Gravity of Situations
Law stared off in the direction of the town, of where Neo was. He had just finished up finalizing his plans with the Straw Hats a few short minutes ago, but to him, it felt like it was years ago. In just another couple of minutes, they would be heading into town themselves, heading for Green Bit. But he couldn't get himself to move. That vision, or whatever it was he had, just wouldn't leave his mind. Something about it set him off. That vision shouldn't have unnerved him like this. So why did it? He knew, without a doubt, that Neo would never intentionally hurt anyone unless that person was hurting him or someone else she loved. The only other way she would hurt someone would be if it were against her will. And for that to happen she would have to be controlled. There was no way for that to happen. Even if it did, he would be able to stop her easily by disorienting her.
He took a breath and released it. He was worrying for nothing. That vision had to be just a result of his nerves.
Turning away from the town, he forced himself to head back to the ship. He only got about five feet when Caesar piped up. "It's odd not seeing you and Neo together. It's even more odd that you're so relaxed with her not being by your side, especially when you take in consideration where we are. Aren't you worried that Joker will find her and attack her?"
Law glanced at Caesar before continuing on his way to the ship. He heard Caesar laugh, but paid him no more attention. He knew the scientist was just trying to get him riled up. And he wasn't going to give Caesar the satisfaction. He never did anyway. Right now, he had far more important things to worry about.
Forming his Room, Law warped himself into the ship instead of on the deck. He looked around the room he landed in, the men's quarters. His eyes landed on the wall opposite from where he was standing near the door. He took a deep breath to settle his wanting to increase heartbeat. In this particular moment, he was glad that Neo wasn't with him, and he felt guilty about feeling that way. But what he was about to do would undoubtedly upset her. And he didn't want that.
He lifted up his hand. Taking in another breath, he said, "Room."
The blue sphere spread out over Law's current location on the Sunny. He reached his hand up to his chest and hesitated before removed their heart. Pulling the pulsing square away from his body, he looked at it, thinking about how upset Neo would be if she knew he had taking this out again and how bad he felt for doing this to her. Hopefully, he could drop Caesar off, get back to the ship, and replace their heart into his chest before she found out about it. Hopefully.
Tucking their heart into the, hopefully safe, walls of the Sunny, Law turned back towards the door. He exited the men's quarters and stepped over to the bathroom just as Chopper climbed back upon the Sunny. He entered into the bathroom before he could notice if any of the other Straw Hats were following the animal. He paused when he caught his reflection in the mirror. He always wore his hat so much that he forgot that he didn't have it on right now. He couldn't help but chuckle at how often Neo wore his clothes. Sometimes, he wondered why she even bothered having her own. And he knew she was going to start wearing his clothes more often due to her pregnancy. She'd want his presence around her as much as possible. Wearing his clothes would give that to her whether he was physically with her or not.
Law forced himself to shake those thoughts from his head. This wasn't the time to be thinking like that. They had to get done with Dressrosa first. And he had to tell her that she was pregnant. Something he was divided on. Half of him was excited to tell her, but the other half was dreading it.
Grabbing his shirt, he pulled it over his head and quickly changed his clothes before looking at himself in the mirror again. The hood on his coat would easily give him cover, but it wasn't enough. He still needed more to disguise himself. So he turned from the mirror and exited the bathroom to go find the Straw Hats. Surely they had something he could use.
Just as he stepped out the door, Chopper walked over to him holding a mustache and sunglasses.
"Here," Chopper said, holding up the items to the Heart Pirate, and looking really down. "You can use these. And don't worry if you end up losing them. It doesn't matter."
Law nodded. He reached down and took the items from the reindeer. He easily noticed worry in Chopper's eyes. And he easily knew who the creature was worried about. He sighed inwardly. Giving comfort to Neo was easy for him. Giving it to anyone else was awkward. Still, he squatted down and looked at the animal before him. He said, "She'll be just fine. Remember, she's got her crystals protecting her and our child. If anything does happen, both of them will survive."
Chopper nodded. "I know. And she's with Luffy and the others. She'll be fine. But I'm still worried."
I am too, Law thought while thinking about his vision. He shivered. He forced himself to shake the disturbing vision from his mind then he tapped Chopper's horn with the back of his hand and said, "Enough worrying for now. We have work to do."
"Right!" Chopper with a smile on his face, nodded. "I'll do my best not to worry about her and protect the Sunny!"
Law nodded back. He then watched Chopper run off towards Momonosuke and Nami before standing back up. He placed the mustache over his lip, slid the sunglasses on his face, and pulled his hood over his hatless head. It wasn't the best disguise in the world, but it would have to do. His lips curled into a smile when he thought about how Neo would absolutely love this disguise. Well, she would partly love it because his chest was exposed and partly hate it because other women would be looking at his exposed chest.
Chuckling at the cute but annoyed look he pictured Neo would have on her face, Law stepped back over to the edge of the deck and looked down to the island. The Straw Hat sniper had already changed into his disguise and was guarding Caesar. Nico Robin was nowhere to be seen. He figured she was on the ship changing. And sure enough, just as the thought crossed his mind, Robin stepped out of her and Nami's shared bedroom dressed in a mini black dress, sunglasses, and a white hat.
"Shall we go?" she asked once she walked over to the warlord.
Law went to nod but stopped when Neo's heart rate took a sudden jump. He forced himself not to call out to her. He wasn't going to crowd or hover over her. He knew she was fine. He knew she wasn't freaking out or being cornered, she was just startled by something. And he knew he was right when her heart rate slowed down shortly after its spike.
"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.
