Luffy and his crew, along with being the perplexing individuals that they were, also happened to be incredibly exhausting to be around.
Law hadn't quite figured it out when he sat down to eat, but the dark haired pirate found out soon enough. It was too bad that by then there was no escape, and he would just have to deal with the lively atmosphere if he wanted to eat. But even that was difficult to concentrate on, because none of the people around him appeared to understand the concept of personal space. They jostled one another as they ate, reaching for food without regard to bumping into one another at the table.
Law might have been able to ignore the chaos and general irritant of being bumped while attempting to eat, if not for the fact that Luffy had decided to stretch across the damn table. Straw Hat was currently too close for comfort, and he held a sandwich a scant inch from Law's nose. The dark haired pirate leaned away and narrowed his eyes at Luffy to warn him off, but it only seemed to encourage the other.
"Come on, try it! Sanji's sandwiches are great!" Luffy waved the sandwich cheerfully.
Law gave both Luffy and the sandwich a haughty look as he summed up his feelings on the matter in one word. "No." Of course, Law should have figured that his feelings on the matter wouldn't be accepted by Luffy. Straw Hat was suddenly on the bench next to him, and he continued to be damn persistent in his goal of attempting to get Law to try the sandwich. Law's hand snapped up to grab Luffy's wrist to hold back the bread as the other waved the food in his face. "I said no, Straw Hat-ya. I hate bread."
The chatter around Law died down as the crew, and Luffy, all stared at him, before several of them smiled. Law tensed up immediately in response. What? What had he done or said? Why were they smiling? Was it because he had grabbed Luffy's wrist to hold back the sandwich from his face? Why were they looking at him like that?
"Do you remember me then?" Luffy asked, the sandwich in his hand momentarily forgotten as he studied Law.
The dark haired pirate let go of Luffy's wrist and turned away. "No. It just came out." And the words had. They'd sprung unbidden to his mind. But it would figure that he would choose not use Luffy's name if he were being annoying. Calling him by the hat that he wore seemed to be good enough for now. Law's left hand twitched as Luffy intruded on his personal space even further, that damn bread looming toward him as if mocking him. Seriously, why was Luffy so determined that he try something he knew that he didn't like, for whatever reason? Memory loss wasn't going to make him like something.
Luffy didn't seem to notice Law's defensive posture. "Huh? You remember that but you don't remember me? What's up with that? Are you stupid?"
Law rounded on Luffy as he took offense with that last statement. With a low growl, Law started to grit out a response, "I'm not...!" What he wasn't was lost to Law as Luffy had just taken the opportunity to stuff part of the sandwich into his mouth. Law froze in place instantly, mortified, even as Luffy looked immensely pleased with himself as he ate the rest of the sandwich.
"Good, right?" Luffy misinterpreted Law's expression entirely, mainly because he'd accomplished getting Law to try the food. And since there wasn't an immediate negative comment, Luffy apparently took it as agreement. The straw hat wearing pirate promptly ignored Law in favor of finding more to eat, and called across the table in a loud voice. "Hey, Sanji! Are there any more sandwiches?"
"You've already eaten 8 of them!"
"But I'm still hungry!" Luffy responded immediately as he slumped across the table. "I need to build up my strength with lots of meat sandwiches if those marines come after us." Luffy looked over at Sanji hopefully. "Three more?"
"One!"
Law remained where he was, unable to move or unwilling to move, before he seemed to come back to himself. Law hastily spat out what bread was still in his mouth like it was poisonous. He wiped a hand across the back of his mouth before he zeroed in on Luffy with a glare.
That was it.
Law was not going to tolerate this any longer. Being in a crowded space was one thing. Being in a crowded space and being harassed by someone he thought of as a nuisance was a bit much. Especially when said nuisance made him eat bread. Something Law just knew that he hated. Just like how he knew he hadn't liked sour plums. And had he mentioned that he didn't like that Straw Hat had intruded into his personal space?
