The Medium, the Surgeon and the Ghost

The ad blinked again, at the top of the page. It read, Captain Monkey D. Luffy – paranormal investigator – fighting ghosts in your area!!, along with a badly animated gif of a grinning pirate fighting a ghost. It was tacky and probably just a scam. Somewhere in the large, old house, wood creaked and Law closed his eyes tight. He shouldn’t be scared like that, he was a grown man. So he thought ‘fuck it’, and clicked on the ad.
or
Law has a ghost problem. Good thing Luffy is a medium with a paranormal agency.

Chapter Text

Law stared at the tiny screen, eyes burning with lack of sleep. He tried to ignore the annoying popup ad that kept turning up on every page, as he browsed a stupid message board about paranormal stuff.

I think my grandma is trying to communicate – Today at 5:35 PM

HELP my wall keeps oozing!!! – Yesterday at 6:15 PM

Is my basement haunted? – video – Yesterday at 10:34 AM

He kept scrolling, thinking they were just a bunch of lunatics persuaded they had a ghost problem. He should turn off his phone and go to sleep. He hated himself for even considering that something supernatural was happening, but he wasn’t thinking straight anymore, and something was wrong with the house.

It was just tiny things, stupid things that kept him on edge, like objects falling off a table or doors slamming when there was no draft, and the lights that kept flickering whenever he entered a room. It was worst at night, when he could hear whispers, so low he might have imagined them.

The ad blinked again, at the top of the page. It read, Captain Monkey D. Luffy – paranormal investigator – fighting ghosts in your area!!, along with a badly animated gif of a grinning pirate fighting a ghost. It was tacky and probably just a scam.

Somewhere in the large, old house, wood creaked and Law closed his eyes tight. He shouldn’t be scared like that, he was a grown man. So he thought ‘fuck it’, and clicked on the ad. The lights flickered once more, off, then on again. Law groaned from under the bed covers, waiting for them to turn back on. The wind howled outside, and a shutter clanked against the wall.

The page loaded slowly, showing an image that said under construction. Under it was a simple form to fill to receive help. Law sighed. Of course they’d want a way to send him spam. It was a terrible idea, he thought. And yet he still entered his email address and a phone number, because he was already going crazy, so he could handle a few more junk mails.

Then he started listing all the things that were wrong with the house, in the box that asked for a description of the problem. Maybe he only needed a plumber and an electrician, maybe he was blowing it out of proportion and all those sleepless nights were catching up to him. But it felt good to let it all out. When he had tried to broach the subject with Shachi, his coworker had laughed and said he needed holidays.

He tried to fall asleep after that, curled up under the covers, illuminated by the glowing screen of his phone. Somewhere in the distance, he could swear he heard his voice calling his name.

When he woke up, feeling stiff and tired, the radiator was making a strange gurgling noise and he could see his breath in the cold room. He should have gone down to the basement to investigate; instead he put on warm socks and a hoodie and brewed a pot of fresh coffee.

He checked his phone out of habit, as some part of him hoped that the hospital would have called to tell him his paid leave was revoked and he had to come back to work – there was nothing better than pulling 36-hour shifts to beat insomnia and forget about his problems.

He had three text messages. The first was from Bepo, with way too many emojis. He replied a single thumbs up and hoped it would reassure his overbearing friend. The other two were from an unknown number.

??? [2:04 AM] – If you need a house cleansing or an exorcism, please note that we cannot be held responsible for any property damage that may happen during the process.

Law scoffed. The next message sounded a lot less formal.

??? [2:07 AM] – sounds bad >:c text me your address

Law stared at the screen, unsure if the frowny face was mocking or genuinely empathetic. His rational mind screamed at him that it was a trap, a scam, that nothing but disappointment or worse would come out of it. But the kitchen lights kept flickering, and his coffee tasted like ashes. He sent his address to the unknown number.

How fast can you be here? he typed, before deleting the message.

That was dumb. He was an adult, he was a surgeon, he could handle faulty wiring in an old house. He didn’t need whoever that guy was pretending to be.

He couldn’t take a hot shower, not without investigating what was wrong with the heater, so he settled on a shave, to feel at least a little more awake. He was staring at his tired face in the small mirror above the sink, when the lights went out once more, and a gust of cold air made his neck tingle. He paused, gripping the disposable razor and listening in. All he could hear was the wind outside, and old wood, creaking. Nothing else. There was nothing. He was not losing his mind.

Lights came on again, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow behind him in the reflection. He took a sharp breath, shoulders tensing even more, and turned to face his attacker. But there wasn’t anyone there.

His phone vibrated loudly on the bedside table, nearly giving him a heart attack.

??? [8:42 AM] – almost there :)

Shit, that was fast, he thought. They hadn’t even negotiated payment. How much could a ‘house cleansing’ cost anyway? It was ridiculous; Cora would have found it hilarious. The thought tore a hole through his heart for a second, and he felt cold to his core for reasons that had nothing to do with his radiator problems.

He put on boots to wait on the porch despite the chilly morning. He could have sworn it was colder inside anyway. Across the street, curtains discreetly moved, as the old lady living there checked on him from the safety of her own house. Law knew what she thought when she saw him, with his black hoodie, his tattoos and the dark circles under his eyes. He smirked and waved, causing the curtains to drop abruptly.

He heard the van before he saw it – an old, dying motor and creaking suspensions. Someone with disputable skills had painted a smiling goat’s head on the front hood, and a skull with crossbones and a straw hat on the side. Law watched with detached horror as the van slowed to a stop in front of his house. That was going to give his nosy old neighbor things to talk about for weeks.

The back door squeaked open and a kid who couldn’t be older than 20 got out and sauntered his way. He was short and slim, with an unruly mop of black hair and a dumb smile on his face.

“Is that a joke?” Law scoffed, sizing up the kid who waved at him.

He was absolutely not dressed for the weather, with cut off jeans, a red t-shirt and flip flops. There even was a straw hat hanging around his neck, which was probably where the weird logo was from.

