Safe

Characters: Law, Shachi. Rating: T. Warnings: character injury

It was difficult not to stagger under Penguin's weight as the older teen sagged more and more against him on their journey back to the Tang, but Law had no choice but to persevere. Shachi, while somehow still conscious, was in no state to attempt to even support his own weight, let alone anyone else's, and Bepo's arms were full with his precious burden of the aforementioned ginger. Penguin's stupid suicidal mission (not that Law blamed him, when Shachi was so clearly in trouble, but there were better ways to go about rescuing him than walking into an obvious trap and getting himself half-killed in the process) had left him unable to walk without help, leaving Law to act as his crutch even as he glanced back at Shachi every other second.

The emergency surgery he'd done would theoretically let him survive their walk back to the Tang, especially with Bepo carrying him so carefully, but Law couldn't help but panic that it wasn't enough, that his makeshift sealing of the injured lung would split apart, or another rib fragment would puncture through as Bepo walked. Maybe the lung was still full of blood, Shachi too weak to cough it up – he hadn't heard any coughing at all – and he added draining his lung of blood to the top of the mental to-do list for their return to the Tang.

They made it without further incident, despite gaining far more attention at the docks than Law cared for, and Penguin was finally allowed to slump onto one of the beds in the infirmary, loosely arranging himself in what was clearly supposed to be a sitting position but ended up as more of a drained slouch against the headboard with pillows scruffily stuffed behind him for support. Once Law was satisfied that he was safely on the bed, he joined Bepo and helped the mink offload his own cargo gently onto a bed. Just as when they'd manoeuvred him into Bepo's arms initially, Shachi remained largely silent with only a couple of pained hisses through gritted teeth to betray his pain. Law was impressed at his tolerance, knowing how much broken ribs hurt, let alone the rest of the injuries Shachi had sustained.

"Get us away from this island," he ordered Bepo, wishing he could keep him around as an assistant – at least to deal with Penguin's worse wounds – but they were nowhere near safe. He had heard one of the gang members mention Vergo, and if they had contact with him it would only be so long before Doflamingo's spy came sniffing around. Law wanted, needed, to be far far away before that eventually occurred. Shachi's capture had brought them too much attention from the general populace (he had killed everyone in the gang, but he couldn't massacre the entire island), and Law knew that Doflamingo would learn of it, somehow. Bepo's anonymity was gone – no-one would forget a polar bear walking on hind legs and wearing an orange boiler suit any time soon – and Law could only hope that with Penguin intentionally hatless, for better disguise purposes, and Shachi so injured and cradled in Bepo's arms, accurate descriptions of the pair of them in their usual appearances wouldn't make it back to his former captain.

He handed Penguin a compress to hold to his shoulder as best he could in order to help stem the bleeding before his attention had to turn to Shachi, who was lying very still on the other bed. His eyes were still closed, and Law wished he'd thought to grab a spare pair of shades so the ginger could open his eyes if he wanted to. Turning the lights down low in the infirmary wasn't possible right then if he wanted to accurately treat his two nakama. He wondered if there was a way to hone his abilities enough to no longer need light to operate, something derived from Observation Haki, perhaps, if he ever awoke it.

As he'd already agreed with himself, removing Shachi's injured lung to drain it of whatever blood was building inside was his first priority, before he moved on to locating the other injuries. Tentative exploration with his fingers located a broken forearm, fractured fingers and a sprained ankle alongside the shattered ribs, a bruised abdomen (and the boot-like shape of the bruises gave Law no doubts what had happened there) and numerous gashes of varying depth.

Lacking the patience to do it the standard way, and conscious of his second patient behind him, Law murmured a quick warning to Shachi before calling his Room and separating him out into sections so he could see exactly what he was doing with each bone as he used Tact to set them again. To his immense concern, Shachi's body went limp as he did so, and he paused just long enough to call his name before continuing to work.

"Mmhmm," the ginger hummed lightly, increasing Law's concern. He hadn't observed any signs of head trauma, but it was possible he had missed something. Mild concussion was more difficult to diagnose with Shachi, with his pupils permanently blown and sensitive to light, but Law could see no other reason for his sudden relaxation when he should, by all rights, be in extensive pain.

"Shachi?" he asked, even as he was arm-deep in his nakama's chest realigning the rib fragments and persuading them to remain where he put them.

"I'm okay," the ginger sighed, sounding perfectly coherent. "Whatever you're doing don't stop." Law froze, dumbfounded.

"I've got you in pieces on the bed as I physically force your body back together," he said bluntly, wondering why Shachi wasn't complaining about the creepiness and unable to curb his tongue of the retort.

"Huh," Shachi said, sounding surprised. "Interesting." Law's concussion theory was looking more and more likely, but he continued working. Blood loss was mainly a concern for Shachi (yet another one in the pile), but if he didn't get to Penguin soon the other teen would be reaching the threshold himself.

"What is?" he asked as he finished with the final rib and sealed Shachi's chest back together before turning his attention to the broken arm, wanting Shachi's focus on their conversation. Shachi hummed thoughtfully, and Law frowned. "Shachi."

"Feels… nice," the ginger eventually replied. "I like it."

Probably the concussion talking, Law figured as he finally pieced Shachi's body back together. It didn't escape his notice that the ginger's body tensed again as his Room dropped, and consented to putting him on a mild painkiller to dull the worst of it.

"After I treat Penguin I'll turn the light down," he promised before turning to face the now almost unconscious older teen. Curiously, like Shachi he relaxed as the Room washed over him, and Law began to wonder if it was a side effect of his fruit, despite never observing it before. If that was the case it certainly had useful applications.

"Law?" Shachi said questioningly, still conscious despite his body's best attempts. Law made a noise of interest. "Thanks. For saving me."

"Penguin did most of it," Law deflected, because it was true. Penguin had been the one to find him, the one to fight with everything he had to save him. Compared to that, Law had done very little.

"Penguin nearly got himself killed," Shachi pointed out, and Law wondered how, exactly, he knew that when he hadn't opened his eyes once. "You saved us both." Arguing with Shachi was usually futile, so Law saved his breath, securely wrapping one of Penguin's arms and letting the comment go with a small smile on his face.

Somehow, at some point, these two idiots (and the far less idiotic mink currently guiding the Tang out of the harbour) had carved a place for themselves into his heart, making themselves so much at home he knew they were there to stay. And somehow, Law was okay with that.

One of the captured Heart Pirate requests also specified Law's reaction, so have a part 2 to yesterday's Taken from his PoV. At this point, he hasn't developed his Scan ability, hence doing the initial diagnoses by touch. Scan seems to be quite interesting, and I'm hoping we see it again because there's so much it could theoretically do, and simply locating a load of den den mushis seems like it's only just brushing the surface.

Thanks for reading!
Tsari