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“Goodnight, Captain!” Penguin called.
“Try to get some sleep,” Bepo added.
Law lifted a hand in response as he headed to the door of the basement. He tapped a hand absently on the smiling Jolly Roger spraypainted on the front door—the sole sign to those who knew what to look for that indicated the small clinic’s location—as he shut the door behind him and stepped into the gray Dressrosan pre-dawn.
As a med student, Law wasn’t legally allowed to be running a clinic, but his clientele didn’t seem to care that they were receiving care from someone without a license; Law’s medical reputation was well-known around the underworld of Dressrosa, as was his discretion. Though he was taking classes to go legit and maybe actually be able to put a sign in front of his clinic rather than some obscure graffiti, he was still the favored medical provider of those who didn’t want to or couldn’t afford to visit a hospital. Even when Law couldn’t be in the clinic, the other Hearts—the nickname Law’s small but loyal group of illicit clinicians had taken to calling themselves—had earned the trust of Dressrosa’s down and out.
Running a weary hand over his face as he walked toward the subway, Law considered his schedule for the upcoming day. He had class, a rotation at the hospital, and then another shift at the clinic ahead of him. He needed to grab at least a few hours of sleep considering he’d been running on about four hours of sleep and a dozen Red Bulls over the last three days and was liable to pass out. (It wouldn’t be the first time.) If that happened, Bepo would fuss.
A block from the subway, Law stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk. His own mark—a unique Jolly Roger—which he’d painted on the wall at the subway stop several years earlier as he’d started advertising his services to those in the know, had been covered by fresh graffiti.
Law felt his lips twist into a scowl as he studied the janky skull and crossbones sporting what looked like a straw hat. This must be a new player trying to stake a claim on territory in Dressrosa without realizing what Law’s mark meant. Good luck with that, Law thought wryly. Numerous groups, like Kid’s bikers on the south side and Bege’s famiglia on the west side, already had established territories throughout the city, though they all deferred to the Doflamingo Family in the end. He just hoped it didn’t mean an upcoming gang war; the last thing the clinic needed was to be even busier with its limited staff and even more limited resources.
Shaking his head, Law pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a quick picture of the graffiti and sent it to the Hearts’ group chat then continued on to the subway.
The subway station was mostly empty at this early hour as Law tapped his fare card and stepped through the turnstile, making his way to his familiar platform. The train arrived not long after, and Law was able to snag a seat in the mostly empty car. The ride was a blur as Law’s eyes drooped; sleep was still far away, however, as his brain refused to quiet. He knew needed to show his face at the Donquixote manor at some point soon; Doflamingo had been pestering him lately about coming to a Family dinner, and considering he was the one footing Law’s medical school bills, Law couldn’t just blow him off entirely, no matter how much he might want to.
Law didn’t doubt Doflamingo knew that he was running an illegal underground clinic—Doflamingo knew everything that was happening in his city; it was how he’d remained in power for as long as he had—but he’d never mentioned it. Law figured that as long as he kept his extracurricular activities discreet while maintaining appearances of respectability in public, Doflamingo wouldn’t interfere in his business. Illegal enterprises were keeping in the Family’s tradition, after all.
When the train pulled to a halt at Law’s stop, he pushed himself to his aching feet and exited the car, heading for his apartment and hopefully an hour or two of sleep before he started all over again.
A week later, Law peeled off his gloves and tossed them into a trash bin before pushing through the privacy curtain protecting the stabbing victim he’d just been stitching up from the rest of the clinic. Dressrosa, it was said, was a city of passion, and Law’s clinic saw its fair share of stabbings as a result. This young woman had been lucky; she’d only been grazed on the arm. Law had seen far worse both in the clinic and at the hospital during his rotation.
Ikkaku walked up to him and handed him a clipboard. She pointed to one of the closed curtains. “Bed 3 just came in, Captain.” she said.
The Hearts, in keeping with the pirate theme of their graffitied logo, had taken to calling Law Captain since he wasn’t an official doctor but, according to Shachi, was still their “fearless leader.” Law had found the whole thing ridiculous, but the more he protested, the more the others insisted on using the nickname, so eventually he’d stopped.
