Hey guy's, chapter six is up, yay right? Anyway special thanks to those who have reviewed and helped me out with the idea ^^ I own nothing in this fic. Enjoy!
Eight people had gathered that same night Luffy had awoken from his nightmare. And all eight had a special connection to the clueless boy with the Straw hat.
In the city of Water 7, a meeting was held between those individuals as they discussed the urgent matter of their missing friend. Normally it wasn't an odd thing for their Captain to disappear for days on end without some sort of contact, but this time it was different. Luffy never and they mean never went anywhere without his beloved Straw hat that was sitting in the middle of the table absent of its owner. If the news of his brother's death wasn't enough of a clue to his going missing, then this hat was definitely the clue that drove the point home.
"Wasn't he supposed to be under your watch, how could you let this happen?!" a high pitched voice yelled from across the table as the addressed man narrowed his emerald eyes towards the woman, unfazed by the yell though extremely cautious of its owner.
"He's not a fucking kid you know, he can definitely take care of himself." the irritated man shoots back. "I just thought he was fucking safe with his brother by his side."
"Oi oi, calm down Nami it's not Zoro's fault he got lost in Punk Hazard, he's never been there before." A nervous voice spoke up trying to break the tension of the group as his arms waved about frantically trying to diffuse the escalating hostility between the two members.
"Even if the stupid Marimo had been there before, he still would have gotten lost." Another voice drawled out from the side of the room before he released a puff of smoke.
"What was that you shit-cook!" came an angry cry as the teen turned his icey glare from the orange haired girl to the striking blonde that leaned against the wall, looking completely composed were it not for the line of worry that marred his handsome features.
"Oi Sanji, don't make fun of Zoro, it's not his fault he is directionally challenged, it's a serious condition." a near childish voice rose to defend the swordsman who only seemed irritated by the help received, muttering under his breath that it was not a 'condition' and he was perfectly fine.
"Oh be quiet all of you!" the orange haired girl known as Nami spoke up as she reclined against the chair she was currently sitting in. "Arguing among ourselves isn't going to get anything done, and it's definitely not going to bring Luffy back. Now Robin, could you please tell the others what you told me after we found Zoro wandering the streets."
The mentioned teen smiled softly and did as she was asked, "The word is spreading fast like wildfire actually," the dark haired girl said noticing the visible flinches of a few of their members, "in the beginning people began to say that the Surgeon of Death had come back into play, but it didn't make any sense. Ace was shot down, and not too long after his house was burned down. It's not the way the Surgeon worked, or anyone in the Donquixote family for that matter. If it had been the Surgeon…" Robin trailed off meeting the gaze of each individual.
"Yoho! Then the body wouldn't have been found." The tallest of the group finished for her, his darkly charming voice carrying an echoing sadness as a frown pulled his lips lower, the carefully applied face paint of a grinning skull following the action.
"WHAAA~ the body wouldn't have been found?!" A pair of voices rang out together as the two clung to each other each of them shaking at the thought of disappearing bodies and imagining this mystery surgeon. The image both of them conceived only making their shaking that much more intense.
"Besides, the Whitebeards and Donquixote have a SUPER pact not to touch the other." the last member of the group spoke up as he ran a comb through his eccentrically styled blue hair.
"But don't forget the Surgeon left the Family some years back, if he had done this then it wouldn't be a breach of the rules." Nami pointed out as she glared at the group before pinching the bridge of her nose.
None of this was making any sense. The Whitebeards were the biggest names underground, Donquixote was a very close second, but it wasn't answering the question of who would dare mess with them, and for what purpose.
"But w-what would anyone want with Luffy?" Usopp finally asked what was on everyone's mind as he clutched to the youngest of the team.
"It can't be for information. Luffy's too stubborn and too stupid for that purpose." Zoro mutters receiving a collective agreement from the group.
"So there aren't any leads of who did this to Ace-San?" Brook asked the other.
Robin shook her head her lovely blue gaze looked down, "I'm afraid I have been unable to find out anything about who did this, the event was kept off the papers and media so it's not a shock we heard about this until recently."
"Actually we would have known sooner if a certain Marimo hadn't taken three days to find a public phone and then four more to find his way back home." Sanji put in earning a death glare from the green haired male.
"I lost my phone on the trip there!" he growled out before adding, "And public phones are becoming extinct you Shit-cook."
"Zoro's 'conditions' aside, I think we should start at ground Zero." the orange haired girl spoke up turning all eyes in her direction.
"You can't mean we'll be going to Punk Hazard?!" Chopper exclaimed his features turning pale as his eyes widened in shock.
"I- I think I have suddenly caught cant-go-to-Punk-Hazard-disease." Usopp groaned faking a stomach ache as the rest of the group ignored the two, knowing that despite their initial fears they would do all they could for Luffy.