The dark haired pirate's left hand lifted slightly as he held it out. Law honestly didn't know what he was going to do. Perhaps bat the bread out of Luffy's hand. The fool had grabbed another sandwich. Or perhaps he was going to strike Luffy upside the head, to dissuade him. Law wasn't sure that would work. It might only encourage him to try and find more things to annoy him with. Instead, a thought came to mind, and Law decided that he might as well give it a shot, because it seemed like the right thing to do with the way he held his left hand out.
"Room."
Law surprised himself at the reappearance of the spherical dome at that word, but the other pirates around him appeared excited by the sight. It became apparent in no time at all that Law's newly rediscovered powers were going to be a problem, because he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to work them. And that was a problem because he felt the sensation of his energy, or was it stamina, being slowly sapped from him. It was a very odd sensation, like the way he had felt on the marine base, when the room was larger. What was it, magic? It had come out of nowhere. It did not help Law in the least bit that Luffy and his friends were trying to offer him advice, when the dark haired pirate was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he had made the sphere appear.
"Hey, I thought you said he couldn't use his powers."
Law wondered why the long nosed person across the table appeared nervous of him. It wasn't like the sphere was doing anything other than just being there.
"But he can, so that means he must have remembered something."
It was painfully clear that Law's attempt at intimidation had failed spectacularly in the face of these people. That didn't help bolster his confidence in the least. Did nothing faze these people?
"Hey, can you warp now?"
Law furrowed his brow. He could what now? How would that even be possible? That was definitely some kind of magic if one could appear in one place and reappear in another. Law highly doubted that he was capable of such a thing.
"Probably not. Look at him. He looks surprised that that room even came up."
Law frowned as he observed the blue sphere around him. He had made it appear, that was for sure. But it was only there because he had been highly irate with Luffy, and had felt something compel him to call on those powers that he'd been previously told he had. The dark haired pirate's eyes roved over the sphere again, and felt that it was definitely smaller than before. It could be different sizes? Interesting. How exactly did that work? The dark haired pirate might have thought some more of the matter of magically appearing spheres, before Luffy decided to open his mouth to annoy him further.
"Hey! Switch someone around! You know, like what you did on Punk Hazard."
Really, what was it with these people and no personal boundaries? Law moved away from the grinning Luffy and sat down again, further from everyone in the galley. Not that it appeared to help, because no one appeared to be leaving any time soon. Law did get some amusement out of Nami telling Luffy off.
"What would happen if he couldn't use his powers again to switch us back? Don't go trying to get Law to do something he might not recall how to fix!"
"I'll work out just fine."
"No, it wouldn't!"
Luffy laughed, but went back to his sandwich, as if the brief almost-scuffle with Law hadn't occurred. It didn't seem to bother him that Law had chosen to sit further away. Nor that the dark haired pirate now wore a sullen expression in response to the general pleasantries going on around him.
Law was puzzled about the whole switching around thing that Luffy had mentioned, but decided that it was a much bigger problem that he couldn't make the room vanish. And Law could feel the telltale sign of exhaustion tug at him, which meant that the spherical dome around him was sapping him again. Law really had no desire to be knocked unconscious again, so the dark haired pirate furrowed his brow in thought. How had he made it appear in the first place? Well, he knew that it was done in direct retaliation to Luffy harassing him with bread. But how did he do it?
Something drifted rapidly through Law's mind, before he was able to reach out for it and grasp it. Law was able to settle on the knowledge that had presented itself, and with that knowledge, realized that it was a simple thing to let go of the power and dismiss it, until he needed it again. Law focused on the sphere, before he relaxed and concentrated on it.
The room was suddenly gone, as if it had never been there.
Law let out a soft sigh of relief. At least now he knew how to activate the strange power, as well as how to make it disperse. To do anything useful with it was more than he decided he was ready for. Why Law thought he could do something was because of some echoing reminder in his head that he wondered if it was the source of the power. The other reason for feeling that way was that Luffy had just mentioned that he could do something with the power.
