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Heavy iron doors closed behind him as he made his way with hurried steps to the operating room. The moment he entered, he was handed a pair of surgical gloves and mask which he exchanged for the sword he carried over his shoulder. While he equipped himself, he overheard a usually gentle voice speak firmly.
“Step aside! Law’s going to save him!”
Once the mask was fitted over his face, Law turned to the owner of the voice. A tall, broad yet half transparent blond man stood between him and his patient. He seemed to be speaking to someone who Law could not see.
“Law, hurry!” A dark haired man who Law respected advised from beside the heavily injured patient. “He’s not going to make it!”
Knowing well the other’s medical expertise, Law knew that he had to act quickly. Silently, the doctor stepped around the blond man and the unseeable unknown individual to whom he was talking, and began the procedure in order to save the young man in the straw hat in front of him.
“Everyone, let’s pray for them.” A sweet and delicate voice spoke from the side of the operation room. In response to her was a quiet, affirmative murmuring of a group of young children.
The operation was long and arduous but with the guidance of a pair of reliable doctors, overseeing his actions and providing him support, Law was able to stabilise his patient’s condition.
A breathe of relief escaped Law as he stood up straight and arched his back to relieve his body of some tension. By doing so, he caught a glimpse of the nun and the group of children who still had their hands clasped. They must have prayed for the entire duration of the operation.
“Sister, you can stop now.” Law spoke with his mind’s voice.
The nun heard him loud and clear and raised her head with worried eyes. “How is he?” She asked.
The small crowd of children around her also looked up with the same degree of concern written on their faces.
“Stable,” Law simply replied.
A chorus of relieved sighs left the group before they turned to each other with bright smiles on their faces.
“You did great, Law!”
Turning to the man on the opposite side of the operating table, Law was met with a proud smile.
“Thank you, Father.” Law spoke from his mind again before addressing the other doctor present. “Mother, as well. Thank you for the help.” He would normally bow in gratitude but he had long learnt not to.
“Don’t thank us, Law.” His mother smiled softly. “Thank yourself for saving this boy’s life.”
A small smile pulled at Law’s lips in response to his mother’s words.
“Captain…” A timid voice spoke up from behind him.
Pulling his mask down, Law turned to his navigator.
“Is… Is Straw Hat alright?”
“His condition’s stable,” Law responded, looking over his patient again. “But I can’t guarantee his mental or emotional state.”
“I see…” The polar bear nodded sadly.
Glancing over to his crew member, a soft sigh left Law. “Stop worrying, Bepo. We did what we could.”
Returning to the recovery bay after making the decision to sail to Amazon Lily, Law stepped into a conversation that he could only half-hear.
“You’re just like Onii-sama,” the young lady in pigtails chuckled lightly behind a hand.
“What are you saying about me?” Law mentally sighed at his sister, Lami.
Spinning around with a smile on her face, Lami tucked her hands behind her back and shook her head. “Nothing!” She denied.
An actual sigh left Law quietly, uninterested in what she had been saying. “Are you talking to Fire Fist-ya?” Law asked instead.
“Yeah,” Lami nodded, her smile falling a little sad. “Ace-san’s been here the whole time.”
“I see,” Law responded, not exactly surprised to hear that.
Without another word, Law proceeded to check up on Luffy’s condition. Even though he could only see his younger sister, Law could feel the piercing gaze of Ace behind him.
While Law was changing Luffy’s bandages, a muffled thud was heard behind him, followed by a start from his sister. The doctor did not react because it was a sound he had long got used to and one that if he reacted, he would draw attention to himself.
“C-Cora-san?!” Lami jumped.
“Ouch, ouch, ouch…” The tall blond man whined as he got to his feet.
“Are you alright?” Lami asked politely.
“O-Oh, Lami-chan. Thank you. I’m okay.” The man reassured before noticing the other in the room. “Ah, Ace-kun, you’re here too.”
Sitting up and looking over his shoulder, Law regarded the man who once saved his life, Corazon.
“Hi, Law.” The blond man smiled brightly. “Everything okay here?”
“Yeah,” Law nodded without thinking.
“Good,” Corazon smiled. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m going to go find Sengoku-san and see how things are over there.” He carefully turned to Ace who Law could not see. “Is there… Is there anything that you want me to do while I’m there?”