“Likely head injury,” she continued. “Penguin and I got him cleaned up, but he has bruises and scrapes all over. X-ray didn’t show any broken bones, but he likely needs stitches.”
Law nodded, glancing over the same information on the clipboard. The patient was a male in his late teens with an odd name. “Did he say what happened?”
Ikkaku shook her head. “He and the people he came with were a bit shady about it.”
Law shrugged and headed for the new patient. “Must be a day that ends in -y in Dressrosa, then.”
Ikkaku snorted and returned to the front desk.
Law pulled the curtain open to reveal a young man sitting casually on the bed. He perked up when Law entered. Law gave him a once-over, noting several purpling bruises on his face and arms as well as scraped knuckles. He looked like he’d been in a fight. But the most curious thing about him was the straw hat hanging from a string around his neck against his back.
Something about that niggled at the back of Law’s mind, but he ignored the sensation in favor of the patient in front of him.
“My name is Trafalgar Law,” Law said, putting the clipboard down on the small table and pulling out the stool to sit on. “I’m—”
“The doctor?” Straw Hat asked.
“Close enough,” Law shrugged. “I was going to say that I’m going to take a look at your injuries.”
“Oh,” Straw Hat said. “Okay.”
“Ikkaku—the nurse—” Law added at the Straw Hat’s blank look as he pulled on a clean pair of gloves, “says your x-rays are clean. No broken bones.”
Straw Hat grinned cheekily. “My friends say it’s like my bones are made of rubber. I’ve never broken one before, even with all the figh— er, stuff I do.”
Law raised an eyebrow as he started to examine a serious-looking cut on Straw Hat’s forehead. “Stuff. Right.” The young man winced as Law prodded at the wound, and Law nodded. “This one will need stitches.”
“Mkay,” Straw Hat said.
Law left briefly to grab the necessary materials then sat back down in front of Straw Hat and got to work. Straw Hat, to his credit, remained still as Law stitched.
“Are you new in town?” Law asked. He’d never seen the young man before, either here or at the hospital, and if he was regularly fighting—it was obvious enough what he’d cut himself off from saying—this wouldn’t have been the first time he would have needed medical care.
“Hm? Oh, yeah. I’m transferring into Dressrosa University for the new semester with some of my friends. How did you know?”
“Haven’t seen you around here before,” Law replied as he worked. “And we’re not exactly on Google.”
“Ah, yeah!” Straw Hat said. “The soldier guy told me to come.” He frowned, thinking. “What was his name? Keerios? Krytoast?”
“Kyros?” Law asked in surprise, pulling back to look at Straw Hat.
Kyros had been the former mayor’s personal bodyguard; he was a combat veteran who had taken to MMA fighting after leaving the military. The former mayor had seen him during an exhibition in the city and recruited him on the spot. After Doflamingo had taken power, Kyros had gone underground, running an illicit invite-only fight ring—though Law suspected there was more to his operation than that. Law’s clinic saw many of both the winning and losing fighters from that ring.
“Yeah!” Straw Hat said, brightening. “That was it!”
Law studied the younger man. “You were just invited to the fight ring, weren’t you?”
Straw Hat winced. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“You didn’t tell me,” Law pointed out. “I figured it out.” Straw Hat brightened at the loophole. “Besides, we see a lot of Kyros’s fighters at this clinic. I didn’t realize there was a fight tonight.” The clinic was usually on standby for fight nights because they could get rowdy.
“There wasn’t supposed to be,” Straw Hat admitted as Law went back to stitching. “I was training, but this other guy came in and said something mean to Nami so I punched him.” Law had no idea who Nami was but didn’t care enough to ask as Straw Hat chuckled sheepishly. “Shishishi, then we got into a big fight. I totally kicked his butt, though. You should see him!”
“I probably will,” Law muttered, wondering if Straw Hat’s opponent was in another one of the beds at this moment.
Straw Hat grinned as Law finished the stitches. He checked for other injuries but didn’t find anything concerning. Law pushed himself to his feet and pulled off his gloves. “Looks like the one cut was the only one that needed stitches. I’ll have the nurse get you some ice and anti-inflammatories before you go.”