“You’re not the guy with the house?” the kid asked, visibly disappointed.

He stared at him, then at his tattooed hands, more curious than judging.

“I was expecting a captain,” Law said. “Ex-military or something.”

“Nah. I’m just Luffy,” he said with a shrug. “But Nami said it sounded more professional.”

No shit, Law thought – nothing seemed professional about that guy. But then again, he didn’t know what the standard was for mediums and other charlatans.

“You said you had a ghost?” the Strawhat kid asked expectantly – too loud, too cheerful.

Law grabbed him by the arm and pulled him under the porch, feeling the beginning of a headache all of a sudden.

“Not so loud,” he hissed, looking at the house across the street.

The kid followed his gaze and his eyes narrowed for a second.

“We’re very discreet,” he said.

Then he gave Law a thumbs up with a shit eating grin and pushed past him to get inside, not waiting to get invited. Law was already regretting his decision, as the kid just marched up the stairs like he owned the place. He was about to go after him when someone politely knocked on the open front door.

“Don’t mind Luffy,” a young man with dreadlocks and brown overalls said with a smile. “He always gets a little excited when we visit a new place. I’m Usopp, nice to meet you.”

He pulled a small, blinking device with wires and knobs out of his pocket and said, “I’ll get some readings around the house, while Franky checks the perimeter outside.”

He pointed at an impossibly burly man with blue hair who was getting several boxes out of the van.

“I don’t want the neighbors to know,” Law blurted out.

They already thought he was some sort of freak who cut people open for a living, he didn’t need to give them more rumors to spread.

“Don’t worry,” Usopp assured him. “They won’t even know we were here” – somehow Law didn’t think it was true.

He then proceeded to stand in the middle of his kitchen and look at his beeping device. He frowned, then turned to the left, tsked under his breath, before repeating the process in the living room. Law sighed and got upstairs to make sure that Luffy wasn’t going through his drawers or something.

The kid was in the bathroom, staring at the mirror above the sink like Law an hour ago. His dark, unblinking eyes were unnerving. Or maybe it was just the absence of a smile on his face. He dropped his serious expression as soon as he caught Law in the mirror.

“Your house is very cold,” he stated.

Law followed him wordlessly to the bedroom, expecting him to comment that it was a sure sign his house was haunted. All he had to do was prey on his clients’ vulnerability and use their fears to try and manipulate them into giving him all their money.

“We don’t charge,” Strawhat said with a little hand wave, like he could sense his doubts. “You only pay once we’ve removed the ghost, if there is one.”

That was unexpected, and Law blinked, trying to find the catch.

“We’re here to help,” Strawhat repeated. He flipped a light switch and frowned when nothing happened. “Have you tried calling an electrician?” he asked, not unkindly.

Law did, actually, more than once. They never found anything wrong, overcharged him to change the fuse box and called it a day. Strawhat didn’t wait for an answer and moved to the other, unoccupied rooms upstairs. The air was dusty, and Law felt stupid for owning such a large house despite living alone. But it was cheap and quiet; far enough from the city center but still close to the hospital.

“Did anyone die in this house?” the kid suddenly asked, staring out the window.

“Not that I know of,” Law said, warily.

“I’ll ask Robin to check. She works at the local archives.”

So that was how they got you, Law thought. They used a friend to spin a spooky story about the house’s horrific past. His creeping doubts were suddenly back, and he knew he would spend the night over analyzing every small noise the house made, feeling like a scared kid all over again.

“You said something about the heater?” Strawhat said.

“Downstairs, in the basement,” Law replied.

An uneasy feeling grew in his stomach. The lights had a tendency to go out whenever he tried to go down there.

“I see,” Strawhat said, staring at him like he could sense his trouble. “Usopp! Check the scary basement, please!” he yelled in the direction of the living room.

“I’d rather not!” his friend shouted back.

“There is nothing down there! Use your thingy!”

If there really was a ghost, all that yelling was bound to scare it away, Law thought.

“You owe me!” Usopp replied, followed by some more muttering.

“Aren’t you going to comment on the hauntedness of the house?” Law asked, sounding flippant to his own ears.

“Do you want me to? I thought you didn’t believe in ‘all that paranormal shit’,” Strawhat quoted; Law did write that on the website form. Before he could say anything, the kid continued, “But nah, I sense nothing.”

That didn’t sound very scientific, but Law had asked for it, so he clenched his teeth and tried not to reply anything scathing.

“Ghosts prefer to hide, when they sense people around,” Strawhat explained.

“That’s convenient,” Law muttered – it sounded like bullshit.

They went back downstairs, and he had to shake hands with the blue-haired technician, who was back from outside with his various devices. It felt like getting his shoulder half-wrenched from its socket.

“The backyard is clean,” he confirmed – whatever that meant. “But the latch on the back gate is broken.”

Law looked at him, ready to argue that it wasn’t, but then he couldn’t remember the last time he went to his backyard, and maybe the thing had been broken from the start…

“There is no catch,” Strawhat said out of the blue, just as the radiators came back to life with an ominous gurgle.

“Problem’s fixed!” Usopp declared, coming up from the basement and looking pleased with himself. “The boiler overheated and turned itself off, so I lowered the setting so it wouldn’t happen again,” he explained.

Then he turned to Luffy and said, “The EMF readings are all within normal parameters.”

It sounded like scientific bullshit. It also sounded like there was nothing wrong with his place.

“So what?” Law trailed. “My house is not haunted?”

“Inconclusive, bro,” Franky said, patting him on the back like they were friends or something.

Law squirmed and side stepped to get away from the huge man’s reach.

“The only dark aura I felt came from over there.”

The kid pointed out the window towards the nice little house with blue shutters across the street.

“From Mrs Daunighton’s?”

Law couldn’t hide his surprise. She was a nosy old woman, sure, but she seemed harmless. She even brought him homemade cookies when he moved in. It was probably just a ploy to get a look inside the house. He never redecorated, and weeks later, there were still unpacked boxes in the living room.

