Chapter Text
Law walked around the outskirts of the village on this godforsaken island. He frowned and sighed. Luffy stood nearby, looking in the same direction as Law.
Towards the once happy village, completely destroyed.
The wind blew, causing the rotten wood of one of the houses to creak.
Luffy and Law both flinched when they heard a muffled groan coming from the rubble.
The next second, Luffy was lifting the wooden boards, making his way inside. Law followed him, watching him pant, and when they heard another groan, Law's patience snapped. "Room," Law said, crossing his fingers, and in the blink of an eye, huge chunks of ruined walls swapped places with small stones.
Closer to them, a girl was sitting, panting with a terrible wound under her knee and the look of a beaten puppy. Probably her leg was stuck under the wooden chunks. near the wall was sitting another - the smaller girl - curled up and hugging her knees to her chest, apparently unconscious.
"D-don't come any closer..." the girl closer breathed out raggedly, dragging her body back. she hissed, hastily taking a stick in her dirty hand. "I'll hit you..." she said weakly, as if she was about to lose consciousness, but her voice was shaking - as if she was about to cry.
Luffy raised his hands in surrender and whistled - "Hey, hey, we won't hurt you, okay?" he giggled slightly, looking at Law. "Look. Its kids."
Law frowned, examining both of them. "Scan," he said, twirling his wrist. the girl who looked aggressive had severe blood loss, risk of losing her leg and blood poisoning, as well as a severe degree of hunger. the one who was unconscious had exhaustion and blood poisoning.
Well, it looks like they've been stuck here for a long time.
Law raised his hands, carefully approaching the child. He crouched down so as not to seem to be so big, but the girl still recoiled. "I will not harm you. Whoever did this to you, it is terrible, and I understand how you feel..." The girl was about to flare up with anger, but apparently she was too tired. "...Let us help you," Law continued. The girl lowered her head. The tips of her long blue hair touched the dusty ground. "Do whatever you want. We are still going to die, so whatever." Luffy sat up and picked up the girl in his arms - not like a sack of potatoes, Law was surprised - and Law himself took the smaller girl. And so, they went to the submarine – to the surgery.
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In front of them the two small children were sitting. Law had determined that they were about 4 and 6 years old. Law had performed surgery on both of them, sterilizing their blood, and had saved the older girl's leg. It had taken them 2 days to recover, and they didn't even look that thin when they finally woke up.
Luffy squatted down next to Law, resting his head on his chin, and the two of them waited for the girls to speak. The older one had turned away, pouting comically, and the younger one was fiddling with the hem of her new shirt, swinging her legs. "My name is Aoi," the younger one said, "And her name is Sora." The small voice was barely audible in the cabin. She looked up, her eyes now clear and bright blue, and her short, fluffy blue hair was curled in curls on her forehead and chin after her bath.
Luffy hummed, a small smirk playing on his lips. "So that's how it is, Aoi. Good." He smiled brightly - as brightly as he could - And Law sighed. They should have gotten the information out of the kids, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Luffy gave him a meaningful look. Then he turned his head back to the girls. He stood up and walked over to Sora, blocking her view from the side. She turned away from him in the other direction, and he leaned in the same direction. She stared at him like he was a clown, and he giggled.
"I hate you. Go away," she said, looking him straight in the eyes. Her sister swayed slightly, turning her head away.
"Mm?" Luffy hummed, still smiling. "What's wrong with you, huh? You don't even know us." He muttered.
"That's the problem! I don't trust you, get off!" She yelled, then bit the inside of her cheek. Law noticed that her leg was shaking slightly. Is that a nervous tic?
Law sighed and grabbed Luffy by the scruff of his neck - he made a strangled sound - and Law pulled him closer. "Go and chase a monkey or something.” He didn’t want Luffy to scare them or make them uncomfortable. Luffy frowned, pouting.
Robin came around the corner, saving the situation. "Dinner's ready, guys... come eat. And we need two more chairs for the girls." She smiled amiably, and Law nodded. Sora tugged her sister's hand, and together they jumped down and ran past Robin into the dining room. They didn't trust them, but they ran to the food. The hunger strike had clearly taken its toll on the poor things.
Robin watched them go, then walked up to Law and Luffy. "So, they're with us for now, huh, Captain?" She smiled playfully, interested. Law was about to say that they'd let them go once they were cured - after all, he'd only saved them out of pity - but Luffy beat him to it.
"Yeah. We'll keep them." He chuckled, and Law smacked him hard across the neck. "What the hell, huh? We don't need two more assholes here."
