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Startled awake by the popping of his nose bubble, Luffy blinked up to see the familiar ceiling of the men’s quarters. Pulling his arms over his head, he gave his limbs a satisfying stretch before relaxing. Stifling a yawn, he looked over to the other hammocks to see that they were empty. He figured he should probably get up too.
Mustering up some energy, Luffy pulled himself into a sitting position. He rubbed sleep from his eyes before looking down at his hands. His vision took a moment to focus and when it did, Luffy’s attention was once again drawn to the thin red string tied to his little finger.
Raising his left hand up for a closer look, Luffy was reminded of its significance.
According to his grandpa, Luffy was born with a red string of fate. It was a special phenomenon that only one in a hundred people were born with, so many considered it lucky. This thin string was said to lead him to his soulmate, someone he was fated to meet. It could be a lover, a saviour, a person who he could trust with his life… Whichever the case, once the two were to meet, the string would disappear as it would have achieved its goal of leading the two together. What happened afterwards would be down to the two individuals involved.
Absently tracing over the string, Luffy stared at the familiar way it wrapped three times around his finger. There was a small bow that fastened it in place, leaving a loose strand of 2 inches that would lead him to his soulmate. The rest of the length of the string seemed to disappear into thin air but apparently, the closer one got to their significant other, more of the string would become visible. The fact that the loose strand dangling from the knot on Luffy’s finger had remained the same length for as long as he could remember proved that Luffy’s soulmate was still far away from where he was.
Hearing romantic stories from Makino since he was younger, Luffy had always been curious to know who his soulmate might be. But when Ace found out that Luffy had a red string of fate, he didn’t seem happy. His brother expressed that a fated meeting just seemed like a restriction to one’s freedom. Although Luffy understood Ace’s concern, he reassured the other that he would still go out to sea, and aim to become the freest man in the world, the Pirate King. Whoever he was fated to meet would just be a side quest, not one that would influence his decisions or dictate his adventure.
True to his words, Luffy had travelled across East Blue, through the first half of the Grand Line, and was now in the New World without once following the direction in which his string pointed.
Just as he was reminding himself that he wouldn’t be guided by the string, the loose red strand that was pointing roughly at 2 o’clock slowly rotated to point straight ahead. A sudden spike of curiosity and excitement took over.
Bolting out of his hammock, Luffy charged out of the men’s quarters. He nearly ran into Usopp on the way out, earning a complaint from him.
“Luffy, what the hell, dude?”
But Luffy was too focused on his string. Normally, he wouldn’t care much about a change in direction because of how active he was, just one spin on his heel made the string spiral on his finger like a compass. This time, however, Luffy didn’t move when the string moved.
Following the direction of the string, Luffy hurried to the front of the ship. Just as he climbed up all the stairs, he crashed into the back of someone.
“Wha-?” The other startled. He turned around to regard Luffy. “Straw Hat-ya?”
“A-Ah… Torao,” Luffy greeted with a slight stumble back. “S-Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Luffy laughed, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
“What’s the rush?” Law asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Huh? Oh…” Luffy looked away, hands clasped behind him. “No reason.”
Law didn’t look convinced but he didn’t say anything else, his eyes trailed off to look at the sea again.
“You look worried,” Luffy pointed out, noticing how the dark lines under the other’s eyes looked more pronounced than usual.
“You and your crew look too relaxed,” Law replied, glancing at Luffy before looking back out to sea.
Pulling his hands behind his head, Luffy hummed in thought. “Well, worrying won’t change anything. So, why not just take it easy for now?”
A huff of a laugh left Law. “That’s so like you, Straw Hat-ya.”
Luffy stayed silent. His mind paused on the expression Law made just a moment ago. His heart skipped a beat and he felt a familiar warmth bloom in his chest. The feeling made him feel restless and just when Law registered the silence and looked back at him, Luffy couldn’t make eye contact and quickly turned away.
“Straw Hat-ya?” There was concern in his voice and Luffy wanted to dismiss it.
Spinning on his heels, Luffy put on a bright smile. “Don’t stress so much. We’re allies now. Whatever your troubles may be, we’ll tackle them together.”