“Hm-mm,” the kid made a non committal noise, his face very serious. Then he shook his head and shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

And just like that, his trademark smile was back.

He let Usopp and Franky pack up and stayed back with him in the kitchen. It was like he was waiting for them to be alone.

“Are you really okay?” Luffy asked him.

He looked strangely serious, his black eyes staring at him like he could see through him. Law shuddered, then raised a hand to rub his neck.

“Not enough sleep, I guess,” he said with a tight smile that felt like an ugly grimace. “I’m sorry I made you come all this way for nothing…”

“It happens all the time,” the kid assured him with a smile, putting his straw hat back on his head.

Law still felt stupid, if even the local medium didn’t think his house was worth investigating. It was easy to pretend that everything was alright, now that the radiators and the lights were working again. But he knew that once everybody was gone, in the middle of the night, the creepy whispers and the shadowy silhouettes he could only see out of the corner of his eye would be back. Maybe he should take on Bepo’s offer to be his roommate after all.

“Bye, Torao,” the Strawhat kid said with a wave.

“Not my name,” Law muttered.

“That’s how I saved your contact in my phone.”

“Why did you save my number?” Law frowned. “I thought my house wasn’t haunted.”

“I save all my clients.” And just like that, the serious intensity was back. He blinked, then shrugged. “Nami said I shouldn’t.”

Law thought that that Nami person sounded like the most rational one of the band.

“Call us, if anything happens again.”

They stopped on the way back to get take out because Luffy insisted – Sanji would kill them if he knew. They reached the office half an hour later, and their trusty van, nicknamed Merry, was starting to make concerning noises. Usopp could see dark smoke in the rear view mirror, but Luffy hadn’t noticed – or chosen not to comment – so he wasn’t going to raise the issue. He liked Merry, and a new van wouldn’t feel the same.

He parked and let Franky bring their gear upstairs. There were only boring offices in the building where they rented a floor, except for the second floor, where an association managed a blood bank.

“They’re vampires, I’m telling you,” Usopp would hiss after he had to ride the elevator with one of their employees, always early in the morning, or late in the evening, what a coincidence.

“They just work a lot, unlike other people I know,” Nami would say, pinching the bridge of her nose like she was done with his antics – Usopp knew she secretly loved managing their agency. Otherwise she would be long gone.

Nami was waiting for them when they reached their floor. She had her arms crossed and had probably already calculated how much gas their little trip had cost them – all for nothing.

“Debrief, now,” Nami said, and she stomped away to the lounge, not waiting to see if they followed.

When they found that place to rent, after they decided to open a paranormal agency, Luffy had been adamant they couldn’t have individual offices – so Franky had torn down the partition walls, deposit be damned. They had to paint the walls above the doors and windows with warding sigils only weeks after they opened anyway. And then there was that incident with the rabid ghost dog back in June. They were never going to get that money back.

Zoro was sleeping on one of the lounge’s couches. He had even taken off his boots and used one of the cursed shrouds they purified last week as a bed cover.

“Bro, did you sleep here again?” Franky said, and his booming voice woke him. “That’s super uncool!”

“How come he got to sleep in and we had to wake up early to endure morning traffic?” Usopp whined.

The green-haired swordsman opened an eye and glared at him. Uh-oh, fool mood detected. Usopp backed away with his hands raised.

“Did you have a row with Sanji again?” Franky asked. “What is it, the fourth time this month?”

Zoro grunted something that sounded like a reluctant yes – either he was a masochist and he loved arguing with his roommate/boyfriend/‘it’s complicated,’ or those two were less compatible than they seemed to believe.

“The place was not haunted,” Usopp told Nami as he sat down on the other couch. “And we could have stayed in bed a lot longer this morning.”

“So why was it so important to get there immediately?” Nami insisted, checking their prospective client’s file again.

“Gnn-hh-uh,” Luffy said with his mouth full of burrito – ‘I don’t know,’ Usopp mentally translated.

“Was the client weird?” Zoro asked.

“Sorta, if you like strange, mysterious dudes with questionable tattoos.”

“Well, there you have it,” Zoro said, looking smug.

He was Luffy’s oldest friend, and he sometimes acted like he knew him better than the others.

“Luffy’s just curious?” Franky asked with a smirk. “Who’s that guy anyway?”

“I looked him up,” Nami said, scanning her notes, “and it seems like someone carefully buried his past. There is no record of his childhood, at all. Not even a sealed document.”

“Interesting,” Franky said.

“Mff,” Luffy said – which meant, ‘See!’

“I’ll ask Robin if she can do some more digging at the archives,” Nami said. “Speaking of digging, here is your activity for the night.” She dropped a folder on the lounge table. “You need to locate, dig up and cremate Mr Stevens’ remains.”

“Oh no! What happened?” Luffy exclaimed. “He was a funny old guy, and he promised to behave.”

“Well, he went full poltergeist on the new tenants. They had to get a hotel room, they’re terrified.”

“Maybe if they hadn’t redecorated, like he asked…” Luffy muttered.

He really needed to stop befriending every ghost they came across, Usopp thought. But he knew what they had to do – he had set the rule himself; if a spirit became violent and out of control, if talking wasn’t enough to get them to calm down, then they’d intervene, and send them beyond the veil themselves.

Inside the folder were several maps of local cemeteries – Nami loved maps at least as much as Usopp hated cemeteries. He sighed. There was nothing better than traipsing in the mud among tombstones in the middle of the night.

“Oh hi, Brook!” Luffy suddenly exclaimed, waving at nothing.

It used to spook Usopp, now it mostly felt weird to be out of the loop.

“Ask him for his autograph!” he joked – long before it was their agency, the office they rented was a recording studio, and the ghost of the famous musician Soul King lingered around.

“He said he’d sign anything,” Luffy replied. “But he doesn’t have hands.”

“He’s laughing, isn’t he?”

Sometimes Usopp was jealous of Luffy’s gift, but he also didn’t think he’d handle it very well if he was in his place. Luffy wasn’t good with words, and he never really described what he saw, but Usopp could imagine it would be too scary for him.