Luffy pouted at him. "You're the one who saved them, remember?" He patted Law on the shoulder. "Come on, Torao, they seem to be cute." He laughed, his usual hearty laugh, and then ran to the kitchen without waiting for an answer. Law sighed resignedly. He didn't like the idea of leaving two injured little children on board their alliance.
But who asked him anyway?
Law had long since given up on even hoping that he had a say in anything in this alliance.
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Sora was furiously eating everything in sight. In fact, this girl could compete with Luffy in appetite. It seemed that she especially liked the spicy meat. Sanji was pleased with her, and was even ready to agree with the decision to keep the kids. Luffy was sitting next to her and with the same frantic appetite ate all the meat on the table. Aoi was sitting next to her sister, huddled in a chair. She lazily moved her fork over the salad, painfully slowly putting pieces in her mouth. Her freckled nose wrinkled amusingly. Sanji shuddered - too sour? Maybe. She was silent, he could not tell anything from her expression. At that moment, Law entered the room and sat down next to her, taking onigiri from the kitchen specially prepared for himself. He laid them out on a plate, and noticed Aoi's hungry eyes on his lunch. He glanced at her suspiciously. She looked at him with her huge, ocean-like eyes, so innocent and-
He gave her 4 onigiri out of 6, and she ate them happily, forgetting the bitter arugula salad. Sanji bit his lip. Took a note — not to give her anything sour anymore.
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No one seemed to be surprised when the two children were taken on board. Everyone was used to Luffy's antics, and the only ones who were surprised were the sisters themselves when they saw a small talking deer, a huge talking bear, a skeleton and a cyborg, as well as a large fishman on board. Sora, much to everyone's surprise, was delighted by the skeleton. Aoi, on the other hand, looked at the two talking animals with sparkling eyes. Luffy has been laughing all evening. In some way, he felt proud of the crew.
The evening quickly approached, and it was time to think about where the girls would sleep.
"I think they'll be more comfortable in our's with Robin cabin. There are fewer people there, and it's all girls." Nami smiled softly at them, along with Robin. Aoi and Sora remained silent, looking wary. The euphoria after seeing strange creatures was quickly stifled by distrust. They were stuck together, with Sora mostly holding Aoi back, suggesting that Sora was the protective one in their relationship. Luffy knew how siblings worked.
"That's a good idea. We don't have any empty rooms, and we can't fit two princesses in a storage room." Brook said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin bone.
"Well, that's it!" Luffy giggled for the umpteenth time that evening, and stretched out his arm to climb onto the head of the Thousand Sunny. Sora's eyes widened and she ran closer, completely forgetting about being careful.
"WHOOO!” The girl leaned over the side, looking at Luffy. Her long blue hair were blowing in the wind, and her blue eyes were wide as she stared at him. Luffy chuckled, and reached out to grab her waist. With a surprised yelp, she landed next to him, clutching his side, almost falling off the Sunny's rounded head. Luffy held her waist, still smiling kindly. He helped her sit down, looking into the distance, straight at the sun. Sora looked a little nervous. The others behind them chuckled and began to slowly disperse. Law sat down next to Aoi, who was looking at Luffy and her sister.
"Want to join them?" he asked, looking at her eye level. Aoi shook her head, looking at them again. It was subtle, but she smiled as her sister laughed loudly from Luffy's tickling.
Aoi thinks she can convince Sora to stay. Aoi thinks the people here are good.
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Nami covered the two tired girls with a blanket. She ran her hand over the bandage under Sora's knee, sighing slightly, and covered it with the edge of the blanket. The girls curled up in an embrace.
Robin patted the bed, holding a book in her hands. Nami smiled softly, got up from the couch where the children were lying and sat down on Robin's bunk. She leaned back on her shoulder, and a couple of minutes later she herself didn't realize how she fell asleep.
After some time, when the storm arose, and the cabin was dark as a cave, Robin was awakened by a nervous rocking on her shoulder. She opened her eyes, noticing Nami on her left shoulder. Nami was sleeping. Then on the right... on the right shoulder lay a child's thin hand.
In a hoarse voice from sleep, Robin asked, "What happened?", not understanding which of the sisters woke her up.
She heard the quiet voice of little Aoi. "Robin-san..." her voice sounded a little teary. "Take me to Luffy-san and Torao-san..."
