Hey Guys, so quick disclaimer, I won nothing in this fic, though I would love to get one of those Bepo teddys.
Two weeks! It has been two weeks since the Straw Hat Crew had first arrived at Punk Hazard and combed the city thoroughly. Now they were in a rented room at an inn in the neighboring city of Dressrosa and they were still no closer to having any sort of clue to Luffy's whereabouts.
"How is this even possible!" the green haired teen growled pounding his clenched fist against the solid oak table that immediately buckled under the pressure hitting the floor, two of its four legs splintering as they broke off.
Across him, Sanji clucked his tongue standing beside an open window as to let the cigar smoke slip out of the room. "Shitty emotional moss head." he muttered, though the rest of the crew knew that he too was ready to stomp on the next unlucky thing that caught his attention.
"Oi Zoro! We're not thrilled by the progress either, but it doesn't help us to get all worked up and beat up furniture." Chopper scolded immediately fussing over the possibility of Zoro damaging a bone as he studied the hand.
"He has a point though, doctor-san." Robin supplied as she tapped away at her tablet. "In the time that we have been in Punk Hazard, we haven't had a single lead. All the ones we get pointed towards have either disappeared... or worse. Multiple deaths and disappearances have occurred in this month alone, more than this city is used to in the span of a six-month period."
"M-multiple!?" Usopp cried out from the couch seat he was occupying. "Th-then why hasn't it been on the news?!"
"For the same reason Ace's death hasn't been publicized." Nami spoke up biting down on her thumb nail gathering everyone's attention. "I know I have no right to say any of this, but Luffy and Ace were both street urchins growing up from what he told us. And Ace wasn't exactly liked by the town he grew up in, then when he left Luffy to join the Whitebeards, that's when he made a name for himself a name that was widely known in the underworld. But here, to the mundane people of this city, Ace was just another guy. Robin, are any of those fallen men a big figure in this city?"
"None." the raven haired girl noted, she of course had already ran this theory through her head. "All of those missing and gone were low profiled people, unnoticeables ... and exactly the same people who run the communication in the Underworld."
"Yoho! You means The Billions?" Brook spoke up from his spot against the wall, precariously leaning against it at an exactly 45 degree angle, something the odd man enjoyed to do every now and then.
"But to completely wipe out the Billions, it's a SUPER intense task." Franky noted receiving a collective nod from the gathered group.
"And who is the only Warlord in the area able to accomplish such a feat. To be able to silence hundreds of Billions from speaking ill against them." Nami stated quietly, though with the stark quietness of the room, the sentence might as well have been shouted for they all heard it clearly.
"The Family." Zoro breathed out and began for the door before a small hand reached out to clutch onto his arm.
"Zoro wait! You can't go out there in the dark! Especially not against The Family! Sanji tell him!" Chopper cried out desperately trying to keep the swordsman at bay though failing miserably as his small form was essentially being dragged along with the green haired man.
Releasing a puff of smoke the blonde cook sighed, the nicotine was doing nothing to ease the irritation within him. Silently he stalked after the swordsman, the look on his face causing Chopper to release Zoro immediately as Sanji took hold of the back of Zoro's shirt and whirled him around to face him.
Blazing emerald eyes met equally smoldering blue ones as Sanji clamped a hand on the swordsman's shoulder "Would you calm the fuck down you stupid Marimo, you're scaring Chopper!" the blonde snapped his voice growing louder as he continued. "We get it! You know we do. No one cares about Luffy more than we do, but do you honestly think that blindly barging out there into enemy territory will help us get Luffy back! We're no good to him dead Marimo." the last of his sentence spoken in a harsh whisper.
"Fucking dartboard brow, don't touch me." Zoro growled as he slapped the hand from his shoulder. And though he was stopped for now, everyone in the room knew that it was only a matter of time before the green haired man lost his hold of the raging beast within him again.
But Sanji had a point, even if he hated to admit it.
They all knew very well how much the green haired man cared for their Captain, enough that Zoro would risk his life without question for Luffy, Hell, every single one of them would, but if they had their information wrong and The Family wasn't behind this tragedy... then their efforts would have been for naught.
"Beside's we're all spit-balling here, aren't we?" Usopp asked hoping to diffuse some of the tension in the small room while voicing their thoughts. "We don't know for sure if The Family is really behind this entire mess, for all we know they were being paid off by whoever did this, a bribe of some sort." the sniper supplied.
