Chapter Text
Luffy's breaths came out in ragged intervals as he blinked uncomfortably at the darkened tiles of the ceiling. Before he left, Law had administered a fresh a dose of morphine into his veins, leaving Luffy with a tingling numbness.
He hated it. He hated feeling so weak and helpless. When he set sail for the seas, he vowed to create his own strength so he wouldn't have to hide behind the backs of others, so that he didn't need protecting anymore. He knew he was more than this.
Ace would be so mad if he could see him now. His stupid little brother in need of saving right after he had left home. No. Luffy refused to let this happen. Not when he promised Shanks, Ace, and Sabo - too many promises for him to fail now. All throughout his life he needed people to protect him while he could only stand by and watch them get hurt. Not anymore. He refused to submit to this kind of fate.
"I'm going to live," he rasped to the empty room. Ace...Sabo..."I'll get past this by myself. Nothing's gonna stop me from becoming the Pirate King."
First off, he needed to recover his strength if he was going to beat up that Traffy-dude. He allowed himself to rest for now, and letting his eyelids fall blissfully shut, he descended into a deep sleep with absolute silence filling the space around him.
Outside the patient's room, Law cradled the steadily beating heart in his hand gently. "Rest well," he muttered under his breath.
---
For the next several days, that dastardly Captain made no further appearances in his room. The only people Luffy saw was the crew who came in at intervals during the day to give him food and clean his bedpan. Sometimes Shachi - the one with the puffy hat - would come in to check on his condition. Out of everyone else who visited, he was the only one who bothered trying to talk to Luffy.
"You're looking much better these days," said Shachi brightly as he wheeled a cart of boxes into the room.
"Uh-huh. I think I've recovered enough to eat some meat, don'tcha think?" Luffy said as he scooped up a spoonful of porridge from the food tray on his lap. On the side was a small helping of carrot puree and mashed peas; he made a sorrowful face at the meal. "I've had enough of this glop food."
"Sorry, East-Blue," said Shachi with an apologetic smile. "This diet is strictly Captain's orders."
"Damn that Traffy...that dude's just too much. He even took my hat with him." Luffy vengefully shook his fist in the air, willing his resentment to reach Law. Then he swiftly turned his head to look at Shachi. "Hey, why d'you keep calling me East-Blue? Didja forget? My name's Monkey D. Luffy."
Shachi nervously handled the supplies he was restocking in the cabinet. "Oh. Well, that's what Captain calls you...and since he told us not to call you by your real name..." Cutting himself off, he quickly averted his eyes back to the unpacked boxes.
Luffy cocked his head in confusion. "Why'd he do something like that?"
With his back to Luffy, Shachi answered, "I guess you could say it's kind of like a nickname. We call you East-Blue because that's where you're from, but I guess it can be taken as a different meaning. Well 'cause, y'know how East Blue is considered the weakest of the seas..."
Catching on to the hidden meaning, Luffy cried out, "I'm not weak!"
Shachi shrugged his shoulders. "Trust me, I don't believe you're weak...but in your current state, who knows?"
"Just call me by my real name."
"Sorry man, can't. Your status is pretty much equal to that of a prisoner here, and prisoners don't get real names." Shachi tried to smile reassuringly. "But you're still a patient at the moment, so it's not like we'll treat you badly while you're recuperating. Captain's a doctor, so he's real strict on that stuff."
Shachi's meager attempts at reassurance fell short on Luffy's ears. All he heard was that one word: prisoner. That was the reality of his position. He placed a hand over the empty hole in his chest; it was unnerving (but admittedly also pretty cool) to feel the missing gap that was big enough for him to stick his entire hand through. He clenched his fist hard enough to feel bones creak.
After a long stretch of eating in silence, Shachi finished restocking the medicine cabinet and cleared away Luffy's empty food tray. (The meal might have been glop, but edible food was still food.) Before Shachi stepped through the doorway to make his exit, he glanced back once more at Luffy. He was biting his lip nervously, as though unsure of whether to speak his mind or not.
"I know the Captain probably seems like the worst guy to you right now. For holding you here against your will. But he's actually nicer than you think..." Shachi looked like he had more to say, but stopped himself.
