Chapter Text
Part 16
“Did not!” Law objected and blushed. He glared at Limejuice and the blonde just laughed.
“Yes you did,” he teased and Law’s glare intensified. “Then again you were all loopy from the fever.”
“Nu uh! That was Drake! Drake called Uncle Hongo that!”
“You did too,” Lime chuckled and ruffled Law’s hair. “To be fair you had a fever and had just had a nightmare.” Law looked away. Lime smiled. “It was cute and funny.”
“...”
“What was that kiddo?”
“I already had a mum…”
“So?”
“A-and Uncle Hongo is a man.”
“Again, so?”
“I shouldn’t call him that…”
“Because?”
“He gets annoyed and… and…” Law bit his lip. Lime smiled. He understood. He moved his chair a little closer to Law’s bed. The boy was feeling much better but was still on bed rest for the day. The other boys were doing chores so Law had been alone in the infirmary, Lime had been appointed his babysitter. Not that the blonde complained. It gave him a chance to bond a little with their littlest. Roux, Gab and Snake had already claimed the other four as their own. Law was Hongo’s, no doubt about it. Luffy was going to claim Shanks. Yasopp would have Usopp. Bonk would have Uta. It was only he and Benn that didn’t have any little mini-mes. Then again Lime had noticed Penguin looking shyly at him, as if the boy wanted to ask something but was too scared to do it. Lime would look into that later this afternoon. Right now he was spending time with their littlest.
“Ya know, compared to the rest… I might understand slightly how you are feeling right now,” Lime said and leaned back against the wall. Law peaked at him through the corner of his eyes. “When I was your age my parents… well mum just left. Just looked at me and pa one day and just went: fuck no.” He chuckled without mirth. “She left. Never saw her again. But pa met another woman… Lianna.” He smiled. “She’s very kind. Always spent time listening to me, took care of me. Loved me as her own.” He chuckled again. “I wanted to call her ma… but… I already had a mother. Would she be angry at me for calling another woman ‘ma’.”
“But… she left you,” Law said and looked at Lime. “She didn’t… you said she didn’t want you and your dad.”
“That’s true,” Lime mused and smiled at Law. “But I was your age and thought… I betrayed her if I called someone else ‘ma’. I was agonizing over it for a long time before Lianna sat me down and asked what was wrong. I told her how I was feeling, that I still missed my mum despite it all and that I felt like I was betraying her.”
“What… did she say?” Law asked and bit his lip.
“She said that she understood and that it doesn’t matter what I call her because she would still love me. When I said I wanted to call her ma but was scared I’d betray my mum she told me this: ‘Calling me ma doesn’t mean you love me more than her. It doesn’t mean you love me less than her if you don’t call me ma. What’s important is what you want to do. Besides, she’s not here, so why should she get a say? You can’t betray someone who already betrayed you.’.”
“B-but mummy didn’t betray me,” Law said and looked at his lap. “Mummy loved me and she took care of me and Lammi… and… and…”
“I know it’s not the same, Law,” Lime soothed gently and very carefully moved to sit next to the boy, wrapping his arms around him. “But what I was trying to tell you was for you to call Hongo Mama if that is what you want to do. I am sure your mum wouldn’t care.” Lime remembered what Hongo had told him happened between his sister and him not long after joining the crew. Lime was sure she would’ve minded if she was alive. But she wasn’t, so she had no say. If it made Law feel better calling Hongo Mama Lime would be there to encourage it. Lime smiled when the boy leaned into him.
“I miss mummy and daddy and Lammi and Cora,” Law whispered and sniffled.
“I am sure they miss you too wherever they are.” He held Law close and stroked his hair. “But you’re not alone anymore. You got your brothers, you got your Mama and everyone else on this ship.”
“But I’m still weak though,” Law whispered. “I couldn’t even fight when they took me. Peng and Shachi and Drake and Bepo had to protect me.”
“Law, you’re six years old. You’re small for your age because of your illness. Of course you need protection right now. You are just a small child. That doesn’t mean we think you’re weak and will remain weak forever. Hongo and I train with you every day don’t we?”