Someone knocked on the door and Law half expected to find Mrs Daunighton on his doorstep, to tell him that HOA didn’t allow ghosts in the neighborhood. Instead, he found a single leaf, pinkish red and shaped as a heart on the doormat.

For a second, it was like all his blood suddenly froze in his veins. Then the wind picked up again and a shutter clanked somewhere above; a gust of wind swept the leaf away, breaking the spell. It was just his imagination – just the wind, just the neighbor’s tree losing its leaves.

He made his way around the house to check the backyard himself, remembering what the blue-haired guy had said about the hatch being broken. He was pretty sure it wasn’t when he first visited the house. Or was it? He was already sleep-deprived from work, maybe he wasn’t paying attention. Maybe Luffy’s henchman broke it himself so that he could come back and rob him later. But no, they wouldn’t do that. Luffy was too young, too aloof to be evil – said the guy who joined a gang at 10, he thought.

Back there, along the back fence, he found a distinct footprint in the mud. A very large shoe with a pretty specific square heel. He broke into a cold sweat. He thought his death would make him happy, but he was starting to lose his mind instead. Law clenched his eyes shut like it would make the footprint disappear. Ghost didn’t have feet, did they?

He retreated inside the house; if was so quiet he could hear him, gloating from beyond the grave at how easy it was to scare little Law. He could swear he heard his laugh in his head. He turned the TV on and looked for the weather channel. Something meaningless and boring to drone out the imaginary sounds he kept hearing.

Night fell, way too early. He poured himself yet another mug of coffee. No amount of caffeine would keep him awake forever, but he could still try. He felt himself going stir crazy; he tried calling Bepo, but his friend didn’t answer. He was probably getting his beauty sleep already.

He called Shachi next, but the man never picked up – stuck at work, maybe. What Law wouldn’t give to be in the middle of a long and complicated surgery right now. To be able to forget about everything and only have to focus on some poor guy’s insides. Suturing inner organs was a weirdly soothing activity, in Law’s opinion.

He settled in front of old reruns of Sora, Warrior of the Sea, with food that didn’t need more cooking than a quick trip in the microwave oven, placed on top of the unopened cardboard box that currently served as a coffee table. What a pathetic sight, he heard him say. He shuddered and turned on all the lights in the living room. The less shadows, the better.

He fell asleep in front of the TV like an old man; he woke up with a start because of a loud commercial that decided to use pyrotechnics. He relocated upstairs, feeling jittery – too much caffeine, too many noises.

He was staring at his phone when it started vibrating; Penguin was trying to call him, even though it was past midnight. Law immediately regretted taking the call when he heard the loud, happy voice of his obviously drunk coworker and what sounded like a party.

“What do you want?” Law mumbled from under the covers.

He heard Penguin talk to someone else, and then he must have moved to a quieter place because the background noises lessened slightly. There was something like concern in his voice when he asked, only slightly slurring his words, “Have you been drinking again, boss?”

“You’re one to talk,” Law replied.

“Are you okay? You sound muffled. Tell me you’re not back with Eustass…”

“God no,” Law groaned. That had been a dark time for him, falling off the wagon, getting in bed with a brute and a moron. “I’m not. I’m fine,” he assured.

“Do you need me to come over?”

“Aren’t you on a conference trip in Zou?”

“It’s boring anyway,” Penguin lied, despite the nearby party.

“Seriously, I’m fine. That place is just…” Law stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. He hated how whiny he sounded; that wasn’t him at all.

“I told you that house was too big,” Penguin teased. “You should have listened to me and thrown that housewarming party, you know, to thwart out unwanted spirits.”

“Do not make fun of me,” Law warned. “But, about that… I called someone. A medium.”

“Shit. That’s it, I’m coming back tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t,” Law groaned. “You’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“You don’t believe in all that paranormal shit!” Penguin exclaimed. “I can’t even get you to watch The CPX-Files without criticizing everything!”

And yet, Law was starting to think he was being haunted by the ghost of a deceased mobster.

“The guy was helpful anyway,” Law said. “He fixed my heater.”

Penguin just cackled madly.

“Tell me about your boring conference,” Law suggested, anything to drone out his thoughts.

And Penguin did for a while, rattling on about protocols and surgical triage in emergency situations. But Law could hear people calling his name from the party, so he wished him a good night and hung up.

He nearly jumped when his phone vibrated in his hand. It was a text, from an unknown number, with a picture attached. He clicked on it anyway, opening a badly lit selfie from the Strawhat kid, grinning from ear to ear with mud and what looked like soot on his face.

Law [1:42 AM] – Are you alright?, Law sent him, worry and confusion growing in his chest.

??? [1:43 AM] – cemeteries are cool (:

What the hell? Law frowned. Why was he in a cemetery in the middle of the night, covered in grime?

??? [1:45 AM] – ghost business

??? [1:45 AM] – what are you doing?

Losing his mind, Law thought, finger hovering above the screen. The damn lights started flickering again, he could see it from under the covers. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, a bit too fast.

??? [1:51 AM] – torao?

Law [1:52 AM] – Going to bed, Law sent; technically not a lie.

??? [1:52 AM] – good night!!

“Torao still needs help,” Luffy announced in the morning, while they were all gathered in the agency’s lounge for a very early breakfast.

“The guy with the boring house and the weird tattoos?” Sanji commented, trying to stay on top of their current cases despite managing the lunch shift at the restaurant at the same time.

“Uh-huh,” Luffy nodded, munching on leftovers from last night’s service that Sanji had brought them. No one was ordering take out on his watch.

“I thought the place was clean…”

“Nuh-uh,” Luffy shook his head as he tried to swallow a too large bite.

“Nothing showed up on the EMF reader,” Usopp objected. “And all the REM pods were negative for spooky activity outside as well.”

Luffy shrugged and fished out his phone, showing them a series of text messages from the night before.

“Does Zoro know you’re sending selfies to this guy?” Sanji frowned.

“Zoro was there when I took the picture,” Luffy pointed out.

