The most fantastic job on Betareading was done by The Patient One.
Chapter 23. The Stranger on the Dawn Island (Part I)
-around 2 years ago, the Dawn Island-
Luffy sat in his favorite spot on the cliff overlooking the sea. The sun had already risen and now bathed the world in its ethereal golden and red light.
A soft sigh left the boy's mouth. He missed Ace.
It had been six months since his brother left to become a pirate and chase after his dreams. Luffy longed to see Ace, the loneliness dragging him deeper into that dark place where he never wanted to be again.
He missed Sabo, too. Oh, how he missed his cheerful, kind-hearted blond brother.
Sad black eyes wandered around, following a random wave at the surface of the sea, then flicking to the lonely seagull that flew towards the shore, passing above a strangely shaped washed-up log on the beach.
Luffy squinted at it, but apart from its odd form, nothing seemed amiss. At this distance and in the dim light of the dawn, he couldn't really determine what exactly piqued his interest. His curiosity getting the better of him, the boy quickly stood up and slid down the slope onto the beach.
When he was a few steps away, Luffy immediately stopped when he realized that the 'log' was a person. The rubber boy scrunched his face up in disgust; Ace, Sabo, and he once discovered a drowned person washed ashore, and it wasn't a pretty picture. None of them could even look at the food for a whole day without wanting to throw up, and with his and Ace's appetites, that was telling a lot.
The boy sniffed the air. No smell yet, so it meant that the body got carried here tonight and wasn't exposed to the sun thus far. He really needed to bury it before the sun reached its peak and birds found it.
With his mind set on this task, the young teen approached the body. It was a man, as far as he could tell, with dark short messy hair and wearing a hoodie with the hood raised, one of his arms twisted under.
Luffy reached to roll him over, but the moment he grabbed the hoodie, he heard it – a quiet, almost inaudible groan. With eyes wide in alarm, he jumped away from the stranger, ready to defend himself if needed.
For the next few moments, the boy held his breath in and strained his ears to listen. However, there were no more sounds or any kind of movement from the man. Furrowing his brow, he nudged the not-so-dead guy with his feet instead. Nothing. He squatted down and carefully rolled him on his back, eliciting another silent groan.
The left hand that was previously hidden under the man's body, now rested on his chest, and Luffy froze at the sight of one side of metal cuffs locked on it. He touched it with great caution, and withdrew his hand as if it was burned the instant that it touched. Sea prism stone. He would never forget the feeling of that accursed thing touching his skin, draining his strength, leaving him weak and hopeless and at the mercy of—
A shake of his head banished those awful memories back into the darkness from where they had crawled out, allowing him to focus again on the stranger.
The left side of his hoodie, including its sleeve, was shredded and burned, stained with dark blotches that Luffy knew immediately were blood.
Luffy's frown deepened. He couldn't just leave this guy here. If he was a Devil Fruit user, he would definitely die from that kind of nasty injury with the sea stone cuffs on and drenched in seawater on top of it. And if he was on a run from someone—which he most certainly was—he needed a safe place to recover and figure out how to take the manacles off.
Decision made, the straw-hatted teen maneuvered himself so that he could heave the stranger on his shoulders and carry him to the treehouse.
Travel through the forest with such a heavy burden was pretty slow, but Luffy persevered. Once he reached the treehouse, he decided against hauling the injured man up. It would have unnecessarily aggravated his wounds, and a bonfire would help to keep him warm during the night; Luffy could already feel the stranger's skin being clammy from fever.
It was as safe on the ground as it was up in the actual treehouse; the beasts of Mt. Colubo knew better than to approach this place too close. He and Ace secured the area years ago by setting traps around the whole perimeter. And if that somehow failed, Luffy was a light sleeper and there was no creature on the island that could stand against him. Overall, he wasn't worried about that.
