It was as he suspected all along.

Law really should have known better. He could tell, from just a mere glance, that there was just something not right about Luffy and the others.

As Law stood uncertainly in another cabin of the ship, he thought back on what had led to him standing there like a fool. Because now that he was here in this cabin, the dark haired pirate almost, almost wished that he had been knocked out again with a punch. If only so he wouldn't have been forced to endure what he had considered to be rather demeaning. Law had experienced a vague sense of irritation throughout the entire exchange, after he had lashed out at Luffy and had been subsequently stopped by those extra limbs.

Luffy and the small group of people with him had begun to bicker about Law. As if the dark haired man wasn't there. If that wasn't humiliating enough, then them trying to make decisions for him was. It had only taken Law a few moments of watching this that he was able to form an initial opinion on these people.

Law leaned his back against the nearest wall in what he presumed was the infirmary. As he kept a lookout for Chopper, Law went over his assessment of Luffy and the others thus far.

They were unorthodox.

"If he doesn't have his weapon, he will be less inclined to attack. But I could be mistaken. We'll probably still want to keep an eye on him."

They were strange.

"But what if he remembers how to use his Devil Fruit powers? Won't that mean trouble for us?"

They were contradictory.

"Nami, give him his sword back. It'll be fine. He won't hurt us."

They were unbalanced.

"Are you crazy? He almost cut you with that blade! What if you hadn't dodged it?"

Law wondered why they didn't just lock him up if they were concerned about him attacking them. It would make more sense. Law's conclusion to the conversation that had occurred minutes prior to standing in the infirmary by himself? Luffy and his people were insane, and the dark haired pirate had no easy means to escape them.

A terrifying prospect.

But that was a moot point right now, because Law had learned something important as soon as he had demanded his weapon back. He should have realized that it would be foolish to think that making a threat would have gotten him what he wanted. Especially after he had just attacked Luffy with the nodachi. But it was the statement that had been made in return that caused Law to scowl when he thought back on it.

"If you let Chopper check you for injuries, you can have your blade back. With interest, of course."

It appeared as if Luffy wasn't the only one to make some kind of bargain with the devil or something of the sort. That orange haired woman was equally as suspicious and devious as Straw Hat and that skeleton from before. The woman was, in fact, almost worse than the skeleton's music and Luffy's overly cheerful demeanor, which Law at first found hard to believe.

At least, until the woman, Nami, he recalled was her name, had not only managed to talk him into allowing Chopper to check him for any wounds, but she had also somehow managed to convince him that he owed her money.

"And don't forget, you still owe me some beli. I lent you some on the island we anchored at after Dressrosa."

Law wasn't sure why Nami had been so insistent on money, and had questioned it. But whenever he tried to state that he owed her nothing, the orange haired woman smiled and told him that he didn't remember because his memory was hazy.

"And when you do remember, you'll know that you owe me interest on what I lent to you as well. I hope you have 100,000 beli on you. Or your crew does. I will get my beli one way or other."

Law recalled that he had bitten off a response, as he had figured that it would be useless to argue. That he had settled for glowering at Nami instead. Something she had said had distracted him. She had said that he had a crew. So did that mean that he was the captain of his own ship? Why had he been around these people in the first place, if that was the case? Had his crew been similar to these people? Law hoped not.

Law brought himself back to the present as he crossed his arms moodily and tapped his fingers against his bare forearms. Law hated the fact that he was where he was now because he had been hustled into the nearest cabin against his will, after those extra arms had vanished and stopped restraining him. Law shook his head in exasperation as he came to the end of his reflection on all of the idiocy that had thus far been visited upon him.

The cabin, or rather, infirmary, was rather dreary, and Law still shivered now and again, despite the fact that he had stripped down to his boxers and had dried himself off with a towel. Maybe it was just because he hadn't been able to put any new, warm and dry clothing because Chopper had insisted upon checking for wounds, since his skin was exposed.