Luffy wasn’t stupid, of course, but he was too trusting for his own good. Only last week, he had been abducted by a weird cult leader who pretended to be a fan of his, and the stress it caused everyone was still too fresh in Sanji’s mind.

In the end, they had stormed the place and rescued their captain – who, to be fair, was playing video games with his kidnappers at the leader’s place, a guy named Bartolomeo. Zoro had agreed not to skin him alive once he swore never to talk to Luffy again. But he seemed like the kind of crazy who would just off himself for a chance to meet again with “the greatest medium this side of the Continent.”

“Uh, Luffy,” Nami said, reading the text messages. “He seems fine to me.”

“Yeah,” Sanji said. “He’s not saying anything really alarming.”

“Torao is scared,” Luffy insisted, grabbing yet another plastic container from the restaurant.

He was too trusting, sure, but he also was a good judge of character, sensing things no one else could.

“Well, if the spooky stuff only happens at night, you know what it means?” Usopp said with a grin.

He and Luffy high fived and whooped, “Sleepover!”

“Zoro won’t be able to make it,” Sanji said. “He has a competition tonight.”

“What about the food?” Luffy pressed, like it was the only important part.

“I’ll bring what I can from the restaurant, just text me the address.”

“It’s in the file,” Nami complained. “Why does nobody ever read the files…”

Someone knocked on the door and Law didn’t raise his head from his laptop screen. He was reading a paper on cholecystectomy – the surgeons were using a new kind of surgical staples – and it was quite fascinating. The knocking intensified to the point that it could no longer be just the wind or his imagination. He really didn’t want to talk to another human being right now, but he still got the door.

A tall blond man in a pinstriped suit stood on his porch, with a large blue cooler in one hand, and several plastic bags marked with the logo of a fancy restaurant in the other.

“This needs to be refrigerated,” he told him, indicating the cooler.

“I didn’t order any…”

But Law didn’t finish his sentence because he heard Luffy’s crappy van down the street before he saw it.

“How many people did that idiot give my address to?” he muttered.

The blond man pushed past him to get to the kitchen. Apparently not asking for permission before entering people’s homes was a trademark in the ghost business. Law waited on the porch for the rest of the band with his arms crossed.

“What’s going on?” he asked. “What’s with all the food?”

“Didn’t Luffy tell you?” a spunky redhead exclaimed. “That’s just typical.”

She shook her head, not explaining anything.

“It’s a sleepover, bro!” Franky said, like it was self-explanatory.

“Luffy, you didn’t tell him?”

“I did! I texted, we’re coming. Look!” The kid in the straw hat held out his phone for everyone to see. Under the message, cryptic as it was, another read, message not delivered. “Oh.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Law trailed, following as everyone gathered into his living-room.

“Look, if you want to stay in your creepy house all alone tonight, that’s your choice, and we can go,” the girl said.

“You think my house is creepy? Do you also see things?”

Law looked at Luffy, who was staring at something up on the wall, his round eyes impossibly wide.

“Uh, no. Only Luffy has the gift,” the girl said. “And maybe Zoro, but he won’t talk about it.” She flipped her hair back and smiled. “It’s just big, empty, and excuse me for saying this, but quite frankly badly decorated. You need help.”

Taken aback, Law just laughed.

“Sleepover it is then. I had nothing better to do anyway.”

On his laptop screen, still perched on his makeshift coffee table, were some gory pictures of surgical interventions used in the paper as examples. He quickly closed it.

Like a well-oiled machine, they all found their marks in a house that wasn’t theirs. The blond guy – “That’s Sanji,” Luffy said, “he’s the most amazing cook ever” – settled in Law’s kitchen, while the redhead – “Nami, she’s a genius, but she’s bossy, so don’t cross her,” Luffy warned – quickly figured out his WiFi passport, which was both astonishing and a little scary, and sat on his couch with her own laptop.

“Can I get your opinion on something?” Law suddenly asked Luffy.

Now that he was here, he might as well use the kid’s gift, if there really was one. Luffy nodded and followed him outside, and Law couldn’t help but comment once they reached the dark backyard.

“I could be trying to lure you away from your friends.”

“Eh, they’ll be fine.”

“No, I mean, I could be dangerous. Maybe I want to hurt you.”

“Why would you do that?” Luffy scoffed, standing there with the flip flops and the silly hat, smiling like Law was saying the most ridiculous things.

“People usually see the tattoos and imagine the worst.”

And Law liked that it kept most people away from him.

“Nami said you’re a doctor.”

“I cut people open for a living,” Law stated, raising an eyebrow, and Luffy just shrugged, unfazed.

Night was falling fast, and Law had to use his phone flashlight to find the footprint, along the fence.

“So, what do you think?” he asked.

But it was clear Luffy didn’t give a damn about it, because when Law raised his head, he found him distracted, with a finger up his nose. Charming. He was looking at the tree with the heart-shaped leaves, brown and yellow and pink.

“Do you see something?” Law asked, afraid of the answer all of a sudden.

“Ghosts don’t have feet,” Luffy said. “And they don’t poop,” he added as an afterthought.

Law made a face.

“Who do you think left this?”

Luffy pointed at the footprint, and when he looked at Law, it was like he could see right through him – but he couldn’t know about his past, they couldn’t have found anything.

“I don’t know,” he lied. “Never mind.”

Luffy stomped on the mud, scrambling the footprint – angering the ghost? Law certainly hoped not.

When they came back inside, the two technicians of the band had installed quite a few contraptions in his living-room. There were several electronic gadgets on the table and on the floor, with wires sticking out of them and blinking lights in all colors. They all looked pretty cheap and fake.

Then Law realized the short guy with the dreadlocks was pouring a line of rock salt in front of the basement door. There were similar lines on the windowsills and in the corridor. Now that looked even dumber, like something out of a bad TV show.

“What–” Law started asking.

“This one,” Franky said, pointing at a black box with a few lights on top of it, “is a REM pod.”

“It goes red when there is a ghost nearby,” Luffy unhelpfully explained. “Usopp built it.”

