Resting
"Law," Neo said when Law's knees gave out on him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer to her.
"I'm all right," Law replied, straightening his legs again so he didn't put so much weight on her.
"You liar. You're not all right at all. You've been through torture today," Neo said, tears leaking freely down her cheeks. She pressed herself into Law's body and carefully put his injured arm over her shoulder. She then helped him back to the wall where he was leaning against before. "Sit down here and rest."
Law sighed tiredly while he lowered himself down to the rooftop. He leaned his head back against the wall a while before looking at Neo. He found she was once again looking at his bandaged arm and fussing over it, making sure the bandage wasn't too tight or too loose. He continued to watch he as she increased her solar crystal's glow to include Luffy, Rebecca, and Viola.
"Maybe you should lay down," Neo said. "It'll be a while before the others come find us."
"That's probably a good idea," Law said before shifting his position. He moved from the wall and laid down on the ground, dropping his sword beside him. He watched Neo shift closer to his right side before allowing himself to close his eyes and rest from the hard battles they had been in.
"Lucy," Rebecca said, pulling Neo's attention away from Law a few minutes later.
Neo looked over at her pink haired friend. The young girl was still holding Luffy's head in her lap and crying while the other woman was looking at her with a smile before turning her eyes to Neo. Viola said, "How are you feeling, Neo? You've been through quite a lot today as well. Perhaps you should lay down, too."
"I'm fine," Neo said with a light shake of her head. "Law's the one who took the most damage."
"Well, you should still try and relax yourself," Viola said. "We're out of harms way now thanks to Straw Hat."
Neo nodded. Her teary eyes shifted back to Luffy while her hand wandered up to the straw hat she had on her back. She brushed her fingers across the rim. Part of her wanted to put it back on her head, but a stronger part didn't want to since Law didn't want her to wear another man's hat. She closed her eyes and exhaled. Her mind wandered off of everything that happened here and wandered onto her godfather. She wondered where he was at the moment and what he was doing. She also wondered how long it would take him to receive the news of what happened here. She figured as soon as reporters got their articles written up the whole world would know what happened here. And she had no doubt that Shanks would soon contact her, if she didn't call for him first. She guessed that he would be the one to call on her first. She was just too tired at the moment to summon up enough magic to take herself into their dream world. But she did decide that if he didn't contact her in a few days, she would call on him. She wanted to warn him about the super novas that are going after the four emperors. She was, after all, still concerned about that, especially now that all of this happened here in Dressrosa. Taking down Doflamingo would undoubtedly fire up the rest of the super novas into making their next move.
"Hey! Luffy!" Usopp then shouted from the street below them.
Neo opened her eyes, only aware in that moment that she had slightly drifted off to sleep. She tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes, but more just replaced it. She said, "Sounds like the others are finally coming to find us."
"Luffy! Oh, Zoro!" Usopp said.
"Oh, Sir Usopp! There you are!" Kin'emon said.
"Hey! You guys are all right too! This is so great! It looks like Luffy was about to take down Doflamingo after all!" Usopp said.
"Yeah!" Zoro said.
"Yes, everything went just like I planned for it to!" Usopp said.
"Sir Usopp, you can walk now?" Kin'emon asked.
"Yeah, I can walk! As soon as Luffy won this fight, I felt all the life and energy I lost coming back to me in an instant!" Usopp said.
"Super! It's quite a super victory for us!" Franky said.
"Ah!" Usopp then screamed. "Don't scare me like that you bikini clad, perverted, cyborg jerk!"
"Whoa, whoa! Don't talk me up like that so much!" Franky laughed.
"I didn't!"
"I'm blushing!"
"You are? It doesn't look like it."
"I'm a robot on the inside!"
Neo smiled in the direction of their friends' voices before bringing her gaze back to Law. "I'm glad this fight hasn't affected their liveliness."
Law smiled. He too was glad that the Straw Hats were fine. He locked eyes with Neo before closing his eyes once more.
"I'll let them know we're up here," Neo said, summoning a wind crystal.
"Let us do that, Lady Neo. You just save your energy and rest. Rebecca and I will head down and let them know that we're all up here," Viola said, standing up. "You coming, Rebecca?"
"Uh huh." Rebecca nodded. Carefully, she laid Luffy down on the ground and followed after her aunt while waving at Neo. "We'll be right back."
Neo nodded and watched as the two women disappeared through the door that would lead them downstairs. She only waited a few minutes before they returned with the Straw Hats, the two samurai, the green haired rooster man, and a bizarre looking bird. Through her tired state it took her a little while to register that the bird wasn't real. She pointed at the bird. "What is that? It doesn't have any life."
"Ah, Lady Neo, I'm glad to see you well," Kin'emon said. He lifted his hand in a gesture to the man standing beside him. "That's just a drawing my friend here did with his sorcery."
"It is nice to finally meet you, Lady Neo. My name is Kanjuro," the red haired man beside Kin'emon said with a bow. "My friend has told me all about you. I shall keep my distance until you have gotten use to my presence."
"Uh, okay," Neo mumbled. She eyed the stranger cautiously before looking back over to Luffy.
"He's out cold," Usopp said. The sniper bent down and inspected his friend. "That's just like him."
"It sure is," Zoro said.
"Mister Luffy! He's so amazing!" Bartolomeo gushed as he watched Luffy sleep. "I knew he would win! I knew it the whole time! He is the greatest pirate of all!"
"How are you feel, Neo?" Robin asked as she walked over to Neo and Law. She knelt down and cupped Neo's cheek, taking in how drowsy her young friend really looked. "You're so exhausted."
"I'll be fine," Neo said before covering up a yawn.
"We need to get you some place so you can sleep," Law said as he sat up.
"What?! Luffy's love is here too?!" Bartolomeo then shrieked. He looked around and spotted Neo beside Law. His eyebrows narrowed at Law's close proximity to Neo. "Hey! You get away from Mister Luffy's love! She belongs to him not you!"
"Uh oh," Usopp said when he saw Law's eyebrows twitch in annoyance. "Uh, man, that's not a good idea. Tra is..."
"Room!" Law spread out his Room and cut Bartolomeo into several pieces. "Shambles!"
"...too late," Usopp finished.