The dark haired pirate eyed all of the people chattering around him, before he decided that now was most definitely not the best time to test out his newly rediscovered powers.
Although, as soon as the idle chatter turned to introductions, Law felt that he may be forced to resort to drastic measures. For the most part, Law didn't particularly care about what the crew did on the ship and was more concerned about putting faces to names. The long nosed sniper was Usopp, the weird robot 'super' spewing person was Franky, the green haired swordsman was identified as Zoro, and the black haired woman was Robin. The rest Law had already heard names for. But what had distracted Law from taking in the roles of the crew fully was the fact that Luffy had been the first to introduce himself, wearing a massive smile.
"I'm Luffy, and I'm the captain! And I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"
Law's thought process came to a screeching halt as he tried to process what he had just heard from the straw hat wearing pirate. He was the captain? Why? How? The very idea appalled Law for some reason. It was maddening. Who would have guessed that fool was the captain? And the rest of his crew was fine with following after such an idiot? Being unable to comprehend the idea was what led to Law only vaguely following along with what the rest of the crew said when they introduced themselves.
The dark haired pirate had no time to recover as after the introductions were out of the way, Luffy and his crew launched straight into what had been going on leading up to Law's loss of memory at the marine base. At the very least, it answered Law's question of why he was with these people in the first place if he had a crew of his own. For the most part. A few of the details were rather sketchy.
"We originally went to the base for a few maps and a specific item that the marines were to have there." Robin wore a thoughtful look. "Though it remains to be seen if they actually do have what it was we'd been looking for."
"We heard rumors about it." Sanji said from where he was cleaning up the kitchen.
Nami shook her head as she twisted in her seat to look straight at Law. "And you were the one who had stressed to us all that it was important that we got this item out of marine hands."
"It is supposed to be useful against Kaido." Zoro added from where he was sneaking a bottle of sake out from under Sanji's nose.
"Only we don't know how, because you were the one that had more info on it." Nami gave Law a look of exasperation. "You had wanted to get your hands on the item before telling us what it was." It was clear that the orange haired navigator thought that Law should have shared the why before they'd gone to an island crawling with marines.
Law watched in silence as Nami rounded on Luffy. The dark haired pirate hadn't even noticed that Luffy had wandered off to try and scrounge up even more food.
The orange haired navigator put a halt to it. "Hey, Luffy. At least try and help us with jogging Law's memory. It's clear that he doesn't remember why we went to the marine base in the first place."
Luffy brightened as he automatically avoided Sanji as the cook took a swift swipe at him for stealing one last sandwich. Luffy hopped nimbly back onto the nearby bench and stretched on side of his mouth before he let it snap back into place. "I'm a rubber man. Remember that?"
Law's disgruntled look made it clear that he did not. Although he was disturbed by the sight of a rubber person, it still seemed to mean something to him. What, Law couldn't remember. And not remembering was getting very old.
Luffy saw that what he had done had had no effect, because immediately switched tracks. "Oh, right. What about Dressrosa then? Would that help him remember?"
"That might not be the best..." Robin tried to interrupt, but Luffy had decided that that was the best course of action, as he enthusiastically launched into the explanation of what had happened there. Since there was no use dissuading Luffy from his current path, Robin got Chopper's attention, and the two of them quietly excused themselves to go consult some medical books.
Which left the rest of the crew and Law to listen to Luffy's spotty account of Dressrosa.
Law wasn't quite sure what Luffy was trying to do other than make his brain melt under terrible explanations and beating people up. And calling people by very random descriptors that wouldn't have helped even if he could remember names or faces. It was only when Luffy got to Doflamingo that Law had any reaction at all, and that was another surprise he hadn't expected. And it was more terrible than he'd thought it would have been. Just hearing the man's name again made his skin crawl, and Law subconsciously let his left hand rest on his right arm.
"Oh, and that mingo was a jerk. He had beat you up pretty bad. He even cut your arm off. I'm glad it was able to go back to normal though."
"But Doflamingo was able to get away." Zoro reminded Luffy. "Or did someone haul him off without you noticing?"
"Well, Law needed his arm fixed. I didn't notice if mingo was gone or not." Luffy said in reply, as if this were an obvious reason.
No one seemed to notice that Law had begun to shake faintly, nor run his left hand tentatively and repeatedly along the scar around his upper right arm. But they certainly did take notice when Law suddenly flew into a panic.
Law stumbled away from the bench he'd been seated on, and into the nearest wall. His arm...his arm had been completely severed from his body? How? How was it that it was reattached? What had happened? How did he not die of blood loss? And what about this Doflamingo person? Were they still around, or were they no longer a danger to him? Luffy and the others apparently had no idea. It didn't sit well with Law, or make him feel...safe at all. There was a sick feeling that had settled in his stomach about the whole thing. But why? Why did he feel that way?
"Dammit Luffy, you set him off."
"But he remembered something. That's good, isn't it?"
Law ignored the people that were around him, and felt the sudden urge to leave. He had to get out of there. What if that person that had cut his arm off returned to finish the job? What if they were still nearby and none of them had noticed? Law felt that he needed fresh air, but he was foiled in his attempt to do so as two pairs of arms seized him and held him in place. Law wasn't sure what he thought he was going to do, but was almost relieved in a way that he was being prevented from lashing out or flailing or whatever the hell it was that he suddenly felt he needed to do. But it didn't stop him from trying to get away.
Luckily, the two pirates that had restrained him were able to prevent him from his single minded goal of escape, and in the end, Law only managed to tire himself out. He'd even slumped against the wall to let his head rest there. His breathing was erratic and his heart rate was still elevated, but Law felt that he had calmed enough to see that it was foolish to get himself worked up over someone that he had little to no information about. Canon fire joined the confused jumble that was his mind, and it was only after hearing shouts from the people on the ship that Law realized they were being attacked. By who? Other pirates? Or marines? One of the shots fired appeared to hit the ship, but it didn't seem to have done much damage.
Damage...
That suddenly seemed to be insignificant to Law. His hand twitched as he became aware of the fact that he was still being restrained. Why? Why was he being held back like that?
Danger.
He was in danger. He needed to fight back.
Law tensed up as the irrational urge to lash out at the people around him returned to him.
Fight. He needed to fight back.
It was only then that Law seemed to really think about, and realize, that the two men were a danger. That they were a danger to him.
A threat.
A threat that needed to be eliminated.
Law didn't remember much of the next few minutes. It was as if he were possessed of a desire to rid himself of everything around him until only he remained. He didn't even remember how he'd gotten free of the green haired swordsman and the blond haired man, but he had. Law had also recovered his nodachi, but he didn't use it for long. Instead, he'd been taken down, and apparently, the ship had been able to get out of range of cannon fire.
And then, just like that, Law was himself again. Mostly. Without a large chunk of his memory, but no longer with the desire to attack. The sensation was but a speck in his mind now, and was easily ignored. Law did not protest his nodachi being taken this time around. He understood too well now that it was a bad idea if he was having these...lapses...as Nami had called them. He doubted that it was that, but he didn't have anything else to call it at this point. Just as Law sat up, several voices started to speak at once.
"Usopp got hit with the shrapnel from that cannon fire that glanced off the railing on the starboard side!"
"Doctor! We need a doctor!"
"You are the doctor!"
"Ah! That's right!"
Law was close enough to see the piece of broken railing sticking out of Usopp's boot. It looked worse than it probably was, but that remained to be seen. He'd have to take a look at it. Law frowned. But...why would he be taking a look at an injury? The longer Law observed the wound, the more he felt he could do something about it. And then, the injury appeared to trigger something inside of him. Like the way the knowledge had come to him of how to fight, but this time around it was medical knowledge that surfaced in his mind. Law heard Chopper whisper something but ignored it completely as he rose and approached Usopp before he knelt down. Law didn't appear to notice Usopp's expression. If he had, Law would have been irked to see that the sniper thought he was going to attack him.
Though, to be fair, Law could have done just that if he hadn't been tackled to the deck before he could do much damage.
Law ran his fingertips lightly along the outside of the wound, before he spoke aloud vaguely, as if he weren't altogether there. "Tony, get the medical supplies." If Law gave any indication that he had said the name, he didn't outwardly show it. Law kept his attention on the wound until Chopper returned. Law's focus was entirely on the injury, but he knew that he had automatically used something to cleanse his hands before he'd begun the careful task of removing the wooden splinters. He exchanged few words with Chopper as they sterilized the wound once they had managed to get rid of the splinters and taken off the boot, and got removed the remainder of the splinters that were still lodged in the skin.
It was only after the whole process had begun that Law realized the sight of blood didn't bother him, but even as the thought crossed his mind, he finished cleaning the wound, and went straight to threading a suture and sewing up the wound. As if he had done something like this many times over, and no longer really had to think about it. Law finished and removed the extra thread after tying it off, before he sat back and allowed Chopper to place ointment over the wound, and wrap it with bandages.
Usopp tested the limb carefully. While he did grimace, he appeared to be doing better than before. With a relieved sigh, Usopp looked between Chopper and Law. "T...Thanks."
"You should prop your leg up and keep off of it for awhile, Usopp." Chopper put the medical supplies away. "And you should take some medicine for the pain."
Usopp made as if to get up, then remembered that his leg was hurt and he couldn't do it on his right now.
"Jeez." Sanji commented from the sidelines, before he walked forward to assist Usopp. "Come on, just trying to watch you get up like that is painful."
"My leg nearly got torn off by a cannon." Usopp responded immediately, as he half hobbled across the deck with Sanji's help. "And be more gentle with me."
"You're fine."
"No, I'm not. You might be able to walk after an injury like this, but you, Zoro and Luffy are crazy when it comes to injuries that keep a normal person down!"
"Yeah, yeah. And you can somehow survive falling from stories up." Sanji reached out with his free hand to shove open a door.
"That's different than being injured!"
"Is it?"
The cabin door closed, and Law turned away as he absently cleaned his hands again. Something bothered him about all that had just happened. Law voiced his unease to those around him, as if they would tell him the answers he sought. Perhaps they would. "How did I...know what to do?"
"You're a doctor. A surgeon." Nami supplied.
"You must be getting your memory back bit by bit." Robin commented.
"It seems that way." Law felt that it wasn't nearly fast enough, however, as he was uncertain just how long he would survive around Luffy and his crew before he lost his mind. Most unfortunately, thinking about these people again made a word sprang unbidden to his mind, and it solidified as he watched the people around him disperse to do whatever it was they were going to do.
Alliance.
An alliance.
He remembered that. At least...that it was him that had been the one to ask Luffy if he were interested in forming an alliance. Law stared blankly at the night sky. All of this craziness was because he had thought an alliance with these people had been a good idea?
What was he, an idiot?
As his mind swirled around the horror of what he considered a foolish decision, it was solidified by Luffy popping up alongside him.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
As Law allowed Luffy to drag him off to watch a few sea monsters fight in the sea, the dark haired man inwardly decided that he was most certainly an idiot. He just hoped there was an actual reason that he had found to put up with all these strange people. Otherwise he was merely tormenting himself.
"Awesome! Look at that thing!" Luffy turned his head and shouted. "Hey, Sanji! Can you cook that thing if we catch it?"
Sanji emerged from the cabin to join Luffy, and looked at the aforementioned creature his captain was drooling over. "It's a bit big but I could manage something with it."