“You do…”
“We do that to make you able to defend yourself. What those assholes taught you was wrong. We have to work to correct what they did wrong. Marco gave you things to do to train your Fruit right?” Law nodded. “Why would he do that if he thought you were weak?”
“To make me stronger… which means I am weak…”
“Physically and compared to everyone else here? Yes. But that is just because you are six years old.” Lime hugged him tightly. “We try helping you get stronger so that when you are as old as we are you won’t need people protecting you all the time. You are a small child, Law. You will get stronger every day. We’ll all help you get stronger and one day when you are an adult you will be one of the strongest people on the seas.” He kissed the top of Law’s head. “I promise you that, lil’ buddy.” Law smiled and snuggled closer. There was a knock on the infirmary door and Hongo entered. When he saw the pair he smiled.
“Snake said we are closing in on Reverse Mountain,” Hongo explained and walked further into the room. Law noticed him carrying jackets, gloves and Law’s spotted hat. Lime grinned.
“Law can come watch?” he asked.
“Of course,” Hongo said and walked over to them with the clothes. “Everyone needs to experience entering the Grand Line for the first time after all.”
“I can really come… Mama?” Law asked and Hongo’s eyes widened, but then he smiled.
“Of course, cub,” he said. Law squealed happily and reached for the clothes. Lime and Hongo shared a look and smiled.
Law ran out on the deck with Hongo and Lime right behind him. Law looked around for the other boys and found them near the bow of the ship with Shanks, Roux, Yasopp and Benn. Law smiled and hurried towards them. Drake noticed first and turned around. He smiled and when Law reached him he picked the smaller boy up and sat him on his hip. Benn who stood next to Drake smiled and leaned down to whisper something to Law. Law giggled and nodded. Lime felt Hongo take his hand and smiled. He pulled Hongo to his side, let go of his hand and instead wrapped his arm around his waist. Hongo smiled and leaned into him. They watched Shanks tell the boys what they were about to experience and the boys all looked excited. Lime knew going up Reverse Mountain could be scary, but he had full faith in Snake and his own skills. He gave Hongo’s cheek a kiss before letting go to take the helm, as was his job. Hongo watched him go and instead leaned against the wall, watching the kids with Shanks, Roux, Yasopp and Benn.
“But how can the water flow upwards?” Law asked and looked at Benn.
“I am actually not sure,” Benn chuckled and placed his hand on Drake’s shoulder. “But it is quite the sight.”
“It’s amazing,” Yasopp agreed and pulled Shachi and Penguin to his sides, rubbing their hats teasingly. “The rush you feel is amazing.”
“Isn’t it scary?” Bepo asked and grabbed onto Roux’s hand nervously. Roux smiled and held his paw gently.
“A little,” he admitted. “But we’ve done it a bunch of times so it’s not that bad.”
“Lime, Snake,” Shanks called.
“We got it, Chief,” Snake called back. “Lime! Keep her steady! Straight ahead!”
“You got it!” Lime called from the helm. Penguin hurried from Yasopp’s side to get to Lime’s. He wanted to see him steer. Snake smiled at the teen and stood beside him so that Lime could focus on steering. Penguin watched the blonde in awe. Lime looked skinny and somewhat small compared to the helm, but he still steered it like a pro. Snake poked his head and Penguin looked up at him. Snake smiled and nodded ahead. Penguin looked ahead and gaped in awe. They had reached the mountain and the water… was indeed flowing upwards. Law was also in awe. He was staring at the water that was flowing up the mountain. The ship shook and Drake stumbled.
“Come here little bug,” Yasopp chuckled and took him from Drake’s arms. Drake pouted but he understood. The ship would soon start shaking even more and it might be difficult for him to keep his footing and keep Law safe. Law wrapped his arms around Yasopp’s neck, but didn’t look away from the water. It was out of this world. The adults noticed all boys looking awed and shared amused looks. The ship lurched to the side. Bepo squeaked. Yasopp stumbled slightly but kept his footing.