His injuries, on the other hand… Luffy wasn't very good at giving first aid, it usually was Ace or bandits who took care of whatever damage they'd managed to inflict upon themselves. He had only managed to pick up a few basics from observing: bandaging the wounds to stop the bleeding and putting a healing salve on the burned skin.
Luffy had realized that the stranger's injuries were serious once he removed the damaged clothes, and he debated with himself whether or not it would be better to ask Dadan and the gang for help. Ultimately, however, he decided to rely on his basic knowledge unless the situation worsened; the less people that knew about this guy at this moment, the lower the chances that his enemies would find him.
Luffy cleaned and bandaged the wounds to the best of his abilities, then nestled the man into the blankets that he brought from the treehouse. The moment he finished that task, a tattooed hand suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Luffy froze. A panic instantly bubbled inside of him, provoked by the unfamiliar person's touch, but he pushed down the urge to swat it away. There was no malicious intent etched in the man's presence; the boy could feel only fear and confusion. Hazy, unfocused, and barely open amber eyes were staring at him.
The hand slid from his wrist a moment later. Luffy caught it and put it down gently. There had been no force in that grip in the first place, the action itself probably cost all the strength the guy had left.
"You're safe," Luffy said softly but firmly, peering directly into those bleary eyes. "No one is going to hurt you."
That was what Luffy had always wanted to hear while stuck in that place, while being hurt and exhausted, vulnerable and despaired, so he poured all of his heart into those words. He wanted—no, needed—to be believed in, for he wished to give others what Ace finally made real for him—the sense of safety.
After a moment, the man's eyes fluttered closed and he was lost to the blissful unconsciousness once again.
Several hours later found Luffy tucking the blankets back around the stranger after they were tossed away and frowning worriedly at his pale and sweaty face drawn with pain. Fever nightmares were the worst kind and it seemed that they refused to give this guy a break.
The straw-hatted teen sighed, moving towards the bonfire to kindle it. It was middle of the night already. Earlier that day, Luffy had made a quick trip to the bandits and brought more bandages and some medicine. They hadn't let him abscond with the supplies without revealing why he needed it; fortunately, however, they also instructed him on what to do to reduce the fever and promised to visit Goa to purchase more medication.
With the fire back in perfect shape, Luffy prepared a wet cloth to help with the fever. When he brought it over, he was surprised to see those amber orbs staring at him again. However, the man seemed even more out of it than the first time he'd regained consciousness. "You're still safe," the boy assured with a warm smile.
The stranger was still looking at him, then a few tears rolled down from his eyes and a faint whisper left his lips, "…Cora-san?"
There was no point in denying or telling this guy that he wasn't the person he was calling for, so Luffy simply brushed his tears away and said softly, "Go back to sleep."
Law woke up to the world of pain, splitting headache, constant strength draining effect of sea stone, and fever induced dizziness. Not to mention the lingering terror at the back of his mind from the nightmares.
But he was alive. Somehow.
How the hell he was alive?
Law tried to open his eyes and winced as the light hit them. With a groan, he brought his right hand to shield them and lay there for a while, assessing his body's condition.
That explosion really did a number on him. He could barely move his left arm without wincing in pain, not to mention the damned sea stone cuffs that were still on it. And he lost the key when Gladius exploded the wall where Law had hid to hurriedly unlock the cuffs and then escape.
This was great. Just… plain fantastic. With Kikoku missing as well, he had absolutely no means to protect himself now.
With the grim state of his body established, Law turned his senses outward. He heard leaves dancing in the slight breeze, the echoing sounds of forest animals far away, and birdsong all around. The air was rich with the fragrance of greenery and earth, and as he carefully opened his eyes and blinked several times to adjust, he was met with a sight of the high tree canopy, sun streaking through the boughs in brilliant beams, and what appeared to be a treehouse.
The pirate lowered his gaze down to the ground. A black-haired boy with a straw hat resting messily on his head slept nearby, tightly wrapped in a blanket and slumped against a tree root.
You're safe. No one is going to hurt you.
