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nehswritesstuffs · 1 year ago

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fly little seagull, that rock can be home - Part 3

Just to let you all know, but this fic is going to change from rated T to No Rating over on AO3 and get a Mature rating on FFN sometime between this chapter posting and the next one. That doesn’t mean that the next chapter is going to be spicy or more mature, but it does mean that I am going to soon shift gears, as this fic is becoming much more than I originally anticipated.

Corasson Law begins coming to terms with his choices, while his old crew stumbles into something more than they realize. [8309 words; Law tries to retire from piracy to raise his daughter with varied results, while the effects of that decision is felt elsewhere]

To say that the Polar Pirates were going through a bit of an adjustment phase was really underselling things.

First off, they were going by the Polar Pirates instead of the Heart Pirates, which was a bit of a problem for the people who they had run into earlier in their adventures. They weren’t exactly keen on changing their Jolly Roger much, so most of what they did involved turning the spikes on the design into snowflake points. All it took was a line on each spike and… yeah… they could see how that was confusing.

Secondly, they were missing their former captain and his kid. Well, it had felt as though despite the fact they agreed the kid was his, the kid also felt like theirs, and it was now too late to hash out a shared custody agreement since the pair’d fucked off to who-knows-where. The only clue they had was an entire Cardinal Blue, which wasn’t exactly something they wanted to explore themselves.

...and third, they didn’t really know what to do with themselves. At least under their prior captain, they had a direction they were going in. A drive. A purpose. Now…? It was just difficult to say.

“There has to be something we can do,” Ikkaku frowned. She and some of the other Polar Pirates were sitting around a table in the communal mess hall on Zou, the Humans all frustrated in their restlessness as their Mink friends attempted to assuage their fears.

“The Lords of Night and Day were insistent that you don’t really work,” Wanda shrugged. “They’re probably gathering up the conviction to actually meet one another in person so they can talk about it.”

“…but they never do that,” Carrot frowned. “That’s why we’re Kingsbirds.”

“I was just a cub when they came back from foreign lands; if there’s anything to push them towards talking, it might be this.” Wanda took a drink from her tankard and exhaled heavily. “It’s just a shame we can’t be better hosts.”

“We just don’t want to overstay the Minkdebt,” Penguin shrugged. He and Shachi exchanged a glance—they were acting as co-first mates, as they had done before, and it was just a damn good thing they were used to it already. “We’re just lucky we made it here intact.”

“True, but your captain is one of us, which makes you honorary Mokomoans,” Fred reminded them.

“Yeah, but,” Shachi piped up, “if we’re Mokomoans, then we should act like it and pull our weight.”

“It’s not that simple,” Wanda replied. “The Lords of Night and Day are… different when it comes to Lesser Minks.”

“Well, what does the captain say?” Hakugan asked. Everyone glanced down at the end of the table where Bepo was sitting alone. The polar bear was slumped forward so that his arms were folded atop the table as he rested his chin on them, ignoring the rest of their conversation.

“Oi, cuz, snap out of it,” Fred said. “What’s got you so down?”

“It was Nauja’s birthday last week, and we didn’t hear anything!” Bepo pouted. “I was hoping we’d at least get a snail call.”

“I’m sure you’ll hear about the cub eventually,” Fred sighed. She looked at Wanda and Carrot, offering a shrug. “She’s a cute little thing; I’m not surprised their former captain’s heart melted because of her.”

“Everyone’s heart melted because of her,” Ikkaku noted. “Besides, we were promised they’d check in and that hasn’t happened yet.”

“Maybe they’re still trying to find a place,” Carrot offered. “It’s probably difficult.”

“It can be, for former pirates,” Jean Bart said, having returned with a tray full of drinks. He placed it down on the table and people took what they wanted. “There are many hoops to jump through, for some more than others.”

“A kid’s not like a Hoof,” Shachi frowned. Everyone nodded—all there, Minkfolk included—knew about Jean Bart’s past and the trouble it caused at no fault to anyone assembled. “It’s rough, yeah, but he should have at least said something about how they were still looking.”

“We should have heard something by now, even if it’s just that they’re still running,” Bepo whimpered. Uni passed him another drink and the bear morosely sipped it. “I miss the Captain. I miss Nauja.”

That was definitely something the entire Polar Pirates could agree on.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Slowly but surely, Law was finally starting to find himself integrating into stationary island life. Sure he had a single place for his daughter to grow and learn and have friends, but with the lukewarm reception they had been given, he wondered precisely how long it would take and what would be the tipping point. It had been helping to safely bring Storm into the world, as it seemed, and now it felt as though he’d been summoned there from another island instead of shown up out of nowhere…

…because really, the locals needed to leave him alone.

“Run that by me again,” he deadpanned. He was sitting in the consultation room, a farmhand perched on the examination table. He had never even seen the man before today, and yet…

“Uhh… everybody at the farm hurts when they piss,” the farmhand replied. “It’s normal for there. Something in the water or whatever.”

“That is… not normal.” Law’s brain was going into overdrive trying to think of a reason as to why this man, along with everyone else he lived with, was pissing fire while thinking that was normal. “You’re at… which farm again?”

“Margen’s; you know the one?”