“We’ve hit the stream!” Snake called. “Everyone hang on and keep an eye out for stray debris!”
“Chief, she’s fighting me today!” Lime called.
“Keep her steady, Lime!” Shanks called and looked ahead.
“Gab, need your strength!” Lime called and Gab hurried across the ship to reach him. Shanks stood in the front, Yasopp and Law right next to him. Yasopp and Shanks were using their Observation to scan the water ahead. Shanks pulled his sword, stepped onto the railing and swung. Law gaped in awe as something moved through the air towards the water in front of them. Whatever it was cut through the water and the debris hidden by the waves. The debris was flung into the air and split into pieces raining down on each side of the ship. Benn pulled his gun and fired at a few stray parts coming for them. Yasopp, with Law on his hip, masterfully did the same thing Benn did. Law looked at Yasopp in awe. Yasopp smiled proudly and winked at him. Shanks swung his blade again. Law looked as a broken ship sailed over their heads… only for a cannon to come loose from the wreckage. It was coming straight for them. Then it wasn’t. Why? Because Drake had fully transformed. He grabbed the cannon with his teeth and flung it aside before shrinking back to human form again. The adults and children cheered for him and he blushed.
“Good job, buddy,” Benn told him and ruffled his hair. “Shanks, Yas, any more debris coming our way?”
“Nope,” Shanks said happily. “Not that I can see. We’ll reach the summit in a bit.” He turned to the boys. “When we go down hold onto something okay?” The boys nodded. “There is also gonna be a huge whale at the bottom, but you don’t need to be scared.”
“Why is there a huge whale at the bottom?” Shachi asked and looked at Shanks.
“It’s a very long story,” Shanks chuckled. “Short version: A whale calf followed a pirate crew down Reverse Mountain. The lighthouse keeper convinced the crew that bringing the calf into the Grand Line would result in it dying. They promised to come back for him. They never did and he is still waiting.”
“That’s so sad,” Bepo said and his ears drooped.
“It is,” Shanks said and sighed. “The crew fled or died… The lighthouse keeper is looking after him though.”
“Peak, incoming!” Yasopp said and held onto the railing tightly with one hand. Shanks gripped the railing as well. Roux grabbed Shachi. Benn grabbed Drake and instructed Bepo to hold onto his leg. Law looked ahead. At the peak the four rivers from the four blues met and collided, spraying water into the air that turned into ice shards.
“Sugoi,” he whispered. The Force flew into the air, everyone holding on as tightly as they could. Well… almost.
“Bepo!” Benn shouted and reached for the polar bear. Bepo cried in fear as he was flung high into the air. Benn’s hand closed right behind the bear’s arm and Bepo tumbled over the side.
“Room!” Law shouted and a blue sphere appeared around the ship. “Shambles!” Bepo crashed onto the deck, sliding over it. Hongo grabbed him and hugged the bear close. Law let the Room drop and the adults sighed in relief.
“Thanks, Law,” Bepo said. “Sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Law said. “Next time hold on tighter.”
“Okay.”
Shanks smiled and he noticed Hongo looking really proud of his little cub. Law turned his gaze forward once more. The ship landed in the water and started going down the mountain at quite the high speed. At the bottom Law spotted a big, dark mass. It had to be the whale.
“Lime!”
“I see him, Chief,” Lime called back and steered the ship expertly down the stream and then past the big whale. Law stared at it in awe. The whale was huge! The other boys also gaped in awe. Shanks smiled a sad sort of smile looking at the whale. If only there was a way to help it. Shanks sighed and watched the lighthouse where Crocus lived come into view. Shanks smiled and turned to the boys.
“Okay boys,” he said. “The man who lives here used to sail on the crew I grew up with. He is a doctor actually. He may appear to be a sourpuss but he is actually really kind and funny. He will probably give me grief about this.” Shanks motioned for his missing arm. “I never told him I lost my arm. He is gonna yell about me being stupid. But that is just because he worries.”
“Is he a good doctor?” Law asked.