A deep frown creased Law's face as the words floated at the forefront of his mind. Where did that come from?
Suddenly, a kid jerked awake and literally shot from his spot to his feet in an instant, startling Law. He took in the boy's pale face and wide, fear-stricken eyes, sweeping around as if searching for a non-existent threat.
After a moment, the kid seemed to calm down, raking fingers through his hair and pulling his straw hat back on, fixing it in its place. Then he turned around and blinked as their eyes met. "You're awake!" he exclaimed with so much genuine joy and a bright grin on top, that it momentarily threw Law off balance.
Painstakingly slowly, he lifted himself up into a sitting position, stubbornly ignoring the burning pain in his whole left side. The simple action left him almost gasping for air, but even if this was just a kid, there was no way that Law would let his guard down. Sitting at least gave him some semblance of defense, though he knew well that it was just an illusion.
The boy was right next to him in a flash, his brow slightly furrowed. Black eyes watched Law's every slight move with a startling sharpness, probably noticing wincing and stiffening, but he said nothing. He looked to the side, then stretched his arm all the way across his little camp and grabbed a waterskin.
Law's eyes widened at the display. "D-Devil Fruit?" he croaked out, hating how his voice stuttered due to his dry throat.
"Yeah!" The teen grinned at him, offering the waterskin to him. "Just like you, right?" When the man eyed the offered item suspiciously, the boy uncorked it unprompted and took a deep gulp before offering it again. "Water's safe."
You're safe. No one is going to hurt you.
Unbidden, those words emerged in Law's head again. He was not even sure why his mind seemed so fixated on them, but this confirmed that they definitely came from the kid.
Seeing that the latter went out of his way to assure that the water was indeed safe to drink, Law gripped the neck of the waterskin and guided it to his mouth. His left arm was useless, so the boy still held the heavy waterskin, his other hand shooting out to steady the man when he lost his balance for a brief second. Law drank his fill, feeling refreshed despite the lingering lightheadedness from his fever.
"Where am I?" the surgeon asked, wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
"Dawn Island."
Law had never heard of such an island. "Do you know in which part of the North Blue it is?"
The boy looked at him incredulously before replying, "It's in the East Blue."
The pirate's thoughts screeched to an abrupt halt. "…What?" he rasped out.
"You're in the East Blue," the teen repeated patiently. "Are you from the North Blue?"
The question earned him a deadpan stare of disbelief.
Well, Law certainly was from the North Blue. His crew was still in the North Blue, and he got ambushed and captured by Doflamingo's lackeys in the North Blue. He didn't even realize how long he had been in their hands, but apparently it had been weeks if they managed to enter into the Grand Line and then cut through the Calm Belt into the East Blue. Probably for some business they wanted to take care of before shipping him to the damn Warlord himself.
"Unbelievable," Law muttered, rubbing his eyes with his index and thumb as if trying to massage away the headache.
If there was one silver lining to this situation, it was that his crew should be safe. He left them to oversee the construction of their submarine while he traveled to the nearby island to collect some information. He hoped that they weren't freaking out too much because of his impromptu disappearance.
"So, what's your name?" the kid asked curiously, not deterred that his first question was ignored.
The surgeon sighted, still with his hand on his eyes. "Trafalgar Law."
"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" the boy introduced with a great enthusiasm.
Law dropped his hand and snapped his head up to look at him so fast that it made him dizzy. "D?!" he all but demanded, all his anxiety and surprise and urgency crammed into that one syllable.
After what Cora-san said about people with the middle name of D, after what he did because Law carried that name, after that clumsy idiot sacrificed his life for him, he always kept an eye and an ear for others like him. However, besides his dead family, he had never met another D before, hadn't even heard about one.
But now he was accidentally saved by a D?
Luffy, though, suddenly grew wary, his eyes hardened in suspicion, lips thinned, and his muscles tensed, ready to spring into action any given moment and defend himself. "You know something about D?" he asked carefully, a barely perceptible threatening note underlying his soft voice.