"What?! What happened to me?! I'm all messed up!" Bartolomeo screamed. His body flipped and flopped wildly on the floor while his head remained floating in the air.
"Listen you, you moron! Neo is my wife! She's my love! Not Straw Hat's!" Law said before grabbing Neo and pulling her into a deep kiss.
Neo felt her cheeks heat up but didn't pull away from Law.
"What?!" Bartolomeo screamed.
"He's right, Rooster," Robin said. "Neo and Tra are married. Luffy and Neo are only friends."
"But Mister Luffy was holding her hand!" Bartolomeo said. He pointed over at Luffy then at Neo. "I saw them with my own eyes! She's wearing his ring too!"
"That's because Neo is the goddaughter of a very good friend of Luffy's," Robin said. "That makes Neo a very special friend of Luffy's. And the ring she's wearing is Tra's. It was a gift of his before it turned into her wedding ring."
"What?! Are you sure about that, Miss Robin?!" Bartolomeo asked.
"I am." Robin nodded. "We met Neo before on Sabaody, but only recently started traveling with her and Tra. Luffy and Neo wouldn't have a chance to form a romantic relationship with each other."
"Poor, Mister Luffy," Bartolomeo said. Tears ran like rivers down his cheeks. "They were so cute together. I guess I could just kill this interloper so she can be with-"
"Takt!" Law picked up his sword after summoning Bartolomeo's head towards him. Once the green haired man was close enough, he shoved the tip of his sword right against Bartolomeo's nose. "Now, I want to hear it from your mouth. Say that Neo is mine, not Straw Hat's."
"What?! Why should I do that?!" Bartolomeo demanded. "You didn't see what I saw! They have a special bond between each other!"
"Do you want me to slice you up into pieces where you're bleeding all over this rooftop?" Law said. "You won't get to obsess over Straw Hat anymore."
"What?!" Bartolomeo shrieked. "Fine! She's yours! She's all yours! Happy?!"
"Good." Law lowered his sword back down and put his arm back around Neo.
Bartolomeo growled and turned away from Neo and Law. Mumbling to himself he said, "I'm still going to try and kill you, you pathetic interloper."
"Okay. Now that that's settled, we need to get Luffy loaded up and out of here. We all could use some well deserved rest," Franky said. He grabbed a couple of Bartolomeo's body parts and started putting him back together. The cyborg paused when he caught a glimpse of Law moving. He looked up to find that the former warlord had wrapped Neo into a possessive hold while maintaining a harsh glare at Bartolomeo. Neo didn't seem to notice Law's possessiveness over her. He figured she either was just use to it or she was too tired to notice what was going on. With how drowsy she looked, he figured she wasn't registering it. He chuckled to himself then continued to piece together Bartolomeo.
"Yeah. I'll get him," Usopp said. Everyone then watched as Usopp picked Luffy up and carried him over to the bird. "There you go. Let's get going now."
"Meat," Luffy said in his sleep.
"At least we know he's not seriously hurt if he's still asking for meat," Zoro said with a chuckle.
"Can you walk, Tra?" Robin asked.
"Yes," Law said before standing up. Neo stood up with him. Her eyes remained locked onto him, carefully observing for any signs of pain that reappeared. He noticed her every move, every tiny observation she was doing on him. He knew she wouldn't let him out of her sight for a few days after all of this. He didn't mind. He didn't want her out of his sight either. While Doflamingo and his crew was no longer a threat, the navy still was. He carefully slipped his injured arm around her shoulders and quietly led her after the rest of the group.
The group then made their way down to the streets once everyone was ready. Just as they stepped out onto the street, a Dressrosa soldier came running up to them. He said, "Hey!"
"It's one of father's soldiers," Viola said. "What is it?"
"Your father sent me to get you all," the soldier said. "He's housing all of the fighters and pirates at the palace."
"I see," Viola said. "Thanks for letting us know."
"I'll escort you there right now," the soldier said.
"Shall we go?" Viola asked. With no objections, the group started following the soldier. A couple minutes into their walk through the damaged country, they came across Kyros. The gladiator waved to them to get their attention. The pirates and samurai broke off from the two Dressrosa princesses and the soldier without them noticing.
"What's up, Soldier?" Franky asked.
"Come to my house. It will be better for you all to rest there than at the palace," Kyros said. With only a couple exchanged looks, he group followed him. They all quietly observed the damage to the country while they walked through it. Luckily, it didn't take them long before reaching a small house that stood all alone on a flower covered hill looking over the country. A warm breeze flowed through the area, lifting up the scent of the flowers to the pirates' noses.
"What is it, Law?" Neo asked when Law didn't follow after the others as they walked on towards the house. She turned to see him looking off in the direction of the palace.
"We need to go pick someone up," Law said. "Nico, we'll be right back."
"Sure thing," Robin said. She paused to look at her two friends before heading after the others.
Neo summoned her wind crystals. With three crystals, she flew herself and Law to the palace. Quietly, she followed his instructions to go where they had been fighting. She flinched upon seeing Cethin's dead body still scattered on the floor in the bloody mess Law left him in.
Law pulled her closer to his body. "Easy, love. He can't hurt you anymore. I made sure of that."
"Yeah." Neo nodded.
"There," Law said. He pointed to the hole that Luffy and Bellamy fell through earlier with the Doflamingo clone. That's when Neo realized why they had come back here. Law wanted to pick up Bellamy for Luffy's sake. And the man was sprawled out on his stomach on the floor. They landed beside him. A colorful bruise was decorating his left cheek along with other bruises and cuts on his body. While she waited quietly, Law gave the unconscious man a quick look over before determining he had no life threatening wounds or broken bones. Which was a bit surprising considering the fights he too was in. "He looks fine. Think you have enough energy and magic to fly him carefully back to that house?"
"Yes," Neo said. She wrapped her winds around Bellamy, carefully lifting him off the ground.
"Then let's get back," Law said.
Neo nodded and then flew them out of the palace and back to Kyros' house.
While they flew, Law kept a close watch on her. He knew she was going to break down at some point. He just didn't know when exactly that was going to be. His eyes then dropped down to her stomach, to their baby. The biggest problem was now over, leaving only this one left to deal with besides escaping Dressrosa after they had enough rest to do so. That is, if the navy didn't come for them first. But with all the damage that had been done here, he figured they would be running around the country to try and restore some order to it before coming after them. Besides, the navy had to find them first. Surely the navy wouldn't assume for them to be hiding in a small house out in the country. That should give then a couple days of rest. And a couple days for him to try and figure out how he was going to tell Neo that she's pregnant.
...
Meanwhile, on a navy ship out at sea, Lin was sitting on the deck of the ship. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her eyes locked down on the deck. She was lost in thought about Neo and didn't notice the other kids gathering around her until Mocha tapped her on the shoulder. She looked up and said, "What?"
"We're all getting hungry," one of the boys said. "We're going to ask for something to eat. Come with us."
"Are you all right, Lin?" Mocha asked. "You're thinking about Neo, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Lin said with a nod. "I'm worried about her. Some of the navy soldiers have been talking about her and the other pirates that were on Punk Hazard with us. They said that they have been in a fight with a very powerful pirate."
"Maybe big sister or big brother know something about that," Mocha said.
"You think so?" Lin asked.
"They're in the navy, right?" Mocha smiled. "Let's go. You can talk to them."
"All right," Lin said. She pushed herself off the floor and followed after her friends. She decided to stand back while the others opened up the door to the room Smoker and Tashigi were currently inside.
"Big sis! We're hungry!" one of the girls said.
"That's great! We have muffins and coffee!" Tashigi said before walking out onto the deck with the kids.
"But we're kids! We can't have coffee!" one of the kids said.
"When are we going to see Vegapants?" a child asked.
"It's Vegapunk. And we won't get there for a few more days," Tashigi said as the children gathered around her.
Lin glanced at the kids before slipping passed them. She wandered into Smoker's recovery room and paused beside his bed.
Smoker was still looking at the newspaper when the little girl wandered in. When he caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, he finally placed the newspaper down and looked at her. "Is there something wrong?"
Lin nodded but didn't say anything.
Smoker continued to watch her. While he did, he thought about how this kid was the one that was around Neo the most back on Punk Hazard. He could tell then that this little girl had grown really attached to Neo while they were together. And he figured the pirate was the reason she was in his room now. He sighed. "Come up here."
Lin did. She crawled onto the bed, letting her feet hang off the side.
"You're worried about that pirate, aren't you?" Smoker asked.
"Of course I am. Neo's my friend," Lin said. "And the soldiers have been talking about her and her friends. They were in some kind of big fight, weren't they?"
"They were," Smoker said.
"Is she all right?" Lin asked. She looked right at Smoker, causing the man to flinch at the tears gathering in her eyes.
Smoker sighed again before saying, "Trafalgar Neo is just fine."
"Really?" Lin asked.
"She is. There's been no mention of her death in this newspaper," Smoker said. "If she had died, they would have mentioned it."
"I'm glad. But I'm still worried about her," Lin said.
"You don't have to be," Smoker said. "She's a very strong young woman. She won't die every easily."
"Yeah." Lin nodded.
"You run along now and get something to eat," Smoker said.
"Okay!" With a big smile, Lin hopped off the bed and ran out of the room.
That's when Tashigi walked back over to Smoker. He noticed a questioning look she was giving him and asked, "What?"
"I was just wondering about something," Tashigi said. "In your report to headquarters, you never mentioned what you suspected about Trafalgar Law and Neo."
"I didn't think it was necessary to mention," Smoker said. He closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillow. "Besides, it's not like I have any proof to give over to the higher ups."
"But it's possible her secrets have been exposed while on Dressrosa," Tashigi said.
"So? She's a pirate. And secrets often have a way of coming out sooner or later," Smoker said.
"You're worried about her," Tashigi then said out of the blue.
"What?! What are you talking about?! I' not worried about a pirate!" Smoker snapped.
Tashigi giggled before heading back out the door to help get the kids something to eat. "Sure you're not worried."
"Hey!" Smoker protested just before Tashigi shut the door on him. He grumbled. "Why would I be concerned about her? She just another pirate that I'm going to catch." His settled back down into his pillow. Staring up at the ceiling, his mind couldn't help but wander around Neo and her secrets. He wondered what all was going to be revealed. He knew something was going to be. He just didn't know what or when.
...
Neo carefully brought herself, Law, and Bellamy down to the ground. She kept Bellamy hovering in the air while Law opened the door to the house for them. She then carefully moved the man inside of the small house. Law said, "Just lay him down on the floor there."
"Right," Neo said, obeying his order. Once she had the man on the floor, she glanced around the room. There was only one bed which Luffy was already laying on, a table with three chairs, one of which Robin was sitting in, and two other doors that lead to a kitchen and a bathroom. The house was very small, but large enough to house them for a couple days without any problems. Still, it was very welcoming and made her homesick for the sub and her family.
"Do we have some first aid supplies?" Law asked.
"Yes," Kyros said as he held up a white box in his hands. "This is all I have, but I asked some of the Tontattas to bring some more. They should be arriving soon."
"Great," Law said. He laid his sword down on the table before turning back to Neo. He placed his hands on her hips. Pulling her close to him, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Think you can wait just a little bit longer for cuddling?"
"Yes," Neo said reluctantly. She knew everyone needed to be checked out and bandaged up. "Would you like me to help you?"
"The others will. You just continue healing everyone with your solar crystal," Law said, pressing his lips to her forehead again. "And sit down and rest. I'll be with you soon."
Neo nodded. She allowed Law to guide her to one of the chairs by the table. She sat down with a tired sigh and immediately kicked off her boots before extending her solar crystal glow over everyone. She watched quietly and tiredly as Law examined everyone for injuries that needed medical attention. She took this time to make some makeshift beds from leaves and cotton that she grew from her crystals. Just then a small knock was heard at the door causing everyone to tense up.
Zoro grabbed his sword just as Kyros hopped over to the door and slowly opened it.
"Captain!" a familiar voice said. "We brought more bandages and stuff for you. We also brought some clothes for everyone to change into if they want."
"That's great, Leo. Come on in," Kyros said, opening the door more for the Tontattas.
"Neo!" Wicka said upon seeing the other blue haired girl. She placed the bandages down on the floor before running over to her. She jumped up and grabbed onto Neo's shoulder. "I'm so glad you're all right! I was so worried about you!"
"Wicka," Neo said, looking at the little creature clinging to her. She placed her fingertips on Wicka's back and smiled. "I was hoping I could see you again before we left."
"I was hoping to see you again too," Wicka said. "When are you leaving?"
"Probably not for a few days," Neo said. She glanced over at everyone. No one volunteered an exact date so she turned back to Wicka. "We need time to recover before heading out to sea."
Law watched Neo and Wicka before turning back to his patients. With the help of the less injured, Law disinfected and bandaged everyone up before finally sitting down on the floor to get his own treatment.
Neo moved herself to the floor by that point while he removed his damaged coat from his body. She didn't want anyone, not even her friends, touching Law at the moment. She was glad when she noticed they all seemed to sense this from her and gladly stayed back to let her take care of him.
"Well, it's getting late," Leo said. "We should get going ourselves."
"I'll come by tomorrow to see how you are doing," Wicka said to Neo.
"I'd like that," Neo said with a nod.
"See you later," Wicka said as she and the other Tontattas left the house.
"They're so reliable," Usopp said. He sat down on the bed beside Luffy.
"They sure are," Franky said, digging through a small toolbox for tools to fix himself up.
"Since we have a moment here," Usopp said. He looked at Law then at Neo with a hesitate pause before speaking up. "What happened to Neo earlier? She totally lost control. Viola saw that something was happening to her, but couldn't tell what exactly was going on."
Neo flinched at the memories of turning on her friends and lover. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth in an attempt to not cry again. It didn't work. Tears leaked from her closed eyelids.
Law placed his hand on her knee, giving her a comforting squeeze before telling them all about the pollution stone and what Cethin did.
"So, she and her people have a weakness after all," Franky said. "That does make sense. The world would be in complete chaos if such powerful people were allowed to run loose without a way to stop them. It would be like devil fruit users without having sea prism stones to stop them."
"That's crazy," Usopp said. "And her people don't even know about it?"
"They don't. Apparently these stones aren't native to their home island. And if elementals have come across them before they never noticed them. Neo really didn't have much of a reaction to it with how Cethin was using it. The effects of the stone took full affect when he pulled it out of his pocket and when he rubbed it. So I'm assuming that means the stone has to basically see the elemental for it to effect them fully, at least in its stone form. It's more tube like form attached to Neo's crystals on her medallion so it had a stronger effect on her." Law paused. He glanced down at Neo when she grasped a hold of her medallion. He moved his hand from her knee to her arm. Brushing his thumb over her skin, he gave her a look that told her he'd stop if she wanted him to.
"I'm okay," Neo said. "You don't have to stop. They need to know about all of this anyway."
Law slowly nodded. He then continued telling them what he was going to say. "And that means her people could have walked right passed a stone and not even notice it or attribute the effect as something else completely. We're going to have to get this information back to them as quick as we can. They need to know about the stone in case someone tries to use it against them. Hopefully, Neo can contact Red Hair later. She can give this information to him and he can pass it on to the elementals when some come to sail with him."
"That's crazy. It sounds like this stone really has more than one use," Usopp said.
"It basically does," Law said. "There's its original stone form where all it does is weaken an elemental. And then there's the tube like form where a person can take control of an elemental. We actually got very lucky that Cethin attached it to her medallion instead of her. Apparently, if it attaches directly to an elemental that elemental will lose complete control and ultimately died because of it."
Usopp shivered upon realizing how much danger they were really in from not only Doflamingo, but also Neo. "That's just insane!"
"I'm sorry," Neo said. "I didn't know about any of this, but it was also why I gave you all those disorienting powder pouches and told you all about that weakness. Despite how small of a chance, you all still would have had a way to stop me. If you found a way to get passed me that is."
"Don't apologize, Neo," Usopp said. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder, feeling how tired she was through his touch. "It wasn't your fault at all. You didn't know about this. Now we do. It'll be fine now."
"Thanks, Usopp," Neo said, tiredly brushing away her tears.
"I wonder if there are any other uses it has," Robin said thoughtful. "Do you think it's possible that Cethin has papers on the stone's research in the palace?"
Law looked over at the dark haired woman. With all the trouble they've been dealing with today, he never thought of that. "It's possible. He has been staying in the palace for quite some time. He could have brought some of his research notes with him. And he clearly didn't stop his experiments when he came to work under Doflamingo."
"We should go investigate the palace then," Robin said.
"We're going to the palace?" Neo asked with alarm in her voice.
"Don't worry, Neo. We're not going back there tonight," Law said, wrapping his presence around her. "You're going to take a day and rest before we do anything else. And we need to keep an eye out on the navy. We might not get a chance to get to the palace."
"All right." Neo relaxed after that.
"If you do get the chance to go to the palace, just let me know a head of time. I can call over on the transponder snail and let King Riku know that you all are coming. That way we can also know if the navy is wandering about or near the palace," Kyros said.
"Thanks. That will help a lot," Law said. He and Neo went completely quiet after that. His eyes lowered to her while everyone else chatted on about everything that happened to them today. He watched her as she wiped him completely free of blood, disinfected his wounds, and then wrap the bandages around his torso and his arm. He could feel the emotional dam was about to break as she eyed his injuries. And it did. Just as Neo finished tying off the bandage around his arm, tears started pouring freely down her cheeks. The dam had broken. She cried out. Leaning forward against his chest while she curled her fingers against him since he wasn't wearing something she could cling onto.
"L-Law..."
"Shh." Law wrapped his arms around her. Stroking her hair as he spoke softly to her. "I know, I know. It's over now. It's over. He can't hurt us anymore."
"I was so scared! I thought we were... I thought we were going to..." Neo cried, unable to form complete sentences anymore. "Your arm... the gun... I can't... it was... we were going... he was going..."
"But we didn't. It's over. We're going home soon," Law said. He curled his fingers into her hair, holding her as close to him as he possible could. "Just wait a little bit longer."
Neo nodded against him. She remained in his hold for several more minutes before finally allowing him to release her enough to put his coat back on. Once he had it back over him, he slipped his left arm back around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She laid her head on his shoulder, clung to his coat with her left hand while breathing in his scent for extra comfort.
"So you've been living up here on this hill top," Law said a little while later.
"Yeah, it was convenient for me and Scarlet," Kyros said as he placed a pile of blankets on the floor for his guests. "I apologize for it being so small. But it was just us two before our daughter was born. It's not as good as the palace."
"It'll do," Law said.
"Here are some blankets for you all. There's enough for everyone," Kyros said before heading over to a spot on the floor he had claimed to sleep on.
"Sir Law, who is this man that you and Lady Neo brought with you earlier?" Kin'emon asked while pointing at Bellamy.
"He's a friend of Straw Hat's. We just picked him up because of that," Law replied.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go ahead and turn in for the night," Kyros said. "If you're hungry you can eat whatever you find in the house. Though I think there's only dried meat."
"When Luffy wakes up, it'll be gone in a second," Usopp said, looking over his shoulder at his captain and friend.
"Meat... meat..." Luffy mumbled in his sleep.
"Hey! You fell asleep so quickly!" Usopp said when he noticed Kyros was asleep on the floor.
Neo covered a yawn. Her eyelids fell closed as sleep started to take her over.
"Come, Neo," Law said when he felt her about to lose consciousness. "Lay down with me. You've forced yourself to stay awake long enough. It's time for you to sleep."
Neo could only nod. Once he had laid down on their makeshift bed she had crafted for them, she finally took off Luffy's hat. After laying the straw hat on the floor, she snuggled into his side. With her hand lying possessively on his chest, both fell asleep instantly.
"You too?!" Usopp asked despite Neo and Law already being asleep. He then immediately fell asleep himself.
Robin chuckled at the sniper for falling asleep so quickly after griping about the others doing it.
"You fell asleep in an instant too," Franky said to Usopp's sleeping form.
"I'm sure everyone's very tired," Robin said. She then turned to Neo and smiled.
"I guess they're not going to wake up for some time then," Franky said. "Probably days, if we have that long. We really should get some eyes on the navy."
"We should let them have a good rest now," Robin said. "They've earned it."
"Hey, he doesn't have any booze here," Zoro said while he rummaged around the house for something to drink. Suddenly, they all sensed someone coming up to the door. He whipped around, ready to pull out his swords. "Who's there?!"
The door opened. A bottle flew through the air, right at Zoro. "Here."
"Sabo!" Robin said with a smile.
"Hey," Sabo greeted them when he stepped into the house.
"You know him?" Zoro asked.
Before Robin could answer, Neo gasped and sat up. She summoned her crystals and pointed the elements right at Sabo.
"Easy, Neo," Robin said, noticing Neo was still partially asleep and had only sensed Sabo because of the flame flame fruit inside of him. "He's a friend. He's actually Luffy's brother."
"Brother," Neo said. She made the elements disappeared but kept her crystals out. "Luffy mentioned a brother before... somewhere... I don't remember. I'm too tired."
"Neo, come back to bed," Law then beckoned softly. "You're not in danger."
"Okay," Neo said sleepily. She banished her crystals and laid back down, instantly falling asleep again with Law.
"Sorry about that," Robin said as Sabo closed the door behind him.
"Don't be," Sabo said. He crossed the room and sat down on the bed with Luffy and Usopp, dropping his hat and weapon on the bed as well. "I'm the one who dropped in unannounced. I'll be more careful next time and not startle her."
"So, you two know each other from the Revolutionary Army, correct?" Franky asked.
"That's correct. Hey, Luffy," Robin said. She stood up with the intent to wake Luffy up.
"Robin, you don't have to wake him up. I just came to see his face before I leave. And to see Neo," Sabo said. He turned his eyes to Neo as Robin sat back down.
"You came to see Neo?" Franky asked.
"Yeah." Sabo nodded.
"Melody asked you to check on her didn't she?" Robin asked.
"She did," Sabo said. "I know that if I don't, I'm going to get an earful from her when I get back to the base. I wanted to avoid her scolding, literally. She's turned her water crystals on me more than once. Her people can be scary powerful at times."
"I take it this Melody is the elemental you spoke of before?" Zoro asked. He popped the top off the bottle of booze, took a drink, then passed it on to the two samurai.
"That's her." Robin nodded. "I guess I didn't mention her name before."
"Melody asked me to get all kinds of information from her," Sabo said, eyeing the ring on Neo's finger. "But I don't think that's going to happen since she's out cold."
"Yeah. Neo sleeps when she gets emotionally stressed out," Robin said. Her own eyes drifting to the sleeping princess in the room. "She fell asleep pretty quick after our little stint in Punk Hazard."
"I see," Sabo said, pulling his eyes away from Neo. "Well, I guess Melody will have to be satisfied with that."
"There is something else you can tell her," Robin said.
"What's that?" Sabo asked.
"Neo's pregnant," Robin said.
"Are you sure you should be telling him that?" Kin'emon asked.
"It'll be fine," Robin said. "So many already know about it as it is. The navy won't let this piece of information go. They will reveal this to the world. Along with her other secrets."
"So, she's pregnant," Sabo said, returning his eyes to the sleeping woman.
"You sound as if you knew that already," Franky said.
"I noticed she was acting differently from all the newspaper reports that I've read on her," Sabo said. "She actually yelled at me earlier."
"That was probably part of it," Robin said. "But something else was happening to her earlier."
"What was that?" Sabo asked.
"Apparently, there's this thing called a pollution stone that effects elementals," Robin said before explaining to her friend what Law told them about it.
"I see," Sabo said. He clenched his fists in anger at what Cethin had done and how this effected elementals. "I'll inform both Melody and Dragon of this right away. I'm sure they both will want to know about it."
"Does that mean you're leaving soon?" Robin asked.
"Yeah, we have to. There are some really troublesome people coming back here," Sabo said.
"Who are they?" Franky asked.
"CP-0," Sabo replied. "They played a part in Doflamingo's deception. And they're now targeting us. Dressrosa will be in a state of chaos for the next few days. You all shouldn't stay here for much longer either, especially with Neo here. There's no telling what they're going to do with her now."
"Thanks for telling us," Robin said.
"Either way, we're not going to stay here for long. Despite all that, I didn't know that Luffy had another brother besides Ace," Franky said, twisting his screwdriver into a screw on his damaged left eye.
"I bet so. I think it surprised Luffy the most," Sabo said.
"What do you mean by that?" Franky asked.
"I was presumed dead for several years. As kids, we three brothers were around each other all the time. We were training to be pirates then," Sabo said before telling them what had happened to him. "I had set out to sea after realizing how messed up my parents and so many others were. After my ship was sunk by a Celestial Dragon, Luffy's dad saved me. I had amnesia and couldn't remember anything."
"So that's how to joined the Revolutionary Army?" Franky asked.
"Sort of. One thing I knew for sure was I had a strong desire to not return home to my parents. Other than that I didn't remember anything," Sabo said.
"So you lost your memories until two years ago?" Zoro asked.
"Yeah." Sabo nodded.
"If your amnesia was that serious, how did you manage to get your memories back?" Franky asked.
"Ace actually helped me with that. And it happened at the worse possible time," Sabo said. "My memories came back after seeing his picture in the newspaper that announced his death. It all came flooding back. I passed out and slept for three days. Once I woke up, I knew I had to get my hands on his flame flame fruit."
Luffy then laughed in his sleep, bring everyone's, who was awake, attention to him.
"He's laughing," Franky said.
"I wonder what kind of dream he's having," Zoro said. "Probably something to do with food."
"Well, I should go now," Sabo said.
"So soon?" Robin asked.
"I got to see his face. So, yeah. It's time for me to go," Sabo said. He walked over to Zoro and gave him a piece of paper. "Here. I had this vivre card of Luffy made."
"Really? When did you have time to make this?" Zoro asked.
"Here, I'll take a piece with me," Sabo said while ripping a corner off the paper. He then walked back over to the bed to reclaim his hat and weapon. "All right. I know Luffy might be a bit much for you to handle, but take good care of him."
"Yeah! You can count on us, pal!" Franky said.
Sabo nodded. His eyes then drifted back to Neo and Law. He smiled at how obvious their attachment to each other was. "She's just as cute as her pictures show she is."
"Don't let Tra here you say that," Zoro said with a chuckle. "He'll slice you into several pieces."
"I don't doubt it. Take care of her as well," Sabo said before heading for the exit.
"We will." Robin nodded. She watched as her friend disappeared out the door and into the night.
Zoro laughed. "He said the exact same thing that Ace did."
...
"Huh?" Rebecca said as she ran her eyes over the people asleep in the palace. "That's odd. I wonder where they are." She turned and ran out of the large room housing their guests. She ran until she found her grandfather outside sitting on the steps. "Grandfather!"
"Rebecca? What is it? You should be sleeping," King Riku said.
"I can't find them. I can't find Lucy, Neo, and the others," Rebecca said. "They're not here at the palace."
"I see. Don't worry about them. I got a call from Kyros earlier," King Riku said. "They're all together."
"I'm glad. But I wanted to see Neo," Rebecca said. "I was hoping to talk to her some more."
King Riku took in his granddaughter's disappointed look. He smiled. "You've come to like her very much, haven't you?"
"Yeah." Rebecca nodded. "I'm worried they're going to leave without saying goodbye. I might never see her again. There were some things I really wanted to talk to her about."
"Don't worry about it," King Riku said. "I'm sure she won't leave without saying goodbye to you."
"I hope so," Rebecca said.
"That aside. Rebecca, if I go back to being a king that means you'll be a princess, you know?" King Riku said.
"What?" Rebecca asked. "A princess?"
...
Robin stood up from her chair. She walked over to Neo and Law. Kneeling down, she checked on the two sleeping pirates before pulling the cover up over them more. She patted Neo's shoulder tenderly then grabbed Luffy's hat off the floor and placed it on the bed beside him so no one would step on it.
Zoro walked over to the bed at that point and looked at his captain. He said, "He's brother was just here but he's sleeping peacefully, totally unaware of it."
"He'll be disappointed," Robin said.
"He has such a nice brother! Dang it! I can barely fix myself!" Franky said. His tears poured into the opening around his left eye, causing steam to rise from him.
"Would you like me to help you?" Robin asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
"He really does have a nice brother," Kyros then said.
"Did we wake you?" Robin asked.
"We're you listening to Sabo's story?" Zoro asked.
"Yes, from about halfway through," Kyros said.
"We must have been speaking louder than our captain's snoring," Franky said.
"Should we wake him up?" Zoro asked.
"No, let him sleep as much as he likes," Kyros said. "I brought him here just for that reason. If we took him to the palace he never would get this much rest. Zoroland, there might be some booze in the cellar under the kitchen floor."
"What? You think so?" Zoro rushed off towards the kitchen.
"No matter how much I thank Luffyland, it could never be enough. There's no way of knowing how much he encouraged the people of Dressrosa. This country will change. Thanks to all of you, of course. The pain from the wounds that you're all suffering from is the result of us, the citizens of Dressrosa. We have to repay you somehow," Kyros said.
"Do you want to have a drink?" Zoro asked, holding out a bottle he found. The two men then moved to the table near the window while Robin grabbed herself a blanket and finally laid down herself. They sat down and shared the bottle between them.
"Are you going to sleep?" Kyros asked.
"Am I disturbing you?" Zoro asked.
"No," Kyros said.
"I'd like to spar with you some day," Zoro said.
"I can't believe a famous swordsman such as yourself said that. What an honor. Maybe someday, when our wounds have healed," Kyros said.
"Yeah. You can have the rest," Zoro said, placing the bottle on the table.
"Thanks. It was mine to begin with," Kyros said. His eyes then wandered over to Neo and Law.
"What is it?" Zoro asked when he noticed a strange look in his eyes.
"They're so young to be having a child of their own. But then I was around their age when Scarlet and I had Rebecca," Kyros said. "I know Lady Neo will be scared, as you have said, but Lawland will also have his own fears. You need to be sure to take care of them both."
"I don't think Tra is the type of guy to take something like that from people," Zoro said.
"Probably not," Kyros said. "But having a child changes people. He might not admit it, but he will be scared as well. He'll need just as much comfort and support as she'll need. I know I was scared when Scarlet informed me that she was pregnant with Rebecca."
"Well, their real support team is their crew," Zoro said. "But as long as we're with them, they'll have enough support."
Kyros nodded.
"I think I'll get some sleep myself now," Zoro said.
"Give me some meat," Luffy mumbled in his sleep.
...
When Law woke up the next day, he found that the majority of the people in the room were still asleep. He also noticed that a couple of them were missing. Kanjuro, Kin'emon, and Kyros weren't in the small house at all. His eyes then wandered down to Neo. She was still fast asleep and clinging to him. A smile pulled across his lips while he watch her sleep peacefully. He didn't want to leave her, but nature was calling. So as carefully as he could, he pried her fingers from his coat. She whimpered at the treatment of him moving away from her and tried to pull him back to her side. He chuckled lightly at her possessiveness over him. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to her temple then whispered in her ear. "It's all right, love. I'm not leaving you for very long. I'll be right back."
He then pressed his forehead to her temple and nuzzled against her until she relaxed enough to let him pull away from her. Once freed from her grip, he slipped out from underneath the blanket. His entire body paused upon seeing her stomach. At some point in the night her shirt had lifted up to reveal her baby bump to him. He wasn't quite sure with the shadow from the blanket cast over her, but it looked as if her baby bump had almost doubled in size since yesterday. His heart and mind fluttered with so many mixed emotions. He was happy then sad then scared then frustrated then confused. He forced the thoughts away from him when his whirlwind of emotions unintentionally passed to Neo causing her to whimper and shift again in her sleep. He calmed his mind, calming her down in the process, before pulling her shirt back down. He tucked the cover back around her before heading for the bathroom.
Law paused after turning off the water. He stared at his reflection in the mirror above the sink for several seconds. The question of when he was going to bring up Neo's pregnancy plagued his mind again. He just couldn't decide when the best time for that would be. Should he tell her today? Tomorrow? While they were still in Dressrosa? After they left Dressrosa? Or when they were finally back with the crew and the Polar Tang so she was surrounded by all things familiar and would be the most comfortable? Would Luffy keep his mouth shut long enough for that to even happen? He didn't know.
The only thing he did know was he needed to tell her soon. Their baby was growing and it wouldn't be much longer before Neo noticed.
With a heavy sigh, he left the bathroom to reclaim his spot beside Neo. While he watched her sleep, he couldn't help but move the cover aside and pull up her shirt to gaze at the bump concealing their child. His mind went over all of the possibilities as to how their child was going to turn out. Was he, or she, going to be more like him or Neo? He knew most first born often took after their father. But that was in human offspring. Traits could be different in elemental children. For all he knew their child could take more after Neo than him. Or he, or she, could take after one or more of the grandparents. And there was the child's crystals to take in to consideration. Thinking back on the time they spend on Luminous, he didn't really noticing an elemental's element having an effect on their personality. He knew some of them seemed to be more hot headed with fire crystals but it wasn't a dominating feature of all those with fire crystals. And none of the elementals, Healer Zinnia included, ever said that their crystals effected their personality. He knew she surely would have mentioned that during one of his lessons with her if they did have an effect. But his and Neo's child was only half elemental and half human. Surely that would have an effect on their child in some way. He wondered if it was at all possible that they would come a cross an elemental who had a child with a human. He would love to talk to them and get some information on the differences that were most likely there. Were half blood elementals weaker than full blooded elementals? There was no way of knowing unless they came across one.
Law's mind then drifted to another thing that he was concerned about. How was he going to be as a parent? He knew Neo had all the maternal instincts needed to care for a child. She has displayed those skills several times with the crew, then with that little fire elemental on Luminous, and then again on Punk Hazard with the kids. He, on the other hand, always kept the crew and kids at a professional distance. Of course he was more relaxed around the crew since he needed to have their trust and they needed his trust. But he didn't have the sibling relationship with the crew that Neo did. It made sense since he was their captain, but it also made him wonder if he had what it took to even care for a child. The way he acted with the kids on Punk Hazard suggested to him that he didn't have what was needed to care for a child. Sure he became like a parental figure to Neo when she had first came to live with them on the sub, but he had no clue what he was doing during that time. It was just trial and error. That could be done with a baby, couldn't it?
"You don't have to be so scared, Lawland," Kyros said, making Law jump from the unexpected voice. "All the questions and feelings you're having are normal."
"How did you...?" Law started.
Kyros chuckled. He closed the door behind him and moved farther into the room until he was standing beside Law. His eyes lingered on the young man before looking at Neo. "I too had the exact same questions as you are having right now. I wondered how I was going to be as a father considering the man I was before I worked for King Riku and fell in love with Scarlet. It was by far the most nerve racking thing a man or woman can possibly go through. But you are proving right now that you have what it takes to take care of your child."
Law couldn't stop himself from scoffing at the man. Kyros didn't know anything about him after all. The older man knew nothing of his past and what he tried to do to people when he was so angry at the world. "And how do you know what kind of father I'll be? You don't know anything about me."
"That is true," Kyros said. "But I do know that I am right because of the questions that are clearly going through your mind right now. If you weren't going to be a good father to your child then you wouldn't be having these concerns you are having. Plus, it is extremely clear that you are already protective of your child. And that says a lot."
Law's eyebrows rose up on his forehead at the man's words. Kyros did have a good point. He remembered he has been protective of their child since he came to know about Neo's pregnancy. He then vaguely remembered his own parents talking one day about how nervous they were when they were going to have him. And he also recalled several times while traveling hearing other expecting parents concerns over becoming parents. It made him feel a little less alone in all of this. But he still had his concerns. And he didn't feel like he really had anyone to talk to about them. His eyes wandered back down to Neo. They stayed there, carefully observing her as she slept for a long time. He barely registered the other pirates waking up and moving around the house. Nor did he notice the two samurai returning with several bags of groceries with them. He just continued to watch her sleeping peacefully, brushing his fingers over her arm as he did.
"When are you going to tell her?" Robin then asked breaking into the small world Law had built up around him and Neo in that moment.
"I don't know," Law murmured.
"Well, not to push you or anything," Usopp said. "But you need to figure it out soon. It's not like it's something you can keep from her forever."
"I know that," Law said with slight annoyance in his tone. "I just don't know when that should be. I've already told her we need to talk about Doflamingo bringing her pregnancy up."
"Doflamingo knows?!" Usopp shrieked. He clamped his hands over his mouth and murmured through them. "Seriously? Should we be discussing this right now? Neo could wake up any moment."
"She won't wake up for a while still," Law said, brushing some hair from his love's face. "I can always sense when she's waking up. She's still very tired from yesterday and from being pregnant. It'll probably be after noon before she wakes up."
"Lunch should be ready by then," Franky said casting a glance into the kitchen where the two samurai and Kyros were starting to prepare their meal. "Luffy will want to eat by then too whether or not he's awake."
"And, yes, Doflamingo knows," Law said. "I didn't mention it last night, but Cethin actually went to Neo when Fujitora took her. She was unconscious when he was there but the pollution stone tried to kill our baby."
"When did the navy take her?" Usopp asked.
"You and Nico would have been underground at the time," Law said.
"That must have been after I left Luffy at the coliseum," Franky said. "Last I knew she was still with Zoro and Sanji."
"She broke away from them to go after Straw Hat," Law said, continuing to brush his fingers over Neo's arm. "She wanted him to come help me since I forbid her to come to Greenbit."
"I see," Franky said with a nod.
"Well, since we're on the subject of the navy admiral," Usopp said. "There's something you might want to know about."
"What is it?" Law asked, not taking his eyes from Neo.
"He was with us at one point," Usopp said. "He said that he wasn't interested in harming Neo or your child."
Law lifted his eyes to the sniper at that point.
"I know it sounds crazy, but that's what he said," Usopp said with a shrug. "Weird considering he's a navy admiral and all."
"It's not that weird," Zoro then said. He looked over at Usopp from his spot on the chair he was currently occupying. He had his hands behind his head and his legs crossed. "Luffy has made friends within the navy as well."
"Oh, right. I forgot about them," Usopp said. "Coby and that other one we met after our fight with CP-9 on Water Seven. I guess Neo has the ability to make friends out of enemies too."
"She does have a way of charming people," Law said, turning his eyes back to Neo. "She's always been that way."
"She is very charming," Robin said with a smile.
"True," Usopp said. He placed his hands on the bed and leaned against them. "I never really noticed until now how similar Neo and Luffy are. But Neo's more calm than Luffy and she doesn't drag us into hopeless situations."
They all paused and turned their eyes to Neo when she shifted and started talking.
"Bepo, you're... shedding on my cookies. Get out... of my kitchen," Neo mumbled in her sleep. She then snuggled closer to Law's warm body and tugged on his coat. "Law, I'm cold."
Law smiled. His heart raced helplessly at the cuteness she was displaying. He wished they were back in their room on the sub so he didn't have to share this moment with anyone else. He then pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, settling her back down into a peaceful slumber as she nuzzled into his chest and warmth. While he continued to watch her sleep, the others settled into light conversation on what their crewmembers were doing and if they had arrived in Zou yet. Then, like Law had said, Neo woke up a little after twelve o'clock.
Neo stretched out and rolled onto her back before she opened her eyes. She started up at the unfamiliar ceiling, feeling a bit alarmed until she sensed Law beside her and Luffy nearby as well. She turned her eyes to Law and smiled. "Hey."
"How you feeling?" Law asked, brushing the back of his fingers over her cheek.
"I'm still tired," Neo said. "But I'm okay. Your arm feels a lot better too."
"It does." Law nodded. "Thanks to you."
She took a hold of his coat again. "Kiss me."
Law did. He leaned down and pressed his lips to her in a warm, tender kiss. With a content sigh from both of them, Law pressed his forehead to hers, his mind passing thoughts to her about how much he loved her until they were interrupted.
"Ah, Lady Neo, you are awake," Kin'emon said when he and Kanjuro walked back into the room with plates of food in their hands. "Did you sleep well?"
"I'm still a bit tired, but I slept well enough," Neo said.
"Well, some food will help you regain your energy," Kanjuro said. "We should probably move the table more to the center of the room."
Neo nodded. She then stood up with Law's help. Summoning her wind crystals, she moved their bed and Bellamy out of the way before moving the table into a more suitable position.
"We could have done that," Kin'emon said, placing the plates he was holding down on the table.
"I didn't mind," Neo said. "It was quicker this way anyway."
"That is true," Kin'emon said.
"Hm," Luffy hummed in his sleep before getting up and pulling himself to the table. He then started shoving food into his mouth.
"Uh, is he sleeping still?" Neo asked with a curious tilt of her head.
"Yeah," Usopp said giving his captain a small glare. "He invented this little technique so he wouldn't miss meals after fighting."
"I see," Neo said as she continued to watch Luffy sleep and eat.
"Well, we better get something to eat too before Luffy eats it all," Robin said with a small chuckle.
"Why don't you use the restroom while I get us something to eat?" Law mumbled into Neo's ear.
"Why don't you come with me?" Neo pouted, not wanting to leave his side for a second.
"I'm not going anywhere." Law chuckled. "You can still sense me."
"All right," Neo said reluctantly before heading off to the bathroom. She rushed through her morning routing, washing her teeth the best she could without a toothbrush and toothpaste, then raking her fingers through her messy hair before finally exiting the bathroom. Just as she stepped back into the living room, Robin handed her two cups of sweet tea with a smile. "Thanks, Robin."
Robin nodded and allowed her young friend to pass by her.
Neo wandered over to Law. He was just finishing up two plates of food before walking with her over to the wall next to the door. They sat down. She moved as close to him as she possibly could, before they settled into to eating their meal. "This is a lot of food you got. But it smells good."
Law could only nod. There was a reason he got so much food, Neo just didn't notice how hungry she was. And she didn't notice until she started eating.
"This is so good," Neo said. "I didn't realize I was so hungry. Much thanks to whoever cooked this meal. It's wonderful. Though it feels a bit odd that I'm not cooking."
"Think nothing of it, Lady Neo," Kin'emon said. "We were more than happy to cook for everyone. You all have had a hard battle and needed your rest."
"You are correct," Neo said before taking another bite of the meat that was on her plate, blissfully unaware of Law and the others exchanging questioning glances.