"I know that," said Luffy, surprising Shachi with his answer. "The dude did save my life, after all. But that doesn't mean I'm forgiving him for keeping me prisoner - and for feeding me nothing but glop this entire time!" He added that last point with heated emphasis, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm gonna be my own Captain - then nobody can make me eat glop three times a day. That's why I absolutely refuse to accept someone else as Captain!"
"Because of the food...?" Shachi shook his head, but he was grinning. "Yeah, I figured you'd never accept the Captain...but I'm glad to hear you don't hate him."
"I'll really hate him if he doesn't give me some meat!" Luffy called out, but Shachi had already retreated out of the room.
The next day, he found a slab of juicy meat hidden under his carrot puree. Luffy almost jumped onto Shachi's back out of sheer joy.
---
"It's about time for you to get released," said Shachi as he observed Luffy's records on a clipboard.
Luffy had gained enough of his strength back to raise his arms above his head and victoriously pump his fists into the air. "Awesome! I'm gettin' off of this ship!"
"Released out of bed, I mean," corrected Shachi.
Luffy lowered his arms but his eagerness didn't deflate. Getting out of bed meant that he was that much closer to escaping off this ship. But first off, there was still that most important matter. "Hey, where's my hat? I want my hat. That Traffy-dude took it, didn't he? Tell 'im to give it back!"
"Oh right, your hat. Captain said you'd be asking for it..." Shachi had that apologetic look on his face again, though it was mostly hidden by the shadow of his hat and sunglasses. Luffy vaguely wondered why he always wore sunglasses even indoors. "I'm sorry. Uh, Captain has confiscated it for the time being." Shachi took a step backwards in expectation of the fallout to come.
Stealing his heart was one thing, but taking his hat was a step too far. "Confiscated?!" He spat out, his face screwed up in anger. Without hesitation, Luffy threw the bed sheets off of him and stood up, stomping towards the exit of the room.
Although he was on the small side, his movements were like a freight train - powerful and unstoppable. Shachi had to throw his entire weight around Luffy's shoulders, wrapping his arms around the furious boy in an attempt to delay him. "W - wait! You can't just leave!"
"Where's your Captain?" Luffy demanded as he stormed into the hallway. "He's got a lot of nerve - thinkin' he can take my treasure from me."
"Okay, okay! I'll take you to the Captain's quarters," Shachi conceded, knowing he didn't have the power to stop Luffy in his tracks, and that it'd be more trouble than it was worth to have him rampaging around the ship. "It's the other way - further into the ship. You can talk to the Captain there yourself..."
Shachi managed to steer a steaming pirate towards the Captain's quarters, where he didn't even have a chance to knock before Luffy stormed in without warning. Trafalgar Law sat at a writing desk in the middle of the room, where he seemed to be looking over various maps while writing on a piece of parchment. He didn't look up when his door burst open, and instead continued to finish the sentence he was writing.
"Okay, there you are. Here's what's up," Luffy began without preamble, his hands firmly placed on his hips. "I want my hat and my heart, then I'm getting off of this ship. I don't want to fight you if I can help it, 'cause you did save my life. So - where's my hat?" Shachi stood behind Luffy, hovering uncertainly near the door frame, as though he wasn't sure whether he should leave or stay for the upcoming clash.
The Captain paused for a brief moment, tapping his pen's nib against the ink bottle to shed the excess ink. "You' seem quite vigorous now, that's a good sign," he commented idly, eyes focused on the papers on his desk. "It means your body's recovery is going well underway. So, think you're feeling well enough to start working? I won't have you lazing around forever; you'll have to start pulling your own weight here, as one of the crew."
Luffy cocked his head, the meaning clearly not getting through to him. "Huh? Didn't you hear me before? I ain't staying to be part of your crew." He folded his arms over his chest. "But thanks for the food, I really appreciate it - even the glop food."
Law took his time setting his pen down, then lifted his head to inspect the guest before him. "You must suffer from your poor memory. I never assumed you were the brightest, but I hoped I wouldn't have to repeat myself. Your freedom - it's no longer yours. Give up on whatever dreams you've had, I'm not letting you go."
Luffy was getting irked now. "I'm not listening to what you say! I don't care! I'm leaving this ship no matter what." Heart or no heart, nothing was going to chain him down. (Because Luffy was the type of idiot to think that he'd be able to get by just fine without his heart, surely).
Law stared and briskly said, "So be it." He leaned comfortably back in his chair. "If you're willing to abandon your precious hat and go, by all means. I won't stop you."