“One of the best of his era,” Shanks told him and ruffled Law’s dark blue hair. “I am sure he has lots of stuff he can show you and Hongo.”
“And lots of stories about Chief being an idiot as a kid,” Benn added drily and lit a cigarillo.
“Oi!”
“Truth hurts.”
“Bennnnn you’re so mean to me!” Shanks whined and the others laughed. Even Bepo who was still curled into Hongo’s embrace as the doctor rubbed his back to comfort him.
“Brat!” Crocus shouted as he approached them. Crocus was a rather stocky and muscular man. He was bald on the top of his head, but had hair that started turning white in places and with yellow flower petal-like things sticking out that had purple near the bottom of them. He had a white beard that split in two parts. He wore a pink shirt with yellow and green stripes on it. He wore cargo shorts and sandals. He wore glasses too. He smiled as he approached them but stopped short when he noticed the boys. Shanks held Law’s hand as he walked up to the man.
“Hello Crocus-san,” Shanks said and smiled brightly.
“No,” Crocus said.
“Huh?” Shanks asked, confused.
“I have enough of a job looking after Laboon, I am not gonna be a babysitter.”
“What? Oh! No, no, no the boys are staying with me and the guys. This one is Hongo’s nephew.” Shanks smiled down at Law. Law moved behind him slightly, suddenly feeling shy. Shanks smiled.
“I see… I thought you were against having children on a pirate ship.”
“I was… I changed my mind. This is Drake, Penguin, Shachi, Bepo and our littlest one is Law.” The boys all waved. “We picked Law up first, then Drake and lastly the other three.”
“I see… wait…” Crocus looked across the crew and spotted Hongo helping Lime and Yasopp with some lines. “I thought your doctor would’ve been dead by now. Amber Led has no cure after all.”
“Law cured him,” Shanks said proudly and Law blushed. “He’s an amazing little doctor.”
“Oh I see. I see, that makes…” Crocus blinked. “WHAT?!” he shouted and the boys squeaked and hid behind their caretakers. Law stared up at Crocus and the man stared at him in turn. “How?! What?! How?!”
“I-I have a D-Devil Fruit that helps,” Law said and held onto Shanks’ hand tightly. “I operated on Uncle Hongo and took all the Amber Led out and we disposed of it.”
“What sort of miracle fruit do you have boy?!” Crocus asked, shocked. “No matter. Tell me more about that surgery. What else do you know about medicine?” Law’s face lit up and he started telling Crocus everything he knew. The old man nodded along, looking quite impressed. Shanks smiled. Law was so cute when he was excited. His eyes got a certain sparkle and he talked a lot with his hands. Making little gestures and such. Come to think of it… was that a doctor thing? Hongo did that too, Crocus too and Marco. Shanks shrugged and sat down on a rock. Crocus was smiling at Law and after a bit offered to take him inside his house to show him something.
“Mama!” Law called and Hongo looked up. Crocus cocked an eyebrow. “Do you want to come?” Hongo smiled and nodded in reply. He walked over to the pair and all three disappeared into the house. Shanks just smiled. It would do cranky old Crocus some good talking to their littlest.
Hongo smiled as he watched Law reading the big book Crocus had shown him. He looked almost comically tiny next to it. Hongo held a cup of tea in his hands as he watched. Crocus stood right next to him. He felt Crocus’ gaze on him. He turned to the older doctor and cocked an eyebrow in question. Crocus patted his shoulder.
“As a doctor, you should’ve known better than to try to keep your condition from your crew,” Crocus scolded. “As a ship’s doctor on a pirate crew you need to be mature and responsible.”
“I know,” Hongo replied and sighed again. “It’s just… I knew there was no cure and I didn’t want to force my partners to watch me waste away…” He looked down at the tea in his cup. “I didn’t want them to watch me die. I’d… I’d rather they hate me and forget about me. That hurt they could’ve gotten over.”
“But you would have been alone.”
“Yeah… but to me it felt like the best option. I love my partners so much it hurts and I never want to see them hurting because of me. I don’t want them to cry because of me. I’d rather they hate me than grieve over me.”