“Out past Linda’s; mostly potatoes, but also some burdock, turnip, onion, shallots, and garlic.”

“Yeah, you know your way around the island already,” the patient chuckled. Okay, memorizing the lay of the land must have been another bar that was so low it was on the ground. Add that to personal hygiene and basic concepts of personal space. “Think you might know what’s wrong with me, Doc?”

‘I don’t have time to unload all that right now,’ Law sighed internally. He instead used a small amount of Haki to make the farmhand pass out and carefully laid him down on the examination table. After opening a Room, he began to analyze his patient for any sign of cancer or… to think… venereal disease…

“Oh, Vaor, I’ve got the tools sanitized!” Najua said as she knocked on the door. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, go ahead,” he said. Law didn’t even flinch as his daughter came inside the consultation room with the equipment box. She place it on the counter and then went over to look at the unconscious patient.

“Oooh, how’d you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Make him sleep. You wouldn’t be doing that if he wasn’t asleep.” She wriggled her fingers in imitation of Shambles for emphasis.

“He’s unconscious because of Haki—I just figured out how to do it the other day,” he admitted. “When I yelled at Janka-ya at school, Linnie-ya almost passed out from it and had to stay in her father’s office for the rest of the day.” Did he feel bad for the headmaster’s adult daughter? Of course he did, but it was the sexually-aggressive school secretary he wasn’t having any empathy for at the moment. She needed to leave him the fuck alone…

“That’s neat,” she decided. “Can you teach me how to do that?”

“Not before I figure out what kind of Haki it is and how to properly harness it otherwise.”

“Oh.” Nauja tilted her head to the side as she watched her father run a quick test of the man’s enzymes. “I thought he came in with leftover body aches from a cold.”

“He apparently also has acute dysuria and I’m trying to figure out why before he wakes up. It might be related…” Law then groaned and hung his head. “Extremely high levels of capsaicin; no wonder he said everyone else at the farm was experiencing the same symptom.”

“Then… it’s not related…?”

“No, doesn’t look like it. My guess is that it’s just over-consumption coupled with heightened sensitivity.” The farmhand then began to stir and Law dropped the Room before his eyes opened. “Looks like you fainted there. Did you eat before coming into town?”

“Not a lot; must’ve been it.” He saw Nauja as he sat up and patted her head. “Don’t worry, missy. I’m fine. Just a little achy.”

“…and full of spicy food!” the girl said with a grin. The farmhand stared at her and blinked. “Vaor is teaching me medicine, so he asked me what I thought about your symptoms while you were passed out! You eat lots of spicy food, yeah?”

“We tend to,” the farmhand marveled. “That explains the burning piss, I guess. You’re a clever little lady, aren’t you?”

“I try,” Nauja beamed. She then turned to Law. “Vaor, can I stay at Svana-ya’s for dinner? Mika-ya’s there and she’s making pies.”

“Fine, fine; get out of here,” Law said, shooing his daughter out. Their patient laughed as the girl scurried from the room. “My apologies; she needs to learn discretion.”

Though, in all actuality, Nauja had been right on schedule.

“Ah, it’s fine; nothing no one don’t know anyhow,” the farmhand said. His expression then turned almost sly. “Why don’t you go to Svana’s? You and Mika would make a fine pair if you tried.”

“Svana-ya’s grandniece and I have a purely professional relationship,” Law replied dryly. There were a few other reasons as to why it wouldn’t work, but that was far from this man’s business. “All I can say is that I look forward to working with her in a medical capacity like I currently work with her great-aunt. Now, let’s work on those joints of yours.”

The farmhand clearly wasn’t buying it, but it wasn’t like that mattered. None of it was anything Law hadn’t heard before, and was sure he was only going to hear again. No use in letting it bother him now.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“What are you doing?”

Nauja looked up from her sketchbook to see one of her classmates, Magne, standing there, staring at her curiously. She held up her work so he could look—a drawing of the harbor on the otherwise dreary late winter day.

“Practicing,” she said. Magne frowned, looking from the drawing to the boats.

“I thought you’re supposed to draw guts and stuff.”

“Well yeah, I will, but not now.” She took back her sketchbook and continued forming the shape of a trawler, sticking out her tongue as she concentrated. “I gotta get good at drawing a bunch of stuff in order to be good at drawing guts because of all the things guts can do and places they’ll be.”

“I guess that makes sense,” he said. He sat down next to her and watched for a couple minutes as she draw the best approximation of the harbor she could. “You’re not that good yet, are you?”

“I’m eight.”

“…but you’re always drawing.”

“That’s because I’m practicing, and even adults have to practice. If my vaor still studies medicine and he’s the island’s doctor, then this is normal.”

“That’s boring.”

“…but it’s the truth.”

Magne shrugged at that. “Maybe if you planned on farming sheep or fishing like some of us then you wouldn’t need to study so much.”

“That might be good for you, but it’s boring to me.” Nauja went back to sketching, trying to capture the shape of a trawler bobbing in the water. “That’s why we’re different, and Vaor says it’s good that people are different.”

“Okay Northern Nerd,” the boy said. He didn’t leave, however, staying put and petting the top of Professor Nanuk’s head, the toy poking out of Nauja’s bag. She didn’t correct him, either—he wouldn’t know a Northern accent from a Celestial one…

…wait a second…

“Do you hear that…?” Nauja wondered. Her friend stared at her.