"No, it was nothing," Law replied. He looked around the deck of the Sunny, thinking if he had missed something or if there were any more words that needed to be said to the group that was staying behind. When he couldn't think of anything, he held up his hand. "Room. Shambles."
"Let's go then," Robin said once they landed back on the island.
"Good luck!" Nami called from the deck of the Sunny as her team gathered near the rail to see the others off.
"Don't get into too much trouble." Brook waved.
Robin smiled and waved at her friends while Law just walked towards Caesar and Usopp. The captain glanced at Caesar before grabbing the scientist and shoved him towards the town. He said, "Let's go."
"Okay, okay!" Caesar growled. "You don't have to be so pushy! Geez! I'm glad I'll finally be rid of you people! Let's just get to Green Bit already!"
"Yeah, let's just get this over with," Usopp said as he followed Caesar.
Nothing else was said after that. Their little group of four stayed quiet as they threaded their way through the rock formations that outlined the island. Law was grateful that they were being so quiet. He really didn't want to talk to them, but then, on the other hand, he really could have used a distraction. With all of this silence between them, all he could think about was his vision he had about Neo. He tried to force it out of his mind, but it refused to vacate his thoughts.
"What the heck?!" Usopp suddenly shouted.
Annoyed at the intrusion, but also grateful for it, Law looked up at the Straw Hat sniper. The young man's mouth was hanging open and his eyes were bugged out of his head as he stared at something. Law raised an eyebrow at the man then searched for what caused such a reaction. His own eyes about popped out of his head when he saw it. There, around the town, acting like humans, were toys. All kinds of toys were talking, dancing, playing, and acting like real people.
"This is so bizarre," Robin mumbled. Her eyes dropped down to her feet when a stuffed, patchwork cat looked up at her. She watched in curiosity as the toy stared at her then scampered off without looking back.
"Bizarre isn't a strong enough word!" Usopp exclaimed. He looked at Caesar for answers. "This is insane! How is this possible?"
"How should I know?" Caesar asked, nonchalantly with a shrug.
"I bet you do!" Usopp whacked Caesar over the head. "You work for the man who runs this country!"
"Don't hit me, you worm!" Caesar snapped.
"Enough," Law ordered. He shoved Caesar again to get the man moving. "This changes nothing. Keep moving."
"I wonder how this is possible," Robin said while looking over the toys.
"Do you think they're some kind of machines or something?" Usopp asked, but no one answered.
Law carefully looked around the town, his eyes scanning every single detail from behind his dark sunglasses. He scanned for threats, for Doflamingo's men, but also for the factory. If they happened to come across it by chance, he could easily inform the others to its location through Neo. His eyes landed on a small group of toys. Neo… at least I now know what startled you earlier.
"So, where exactly are we going?" Usopp asked. "We're going to the bridge in the north, right?"
"That's right," Law replied, taking a sideways glance at Usopp. "We still have some time so we'll stop off at a café or something and get something to drink or eat, if you want it."
"Sounds good to me," Usopp said. "I could use a nice cool drink."
Law turned his eyes from the sniper. His steel orbs landed on a bookstore. He smiled, thinking about how Neo would go into one of those if she saw it. Pulling his eyes from the store, he proceeded forward only to get two steps before letting off a muffled string of curses.
"Is something wrong?" Robin asked.
Law quickly looked around. He relaxed a little when it appeared that Robin was the only one who heard him. Usopp and Caesar had gotten a little behind them by stopping and looking into the window of another shop.
"Tra?" Robin asked.
"It's Neo," Law replied. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His heart started to race, but he forced himself to regain control over that organ. "She has a craving for King Mackerel. And that fish has mercury in it. It's not good for pregnant human women, but I have no idea if it will have the same results for a pregnant elemental. She's not very happy right now. So I assume that Blackleg made the same connection I did and is trying to stop her from eating it."
"You could just tell her not to eat it," Robin replied. "She might get suspicious, but you can tell her that you'll explain later why she can't have it."
"Maybe…" Law started. He stopped and focused on Neo. The laughter and music from the town faded away from his ears as he debated on what he should do. Which didn't take too long. He didn't want to cause any possible damage to their child. He had to tell her. He started to call out for her, but stopped when that craving disappeared and she became happy again. He released a sigh when he noticed the craving for the fish was replaced with craving for spaghetti. That should be fine for her to eat, he thought. He rubbed his forehead in aggravation that he knew nothing about elemental pregnancies. He mentally kicked and cursed himself for being so stupid and not studying up on that subject. If anything happened to Neo and their child because of his stupidity, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.
"It'll be fine, Tra," Robin said calmly. "We'll get you two back to your ship so you can study up on this subject. But that won't happen if you keep getting distracted like this."
"Right." Law nodded.
"Something wrong?" Usopp asked when he and Caesar rejoined them.
"No. Let's keep going," Law said. He pointed his sword north, signaling for Caesar to get moving.
"Yeah, yeah!" Caesar grumbled. "Boy, you're going to pay for this! Just you wait! A little bit longer and Joker will scramble your brains into mush!"
…
"This place is so weird! The toys are moving by themselves, but that's okay!" Luffy shouted. He laughed and clapped his hands excitingly before placing his hands on his hips and looked at his friends. "Come on! Let's get something to eat!"
"Sounds good to me!" Franky agreed.
"Yeah!" Neo nodded. Her eyes lit up at the thought of food. "I'm hungry too! Let's go!"
"Slow down a little bit there, Neo. We really should disguise ourselves before we do anything else," Sanji said. He turned and looked at Neo, carefully taking in the clothes she was wearing and how her coloring seemed to stand out more than anyone else's. It was a miracle they hadn't already been caught. They should have disguised themselves long before now. "You're probably going to be the most recognizable with your coloring. We're going to need to cover you as much as possible."