“It was selfish of you to try and take that choice from them though.”
“I know but at that moment it felt as if it was for the best. I didn’t want them to be sad… I didn’t want them to hurt.”
“But you were hurting, a lot. You were sad.”
“Yes but I was just one person. Besides, I love them more than me.”
“Of course… But what if your plan had failed? Do you really think that if you left them that they would just get another doctor? You know Shanks. He is just like his former captain. He wants the people he wants and no one else will ever be good enough to replace them. They would’ve sailed around without a doctor and where would that have left them?” Hongo opened his mouth to reply but Crocus didn’t let him. “Don’t try to deny it. You know Shanks would never replace you and no matter how angry with you he was he would never have stopped loving you. He would have tried to find someone to keep an eye on you, to make sure you were okay. Then when he heard you were dead…” He looked expectantly at Hongo.
“He would’ve been devastated,” Hongo mumbled and looked down again. Crocus grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“You do realize your plan was failing from the start?” he asked, Hongo nodded in reply. “Good. Don’t be that stupid again. Doctors can’t be that stupid, especially not with people like Shanks. I know from experience. On pirate ships the doctor needs to be the voice of reason. So, start using this.” He poked Hongo’s head. “And this.” He placed a hand on Hongo’s chest. “Got it?”
“Got it, Crocus-san.”
“Good. If I get news that you’ve died due to your own stupidity I will be very displeased.”
“Undesrtood.”
“Oi!” A small angry voice said and Law walked over to them, glaring at Crocus. “Don’t be mean to Mama!” Crocus looked at the little boy and chuckled.
“I am not being mean, brat,” he said fondly. “I am just trying to knock some sense back into your mama’s head.”
“Mama is the sanest person on the crew!”
“No, that’s Beckman.”
“...”
“Nothing to say against that?”
“...Mama gives the best hugs.”
“Yes and that is very important too.” The boy glared at him again.
“Don’t make fun of me, old geezer!”
“I’m not,” Crocus chuckled. Hongo smiled and put his hand on top of Law’s fluffy hat. Law moved closer to him. “Did you finish the chapter?”
“Almost.”
“You can borrow the book if you can’t finish it before you guys leave here.”
“I’m gonna!”
“Are you sure? It is a very difficult book.”
“I can do it!” Law huffed and hurried back to the book. “Baka geezer.”
“Law be nice,” Hongo chuckled. The boy just huffed. Crocus chuckled.
“Oh yes, that one is gonna be a great doctor,” he said.
“Because he’s smart and skilled?”
“Nah, because he’s grumpy.” Hongo actually laughed at that.
Penguin climbed onto the rock and took a step off, hitting the ground. He huffed again and did it once more. When he met the same result he glared at the rock before getting onto it again. He looked at the sky above. He was going to get this done because that would be something he was amazing at. Law was an amazing doctor already, Shachi was an amazing cook, Bepo was getting good at navigating and Drake was good at fighting and doing work around the ship. But him? He wasn’t good at anything. Well, he and Shachi were great swimmers but… but Penguin wanted to be good at something that was his and only his. Seeing Lime-san running in the air earlier had been awesome. Penguin wanted to do that too! How difficult could it be? It was just running. Penguin pursued his lips and tried to step off the rock again but once more his feet hit the ground. He huffed and kicked at the rock… only for his foot to hurt. He heard someone chuckle behind him and turned around. Lime stood there watching him with Yasopp and Snake.
“What are you doing, my little ant?” Yasopp asked.
“Failing,” Penguin grumbled.
“At what?” Snake asked and walked closer, placing a hand on his shoulder. Penguin shrugged his hand off.
“Everything!” Penguin shouted and started pacing. “Law and Drake have Devil Fruits! Law can perform miracle surgeries and stuff! Drake can use Haki somewhat and can turn into a dinosaur! Bepo is becoming a great navigator and is an awesome polar bear! Shachi can swim better than anyone and he’s a great cook! But me?! I’m not good at anything.”