Law picked up on it. He sighed again, collecting himself. It wasn't like him to lose his cool like that. Damn this pain and this fever. "A very important person to me once said that we're enemies of gods."
The kid stared at him. "We?" His eyes widened in realization. "Are you a D too?"
If he had been in less pain, Law would have facepalmed. Really, he needed to get a grip! Mistakes like that could cost him his life.
"…Yes," he admitted begrudgingly.
Luffy simply nodded in acknowledgment. "Enemies of gods, huh?" he muttered, his lips twitching down into a frown. "That person wasn't wrong, you know."
Law blinked at him.
The boy had his head turned to the side, glaring at nothing in particular, but what shocked the man was the look in those onyx orbs. They were too dark, too intense, and too jaded for a child of his age, filled with smoldering fury and deep hatred.
Like his own.
Luffy suddenly heaved a heavy sigh, closing his eyes, visibly anchoring himself back into reality. Then he stood up. "I met those gods," he uttered quietly as he walked to the bonfire and crouched down, his voice eerily void of any emotion. "We're enemies, alright."
Law stared at the boy's back, unable to read his shadowed expression anymore, but there was definitely a story there. A story that was better left untouched.
Just like his.
"The person who told you that," Luffy spoke again, "is he also a D?"
"He wasn't."
The boy hummed, lowering himself down to fan a fire, but didn't comment on the past tense. "I'll have to go food hunting today," he stated absentmindedly. "Didn't have time yesterday."
"How long have I been here?" Law inquired, inspecting the bandages.
"A day," Luffy replied, glancing at Law over his shoulder. Noticing what he was doing, he flashed him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I'm not good at that."
"It's good enough," the surgeon assured. "I'm a doctor, I can take care of it myself now."
"Ooh! How cool!" the kid cheered before suddenly he perked up and turned his head to stare at the forest.
Two men walked out of it after a few minutes, stopping short once they saw Law. The latter also tensed at the unfamiliar people, quietly clicking his tongue when he instinctively reached for his sword that wasn't here.
"Hey, Dogra! Magra!" Luffy greeted them both with an exuberant wave and a big grin. "Did you bring the stuff?"
"Yeah," the short one confirmed, his narrowed eyes resting on Law.
The boy bounced to them, seemingly none the wiser of the glaring battle between two parties, and grabbed the small paper bag from the other man's hands. "Thanks!"
"Who's that?" the one whose appearance resembles that of a chicken asked, pointing at the surgeon.
"A friend," Luffy answered without skipping a beat. "His name's Traffy."
Law twitched at his butchered name, but didn't correct it. It was better that these two guys didn't know his real name.
"Ma, ma, Luffy, are sure about him?"
"Yep. He's a good person."
"Really?" Dogra doubted, his gaze zeroing on the DEATH tattooed on Law's fingers.
"You know that Ace would kill us if something happened to you while you're still here," Magra pointed out.
"Nah, Ace wouldn't kill you. He loves you all too much," Luffy brushed his concerns off, grinning brightly. "He would probably just beat you all to bloody pulps."
The two men grimaced. "I don't even know if it's better or worse," Dogra grumbled.
"Shishishishi!"
With a last glance towards Law, they turned around to leave. "Be careful, Luffy," Magra warned.
"You know where to find us if you need anything," the other one added.
"Yeah. Bye!" Luffy returned to the surgeon's side and offered the bag to him. "Medicine and bandages," he explained.
"Who are they?"
"Bandits."
"Bandits?"
"Don't worry, they are good people."
Law shook his head in a mild exasperation. "You seem to use those words very easily."
"Not easily, no." Luffy smiled a smile with a touch of sadness and something else that the surgeon couldn't decipher. "Not anymore."
Law propped himself against the tree with his uninjured arm, a silent curse slipping through his lips.
He was still too weak and in too much pain, even disregarding the weakness brought upon by the sea stone cuffs. The surgeon allowed himself to rest for the whole day and became acquainted with Luffy. But the next morning, when Luffy went somewhere, he left.