“It detects electromagnetic fields,” Usopp said with a nod. “And that,” he pointed at a sort of camera set on a tripod in a corner to film his depressingly empty living room, “is an infrared camera, to see the ghosts.”

“I thought Luffy could see them,” Law said.

“It’s for when, you know, I’m knocked out, or fighting another spirit,” Luffy explained with a shrug, like it was obvious.

“How often does that happen?” Law asked, a bit worried.

From the look on Usopp’s face, probably way too often.

“Don’t worry,” Nami said, “we’re professionals.”

Law remembered that first text about property damage – it was probably a good thing that he hadn’t unpacked much after all. He wouldn’t want to damage his comic book collection.

“And what’s the salt for?” he asked.

“Protection,” Usopp said with a thumbs up and goofy smile.

He looked scared, Law realized.

“Dinner is served,” Sanji announced from the kitchen.

Whatever he reheated in there smelled good, and Law realized he couldn’t remember the last time he ate today.

There wasn’t enough room for everyone in the kitchen, and if Law did have a table, he only owned three chairs, so they all settled on the couch, the lone armchair and on the floor, and nobody commented on his lack of furniture.

“Beef raviolis with sun dried tomatoes and ricotta cheese, served with crispy Brussels sprouts and maple bacon,” Sanji announced.

“That’s…” Law hesitated.

“It was the best I could do on such short notice,” Sanji said, shaking his head like he was apologizing for bringing haute cuisine unannounced.

There was enough to feed a small army and everyone got served. For a moment the only noises were cutlery, the wind outside and Luffy, who was inhaling his food like a man starving. Law wasn’t even sure he was chewing at all.

Sanji must have caught him staring because he elbowed him in the side and said, “Don’t worry, he always does that. Surprisingly, he never chokes.”

Once the plates were empty – many, many refills later in Luffy’s case – everyone turned back to their task. With Law’s luck, nothing would happen tonight, and he’d end up looking like a fool. At least he got a good meal out of it; Bepo would be happy to know he ate dinner for once.

“How did you become a medium?” Law asked Luffy, who was licking his already clean plate.

“It’s a long story,” Usopp exclaimed, looking up from the metal box he was tinkering with.

He started telling a crazy tale about how Luffy was an orphan, abandoned at birth by a world renowned illusionist hunted down by the government, and raised by tormented spirits in the woods, along with two brothers. Luffy just smiled and let him speak, even though it was clearly bullshit.

“Does he always lie like that?” he asked Luffy under his breath.

“That’s Usopp’s gift!” Luffy laughed. “Mine started when I was six,” he said, scratching his head as he recalled distant memories. “After Shanks saved me from that poltergeist. Gramps kept saying he wanted me to join the WGBI.”

“Like in The CPX-Files?” Law blurted out – he never really watched, too cheesy for his liking, but he knew about the love story between the aloof agent who believes in the supernatural and his Cartesian sidekick.

“Nah, it would have been much more boring.”

Luffy stuck out his tongue.

“Luffy can’t stay inside too long, and he doesn’t follow orders very well,” Nami said with a sigh.

Law learned that the kid was actually 22, and that they opened the agency together a few years ago with Nami’s money.

“So,” Luffy asked, “are you currently unemployed or…”

“Shush,” Nami said, hitting him over the back of the head and knocking the hat away. “And I told you, he works as a surgeon at the hospital.”

But Luffy kept prattling anyway, clutching his hat protectively on his lap. “Chopper says that unemployed people are 28% more likely to suffer from depression,” he recited.

“Well, good thing I’m neither of those things.” Law glared at him, trying to decide if he was being insulted or if Luffy was genuinely worried about his mental state right now. “I’m on extended leave,” he explained. “I wasn’t fired.”

And I’m not crazy, he thought.

“You would have known that, if you had listened during the briefing…”

But Luffy wasn’t listening to that either – instead he was staring at the dark corner from where the whispers usually came from.

“Do you… Do you see anything?” Law asked.

“Nah. Why are you on leave though?”

Right – he should probably tell them the whole story, if he didn’t want Nami to start calling the hospital to talk to his coworkers.

“Okay, fine,” he relented. “I started hearing voices in the middle of an intervention. Gastric bypass…” he trailed; they didn’t need to know about the details. “I had just learned about the death of a man who… A man I knew,” he said.

“Did he die at the hospital?” Nami asked with a frown, checking something on her computer.

“Actually no, he died in prison.”

“Interesting…”

“Most of the time, spirits don’t roam about,” Usopp explained. “They’re attached to a place, or an object, usually a piece of their own remains.”

The box on the table blinked, nothing but green – it meant no ghosts, right?

“Can they become attached to a person?” Law asked.

“Super not cool when a vengeful spirit does that,” Franky piped up from where he was watching the instruments readings.

From the sudden silence in the room, and the looks ranging from fear to pity on everyone’s faces, Law had gathered as much already. Luffy patted his knee from where he sat on the floor, tilted his head and said, “Don’t worry.”

But worry was second nature to Law, and clearly something was going on, whether he was behind it or not.

The lights started flickering and the radiator made a gurgling sound. Something heavy fell on the floor, upstairs. Everyone jumped into action; Usopp put on fancy goggles, grabbed his ghost detector and led the way to the basement with Franky, while Nami and Sanji gathered around the girl’s laptop. Luffy just stood up and ran upstairs.

And what was he supposed to do, Law thought. Checking the basement at night when the lights were threatening to go out was out of the question, but he couldn’t just stay on his couch like a fool. He decided to follow Luffy; at least the kid would be able to see him.

He found Luffy standing in the corridor leading to the bedrooms, staring at nothing.

“Who’s Cora?” he asked without turning.

Suddenly all that Law could hear was white noise and his vision grayed around the edges. That couldn’t be happening – the records were sealed, no one could have found out about Rosinante. He was gripping the kid’s t-shirt with whitening knuckles, slamming him against the wall before he was even conscious of what he was doing.