“Err you saved my life, ant,” Yasopp told him gently and sat on the rock Penguin had kicked. “I’d say that is very awesome.”
“But I don’t have any other skills that are useful for this ship!”
“Peng,” Lime said and walked up to him, grabbing his shoulders and stopping the boy from pacing. “You’re twelve years old. You don’t have to be useful. You and the others need to do your chores and train. That’s it. You don’t have to do anything else.”
“...”
“What?”
“I just want to help,” Penguin said in a small voice. “When those bastards took Law I couldn’t do anything. W-when we thought you guys kidnapped him I couldn’t do anything because I got scared.” Lime looked at the other adults.
“You two can hear me right?” he said and Snake and Yasopp looked at him in confusion.
“Well, yeah,” Snake said.
“Then how come our children don't understand what I am saying?!”
“What do you mean?” Yasopp asked.
“I told Law he’s just six and I told Peng here he is just twelve!”
“So?”
“So, they have all the right to get scared and not be able to fight adults because they are just children!”
“Well of course,” Snake said and looked at Penguin. “That’s why we’re training them in the first place.”
“So, why do our children feel the need to put themselves down?” Lime asked and the adults all looked at Penguin. Penguin blushed and looked down at his feet. Snake placed a comforting hand on the boy’s back. Penguin turned to him and fell against him, sniffling. Snake wrapped his arms around the boy and lifted him up, hugging him. Penguin hugged him back. Lime and Yasopp moved closer, reaching out their hands to rub at Penguin’s back. All three adults could feel that there was something else going on here.
“Peng,” Yasopp tried. “Lil’ ant, what’s the matter?”
“I just want to help,” Penguin sniffled. “Shachi always helps me… ever since we were children.”
“You are children,” Lime stressed.
“Smaller children then,” Penguin grumbled. “Then Law took care of me when I was hurt. Bepo helped me when I was sick… but I have not been able to help them back. When Law operated on himself… when he was hurting I couldn’t stay in the room with him.”
“Neither could we, kiddo,” Lime soothed gently. “That shit’s just freaky.”
“He was crying… I was too… freaked out to help.”
“Same. Only Benn could stay with him and Hongo,” Snake said gently, rocking the boy.
“I wanna help.”
“You can, kiddo.”
“I wanna be faster… stronger… I wanna do what you did.” He looked at Lime. Lime tilted his head.
“What I did?” Lime asked.
“Running on air,” Penguin looked at him. “F-flying.”
“I thought you didn’t like flying,” Yasopp said, thinking back to Penguin’s reaction when Marco took the boys flying.
“I d-don’t but I wanna… I wanna learn.”
“Is that why ya kept stepping off the rock?” Lime asked in amusement. “To walk on air?” Penguin nodded and Lime chuckled. “That is just too cute.”
“S-shut up!” Penguin blushed. The adults just laughed.
“Tell ya what,” Lime said and smiled. “If ya focus on your Haki training first and weapon training then I will teach ya how to walk in the air.”
“Really?” Penguin asked and looked up at Lime in awe. Lime nodded.
“Promise,” Lime said and smiled. “But, Peng, you are very brave. You know that right? Ya jumped into the sea to save Yasopp, you fought some evil kidnappers, you challenged us when you thought we kidnapped Law, you left the only home you’ve ever known behind you just to stay with your friends… that is very brave to me.”
“Yeah,” Yasopp agreed. “I might’ve not even been here if it wasn’t for you and Shachi.” He caressed Penguin’s back. They had all learned early that Penguin didn’t want them to see him without his hat… just yet. For some reason he wasn’t comfortable showing his full face. The guys didn’t care of course. They knew he would show him whatever he was hiding when he was ready.
“I want to help protect Law,” Penguin whispered. “He’s so little and… and people failed to protect him in the past. Wolf said Law has nightmares so much because he doesn't feel safe.”
“We’ll help him feel safe then,” Snake soothed. “You don’t have to do it yourself, Peng, we can do it together.”
“Okay,” Penguin said and nodded. “But he is a little gremlin though.” The adults laughed.