Law was grateful to the kid—how could he not be?—but his pursuers were bound to show up soon, and he couldn't drag Luffy into his mess. Cora-san wanted to protect D, and Law chose to follow in his footsteps long time ago, that was why he couldn't stay here any longer.
Not that he knew where to go or what to do next, but that was beyond the point.
Trafalgar Law would never admit that he needed help anyway.
He was about to push himself from the tree and continue his sluggish hiking through the forest of gigantic trees when he heard a rustle and a deep growl behind him. He instantly spun around and froze at the sight of huge tiger eyeing him hungrily and crouching down for a pounce.
Law successfully jumped to the side as the beast descended, but his legs gave out as soon as he touched the ground and he collapsed, biting down the scream that threatened to tear out of his throat when a pure agony shot through his injuries. Sweat gathered on his forehead and black spots danced in his vision, and suddenly he was completely out of energy as if all of it was somehow sucked out.
The tiger roared in fury, stalking towards him. Law watched him approach, feeling dread twisting his gut into a knot.
This was not how he was supposed to die.
At best, he would have lived till old age. At worst, he would have perished in the fight against Doflamingo. But if this was how it ended, at least he would see his family and Cora-san sooner than he had planned…
A small smirk graced Law's lips almost unconsciously.
The tiger towered over him, its jaws open to swallow him whole when suddenly something slammed into its side. Such a powerful force sent the predator flying with a painful yelp.
Luffy landed in front of the stunned older raven with a soft thud of his sandals. "Just in time!" he cheered, turning around with his usual wide grin. It immediately faltered upon noticing how Law held himself. Those dark eyes narrowed, a slight furrow of his brow betraying genuine concern.
He said nothing though, and the surgeon felt grateful. He had already shown too much weakness and vulnerability in front of a stranger as it was.
Luffy's gaze snapped back on the tiger when it rose from the ground, growling fiercely. He dismissed it in the next instant, his eyes sliding past the beast and onto an inconspicuous spot in the surrounding trees and bushes.
A man walked out of it a few moments later.
Law stiffened as he remembered him: one of the Donquixote lackeys who was present on the ship were he had been held captive.
The man stopped, staring at the tiger, then at them. When his eyes landed on Law, recognition flashed across his features. "He's h—!" And that was all that the pirate managed to yell because Luffy was suddenly in front of him in a blur of motion, both of his arms whipping back from their outstretched position into his stomach, knocking him out for the count in a single hit.
The kid didn't let him fly away. He caught his body and swung it around with ease towards the hissing tiger. "For you, big boy," he commented as the body smacked the beast across his muzzle.
The tiger smashed its paw down on the unconscious man with a ferocious snarl before proceeding to tear at him with its teeth.
"We need to move, more are coming," Luffy said urgently, quickly walking to Law. "Can you stand?"
"Yeah," the surgeon mumbled, carefully pulling himself up with a groan.
This was honestly unexpected. Law had underestimated Luffy due to his young age, sunny grins, cheerful personality, and solicitous attitude. But the kid was surprisingly strong and downright ruthless. He lived in the wilds, so maybe that was why. Survival of the fittest, huh?
"They're already all over the place," Luffy spoke as they started to trudge slowly through the forest, his eyes flickering here and there as if following something that was out of his sight. The way he matched the speed of Law's wobbly steps wasn't lost on the latter either.
The surgeon was just beginning to think of what to do when Luffy turned to him, his alert scowl giving way to one of those big, happy grins. "Come on, I know a good place to hide," he said, tugging Law on the sleeve of his hoodie, which he himself gave to Law, and forcing him to change direction. "Ace and I found a cave when a storm caught us unprepared and we needed a shelter to wait it out."
Law sighed. His head was empty. He was tired, frustrated, and in great pain; exhausted beyond really doing anything about this situation. What could he do anyway? The fact that it meant him unintentionally putting all his trust in the boy went unnoticed. "Who's Ace?" he asked after a moment instead.
