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The bell above the tavern door jingles as a newcomer steps inside. It’s a late hour for someone to be entering, and the figure is tall and cloaked, carrying a staff.
The rest of the Strawhats don’t seem particularly interested in the stranger, giving him a glance and then continuing to laugh at Brook’s increasingly ridiculous riffs. Nami keeps a watchful eye, however. As a rogue, she’s in the business of small details and often notices what others don’t.
Finding a chair in the back corner, not far from where the Strawhats are sitting near the bar, the stranger removes his cloak and sits down, resting his staff against the wall. He looks like he hasn’t slept in a week, but his sideburns and goatee are fairly well-maintained. His ensemble isn’t that of a townsperson; his shirt is rustic and his tall boots are better fitted for traveling through the forest. The shirt is low-cut enough that Nami can see a large tattoo on his chest, a smiling face surrounded by what appears to be a heart. As he lifts a hand to his face, looking perplexedly toward the unmanned bar, she can make out knuckle tattoos that spell DEATH.
Ah, a necromancer. And not a particularly subtle one. She idly wonders what he’s doing here, and nudges Sanji, who’s on her right. He looks up, and she nods toward the stranger.
Sanji gives him a once-over and glances at Nami questioningly.
“Why do you think a necromancer’s in the Thousand Sunny at midnight?” she asks.
“He’s a necromancer?”
“Well, he has a staff and knuckle tattoos that say DEATH, so I thought it was a fair guess.”
“If he’s a necromancer, why’s he dressed like that? The dead aren’t going to appreciate that low-cut shirt.”
It’s an interesting direction in the conversation from a man who often wears a low-cut, billowy white shirt of his own, but she’ll take the bait. “I mean… the dead have eyes, and necromancy is usually about raising the dead.”
Zoro chimes in from her left. “If the dead he’s raising notice that, then they aren’t fully under his control and he’s probably a shit necromancer.”
The stranger turns his head to glare at them. “I can hear you.”
Zoro isn’t apologetic in the least. “Well? Wouldn’t that make you a shit necromancer?”
Furrowing his brow, the stranger responds, “Yes? But I assure you that any dead I raise are under my control. I’ve been studying necromancy for two decades.”
Not one to be outdone by Zoro’s boldness, Sanji asks, “Then why the shirt?”
At the reminder that his bare chest is exposed, the stranger delicately crosses his arms over it. “That’s not- look, is Monkey D. Luffy here?”
Nami gestures toward the bar. “He’s in the back.”
Right as she speaks, Luffy emerges from the storage room and lights up when he sees the stranger. “Torao! You came!”
The rest of the Strawhats pause their conversation.
“Torao?” Usopp asks.
“That’s me.” The stranger stands. “My name’s Trafalgar D. Water Law, but Luffy-ya—”
“We understand,” Robin says with a smile. All of them are familiar with Luffy’s inability to remember a name longer than three syllables.
“Why are you here?” Chopper pipes up, only semi-accusing. Healers tend to have complex relationships with necromancers, and Chopper is no exception. After all, he prefers his patients to be alive.
“Luffy-ya called in a favor,” Law explains. “I’m here to reanimate a dog.”
Nine sets of eyes whip from him to Luffy.
“What dog?” Nami cries.
Luffy scratches his head. “Oh, right, I forgot to tell you guys. Merry passed away this morning. So I thought Law could help.”
Merry, their beloved corgi, had traveled with them for years. Only when Luffy had semi-retired from adventuring and opened the Thousand Sunny Tavern had the dog also been able to rest. Really, several years have passed since a seventeen-year-old Luffy found the dog by an abandoned cottage, and Merry wasn’t exactly a puppy then.
“And you didn’t remember to tell us?” Brook asks, setting his lute down.
“I knew you guys were coming tonight, so it’d be a waste to write,” Luffy says. “Plus, I knew Torao would be coming soon, so Merry won’t be dead for that long. We won’t even miss him!”
That train of thought makes sense with Luffy’s unorthodox brand of logic. However, there’s still one thing bothering Nami.
Jinbe brings it up before she does. “Trafalgar, what favor did Luffy assist with? We were unaware that he even knew a necromancer.”
Law takes a seat at the bar, closer to the group, buying time to puzzle out how to explain himself. “A couple years ago, Luffy-ya helped me kill a past mentor who had mistreated me,” he eventually says, rather bluntly. “You may have heard of him—Donquixote Doflamingo?”
Usopp’s mouth drops open. “The crazy powerful sorcerer who’s descended from the Celestial Dragon bloodline?”
“Yes. After I heard of your party’s success in defeating the wizard Charlotte Linlin, I wanted to request Luffy-ya’s assistance in completing a task I’d been working toward for several years. I could handle the magic, but I needed someone who could take on his brute strength.”