"Okay. What would you suggest?" Neo asked.
"Hm." Sanji cupped his chin in thought while he continued to run his eyes over Neo's body. He then pulled out a small notebook and a pencil from his pocket. He scribbled in it for a few seconds before showing it to Kin'emon. "Do you think you could do this?"
"I see. Yes, yes. That will be easy. And she'll look so cute in it," Kin'emon, blushing, cupped his chin and nodded. "Although I think something more open in the chest-"
"Don't even start that, you pervert!" Sanji hissed, whacking the samurai over his head. "I won't stand for you to think about her like that! Or thinking about putting her in revealing clothing! So you better put every single dirty thought you're even thinking about thinking of out of your mind! Right! Now! Besides, she's married! You should be ashamed for even thinking about thinking about her like that! You're sick!"
"All right, all right. I won't think of her in such a way. I will respect her as the young, married lady that she is," Kin'emon said, waving his hands in a surrendering fashion.
"Good. Then create her outfit," Sanji said, crossing his arms over his chest in an annoyed huff.
"Very well. I shall transform us all at the same time," Kin'emon said. He plucked a small handful of leafs off a near by bush and handed them out to the men before stepping over to Neo.
"You guys are so silly!" Neo smiled brightly before a thought crossed her mind. She looked back and forth between Sanji and Kin'emon as worry spread over her facial features. "Uh, is this going to hurt? You're a devil fruit user, right? You gave some of the Straw Hats outfits last night on the ship. It didn't look like it hurt, but…"
"Not at all, Lady Neo. I promise this will not hurt a single bit," Kin'emon said. He placed his last leaf on top of Law's hat then stepped back from her. Positioning two fingers in front of his mouth, he said, "And transform!"
Neo closed her eyes, out of reflex, as a puff of smoke came out of the leaf and covered her body. When no pain came, she opened her eyes to see the smoke clearing from around her. Glancing down at herself and discovered she was now wearing a soft orange raincoat with a hood covering Law's hat and a big red bow tied at her neck and black sunglasses over her eyes. "Uh… so how do I look?"
"Wow! You're so cute in that! Way cuter than I thought you would look!" Sanji cooed as he danced around Neo with hearts in his eyes. "It's perfect!"
Neo looked up at her male companions. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep herself from laughing at them. They all were wearing white beards and dark sunglasses, while Franky, Luffy, and Kin'emon also sported hats for their disguises. She said, "You all look so silly!"
"I thought we were suppose to prevent drawing attention to ourselves," Zoro said as he looked over Neo's bright outfit and their own, in his opinion, ridiculous disguises. "She stands out even more now. Did you really have to dress her like that? She looks even more like a child. It's going to look really weird having a little girl walk around town with five old men."
"Do I really look younger like this?" Neo asked. She glanced at her reflection in a nearby window, but couldn't really tell if she looked more like a child like this or not from her distorted, faded reflection.
"A little makeup and you'll look like a toy yourself," Zoro said. He turned to Kin'emon. "Go ahead and put some makeup on her. That way she'll be mistaken as a toy in this town."
"Shut up, you stupid swordsman! Who asked you?!" Sanji growled.
"You're the one who said we needed to be inconspicuous!" Zoro shot back.
"She is inconspicuous!" Sanji hissed.
"No, she is not!"
"Yes, she is!"
"She is not!"
"She is so!"
"I think she looks really cute in that. I'd like to see her with make up too. Go ahead and put some on her, Kin," Luffy said. He put his hands behind his head while he inspected Neo's new outfit before turning to the samurai. "I wanna see her looking like a toy!"
"Shut up!" Sanji snapped at his captain. "She's fine just the way she is! She's not your personal little dress up doll!"
"Says the one who dressed her up like a child in the first place. And see? The captain agrees," Zoro said. He crossed his arms and looked at the samurai. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go ahead."
"I said no!" Sanji growled.
"You want to fight?!" Zoro asked, placing his hand on the hilt of his swords.
"You're the one who started this!" Sanji snapped.
"I did not!"
"You did so!"
Luffy laughed at his two subordinates argument then said, "Okay, okay. Can we go now? I said I was hungry."
"And I said I was hungry too," Neo echoed. She pinched a hold of both Sanji and Zoro's sleeves and tugged on them. She smiled sweetly at them, her eyes rounding more with innocence, when they broke from their argument and looked at her. Her natural charm took over once she had their attention. With an innocent blink of her long eyelashes, she said, "Can we get something to eat? Please?"
…
Zoro's eyebrow twitched when he looked into her childlike, rounded, electric blue, impossibly innocent eyes. His hostilities towards Sanji were rapidly dissolving with each innocent blink she gave him. He had a ridiculously strong desire to give her anything she wanted in a split second of her asked for it. He growled at himself for being undone so easily by just a single look from her. How is it possible that she has this kind of power over such strong men? I can understand the stupid cook becoming weak around her, but I'm aiming to be the world's strongest swordsman. I've trained endless, and with Hawkeye Mihawk. I suffered so many wounds from that man and from all of my enemies. And not a single one of them was able to keep me down. And yet, one bat of those eyelashes, one innocent look, with a few sweet words, and she's completely crumbling me to dust. This just isn't possible.
"Oh, Neo! Of course we can go get something to eat! I'm sorry this pathetic swordsman distracted me! I should have been paying more attention to you instead of him!" Sanji cooed while spinning in a heart filled hurricane. He suddenly stopped spinning and took on a more serious tone when he remembered her pregnancy and how she got sick earlier. "Are you feeling up to eating?"