“Who told you that name?” he growled, shaking slightly – it wasn’t rage, not really, but something close, that made his heart race in his chest.

The kid didn’t try to squirm away, he didn’t even look scared, more surprised. His eyes flickered to look at something behind him, above Law’s shoulder.

He sighed and said softly, “He told me himself.”

Law’s grip tightened as he shook him, half strangling him. He had to be lying. He couldn’t be telling the truth.

“He’s sorry for being so clumsy,” Luffy said, still not looking at Law.

Why wasn’t he fighting back, Law thought. The kid seemed resigned, as he twisted his neck to breathe more easily, rising to his tip toes.

“Shut up,” Law pleaded.

It made no sense. Ghosts didn’t exist.

“He doesn’t know how to help.”

Law tightened his grip to stop his fists from shaking.

“Hm,” someone said behind him. “Sorry to interrupt whatever this is,” Sanji jokingly said – but there was an edge to his voice, like he was only waiting on a sign from Luffy to intervene.

Law released the kid and took a step back.

“Nothing’s happening. It’s fine. Just don’t talk about him,” he hissed, wiping his sweaty palms on his thighs.

Tension seemed to ebb away, almost instantly, even though Law was still shaking with hurt and anger after hearing Cora’s name out of the blue. Just how often did clients try to hurt him, for them to act so casual about it?

“Don’t tell Zoro about it,” Sanji commented.

“Who’s that? His boyfriend?” Law said without thinking. His stomach did a weird flip flop at the thought.

But Sanji just laughed, “Our captain’s very protective first mate. And he’s mine.”

“He’s the best swordsman ever,” Luffy piped up, absolutely unfazed. “He has three swords, he even gave them names.”

“That sounds…” – dangerous, he thought – “like an interesting hobby,” he ended up saying.

He managed to keep it together and came back down with them. Law let himself fall on the couch, still full of jittery adrenaline after his violent outburst. Luffy perched on the armrest next to him, like nothing happened. The lights weren’t flickering anymore, and Franky emerged from the basement, saying that his heater was ‘super fixed.’

“There is a ghost,” the kid announced. “But it’s not who Torao thought it was, so we’re not going to chase him away.”

The room suddenly erupted in a chatter of comments and protests.

“Not again!” Nami lamented.

“Who is it?” Sanji asked, peeking from the kitchen.

“I found–” Franky started, but he was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

“There is a ghost?” Usopp said, disbelief clear on his face. “But the readings…”

Law felt anxiety bubble in his chest, and his headache was growing into a full blown migraine behind his eyes. There was a ghost, Luffy said. Cora’s ghost was upstairs, and they were all acting like it was no big deal.

The stress, the lack of sleep, the presence of all those strangers determined to help him whether he liked it or not – he was about to lose it, but he couldn’t break down in front of them. He balled his hands into fists, nails digging into his palms.

“Goodnight then,” Luffy said.

And for a horrible second, Law thought they were really going to leave him like that, in a haunted house that felt too big and too empty. But Luffy gripped his arm and dragged him to his feet.

“See ya tomorrow,” he told his friends.

“Of course Luffy’s taking the only bed,” Usopp muttered in his back. “Just typical.”

“I’ll go get the sleeping bags from the van,” Franky offered, while Sanji finished cleaning the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Law mumbled as he was pushed towards the stairs.

“It’s a sleepover, remember?” Luffy smiled and winked at him. “You sleep and we’ll protect you.”

“Can I at least brush my teeth first?” he muttered, and Luffy pushed him towards the bathroom, standing guard next to the door.

That was how he ended up lying in bed in a dark room, wearing his spotted pajamas, with a paranormal investigator he didn’t know two days ago browsing his phone next to him. Every cell of his body told him to hide under the covers; it was too dark, too quiet. Law suddenly wished someone would hug him like when he was a kid.

“Oh shush!” Luffy said.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Not you,” Luffy said softly, looking at the dark, empty corner of the room.

It made Law’s heart feel tight with sadness and a tinge of hope.

“Do you want a hug?” Luffy asked. “He said you’d want that, but Zoro always hates it when I hug him without warning.”

“Cora’s really here?” Law asked, hating the half-choked sob in his voice.

“His spirit. He must have loved you very much, to follow you like that.”

In the end Law never agreed to anything, but Luffy still grabbed him, pressing against his back. He was smaller than Cora, and he didn’t have the ticklish feather coat he used to wear, but… when Law closed his eyes, it almost felt like being back there. Hiding and on the run. Safe somehow.

“Chopper says people need at least four hugs a day to prevent loneliness and depression,” Luffy whispered into his back and his breath softly tickled his neck.

“I’m not depressed,” Law muttered. “I have friends.”

Without knowing why, he started telling Luffy about his past. Flevance, death, destruction, finding help with the wrong crowd and Doflamingo’s family of crime. He was about to talk about Cora’s death, when the kid started snoring against his back. He supposed he could always ask Cora himself.

Chapter 2 Chapter Text

Law woke up to the smell of coffee and blissed silence. Rubbing his eyes, he realized that he was alone in bed. He dragged himself downstairs, feeling so well rested he was starting to wonder if he really was awake. There was fresh coffee waiting for him in the kitchen with a note next to it. He poured himself a mug and sat down, wondering how much Luffy had told the others.

On the piece of paper, he could read, There was an emergency call and we had to leave. Let us know if you need any more help. Nami.

Someone, presumably Luffy, had added some chicken scratches at the bottom, Thanks for letting me sleep with you.

It was followed by, Super nice bro! all in caps.

Mortified, Law felt his face heat up. But to be fair he hadn’t slept that well in weeks, maybe more. His phone vibrated on the counter, forgotten downstairs last night. He checked it and there were two messages from Luffy. He should have felt annoyed that the kid had saved his own number into his phone while he was asleep, but right now he didn’t really care.

[Luffy] 6:12 AM – why is there no food in your fridge?? >:( , the first message read.

The second was just a bunch of seemingly random letters with no clear meaning. He was about to send him a question mark when an incoming video call from Strawhat Luffy appeared on screen. Law reluctantly clicked ‘accept’, even though he was disheveled and still wearing his pajamas.