“Thanks!” Straw Hat chirped pleasantly as Law tossed his gloves on the way through the curtain. He relayed his instructions for Straw Hat to Ikkaku then took a new clipboard and headed for his next patient.
The next time Law saw Straw Hat was entirely unexpected. A week after Straw Hat had come into the clinic, Law was walking across campus at Dressrosa University between his classes when Straw Hat and a couple of friends—a red-headed woman and a green-haired man—stepped out of the administration building and directly into Law’s path. Law pulled up short in recognition just as Straw Hat’s gaze alighted on him.
“Hey, Torao!” Straw Hat called, waving. The two people with him turned to look at Law with suspicious expressions.
Law frowned. What the hell had he called him?
“Who’s this, Luffy?” the woman asked.
“This is Torao,” Straw Hat—Luffy, Law supposed—said as Law grudgingly approached. He didn’t like when the two sides of his life collided. While it was true many of the people who worked at his clinic were his classmates in med school or coworkers at the hospital, that felt different somehow. “He’s the doctor who patched me up at the clinic the other night.”
“Quiet,” Law snapped, glancing around. “Some things shouldn’t be mentioned in public.” The last thing he needed was the wrong person to hear about his clinic. “And that’s not my name. I’m Trafalgar Law. A med student,” he emphasized.
The man’s and woman’s faces lit up in understanding. At least Luffy’s friends seemed to have a sense of discretion, then.
“Right, of course,” the woman said. “I’m Nami. This is Zoro,” she said, nodding at the green-haired man. “Nice to meet you, Torao.”
“Trafalgar,” Law repeated. “Trafalgar Law.”
“Hey, Torao,” Luffy said, piping up. Law gritted his teeth at the mangling of his name. “What are you doing here?”
“He probably has class, Luffy,” Zoro pointed out. “This is a college, after all.”
“Right,” Law agreed. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh,” Luffy perked up. “We were registering for classes. I told you I was transferring in next semester, remember? My friends are, too!”
Law didn’t remember; he tended to put small talk with his patients out of his mind once he’d finished treating them. He’d never been accused of having the best bedside manner, after all. “Ah,” was all he managed.
“We should probably let Torao get to class,” Nami said, putting a hand on Luffy’s arm. “We wouldn’t want to keep him.”
Luffy deflated a bit but nodded. “Oh, okay. Well, see you around, Torao!”
As Law walked away from the group, he had no idea how right Luffy’s prediction would be.
Over the next several weeks, Luffy seemed to pop up wherever Law went, whether he was on campus, grabbing a cup of coffee between class and rotations or rotations and shifts at the clinic, and even once on the subway. Both Luffy and Zoro had also been back to the clinic on two separate fight nights, acting far more familiar with Law than Law was comfortable with—and earning some raised eyebrows from his staff that he’d cut off with a glare.
During that time, Law had also noticed an increasing number of Straw Hat signs painted throughout the city, often on top of territory markers of other groups. Working in the clinic, Law had heard rumors of a new group of self-styled vigilantes who were picking fights without regard to whose territory they found themselves in. Their leader was always described as wearing a straw hat.
Interestingly, they seemed to win every fight they got into yet weren’t particularly interested in taking over anyone else’s territory—just righting whatever wrongs they perceived to be occurring.
Law didn’t know what to make of the other man, though Law grudgingly found himself tolerating his increasing presence in his life.
A month after Law had first met Luffy, the younger man was back in the clinic at the side of a long-nosed friend who needed stitches and a splint after doing, according to Luffy, “stuff.” He never admitted to Law that he was the leader of the vigilantes, and Law never asked.
Law had already splinted Long Nose’s wrist and was stitching up his bicep from a nasty knife wound when the front door burst open, and a flurry of loud voices followed. Law frowned; he finished a stitch then rose from his seat and pushed through the curtain to see an unexpected sight in the middle of the clinic.
Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, and Jean Bart stood in a loose circle around Eustass Kid, who held his masked second in command—Killer, Law thought he was called—over his shoulder. He was demanding someone help when Law stepped forward, and Kid’s eyes found him immediately.