Another small smile appeared on Law’s face. It was such a shame the other was always so serious because Luffy truly thought that Law looked much more attractive when he smiled. But perhaps because it happened so rarely that Luffy should feel lucky that in their short conversation, he was able to witness it twice.
The atmosphere felt comfortable between them. Luffy wasn’t sure if an opportunity like this would present itself again before they reached Dressrosa so he thought it would be a good time to ask Law something he had wanted to know since two years ago.
Opening his mouth, Luffy was about to speak when Chopper’s voice called out to Law from the lawn deck.
“Torao?”
Both Law and Luffy looked from Chopper’s direction to each other before Luffy shrugged, swallowing back the words he was about to say.
“Chopper, he’s over here!” Luffy called out.
“Ah, sorry, did I interrupt?” Chopper peered up from the stairs, looking a little guilty.
“Nah, not at all,” Luffy laughed.
“Oh, okay.” Chopper nodded before turning to Law. “Can I borrow you for a second?”
Law looked from Chopper to Luffy, seeming to ask if it were really alright to go. Luffy found himself smiling at the silent question and just shrugged before walking away.
Law got the message and he made his way down the stairs with Chopper.
When Luffy was left alone, he sighed deeply. Apparently, the timing wasn’t quite right. He absently kicked a small stone on the deck, watching it bounce away and off the ship. It wasn’t a massive issue not knowing, Luffy had already thanked the other anyway. But sometimes when he thought about it, Luffy just couldn’t figure out why.
Why did Law save him?
They barely knew each other at the time yet Law went out of his way to Marineford to pick up Luffy who had been severely injured, and emotionally shocked. He gave him urgent medical care, and was thorough with the entire procedure. Obviously, Luffy wasn’t going to question Law’s decision. He was alive thanks to him, after all. But he just simply wanted to know the reason behind it.
Though, it looked like Luffy had to wait a bit longer before finding out.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Luffy took a deep breath before resuming what he came up to the front of the ship to do.
Lifting up his left hand to look at his red string, Luffy was expecting it to be pointing straight ahead as it did before. But what surprised him was that it pointed in the complete opposite direction. It pointed behind Luffy.
A chill ran down his spine as he spun around. He looked up into the sky, then dashed to the edge of the ship and looked into the water, afraid that in the time he spent talking to Law, he had somehow passed by his soulmate. Luffy felt his heart sink before he launched himself off the upper deck.
Landing on the lawn deck, Luffy was about to dash to the other side of the ship when his string did another 180.
Luffy couldn’t be more confused. His string kept flicking between two directions. His soulmate was still probably quite far away from him given how only two inches of the string was still visible. He tilted his head up into the sky, squinting into the clouds to see if there were a sky island above them. When there didn’t seem to be one, he ran to the edge of the ship to peer into the water, thinking that perhaps there was an underwater island below.
Beside him, Usopp was absently fishing.
“Hey, Luffy. What’s the matter?”
But Luffy was too puzzled to respond.
“Earth to Luffy?” Usopp tried again.
At that time, Nami had just stepped out from the lady’s quarters and also noticed Luffy’s strange behaviour.
“Luffy?”
The captain kept ignoring everyone around him. He followed his string again, leading him to the foremast where Chopper was sat beside Law with a few medicine related books opened around them. Stopping in front of them, Luffy just stared at his finger before looking up at the mast.
“Ah, Luffy! You’re blocking the sun,” Chopper complained, but his captain showed no reaction. “Luffy?”
Stretching his arms up to the top yard, Luffy pulled himself up so that he stood above the foresail. He continued to look between the sky and his finger, reaching his hand up into the air in hopes that more of the red string of fate would become visible. The fact that it remained at 2 inches only suggested that Luffy was still nowhere near his soulmate.
A pout found his way onto his lips before he dropped back down onto the lawn deck. His eyes were still fixated on his string so he didn’t notice Nami reach out towards his face.
“A-Ah! What are you doing?!” Luffy exclaimed when his cheek was suddenly pulled by his navigator.
“We should be asking you that!” Nami released his cheek with a snap before planting her hands onto her hips. Beside her, Usopp looked at him with concern.