Franky pushed out of his chair suddenly and began flexing his arms before thrusting them into the air symmetrically as he struck a pose, exclaiming "SUPER! Then what are we waiting for."
On his side, Robin chuckled softly and looked to the rest of the group who either looked excited, cautious, or scared of their wits, but all determined to gain their Captain back. And as such it was decided, the eight of them would catch the next plane to Punk Hazard.
"Torao~ How can you have so little food in your house?" Luffy complained as he rummaged through the cabinets once more, "And where the heck is all your bread?" the teen huffed.
The mention of the food caused the surgeon to shiver unpleasantly behind the newspaper he was reading. "My kitchen was fully stocked. And bread is not a recommended food in anyone's diet." he deadpanned, muttering under his breath about how bread was all kinds of evil things.
"But I'm so hungry Torao, feed me please!" The teen begged as he slumped into the chair next to Law, the older of two looking over his newspaper to arc a brow. "You ate twenty pancakes, five eggs, seven slices of bacon, ten hashbrowns, a whole gallon of milk and both my orange juice cartons. Where do you even put it all?!" the Surgeon exclaimed incredulously looking over the teen's body. "I used to eat a lot when I was younger, but fuck Luffy-ya." the man shook his head folding up his newspaper and finishing his coffee.
"I can't help it I'm a growing boy!" the teen huffed before he perked. "Younger? You mean you aren't young Torao?" Luffy asked tilting his head as he hummed. "You look young to me. How old are ya?"
Unfazed by the curiosity Law stood and placed his mug in the sink. "I'm 24."
"Whaa! You don't look 24!" the teen exclaimed before a laugh broke out from him. "Ha you really are old!" he said before pausing, "Wait... how old am I?" he asked now completely sober.
'You're 17 Luffy, but your birthday isn't for another five months, on May 5th you'll be 18." Law said the fact like he had known it for a lifetime now. It was true what Shaichi and Penguin had said to him. Law was getting... or not getting, no he was attached to Luffy. Law dense nor oblivious, he had noticed from the moment he had first felt the wave of guilt hit him when he had told the teen his brother was dead. And the way the teen had reacted, it had made Law want to ease that pain in Luffy, he wanted to comfort the boy. But years of inexperience in such matters had left him dumbfounded and unable to do so.
"Oh! So we're in December?" Luffy asked pulling Law out of his thoughts, his steel gaze looking at the now smiling boy. "Hey does that mean Christmas is almost here?" he asked looking around the apartment only to pout. "Torao where is all your Christmas stuff?"
Law was certainly not expecting to hear these words from the teen, who was right, Christmas was only two weeks away. Luffy was proving to be much more observant than one would have thought. Though Law wasn't too taken aback from the realization for two things.
The first being that Luffy had simply lost his memory, not his reasoning and comprehension skills, and the other was that Law had personally seen into the limited past of the teen. To say that he was impressed about what he discovered would be an accurate term.
From what he had seen, Luffy had attended public schools his elementary and middle school years while he had stayed in Dadan's Home for Children, and the grades he received were nothing to be proud of, but his test scores were astonishing to say the least. But that was where his information on the teen ended, no matter how much he tried Law was unable to get any sort of information of Luffy's High school years, it was almost as if the teen had dropped off the face of the earth after his eighth grade graduation, only to appear three years later with his dead brother at Law's hospital. And now here they were.
"Oi Torao!"Luffy yelled snapping the surgeon from him thoughts as he shook his head and refocused on the boy who gave him a warming smile. "So are we going to go find a Christmas tree?"
"Not right now Luffy-ya, remember what I told you this morning, we have to pack a few things up we'll be spending some time with the... Family" the last part of his sentence had to be ground out as Law tried to keep his obvious distaste from his voice.
Luffy, however, caught his tone and once again tilted his head. "Do you guys not get along Torao?" He asked before his eyes softened and lowered. "Hey Torao, do I have family?"
Law had been dreading this question, what was he supposed to say. 'well you did until a week ago, when some nameless bastard shot and killed your brother, and now you're all alone in this world.' No Law would not tell Luffy this, not until the other was ready. Instead Law found himself giving Luffy a warm smile while ruffling his raven tresses. "Sure you do, Bepo-ya and I are your family, no?"
To which the teen brightened and launched himself out of his chair and caught Law in the tightest hugs he had ever received. "Shishishi well I know that now."
"Good, now c'mon help me pack a bag." Law managed to say as he was loosing his breath.
That same day, only the necessary clothes and other items were packed and placed in the trunk of Law's Model S.
"We'll get you more clothes when we get to Dressrosa. You got Bepo-ya right?" Law asked as he looked back to his home. Of course he didn't want to leave it, and he wouldn't entirely, for the time being he was simply going to be following one of the 'conditions' the stupid Flamingo had made him agree to.
"Spend the holidays with the Family and I'll grant you your favor, Law" the man had said the day prior when he had called him.