“Hear what?”

“It’s like something’s crying.” She shoved her sketchbook and pencil in his hands and carefully began to head down the rocks.

“I don’t hear anything!”

“But I do!”

“Be careful!” he warned. She was, as she carefully stepped down to where a tidepool was situated within the crevices of the shoreline. There was no way she had just imagined it…

…ah! There! Nauja looked behind a rock to find a small animal sniffling sadly. Wait, was it a dog…?

“I found something!” she shouted up at Magne. She took her jacket off and wrapped the wet ball of fur up in it, bringing it back up the shore to where her classmate sat in bewilderment.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I dunno.” She opened her jacket and the creature yipped cautiously as it was set on the ground. Suddenly, she understood. “It’s a puppy.”

“A puppy…? I wonder where he’s from.”

“One of the trader ships, I think.”

“…but those all left yesterday. How did they miss him?”

“He didn’t want to be found,” she said. Nauja plucked the sticks and kelp from the puppy’s fur and realized he was white with a large diamond-shaped mark. Huh. So he looked a lot like a riceball…

“So now you talk to animals?”

“I… I’m just guessing,” she scowled. Her classmate didn’t seem very convinced.

“Well, what are we gonna do with it?” the kid frowned.

“Keep it…?”

“I can’t keep a dog; my grandma’s allergic.”

“Then maybe I can,” Nauja replied. She let the puppy shift under her hand and roll onto his back. He yipped happily as she began scratching his stomach, his paws batting at thin air.

“Your dad is a doctor—are you allowed to even have pets?”

“I don’t see why not if he stays in the right parts of the house and not the clinic.”

“Your whole house is the clinic.”

“Well, I’m not letting him just stay out on his own! It gets cold out!”

“He has fur.”

“Well, I’m gonna try anyhow,” she decided. “I don’t want him to be sparrow food when they come back! That’d be my fault if he was!”

Magne shrugged; no one could say he didn’t try.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“No.”

“…but Vaor…! He has nowhere to go!” Nauja pouted as her father continued to idly write on a med chart. He was making a concerted effort to not look at his daughter and the now-dry animal currently cradled in her arms. Meanwhile, one of the younger smiths was sitting on the nearby exam table with her arm in a cast, trying to keep a straight face. “He must have come off a trader ship.”

“Then he needs to go back on that trader ship.”

“…but there’s no one left in the harbor!”

“Having a dog is a commitment, Nauja. You can’t expect it to be easy.”

“I didn’t think it would be easy!” She then turned to the smith. “You know I’m serious, don’t you?!”

“I’m not the one you need to convince, kid,” the smith chuckled. She then glanced over at Law, who was pointedly avoiding looking at his daughter. “At least look at the little guy.”

“No,” he repeated. “It’s a waste of time.”

“…but Vaor…!”

“Nauja, I…!” Law went to throw what was supposed to be a piercing glare at the kid, one that was supposed to put an end to the conversation once and for all, and instead he was met with her holding up and towards him a ball of fluff happily panting as it wagged its tail and stared at him with an expression so free of thought that it might as well of been Enlightened.

Fuck.

“Get that thing out of the infirmary and into the kitchen,” he grumbled, face growing hot. Stars seemed to appear in Nauja’s eyes as she ran out in a fit of giggles.

“Didn’t think an old man like you would like cute things so much,” the smith smirked. Oh, yeah, she was a wiry nineteen-year-old—for fuck’s sake, he wasn’t that old.

“I was taken aback, is all,” he said, attempting to downplay the situation. “Now, let’s get that cast off you…”

Law fumbled through the rest of the appointment and sent the smith on her way. Once he was sure there was no one waiting to see him, he stormed into the kitchen, where Nauja was sitting on the floor and watching the puppy as it drank from a bowl of water. Another bowl was sitting nearby with some scraps of half-eaten lamb, no doubt pilfered from the fridge.

“You have to find a home for it,” he insisted, making sure he got it in before she even had a chance to speak. “We can’t have something like this around the house, famke.”

“Why not?”

“Dogs are not only messy but they’re also allergens, and what will happen to it if we have to leave?”

“Then he comes along!”

“Him? You checked?”

“He told me!” Law could feel his patience being drained at an incredible rate. “I found him because he was calling to me from the rocks. Magne couldn’t hear him, but I could.”

“This is still a medical facility. He can only stay long enough for you to find him a new home. Do you understand?”

“I guess,” she sighed. The dog looked up from the water bowl and his entire body seemed to shake as he wagged his tail. “Come on, Onigiri. You can stay in my room until then.”

“You named it?!”

“Well, yeah.” She shrugged and stroked the dog’s back. “Doesn’t he look like one?”

Honestly? The thing looked like it was going to be a nuisance.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Later that night, after the clinic switched to Emergency Hours and dinner was had, Law was settling down in the private sitting room they had put together upstairs for the evening. He had just gotten in a stack of new journals, meaning he was ready to begin his first read-through of them until he fell asleep on the couch, invariably waking up in the middle of the night with a crick in his neck and a blanket pulled over him by his daughter. Tea, cookies, the stack of journals… he was all set…

…except, Nauja went and brought Onigiri in as well, the puppy happily sniffing and exploring the new room.

“Keep him off the furniture,” Law said idly, not even looking up from the journal.

“I know,” she droned. “He even has his own bed I made out of an old blanket and a box from the rooms we don’t use. I don’t think he can hop up high enough to get on the furniture.”

“Good.” Law took a sip of tea and continued reading. The less he interacted with the dog, the better.

Eventually, Nauja excused herself to use the bathroom and left Onigiri to wander around some more. The wee pup sniffed about until he came to Law’s feet, at which he looked up and happily yipped as his entire body wagged. Law only moved his eyes as he looked at the houseguest, trying the instill the seas’ wrath in the animal.

Instead, it hopped directly up into his lap.

“No! Bad dog! Get down!” Law hissed through his teeth as he attempted to shoo away the dog, only to realize that it plopped itself into a little ball in his lap and was refusing to budge. He tried to push it off his lap, only for Onigiri to cuddle against his hand.

Oh. He was soft…

By the time Nauja came back from the bathroom, she saw her vaor was still reading his journals, but was also idly scritching Onigiri behind the ears, the puppy settled comfortably in his lap. She was smart enough to not draw attention to it, instead pulling her own book off a shelf and sitting down on the couch to read. It was something she didn’t want to jinx, instead peeking glances at them over the edge of her book.

It looked like they were going to have a dog after all! This was going to be the best!

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Everyone was awake in the Mokomo Dukedom as the Lords of Day and Night finally made good on their promise and drew a meeting with their Lesser Mink guests. With Minkdebt claimed, they needed to figure things out together, but by the way they eschewed the Kingsbirds and decided to meet them in-person, jointly… it was monumental. The Kingsbirds even mostly stayed outside, keeping the rest of the dukedom from entering the meeting.

An awkward silence settled over the meeting hall as the Polar Pirates were sat across from the pair of large Mink lords. Duke Inuarashi of the Day and Master Nekomamushi of the Night both towered over them all—even Jean Bart—and they were truly a sight to behold. Fred silently urged her cousin to step forward, with Bepo shakily complying.

“Th-thank you for seeing us, milords,” the bear shivered. “It is an honor…”

“Why did you bring these Lesser Minks here?” Inuarashi asked, cutting him off. Bepo flinched.

“They are my friends,” he replied truthfully. “Thre—sorry—two of them have been with me since I was a cub, when I was stranded in the North Blue. They took care of me, and I wanted to take care of them in return.”

“Three?” Nekomamushi rumbled. “Why was there three?”

“I’m… not the first captain of this crew. Our first captain… retired. His… his priorities changed.”

“Lesser Minks that turn towards piracy are a selfish lot,” Nekomamushi stated. “Many chase gold, Beri, power, beautiful bedmates… their lust for petty things ruins lives. What did this man chase that threw you in such ruin you came back here?”

Bepo swallowed hard—even having come from a Kingsbird family, it did not change the fact that he was absolutely terrified of the Lords of Day and Night, just as he was as a young cub.

“Raising his daughter,” he squeaked. The Lords gave one another a sideways glance before leaning down in unison, an action more unnerving than anything.

“His… daughter…?” Inuarashi repeated. Bepo nodded silently. “He stepped away from a life of infamy and potential riches to raise a cub?”

“Sorry, I know it doesn’t sound very logical, but she’s a good kid! I was the one who found her, and she sort of attached herself to the Captain, and before we realized it, he gave up being a pirate to be her dad! They’re probably somewhere in the South Blue right now, but we haven’t heard from them in months, so we can’t say for sure…”

“Hmmm…” both the Lords hummed in unison before glaring at each other. The Human members of the Polar Pirates exchanged looks amongst themselves—whatever the Lords of Day and Night were now, they had absolutely been best friends at one point.

“Fine,” Penguin scoffed. He could see this was going to go nowhere fast and decided to bluff their way towards results. “We can tell when we’re not wanted.” He turned to leave, only for Nekomamushi to slam his paw on the armrest.

“Don’t you dare leave, Lesser Mink,” he growled. Penguin turned back to face the Lords and shrugged.

“You don’t like Humans, I get it, I’d hate us too if I was stuck on the back of this elephant my whole life and didn’t know anything other than horror stories…”

“Do not speak like you know us!” Inuarashi barked. The Polar Pirates all froze, the Lord’s outburst having shaken them. “Did Bepo, son of Yepo and Alana, tell you what we did before we were bestowed the weight of rule?”

“N… no…?”

“We spent our cub years in a nation of mostly Humans, where they cared for us as though there was no difference,” Inuarashi said. “One of our greatest regrets is that we could not protect our Lord’s children all these years when he could not.”

“Your Lord’s…?” Clione began to think aloud, which forcefully dragged him into the conversation. “That would insinuate that there’s more to Mokomo than just a Dukedom.”

“It has something to do with those cranes emblems, doesn’t it?” Ikkaku asked. Everyone turned their attention towards her, who looked as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Some of them are really old and worn, but there’s an emblem that’s all around that looks like a crane. It has nothing to do with Minks—there’s no Crane Minks and they aren’t a bird that sticks around—which means it’s something involving elsewhere. Right?”