So where the hell had that little animal gotten to?

"Ah, sorry to make you wait. I just wanted to make sure that there was a change of clothing for you."

Law pushed away from the wall of the infirmary as Chopper entered the room. "It's freezing in here." Even as he said it, Law knew it wasn't true. And the dark haired pirate realized that the cold was more pleasant than anything. If only his hair weren't still damp as it was. Law ran a hand absently through his hair, shaking water droplets free. He let his hand drop. It didn't seem to do any good. The hair was still damp.

"Could you sit down on the bed?"

For the most part, Law held still and allowed the small reindeer to examine him. In fact, he found himself ignoring Chopper as he was far more fascinated with the tattoos he'd just discovered. Law had been so focused on his loss of memory of Luffy and the others, and of his own, that he hadn't bothered to take a good look at himself. Law, as soon as he knew that Chopper was finished with his arms, immediately began to inspect the tattoos more closely. The dark haired pirate raised a brow at the sight of the letters that spelled out 'death' on each hand on his knuckles. Wasn't he cheerful? He wondered if his old self had good reason for that to be there. Law cast a cursory eye over the tattoos across the back of his hand and forearm, and then tilted his head down to inspect the large tattoo splayed across his chest. Faint scars traced across his chest and abdomen here and there, but the symbol there was clear.

A heart shape. With a smiley face in the enter of it, toward the top of the tattoo.

Law was more confused than ever. Why the hell did he have a heart of all things tattooed across his chest? And why did he have so many tattoos in the first place?

"Can you lean over or lie down? I need to check your head now."

Law complied, and flopped down onto the bed, though he did have a question for Chopper as the other began to pat his head gently. "Do I have a tattoo on my back as well?" He had them nearly everywhere else, so he assumed it to be the case.

Chopper carefully felt around Law's temple as he responded. "Yes, you do."

It figured. And there was no point in asking the reindeer or the other people on this ship why he had the tattoos. Law somehow doubted that he would give away such information to others. It seemed somehow...more private. Law wasn't sure why, but that made sense to him anyway. He hoped that Chopper was nearly finished, because he really wanted to get a good look at himself in the mirror. Although he doubted that it was going to trigger anything. He was mainly curious, and also wanted a better look at the tattoo across his chest.

Law's attention was briefly drawn to Chopper as the small animal hopped down off the bed that he lie on, and went across the room to open a cupboard. "Well?" Was he or wasn't he injured? Law didn't think he was, because he wasn't bleeding anywhere as far as he could tell.

Chopper returned and dabbed some ointment on Law's left cheek, as the dark haired pirate reclined on the bed.

It stung, but Law held still to allow the other to finish, and only faintly twitched as Chopper placed a patch over his cheek.

"I didn't find any obvious injuries. Only where Luffy punched you earlier." Chopper indicated Law's left cheek. "Other than that, there were no injuries that I can attribute to you loss of memory."

Law guessed as much. He was going to mull it over, but he was instead compelled to ask a question. Chopper wasn't very intimidating, so he felt that it was fine. It was a question that had been bothering him anyway. "Why does Luffy think of me as a friend, even after I attacked him?"

Chopper was putting the medical supplies away. "That's just the way Luffy is. Once he decides that you're his friend, you are, no matter what."

Law wasn't sure that that actually answered his question, but took it for what it was. His stomach growling interrupted his train of thought in any case. Odd. He thought he would have noticed that he was hungry sooner. This memory loss was a very irritating distraction if it made him forget to eat. Though he also blamed Straw Hat and his people. Or were they a pirate crew? They were pirates, weren't they? Even if, in his mind, they didn't seem to act like it. Then again, Law didn't remember what he was like as a pirate. His stomach grumbled again, and he cursed it for yet again disrupting his very important thoughts.

"I'll go see if dinner is ready." Chopper offered, and headed for the door. "There are some clothes on the chair in the corner. They were the ones that you left on the ship."