Robin gently patted her head. "Honey, Law is sleeping on his ship. I can't take you to a submarine in the middle of the night." Aoi whined into her shirt, pressing herself closer. Robin sighed and rose from the couch, gently pulling Nami off her shoulder. "I'll take you to Luffy, okay? Come on, get up." She took Aoi's hand and led her to the men's cabin. Well, it wasn't just Luffy sleeping there, but the captain's cabin had been turned into a storage room, so... Robin opened the door slightly, immediately hearing Zoro's brazen snores, who was sprawled out on his lounger. Aoi pressed herself against her slightly, and Robin pulled her onto the hammock where Luffy was sleeping. Aoi leaned against his side, and Luffy instinctively rolled over in his sleep, hugging her side. Robin smirked smugly and went back to sleep with Nami.
That was a mistake, Robin.
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The next morning, everyone woke up to a violent riot and loud noises of everything.
Luffy jerked, licking the drool from his mouth, and then found a small lump of warmth next to him. He was distracted from his surprise by loud noises outside. Sanji fell from the hammock, knocking a strangled sound out of Zoro from below, and everyone woke up.
Sora burst into their cabin like a hurricane.
Agile and fast, she jumped over all the obstacles and jumped into the hammock next to Luffy. She stopped as soon as she saw Aoi, sleepily rubbing her eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL." The complaint was very clear. And it was addressed to Luffy. Why the hell was Aoi not next to her sister, but next to him? And how would Luffy know? It was like he dragged her there. Hmph.
Aoi grabbed the girl's hand, and she immediately turned her attention to her. Sora was busy checking her for injuries, and a crowd was already gathering below for the show.
"I came here myself, so stop..." she yawned. "...blaming everyone. And shut up, you're annoying. I just woke up." She mumbled, and Sora was left completely defeated by the words "shut up, you're annoying." She slumped down like a kicked puppy - she often looked like that - and Aoi huffed, leaning against Luffy's side. He blinked at her, and patted her head. "I was uncomfortable in the storm, so I came here, okay? Don't start a fight." Sora nodded, turning away. It seemed that Aoi was the only one who could keep her in check.
Sora shifted slightly, fidgeted, and let out a quiet "sorry." Luffy laughed loudly.
"You girls are so funny." He patted them on the shoulders. "It's okay, you can come here whenever you want, both of you!!" He giggled, leaving them each a kiss on the forehead. "Okay, that's it. SANJI, BREAKFAST!" He quickly flew off the bunk, flying to the kitchen, and from there the quiet grumbling of the cook could already be heard. The rest of the Straw Hats, who had gathered downstairs, chuckled and returned to their duties. The sisters looked at each other and also went down, making their way to the kitchen.
Around 7 am Law arrived to the Thousand Sunny, as always. On the grass he saw Aoi. She was drawing... well, something on the paper. Law came up to her and sit next to. "Morning." Simple and understandable. Aoi looked at him, slowly blinking, then turned back to drawing. "Morning," Law heard - it was said so quietly and slowly. Law huffed.
"What are you drawing?" He was hoping that she'd answer, because... he doesnt really understand what it is, on the paper.
Aoi looked at him the same, slow way - Law started to understand what people felt like when he did the same - and turned back again. "Its a bird." "A bird?" Aoi nodded, pointing forward. On the fence, there was a pigeon. On the paper, otherwise, there was a...
...
Okay, he wouldn't even try to describe this. Well, what did he wanted from a 4 y.o. girl? A masterpiece? She's doing pretty well, actually. "Do you like to draw?" Aoi nodded, this time confidently. She stopped to scratch the paper with her pencil, and looked at Law. "Very much. I'll die if i don't paint.
Law felt goosebumps from this confidence. He smirked. "Glad you're passionate." He patted her shoulder, and she nodded. She tried to blow away her bang, but unsuccessfully. Law sighed. Actually, her hair was a mess.
He silently dragged her shoulder and she stood up. Law leaded her to the Sunny's bathroom, where was a small piece of mirror on the wall. He sat her down on the stool, taking a hairbrusher. Why is he doing that? He doesn't know. She felt uncomfortable, so he could help, huh?
Even though she clearly hadn't had a bath in a long time, her hair was soft and fluffy. The short curls tangled quickly, and Law tried to comb them carefully so as not to hurt them. He’s been brushing her hair until she looked completely done. He smirked slightly, and gave her a sighn to stand up. "Lets go to the kitchen now." He stretched out his arms, wanting to take her up, but quickly rethinked it. Too early. He just led her behind to the kitchen, and they got to the excellent Sanji's food.
The girl perked up, sitting at the table beside Sora, who was already there, beside Luffy.
Sanji, with a cigarette in his mouth, served the food, and the girls’s eyes sparkled. Sanji made for them French toasts. They both love French toasts.
They ate them real quick, and Sanji was satisfied with his work. Luffy chuckled, looking and the girls fighting for the last toast; Law just took it from their hands and ate it himself with a pleased face.