“Yeah, man. What’s gotten into you today?” Usopp asked.
“Ah, no…” Luffy felt a little bad at making his crew members worry. “It’s just, my string…” Luffy held up his little finger to show his red string of fate.
“Hmm? What about it?” Nami asked with a tilt of her head.
“It keeps moving.”
“Moving?” Usopp looked at the string more closely. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, watch.” Luffy said, taking a few steps to the side and watching as the string continued to point in a fixed position towards the foremast.
“No way!” Nami and Usopp exclaimed together. The former grabbed Luffy by the shoulders before moving him the other way to confirm that the string was really moving.
“Nami, is there a sky island or a fishman island around here?” Luffy asked.
Nami straightened up with a hum. “I don’t think so. I mean, it’s not impossible but I wouldn’t bet on it.”
“Oh…” Luffy deflated, feeling his brain hurt from all the thinking.
Without any resistance, Luffy allowed himself to be guided around by his navigator, and he found himself circling around the foremast where Chopper and Law were sat. The reindeer seemed to be curiously watching his crew members around him while Law appeared completely undisturbed and uninterested in the Straw Hats.
Taking a step back, Nami pulled Luffy and Usopp in for a quiet discussion. “It’s pointing to Torao.” Nami concluded.
Luffy felt his heart skip a beat at hearing that.
“But he doesn’t have a string, right?” Usopp pointed out.
The three of them straightened up before approaching Law. The shadows looming over him finally seemed to have drawn his attention, but before he could ask anything, Nami swiped up his left hand.
“Hey!” Law protested as Nami leant in to inspect his hand.
“He really doesn’t have one…” Nami realised. “But how is that possible?”
“What are you talking about?” Law asked carefully.
But no one had a chance to answer him when another voice spoke up from above them.
“What’s the excitement about?” Robin asked from where she was leaning against the banister, smiling pleasantly as always.
“Ah, Robin.” Nami turned to the other. “Is it possible for someone to have a red string of fate connected to someone who doesn’t have one?”
Chopper made a curious sound as he turned his head to regard Robin who was contemplating the question.
“I haven’t ever heard of such a case. The purpose of the red string of fate is that it will always lead to your fated person.” Robin explained.
“Then why does it look like Luffy’s string is connected to Torao when he doesn’t have one?” Usopp asked, pointing between the two.
“What…?” Law’s eyes widened as he looked at Luffy in surprise.
Looking away to avoid the other’s intense gaze, Luffy rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. But it didn’t seem like Law found it amusing at all.
Getting to his feet, Law held out a hand to Luffy. “Let me see it.”
“Eh…?” Luffy hesitated for a moment, looking between Law and his outstretched hand. The complicated expression on Law’s face made Luffy swallow thickly.
Stepping forward, he held out his left hand for Law to see.
The other took his hand gently into his. He examined Luffy’s little finger carefully, stepping from one side to another and watching the string continuously follow him like a magnet. It was obvious to everyone that Luffy’s string should be connected to Law. But the question was, why didn’t Law have one?
After a while, Law breathed out a deep sigh. He sat back down against the foremast, his expression dark and serious. Everyone seemed to be waiting in anticipation. The atmosphere made Luffy fidgety, uneasiness pooling at the pit of his stomach.
Law sighed once again before he looked up. His eyes met Luffy’s before he spoke.
“I used to have a red string of fate.” He confessed.
“Used to…?” Nami repeated.
“What do you mean by that?” Usopp asked.
“Exactly that.” Law responded. “I used to have one… Before I removed it.”
“Wait, you can remove the string?” Chopper exclaimed in surprise. “I didn’t think it was possible.”
“It isn’t normally,” Law confirmed. “But my ability made it so I could.”
“You didn’t like the idea of having a fated partner?” Robin asked.
The question made Luffy stiffen. He was already quite tense after hearing that Law had removed his red string of fate. Now that Robin asked about how he felt about having a soulmate, Luffy didn’t want to hear the answer.
Turning swiftly on his heels, Luffy dashed away towards the back of the ship.