Law watched Chopper exit the cabin, before he rose and stretched. Working out a kink in his neck, Law padded over to the aforementioned chair. Law slipped on a near identical pair of jeans with spots on them in a pattern, and chanced a look in the mirror. The tattoo across his chest was still a stylized looking heart. He looked at his face, and decided he wasn't bad looking at all. Quiet attractive, in fact, though being a pirate, he figured that he was likely on the run most of the time. Law very much doubted that the marines cared about whether a pirate was attractive or not when trying to arrest or kill them.

A pirate was a pirate.

The dark haired pirate grumbled a few choice words in exasperation. Why was he even having such a train of thought? It was not something that actually mattered. Giving a shake of the head at the stupidity, Law looked at the mirror. He noted that there were dark circles beneath his eyes. Law presumed that he must not get enough sleep. Maybe it was Luffy and the others fault that he couldn't get a decent nights rest. His eyes were puzzled, and Law lifted his gaze up to settle on his hair. Messy, like he couldn't be bothered to brush it. Law ran a hand through it. Not as dirty as expected, which meant he had to have taken showers on a regular basis. Or it could have been because of the sea water. He supposed it would be a big assumption that pirates didn't bathe anyway. Though some of the people on the ship he was trapped on certainly could do with one.

The dark haired pirate's eyes drifted back to the tattoo across his chest. The picture stirred something inside of him, but he couldn't figure out what, or why, that would be the case. Law shook his head and pulled the sweater on, fussing with the feathers around the collar so that it didn't tickle his neck overly so. Law traced the large smile like symbol on the front of the sweater as he studied it in the mirror. This symbol definitely meant something to him, but to be honest, he again couldn't remember. But he did know that it was important to him.

But why?

What did it mean?

Law shook his head and turned away. There was no use dwelling on something he couldn't recall. That really was getting old, not being able to remember things. Law knew that he needed to eat something for the moment, so perhaps he could question Luffy and the others while they ate. Even if he didn't like the idea that he would be surrounded by people he wasn't exactly sure were friends or enemies. As Law shoved the door open to go find Chopper, another, more immediate concern came to mind.

His nodachi.

Law wanted his weapon back if he was going to put himself in close contact with these people. He really only wanted it to defend himself with. Law dismissed the idea of food, as the desire to retrieve his nodachi took over. Law paused outside the cabin briefly, his gaze sweeping the immediate area. Law caught sight of someone, and made his way across the deck in their direction. He was going to get his weapon back one way or another. He wasn't going to allow these people to do as they wished, without even consulting him on whether he was okay with said decision being made or not.

He was going to attempt to put an end to that right now. And the closest person to him right now was that orange haired woman.

Nami.

The one that had convinced him to go with Chopper, along with some encouragement of the rest of the people. Crew. Those that had been nearest had been more than happy to help usher Law into the cabin when he'd initially refused to do so without his weapon.

Law would start with her. There was no one else in sight for the time being. The dark haired man stopped only a few feet from her, and Nami seemed to notice his presence, because she looked at him. She had been staring at the sky before. "Oh? Chopper finished already?"

That wasn't exactly how he wanted the conversation to start, and Law decided he may as well respond. "He did. He said there didn't seem to be anything wrong." Law may not even have to resort to being heavy handed if he could talk reason with one of these people. Nami seemed saner than most of the people on board the ship anyway.

Nami eyed him skeptically. "There obviously is something wrong if most of your memory is gone."

"I realize that much, at least." Law returned irritably. Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought. He noticed that Nami held something, but he decided he didn't care, because he was far more concerned with being armed. "Where's my nodachi?"

"We're not giving it back to you." Nami replied bluntly.

"You said you would if I got checked over for wounds." Law reminded the woman. He wondered if she had forgotten, but highly doubted it. And he didn't like the gleam in her eyes that appeared with his statement.