"I am!" Neo nodded. She collapsed her hands in front of her face in a pleading sort of way. "I'm feeling fine! Can we go now? Please?"
"Yeah! Please?!" Luffy said, copying Neo's pleading stance. "Please?! Please?! Please?!"
"All right," Sanji said. He looked around at the buildings that surround them. All of them were filled with clothes, dishes, books, and other such items. None of them seem to be restaurants in this particular area of the town. "Looks like we're going to have to go to another area of the town for food. But let's see if we can find something healthy enough for Neo to eat. But I would prefer if you ate something that was more on the lighter side of things instead of a heavy meal."
"What for? She's hungry. Let her eat whatever she wants," Zoro said.
"Yeah! I want spaghetti!" Neo cheered. "And chocolate! Green peppers! A ham sandwich! Tomatoes! Pizza! Sea Pig Meat!"
"That's quite a long list of food you have there," Franky said with a confusing blink while he eyed her smaller body. "Would you even be able to eat that much?"
"I don't care! I'm just really hungry!" Neo shouted happily. "Oh! I know what I really want! King Mackerel!"
"I want meat!" Luffy cried, adding to Neo's excitement.
"Absolutely no King Mackerel!" Sanji said, in a slight panic. I know pregnant humans can't eat that, but what about pregnant elementals? Is it just as dangerous for them to eat? I should have thought of this before. Maybe Law and I could have came up with a list of food that we knew would be safe for her to eat until we got more information on this. Good grief! If I let her eat something that will harm the baby, Law will kill me!
"Why not?" Neo asked. Her excitement faded a little. She tilted her head and looked at Sanji. "I really, really, really want it."
"I'm sorry, Neo. It would be best if you didn't eat that," Sanji said. He pinched his cigarette in-between his fingers of his right hand while clenching his left hand, which was hidden in his pocket, in worry. Am I going to be able to curb this? What do I do if she really insists on eat that? How can I change the cravings of a pregnant woman without upsetting her? Am I going to have to send her back to Law? He could easily handle this with the control he has over her. Maybe he'll sense what's going on and interfere if Neo becomes unmanageable. "It's not healthy for you. It contains mercury."
"I've eaten it before," Neo said, slightly pouting. She crossed her arms over her chest and took on a defiance air of a child getting ready to scream until they got what they wanted. "And Law never said I couldn't have it."
"There. She's eaten it before. So she can have it," Zoro said, jerking his thumb at Neo. "Now let's go."
"I can't let her do that," Sanji said with a sharp glare at Zoro. "She's not eating that type of fish. So drop it."
"But, Sanji…" Tears pooled in Neo's eyes. "Why not?"
"I'm sorry, Neo. You're under my care right now," Sanji said. He turned to her with an apologetic look in his eyes and trying desperately not to cave to her big blue, tear filled eyes. "If Law was here, he would agree with me. You can contact him if you want to check. But I know he'd say that I am right on this."
"What's your problem?" Zoro asked. "Just let her have her fish."
"She said she's eaten it before," Franky pointed out again.
"I said 'No'! She can't have it!" Sanji snapped.
…
"But I… I don't understand." Neo dropped her eyes to the ground and stared at her shoes. Her eyes stung with tears and confusion while she thought about Sanji's words. I don't get it. I've eating that fish before. Law never cared. Maybe I should contact Law. She adjusted Law's hat on her head before movement caught in the corner of her eyes. Her sadness and confusion disappeared when she saw the movement was a light brown and white spotted dog with three puppies. Not giving her friends another look or thought, she walked over to the dogs and knelt down. The puppies and their mother immediately walked up to her. She ran her fingers over their soft fur. She squealed with delight, her confusion and sadness forgotten. "Cute little puppies."
"Hm?" Luffy was the only one to notice Neo wandering away from them and followed her. He ran his eyes over the puppies. Two of them looked exactly like their mother while the other one was solid black with one white spot on its left ear. "Dogs, huh?"
"Yeah." Neo nodded. She held up the black puppy to Luffy. The puppy barked and licked his nose.
"Are you cute?! Do you wanna join my crew?!" Luffy laughed and took the puppy from Neo. The puppy barked and wagged his tail. "Think that he said yes?"
"I think he said he wants to chew on you," Neo replied just as the other two puppies started chewing on Luffy's toes. "See?"
Luffy laughed again. He stroked the two puppies backs as they continued to chew on his toes. "Guess that makes me Captain Chew Toy."
"They would make a cute addition to your crew," Neo said. She turned her attention to the mother dog. Placing her fingers behind the dog's pointy ears, she gave her a friendly scratch.
…
"What's the big deal, Sanji? If she wants fish, then let her have fish," Franky said. "It's not like it'll hurt anything."
"Is this matter settled yet?" Kin'emon asked. "I really would like to move on from this now. Kanjuro is waiting."
"I say it's settled. She can have the fish. Now let's go," Zoro said. He turned from the group with the intent to walk off.
Sanji gritted his teeth. Looks like keeping this a secret from them is going to be a lot harder than I thought it would be. I can't let them let her eat that fish. There's far too much mercury in it. I figured I'd have to tell them at some point, but I didn't think it would be this quick. Sorry, Law, but I have to tell them. But first, I need to get Neo distracted so I can… Sanji turned back around to Neo. A sweat drop formed on his head when he saw she had already distracted herself with a mother dog and her three puppies that happened to wander by. And it was clear that Neo was no longer upset about him forbidding her from eating King Mackerel. "Well, that was easy. I guess these pregnancy mood swings come in handy. She's completely happy now."