Law silently backed away and retreated into the cabin he'd woken up in so that he would not witness Zoro, Sanji and Luffy harassing a giant sea monster in their attempt to eat it. No, Law felt he was most certainly an idiot. Who else in their right mind would willingly ally themselves with such unpredictable people?
-x
Over the next several days, Law felt that he was steadily improving in terms of memory. He was remembering bits and pieces, even if it was nothing substantial. Law still didn't exactly remember Luffy and his crew, but he most certainly had learned quite a lot about them just by being on the same ship. And most unfortunately being forced to endure their madness, as well as occasionally joining in on it, much to his horror.
He just knew Luffy and the others were still laughing behind his back after that second night he was on the ship. Not only had they managed to coax him into drinking, but somehow copious amounts of alcohol had relaxed him enough that he ended up singing off key to some random songs along with a few of the others. He'd dunked his head in a bucket of water immediately afterward and had secluded himself in a cabin for half a day, horrified at what he had done. Law just knew that somewhere deep inside of him that he never did anything like that. And he could have sworn that he'd heard giggling turn into gales of laugher.
Law never drank again, suspicious of the crew's attention. Most unfortunately, most of them didn't seem willing to allow him to live down the whole singing thing.
Three days of relative peace and complete absurdity, however, was shattered by the time the fourth morning rolled in. That was when the marine ships caught up with them again.
Law stiffened in place as soon as he caught sight of those ships sailing toward them. And then he felt it. The sensation that made him want to attack those around him. The compulsion that he hadn't felt in days. Law gripped his nodachi tightly, before he blatedly realized that it was a mistake to have it back. He'd been given his weapon two days previously, but now, it didn't seem like such a good idea. In fact, the only reason he had it in the first place was because Luffy had insisted on it. Multiple times.
"Luffy!"
Law vaguely heard that black haired woman, Robin, speak to Straw Hat, but the dark haired pirate didn't bother to turn and look. He had more important matters to deal with. Like trying to fight back against the urge he was suddenly feeling once more.
"I've figured out what is wrong. Law doesn't have amnesia at all. His loss of memory is due to a Devil Fruit user's power!"
Luffy replied in away that showed how simple he thought the solution was. "Oh, so we just have to beat that person up and Law will go back to normal?"
"The Devil Fruit powers are stronger the closer the user is to Law. That is why Law has attacked us."
Law tuned Robin's voice out as he focused on the ships. Rather, he was having a difficult time thinking about much of anything. Law tried very hard to ignore the compulsion to fight or flee, but was unable to hold out for very long. And then there was that strange shift in his mind as memories settled there. And then Law knew, suddenly, what he was supposed to do. He was not to fight Luffy or the others. Not yet. He had to leave, and go to the other ship.
Escape.
He had to escape.
Law didn't question this. It would make sense that he was supposed to leave, even if there was that lingering trace of doubt in the back of his mind. Law began to cross the deck, and toward the marine one that had pulled up alongside the one he was currently on. Even if his footsteps happened to be hesitant, he continued to walk.
Marines...
Law thought he knew something about the marines.
But what?
Leave...
That was right...he needed to leave. And quickly. That was more important than trying to remember whatever it was that he'd been trying to think of.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?"
Law attributed the voice to the individual known as Straw Hat Luffy. Apart from that, he dismissed the question. At least, until the speaker grabbed his left arm, and prevented him from leaving.
Danger. Enemy.
An enemy trying to prevent him from leaving. Something bad would happen if he didn't let go and let Law leave already.
"What's wrong with you?"
Law didn't think there was anything wrong. Expect...
Except everything was wrong. Not right.
Law stumbled forward as he managed to free his arm, before he turned to face Luffy...
...to face Straw Hat...
There was another shift in Law's memories, and Law knew that he was supposed to lash out at this one, and not the others, before he escaped. Something was wrong, but Law had no idea what, or why, until he drew his nodachi. He felt that he shouldn't attack Luffy, but why, then, did everything that he could remember point to the fact that he should?