“How did you figure this?” Nekomamushi wondered.

“It is plain to see,” Jean Bart defended. “She sees as a woman, I see as someone recently freed from a slave’s life. We notice to survive and survival means you have to notice things around you. If you were abroad for all that time, then you must know what that’s like.”

The Lords of Day and Night both considered that; the Lesser Minks were more clever than they let on. They then returned their attention to Bepo, who seemed ready to faint from nerves.

“The tides are shifting,” Inuarashi noted. “We have been looking for a unit to train as seafaring envoys for our nation, but if we put too many of our people in such a group, any defeat of theirs would wipe out our most skilled warriors.”

“We have discussed it at-length in our correspondences,” Nekomamushi continued. “As a Child of Electro, we know your loyalties, and we think it would be a good thing to keep some Lesser Minks on-hand in order to go places we cannot.”

“…besides…” Inuarashi shifted in his chair to get comfortable. “You know Lesser Mink society as well as we do—a crew only captained by a Greater Mink has a better chance at moving amongst the other nations without getting too much unwanted attention.”

“So you want us to be your mercs,” Shachi frowned. The Lords both looked at him.

“If that’s how you want to look at it,” Inuarashi replied.

“…then yes,” Nekomamushi finished. “You want work: become our mercenaries-in-all-but-name and you will become official Mokomoans. Legally, there will be no distinction between you and your captain. All the rights that our cubs enjoy from birth, you shall know.”

“So then,” Inuarashi said, extending a paw, “do you agree?”

There was only one choice the Polar Pirates had, now wasn’t there?

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Onigiri yipped happily as he scampered on ahead of Law and Nauja while they walked along the lonely path up towards the highest point on Diura. It was nearly midday, yet the change in altitude kept the air just cold enough to send a chill through the girl’s spine.

“How much further?” she wondered.

“Not far,” her father assured. He whistled for the dog as he walked off the path, leading them across rougher rocks before coming to a level area nestled within the craggy terrain. “Here we are; best camping spot on the island.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Positive.” Law opened a Room and swapped a bunch of nearby twigs and branches for a cluster of pebbles, automatically building their campfire supplies. Once that was done, he moved a large stone with Takt, revealing the nook where he had previously hid Kikoku when he scouted for the spot, the sword humming in delight. “We can make camp before we start with more training.”

“Okay.” She took off her dirk and set it next to Kikoku, watching as Onigiri sniffed both weapons. “Vaor…?”

“Yes, famke?”

“How did you learn Kikoku’s name?”

Law glanced over at his daughter and the dog, watching them watch the sword and knife. “I learned it when I got it. Why?”

“I was just wondering if all weapons have names.”

“No, they don’t.”

“Then why is this one asking me to name it?” She turned towards him, frowning in trepidation. “Why is it talking to me…?”

“The same reason you can understand Onigiri, and why when Marla-ya brought Storm over for a checkup, you knew he was hungry before he cried.”

“Oh.” Nauja thought for a moment, her brow furrowing as she bit her bottom lip. “Is that symetesia?”

“Synethesia? No, more like the Voice of All Things. Now come here and help me.” She did pad over to his side and helped secure some branches as posts as he made a shelter out of rocks and a tarp. “I didn’t think it was real at first, but you’ve been showing signs for a bit.”

“…and what’s that?”

“You can talk to babies, you can hear Onigiri and Kikoku, you can pick up when traders are coming… remember when you would have those nightmares on the Tang?”

“Yeah… where I was running through a war…?”

“We passed by several places that were going through wars or being torn apart by more typical pirates,” he explained. “You caught onto that in your dreams—I thought it was just Observation Haki back then, but now I’m starting to reassess my diagnosis.”

“…because Haki doesn’t let you hear dogs.”

“Dogs, maybe; swords? Not like you do. Hold this.” He had her keep the tarp taut as he finished securing it. “I can feel what Kikoku emanates because it’s cursed and I’ve been around it long enough, but you… something about it feels fundamentally different.” Law stepped back from the tent, prompting Nauja to do so as well. “This is different, and I need you to know it’s not a bad sort of different, even though I don’t know what we’re going to do with it.”

“Maybe someone on Diura knows what to do?”

“I doubt it,” he sighed. He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair as he itched his scalp. “Until we figure it out, this is one of the things we need to keep quiet.”

“I guess…” Nauja glanced back at Onigiri, who was sniffing at her dirk’s sheath. “Do you think I can control it with Haki? Hearing the Voice of All Things?”

“Possibly. Let’s work on you knowing a bit more about Observation and Armament Haki first.” Law ruffled her hair and she shrugged him off with a laugh. “Maybe I can even get you knocking out patients before we’re done.”

“Maybe; Armament Haki is so weird like that.”

“It can be.” Law could feel Kikoku bristle as Nauja walked back to the weapons and picked her knife up. She unsheathed it and looked at the well-cared-for metal in the glinting light of the late afternoon. “So…? What’s it saying…?”

“Zokuka,” she replied. “It’s name is Zokuka.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was the Spring Festival and everything seemed to be going along well. Since the Winter Solstice Festival had been canceled (the woman who had been running it passed away suddenly), it felt like everyone was going all-out. Most of the island’s population was crammed into the large field by the school, where there were children’s games and food being cooked and kegs of winterbeer being tapped with glee.