"You're such a good girl!" Neo cooed to the mother dog while scratching her on the belly with one hand while holding one of the brown puppies in her other hand.
"Yeah! Good girl! Good girl! Ouch! That hurt!" Luffy laughed then screamed with one of the puppies got a little too playful in using the rubber man as a chew toy.
Sanji chuckled at the display then turned back to the three men that were still standing with him but on the verge of leaving. With a sigh, he said, "Look, there's a very important reason we can't let Neo have that kind of fish."
"And what would that be?" Franky asked. "Does she have an allergic reaction to it or something?"
"No, she has no food allergies," Sanji replied. He checked one last time to make sure Neo was still distracted with the dogs before leaning closer to the other men. He lowered his voice and said, "Listen, the reason she can't have it really is because of the mercury content. It's not good for pregnant women. If mercury is consumed during pregnancy it can cause development delays and brain damage to the baby. I don't know how mercy affects elemental pregnancies, but it would be best if we avoided letting her eat that and other foods that are bad for human pregnancies."
"Oh, so that's why you're so worried," Franky said. He crossed his arms over his chest with an agreeing nod. "It makes sense now."
"Indeed. It would not be good if Lady Neo did consume such a thing while she is with child," Kin'emon said. He too crossed his arms and nodded.
"Well, you should have said that from the beginning," Zoro said. He started to cross his arms too, but paused when everything Sanji said actually sunk into his, Franky, and Kin'emon's brains.
"What?! What do you mean she's preg-" The three started to shout at the same time.
"Shut up, you idiots!" Sanji snapped. He leaped up and kicked them on the heads to silence them before they could reveal anything. He landed and looked back over to Neo and Luffy. He sighed when they were still distracted by the dogs.
"What the heck was that for, you stupid cook?!" Zoro growled. He rubbed his head then pulled out his swords for a fight.
"Shut up and listen," Sanji said. "Neo doesn't know that she's pregnant."
"What?" Franky asked. "Why not?"
"Because Law hasn't told her and she doesn't recognize her symptoms because Law never taught her or himself them," Sanji said. He took out his cigarette from his mouth and pointed it at each and every single one of them. "And no one is going to tell her that she's pregnant."
"You can't be serious," Zoro said. "Why not? She has a right to know that she's pregnant."
"Believe me. I feel the exact same way. But telling her about right now would be a terrible mistake," Sanji said. "You heard what she's been through when she told us about her secrets back on the ship. If she were to know about this, she'll completely freak out. We don't need that right now."
"But this is insane," Franky said, straining to keep his voice low. "Why would Trafalgar let her come into this kingdom knowing we were going to possible get into fights?! She could lose the child!"
"She'll be fine," Sanji replied. He carefully looked around to make sure no one was listening to them. "Remember her body is different from humans. Elementals can take a few hits in the stomach while pregnant and nothing will happen. Their crystals also form a shield around the child so that is an added protection for them. I asked her about this on the ship before we arrived here. I was concerned about that as well."
"Well, that's relief," Franky said with a sigh. He looked over at Neo. She was still playing with the dogs and was oblivious to their conversation. He smiled when she did. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to either of them."
"Indeed." Kin'emon nodded. "We must take even more care with her."
"That's fine. But do not do anything that will reveal this secret to her. Law will take care of that when the time is right," Sanji said. "And, whatever you do, do not let Luffy know about this either. I'm sure I don't have to explain why we need to keep this a secret from him."
"No, you don't need to explain," Zoro and Franky said at the same time while surrounded in a grey cloud.
"That idiot would scream at the top of his lungs if he knew about this," Zoro added.
"Right." Sanji nodded.
"Ah! Ha ha! That tickles! Stop it!" Luffy's laughter broke into the other serious conversation. They turned to find their captain was laying on the ground with all three puppies using him as their own personal chew toy. "Stop chewing on me! Spot it! I mean, stop it!"
"Hey! If you two children are done playing!" Sanji called. "We're ready to go get something to eat!"
"Okay!" Neo wave back to the blonde man before returning her attention to the dogs she and Luffy were playing with. The mother dog had her paws upon Neo's legs. Her tail was wagging happily while her tongue tried to repetitively lick Neo's face. "Sorry, but we have to go now. I'm sure your owners are worried about you. You should take your puppies home now too."
The dog barked.
"What'd she say?" Luffy asked, sitting back up. He held one puppy in his lap while one puppy was on the ground and the other one was hanging over his left shoulder.
"She said their owners aren't home right now. So they don't know they are gone," Neo replied, stroking her hand over the mother dog's head.
"I see. Escapees then," Luffy said with a chuckle. He plucked the puppy from his shoulder and held her up to his face. "You're such naughty doggies."
The puppy barked and tried to bite Luffy's nose causing the young man to laugh in enjoyment.
"All right," Neo then said. She patted the mother dog before standing up. "We really have to go. Sorry we can't stay and play longer."
The mother dog barked and tilted her head, but quickly walked off with her puppies following her. Luffy waved to them and said, "See you later! Go straight home!"
"What now?" Neo asked, seemingly to have forgotten her hunger.
"All right! Well, we're in disguise now!" Luffy said. He planted his hands on his hips and looked at Neo. "I'm still hungry! Let's go get something to eat now!"
"Sounds good to me!" Neo agreed. "I forgot that I was hungry. And that I really wanted-"
"No!" Zoro, Franky, and Kin'emon shouted.
"Uh…" Neo drawled, confused at their sudden outburst.
"Huh?" Luffy blinked. He looked over the three panicked faces of the men who just shouted. "What's wrong with you three?"
"Nothing!" they shouted.
"We were just, uh…" Zoro started.