The sisters began to rebel, screaming and hitting him with their hands, but Law only looked down at them haughtily, finishing his chewing. Luffy laughed loudly and heartily, getting up from the table. Then Law got up too, and dragged Luffy into the hallway. Usopp took over the girls, showing them some tricks. Luffy looked at Law expectantly.
"We need to decide whether or not to keep them here before they get too attached to us." Law's gaze was serious, and Luffy simply blinked. "But we decided yesterday, no? They're staying with us." Law's eyes widened at him. So he wasn't joking? "What the hell? Kids are a tough decision, Luffy. They require a lot of supplies and attention... and they're only 4 and 6, they're really little! Luffy, we're pirates, for fuck's sake. Kids don't belong around us." Luffy had been listening attentively the entire time, chuckled, and replied, "So where are you going to take them? They don't have any family anymore. To the Marines? No way." Luffy looked determined, and Law almost choked on his confidence. "I'm sure," Luffy continued, "that we'll take good care of them. We're good guys!" He chuckled. Law's eyebrows furrowed. He was starting to get a headache. this guy is killing him. "okay. fine, but they're on you, okay?" Luffy smiled and nodded, then stood on his tiptoes, giving Law a light peck on the cheek. "don't be such a grouch and accept it. they're with us now." he patted the slightly stunned man on the shoulder, then moved on - wherever he was going.
What the hell was that?
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Zoro's snoring stopped as he felt a sharp blow to his chest. He blinked, removing his arms from under his neck, leaning on his elbows. He was just sleeping on the deck, what happened?
Sora stood over him, looking determined, a wooden stick slung over her shoulder. The scorching sun highlighted the freckles on her shoulders that were peeking out from under her shirt, and her long tail fluttered in the wind. She twirled the stick in her hand and poked him in the chest again. "You're a swordsman, right?" Zoro blinked. "Teach me how to fight."
Huh?
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Aoi stared at Robin, who was holding a book. Intensely. So intensely that Robin looked up from the book. "What's wrong, dear?" She lowered herself slightly to her level. Aoi blinked a couple of times, and pointed at the book. "Is There's a library here?" Robin raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You like reading, huh?" Aoi pouted. "I can't." The corner of Robin's lips twitched. "Then why do you need a library?" Aoi shifted slightly in place. "I want to learn how to read." She paused. "And there should be drawing books there. I want to learn how to draw. But I need to read to draw." Robin rested her chin on her hand. "You don't have to read to draw. You can just practice." Aoi looked at her, her eyes wide. "But I want to." She tilted her head slightly. "Take me to the library."
Robin smirked. What an interesting child.
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"I'm telling you, I'm not going to teach you how to fight!" Zoro turned around, meeting Sora's gaze. She frowned, pouting. "I don't have time for you, seriously. Leave me alone. Go bother Luffy."
Sora raised an eyebrow. "You were just sleeping. You have time." Zoro mentally groaned. Did they really have to take them on the ship? Why?
"I want to learn how to protect." Zoro winced at the mention of it, turning to her. Her gaze was determined. "I won't let anything like... what happened to us happen again." She bit her lip. "So teach me. I'll do anything." Zoro turned his entire body towards her. He thought for a moment. Then he smirked.
"That's a good reason, brat." He picked up a wooden stick similar to hers from the counter. "I'll train you, but only if you can handle the strain. I'm not going to spare you." She smirked back at him, and crossed weapons with him.
"Okay. That's what I wanted." She smirked at him, taking a fighting stance. Zoro chuckled, stepping aside a bit.
"Attack." Zoro said, looking at her with a challenge. The girl wavered, confused. "I should understand your abilities. Attack."
Sora swayed on her feet, but took a confident stance. She lunged forward to strike.
Unfortunately, confidence alone was not enough.
Zoro easily parried each of her attacks. He did not even break a sweat when she was already redder than a tomato. "Stop." He said, and she fell to her knees, breathing heavily. And it was unclear what was so hard - they did not even move much from one place. "Your reaction is almost zero. Terrible stamina. There is some muscle, but less than it should be." The girl frowned, looking at him. "So you think it's a lost cause?" She raised an eyebrow, frowning. Zoro opened an eye, arching an eyebrow. He stood up from his seat, squatting next to her.
"You're on Mugiwara Luffy's ship." He smirked. "As long as you have confidence in yourself, nothing is impossible, no matter how long it takes. Remember that if you're going to sail with us." She looked at him, slightly stunned, but nodded, standing up from her knees.