“Straw Hat-ya!” Law called after him but Luffy wasn’t stopping.
Leaping up stairs and vaulting over banisters, Luffy climbed his way to the top of the bathhouse. The distance between the lawn deck and the bathhouse wasn’t very far but Luffy felt horribly out of breath. His chest felt tight and uncomfortable. His heartbeat sounded a little too loud in his ears and for some reason, he felt like crying.
When he heard Nami say that his string led to Law, Luffy felt a wave of happiness. But the moment he revealed that he had removed his string, effectively disconnecting him from his fated partner, Luffy felt a stab of pain flare in his chest.
Meeting at Sabaody Archipelago, then saving him at Marineford, to forming an alliance at Punk Hazard… It all made sense. It was fate all along. It would explain Luffy’s feelings towards Law as well. But knowing that Law would reject the idea of a soulmate, and that soulmate was Luffy… He didn’t want that.
“Room.”
Luffy looked up to see a thin blue dome surround him. He turned around just in time to see a small pebble thrown into the air before Law suddenly appear in its place.
“Straw Hat-ya.” Law spoke as the blue dome faded.
Luffy swallowed thickly, not really wanting to speak to Law at that moment but seeing as they were at the very back of the Sunny, Luffy had nowhere to run.
“Will you listen to me?” He asked in a gentle voice.
The tone made Luffy’s lips tremble. He pursed them together to stop them from quivering. He really felt like crying. But he knew to keep it together, at least, until after listening to Law first.
Taking a deep breath, Luffy tucked his feet underneath himself and sat down. He didn’t say anything but surely, Law would understand that Luffy was willing to listen.
As expected, Law understood and sat down as well.
A small breath left Law before he looked up and his gaze met Luffy’s. “I didn’t expect my soulmate to be you.”
Luffy pouted hard at the comment. He already didn’t like the direction this was going.
“But I’m actually kind of glad that it is.”
Perking up, Luffy released his pout to look at Law. The expression on the other’s face was soft. He didn’t have his usual frown or serious expression, the face he wore looked genuine and honest.
“You’re glad…?” Luffy repeated slowly.
Law nodded once, leaning back on his hands as he continued. “I once lost hope in everything. My life was reaching an end before I even accomplished a single thing.”
Luffy stayed silent, listening intently as it was the first, and possibly only, time he would get an opportunity to hear about Law’s past.
“But somehow, I managed to find a glimmer of hope.” A sad smile pulled on Law’s face before he sighed regretfully. “It didn’t last long though.”
Luffy’s heart sank at the way Law spoke. He wasn’t sure exactly what the other went through in the past but it seemed the scars were much deeper than he could imagine. His hands slowly clenched and unclenched in his lap.
“Everything went back to being quite bleak after that. I didn’t want to get my hopes up anymore so,” he looked down at his left hand, holding out the little finger on which a thin red string used to be tied. “I operated on my finger, and removed the red string of fate.”
Law looked back at Luffy. His gaze more focused than before.
“Surely, you’ve had the same thoughts before. That the string was a hindrance to your freedom.”
Luffy swallowed thickly before nodding once. “I have,” Luffy confessed. “But I made a decision long ago that I wouldn’t let it influence me or my adventure. I was prepared to live my life without ever meeting my soulmate because we…” Luffy paused, breathing out to compose himself before continuing. “Because Ace and I promised each other that we would live freer than anyone else.”
The expression on Law’s face shifted minutely at the mention of Ace. “I see,” he replied.
There was a short pause between them before Law huffed a laugh.
“Huh?” Luffy looked at Law questioningly, unsure what could have caused the other to laugh.
“Nothing,” Law dismissed. “I’m still just a little surprised that I somehow found my soulmate without being guided by the string.”
“I’m surprised too,” Luffy smiled. “I never would have thought it’d be you, Torao.”
“Didn’t you notice the string move when we met at the auction house?” Law questioned.
“Ah…” Luffy tilted his head in thought. “I don’t really pay attention to it all that much. I guess I was too busy thinking about rescuing Camie at the time that I didn’t notice.”
Law hummed lightly in response.