“It was while you guys were away.” Luffy shrugs. “I put a sign on the tavern door that said I’d be back in a few days, but our meeting wasn’t until the week after so none of you saw.”
“I was immensely grateful for his help and promised him that one day I would return the favor,” Law says.
The group sits in silence, taking in this new information.
“Luffy,” Franky says. “Law’s powerful enough to take down Doflamingo. And you’re asking him to revive our pet dog?”
Luffy cocks his head to the side. “What’s wrong with that?”
“He could do something so much bigger!” Nami’s almost upset that Luffy’s going to waste this opportunity.
“But we love Merry,” Luffy says. “We’ll be upset if he stays dead.”
The rest of the party sighs but nods and shares varying affirmations.
“Well, if that’s settled,” Law stands up and retrieves his staff and cloak. “I’ve brought the materials I need for the ritual. Have you buried the dog—Merry-ya?”
“Yeah, I thought it would be easier. Here, he’s just in the back.” Luffy hops over the bar with practiced ease and leads the way through the front door around to the side yard.
There’s a patch of recently disturbed dirt forming a small mound, and the Strawhats fan around it, while Law and Luffy remain at the head. Law puts his cloak back on so that he can better dig through the pockets and rests his staff against the outer tavern wall.
He pulls out a vial of ground seastone first, carefully sprinkling it in a loose ring around the grave. Next, he asks for a bowl of warm water, which Luffy quickly retrieves. Law adds oriental lily petals, yarrow root, and dragon’s blood, which he informs them is actually just elder tree sap.
Nami begins planning how she’s going to scam people into buying their own supply of “dragon’s blood” as he mixes the concoction for a few minutes. Maybe Vivi can help her collect sap. She’ll have to ask when she travels to Alabasta later this week.
Law looks up. “I need an item relating to Merry-ya. Do you have his dog tags?”
“Torao, I really wish you mentioned that this morning,” Luffy says. “Because I kind of buried him with his collar still on.”
The party stares down at Merry’s grave.
“I’m not digging him up while he’s still dead,” Zoro says.
Law sighs. “Okay, well, do you have his leash?”
“Merry never needs a leash! He runs alongside us.” Brook chuckles.
“I just need anything relating to Merry-ya that has some kind of sentimental value.” Law is beginning to look like he regrets taking on this favor.
“Oh! He has a chew toy he really likes. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Luffy runs around to the tavern door.
“Merry’s a really good dog,” Usopp tells Law. “You’re going to love him.”
“He thinks he’s a lot bigger than he actually is,” Franky adds. “He always tries to attack monsters for us.”
Chopper sniffles. “He helps me find the herbs I need. He’s good at sniffing them out.”
“He sounds like a good dog,” Law says, very reassuringly.
Jinbe and Robin have also started to tear up. Nami cuts a glance at Sanji, who has lit a cigarette to distract himself. She knows he’ll blame any stray tears on the smoke, but she pats him on the shoulder anyway.
Luffy jogs back into the yard with a stuffed piece of meat that looks very well-loved.
“Luffy! You brought the toy I made him for when you opened the Sunny?” Robin sounds choked up.
“Yeah, is that okay?” Luffy asks.
“It’s perfect,” she says, wiping her eye discreetly.
“Great,” Law says, and takes the toy from Luffy’s hand. He soaks it in the bowl’s mixture, and places it on top of the grave. “Now, for the final portion. Does one of you have a shovel? There’s a short window between the completion of the spell and when Merry-ya will revive.”
Zoro walks to the shed and returns with a shovel. “Ready when you are.”
Law removes a moonstone from his cloak and whispers a few enchantments that Nami can’t quite make out. She supposes it would be bad for business if he revealed all his secrets, especially considering that she’s planning on taking full advantage of the dragon’s blood thing. He touches the crystal to Merry’s toy, then picks up both items and steps back, nodding at Zoro.
Zoro quickly but methodically removes the dirt covering Merry’s body. Soon Merry is fully visible, and a moment later, his eyes open slowly. He continues lying in the shallow grave for a moment, twitching and blinking.
Then, he looks up and sees all his friends standing over him. His tail starts to wag and he makes his way to his feet. Luffy bends down and picks him up, and Merry excitedly begins licking his face.
Luffy laughs, and the others begin to smile as well. Merry squirms halfway out of Luffy’s arms before the man gets the message and places him on the ground so he can run around to greet the rest of the party.
Nami realizes that to Merry, it must seem as though he’d simply taken a longer-than-usual nap, and finally feels the burn behind her nose that indicates she’s about to cry. This was such a simple thing for Law to have done for them, but it would mean the world to the dog if he could understand.
“I granted him eternal life,” Law says, softly and seemingly unprompted.