“Trafalgar!” Kid growled. “There you are!”
Law and Kid had never officially met, though Law was, of course, aware of him. He had seen the other man attending classes at Dressrosa University. As Law knew it, Kid was a mechanical engineering student by day and the leader of a biker gang by night; they operated out of an auto shop on the south side of the city. (Law had more than once wondered if Kid was like him, hoping to go legitimate one day. He was, rumor had it, brilliant with machines.) Law rarely saw Kid’s people in his clinic, as they supposedly had their own doctor who they trusted. Whatever this was must truly be an emergency for them to find Law’s clinic rather than to see their own medic.
“Eustass-ya,” Law greeted, crossing his arms. “You’re just about the last person I’d expect to darken my doorway. Why are you here, abusing my staff?”
“I’m trying to get some fucking help here,” Eustass growled. “You do that here, don’t you?”
Law nodded and waved at the Hearts before turning back toward the beds. As Jean Bart took Killer from Eustass, Shachi and Penguin opened the curtain to the nearest bed while Bepo tried to get some information from Eustass. Law made his way back to Luffy and Long Nose; Luffy had pulled their curtain open and was watching the exchange curiously. Law glanced back to the desk and waved Uni over.
“Uni will finish up your stitches and take care of anything else you need,” Law told them. He quickly filled Uni in on what he’d been doing before Eustass came in then headed to the bed with Killer. Shachi had taken Killer’s mask off, bearing some nasty facial scars to the world. Penguin and Bepo were hooking Killer up to monitors and taking his vitals while Jean Bart prepared an IV. Eustass stood next to the bed, Killer’s mask in hand, as he watched the flurry of activity.
Law immediately set to work, moving around the other Hearts in a dance they’d all mastered while working together. “What the hell happened?” he asked as he listened to Killer’s slowing heartrate and straining lungs. He didn’t need to check the monitors to recognize that Killer’s pulse was dangerously low, which was affecting the ability of his other organs to function. The longer this went on, the more likely he was to fall into organ failure, among other myriad issues.
“We were jumped,” Eustass growled, grip tightening on Killer’s helmet. “We were coming out of a bar, and a bunch of guys grabbed us. We fought back, but there were too many of them. One of them injected Killer with something. Killer just… collapsed and started seizing.” Eustass swallowed. “By the time he’d settled, the guys were gone.” His expression darkened. “Good thing because I would have ripped them all apart limb by limb, don’t care how many there were.”
“Do you know what it was?” Law asked.
Eustass took a moment to come back to himself and shook his head. “Didn’t recognize it.” He paused. “But the guy said something before they let us go that seemed odd.”
“What?” Law prompted.
“Smile.”
“What?”
“He said ‘Smile,’” Eustass repeated. He ran his free hand through his hair. “The hell if I know what it means.”
Law, however, had gone rigid. He knew exactly what it meant. Three weeks earlier, Doflamingo had finally brought Law back to the manor for Family dinner and the pair had retired to Doflamingo’s study after the meal. It was then that Doflamingo had revealed to Law that the Family had entered into an arrangement with Kaido, one of the four Emperors of the Underworld, to develop and distribute a new drug. Its maker, Caesar, had dubbed it Smile due to the calming effects it was meant to induce.
“Why are you telling me this?” Law asked, concern itching under his skin. He had done his best over the last half decade to distance himself from the Family as much as possible and hoped Doflamingo wasn’t angling to bring him back into the fold with this new venture.
Doflamingo inclined his head. “Considering your time at the… hospital, you are likely to start seeing the effects of this arrangement.” There was something about the way that Doflamingo said hospital that made it clear he didn’t really mean the hospital; he meant the clinic.
“Overdoses,” Law inferred, keeping up his typical bored façade.
“Among other concerns with a new product entering the market,” Doflamingo agreed. He opened a desk drawer and pulled out a slip of paper. He held it out toward Law. “I thought you might like to take a look at Caesar’s formula in case that would help you treat your patients.”
Bemused, Law took the paper from Doflamingo. “Why?” he asked. “It’s not like you care about anyone who takes this shit.”
