Mistake

Characters: Law, Bepo, Heart Pirates. Rating: K+. Warnings: none

The Grand Line was unforgiving and unpredictable. Law had known it in theory, absorbing all the stories he could find while still in the safety of North Blue in order to prepare. In practice he had been careful, but of course, it only took a single mistake and suddenly the Pirates' Graveyard had the Heart Pirates totally at its mercy.

Law's mistake? Trusting Bepo.

That wasn't to say their current situation was Bepo's fault. No, the mistake had been Law's and Law's alone. There was no way for Bepo to have known that he would fall ill, the mink's fortitude making such an event a rarity, and much less that he would fall ill less than five minutes before one of the Grand Line's infamous cyclones formed directly above them.

Bepo always sensed such things forming long enough for them to seal the Tang and dive, escaping all but the worst storms from the safety far below the surface, but ill as he had been taken just before the unnoticeable warning signs he always detected would have revealed themselves, he hadn't warned them. Now, the Polar Tang was being thrown around like a toy by the vicious waves, Penguin and Shachi halfway up the mast hurriedly furling and taking down their sail to reduce the target area for the wind to hit. Many of the crew were clinging to the railings, caught out on the exposed deck and unable to retreat to the safety of inside for fear of being swept overboard by a crashing wave the moment they released their grips.

Law was among that number, shuddering unpleasantly as the water doused him over and over again. The closest of his crew had pressed themselves against him, helping to pin him to the relative safety of the railings as his grip periodically failed. He had his Room active, spluttering and failing over and over again as the water briefly got too much but as present as he could force it to be. If anyone fell into the sea, that would be their death, and seeing Penguin and Shachi halfway up the mast with nothing but each other holding themselves on as they battled the wind and waves to tuck the sail away did nothing for his nerves. With the water dousing him as frequently as it was, it was unlikely that Law's Room would stay up long enough for him to catch them if they fell, but it was a comfort for him regardless.

Somehow, they didn't lose their grips – Law had no idea how but was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth – and after several long tedious minutes that felt like an eternity they slid back down, along with the now-furled sail, to deck level, where they continued to clutch at the mast, wisely not tempting fate further.

When the cycle finally spat them out, bored of playing with them and disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, Law's first instinct was a headcount. No-one was missing, a miracle in itself, and he slumped down onto the sopping wet deck weakly, coughing up the water that had forced itself into his mouth during the storm. His nakama were in similar conditions, expelling the water from their own bodies as they crowded around him.

The storm was gone, and they'd survived, but there was another problem gnawing away at Law. The true mistake he'd made, which he now had to face but groggy with sea water really didn't want to.

"What now, Captain?" Penguin asked, crossing his arms and firmly refusing to allow Law to put it off any longer.

They'd set sail without waiting for their Log Pose to set on the last island. Bepo had never led them wrong, so Law's trust in his navigation skills was absolute, and the year wait time had been far too long to remain a sitting duck. Doflamingo might be in the New World, but the same could not be said for all his informants, and if he discovered Law was stuck on an island for that long, it would be a tempting target indeed. Of course, the Grand Line punished such complacency, and the combination of the cyclone and their navigator's sudden illness had left them completely disorientated with no way to find their way back on track.

Law didn't know what to do. No-one else in the crew had even a hint of the uncanny ability Bepo displayed, and their Log Pose was spinning in lazy, aimless circles, as if to taunt them.

'I don't know' was not an acceptable answer for him to give the hopeful faces watching him, waiting for some miraculous wisdom to save them from whatever fate befell a lost ship on the Grand Line, no matter how true it was, and he heaved a large sigh.

"Check the Tang for damage," he ordered, before turning his attention to the cook. "How many days' of provisions do we have?"

"Two weeks," the man said. "I can stretch it to four if we can catch anything, or we go to half rations."

Law despised the idea of half rations. The human body required a certain amount of nourishment each day to perform at optimum levels. Cutting rations would weaken the crew, leaving them at a disadvantage if a combat situation arose. But as they had no idea how long it would be before they could restock… a decision had to be made, and as captain, it had to come from his own mouth.

"Full rations for today," he said, glancing around at their tired faces. "We need it after the cyclone." They broke into relieved grins, and he pulled himself to his feet, unsurprised when Penguin and Shachi grabbed his elbows to support him. "I need to return to Bepo."

Their survival hinged on Bepo's recovery and navigation skills, so Law trudged towards the infirmary, well aware he was trailing water behind him. Putting such pressure on Bepo's shoulders was not something Law was keen on, nor was it something he ever wanted to do again. As captain, he was the only one that should be responsible for the lives of the entire crew.

The next time they found themselves on an island with a ridiculous setting time, they'd have to steal other log poses until they found one that had almost reset, or an Eternal Pose if luck was on their side.

Why you should always have a back up, and why you should never get complacent on the Grand Line...

Thanks for reading!
Tsari