“It would be a missed opportunity,” a carpenter said, very clearly drunk. It was all Law could do to not move down the bench and away from him, especially since it would be moving towards others. “How do you know it won’t work if you don’t try?”

“…because I don’t care whose sister or cousin or friend it is—I’m not in the mood,” the doctor replied. He took another drink of his water—had to stay sober in case of an emergency—and scowled. “Just not ready yet.” The carpenter shrugged and was about to continue his argument, when Svana came over brandishing a pair of pints.

“Go, shoo,” she scolded, scaring off the interloper. The carpenter retreated, allowing the elderly woman to shove one of her pints in Law’s hands. “Here; you look like you need this.”

“I’ve already had two; can’t get buzzed—let alone drunk—and expect to have a clear head in an emergency.” His eyes wandered towards where some children, Nauja and Onigiri included, were playing with some juvenile super-sparrows, not liking the sharpness of those beaks. “People are acting stupid now that the sun’s touched their skin.”

“True, but you last had a real pint hours ago. Live a little; it’s been a good winter.”

“It has…?”

“I would think so. People accept you now, don’t they?” Law grouchily took a drink from the winterbeer and Svana laughed. “Nicolette would have loved you.”

He thought a moment before it clicked. “Why would you say that of Dr. Ghar-Spartel?”

“Enough of the North clung to her that she would have found you hilarious. Watching you want to murder people for just talking to you is funny enough as it is.”

“They need to get off my back with all the talk of matchmaking. How many times do I need to say I’m not looking for someone?”

“At least a few times more,” Svana sighed. “Listen, son: the people here are loyal and protective and accepting of those they count as their own. Unfortunately they’re also extremely stupid.”

Law raised an eyebrow as he stared at her. “You’re drunk.”

“Maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact they’re denser than Five Year Fergus’s wool.” She motioned with her own pint towards a pen where a surly ram was being kept, the creature’s overgrown pelt massive thanks to him naughtily skipping shearing seasons. “Y’know, if Antje was the only gal for you, then Mika might not mind doing something fake to keep people away while you figure yourself out. It’d help her out too…”

“No… just… I don’t know…” Law thought about the ocean that was not far away and how it could connect him to his crew. “I don’t know if I can let myself… especially this soon…”

“You’re not going to get anywhere sitting off to the side talking to no one.”

“I do talk to people,” he bristled. She gave him a deadpan look and he felt his face grow hot. “I talk to you.”

“Your elderly colleague and neighbor does not count,” she claimed. He scowled and tried to hide behind a sip of winterbeer. “You owe it to them, anyhow.”

“Owe what to whom?”

“A chance to the people who took you in; knowledge for your family that you’re finally letting yourself be happy for once.”

Law glared at the old woman. “How do you know I’m not happy now?”

“Look at you,” she scoffed. “That is not the posture of a man who allows himself to be happy.”

“Now I know you’re drunk,” he frowned, rolling his eyes. He finished off the pint and passed her back the empty tankard. “If anyone needs me, I’ll be double-checking my supplies.”

Law didn’t even allow Svana the chance to respond before he stood and left the festival, soon finding himself back within the safety of the clinic. It was quiet there and he could finally be with his thoughts… at least until someone got so drunk they were liable to break a limb. He trudged upstairs and sank into the seat at his desk in the private office; if there was really an emergency, the bell attached to the door would alert him.

Why the fuck was everything so exhausting? Law stared at the ceiling for a bit, idly twisting back and forth as the chair swiveled, trying his best not to scream. He was already over the lies, the dancing around topics, the attempts of his new neighbors to get involved more than a doctor should allow—and yet he knew that this was the safest route to take. A city would present too many people to keep track of and moving to another rural island would start the problems all over again. Besides, a place that was unaffiliated with the World Government to the point of spite? Not many large animals despite it being the South Blue? It not being hotter than the inside of the Polar Tang on a two-week dive also despite being in the South Blue? No one asking him about his schooling credentials? He’d never find another place like this even if he sailed the entire Blue.

Part of him wondered how the crew was doing. Were they still on the Grand Line? Had they made it to Zou? What were they doing now that they didn’t have him to lead the way? He had no questions over whether or not Bepo had been the right one to pass captainship onto, but that still did not stop him from worrying. Then again, he did a lot of worrying, didn’t he? Since forever, it felt like; first it was about Lami, then about Cora-san, then Bepo and Penguin and Shachi, followed by the rest of the crew, and now… now it was Nauja. After all this time… it was only Nauja.

He didn’t regret it—he couldn’t regret it—because he knew that this was what he wanted to do in the end. Pass on the Tang to someone he trusted, find a quiet place, settle down, raise a kid and grow old… it was something he considered a pipe dream before Nauja. He thought he was going to be the last Flevench person, with no one to tell stories or cook food or share his language. As recently as becoming a Warlord, he thought instead he was going to die by a taut string as he ground a still-beating heart beneath his heel. Now… yet now… now…

Fuck. Why was he so restless? Standing up briskly, Law went to his room and directly to the sink, where he opened the tap all the way and splashed the cool well water on his face. What the fuck was this emotion? What the hell was he feeling? It reminded him distinctly of guilt, but he was well-aware of the sensation and there was no way. This was not the same guilt of him being the only one left… the only survivor… he didn’t understand… what was going on…?