Law's hearing was mixed up with all of the voices speaking around him. He couldn't make them out anyway. The only thing that really mattered anymore was to do what he was supposed to do.
Attack.
Injure.
Escape.
Law called on his Devil Fruit powers, the memory of what to do to use them back, as if the knowledge had never been gone in the first place. Law closed in on Luffy after warping around the deck of the ship. Law reappeared and raised his blade in a way that would run Straw Hat through. There was no dodging him from this angle, no matter what the other chose to do.
Quite unintentionally, Law made eye contact with Luffy as Straw Hat sensed him and turned around. Something seemed to click in Law's mind. No, struggle was a better word. It was as if his old self was resurfacing and rebelling against what he was being made to do. Old self? What old self? He was who he was. There was no one else. And he wasn't being made to do anything. It was something that he had discussed with someone before. At least, that was what made sense with what he remembered. The feeling was gone as quickly as it had come, but instead of stabbing Luffy through the chest as he had planned on, Law merely ended up slicing through the skin along the left side of Luffy's lower abdomen. More than a scratch, but certainly a nasty, bleeding wound all the same that would most likely need stitches.
But not fatal.
That seemed to satisfy Law, even if it wasn't because he had managed to land an attack. Rather, it was because he hadn't wounded Luffy more seriously. He didn't have much time to think about what that could mean, as the resulting cries of the people on the deck from his attack made Law swiftly draw back, taking his blade with him. The weird sensation back, and Law blinked, feeling as if he was in a fog as he looked around.
Luffy had moved away from him, but hadn't completely retreated. Instead, it looked like he was...
Law's hand clenched around the hilt of his nodachi, a word drifting across his mind as he stared at the wound he'd just made.
Wrong.
This was all wrong.
Why did he feel guilt...and anger, when he saw what he'd done?
Law turned away, the feeling gone as the desire to leave overtook him again, engulfing all other thoughts.
"Room."
Law ended up on the marine ship, yet the expression on Luffy's face remained with him. The dark haired pirate felt as if...Straw Hat had appeared to be quite upset. The marine ship had begun to sail away, and he couldn't help but glance back. He couldn't tell from where he stood, but it sounded like there were shouts still coming from the ship that he had just left. Even as the shouting grew to nothing, Law couldn't help but feel that it wasn't him that Luffy had been upset with. More that there had been some helpless rage for the way that Law had been forced to attack him.
Forced?
He hadn't been forced, had he?
A seed of doubt lodged itself into Law's mind as he absently cleaned his blade and sheathed it. He made no outward signs that he saw some marines approaching him, a brown haired one in the lead. He was still stuck on Luffy's reaction to his attack. And Law couldn't help but arrive at a troubling thought. One that he didn't want to consider, because it would mean that something was very wrong. But there was no other explanation for the way that Straw Hat Luffy had reacted to him. Law frowned, troubled as he considered the possibility.
Had he...made a mistake?
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
A/N: The new One Piece chapter messed me up. I needed to type something (even though jeez poor Law being tormented way too much...still going to go with what was planned for this fic anyway). So, I don't know if the ending of this chapter was abrupt, but it was going to happen one way or another. Technically it's why I made this chapter longer. You know, to get it moving along. I do have the whole plot outlined now, so it will just be updated when I'm up to typing.
And as for the made up Devil Fruit the vice admiral has...I figure that the powers won't necessarily effect the user themselves, at least not very easily, since I decided that he has to physically touch the person he uses the powers on (for the more debilitating aspects of the power). I suppose someone could trick him into putting a hand to his arm, but he isn't likely to activate the powers if he notices. Eh. Still kinda playing around with it. And he can only use his powers effectively on one person at a time (he could do more than one but it isn't as reliable).
Pfft, and Law is totally going to be ashamed/embarrassed by the end of this, and in a whole lot of denial.