"Of course I'm not!" Luffy cried in outrage. "That hat's my precious treasure. I came here to get it back. Where'd you put it?" He swiveled his head around, surveying all around the room. When he found no trace of his hat, a sudden horrible thought struck him. "You didn't - toss it? Bastard -"
"I didn't throw your hat away," said Law in a droll voice. "I've just placed it somewhere out of your reach."
Luffy craned his neck to search near the ceiling and the top of the shelves. "That ain't a problem, I can reach any high place by stretching my arms."
"I mean it's in a place only I can access using my powers. It would be rather impossible for the likes of you."
Luffy strode a few steps forward and slammed his hands on the desk. "I want. My hat. NOW."
Radiating indifference, Law considered the boy before him. "Then I offer you a choice. Either I return your hat and you remain in this room, or you leave this ship with nothing. What will it be?"
"I WANT MY HAT!" Luffy shouted, his one-track-mind overpowering all other considerations.
"Very well." Law raised his hand and snapped his fingers. In that moment, Luffy felt his vision alter abruptly as he found himself facing the same room from a different perspective. Hardly a second later, a familiar weight fell on his head, along with an unfamiliar weight that snaked around his arm and snapped onto his wrist with a click. He felt all of his rejuvenated strength leaving him in a rapid rush, to the point where his legs couldn't even support him and he collapsed against the wall. Getting a good look at his current position, he realized he had been sent to a far corner of the room - probably the work of that Traffy-dude's magic powers. His right hand had been handcuffed to a pipe attached to the wall, and although he probably could have broken through his confinements easily, he felt strangely unable to even lift an arm up.
"Wha - what's up with this?" He panted as sweat formed at his brow. "Why do I feel so..."
"Weak?" Law finished for him. He had turned his chair to face Luffy, who was lying pathetically in the corner of the room. "I assume this is your first time encountering this sort of thing. Those cuffs I've fixed on you are made up of sea-stone, a material that shares the same energy with that of the ocean. Thus as a Devil-Fruit user hated by the sea, you feel the same effects as though you were being touched by seawater. It's a shame to do this to a patient, but it's the easiest way to subdue you, since you won't be able to use your strength or powers at all."
Luffy grimaced. The sensation of the sea-stone felt awful on his skin, sending a nostalgic tingling through his body that made him nauseous. "What's the deal? Get this offa me, Traffy!" He tugged at the cuff on his wrist, but he soon gave up when the effort only made the sickly sensations worse.
"This was the result of your choice. You wanted your hat, and I delivered. In return, you won't set a foot outside of this room." Law's eyes bore down into Luffy's withered form with absolutely no hint of sympathy. "If you wish to leave, you only have to give up your hat to me as collateral."
Luffy tugged his hat on his head closer to him. "No...way."
Law shrugged and returned his attention to the work splayed out on his desk, acting as if there had been no interruption in the first place. "The cot is there for you to sleep. Meals and water will be brought to you at the regular times. Try not to make too much noise, because I do have duct tape stowed in my desk."
Luffy looked down and saw that he was lying right on top of a single-sized cot. "You were planning this!"
"Not so dim after all." Law cocked a brow. "But if I recall correctly, you are the one who chose to stay in my room."
"I didn't choose anything! I just wanted my hat back!" Luffy retorted.
"Then would you rather settle for the other option?" Law's dark eyes snapped to Luffy's. "The one that involves me throwing you out into the jaws of the ocean, where you can fend for yourself - which, I remind you, is essentially the equivalent of a death sentence for a Devil-Fruit user such as yourself."
Luffy gulped as flashes of endless blue - suffocation - hurt - pain - all flooded his mind. But even with that threat hanging over him, he refused to give up. "No. I reject both options," he declared firmly with a fire burning everlasting in his eyes.
Law turned away, taking the parchment he had written on and folding it into an envelope. "Shachi," he called to his crew member, who was still hovering by the doorway. "Take this to the Z-310 post, D5. Tell him to take the quickest route, but not to draw attention."
Shachi quickly stepped forward and received the letter, saluting his Captain. "Yes, Captain!" Then, with a small, worried glance back at Luffy, he hurried out of the room. The door clicked shut behind him and Luffy was then left truly alone with Law in the residual silence.