Looking at himself in the mirror, Law noticed how his face seemed to be filling out, his cheeks not as hollow as before the winter. He knew that he was also beginning to put on weight around his middle, hiding his abs; not a lot, but before long he was likely to need new trousers if he kept it up as more than just winter-weight.

If he thought his father had been staring back at him before, he really was now. All he needed were patches on his skin and streaks of white in his hair for seventeen years to vanish and the Bad Days to resurface.

“Ik leafd du, soan,” he whispered, voice trembling. It wasn’t the exact timbre he remembered, but it was so close that it nearly brought tears to his eyes. No, those were not tears streaming down his face… not any more than those were the last words he heard, with his mother already gone…

Law let out a breath as he shakily undid the top buttons of his shirt, exposing his parents’ rings and his chest tattoos in an attempt to break from his thoughts. The ink itched, his skin feeling like it was on fire; there was only so long they were going to be useful in distracting him from the past. He was careful to not expose them much anymore aside from his hands and forearms, but that didn’t change how they all mocked him, in a way. They had been a part of him for so long that he couldn’t imagine removing them, and yet… with summer coming…

A couple hours later, as the sun was going down, Nauja and Onigiri came back to the clinic, thundering up the stairs as they searched for Law. They found him having returned to the private study, desk lamp on as he bent over something he was manipulating in a small Room.

“Vaor! Vaor! Vaor! Lonnie-ya and Eira-ya and Junir-ya are bringing up the season’s first lambs! The feast is gonna start soon!” Nauja tilted her head as she looked at her father’s project. “Is that your chest…?”

“Yeah,” he admitted casually. “I’m altering them a little bit to see if it helps. It’s just moving the faces to make other circles.”

“Why…?”

“They’re too distinctive, and…” He put back the part of his chest he was working on and sighed heavily. “I don’t know if they feel right anymore. I don’t know if anything feels right anymore. At least this way, I can change it back very quickly.”

“Come back to the festival, Vaor,” Nauja insisted with a pout. Onigiri yipped happily, apparently agreeing with her. She tugged gently on his elbow, trying to get him out of his seat. “If we don’t hurry, we’ll miss the opening of the feast.”

“Alright,” he nodded quietly.

Law then allowed himself to be pulled from his office and back to the festival, where indeed farmhands from three different sheep farms were at the platform with the season’s first lambs. Nauja left his side and went where Dervla was giving a speech to the rest of the kids in front of the platform about having survived another winter, about anticipating a good growing season, and how the tradition was to slaughter the first three lambs to feed the island’s children, so that they might know and understand not only their importance to the land as caretakers, but how quickly a larger, craftier animal could gobble them up before they realized. Law held his breath as the blades touched the lambs’ throats, not realizing he twitched as they were killed until he felt a hand touch his arm.

“They don’t have this in Lvneel, do they?” He looked and saw Svana again, her face flush from alcohol and half a pint still in her other hand. “Nicolette didn’t like it either.”

“I’m not fond of slaughter rituals and I don’t know how I feel about my daughter being so close to one.” He contemplated how much he could reveal, his eyes unable to look away from the blood-letting. “I’m sure you can imagine why.”

“Don’t worry; she’s a good girl,” Svana nodded. “She’ll understand it like we do; she seems fascinated already.”

“That’s part of what I’m worried about.” Law could see her curiosity as the lambs’ blood was collected—likely for sausages—and held back a shudder. “Let’s hope her stomach for this carries over when we have a human being bleeding out in the clinic.”

“If she could survive Storm being born, then she can survive most things,” she assured.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

There were not many islands in the Grand Line that came close to replicating Northern winters, but Salcha was getting damn close. Shachi pulled his cloak closer as he stood on the top deck of the Polar Tang, waiting for the shopping committee to return. It was just a good thing that the wind was relatively gentle—one well-timed gust and he would topple over.

Fuck… what had become of him? He and the rest of the crew used to be as hardy and resilient as any batch of Northerners that had earned their keep on the Grand Line. Now most of the crew was huddled inside the Tang…? While he was getting concerned over some wind? It was embarrassing.

About twenty more minutes passed and Shachi eventually saw the shopping committee return with what he figured was going to be the first round of groceries, along with… was that someone from a shop helping with a delivery…? He wasn’t sure until they were all coming up the gangplank, the new person now clearly a very tall man in a cloak huddled over a bundle of blankets in his arms.

“Who the fuck are you?” he wondered.

“Verily, I wish to see Captain Bepo,” the man insisted. “I invoke Minkdebt to secure passage to Zou and the Mokomo Dukedom.”

“Where is Bepo?” Uni asked, teeth chattering. Shachi gave the stranger another look-over and led him below deck. They eventually found the Mink talking with Penguin in the navigation room, the bear squeaking in surprise at the tall man.

“Captain Bepo,” the man breathed, almost reverently. He fell to his knees, clutching the bundle in his arms close to his chest. “Verily, this is an auspicious day! Our fortunes have truly turned!”