"Yeah, The Family isn't known to be picky about their contracts." the orangette agreed once again holding her thumb nail between her teeth.
"Well, there's only one person who can ease our troubled minds now." Robin said after a short pause, looking up from her tablet she had been typing in since the conversation began.
"Luckily for us, The Family isn't as secretive with their status as others. Most everyone in Dressrosa knows of Doflamingo Donquixote's association to 'other' matters, they believe it has kept their streets as violence free as possible. In the public's point of view, The Family is the greatest thing that has happened in the last few decades. But because of this, we know just who we need to target." the raven haired woman explained as she showed them the chart she had been working on.
Upon the screen the group could all see the members of The Donqioxote Family. An quick chart displayed both names and pictures of those in the family. Including its former members.
"That's my smart Robin-Chwan, where would we be without you!" Sanji cheered as he floated over to the placidly smiling teen.
"Now all we need to do is choose one Robin-san?" Brook asked joining the group that was beginning to huddle around the small tablet.
Nami beside them hummed, "Do we have any information of their structure, which one would be the most likely to crack?"
"Who the fuck cares who they are, I say grab the first one we can." Zoro gruffed out as his eyes committed all of the faces to memory.
"It's a dangerous game we're about to play." Sanji muttered next to Zoro taking the last drag out of the cigarette. "Zoro, Fanky, Usopp and I will go and scout the place. Chopper and Brook I am entrusting my precious Nami-swan and Robin-chawn to you." the cook said before receiving a choked noise from the sniper and one of relief from Chopper.
"Ahhh Sanji! I think my can't-join-you-on-a-dangerous-mission disease is acting up again." Usopp moaned clutching his stomach.
Next to him Franky slapped his back firmly. "Not to worry Usopp bro, tonight's just the steak out and we need your SUPER eyesight. Besides I have a feeling this will turn out to be our big break." the bluenette encouraged managing to calm his long nosed friend, who only looked mildly sick now.
With his right palm on the hilt of his most trusted blade, Wado Ichimonji, Zoro lead the way out into the dark night.
Two weeks had passed since their initial arrival at the mansion and Law was still breathing.
But he could no longer tolerate it, for the past fourteen days Law had been restricted to the many walls of the mansion and had been constantly pestered by not only the stupid bird brain but also by the many different entities of the household. One would think that with this much space and their ability to leave the property then he would have been left alone; but that was not the case.
This arrangement, however, had been one of the other 'conditions' Doflamingo had sprung up on Law, he and the raven haired teen were to be confined to the mansion, unable to step foot outside of the property as long as the 'cleaning' took place.
'The task I set for the stupid bird brain should be all done and over with right?' Law thought to himself as he leaned back further on the leather recliner.
Surely the Billions were no longer a problem, the surgeon wondered as he tilted a wine of glass against his lips. The sweet liquor quickly coating his tongue and immediately his throat thereafter as he sighed.
At the moment he was currently in the room both he and Luffy occupied, with the younger rested in the large bed as he slept the night away, the white stuffed bear clutched to his chest.
A soft smile graced the Surgeon's features without his knowing as he watched the teen in peaceful slumber.
The first night he had received the news of their accommodations, Law didn't know whether to feel relieved that he would have a constant watch over the other or to wipe the ridiculous look off Doflamingo's face as the older had a smug and knowing look on his face.
"It's not like that." Law had growled that night. And constantly for the next few days to the others of the house, beating it into their minds if needed until The Family decided that Law was simply in denial, but for their sake they let the subject drop whenever the Surgeon was in the room.
Normally Law would have already joined Luffy on the bed too, but lately he couldn't help but notice that the boundary they had kept between them was becoming breached. When Law had first slept in the same bed with Luffy, they both agreed they would sleep on opposite ends of the bed since neither of them wanted to sleep on the recliner chair in the room. But, the past three nights Law had woken to find the teen cuddling against him, Luffy's arms curled around Law's torso instead of holding Bepo, and his head resting comfortably against his chest, where his heart had then proceeded to beat wildly until he managed to calm it down.
The act itself wasn't unpleasant, it was actually soothing for Luffy if the goofy smile the other wore was any indication, and if Law stopped lying to himself, then he would admit that he too liked the feeling of warmth and affection that came with the hold the teen.
