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!
Following the sea breeze, riding on the waves!
Far across the salty depths, the merry evening sun!
Painting circles in the sky as the birds sing along!"
I felt my grin widen even more when I noticed Law trying to sing along. He was having a hard time, since he didn't know the lyrics, but that wasn't important. He was at least trying.
"Farewell to the harbor, to my old hometown,
Let's all sing out with a Don as the ship sets sail!
Waves of gold and silver dissolve to salty spray,
As we all set sail to the ends of the sea!"
There was something oddly adorable, just listening to Law stumbling over the lyrics to a song he didn't know. I wonder if this was how everyone else saw me when they were teaching me the song. If it was, then I can see why they were always laughing and ruffling my hair whenever I made a mistake. Beckman liked to poke fun at me, but never in a mean-spirited manner. He was playful about it. I was almost tempted to do the same with Law, but now didn't feel like an appropriate time to do so.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!
Today, and tomorrow, our dreams through the night!
Waving our goodbyes, we'll never meet again!
But don't look so down, for at night the moon will rise!"
For a brief moment, I almost thought I saw Law smiling. It was a nice look for him…he should smile more, like Robin.
"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!
Let's all sing it with a Don, a song of the waves!
Doesn't matter who you are, someday you'll just be bones,
Never-ending, ever-wandering, our funny traveling tale!"
Feeling a little mischievous, I decided to stop singing there and then. I grinned as I was treated to the rather cute-sounding Law as he finished singing the last of the lyrics. When he noticed that I wasn't singing along with him, shortly after he finished singing, his face turned red. He glared at me as I giggled, unable to control myself. Despite looking rather annoyed, Law managed to surprise me when he started laughing along as well.
For the first time since I've met him, I actually heard Law laughing. I'm not sure how long it must have been since the last time Law had ever laughed, but he certainly seemed to be having a good time and I'm glad. He deserves to find a reason to laugh.
So when Law and I finally left the area to meet up with everyone else, we managed to surprise Shanks and Corazon with our good moods. This was the first time they had ever seen us look so happy after a visit to the hospital. Robin seemed rather relieved, as did Beckman and Yasopp.
"Mako, did you lose another tooth?" Shanks was quick to ask upon noticing the new gap in my teeth.
"Oh…yeah—I did!" I laughed awkwardly as I recalled what happened, but decided to keep quiet about that. I didn't want to worry anyone, after all—not while everyone was in such a good mood. Well, as much good as it can get after a hospital visit, I mean, because I'm pretty sure Shanks and Corazon are still pissed off, but details. "It fell out on its own, though!"
"That's good to hear." Shanks seemed rather relieved and I wouldn't blame him. "So what's with all the origami?"
"Ahaha, Law and I made 'em!" I grinned widely as I showed off the origami Law made. "Law made these—I made the ones he's carrying."
"You did all that?" Corazon asked Law, looking rather impressed.
"Y-Yeah…" Law responded rather awkwardly. Him and Corazon still had a long ways to go, but they were at least doing better than before, when Shanks and I first met them.
If things progress the way they did now, maybe—just maybe—Corazon won't have to die and Law won't have to cry. Maybe…things will turn out for the best.
…
…
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A/N 12-1-15 So I don't know if anyone has noticed yet, but like, my friend, XenoTranceR, did some art of Mako, that you can check out on his deviantart under the same name. Also, friendly reminder that if you want to check out the fanart done for this, since links STILL aren't working, go to my tumblr at KlonoaDreams and check "Fanfiction Stuff" for links.
Hello everyone, guess who's not dead?! Yeah, university life bitch-slapped the hell out of me these past few months and I got sidetracked by my other stories, and as of recently, I've been obsessed with Eyeshield 21 (read it, because I need more people to drag into this fandom, it's barely alive). And yet, somehow, I managed to update this fic in the end.
By the by, as far as I can say, you can expect a lot of updates come next month because I'm most definitely in a writing mood. You can also expect a couple of Eyeshield 21 fanfics involving a female Kobayakawa Sena, so that's definitely a thing. Anyways, let's get to talking about this chapter.
So yeah, it started rather comical and then shit got serious. Yeah, there's honestly no way I can do this any other way because really, the treatment Law and Mako received is abysmal. For Law, that shit's canon, for Mako, she's just dealing with racism and it's not something she's dealing with so easily, considering how badly it's starting to affect her despite her tendency to smile.
Also, working with twelve-year-old Law is fucking difficult when he's changing so much due to the interactions he's had with Mako and Robin. Just…the three of them get along so easily because the world has not been so kind to them. Misery loves company, after all.
At the very least, Law and Corazon are starting to get along, so that's good. Oh, and don't mind me putting in my own explanation as to why Law doesn't like bread. I honestly feel Law came to hate bread because it was all he had been able to eat before he met up with the Donquixote Pirates.
So like Mako isn't doing so well, but she's not telling anyone about it, which isn't exactly good for her, as shown by the fact that she's been feeling sick because of the stress she's been experiencing. Physically, she's only three-years-old, but mentally, she's trying to act older than she actually is. Which isn't a good combination when her body and brain aren't developed enough to handle something she was able to do so as an adult in her past-life.
Being an SI OC isn't easy, after all. Anyways, shout out goes to Mikoto-chan92 for making adorable fanart of Mako! Since links are still not working, do go check out my tumblr under fanfiction stuff to find the links (which actually WORK). I'm still KlonoaDreams, so it shouldn't be that hard to find me! I also made a thing as well on my deviantart account, but that's nothing compared to what Mikoto-chan92 did!
Shout out goes to Trich for being reviewer #60, A-n-i-m-e-i-s-l-i-f-e-1-2-3 for being reviewer #70, Counting Sinful Stars for being reviewer #80, and The Utterly Fabulous Z for being reviewer #90. Honorable mentions go to Silvestre1245, minhthu12-Present, haera . quill (remove spaces—this site likes to think names are links lol), animagirl, Sukila - Angel Quartz (nice name!), Lily Noir, and Mihoriru. And to everyone else, thank you so much for taking the time to review, I can't believe we're almost at a hundred now! I wonder who will be reviewer lucky #100? Who knows!
Once again, I apologize for the late update, but on the bright side, waiting this long means that the whole Corazon and Law scenario was finally animated, so there's that! There was also more stuff that happened in One Piece canon (like with Sabo, oh god, my heart), which makes it easier on me to plan out events and such. So yeah, don't expect quick updates from this fic, but know I won't ever abandon this fic. Rule of thumb, if I haven't deleted a fic, then it's not abandoned.
So that's about it for now, so I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Until next time, everyone! KD out! XD