Doflamingo snorted. “Of course not. But what good does having dead customers do me? Besides,” he added, the dim light of the study lamp glinting off his sunglasses, “won’t being able to treat this help your reputation?”
Law frowned. “My reputation is just fine.”
“For now.”
Law’s blood had run cold at the veiled threat, and though he’d managed to leave the manor not long after, the conversation hadn’t left his mind since. What was he up to?
“Trafalgar? You know something?”
Law shook himself and looked up at Eustass. “I know what the drug is,” he said, turning to head to the back of the clinic, ignoring Eustass’s indignant shouts. He and the other Hearts had worked on creating an effective treatment to the drug’s effects based on Caesar’s formula, and there were several doses sitting in a refrigerator; they hadn’t been tested, but Law was confident in his team’s work.
He returned with a syringe and immediately opened an IV line and injected the treatment. Once the medication began to flow, Law stepped back and eyed the monitors; that was how they would know if it worked. The others followed his lead, and the entire clinic seemed to hold its breath.
After several agonizingly long minutes, the beeps of the monitors started to even out. Law let out a breath while Eustass dropped bonelessly into the chair next to the bed. Jean Bart put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but Eustass didn’t seem to notice; his eyes were locked on his friend.
With Killer’s vitals stabilizing, Law nodded to Bepo and Shachi; they’d keep an eye on things and get him if he was needed. Penguin followed Law out and pulled the curtain shut to give them some privacy.
“That was amazing, Torao!”
Law blinked and looked up to see Luffy and Long Nose watching him. The curtain was open, and it looked like Uni had finished Long Nose’s stitches. He was probably finishing up their discharge. Luffy was smiling widely. “You’re an amazing doctor. How did you know how to help the masked guy?”
“Yeah, how did you know what the drug was?” Law turned to see Eustass Kid stepping through the curtain. He’d put Killer’s mask down and now strode toward Law. Jean Bart trailed him and gave Law an apologetic look. “I’m pretty fucking familiar with whatever shit is on the streets, but I’d never seen that shit before. But you somehow have a miracle cure?”
“We’ve had several overdoses on this new drug come through the clinic recently,” Law lied. “We studied their blood and created a treatment.” He raised an eyebrow. “Besides, you’re the one who came here for help, Eustass-ya.”
“Your shithole was closer than our shop,” Eustass muttered. “I wasn’t going to waste any time.”
“Torao is amazing, isn’t he, Usopp?” Luffy declared. Long Nose muttered something inaudibly in response, and Luffy chuckled.
“He’s something, all right,” Eustass said, eyeing Law suspiciously.
Two weeks later, Law exited the subway near the clinic and frowned when he saw both his own Jolly Roger and the Straw Hat Jolly Roger covered with brand new graffiti; he recognized the logo immediately as that of Eustass Kid. Looking at the Jolly Roger, Law couldn’t help but feel like something had shifted. Kid’s gang had an established territory to the south and didn’t challenge the middle of the city, where Law’s clinic was located. What the hell had changed?
With a growing sense of dread, Law headed toward the clinic. He was about a block away when a familiar voice called out.
“Hey, Torao!”
Law stifled a groan as he turned to see Luffy, Zoro, and their friend Nico Robin, who worked at Dressrosa University in the History department, heading his way. Robin was one of Luffy’s friends that Law genuinely liked; they shared a grim sense of humor that often put others on the edge.
“Hello, Torao,” Robin greeted pleasantly.
“Nico-ya,” Law greeted. He turned to Luffy. “What are you doing here, Straw Hat-ya?”
“We were on the way to Sanji’s new restaurant but wanted to stop by to ask you a question,” Luffy said.
Law raised an eyebrow. “You couldn’t have texted?” (Luffy was a frequent texter, and Law regretted giving the other man his phone number on a daily basis.)
“Nah,” Luffy dismissed. “I wanted to see Torao!”
Law rolled his eyes and started walking toward the clinic again. The others fell in step with him. “What was the question?”
“Hm?”
“You said you wanted to ask me a question, Straw Hat-ya.”
“Oh, right. My friend Chopper wants to be a doctor and was wondering if he could ask you some questions.”
“He’s a young prodigy,” Robin added, “much like yourself.”