But Law would not entertain this thought, he refused to give it any attention. However, the more Law tried to push these thoughts away, the more they came back with full force. These thoughts were becoming more and more constant in his mind.
Law didn't know when he had first began to notice Luffy, well actually notice him, not as a patient but as a person. The longer Law had studied the younger male, the more he noticed that the other was actually adorable. Everything about Luffy was, in short, alluring. From his large innocent coal eyes, his silken raven hair which Law was only now noticing he loved to caress, even the small scar under his left eye did nothing to deter the charm he seemed to possess, the small scar even added to his cuteness whenever he sent one of his wide grins his way. That smile... a smile that not only lit up the teen's face but also any room that he happened to be occupying, it called out to Law in no way he ever thought anything could. Law found himself admiring that smile and wanting to find ways of bringing it to Luffy's face and maintaining it there.
In these last few weeks, Law had fallen for Luffy, even if he refused to acknowledge it.
Law took another sip of the drink only to notice, not for the first time mind you, that he was smiling softly as he looked to the younger boy. That thought alone made the rest in his mind come to a skidding stop.
'Just what are you thinking Law!' he internally scolded himself, turning his gaze away to anything that was not Luffy.
He didn't know what was causing these sudden feelings, and the need to be even closer to the teen. All of this had begun as nothing more than a business thing. Luffy's adoptive brother died, and he had to deliver a message to the deceased's brother, he had to tell Luffy that he loved him... Wait what?! No! He had to tell Luffy that Ace loved him.
Law sighed bringing the glass to his lips once more only to find it completely empty.
"Great..." he muttered setting the glass aside and contemplated getting more wine before dismissing the idea. Law didn't want to drink too much, he preferred to have his wits about him. No need to do anything foolish, especially not in this house.
He was also getting tired, but he also didn't want to allow himself to go to the bed the teen slept in, he didn't wan't to indulge in the innocent act of cuddling the teen, for even if it was just an act of comfort for the other, for him, he didn't know what they were all he knew was that Luffy was not in his right state of mind and that he was experiencing some sort of... over attachment to the teen and he should not be feeling that.
"Maybe I really do need to go out." Law muttered standing from the seat and heading to the door, looking back for a moment to make sure Luffy really was fine and fast asleep.
Once satisfied, Law closed the door, locking it as he did so, still not trusting the other members of the house with his charge.
During the last few weeks, Law had obediently remained under the roof of this mad house, but tonight he needed to get his mind cleared, if only for a few hours. Luffy would be fine until then, he reassured himself as he forced himself to keep walking away from their room.
In the earlier years that Law had lived in the mansion, he had thoroughly discovered the in's and out's of the place, and there was no exit he didn't known about. As Law proceeded to sneak out of the house, he couldn't help but remember an involuntary conversation he had had with Shaichi and Penguin before the arrival of Luffy in his life.
Penguin and Shaichi had, after much persuading, managed to detach Law from his massive pile of paperwork and took him out to what they called a 'treat'. When in reality it was just a local bar, where the two idiots then bombarded Law with questions he preferred remained unasked.
"Damn Law it's been over a year since Kid. When will you get back in the game?" the red head to his right asked as he looked around the place. "Look, that guy looks available." he said pointing to a brunette Law didn't care to look twice at.
"Not interested." the surgeon muttered and took a sip of his glass, the tequila burning on its way down, but satisfying nonetheless.
"Really, I thought you preferred brunettes." Shiachi murmured before looking around once again. "That's why it was odd at first when we met Kid, that was one seriously intense hairstyle."
"It was a phase." Law said before he could stop himself. Luckily the two didn't push on that subject.
"C'mon Law it's about time you got back out there and date again." Penguin encouraged from his other side as he drank his glass of gin.
Law said nothing as an arm looped around his shoulders and Shaichi leaned against him. "We saw how hard you took it back then Law, you were a real mess and we've let you grieve it out. But now we have no excuse not to bug you, so what do you say, hm?" the red head asked raising his eyebrows in Law's direction.
Shrugging off his arm Law sighed finishing his drink. "I see you two still fail to remember I left him." he grumbled "and I was not a mess!"
Both Penguin and Shaichi 'tsk'd' at his tone disregarding Law and looking at each other from either side of him. "Sounds like sexual frustration to me, don't you think so Shaichi?"