"Neo can't have King Mackerel!" Franky said.
"Indeed!" Kin'emon agreed. "She cannot have that."
"Huh?" Luffy tilted his head and lifted a confused eyebrow at the men. "Why not?"
Sanji slapped himself. You morons. I knew not telling you was the right decision from the beginning. Why did I have to go ahead and do it? If you blow this, we'll have one hysterical woman on our hands. I wonder how far way Trafalgar is. I hope he can warp himself here in seconds when Neo freaks out.
"Oh, that," Neo said before anyone else could speak. She collapsed her hands behind her back and smiled. "I don't want it anymore. I'd rather have spaghetti. It sounds a lot better than fish."
Sanji fell over. He chuckled in disbelief while pushing up on his hands. Mood swings and pregnancy cravings. Who knew those could save us? This is crazy. I'm not looking forward to this when I finally get married and have kids. But it will still be exciting when it does happen.
"Uh, Sanji?" Luffy asked, noticing his cook was on the ground. "Are you okay? Did you fall?"
"Ah! No! I'm fine!" Sanji leaped up. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Nothing's wrong at all. Shall we go?"
"Yeah! Finally!" Neo nodded. She then looked around. "But where are we going to go? What sounds good to you all?"
"We'll pick a place that has a variety of options," Sanji said. Hopefully it'll be safe for pregnant women to eat there. He shoved his hands into his pockets as their group started to finally walking off from their current location. "We can order different dishes and share them, if you want. That way we all can taste different types of dishes from this place. I'm really curious about the local foods here."
"Me too!" Neo linked her arm through Sanji's. "Our crew often lets me pick off their plates. They've done that pretty much since I've been with them. They wanted me to try lots of different dishes when we stop at islands."
"You sound like you're a well rounded lady," Kin'emon said.
"Well rounded?" Neo asked. She looked at the samurai. "What does that mean?"
"It basically means that you have studied in a lot of subjects, tried a lot of different foods, experienced different cultures, stuff like that," Sanji replied.
"Oh. Well, I don't know about that. I still have a lot of learning to do," Neo said with a smile. "But I do like learning."
"I can tell," Sanji said with a small laugh.
"Huh?" Neo suddenly stopped walking. She pulled her arm from Sanji's and looked behind them.
"What is it, Neo?" Luffy asked when he and the others noticed she stopped.
"I don't know," Neo replied, softly. "I sense something."
Franky, Zoro, and Kin'emon's eyebrows all twitched. They pulled out their weapons and encased Neo in a tight circle within half a second. Neo blinked in confusion at the sudden reaction of the men and asked, "Uh… what's going on? Why are you surrounding me like this?"
"Stay calm, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said, his eyes scanning for a threat with his sword at the ready.
"We'll protect you," Franky said, his hands out and ready to fire.
"Just stay right there," Zoro added, his hands pulled two swords halfway out of their sheaths.
Sanji sweat dropped before taking in the questioning stares and whispered of the townspeople around them before slapping himself again. Another over reaction by these stupid idiots. We're dead. They're going to blow this secret for sure. How stupid can they possibly be? Neo might be naïve, but she's not that naïve. She's totally going to notice something isn't right now.
"Was it another animal?" Luffy asked, completely unaware of the odd nature of his friends in the moment.
"No, it wasn't an animal," Neo said, trying to squeeze through the wall of muscle around her. She sighed when she couldn't get past them and conceded to just standing in their circle until they let her out. "It wasn't a threat either. I'm not sure what it was. I do know that it was really small and running really fast."
"Really small and running really fast?" Zoro asked. He ran his eyes over their surroundings; overlooking the odd stares the townspeople were giving them.
"Yeah. But it wasn't a threat," Neo stressed. "You can let me out of this circle now."
"Oh," Franky said, stepping away from her.
"Right," Zoro said, sheathing up his swords.
"Forgive the over reaction, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said, also sheathing his sword. "We just wanted to be sure that you were safe. Everything is clear. You can come out now."
"Uh, okay," Neo drawled as she stepped out of their circle. "Well, at least Law will be glad I'm so protected. Even though that was a bit much."
"Ha ha! You guys are weird!" Luffy said with a laugh. He then turned and pointed to a nearby building. "But, anyway, I found a place to eat! Let's eat here! Okay?!"
"Works for me," Neo said with a nod while she inspected the simple stone building before them. "Are we going inside?"
"No point in standing out here anymore," Franky said while he led the way towards their destination.
"Yeah!" Luffy cried. He grabbed Neo's hand and ran ahead of Franky.
Neo smiled at the black haired young man beside her before turned her eyes to the world around her. They weaved through a couple of happily chatting people before finally reaching their destination. Once they reached the building, Luffy opened the door for her and allowed her to go in first. They entered into a welcoming area where some people were sitting, or standing, around talking. It was a simple room with potted plants taking up space in the corners, paintings of dancers on the walls, and four red cushioned benches lined the room.
She located another door and could hear more happy chatter coming from behind it along with the clicking sounds of a roulette game currently in progress. Just as they walked up to the second door, a couple walked out of it letting the delicious spices of the food grace her nose. It made her stomach grumble and her mouth water in anticipation of tasting the local food. She placed her hand on her stomach, gently caressing it as if informing the protesting organ that it would soon receive food.
"Welcome," a man said just as they stepped inside the room. Neo turned her eyes to him. He had his head bowed to them. When he lifted up, he gave them a friendly smile. "Please, feel free to sit anywhere you wish."
"Okay. Thank you," Neo said before turning back to Luffy, "This seems like a nice place. Good job picking it, Luffy."
