Chapter Text
“Name: Monkey D. Luffy. Age: 19. Occupation: Third prince of the Goa Kingdom, but it seems he’s the only heir left; that’s why he’s such an important target. Got it?”
“Yes.” Said Law while nodding, although not really sure he would see that gesture.
The room he was in was as dark as a cave, only illuminated by the slight light of the lantern on the desk he was standing in front of. It smelled like humidity all around him, and the air was cool, making him shiver once in a while. If he didn’t know this was a tavern, he would’ve thought he was in a prison cage.
Law was clearly annoyed.
He was on his vacation. The one his boss gave him after that one dangerous mission in Punk Hazard, where he had to check on an evil scientist who seemed not to give them any kind of news in the production of his experiment. He went to give him a gentle reminder of who he was working with.
After all the mess on that island, Doflamingo made sure he could enjoy some free time for himself. Law liked to leave behind the fancy clubs and extravagances that surrounded the capital of Dressrosa to visit the small taverns, where the silence and good drinking were. And, of course, to find someone he could enjoy the night with.
That night, although, he wasn’t interested in finding a new companion to pass the evening, he preferred drinking with some longtime friends while passing the night playing cards with them and betting some money.
He wasn’t the best player that night, and while smoking his third cigarette, someone interrupted the game.
Law did know his face, one of the minions of his boss that he could find anytime around the castle, but his name was a mystery for him (it wasn’t like he was interested to know).
Of course, seeing him only meant Doflamingo had another job for him.
Sigh.
This time, his vacation lasted 5 hours. He wasn’t surprised; the longest he could go without his boss looking for him was around two days, and half of that time he was knocked out after a night of drinking and desires.
He stood up while putting out the cigarette, slightly burning the wood table, and followed the man inside a small room in the tavern where the owner permitted them to go.
And that’s where the request started: once again, Doflamingo asking for him to end someone’s life. It had to be an important person of some kind if he was in his boss' sight.
19 years old? Usually his targets were old, the kind of people who had big families, multiple businesses, and an enormous quantity of money. The majority of them were partners with Doflamingo, but once he didn’t find them useful anymore, he sent Law to take them out of his way.
But that one was young, and he had never heard of the surname Monkey before, nor of the Goa Kingdom. Surely it would be a small island that caught Doflamingo’s eye, and he wanted to take it for his purpose.
He didn’t care. It was none of his business.
Law would have the job done by the end of the month if the waters stayed calm and they could get to the island fast enough. Not annoying Doflamingo was his main goal, and if he would get a couple of hours for himself after the job, he was more than content with it.
“Let’s go; we're leaving.” Said Law after leaving the room and coming back to the bar.
Bepo hummed, looking at his cards, while Law approached him, checking the table.
“What? I’m winning this game.”
He was. But that didn’t matter; they’d be leaving as soon as possible. Law hated traveling, but he hated even more staying in that city.
“I don’t care; we don’t need money."
“I know… But where’s the fun then?”
The bear begged with his tiny, dotted eyes, making Law feel weak. He whispered a small fine while putting a cigarette between his lips and lighting it, and smoked while watching his friend play.
Bepo won, of course. And the two of them left while the other players cursed loudly after losing their money.
Outside, the crescent moon was up in the sky, making the streets shine in a mysterious way that Law found mesmerizing. It was past midnight, so silence ruled the city, with only the tiny whispers of drunken people or secret lovers filling the quiet corners.
The deck wasn’t far from that area of the island, so it wouldn’t take them more than half an hour to reach it. They walked fast, but not fast enough for them to get tired.
Bepo took the chance to attack Law with his questions.
“Where are we going?”
“Goa Kingdom. You know about it?”
“No.”
Law nodded, wondering what kind of island they would find. Surely not a big city with lots of streets and buildings, like Dressrosa.
“Who is it this time?”
“A prince, 19 years old.”
“So young…”
“Yeah.” Law whispered.
“Are you sure you wanna do this?”
The bear stopped in front of him, covering the moon entirely with his great height.
“Bepo, not again with this.”
“But…”
“No buts; you know I won’t change my mind.”
Once in a while, his friend tried to stop him from accepting these jobs. Law was poisoning his soul, he said, and should stop.
Law snorted, as if it were that easy. Definitely not with Doflamingo.
“He’s just a boy…” Said the bear while they resumed their walk.
“I’m just a boy too, and if you don’t want us killed instead, we should get this job done.”
Bepo nodded, not sure about that answer.
He followed Law since he had memory, being his shadow everywhere he went. Except for the castle. Law never let him go inside the building with him, and Bepo never dared to ask for it.
The bear waited for him patiently on the submarine or the bar Law chose that night, neither speaking nor asking questions. But he watched and heard. Bepo saw how his captain came back, with marks and cuts in his skin, whispering cursing words and biting his nails until there was blood.
Bepo tried many times to make Law consider leaving that horrible job and never coming back to this island. Even begging on his knees for him to go, but the answer was always no.
So he gave up and simply followed, making sure Law never came back too hurt and healing him whenever he had new scars.
Luckily enough, they stayed outside of the island most of the time, and the visits to the castle were the minimum. So traveling almost all the time wasn’t that bad.
The yellow submarine that peeked from the dark waters of the night waited for the two to arrive. Bepo waved at them with enthusiasm without noticing Law creating a room to teleport inside of it.
“Hey, don’t do that without telling me; you know I get nauseous.” Said the bear while sitting in a chair that moved casually to be next to him.
Law let out a small laugh and turned to the rest of the crew that just appeared after the arrival of their captain.
“Listen, get everything prepared to leave; we’re going to Goa Kingdom.”
Everyone shouted “yes, captain” and turned to do their jobs. Even Bepo stood up and went to check on everything. He wasn't the first mate for nothing…
As everyone got everything ready, Law turned on the navigation books, searching for information about their next destination.
“Located on Dawn Island, in the waters of the East Blue, the Goa Kingdom is a small country ruled by the Monkey family.” Law read in silence while looking at the pictures of the mills crowning the island.
“Monkey D. Luffy, I hope you’re ready for my visit…”