Where the one in question nodded, "If I didn't know any better, and I do it's definitely looking for a way to let loose." the other said with the lightest bit of a snicker. "Face it Law, you need to get laid."
Needless to say the rest of the night was spent with the two pointing out potential partners for Law, and he looking for a possible way out of that situation.
Night time was when Luffy's mind was most active, small snippets of his forgotten memories threatened to resurface in random spurts that caused the teen to shift under the covers of the bed. In that time his eyes wildly fluttered under closed lids while his arms instinctively searched for Torao, his one source of comfort, only to come out empty handed.
If Torao had remained but a few more minutes in the room, he would have witnessed Luffy's night terror.
Luffy didn't know where he was, but it looked strangely familiar, it was a house, but who's? It was obviously a living room but not one of the few he had seen. 'Where am I?' he wondered as he tried to make out the faces of the portraits around him, but none became clear to him no matter how much he tried.
"Luffy!" the name erupted in his mind causing his dream-self to turn in the general direction. The voice was deep, obviously a man's and though it was extremely familiar, Luffy didn't know who's it was but he knew that voice was special.
"Luffy!" his name rang out again, this time by a girl, if Luffy could have placed a color on that particular voice it would be orange.
"Luffy!" the next voice was also a deep male's voice, and though Luffy didn't know who's it was he distinctly associated that voice with meat.
"Luuufffy!" This one was screeched by not one but two voices, one high pitched but still distinctly male along with a partner who was also a high pitched boy but much younger, barely on the verge of becoming a teen one could guess.
"Captain-San." the next disembodied call was also a woman, though she sounded more calm than the earlier voice and definitely not a orange color, more like a purple.
"Who's the Captain... Why are you calling me?" Luffy called out turning in every direction as more voices made their selves known.
"Luffy!" Luffy recognized this voice as the one that had invaded his mind earlier during his stay, it was the SUPER voice.
"Yoho! Luffy-San." the last voice called out slightly chilling him but familiar all the same. All these voices tugged at different corner's of Luffy's mind begging to be remembered.
"Why do you forget us Luffy?" the voices asked in perfect yet eerie unison. "Why Luffy." they called out from all around him. "Do we not matter to you anymore?" they asked as a pitch black shadow began to envelop the scene.
The voices were becoming louder, blending into a chilling eight-toned voice. "Luffy! Luffy! LUFFY."
His name was becoming a ghostly chant as it became louder and louder, surrounding Luffy as he turned back and forth, where were the voices coming from?!
"Why Luffy?" they asked again, was that anger? Sorrow? Despair?
Luffy didn't know just as he didn't know if his answer would appease the voices. "I don't know. I didn't mean to!" he called out though his cries were lost in the swirl of demanding voices.
"I... I do care about you!" Luffy cried out looking around blindly at the enclosing darkness, fear beginning to steadily rise as he was beginning to realize that even with these other voices he was completely alone.
"LIAR" the voices bellowed and the darkness swallowed him.
"I didn't mean to!" Luffy cried out blinking past the tears as he began to register his surroundings. He was back in the bed he had slept in, he was in the mansion, he was safe... but where was Torao?
Panic bubbled up in Luffy as he sat up clutching Bepo back to his chest as he scooted back onto the headboard, his shaking hand turning on the bedside lamp as he swiped away at his tear streaked face. "Torao." he called out softly, waiting patiently for an answer.
"Torao?" he called again slightly louder, and again received only silence.
Oblivious to the event's back in the mansion, Law had successfully managed to sneak past all of Doflamingo's "defenses" and was currently walking along the streets of Dressrosa.
His walk lead him in the direction of a nearly deserted park. Entirely lost in forbidden thoughts of the teen, Law failed to notice the tail he had managed to get upon leaving the Donquixote property.
The high pitched noise of a projectile cutting though the wind was the only warning that snapped Law out of his thoughts, though he had noticed it too late. A needle was embedded to his neck. A drug, he knew.
He didn't even have time to kick himself mentally for such a rookie mistake as his vision began to blur, the edges darkening.
Two pairs of hands caught his arms as they were looped around two shoulders. Law would look like the drunk friend of these two to any normal person, no one would ever suspect he was just captured.
The last thing Law saw before blacking out, were three swords.
And on that note. Thank you guy's for reading ^^ and to all of those who have favorite-d, followed and reviewed, you are SUPER awesome. Let me know what you think, or care to guess what will happen next?! Till next time -Leafy