It was clear that Ace was saying something by the way Corazon and Lami were listening intently but Law could not hear any of Ace’s words. So he simply turned away and let his gaze travel to Luffy’s half bandaged, resting expression.
With a bottle of beer in hand, Law overlooked the sea and his ship while his crew were busy fawning over the maidens of the island. Their excitement was background noise to Law as his thoughts wandered to the potential future of the world after the recent events at Marineford.
Just when Law was contemplating his plan of action, Corazon made his presence known beside him.
“Law,” Corazon greeted.
“Welcome back, Cora-san.” Law responded in his mind. “What’s the situation like over there?”
A light sigh left the blond man. “Not good, really. On both sides…”
Corazon went on to explaining how both the navy and the Whitebeard pirates suffered heavy casualties, that the Red Hair pirates and remnants of the Whitebeard pirates retrieved the bodies of Ace and Whitebeard for burial. There was near to no information on Blackbeard after he retreated, and despite Corazon being told to keep it a secret, he informed Law that Sengoku was planning on resigning as Admiral.
Law listened silently at the information, providing only the smallest of nods to not draw attention to himself.
“Thanks for telling me all this, Cora-san.”
“Not a problem,” Corazon smiled brightly. “Just… Don’t go doing anything reckless just because you know all this.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Law dismissed.
“Anyway,” Corazon turned in the direction of Law’s submarine. “I need to go find Ace-kun. Do you think he’s still-?”
But before he could finish the question, a distant voice called out to Law.
“Law!”
“Father?!” Law whipped around in the direction of his voice when his mother also exclaimed.
“Luffy-kun!”
Just when Law put the pieces together, an explosive scream came from his ship. The voice alone quaked the air and water. With an annoyed click his tongue, Law jumped to his feet only to witness a body launching into the air after having blasted a hole into the top of his submarine. Law didn’t know what to be angrier about, the damage to his ship or his patient acting recklessly after his hard work.
A rubber body landed not too far away from him and Law wasted no time in approaching the other.
“Hey, Straw Hat-ya!”
But it was as if Luffy couldn’t hear him. He lifted his head from where he was hunched over on his hands and knees, looking up as if there were someone in front of him. His expression was tearful but he wore a smile on his face.
“Ace… Ace…! You’re here!” Luffy cried with so much relief.
It broke Law’s heart at knowing exactly what Luffy was going through.
“What…?” Luffy spoke in a one sided conversation. “What do you mean? But you’re right here.”
“Hey!” Law reached out to Luffy in hopes of bringing him back to his senses but before he managed to lay a hand on his shoulder, the young man dashed forward.
Law recoiled back at the sudden action and when he turned to regard Luffy, he was once again on his knees but this time, he was looking at his hands, empty and bandaged. A series of thoughts crossed Law’s mind and they were all along the same lines.
Idiot! Law knew he was being too harsh but he couldn’t help but see his younger self in what Luffy was currently going through.
“No… No…! No, no, no, no, no!” Luffy curled in on himself. “It’s not true! It’s not true!”
But once again, before Law could get a word in and reach out to the other, Luffy jumped up and sped away.
“Hey!” Law called after him but it was no use.
Luffy disappeared into the forest in a blink of an eye and Law simply sighed heavily at the situation.
“You’re not going after him?!” Lami whipped around to her brother with wide eyes.
“I’ve already done my part,” Law reasoned, not wanting to involve himself with such a troublesome individual.
“Law!” His parents and sister reacted in shock.
A deep frown pulled on his face from being shouted at by his deceased family.
“Law,” an encouraging voice spoke up from beside him.
Reluctantly, Law turned his head to regard Corazon who was smiling softly down at him.
“You know his pain better than anyone here,” Corazon reminded. “If anyone can teach him how to live with spirits, it’s you.”
From the moment Corazon spoke up, Law knew that he wasn’t going to win this argument. His parents and sister had already pointed out Law’s soft spot for Corazon and even if he denied it every time, it was very obvious. The frown on his face deepened a fraction before his features finally relaxed and his exasperation released in the form of a sigh.
“I didn’t sign up for this.” Law muttered to himself, not even bothering to speak with his mind.
“Don’t complain,” his mother encouraged. “Treating a patient isn’t just about their physical health.”