"We had to convince you to go with Chopper. You made it harder than it needed to be." Nami made some kind of sign with her thumb and forefinger. "So now it's going to cost you. And I think it was clear from our last landing on shore that you have no beli left, as I had to lend you some. Which you still owe me, like I said before."

"I should not have to pay to get my own belongings back." Law retorted instantly as he took a step toward Nami. He ignored the whole 'owing her money that he didn't remember owing her' for another time. "Now where is it?"

Nami dismissed him as she went back to keep an eye on the sky. "Who knows? I asked someone else to hide it for me. So I don't know." She offered a wicked smile. "It will cost you to get that information too. And since you don't have money, just leave it be. You don't have any enemies on this ship, so you don't need a weapon anyway."

"You all have a funny way of showing that." Law growled, as he stopped a foot or so away from Nami. "I won't ask again." He was not in the mood to be led along, and he knew, from patting his pockets, that he didn't have any money, as the orange haired woman had mentioned. But really, he shouldn't have to pay a damn thing. She and those other people had all but wrenched his blade from his grasp earlier.

When Nami said nothing, Law let out a low growl of annoyance and reached out, his right hand closing tight around Nami's upper right arm. "Where is it?" He hadn't expected Nami to give him a look of utter surprise at the way he was manhandling her, but chose to ignore it, because he wanted to know where his damn nodachi was already.

"Let go."

Law narrowed his eyes at the demand, and chose again to ignore it. Maybe it would get Nami to spill the beans more quickly. A sharp pain in his foot distracted him, and his grasp, instead of loosening, tightened. He glared at the orange haired woman, as she had just stamped on one of his feet.

"Let. Go. Or else. I don't think you want to be laid out on the deck, do you?"

Law smirked at that. "Oh? Are you going to do that?" He highly doubted it. She could try, but he had a good enough leverage that it would amount to nothing.

"I guess you do." Nami shook her head, as if it was Law being the foolish one instead of the other way around. Then, the orange haired woman raised her voice. "Sanji! Law's having another lapse and he won't let go of me!"

The dark haired pirate blinked in confusion. He was not. He had a perfectly clear mind at present, despite jumbled memories. But that didn't matter because he was suddenly lying flat on his back, his arm throbbing from where he thought he'd just been kicked. It hurt like hell. Law refused to make a sound as he lie there. So much for these people being not a danger to him. Law gripped the limb to his body tightly as he curled defensively to make a smaller target should he be gone after again. Through the sudden pain, he heard voices. One of them was Nami, and the other was likely Sanji, the one she had called for.

"I didn't tell you to kick him like that!"

"But it looked like he was hurting you!"

"I was fine. He was just holding on. He only wanted to know where his weapon is."

"So he grabbed you."

"I wasn't telling him where it was, and he didn't like that." There was a pause. "I think you may have injured him."

"Good. He shouldn't have done that to you."

There was an exasperated sigh from Nami, before she could be heard crossing the deck. "Chopper! Where are you? Come take a look at Law's arm."

Law remained curled up, the pain nearly unbearable, but he continued to remain silent and still. Sitting up or anything of the like was going to get him kicked again. His arm might come off with another one of those agonizing kicks. He managed to place Sanji's voice however. He was the one that had rescued him from drowning. Law had been right. These people changed their minds on a whim and were dangerous and unbalanced.

There was a patter of feet that drew near, coupled with a high pitched exclamation. "What did you do? He was fine when I left him five minutes ago!"

"Sanji happened." Nami said, as she came to a halt before the prone Law.

Law didn't like the tone, and sat up, even as it sent a sharp throb of pain through his right arm. Law clutched his limb close to his body, defensive now, as he glared at Nami. "And just who called him here?"

Nami studied the dark haired pirate for a moment, before she stepped forward with a shake of her head. "You're going to feel so stupid when you do get your memory back."