Nami is speechless, and a quick look around the group reveals that everyone else is too. Merry doesn’t notice their shock and continues to run and jump on people’s legs.“How?” she manages to ask.
“I simply used a different species of lily and a stronger enchantment than I usually would. The strong emotion imbued into the toy helped.” Law shifts his weight, almost nervous with the weight of ten grateful and dumbfounded gazes. “It wasn’t difficult. Eternal was a slight exaggeration; he’ll only die once the rest of you, his family, do.”
“Thank you,” Jinbe says, almost as softly as Law’s initial proclamation. It’s clear that he speaks for all of them. “Is this closer to proper repayment of the favor you owe Luffy?”
“Oh! No. That wasn’t why I did it.” Law is definitely nervous now. “It’s not- I’m not counting this as any kind of repayment. Think of it as a gift.”
“Aw, Torao!” Luffy pats his back enthusiastically. “Does that mean I can still ask for something later?”
Law winces from the strength of Luffy’s touch. “Yes. You may call on me again.”
This guy is really starting to grow on Nami, and, by the looks of it, everyone else too.
“I look forward to seeing you again, Torao,” Robin says.
“It’ll be great having a necromancer on call!” Franky adds.
Luffy frowns. “Hey, he’s my necromancer, not yours.”
“Luffy-ya, I’m not your necromancer just because I owe you a favor.”
The conversation moves the group back to the entrance of the tavern. Law pauses as the rest of the group opens the door to re-enter, Merry pacing at their feet.
“I should be on my way, but it was nice to meet the rest of the Strawhats. Luffy-ya knows where to reach me, so I await whatever you may need from me in the future.” He bows his head formally and the Strawhats profusely thank him.
Law turns away, flips up the hood on his cloak, and walks back into the night, presumably back to the forest.
It’s ten minutes later, when they’re all sitting around their table again, that Sanji points something out. “He didn’t even use his staff.”
“What?” Nami asks, halfway through a fresh beer.
“Law. He did all that extra work to revive Merry, and he didn’t touch his staff.”
Chopper chimes in from across the table. “I didn’t think about that. He must be very powerful.”
“He did say his mentor was Doflamingo,” Usopp reminds them. “Sorcery and wizardry use slightly different magic, but still.”
“It’s good that he owes Luffy a favor then,” Jinbe says, scratching Merry’s head, and they move on.
---
One month later, Law receives a crow-delivered message from Luffy. After thanking the bird and offering her some seeds, he sends her on her way and opens the letter. It asks him to come to the Strawhats’ monthly gathering that night, offering no further information about why Law might be needed.
He spends the day tending to his herb garden and reading a new spell book. Bepo, a druid who often takes the shape of a polar bear, stops by with some ingredients he’s retrieved from the ocean: seaweed from a deep trench, rocks worn smooth by the current, and several abalone that Law’s been needing sorely.
Law invites his friend in for a cup of tea and quietly tells him that he may be traveling soon, or at least that’s what he thinks based on Luffy’s short note. Bepo promises to take care of the garden and Law’s two cats, Polar and Tang. Law says he’ll let him know more after tonight and gratefully waves good-bye once Bepo has to leave.
He plays with Polar and Tang for a little and sets out their food and water bowls an hour early so that he can arrive at the Thousand Sunny in time for the meeting.
Once again, the ten Strawhats are already in the tavern when he enters. This time, however, they all look up and greet him enthusiastically. Merry barks happily from his position at Luffy’s feet and runs over to say hello himself.
Law crouches down to pet him, glad that he seems to be doing well.
“You’re wearing a higher collar shirt this time,” Nami notes, and Law straightens back up.
“I didn’t notice,” he replies, taking the empty seat they’ve left for him at the table. He also chooses not to notice the glances she, Sanji, and Zoro send each other.
“Well,” Luffy says, standing up at the head of the table, “now that Torao’s here, I can tell you guys why I asked him here in the first place.”
“Please do,” Robin says, taking a sip of her ale.
“I think we should officially reform the party,” Luffy explains, and waits for someone to ask him what he has in mind specifically.
Usopp obliges. “You know we’re always interested in another quest. What do you have in mind?”
“We’re going to take on Kaido, the dragon that lives in the Grand Line mountains.” Luffy grins. “And Torao’s going to help!”
Law chokes on the beer he’d been handed a few moments ago as everyone looks at him expectantly. This is a favor on par with the one he’d asked of Luffy two years ago. For a moment, he thinks maybe he should’ve just claimed Merry’s revival as repayment. But that wouldn’t sit right with him, and besides, surely Luffy has a plan for defeating Kaido.
“Sure,” Law says, voice rough with the alcohol he’s just inhaled. “I’m in.”