Law sighed. How had he found himself so wrapped up with this group when he’d made no actual attempts to join them? “Fine. Send me his number.”
Luffy beamed. “You’re the best, Torao!”
Law opened his mouth to make an irritated remark when he heard Robin inhale sharply. Law frowned and followed her gaze. He froze. Kid’s Jolly Roger covered the Hearts’ Jolly Roger on the clinic door.
“What the fuck?” Law demanded before shoving the door open. He stepped inside but stopped short when he took in the scene around him. Luffy, Zoro, and Robin came up behind him. Luffy made a curious sound while Law could feel Zoro tense up.
The on-staff Hearts stood behind the desk at the front of the clinic while Eustass Kid, Killer, and two more of theirs stood in the middle of the room, doing their best to look intimidating. Eustass’s expression darkened when Law walked in. He briefly took in the Straw Hats before dismissing them and returning his gaze to Law.
“What the hell is this, Eustass-ya?” Law demanded, gesturing toward the door. “This is a clinic, not your territory.”
“No,” Eustass agreed. “It’s Donquixote territory, isn’t it, Trafalgar?”
Law stiffened. “What are you talking about?”
“Donquixote?” Luffy asked from behind. “Like the mayor?”
Eustass stomped toward Law like a lion stalking its prey. Law, however, was no prey. He straightened and met Eustass’s eye with a glare of his own. Eustass stopped when he was practically nose to nose with Law.
“I knew something was off when Trafalgar here so conveniently had a treatment for a brand-new drug on the streets,” Eustass growled. “I did some digging, and it seems Smile is coming from the Donquixote Family.”
“What’s your point?” Law asked, doing his best to sound bored. Everyone in the underworld knew the Donquixote Family had been the ruling family of Dressrosa for a decade; though they had the façade of legitimacy with Doflamingo holding the position of mayor, his true power came from his control of the black market. Though he usually focused on arms deals, he’d always had his hands in various ventures. Law didn’t need to have connections to the Family to know that much.
“Only someone with connections to the Donquixotes would have been able to come up with an antidote so quickly after Smile hit the streets.” Eustass narrowed his eyes. “If Trafalgar here is the only one who knows how to treat overdoses of this shit, then he gets more people coming to his clinic.”
Law rolled his eyes. “The clinic barely breaks even, Eustass-ya. Getting more overdoses is hardly going to make me any money.”
“Maybe not, but it would improve your reputation. Make more connections for your boss.”
Law raised an eyebrow. “My boss?”
“Donquixote Doflamingo.”
Law pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t work for Doflamingo.” It wasn’t strictly a lie, either.
“Then why did one of my men see you entering and leaving the Donquixote manor five weeks ago?” Law clenched his jaw but didn’t respond. He knew that dinner had been a terrible idea, but the driver with the prominently displayed gun on his belt hadn’t given Law much choice in attending. “We’ve been keeping an eye out on the bastard for the last few months. Was surprised to hear your name pop up among the visitors, Trafalgar. What, nothing to say?”
Law weighed his options. He could feel the tension of the Straw Hats behind him as well as among his own staff. Only Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin knew about his history. He wasn’t sure how the others would react to knowing the truth.
“Torao?” Law glanced to the side to see Luffy watching him curiously, though there was a measure of caution to his gaze. Something about that look made Law uncomfortable, so he relented.
“I don’t work for the Donquixote Family,” Law repeated. Eustass opened his mouth, but Law cut him off. “Not anymore, anyway. They took me in when I was ten.” No one needed to know what had happened before that; Flevance was his. “I tried to get out when I was thirteen, but the attempt failed. I ended up working as the Family doctor, though I was self-taught. I eventually convinced Doflamingo to let me attend Dressrosa University for a formal education.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve done my best to distance myself from the Donquixotes since then. But Doflamingo doesn’t let people go so easily.”
“You expect us to believe that?” Eustass demanded, though he sounded slightly less sure of his anger.
Law looked past Eustass at Killer. “I didn’t have anything to do with the making of Smile. Doflamingo gave me a copy of the formulation of the drug so I could use it to treat patients. I was completely unaware of its existence until then.”