“Law, over here!” One of his former classmates waved at Law from beyond a thick bush.
“You’ve got to be kidding…” Law complained. “Just how far did he go?!”
After much effort in navigating the forest of thick foliage, Law reached a small clearing. Before he stepped out past the last line of trees, however, Corazon called to Law in a hushed voice.
“Law, wait!”
“What?” Law huffed impatiently, wanting to get out of the bushes and clear his body of leaves, twigs and grass.
But before Corazon responded, Law heard Luffy speak as if he hadn’t noticed Law’s presence yet.
“I thought…” Luffy sniffled. “I thought I couldn’t see spirits because Sabo… he…” He wiped his tears with his bandaged arms.
There was a pause, assuming that Ace was replying to his brother.
“You too?” Luffy asked, looking up tearfully. “So, does that mean Sabo’s…”
Luffy never finished his question, Law could not hear Ace’s response, and Luffy did not add to whatever the other had said.
“You can go now,” Corazon whispered and Law finally stepped out into the clearing.
Dusting himself off first, Law glanced back to see Corazon, his family, the nun, and all of his former classmates peering around several tree trunks. All of them were watching with cautious eagerness and Law couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
“It’s not like he can see you,” Law commented before straightening himself up and approaching Luffy.
For the first time since he regained consciousness, Luffy acknowledged Law’s presence.
“You’re such a pain, Straw Hat-ya.” Law complained. “Running off like that…”
“Huh?” Luffy responded oddly, but it wasn’t hard to figure out from the way the young man looked away that it wasn’t a reaction to what Law said but to what Ace apparently said.
Though Law was vaguely curious as to what the other said, he also wasn’t that interested. Turning his attention to the filthy bandages that covered Luffy’s body, Law reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bandages.
“Just hold still,” Law advised, getting to work with checking over Luffy’s condition. Even though he severely disliked dressing wounds in an unsterile environment, Law had little energy to care.
For the duration of Law changing Luffy’s bandages, the injured young man had his attention elsewhere. At some point, Corazon stepped out from the trees and was conversing with someone Law could not hear in the background.
Once Law had finished, his curiosity got the better of him and he couldn’t help but ask, “Cora-san, what did you tell Fire Fist-ya?”
“Hmm?” Corazon hummed a question before humming lightly in thought. “Just who we are.”
The answer was short and simple but Law understood what he meant. “I see.”
Making a move to stand, Law straightened up to his full height. He noticed that the sun was dipping lower in the sky and deemed it time to return to his crew and assess the damage done to his ship.
Law was just about to turn and gesture for Luffy to follow him back when a hand grabbed him by the arm.
“You…” Luffy spoke with a hint of confusion in his voice. “How do you…?”
Law didn’t need to hear the rest of the question to know what Luffy wanted to ask so with a glance to the side, he shrugged. “You get used to it.” The answer wasn’t helpful in the slightest and the look on his sister’s face was that of disappointment but Law didn’t know what else to say. “Come on, let’s go back.” He suggested instead. “It’ll be better than sleeping out here.”
“Law, run this way!” A semi-transparent figure spoke directly into Law’s mind while guiding him forward.
“Where are we going, Father?” Law asked, desperately running as the once white city was being engulfed in smoke and flames.
“Shh!” His mother hissed from beside him. “You must not speak, Law!”
Confused, Law simply did as he was told and continued to where his father was directing him.
“Quick, under here.” His father gestured to a cart carrying a pile of motionless bodies.
“But that’s…” Law hesitated. He felt colour drain from his face as his stomach churned at the unpleasant smell of smoke, burning and blood.
His parents, however, didn’t seem fazed and simply pressed their fingers to their lips in urgency.
Law felt something threaten to rise up from his throat and he clasped his small hands over his mouth and desperately shook his head.
“You have to, Law.” His father encouraged. “You have to survive!”
With the sound of approaching soldiers, Law pushed aside his fear and dove into the pile of corpses. He wiggled through the lifeless limbs and felt his whole body shiver at what he was doing, but he recalled his parents’ words and stayed still and silent.
He didn’t know how long he was hidden among the dead when foreign voices spoke and drove the cart away. The jostling of the bodies was uncomfortable and nauseating but Law endured it. Holding back his tears and his breaking heart together, Law waited until the cart stopped moving. Carefully, he peered out from the gaps and when the coast was clear, Law slipped away from Hell itself.