"You're really something, even in this state," said Law, his voice punctuated by the scratching of his pen. "You've managed to win over one of my best men already. What do we call this power...a natural charm? Or perhaps you're such a dunce that people can't help but feel sympathy?"
Luffy glared with all his might and bared his teeth. "I don't know what you're on about, but I'm not gonna stay quiet, y'know! I'm gonna make so much noise that you won't get a good night's sleep!" He blew a spit-filled raspberry and started making all sorts of obscene facial expressions directed towards Law.
At first glance, it appeared as though Law was severely annoyed by such a display of childish behaviour. Though subtly, Law raised a hand to his mouth, covering the smile that threatened to slip. It was unexpected; he looked like he was on the verge of letting out a laugh. But just as soon as it appeared, that rare display of sincerity was gone in an instant. Law stood up from his chair, put on his coat, and grabbed a tall sword that had been resting against the wall.
"Ah, where you going?" Luffy asked, blinking back to awareness.
"Out," he replied shortly, moving swiftly. He stopped just when he gripped the door handle and glanced back one last time. "I'd tell you to behave yourself while I'm gone...but it's not as if you're in a position to cause trouble." The corner of his mouth quirked upwards and without another word, he opened the door and left.
Luffy stomped his feet maddeningly, shouting after Law even after the door shut closed, "Oi - don't leave me here! WAIT!" His shouts immediately died down as he lost the breath to speak. He slumped down against the wall and onto the plush cot below him, laying his weary head onto the pillow. Even though his mind screamed at him to keep fighting, all his body wanted to do was stay motionless. Just a short rest would do...just for a while...and when he woke up, he'd be raring to go again.
---
"Is it alright to leave him like that, Captain?" Shachi asked. "He only just got released from his bed..."
Law scrutinized the misty air settling above the waves, where the shadow of an island loomed in the horizon. The cold wind blew gently against the exposed skin of his face, bringing the spray of saltwater with it."You're awfully concerned for the man," he noted. "Are you sure you're not getting attached already, Shachi?"
"Uh - that's not it!" Shachi stared down and scratched the side of his head. "Well, I mean, he's a really nice guy and it's kind of hard to hate him...but an enemy's still an enemy!" Though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.
"It's fine to admit you like him. That's just a part of his nature." Law pulled out the Den-Den Mushi in his pocket and placed it on his own palm. "Is the communication line open?"
"We should be in range," said Penguin from where he was crouched over the open case containing the signal jammer. He attached a cord to the Den Den Mushi in Law's hand. "I've scrambled our location, they won't be able to trace the signal."
"Then it's time to inform the world of good news. It's been a week since we've found Straw-Hat; if his crewmates are still alive, they should be alert for any bit of news pertaining to their comrades. It's been nothing but silence from the rest of them, thus it can only be up to the Captain to break this stalemate."
Law handed the receiver to one of his crewmates behind him. Having received his instructions beforehand, he cleared his throat and adjusted his voice to an indistinguishable pitch.
When Penguin gave the cue, he uttered the lines he was ordered to say, "...Hello, hello. Greetings, everyone. We are an anonymous group who have hijacked this broadcast to bring you just one single announcement. In regards to the Captain of the Straw-Hat crew...Monkey D. Luffy...he is alive!"
---
"Captain," called Penguin, catching Law's attention. "I don't mind us helping Straw-Hat...but you're not going to stray from our original goal just for the sake of one man, are you?"
Law stalled, aware of the fact that the rest of the crew's eyes had fallen on them. It wasn't the first time he had received doubt on a decision he made, and it was quite understandable. Pirates didn't have the tendency to go around helping other pirates just for the sake of camaraderie, to the point of trying to reunite a rival Captain with his crew. Law let out a breath. "Who do you think I am? Regardless of Straw-Hat man, we're still heading to the next island, towards One Piece." He glanced around at his crew. "It would be foolish not to take advantage of this moment of vulnerability from the Straw-Hats to advance further. If Straw-Hat man really did discover a clue to One Piece, then obviously it's in my best interest to keep him as my 'prisoner'."
The crew behind him cheered. "That's our cunning Captain for yah!"
Penguin nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Please don't forget, Captain, that he is our enemy."
He didn't need to be told twice. "After his memories return, that's what he'll be. But for now, he's just another East-Blue newbie, got it?"
"Aye, aye, Captain!"