Alliance

Characters: Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: None.

They hadn't heard from Law once. The Heart Pirates had set a constant watch on their den den mushi, ready to pick it up at the first puru puru but it never came. While disappointing, it wasn't surprising – they'd known that he'd be hard pressed to safely contact them – and as long as Law's vivre card didn't light up, they could deal with the silence.

The mess with Jack scuppered their rotation somewhat, too exhausted to keep up watch during the day and busy fighting during the night. Subsequent poisoning and capture did nothing to help, and it wasn't until the advance party of the Straw Hats arrived that they got any news of their captain.

They hadn't expected to see another pirate crew at all (although as they patched themselves up again and rallied around the worst-affected they could hardly complain). Zou was notoriously difficult to find, so it was disconcerting how half the Straw Hats were present. The ginger haired navigator brandishing none other than Bepo's vivre card when eventually questioned did nothing to calm them. Only one person outside of the crew had that, and none of the Heart Pirates could imagine Law willingly giving it to a rival crew.

Kuroashi tossed them a copy of a newspaper, dated the day before the Straw Hats had arrived at Zou. Scrambling around it, they were shocked to see Doflamingo's resignation, but that had paled compared to the news below it.

"An alliance?" Shachi demanded, looking at the other pirate crew with eyes wide. His reaction was shared by the rest of the crew, unable to imagine their self-reliant, paranoid captain ever considering forming an alliance with another crew, let alone giving them a vivre card. The four Straw Hats nodded, their own faces carefully neutral.

"It was your captain's idea," the navigator – Nami – told them. Something in her tone of voice betrayed her own misgivings. "Our target is Kaido."

Having just experienced one of the Calamities first hand, that was unwelcome news. While Jack's underlings hadn't been the worst challenge, the poison gas itself had been and they were unwilling to face it again. Law didn't know about that, so they couldn't blame him for the decision… but a Yonkou? With just two small crews?

"I don't like this," Ikkaku declared.

"What does Kaido have to do with anything?" Clione added, frowning. To their knowledge, Law's only target was Doflamingo. While it was true that Doflamingo worked for Kaido, challenging the Yonkou in any capacity was foolish in the extreme.

"The whole alliance makes no sense," Uni added, crossing his arms and glowering at the floor. "With this, Captain loses his Shichibukai status! There's no way the marines won't strip him of it if he's allying with active pirates."

"Enough," Jean Bart rumbled, cutting off further protests. "The captain's decision is absolute. If we're in an alliance, so be it."

"And if the Straw Hats are here, that means Captain should be coming soon, too!" Bepo piped up, looking at the other crew hopefully. "Right?"

"That's the plan," Kuroashi assured them. "Take down the factory, then come here." He was clearly not telling them everything, but the knowledge that their captain was on the move was enough for most of them.

Returning to the forest, their home under Nekomamushi still, despite the battle, they immediately resumed their watch over their den den mushi. They didn't have one to contact – Law's baby den den mushi would be far out of range – but if Law was on the move, perhaps he'd call them at last.

He didn't, no matter how much they waited, wanting to hear from their captain's own mouth that they were in an alliance, and why. An alliance cost them so much, they wanted to know what they were gaining. What was worth such a loss?

They got their answer only when their captain finally arrived on Zou, never calling in advance but they were beyond caring when he appeared before them in the flesh, following his own fragment of Bepo's vivre card. Doflamingo was defeated, like the newspaper had reported but they'd hardly dared to believe. While injured, their captain had a spring to his step that hadn't been there before, as if a weight had finally been lifted.

Then, finally, they understood. They'd lost the Shichibukai status, with all the perks of the job. They'd lost their privacy, the ginger navigator guarding her fragment of the vivre card viciously. They'd gained a new, dangerous enemy. But their captain had gained a long-overdue peace of mind, closure.

For that, the consequences of the alliance were worth it.

We know that Ikkaku, Clione and Uni were all unimpressed with the idea of an alliance, so I thought I'd explore why, especially as they seem perfectly okay with the idea by the time Law and Luffy arrive themselves.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari