Overdo

Characters: Shachi, Law, Penguin, Bepo, Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: None

Shachi frowned as someone plucked at his sleeve before turning to face the culprit. The sight of their newest recruit greeted him and he sighed. The guy looked scared, and Shachi had never been good at dealing with scared people. Besides, he was covered in blood from some inconsiderate Marine that just had to topple onto him when he died, and really really wanted a bath.

Still, the guy was new, and also nakama, so he had to at least try.

"What's wrong?" he asked, not liking the way the other pirate fidgeted.

"Uh… Shachi-san…" the newbie asked, doing nothing to help Shachi's mood in the slightest. "Is it… normal… for Captain Law to, well…"

"Spit it out," Shachi growled, wishing he hadn't been the one chosen right that moment to deal with the 'Captain's powers are creepy and terrifying' reaction. After a bath would have been far, far better timing.

"CaptainLawlookslikehe'sabouttopassout," the other pirate garbled, gesturing back towards the shore, where Law was theoretically finishing off the last Marines while the rest of the crew loaded the loot onto the Tang and started preparations to leave.

"He gets tired sometimes, yes," he admitted in a low voice, glancing over at his captain out of habit before freezing. Tired was not the word to apply to Law at that moment, and Shachi did not like the way he was swaying. "Okay no, you're right. That's not normal. Get Bepo."

He didn't hang around to see if he was obeyed as he barged back off of the ship, elbowing his nakama out of the way to disgruntled shouts that slowly gave way to cries of alarm as they turned around to berate Shachi and ended up catching sight of their captain's state instead.

The final Marine fell, and with him the flickering blue sheen of Law's Room. The captain himself followed suit moments later, Shachi arriving too late to catch him and having to make do skidding on his knees the last couple of feet to Law's limp form.

"Law?" he asked, reaching out to touch his shoulder. There was no response, Law's chest rising and falling too rapidly. Shachi cursed himself for not noticing earlier, for blindly following orders to get ready to go while Law finished up. That wouldn't be happening again.

"Captain?" He glanced up to see the members of the crew he'd muscled past gathering around worriedly. "Shachi, what happened?" one of them asked, chewing his lip. Shachi sighed and pulled the unconscious Law into his arms before staggering to his feet.

"He overdid it," he told them quietly, conscious of their exposed position. "Finish up as fast as you can. We're leaving." They hesitated for a moment, but Shachi shot them a sharp look and they leapt to obey as he carried his precious load back to the safety of the ship. On the shore, he'd kept up appearances, as if Law fainting after a battle was a normal occurrence. Panicking the crew would do no good at all, so he'd crushed his own panic behind layers of responsibilities.

But the truth was, he'd never seen Law faint after a battle. Using his abilities to experiment had occasionally left him sleeping for longer than normal, and he usually needed to rest after difficult operations, but this was new and worrying.

"That's the last time he's finishing up a fight without us," Penguin commented, appearing by Shachi's side as he headed for the infirmary. Law's room would probably have been the better choice, but Shachi's instincts told him something wasn't right, beyond the obvious, and he wasn't in the habit of ignoring gut feelings.

"Definitely," Shachi agreed as Bepo came barrelling towards them.

"I heard Captain collapsed!" the Mink gasped, narrowly avoiding careening into Shachi and his burden and instead crashing into Penguin, who let out a loud oof as he was crushed against the side of the corridor.

"We're getting off this island," Shachi told their navigator, who was too busy apologising to a still-trapped Penguin to respond. "Bepo."

"Hmm?" Bepo peeled himself off of the cursing Penguin to give Shachi his full attention.

"Get the crew all on board, then set a course."

"But the Log Pose hasn't set!" Bepo protested. "We can't leave yet!"

"Since when did you rely on that thing to navigate?" Penguin grumbled, shoving the bulk of fur to regain his personal space. "I thought you furred Minks didn't need such 'crutches'," he quoted one of Bepo's earlier rants about navigation in the Grand Line.

"But… Captain doesn't like it if I don't use it," Bepo reminded them, glancing at the prone form of Law still in Shachi's arms. The ginger shifted him slightly as his arms began to protest.

"Not the time, Bepo," he snapped, eliciting a 'sorry!' from the Mink. "We can't stay here. Get us on our way."

"You're not the captain," Bepo sulked, but slunk away nonetheless. Shachi knew he'd do it, even though he was right – Law hated it if they set sail before the Log Pose set. It wasn't because he didn't trust Bepo's uncanny sense for direction, even in the notorious Grand Line, but because if something happened to him, they needed the backup for the human members of the crew to use.

They just couldn't risk that a survivor had seen Law's collapse and reported it. They were safer in the sea – under the sea – than waiting like sitting ducks for the Log Pose to set while Marine reinforcements (and other pirate crews) headed for them.

Finishing the journey to the infirmary, he set Law down on one of the beds gently, not liking the flush of his cheeks. Simple exhaustion didn't put so much colour into his cheeks, and Shachi feared that Law had worked himself into an illness.

Penguin helped him settle Law, determining that he was developing a slight fever and running for a damp cloth to try and keep his temperature under control before it got too severe. Law's weak immune system was a complication they always hated to deal with.

"I'll help Bepo," Penguin said once he'd done everything he could for Law. Shachi nodded, and the older man left the room. Less than a minute later, as Shachi was preparing fresh cloths for when the one currently in use got too warm, the crew member that had brought the entire situation to his attention stumbled in, looking around nervously before making his way to Law's side.

"Good spot," Shachi told him, far more favourably disposed towards him than he had been earlier. It was amazing the sort of things that could change someone's opinion. Disturbing a blood-soaked grouchy guy to ask an obvious question? Unwelcome and annoying. Pointing out that the captain had bitten off more than he could chew? Gratitude and respect became more prevalent.

"Is… he going to be okay?" the other pirate asked. Shachi pushed a grin onto his face with more effort than he'd wanted.

"He'll be fine. He just overdid it with his abilities and now he's made himself ill, but he'll be on his feet again before long." Shachi once again buried his own concern beneath the confident words, not wanting to spook the rest of the crew, who had begun to filter in with varying degrees of concern on their faces.

The sirens wailed suddenly, indicating that they were about to enter a dive. Shachi did a quick headcount – excluding him and Law, there were ten of them in the room. His haki found another three putting away their spoils, and one more tending the engines. If he added in Penguin and Bepo, busy in the control room plotting the course and steering, that was everyone accounted for.

Satisfied, he returned his attention to Law, in time to see Clione changing the damp cloth while some of the newer members fussed with the covers, needing something to occupy their hands. Shachi didn't have the heart to banish them to help put away their spoils, and busied himself with sorting through the medicine cabinets to find something Law could take once he was conscious enough to swallow without choking.

That desperately-desired bath was little more than a distant memory, despite the sticky red still covering his uniform and the ends of his hair. That could wait until Law opened his eyes.

Someone wanted Law pushing himself too far and getting a fever (and the crew panicking), and I'm not going to pass up a chance to write something like that!

As far as Bepo not needing a Log Pose is concerned, so far we haven't seen any evidence that Minks use them (despite being named the crew's navigator, Bepo's never been seen with one in his possession), and even if they did it wouldn't get them back home again, as Zou doesn't register on one. It's been stated that only Minks or those with a Mink's vivre card can find Zou, so unless Oda contradicts me, I'm going with the theory that they don't need them. Of course, the rest of the crew do, so they still have one in case Bepo's ever in a position where he can't navigate.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari