Chapter 16

Three Years Later

"DON'T GO!" Luffy sobbed, clinging to Law's leg.

Shachi was trying to pry him off, but Luffy had wrapped himself tight around Law's leg. Law had tried to wait for Luffy to get the clinginess out of his system, but sadly his patience was wearing thin. The Polar Tang was packed and ready to go, and Law felt ready to return to Flevance for one last time.

It was a bittersweet feeling.

"Luffy, he feels ready to go," Ace sighed. "Nineteen is a good age, right? And if he had copied us then he would have set out two years ago."

Luffy sobbed harder.

"Get off the Captain!" Shachi hissed.

"I still say you boys are leaving too early," Rouge mused. "I didn't go off until my mid to late twenties, yet Shachi and Penguin have only just hit their twenties."

"We're in no rush," Law said. "If I recall rightly you headed quickly into the Grandline, but we don't plan to leave North Blue for years unless Cora-san and Ice-ya come running at us. Doflamingo is also staying put in Dressrosa according to Dragon, so this seems to be a safe time to move around and experience new places for once."

"We'll be extra careful not to attract too much attention," Penguin said. "We really don't want people hearing about Law too early, and we've got to try keep the name 'Trafalgar' on the low note."

"If Cora-san and Ice-ya know though then it will only be a matter of time before they release my last name too," Law admitted. "But if we could keep it quiet for a little while then at least that would be good."

"Thankfully Luffy can't even pronounce it," Ace laughed.

"That does help somewhat," Law mused. "Now get off my leg, Luffy-ya, before I make you."

Luffy jumped off him the moment Law brought out his 'Room' with a strangled yelp.

"Not my mouth! I can't eat without it!" Luffy cried.

Law had 'misplaced' his mouth a couple of times, to one, get Luffy to shut up, and two, punish him with not getting to eat meat. It worked on Luffy rather well actually, which was a pleasant surprise.

"Relax, Luffy." Rouge approached with two full bags in her hand, Ace's and Luffy's. "We're going with them for a while anyway. Ace and I want to join Law in Flevance for a bit to pay our respects to the Trafalgar clan."

Luffy beamed. "We're going with him?"

"For a little while, yes. Once we've paid our respects the Heart Pirates will go off and start their adventure," Rouge explained.

Luffy whined. "He's gonna find all the cool stuff without us!"

"You said you were going to start at East Blue, remember, Luffy-ya?" Law reminded him.

Luffy perked up. "Oh yeah. Shishishishi, we'll have different adventures after all! We'll have to tell each other what we got up to afterwards!"

"Nah, we're gonna leave you out of all of it," Shachi teased. "You nosy bugger."

"What?!" Luffy bristled. "YOU CAN'T!"

"Yeah, we'll tell Ace everything when he set sails, but by then we'd have even more adventures and have forgotten about the ones we already had. So HA!" Shachi cackled.

"NOT FAIR!" Luffy yelled, launching himself at Shachi.

The two rolled about on the ground, Law carefully stepping around them with a sigh.

"Are you sure you want to come with me, Rouge-ya, Ace-ya? It's not going to be pleasant."

"I was their during and for the aftermath of Baterilla, so I feel confident that I can handle this too," Rouge said. "We just need to keep Luffy busy on the ship for a bit and if Ace struggles with everything I can just bring him back to stay with Luffy."

"I want to be there to pay my respects too," Ace insisted. "I felt them that night, and it's not a feeling I'll ever forget. I want to be there."

Law sighed, then nodded. "Then I guess we better head."

"Oh! Before we go I bought flowers from that nice flower shop lady and some food to lay out," Rouge said. "I'll go get it from the house now."

Law smiled sadly. "Thanks, Rouge-ya. I had prepared some myself, but the more the better."

"It's no problem, Law. I want to help." Rouge patted his shoulder, then disappeared.

Law rubbed his forehead and sighed. He felt jittery from how nervous he was, his hands shaky, and almost flinched when Ace laid a hand on his shoulder.

"How you holding up, Law?"

"I'll be fine once I've gathered my thoughts," Law grunted.

Ace stared him down.

Law sighed. "Fine, nervous, happy?"

Ace grinned. "A little." But he did soften. "I hope us coming actually helps, and if you really don't want our company-"

"No." Law shook his head. "I think a little company going back in there would be good."

Ace nodded. "Thanks for letting us help then."

Law chuckled. "You weren't always this polite and helpful."

Ace laughed. "Well when you have a reckless little brother like Luffy and lessons from Makino-san then things are bound to change a little bit, no?"

"True." Law eyed Shachi and Luffy rolling across the grass, heading dangerously close to where the Polar Tang was parked.

They were both about to go into the ocean, so Law opened up a 'room' and brought them back to dry land. Shachi and Luffy both froze, staring at the water, both yelling at each other that it was 'their fault', and of course their scramble started again.

Law sighed and headed for the Polar Tang.

It didn't take long for Rouge to reappear on the ship with several assortments of flowers and neatly presented boxes filled with food. Luffy drooled, but Rouge shook her head.

"These are offerings for the dead, Luffy. Not you," she said. "And if you dare eat them I will kick you overboard."

Luffy deflated. "Aw..."

.::.

It had taken days to reach Flevance, and as Rouge had said the first time they came here, she went in first by herself to check out if Amber Lead was still an issue for Law here. The guards didn't seem to think so, they no longer wore their hazmat suits, but she wanted to keep a close eye on Law just in case he was infected again. The others too, but Law's reaction to it worried her the most. Yes, he could now use his devil fruit to remove it, however his mental health would be fucked up again after seeing that white shit come back.

Rouge used her haki to knock out the guards patrolling the country, barely batting an eye as she did so, before she returned to the Polar Tang. This was a private moment. None of these assholes would interfere with it, otherwise Rouge would break their necks with her bare hands. Law and the others stood out on deck, Luffy swinging his legs off the railings, while Ace leaned against them next to him.

"None of the guards are wearing their suits, and I used my own haki to knock them out," Rouge said. "You'll have no interruptions, and if you somehow do, I'll kill whatever does piss you off."

Law nodded. "Thank you, Rouge-ya." He stared quietly out into the burnt remains of the city, and breathed in deeply before sighing. "I'm going in."

"We're right behind you, Captain." Penguin stared intently at him, eyes hard.

"Luffy, remember you're staying here," Rouge said.

Luffy's face fell. "But I don't want to leave Law when he's sad."

Bepo nodded. "Don't worry, I'll stay by Captain side the entire time."

"And no one here apart from Law and I have seen a country in such a shitty state before," Rouge said. "It's not a good thing to walk into for anyone, but you're still too young."

"Not fair, Ace and Bepo are fifteen!"

"And not twelve," Rouge said sternly.

"Law..." Luffy whined. "I want to help."

"Then stay with the Polar Tang..." Law muttered, still staring out into the distance.

Luffy huffed, then grabbed his hat, placing it firmly on his head. The odd thing was Luffy went still, then grinned and took off his hat, heading straight to Law's side. Law eyed him curiously, then winced as Luffy grabbed his hoodie and yanked him down.

"Luffy-ya!" Law choked.

"Don't strangle Law!" Shachi yelled.

Luffy took Law's spotted hat and forced his own straw hat onto Law's head, then gripped Law's hat tightly and backed away, eyes teary.

"You're gonna come back feeling fine with my hat, and then you can give me it back to get yours back!" Luffy stated firmly.

Law raised a brow. "Really?"

"Yes!"

Law rolled his eyes, then sighed, a small smile creeping on to his face. "Fine, alright, Luffy-ya, I'll return this to you once I'm done in Flevance."

"Shishishishi, you better." Luffy smiled at Law's hat. "And I'll keep this safe with me, as safe as I keep my hat."

"From the amount of times you've nearly lost that hat I'd be worried," Ace teased gently, then nodded to Law. "Ready?"

Law grimaced. "As ready as I'll ever be."

.::.

Penguin kept a close eye on Law (and Bepo, since he was stuck to Law like glue) as they walked through the desolate streets of Flevance. The buildings were burnt and hollow, and the streets so quiet that all they could hear was the echo of their own feet. It was an eerie feeling, and he had no idea how Law was handling it.

Law's face was the picture of blank until they reached a large gated building that was barely standing. His face fell, and a choked gasp escaped him as his hands shook. Bepo pressed in close, giving Law some privacy from them, and even then Penguin heard the name 'Lami' slip from Law's lips.

That was the moment Rouge had disappeared. Penguin had only noticed it because he was looking out for everyone, but Rouge muttered something to Ace and was gone. Penguin stepped closely up to Ace, who eyed him and frowned.

"Mum said somebody woke up and planned to deal with them," Ace muttered.

"That's a relief to hear," Penguin whispered. "I don't want anyone interfering with this. Law deserves some time here undisturbed."

Law shoved open the gates, his hands still trembling, and he walked inside the grounds.

"This used to be a hospital that my parents ran," Law announced, making them all jump, startled at the sound. His voice was shaky and choked up, and the sound of it made Penguin clench his fists and lock his jaw.

If they ever got a hold of the royal family and the world government members who allowed this then Penguin would show no mercy. None of the Heart Pirates would. They would make them pay for Law's suffering, no matter the fact that his suffering brought Law to them. None of that mattered. Law and the people of Flevance had deserved none of this.

.::.

"Why have you come here, Nico Robin?" Rouge asked sharply.

Nico Robin stopped in her tracks, and glanced back over her shoulder at her. She was bundled up in thick winter gear, but it was black, mourning colours, and the sight made Rouge grimace.

"It's the anniversary, remember?" Robin said, her eyes growing hard. "I remember the feeling of the Trafalgar clan all dying out, so I laid down some flowers in the town centre for them as a sign of my pain for their deaths."

Rouge frowned. Did she know about Law? If so was that a bad thing? She had heard some dodgy stuff about Nico Robin over the years. How she would use everyone, only to backstab them afterwards. This was one of her sisters, but if she was a danger to Ace and Law, then Rouge would beat the shit out of her.

"And?" Rouge pressed.

Robin turned to face her properly, her arms crossed over oddly. Rouge had no idea what she was doing, was it to prepare some kind of Devil Fruit? Whatever it was she needed to be ready for it to attack.

"I was so happy to see that there were still heirs left to the Portgas and Trafalgar lineage," Robin admitted. "But that also means they will be hunted by the world if it was to ever figure out who they were."

"And would one of those people happen to be you?" Rouge frowned. "You've got a bit of a nasty reputation after all in regards to your allies."

Robin smiled sharply. "No need to worry. I don't mean either of them any harm. They will have enough of a hard time of it without my interference."

"You're making it sound like I shouldn't let you leave," Rouge grumbled.

"You probably shouldn't," Robin agreed, and her fingers moved.

Something tickled along her back and Rouge spun her head round, ready to attack but something gripped her head and spine and with a snap everything went dark.

.::.

Ace jolted. Something had burned along his back and neck, right down his spine. A mild discomfort, but he had no idea where it had come from.

Penguin raised a brow. "You alright?" he whispered.

Ace shrugged. "Not sure what that was really. Weird."

He had no idea what had happened, but it didn't feel right.