“Who are you?” Bepo wondered. He looked at Shachi, the pair exchanging concerned looks, as the man placed the bundle on the ground and removed his cloak, edging it under one end of the blankets once folded.

“My clan is an ancient ally of the Dukedom,” he said, shrugging off the sleeves of his kimono. Turning, the man showed the crest tattooed on his back—the same crane within an ornate circle that was all over Zou—tears forming in his eyes. “The Kozuki Family is the one I serve thusly—I, Kin’emon, am their faithful servant—and it is by great fortune that we have crossed paths with a Mink.”

“Kozuki…?” Penguin tilted his head as he wrapped his mouth around the word. “Know anything about these guys, Bep?”

“Something from when I was a cub, yeah…” His ears then perked up. “You’re the Humans that the Oldfathers made a pact with! The samurai from Wano! The Original Minkdebt!”

“Verily, and I must ask you extend your forebears’ generosity once again, if not for my sake, then for my lord’s.”

“Your lord’s…?”

“Indeed.” He took the bundle of blankets and peeled back a layer, revealing an unconscious boy. “May I introduce the True Shogun of Wano, Kozuki Momonosuke, who is currently on Death’s Door.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It seemed as though the entire crew had popped into the mess hall to take a look at their visitors. While they were started off with a gentle gruel to make sure their stomachs were not in complete starvation mode yet, the pair of samurai were soon eating piles of food, seemingly making up for the lost meals.

“Not a single bite?” Clione marveled. “That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think?”

“I took nary a bite,” Kin’emon said through his food, “and Lord Momonosuke only ate a spoilt fruit. We Wanolese are in possession of a mettle few others can match.”

“Yeah, but this is just a kid,” Shachi noted. He caught Momonosuke’s eyes, at which the boy quickly looked back down at his food. “Hey, kid, how old are you?”

“I shall be nine soon,” the boy mumbled. Penguin scoffed in amusement.

“So you’re eight? We got experience with kids your age.” He watched as Momonosuke’s face turn puzzled as he looked around—there were no other children there. “She’s not here right now, but until recently there was a kid on the ship, and she just turned eight.”

“Where is she?” the kid asked.

“Somewhere a little more stable than a pirate ship,” Ikkaku said. She propped her chin up with her hand as she leaned into the table. “Her dad saw there was a choice to make in how she grew up, and he made it.”

“I do not have that luxury,” Momonosuke sniffled.

“…of your dad making a choice…?”

“…of my father still being able to make such a choice for my wellbeing.” He placed his bowl and chopsticks down on the table and pressed his palms together. “Thank you for the meal. You are most kind for pirates.”

“We are who we are, pirates or not,” Jean Bart stated. “Are you done? We have a bed where you can rest.” Momonosuke nodded silently and allowed the large man to lead him along. Kin’emon did not resume eating until after the boy had left, continuing to shovel food into his mouth.

“Lord Momonosuke has suffered much these past months,” he said. “He lost both his parents and younger sister in quick succession, only to find that we have been subject to a mysterious jutsu.”

“…a… jutsu…?” Penguin scratched his head under his hat. “What, you mean like a ninja?”

“Indeed; a talent one can only gain with luck. Lady Toki, my late shogun’s wife, could manipulate time and use it to send people to a distant hour. I also have a jutsu—I can create disguises.”

“Oh… you mean a Devil Fruit ability,” Shachi realized. Everyone else nodded in agreement. “We’re familiar with those. So, she could go back and forth, eh?”

“No, only forward.” Kin’emon shuddered as it seemed as though the past few months were all coming back to him at once. “He is a strong lad, however. He will be just as strong a man… like his father before him.”

“He’s a kid,” Bepo said. “He should be allowed to figure out who he is on his own.”

“That is another luxury he cannot afford.” Kin’emon finished off what was in his bowl and put it and the utensils down as he saw Jean Bart return to the room. “Is he…?”

“Sleeping soundly. You can go see him, if you want.”

Carefully, Kin’emon stood and was led through the tight corridors of the submarine until he was brought to what looked like was little more than a broom closet. Jean Bart opened the door and the samurai saw that it was, indeed, a small room, where Momonosuke was curled up in a child-sized bed, hugging a stuffed toy seagull and snuggled in a blanket emblazoned with a design from Sora, Warrior of the Sea. He watched the boy reverently, the child’s face peaceful and breathing even from sheer exhaustion. Kin’emon went to his side and knelt down, bowing his head in deference.

“I swear on the graves of our clan and my fellow retainers that Lady Toki’s words shall not be in vain,” he promised. The boy slept on, unaware of his surroundings other than that he was comfortable enough to sleep.

The course to Zou was already set.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A/N: We love Onigiri in this house.

#I'm also in the middle of backposting all my old FFN work to AO3 and felt I needed to update something real before another deluge #I think I'll end up w/around 270ish fics on AO3 when all's said and done. Not all of them are going to be good lol #One Piece #One Piece fan fiction #Trafalgar Law #Trafalgar Nauja #fan fiction #Heart Pirates #Kin'emon #Kozuki Momonosuke #Trafalgar D. Water Law #Onigiri (One Piece)#Onigiri (One Piece Gakuen)

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