After running for a long time and over a great distance, Law turned to his parents with a tired smile.
“Mother, Father, Lami…” Law panted. “We’re safe… We made it.”
But the reaction he got from his family members was a strange one. They looked awkwardly between them before turning back to Law.
“Law…” His father spoke. “We’re glad you survived.”
“What? What do you mean?” Law was confused, still trying to smile through the tragedy that took place in his hometown. “You survived as well.”
There was a long pause. It was only broken by a quiet sob that his mother could no longer contain.
“We’re sorry, Law.” His mother apologised but Law didn’t know what she was sorry for.
“M-Mother, what’s wrong?” Law asked, approaching his mother with an outstretched hand.
“We’re so sorry.”
And it was after those words that Law realised why she was apologising. The outstretched hand that he used to reach out to his sobbing mother went through her shoulder like air. It was as if he had grabbed nothing when he was sure he should have touched his mother.
“What…?” Law looked at his hand in disbelief. “Mother… Father…?” Law looked between his parents as if asking them for a scientific explanation for this but neither of them was able to even look at him. “Lami…?” Turning to his sister, Law saw a look of equal confusion on her face.
“Onii-sama…?” Lami stepped closer to Law.
Naturally, Law also took a step towards his sister. He opened up his arms to welcome Lami but when she was within reach and Law closed his arms, expecting to feel a solid body of warmth, she slipped through him.
The shock of being unable to make contact with Lami made Law’s knees buckle beneath him. He fell to the ground. His body trembled in disbelief. And his heart shattered into irreparable pieces.
Hours of crying turned into days of denial. Then, that turned into a dangerous desire to kill. Despite how much sense the spirits that followed him tried to talk into Law, he refused to listen to any of them. They were dead anyway, and it was only a matter of time before Law joined them on the other side.
That was what led him to joining the Donquixote pirates. Even though his parents were wholly against his involvement in such activities, they had no means of stopping Law.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Law yelled at his parents one late evening, some distance away from the Donquixote pirate hideout on Spider Miles. “You’re dead so stop telling me what to do!”
“Law, you need to understand that these are bad people.” His father tried to reason.
“It doesn’t matter!” Law argued. “The world is full of bad people. I’m just killing the bad people who killed you. What’s the problem with that?!”
“Vengeance isn’t the answer,” his mother tried.
“Shut up! You’re dead!” Law reminded.
Those conversations gradually decreased over time as Law stubbornly stayed with Doflamingo and his family. His parents, though silent, remained by his side. Law eventually got used to their presence and learnt to ignore them entirely. Even Lami grew distant after her brother walked straight through her as if he couldn’t see her.
This attitude of Law’s didn’t change until after he was forced on a journey with Corazon to find a cure for his illness.
It was in the middle of the night when he was stirred awake by footsteps approaching him. Through his sleep, Law could hear someone talking but it took a little while before he was able to register the words.
“That day… you stabbed me but… it didn’t hurt at all! I know you were the one who was in pain!”
Law’s consciousness snapped awake as he realised that Corazon was talking about him. He didn’t react though as the blond man continued with a trembling voice.
“Having to carry the weight of Flevance, the spirit of your family and friends… all on your small shoulders… You poor thing, Law!”
With a loud sniffle, Corazon got to his feet and stepped away from Law. He tried to muffle his crying but it wasn’t very successful. Had Law not woken up while the other was talking, he would have definitely been woken up from Corazon tripping over not a moment later.
But what persisted in Law’s mind was what Corazon said. His words filling Law’s empty heart with emotion that he thought he had abandoned. It made his eyes water and he curled in on himself to stifle the sobs that escaped him.
The next morning, Law got up with many thoughts running through his mind. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask that he accidentally called Corazon ‘Cora-san’ for the first time, but seeing how happy the other looked, Law figured that it wouldn’t hurt to continue calling him that.
“Cora-san…” Law spoke up after they finished eating breakfast.
“What is it, Law?” Corazon asked with the same goofy smile as he had been wearing all morning.
“I… I heard what you said… Last night.” Law confessed, feeling his cheeks heat up from remembering the other’s words.
It seemed like what Law said took some time to process in Corazon’s head as there was a long pause.