"Yup! So Torao, does this mean we will be spending Christmas with your family? What about your job?"
"We'll actually be there until next year... I'll be going into work later, I already called Shaichi to let him know, we just have to drop off these things and get the hell out of there without being noticed." Law grumbled and began their little road trip to Dressrosa, the next city over. 'At least it's around the same mileage from the mansion to the Hospital.' the Surgeon thought as he turned the radio on and allowed Luffy to change the station so long as he didn't mess with the screen so much.
The ride took no more than two hours, and it would have been less if the teen hadn't gotten hungry again and made Law stop at the nearest restaurant. Passing through the gates, Law knew he was going to hate the next three weeks. His steel gray eyes took in the sight of his home from five years ago. It hadn't changed much, the same marble like appearance on the outside, the acres of lush green grass and every single flower imaginable beautifully decorated the landscape.
"Woah! Torao is there where your family lives?! It's awesome!" the teen exclaimed beside him as his eyes shone as they had the night before, completely mesmerized by the sight before him.
Sighing the surgeon hunched his shoulders slightly, the only other sign other than his whitening knuckles on the wheel, that he was not looking forward to this 'reunion'. "I'll keep the engine running, you will wait for me here while I drop off the things. Don't leave the car Luffy-ya, I hope to spend as little time here as physically possible. luckily the Hospital gets busy on the holidays." Law grumbled missing the pout and puzzled look the teen had given him.
Placing the car in park, Law slipped out of the car, quickly scanning the area while he got the two duffel bags from the trunk. Taking a calming breath, he took a step forward and froze. "Law! Hey so the rumors are true!" a woman dressed as a maid called out as she hopped out of the second floor window and steadily landed before Law her arms open wide as she had hoped for an embrace. Though Law was having none of that, side stepping her attempt he growled under his breath. "Cut it out Baby5"
Pouting the woman sighed crossing her arms under her breasts. "You won't even hug me after five years Law, so mean."
Rolling his eyes Law huffed out a breath. "I don't have time for this, is Doflamingo around?"
"They're all gone, something about cleansing the ranks down below." the dark haired woman said shrugging her shoulders.
"So you are playing house sitter," Law noted knowing Doflamingo most likely told her how much he needed her to look after the mansion while he was away, and knowing Baby5 she would have been more than happy to do so. Not to mention she was also very capable handling the task all by herself, out of the entire Family, it was she who knew the most about firearms.
"Hey, Baby do me a favor and take these to the room I will be using, I have to get to the hospital. Don't stay up for me." he said already handing the two bags to the stunned woman who had developed a small blush muttering under her breath about how she was needed.
Just as he was about to return to his car, a large shadow rose to overshadow him from behind. "Law~ so good to see my favorite Godson has arrived for the holidays, are you going already? You just got here." the voice scolded as the blonde approached.
'Motherfucker...' was the single thought that flew through Law's mind as he faced the manic smile of Doflamingo.
"Oi Nami, do we even know where Ace's house was?" Usopp called from his spot at the back of the rented van.
"It can't be that hard to find, how many buildings burn down in one city alone?" the orange haired girl replied keeping her eyes on the road.
"You'd be surprised how many kitchen fires tend to happen on one day alone." Robin supplied from the passenger seat as she stared at the tablet she help within her hands, a small frown coming to her features.
"Can we please not talk about fires, it makes my skin crawl. That is, it would if I had any skin, Yohohoho!" Brook laughed from the back seat next to Usopp.
Gaining a frown from the blonde haired cook as he looked over his seat from behind Nami. "Oi Brook, you do realize you have skin right? Halloween ended months ago."
"So he likes to pretend to be a skeleton, you shit-cook, you have a problem with that?" Zoro called out a seat away from Sanji sitting behind Robin and in front of Usopp.
"No one was talking to you you stupid Marimo!" Sanji yelled glaring at the green haired man only one seat away.
"But Zoro has a point Sanji, Brook is going through a phase." Chopper said trying to calm both of the two teens, immediately regretting choosing the space in between them.
Franky laughed at the familiar scene. "I think Brook just has a SUPER imagination." the bulky teen commented as Zoro and Sanji began to reach for the other ignoring the fruitless attempts of Chopper to keep them apart.
While all this was transpiring Nami began to grow more and more irritated. "If you two don't quit that right now I will stop this car and leave you on the middle of the street!"
"HAIIII NAMI-SWAAAAN" The blonde called out immediately ending his feud with the green haired teen who grumbled under his breath about a certain 'ero-cook'.
After that all that could be heard through the ride to Punk Hazard was the sound of Brook playing the violin he had brought along, there wasn't much room to play in, but he made it work.
Hey guys! This was my first time writing for so many characters at once, I think I kept them moderately in character, I'll keep working on that. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading!~ -Until next time! -Leafy