Luffy beamed: his grin stretched beyond a normal human's capabilities, his eyes lit up and face brightened up, his whole being glowing with a boundless adoration. "My big brother!" he announced in a subdued exclamation, then glanced to the left and immediately did a sharp turn to the right.
Law perceived that if his enemies weren't around, Luffy would have screamed that at the top of his lungs to the whole world to hear. "Where is he?" he inquired after they did another turn. If he didn't know better, the surgeon would have said that they were merely taking a stroll through the forest.
The boy's grin widened even more which, quite frankly, was becoming a bit disturbing. "He went out into the sea to become a pirate," he replied, his voice carrying an immense amount of pride. "I'll be leaving too when I'm seventeen. I'm gonna be the Pirate King! Shishishishi!"
Law raised an eyebrow at his declaration and then smirked, suddenly feeling amused. "It means that we'll be fighting for the same thing." Seeing a blank expression on the younger D's face, he added, "One Piece."
"That's right!" Luffy paused, frowning. "Are you also a pirate?"
"Yeah. I'm the captain of my own crew."
The boy's mouth formed 'O' as he stared at him in awe. "Ah, we're here," he said as he looked in front of him.
They were at the base of the mountains, and Law saw nothing but bushes and fallen rocks alongside the wall of stone.
"It's well-hidden," Luffy pointed out before chuckling. "If Ace wouldn't have slipped on the wet ground while running and slide straight into it, we would have never found it. Scared me so much when he suddenly disappeared."
After a few seconds going through the bushes, they entered the dark tunnel which opened up into a spacious cave chamber. There was a small pond of crystal clear water in the middle, surrounded by the patches of green where the sunlight reached the ground, shining through the holes and crevices in the rocky roof.
Law lowered himself onto the grass and leaned against the big rock with a relieved sigh.
"You can rest here, they won't find you," Luffy stated as he turned around to leave. "But to be sure, I'll see if I can lure them away."
The surgeon's head snapped up, eyes wide in disbelief before they narrowed in suspicion. "Wait." The boy stopped, glancing back. "You don't know me. Why are you helping?"
Luffy hummed softly as he stared somewhere beyond the walls of the cave, his hand coming to rest on the left side of his black bandana covered neck. "Because I was in your place once and I was denied help," he answered finally, looking back at the man with a gentle smile curling on his lips. "I don't want anyone to go through that, so that's why." His smile grew into a dazzling grin. "Besides, I like you! Shishishishi."
Law stayed silent, afraid that if he spoke, the voice would betray him. It wasn't this unknown kid standing before him all of a sudden, but Cora-san and his stupid grin and black feathers and 'I love you, Law' and snow, Doflamingo, gunshots, blood…
A straw hat landed on his head, startling Law out of his thoughts, thoughts that were quickly spiraling down into the dark place where he had never wanted to go. Luffy was in front of him, onyx eyes drilling into his amber ones, and his presence radiating reassuring strength.
"This straw hat is very important to me," he told him, straightening up and turning to leave again. "So, I'll definitely be back for it. Keep it safe, Traffy."
"…It's Law."
Luffy laughed. It was a rich, bright laugh, ringing off the stone walls. "Right. Sorry!"
And with a carefree hand wave, he was gone.
Next Chapter: The Stranger on the Dawn Island (Part II)
A/N
There is no romance in this story. Any questions regarding romance or pairings will be ignored from now on as I won't be repeating myself again.
I'm not going to explain myself for this chapter either. I have no regrets though. Law is my favorite character, I love writing him, this is my story so I can do whatever I want with it, and I also have a plan. Yes, I do. Besides, considering that the last two chapters had beaten records in the number drop of favorites/followers (without any explanation whatsoever, which is NOT encouraging, guys, not one bit), I don't even care anymore. The self-indulgent plot for the win!