“Why?” he asked. “It’s not like you care about anyone who takes this shit.”
Doflamingo snorted. “Of course not. But what good does having dead customers do me? Besides,” he added, the dim light of the study lamp glinting off his sunglasses, “won’t being able to treat this help your reputation?”
Law frowned. “My reputation is just fine.”
“For now.”
A realization hit him suddenly, and his eyes widened as he looked back at Eustass. “Fuck. He must have hired the men who jumped you.”
Eustass was startled enough by the non sequitur that he gaped. “What? Why the fuck would he do that?”
Law laughed sharply. “So this would happen,” he said, gesturing toward Kid’s group. “I’m getting close to graduating med school, which would allow me to go legit—no more underground clinic. But he wants me back with the Family. If he ruins my reputation, I won’t be able to get a job and will have to return to the Family.” He shook his head in disbelief; he’d truly been playing the long game. “That son of a bitch.”
“You mean he nearly killed my best friend as a message to you?” Eustass demanded indignantly.
Law nodded, suddenly very tired. All his plans to get away from the Family and become a legitimate doctor like his parents had been suddenly seemed so foolish. Of course Doflamingo wouldn’t pay for his medical school education and just let him walk. Law was an investment.
“Then maybe I should kill you to send a message back, Trafalgar,” Eustass growled.
Law spread his arms in invitation—he might have specialized in medicine, but he’d learned to fight from the Family as well—but Luffy ducked under his arms and jumped between the two of them. Law blinked in surprise while Eustass looked at him in a mix of confusion and fury. “Move, pipsqueak.”
“No,” Luffy said, crossing his arms. “I won’t let you hurt Torao. He’s my friend.”
“Who the hell is this kid?” Eustass demanded over Luffy’s head at Law.
“I’m Monkey D. Luffy, head of the Straw Hats.”
Eustass turned his gaze to Luffy with more interest then. “The Straw Hats? The vigilante group picking fights around the city lately?” He glanced at Zoro and Robin, assessing them as well, before turning back to Luffy.
“That’s right,” Luffy said. “We’re not fighting for anyone’s territory. We just fight when someone is being a jerk. And this Mingo seems like a really big jerk. Makes me want to kick his ass.”
Law snorted while Eustass stared at him. It really should have been more surprising than it was.
Luffy perked up and glanced between Law and Eustass. “We should make an alliance to take down Mingo!”
Behind Law, Zoro sighed resignedly while Robin stifled a chuckle. Eustass looked uncomprehendingly at Luffy for a long moment. “Are you serious?” He turned to Law. “Is he serious?”
Law, however, was thoughtful. “He might have a point.”
“What?”
“Thanks, Torao!” Luffy said happily before turning to Eustass. “Look, Jaggy.”
“Jaggy?” Eustass sputtered while his men on the other side of the clinic looked torn between laughing and fighting for their boss’s honor.
“You hate Mingo for hurting your friend,” Luffy said, pointing at Eustass. He then pointed at Law. “Torao hates Mingo for not letting him be free.” He pointed to himself. “I hate him because he’s a jerk who hurts people like you guys and Keerios—”
“Kyros,” Law corrected under his breath, though he knew it would do no good.
“–and Rebecca. So, let’s work together!”
The clinic was silent for a long moment as Eustass just stared disbelievingly at Luffy while Luffy looked curiously between Law and Eustass. Finally, Law relented; if this gave him even the smallest chance of escaping Doflamingo’s clutches after Cora-san’s efforts to get him out had failed…
“I’m in.”
“What?” Eustass spluttered, looking at Law. “Seriously?”
Luffy beamed at Law before they both turned to Eustass. “Well, Jaggy?”
Eustass looked between them for another long moment before Killer came up next to him and whispered something in his ear. Eustass’s lips thinned into an irritated line, but his shoulders lost their tension. He nodded jerkily, and Killer stepped back.
“Fine,” he growled. “I’ll make an alliance with you idiots.”
Law smirked as Luffy yipped in victory.
Within a week, the door to Law’s clinic as well as the wall near the subway had been repainted with three Jolly Rogers side-by-side.