"Yeah, this is a nice place. There's a table over there," Luffy said before guiding Neo towards the table he spotted in the back of the room.
Neo carefully scanned the room and the table's location. There were hardly any tables left open for guests, but they were spread far enough apart that she didn't feel like she was going to be crowded. She had plenty of room to escape if needed.
"Is this table suitable for you?" Sanji asked, stepping up beside her.
"Yes. It's fine." Neo nodded. She looked up at the cook just as their group started to gather around the table. She noticed one of them was missing. "Where's Zoro?"
"Don't tell me that moron got lost again," Sanji grumbled. He looked back over to the door they had just walked through.
"I'll go fine him," Neo said.
"Want me to come with you?" Sanji asked. "You really shouldn't be going anywhere alone here."
"No. I'll be fine. I'm just going to stick my head back out the door to see where he is. I won't leave your sight," Neo replied. She waved back to them from over her shoulder just as she walked back towards the door. She reached out for the doorknob but stopped when something caused her to suddenly freeze up. She tried to get her hand to touch the doorknob, but her body refused to listen to her. She noticed a strange heaviness seeped over her entire body.
"Are you all right, young lady?" a voice asked. She recognized the voice as the one who spoke to them when they stepped into this room, but she couldn't reply. Her hand trembled as it hung there, suspended in the air just an inch from the doorknob. "Hey, are you okay?"
Neo's eyes widened. The door started to open. The heaviness in her body became stronger with each second the door opened. Her mind whirl with regrets of wishing she had stayed with Law. She wanted to fly back to him. But she couldn't move. She wanted to call for Luffy, Sanji, or anyone else to help her. But her voice wouldn't work. She closed her eyes. On the verge of getting sick and calling Law, something tapped against her boot.
"Oh, excuse me," a gentle, but slightly gruff voice said. "I didn't mean to hit you. Are you all right?"
Neo blinked. Able to move again, she looked up at the old man before her and blinked again. She felt it once more. The heaviness was coming from him. But he was just an old man with black hair, a seemingly harmless looking old man with a liking for the color purple in his wardrobe. His yukata, belt, and cloak were three different shades of purple. She wanted to believe he was a harmless old man, but she knew that wasn't right. This man was strong, very strong and possibly dangerous. She swallowed. Her instincts were telling her to get away from this man, but they were also telling her she didn't have to run from him. Devil fruit user. This heaviness is from a devil fruit. It feels like gravity is slamming down on me. Who is this man? Her eyes landed on the scar on his forehead, it came down over his closed eyes. He doesn't look like a pirate. Is he just a common old man that happens to have a devil fruit and wandered into the same restaurant as us?
"Are you all right?" the man asked again. And, despite having his eyes closed, his face showed genuine concern for her.
Neo opened her mouth to reply to him, but another familiar, friendly voice spoke first. It was Zoro. She felt a huge wave of relief being close to one of her friends again just as he said, "Neo? I thought you were with the others."
"I-I was," Neo stuttered, finding her voice again. Her eyes remained locked on the old man. She carefully studied his wrinkled face, the scar that ran over his forehead and eyes, and couldn't help but notice the old man's eyebrows lift slightly when Zoro said her name. "I noticed you were gone. I was just coming to find you."
"Well, I'm here now. Let's get you back with the others. Excuse me, old man," Zoro said.
"My apologizes. I didn't mean to block the door," the old man said, working his way around Neo.
"It was my fault. I stopped in the middle of the-uh," Neo said, stepping away from the door, before a wave of dizziness washed over her. Her knees buckled underneath her and she slumped forward.
"Neo!" Zoro shot his hands out and grabbed her shoulders before instinctively swooping her up into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Are you all right? What's wrong?"
"Is she all right, young man?" the old man asked, taking a step closer. "Does she need a doctor?"
Zoro glanced at the old man before turning his eyes back to Neo. "Neo?"
"I'm okay. Just a little dizzy," Neo replied, opening her eyes. She turned her orbs to the old man. His eyes were slits, revealing the gray behind his eyelids. He was running his eyes over her body before settled his eyes on her stomach. She watched as he kneaded his eyebrows in concentration before they rose upon his forehead once more. She kneaded her own eyebrows and wondered why an old man would do that, especially since he was blind. He couldn't see her at all. "You can put me down now."
"Are you sure?" the old man asked. "Perhaps this young man should carry you to your seat if you're dizzy."
"No, that's not necessary," Neo replied, moving one foot to the floor and give Zoro no choice but to put her down. "It really was just a minor case of dizziness, that's all."
"I can carry you," Zoro offered.
"I'm fine. Really," Neo insisted. She jerked her thumb towards a corner of the room where the bathrooms were. "I'm just going to go freshen up. I'll be there in a minute."
"All right. If you're sure," Zoro said, carefully examining her eyes and her physical stability. He relaxed a bit when she showed no more signs of being dizzy.
"I am." Neo waved to him as she walked off.
…
Zoro started to head towards the group when he noticed the old man was watching Neo move through the restaurant despite being blind. He placed his hand on his swords. Is this old man interested in Neo? But why would he? Does he know she's not human? The only way he could know that is if he had observation haki. He does have a very strong presence. So I won't be surprised if he did notice she wasn't human. Are we going to have to have a fight right here? He's far too interested in her.
"Well, since you didn't go running of to aid her, I assume that her dizzy spell has come to an end," the old man said. He nodded his head at Zoro then turned and walked away towards the roulette table. "Be sure to take her to a hospital if she becomes dizzy again. Have a nice day, sir."
"Yeah. I'll do that. You too," Zoro replied, carefully watching the old man until he sat down at the gaming table. He glanced back over to the bathrooms just in time to see Neo disappear inside the smaller room. He then turned and headed towards his friends.