"One more time!" She said, taking a stance. Zoro smirked, and got ready as well.
We favor children like that.
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Nami adjusted her bandana and looked out to sea. "The wind is good, there are no clouds. No change in temperature or weather is expected." She smiled contentedly, looking at Log Pose. According to Nami's calculations, it shouldn't be such a scary island and there's nothing special there. Just a city that isn't developed enough for the Yonko to be interested in it - which means it's quite peaceful. At first, Nami wanted to just wait there for a couple of days and then leave right away, since there was nothing to do there, but now that they have children with them who don't have any personal belongings, they should stay longer. "We're heading for Yarna."
Luffy, standing next to her, nodded and Law went down to his submarine to signal his crew to follow the Straw Hats. Luffy adjusted his hat, stood up and announced - "Raise anchor! Full speed ahead!" The crew immediately became active. Aoi hugged Luffy's leg - when did she even get here? - Zoro and Usopp began to fuss over the sails. Jimbei was already at the helm, and Franky went to his workshop. Robin sat down on the grass, reading a book, and Sanji offered her a glass of wine. sailed away without incident. Satisfied, Luffy nodded to himself and was about to leave, when he realized that Aoi was not letting him go. With a soft sound, he squatted down, looking at the girl. Sora stood behind, wary.
"What's wrong, huh?" He smoothed Aoi's hair, smiling.
Aoi looked at him a little timidly. She shook her head and just snuggled closer. Sora looked at her from the side, disapprovingly, her fists clenching and unclenching. Apparently, she still didn't trust them very much. Luffy chuckled and picked Aoi up. He had no idea what was bothering her or how to fix it. After thinking for a moment, he carried her inside. Sora hesitated a little, but hurried after them.
Once inside, they went to the Aquarium Bar. Luffy sat the girl down on a seat, and pointed to a huge aquarium that ran along the wall. Inside, there were all kinds of fish, octopuses, squids... Aoi pressed herself against the glass, mesmerized. The fish poked its forehead into the glass where the girl's nose was, and she giggled, lightly tapping the glass.
Luffy put his hands on his hips, chuckling slightly. Of course she liked the aquarium! Luffy himself could sit there for hours, looking at the animals. He chuckled contentedly, watching. Sora, who was standing at the entrance, looked at him warily. She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then she finally decided.
"Why are you doing this?"
Luffy blinked, then turned to her. "Do what?"
The girl pressed her lips together, looking straight into his eyes. "This." She paused. "You care."
Luffy pouted, rolling his eyes. He thought for a moment, thought. "Because we want to." Sora looked at him with her mouth open.
"For you.. It doesn't make sense to you. What do you want to do with us? Sell us?" She stepped back slightly, and Luffy scratched his head.
"What? What kind of ideas do you have? You're really weird." He pouted, squatting down next to her. "I decided that you would stay as part of my crew. That's all." He paused. "You are our nakama now. Get over it." He grinned from ear to ear, giggling.
"Naka-?! That doesn't make sense!" The girl stamped her foot. "We are kids! If you call us nakama, you should be our family! There is no way you would want to take us into your family!" Aoi sat down on the couch, listening to them and fiddling with the hem of her sweater. Sora began to sweat, getting nervous.
"Well, then we will be your parents, as you wish." Luffy spread his hands. It didn't really matter to him."
Sora grimaced. "I'll call you mom out of spite." Luffy laughed. "Well, go ahead, little girl." He laughed loudly, smoothing her hair and standing up from his knees. Sora blushed even more than a tomato.
Luffy's face grew serious. "If you're my nakama, I'll take care of you even if you don't want me to. I don't care what you girls call it." He pulled at both cheeks - at some point Aoi had come up to them. "And you better go get bandaged up by Chopper. Go ahead." He told, giggling. "He's in the infirmary downstairs." Luffy pointed at Sora's bandaged leg and nudged her shoulder.
Sora looked at him for a moment. She turned away. "Okay, Mom." She smirked at him slightly. "But you have to promise not to betray us. Then we'll stay."
Luffy chuckled. "You can ask the others, I always keep my promises. Besides, Law won't let me do that." The girl nodded and pulled her sister's hand. Together, they left the bar, going down to the infirmary. Luffy also went out and leaned on the railing. In the time they had been chatting at the bar, they had already sailed so far that the girls' home island was no longer visible.
Robin, who was standing next to them, wondered why they hadn't said a single word about being taken away from their home place.
Maybe they didn't like being there very much. Children usually get much more attached to their home place and cry a lot if it collapses.
This is what happened to her at one time, but she had no one around then. So Robin is happy for them.
They will take care of the girls.