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Characters: Law, Shachi. Rating: K. Warnings: None

Law's opinion on the stubbornness of certain members of his crew fluctuated depending on the situation, ranging from amusement to frustration.

Today placed him on the more frustrated end of the spectrum, as he watched Shachi stumble around, not quite unsteady on his feet, but lacking his usual grace. Penguin got to him first, and Law was too far away to hear the conversation but surmised from Shachi's hastened pace and Penguin's sour expression that the ginger's stubbornness was out in full force.

Unable to stay back, especially as Penguin had failed to find a solution himself, Law passed him on his way to collect his serving and asked his own questions. Agitation of his eyes fit the reactions – Penguin's disapproval and minor disagreement, the headache Shachi was doing a poor job of masking – and Law forcibly stopped himself from reminding him of the possible treatment. Penguin had probably said that already.

Shachi consented to at least rest after dinner, which was the best outcome Law could have hoped for, and he watched the ginger later slip out of the door quietly.

"Doesn't he realise he's only hurting himself?" Penguin complained in an undertone to Law as they made their way to the sinks simultaneously to clear their crockery (and Shachi's, because the ginger had kindly left that with Penguin). "I don't understand why he doesn't accept treatment."

The older man sounded lost, and Law knew that if Penguin couldn't comprehend what was going through Shachi's mind, then he didn't have a hope.

"We can't force him," Law simply sighed in response, sticking his plate on the draining rack. That wasn't strictly true; they could force him, but to Law that was unthinkable. If they didn't respect his wishes, even if they directly contradicted theirs, they didn't deserve to be called his nakama. With that in mind, Law decided to leave him alone for the moment. He'd check up on him later – 'somewhere dark' was only likely to mean the ginger's bedroom.

The plan was rudely shoved aside around ten minutes later, when his crew had dispersed to their various stations after dinner only for Uni to come sprinting through the corridors – to Law's disapproval – to report that Shachi was collapsed in the fuel storage area.

Running was discouraged on the Polar Tang, her corridors not quite wide enough to be safe at speed, but Law hurried as fast as he could to where the ginger was lying. Clione was knelt beside him, talking but receiving no response, and Law joined him.

Shachi was in an odd position, and after determining that no-one had moved him, Law got the impression that he'd fallen from the top of the fuel tank he was lying besides. What could have possessed him to climb that in his current state eluded him.

"Shachi?" he called quietly, despite Clione's attempts to rouse the ginger already. There was nothing, and Law reached out for him, first locating his pulse and temperature. Neither were too far from normal, a slightly sluggish hint to his breathing and a temperature a little too cool the only discrepancies. There was still no answer, so Law gently pulled him into his arms to carry him to the infirmary.

This was no simple eye ache. Law wouldn't know what it was until he did a Scan, but either Shachi had been lying earlier, or he'd mistaken the symptoms for the cause.

In the infirmary, a bottle of sleeping pills was left out on the side haphazardly, and Law frowned because that didn't fit. It should have been the painkillers, if anything, and the thought crossed his mind that Shachi had overdosed

There was the sound of booted feet running, and Penguin burst through the door. Law assumed Uni had told him.

"Shachi!" he exploded as Law was wrapping bandages around the ginger's eyes to help soothe them when he woke. "What happened?" He didn't get an answer, and Law tuned out his reactions as he finally activated the Scan, finding the traces of sleeping pills amongst other things. The invasive substance was quickly spotted and a sample taken for research.

Law may have hurried it a bit, immediately fearing poison and needing to know what it did and, perhaps more importantly, how it had ended up in Shachi's system.

Finding that it was a perfectly naturally occurring poison secreted by the plants on the previous island was a huge relief; Shachi had been careless, but there was no malicious intent behind it. Maybe the recovery period would teach him to be a bit more cautious.

Law could hope.

With symptoms of sensitivity to light, headaches and nausea, it was no surprise that Shachi had mistaken it for something snowblindness related. The hallucinogenic properties explained the sleeping medicine (Shachi had clearly been after painkillers) and the odd location they'd found him in, slotting the last pieces of the puzzle together until Law finally had the explanations he needed.

Now all that was left was for Shachi to recover, a process made worse by the fact that Law could remove the poison, but not the effects.

Law's reaction to Discomfort (chapter 88).

Thanks for reading!
Tsari