Law was about to take offense to that, but instead ended up letting out a muffled grunt of surprise as Nami stuffed something soft onto his head. But in the process, his vision went dark. It led him to believe in that instant that Nami had done something to blind him. Really, there was no need to maim him. He'd only grabbed her arm. It wasn't like he would have done anything other than perhaps sling her over his shoulder and carry her around the ship until she gave him the location of his damn nodachi. Before Law could react to the sinister act of sudden vision loss, something that felt like a thin quarterstaff struck him square in the gut, and sent him falling backward again. Law's head hit the deck, but whatever was on his head took a bit of the force, so he merely grimaced at the impact.

What had just happened?

There was a light thwack of the staff against his chest, accompanied by Nami's voice. "Next time you decide to grab me like that and not let go, I'll make sure that I hit you else where." The staff tapped just above his waist this time, before it drew away.

Law, despite the sudden pain he was in from his right arm, subconsciously twisted away from Nami at the warning. He already sported the bruise on his cheek from Luffy punching him. And likely a souvenir from where he'd just been kicked. He didn't need an ache somewhere else that would be much more agonizing and very difficult to ignore. Not to mention embarrassing. Law gave Nami a dark look, warning her off. He somehow felt that he normally wasn't on the receiving end of a beating from these people, if at all.

The orange haired woman merely returned the three pieces of her weapon to her hip, and resumed looking at the sky. "I'm trying to concentrate. I think that a storm might be coming."

There most certainly was going to be a storm as soon as Law had his hands on his nodachi. Besides, the sky was a perfectly clear evening with no clouds in sight. And in any case, Law's arm was much more important to him than any storm might be right now. Law even allowed Chopper to take a look at him this time. Mainly because he was concerned that something had been broken, even if he could still feel it and twitch his fingers. The dark haired pirate lifted his left hand to his head to feel what Nami had placed there that had disoriented him. Law took the soft material off and stared at it.

A hat.

A white hat with brown spots.

Law turned it this way and that as he looked it over, and spoke aloud. "Is this...mine?" It certainly went along with the spotted pattern on his pants that he had changed into earlier in the cabin.

"Yes, that's yours. It must have fallen off in the marine base when we were being chased." Nami provided, even if she didn't appear particularly pleased at Law's actions thus far. It was almost as if she expected him to try something like he had again, but doubted it due to him grimacing each time Chopper prodded his right arm.

"I picked it up." Luffy added. The straw hat wearing young man had obviously wandered over to see what the commotion was about. "You wore it all the time on Punk Hazard, and on the way to Dressrosa. You did lose it there, but that Cabbage guy found it for you." Luffy seemed to realize that Law was in pain, and he tilted his head quizzically. "What happened to you?"

"...nothing." Law said, as he decided that it was best the other pirate didn't know what he had been up to. Even if Law believed he was justified going so far to get to the bottom of where his damn blade had gotten to.

"This guy thought it was a good idea to manhandle information out of Nami, so I kicked him." Sanji said as he lit a cigarette.

"Oh. How come?" Luffy wondered. "Is it 'cause he's hungry?"

"No, he just wanted to know where his weapon is. I told him he couldn't have it." Nami replied, and looked away from the sky. "We need to turn the ship 40 degrees starboard. A storm is coming."

Someone on the upper deck acknowledged Nami's words, but Law was not paying attention. Mostly because Luffy had just decided to say something that utterly confused him yet again.

"Let him have his weapon then."

Both Nami and Sanji gave Luffy an appalled look.

Law, for his part, silently stared at Luffy as if he were insane. Why would he even suggest that after what he'd just done?

"You don't know what he will do when he has it, so why would you say that?" Nami demanded. "Did you miss the fact that he just grabbed my arm because I wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know?"

"He just wants that sword back, right? So if he has it, everything will be fine." Luffy acted as if this weren't a big problem, and was even picking his nose to show just how little he cared about the topic one way or another. It was as if he thought the solution was as simple as he had just stated.