…
Doflamingo stared out into his kingdom from his window. He was sitting on the window sill, running his sunglasses covered gaze over every single bit of it that he could see. It was quiet, despite the sounds he knew was happening below his palace. A sardonic grin pulled across his lips. He knew she was now inside of his boarders. And not because it was inching closer to the time he was to go meet up with Law at Green Bit to reclaim Caesar. Nor was it because of one of his men that had came to him a few minutes ago and informed him that she was wandering inside of his kingdom and with some of the Straw Hats. He could feel her inside of his kingdom. And he could sense the power she held within her. She was definitely more powerful than the other ones. He knew he was thoroughly going to enjoy this encounter. He was thoroughly going to enjoy giving his sweet little brother, Law, and his darling new sister-in-law, Neo, his wedding gift. He knew they were just going to love it.
Chuckling to himself, he pushed off the window sill to go check on that particular little gift. He shoved his hands into his pockets, clutching the silver medallion that was inside his right pocket, and trudged towards his door. Leaving his silent room, he was met with more silence. It was fitting. It was the calm before the storm. And what a large storm it was going to be. It was going to shake the very foundations of his kingdom and of Law's soul.
Lost in his thoughts, Doflamingo wandered through the quiet, beige colored halls, down the stairs to the lowest levels of the palace where one special room was lit up. The light spilled out into the dark stone hallway. He stepped up to it and pushed the door open. He scanned his eyes around the room. The room was filled with several types of scientific equipment that lined the walls and was scattered over counter tops and the one blood stained exam table positioned in the middle of the room. It smelled of antiseptics, latex, blood, and death. His hidden orbs then landed on the man inside.
The man was hunched over his cluttered desk. His nimble fingers working fast over what appeared to be murky green tubing. His long light brown hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. Some strands had come loose and was falling over his average built shoulders and his thick framed goggles. Upon sensing the warlord behind him, the man lifted up from his work and adjusted his goggles over his blood shot black eyes while glancing over at the door. He said, "Ah, Young Master. With your presence here and I to assume it is time to start?"
"Not just yet," Doflamingo replied. He stalked into the room. The closer he got to the man the more he pulled out the medallion from his pocket then slammed it down on the desk. "Are you sure this will work?"
"Absolutely, Young Master." The man shifted his goggles and stared down at the medallion that now graced his table. His body shivered at the power the owner of that thing wielded. "I've been running these experiments for years. I guarantee you will be pleased with the results."
"And they know nothing of this?" Doflamingo asked.
"As I have already told you, despite a few leaving the island, the majority of them have remained. They know nothing of this. And the ones who do know of it have all been eliminated," the man said. "If they had the courage to leave that island once in a while, they might have discovered this… little weakness they have. Their ignorance really does work in our favor."
"You sound over confident," Doflamingo said with a frown. "They are dangerous, aren't they? And this is the first time you've done this in this way. In the past you've been more direct with this."
"Young Master, I assure you, she is connected to this thing," the man said. He lifted up the medallion. It swung from it chain, reflecting light off the crystals that were embedded in its silver base. "It will have the same effect as if we were directly feeding it into her system. But, if you want to be sure, I could always check. You could bring her to me. Or I could go to her. She doesn't know me. I could easily sneak up on her."
"Sneak up on her?" Doflamingo chuckled. "I think you are underestimating her. Despite her apparent childlike nature and appearance, she is not likely to let a stranger walk up close to her without putting up her guard. She's a lot more cautious and dangerous than most seem to notice. And I know Law. Even if he weren't romantically involved with her, he would still teach her to be cautious of those around her, especially when inside their enemy's territory. Besides, I highly doubt that the Straw Hats will let her out of their sights long enough for you to get close enough to her."
"The Straw Hats?" the man questioned. "She's not with Trafalgar? That's a surprise."
"Indeed it is. But this actually works in our favor," Doflamingo said. He sat down on the edge of the desk and took the medallion from the man's fingers. He dangled it in front of his face. "There's no way the Straw Hats are as protective of her as Law is. We'll have a better chance of succeeding with this as long as she's with them. I want you to go ahead and start. But start off slow. I don't want anyone noticing the change in her until Straw Hat is confined inside of the coliseum. As soon as we get the chance, I want you to examine her and make sure everything is going fine. When the time is right, I'll give you the go ahead and you can put this plan into full effect."
"Understood, Young Master," the man said, holding out his hand for the medallion. The warlord dropped the trinket into the man's hand and left the room without another word. The man waited until he was gone to turn back to his desk. He placed the medallion down on the desk and picked up the tubing he was working with before. Pointing one end of the murky green tubing to the medallion, the tubing started to move on its own. It twitched and stretched out to the four element crystals. The man smiled when the tubing flew out of his fingers and embedded into the crystals like intrusive, pulsing, glowing veins.
…
Author's Notes: If it wasn't obvious, that last part with Mingo was supposed to be this vague. We'll get more details on that later.
Apple Bloom: No worries. Write and read when ya can. And yup. She met Fujitora. I wonder if they'll meet again?
Inazumamem1997: I think it'll be good too. I just hope I have enough wiggling room to do this one particular idea I have that involves Shanks. If not, I could always post it under its own title, but people don't seem to care much for spin offs like that.
SilverHerron: Glad you're liking it. Hope I don't disappoint people with Dressrosa. I think I got the medallion thing figured out. Maybe I'll get the hang of this writing thing some day. ^.^ Then I can figure out what people really want for fanfics. My others are flopping at the moment. But all well. It's still fun to write.