“Plus, no more of the string became visible so even if I noticed the change in direction, I probably would still have thought they were miles away.”
“That makes sense,” Law nodded.
“Oh well,” Luffy shrugged with a smile. “I know who my soulmate is now.”
A smile stretched on Law’s face. “Me too. I’m glad.”
“Shishishi,” Luffy chuckled. “You’ve said that already.”
“No, I mean something else,” Law rephrased. “I’m glad that the decisions I’ve made so far have been my own and not influenced by the string or the fact that you’re my soulmate.”
“What do you…” Luffy realised what Law meant and grew hopeful at finally being able to ask the question he had wanted to. “Are you talking about why you saved me?”
Law nodded in response. “That, and the alliance.”
Leaning forward, Luffy felt his lips tremble in anticipation. “Why did you… save me, that is?”
Law looked up to Luffy and he immediately recoiled with his hands flapping in front of him.
“I-I mean,” Luffy rubbed the back of his head and looked away. “I’m grateful, 100%! And I can’t thank you enough.”
“You’ve already thanked me,” Law reminded.
“Yes, but…” Luffy stopped flailing and sat back properly. “I’ve just always wondered why you did it. Like, we barely knew each other and we weren’t… Or, we didn’t know that we were soulmates so…”
Tilting his head up to look at the sky, Law sighed quietly. “It was a mixture of things so I can’t be sure.” Law admitted before glancing at Luffy. “You made a strong impression on me when we first met at the auction house. You were strong and made a good rival, so I didn’t want to lose you so soon. And it could also be because of your name.”
“My name?” Luffy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but Law seemed to ignore him.
“In any case,” Law sat up straight again, their gaze locked on each other before he spoke the following words. “I’m glad I saved you.”
Warmth bloomed in Luffy’s chest and he couldn’t stop the bright smile that stretched across his face. “I’m glad you did too, Torao. Thank you!”
Law simply smiled softly in response and Luffy felt his heart flutter once again.
“So, what’s going to happen to us now?” Luffy asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Like, now that we know we’re soulmates, do we need to do anything?” Luffy wondered.
“Well, the point of the string was just to lead us to each other.” Law said. “We decide how we want to move forward… I guess, we kind of already have with our pirate alliance.”
Luffy felt his smile widen. “In that case,” Luffy bounced up onto his feet, stretching out a hand towards Law. “Let’s renew our relationship as allies and as soulmates.”
Surprise was written on Law’s face for only a moment, before he pulled his hat down over his face and took Luffy’s hand. Standing up to his full height, he shook Luffy’s hand firmly.
“Let’s get along, Straw Hat-ya.”
“Yeah!” Luffy cheered.
It felt like a weight was lifted from his shoulders and Luffy felt a new found happiness in his chest. Knowing who his soulmate was cleared up one mystery in his life but because his soulmate happened to be Law, Luffy felt an additional layer of joy. He walked with a light spring to his steps before his stomach growled loudly. It appeared everything leading up to that moment made Luffy hungry.
“Let’s get some food,” Luffy said with a fist pumped into the air.
Just as he was about to vault over the banister, Law called out to him.
“Wait, Straw Hat-ya.”
“Hmm?” Luffy turned to see Law walk up to him.
He reached for Luffy’s left hand and held it up between them, his eyes looking at the thin red string.
“Do you want me to do anything with your string?”
“Huh?” Luffy tilted his head. “Why?”
“Because normally the string would disappear after you meet your soulmate for the first time. This should have happened at the auction house but because I severed mine, yours will probably never connect and stay on your finger forever.” Law informed.
“Oh, I don’t mind.” Luffy replied simply.
“You don’t?” Law raised an eyebrow in doubt.
“Yeah,” Luffy nodded with a smile. “It’ll be like having your vivre card. It’ll always lead me to you no matter how far away we are.”
Just like before, a moment of surprise was visible in Law’s expression. It vanished quickly, replaced by a soft smile but Luffy didn’t miss it. He was happy to see so many of Law’s emotions that he felt himself smile even wider.
“C’mon, let’s grab some food.” Luffy suggested, holding onto Law’s hand before leading them back to the centre of the ship.