“Last night…?” Corazon repeated stiffly, to which Law nodded once. “Really?”
Law nodded again.
“Are you sure you weren’t dreaming it?” Corazon asked.
Law shook his head.
“I see…” Corazon paused. “EHHH?? You really heard everything?!”
Pulling his hat down to hide his face, Law nodded again.
“Oh my god, that’s so embarrassing!” Corazon fell back and rolled in the dirt with his hands covering his face. “That’s so embarrassing that I could die!”
Once the initial embarrassment subsided and Law and Corazon were able to look at each other without awkwardly looking away, Law finally got to ask the question he most wanted to ask.
“S-So… You knew that I could see spirits?” Law asked timidly.
“Y-Yeah,” Corazon replied, scratching his cheek sheepishly. “I overheard you talking to them once.”
“Oh…” Law felt ashamed because the only ever time since he and Corazon met where he had spoken to his parents were times where he lost his temper and yelled at them.
“I know it’s hard,” Corazon continued. “But you just have to learn that they’re not here to haunt you.” He reassured. “My parents are also by my side.”
“Really?” Law perked up and proceeded to look around in search for Corazon’s parents.
A light chuckle left the blond man. “You won’t be able to see them. They’re only visible to the people who still carry them in their heart.”
Law looked up to his parents with a heavy and apologetic heart.
Corazon seemed to know what was going through his head. “So the fact that you’re still able to see them despite the things you said to them shows that you still love them.”
Falling silent, Law felt tears gather in his eyes for his rudeness and disrespect.
“And eventually, you’ll make peace with them.” Corazon added.
“How…?” Law asked quietly, peering up under the brim of his hat.
“Just talk to them,” Corazon advised simply. “They’re still the people you know and love so just speak to them. You can do it through your mind as well.”
“What…?” Law raised his head up curiously.
“Just say words clearly in your head and your parents can hear it.” Corazon instructed. “Try it.”
Law looked cautiously over to his parents before trying to use his mind to speak. “L-Like this…?”
The expression on his parents’ faces lit up. A wide smile pulled on both of their faces and they looked at their son with pride.
“Well done, Law!”
“That was great!”
It had been a long time since he had been praised by his parents and if he were honest, he had greatly missed it. Tears gathered and fell from his eyes but he was quick to wipe them away.
“Me next, me next!” Lami jumped in.
“Law, me too.”
“Yeah, me as well!” Two of his classmates also joined in.
“Now, now, everyone.” The nun tried to quell the excitement of the children.
A huff of a laugh left Law and Corazon noticed and smiled. “What did they say?”
“Who, my parents?” Law tilted his head in question.
“Yeah,” Corazon nodded. “Who else would it be?”
Glancing up at the rather large group of deceased that stood around him, Law turned back to Corazon and debated whether he should inform the other of exactly how many spirits Law could see.
With a tired grunt, Law rolled over in his bed. He felt some restriction around his middle and frowned. It only took a moment after to register how warm it was under the covers. Tossing aside the fabric, Law tried to turn his body again but this time, he heard a whine.
Feeling his eyebrows furrow deeply, Law could think of only one possible answer for this and he wished that it wasn’t true.
Cracking open his eyes, Law was met with the iron ceiling of his room. His gaze drifted to the side where a half transparent blond man was looking out to the sea from the window before his line of sight travelled to the bed where his suspicions were proven true.
“Cora-san…” Law called to the other.
“Oh, Law!” Corazon smiled brightly at Law. “You’re awake.”
“When did he get here?” Law gestured to Luffy who was cosily tucked into his bed, with his arms tightly around Law’s middle.
“He snuck in last night,” Corazon chuckled behind a hand.
“And you didn’t think to wake me up?” Law raised an eyebrow.
“Well,” Corazon’s smile turned a little sad and shrugged. “He probably needed the company. Plus, it was cute.”
Law rolled his eyes in response. “So, that’s the real reason.”
Corazon didn’t even bother to hide his laughter.
A mental sigh left Law before he glanced around his room. “Where is everyone?”
“They’re outside,” the blond man gestured out of the window. “Watching the sunrise.”
“Is that so,” Law nodded. “And Fire Fist-ya?”
“Right here,” Corazon nodded to the side.
In response to that, Law simply nodded vaguely in the same direction as a greeting to Ace.