Nami let out a groan like she couldn't believe how simpleminded Luffy was.

Law couldn't either, but he was drawn to the throbbing pain that was his right arm, before he was offered some good news from Chopper.

"Nothing seems to be broken. You should ice it though. I can get you some in the galley."

Sanji wandered off after extinguishing his cigarette. "I need to finish cooking. I hope it's not burned. That would be a waste." Sanji jabbed a finger Law's way. "So you'll be eating that, because it would be your fault if anything burned because you were threatening Nami."

Law didn't think that was fair, but didn't bother saying anything in response to that. He hadn't exactly threatened Nami. He had been more aggravated than anything with her insistence on money in return for information. As for burnt food...Law didn't particularly care, so long as he got something to eat. Burnt food would be better than nothing. Law dismissed the blond from his mind as he ran his fingers lightly over his upper right arm. He traced the scar that went all the way around the limb. Curious. What kind of a wound was that? He didn't remember seeing it there before. It was almost as if someone had...

"Hey! Sanji! I want a lot of meat for dinner! Lots!"

Law stopped Luffy's cheerful call for meat with a single statement. "Why are there scars all the way around my arm?"

Those within hearing went completely silent, Luffy included.

Law looked up and studied their expressions. They were hard to read. Law's eyes settled on Luffy, because he appeared to be more affected by the question than the others. "What happened?"

It seemed to be the wrong question to ask, but Law saw no reason why that would be the case. The silence, however, was telling. Something had obviously happened, and Law wanted to know what.

Luckily for Luffy and the others, and much to Law's consternation, Sanji yelled out the door into the awkward silence that very moment.

"Oy! Dinner's ready!"

Luffy seemed to snap out of whatever mood he'd suddenly been in and charged toward the open door, his mind back on food. "Meat!"

Law hesitated for a moment, before he trailed off after the other people as they dispersed. But not even the green haired swordsman demanding sake could distract Law from what he had just seen. It troubled him, the way Luffy had looked at him after his question about the scar. Luffy had appeared to be quite upset, but why? It wasn't like he had been the one who had been injured. Was it because he had witnessed Law receive the injury? Or had he seen it after it had been inflicted upon him? It had to have been bad to elicit such a response.

Law paused just outside the open door, before he stepped inside, doubt swirling within him. There was no reason that he should be bothered at all by any of these people's reactions. He didn't know them. At least, he hadn't remembered anything yet. Law silently sat down on the nearest open space on a bench amidst the cacophony of the crew settling in for dinner. The dark haired pirate hadn't even realized at this point that he was now surrounded by all of these people as his mind dwelt on what he had just witnessed.

Why?

Why had they reacted in such a way to his questions?

As doubt continued to eat away at him, it caused him to consider an absurd possibility. Had they been the ones to injure him? Was that why they had looked the way they had? Was it guilt? Or something else?

Law stared at a rice ball that had been shoved his way and stared at it as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world. Law picked the rice ball up. No, there was no way these people would have done that to him. He had heard how reluctant Luffy had been to punch him earlier, and the only reason Nami had lashed out was because he had been in the wrong with his actions. Law automatically took a bite out of the rice ball, before making a face, musings laid aside for the moment as he bitched about what he'd just been forced to swallow. "Who the hell put sour plums in this?"

The resulting laughter at his indignant demand utterly baffled him, but it must have meant that the dark haired pirate had just remembered something else about himself. Food preferences weren't the first thing that Law would have preferred to remember, but he would take whatever he could. It was all he could do right now. Learn a little of himself bit by bit, and hope for the best.

At least, that was the idea, until Law suddenly had bread thrust into his immediate vision. Law focused his gaze on Luffy's grin. It appeared as though straw hat seemed to know of his newly discovered dislike of bread, and Law decided to express his displeasure then and there.

It became apparent very quickly that Law just couldn't win around these people, no matter what he did.

Luffy and his crew were quite perplexing individuals.