Prank

Characters: Law, Ikkaku, Penguin, Shachi. Rating: K. Warnings: none

Law was quite suddenly wrenched from sleep by a god-awful wailing sound originating from the tannoy from the control room. Shaking his head against the ringing in his ears before surrendering and plugging his fingers in his ears angrily, he glared at the innocent speaker for several long moments. He was certain he'd turned it off before he went to bed, to prevent that exact sort of unwelcome awakening, but as it continued to wail at him until he stood up and reluctantly moved a hand away from his ear to turn it back off, he couldn't deny that for some reason the communication channel had been open.

How, exactly, had that happened, and more importantly why did it sound like someone was strangling a cat in the control room? A glance at the clock told him that it was the dead of night, when everyone except the night watch (Ikkaku, tonight), was supposed to be well and truly asleep. Reluctantly, he dragged himself out of bed and made the trek to the room in question, pushing the door open with a disgruntled yawn to see Ikkaku quietly humming to herself as she played a game of patience with herself.

"Everything okay, Captain?" she asked when she noticed his presence, looking up at him in surprise. Law frowned, looking around the room. Nothing was out of place.

"What was that noise?" he asked her, only to get a quizzical look in return.

"A noise?" she asked. "Everything's been silent, Captain." Law looked at her in disbelief. True, he'd have expected more of the crew to react to such a loud sound – the tannoy to his room should have been off, but by the same token that meant that Penguin and Shachi's should have been open. Maybe it had been the tail end of a nightmare he couldn't now recall?

He sighed and slumped into a seat.

"I'll take the rest of the watch," he told her. "Fetch me a coffee, then get some sleep." Ikkaku stiffened, and Law's suspicions reared their head again. "Is something the matter?"

"Are you sure, Captain?" she asked. "It's still five hours until morning." He waved her off with a hand.

"I'm awake now," he said. "Coffee. Then bed." She nodded and left.

Immediately, Law threw up a Room, performing a Scan. Ikkaku's reactions had been almost natural. Almost. There was something going on and he was determined to find-

There.

He flicked his fingers and the thing – an old decrepit violin from the looks of it, and Law had no idea where that had come from because no-one in his crew could play one – shifted from its hiding place to his hands. He regarded it with a scowl. So that was the source of the wailing, but why would Ikkaku do that? It was the sort of prank he'd associate with Penguin or Shachi.

Penguin and Shachi were the ones who were supposed to have the open tannoy, yet they were clearly undisturbed by the noise, which made them immediately implicit in the prank - what else could this be except some prank pulled for who-knew-what reason?

Well, Law thought with equal measures irritation and dark amusement. Two could play at that game. He expanded his Room until the pair's bedroom was inside it, and switched them with a pair of stray blankets on the floor. They landed with a jolt, waking instantly and looking up at Law with sleep-glazed eyes. Blinking the sleep from their eyes, Shachi wincing slightly at the gentle lighting as he did so – looks of twin comprehension spread across their faces and they grinned, completely unrepentant.

Law glared at them, then sighed.

"Well," he said. "As you two think it's so funny to get up this early, you get to keep me company on the night watch." They just shrugged amicably, and Law let a smirk slip out. "Amputate."

A handful of swipes from a dagger and his two nakama were scattered in pieces.

"Enjoy," he said with a yawn – where was Ikkaku with his coffee – and with a flick of his fingers distributed the parts across the ship. Their heads, now perched on the control desk, looked miffed.

"How are we supposed to get back together?" Penguin grumbled. Law simply grinned at them.

"Should have thought of that before you decided to wake me in the middle of the night," he pointed out to a chorus of muted groans.

Ikkaku chose that moment to reappear with his requested coffee. To her credit, she didn't so much as blink at the sight of the disembodied heads on the desk.

"Bed," Law ordered as he took the hot mug and sipped at the drink. She nodded and headed for the door, letting out a yawn. "And Ikkaku?" She paused, looking over her shoulder. "Make sure no-one helps these two, or they'll be joining them."

Penguin and Shachi complained again, loudly, but Ikkaku nodded in understanding before leaving with a wave.

Apparently, being just a head was incredibly boring, according to Penguin and Shachi's endless chatter throughout the rest of the night. They'd attempted to sleep, but it transpired that sleeping when you were a human jigsaw puzzle was neither easy nor comfortable, or so the pair claimed. Law neither knew nor had any intentions of experiencing the phenomenon for himself.

When the morning finally came, Shachi's shades summoned and placed because no matter what, Law wouldn't risk his eyes worsening, he consented to summon and reattach their torsos and a single leg so they could at least begin the task of finding and reattaching the rest of their bodies.

Law watched them with a smile, their nakama banding together to help despite his words, but he let it slide in favour of curling up in a chair – Bepo's favourite chair because it was the only one his entire bulk could fit into – and closing his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

I had another chapter written, then I remembered it's April Fools and I had a plotline for something more prankish, so you got this instead!

Thanks for reading!
Tsari