At first, the screen showed nothing but black, then a white ceiling with strange symbols painted on it, then the wood of a table, and finally Luffy’s face. The kid had a row of black stitches on his forehead, above his right eye, and a bruise was beginning to show on his temple.

“What happened to your head?” Law exclaimed.

“Mr Stevens threw me down the stairs,” Luffy mumbled.

He was slurring his words and looking a bit cross-eyed. No wonder his texts made no sense.

“Are you okay?” Law asked, genuinely worried now.

The doctor in him tried to check the kid’s pupils but the image was too shaky and out of focus.

“Sanji is making me lunch.”

“Did you even go to the hospital?”

“Uh, no?” He blinked and the image shook a little. “Chopper said I don’t have a cushion.”

“A concussion?” Law repeated, but he got no confirmation.

“People shouldn’t keep baby teeth at home,” Luffy mumbled; it was getting harder to understand him. “Teeth are a very good anchor for a ghost.”

He stared at something on the other side of the room for a moment and Law wondered why he had called him.

“What’s Cora’s anchor?” Law asked suddenly. “In my house.”

He hadn’t been able to keep anything when he ran for his life, years ago. No teeth, no bones, not even a piece of clothing. Only memories.

“Your love for him,” Luffy whispered, looking at the screen again. “He came back to protect you.”

It went against Law’s rational mind, against everything he believed, but he could tell the kid was telling the truth. He wasn’t faking it, there was no way he would do something so cruel. And he said it himself last night, he wasn’t going to chase Cora away. The thought was comforting, in a deranged sort of way. Law wished he could see what the kid saw, just for a minute or two.

Luffy was looking a little pale now, and maybe he shouldn’t be on the phone with a head injury, despite what that Chopper friend of his said. Maybe he should be lying down. He mumbled something disjointed about a brother and his love that wasn’t big enough. But it was hard to hear, because he was looking away from the phone and he really sounded out of it now.

“Strawhat?” Law asked, when he heard what sounded like a sob. “Are you okay?”

The screen only showed the white ceiling for a moment, and he heard a gruff voice he didn’t recognize say, “We told you to stay on the couch. What are you doing?”

Some shuffling, indistinct mutterings, then a green-haired man came into view, frowning deeply.

“Oh, it’s you,” the man said, like he knew him.

“Wait,” he heard Luffy say in the back. “I forgot to tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

“Luffy, it can wait, you’re not–”

“He needs to know.”

Law heard more grumbling and tired arguing. The phone’s camera only filmed the table for a while. Then the green-haired man picked it up again and said, “Last night, Franky found busted fuses, unscrewed light bulbs…” Law’s lack of understanding must have shown on his face, because he continued, “Someone has been fucking with your house. That’s why your heater was always on the fritz.”

“How could a ghost do that?” Law pushed through clenched teeth.

“No, that’s the work of a living person,” the green-haired man said.

“I’m going to kill them,” Law muttered, seething.

And to think he even invited his coworkers home once or twice, like the unsuspecting fool he was. Bepo was off the hook, because he wouldn’t hurt a fly, and kept texting him to remind him to eat something other than instant noodles and coffee. But the others were about to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

“Luf?” the man suddenly turned his head and asked, worry evident in his voice.

The nickname, the softness, the concern. It made Law feel jealous and nostalgic at the same time. That was surely Zoro, he realized.

“I have to go,” he told him and he hung up.

“Who let him use his phone? Chopper said no screens!” Nami growled when she came back to the office with Usopp and found Luffy retching in the bathroom, sounding miserable.

Usopp immediately turned green and hid in the kitchen.

She knew it was a near impossible mission to control Luffy but she expected better from Zoro and Sanji. They had the decency to look sheepish as she ran past them to get to the bathroom, before bickering even louder in her back.

“Someone,” Zoro said, probably poking the cook’s chest with his finger, “said he’d keep an eye on him.”

“And someone,” Sanji said, surely pushing the swordsman away, “decided to take a nap like the lazy ass he is.”

“Now you’re just being mean!” Zoro protested.

“Silence, you two!” Nami said.

She helped Luffy to his feet and dragged him back to the couch. He was heavier than he looked, even if he wasn’t very tall. He flopped against her side, warm and soft. She looped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him tight, hoping he would stay in place long enough for the nausea and the headache to calm down.

“Debriefing,” she called, keeping her voice down for her concussed captain’s sake.

Chopper was confident he hadn’t scrambled his brain too much, but he had still stressed that he needed rest and silence.

“Mr Stevens is gone for good,” Usopp affirmed.

He still looked a bit spooked after their eventful morning; he really hated the sight of blood or any other bodily fluids.

“How did we miss the teeth?” Nami asked, looking at the open folder on her lap.

“That was definitely gross,” Usopp said with a grimace. “Who keeps baby teeth like that?”

“We destroyed them, banished the ghost and got paid,” Nami concluded.

The clients had first refused to pay up, complaining about the damage to the house and all the blood at the foot of the stairs, but when Nami threatened to press charges for injuring one of them, they got scared and backed down. Their house was ghost-free now, so they could spare a few bucks after all.

“Franky still isn’t back from the archives,” Nami remarked, as she closed her file and opened another.

“He’s probably playing hide and seek with Robin down in the archives basement,” Sanji said, wiggling his stupid eyebrows.

Luffy giggled quietly at the euphemism. Franky had such a soft spot for the brunette that it hardly was a secret.

“I was hoping she had found more information on Torao – Trafalgar’s past,” Nami corrected, as she caught herself using Luffy’s stupid nickname for their prospective client.

He stirred against her when he heard the name, but he kept his eyes screwed shut. They were spending quite a lot of time and resources on someone who apparently didn’t even have a haunted house. Luffy’s explanation wasn’t very clear on that point last night, but for the moment she understood that there was no money to be made with him.

“That dude is very unlucky,” Usopp remarked. “He’s got shitty friends who tried to prank him and he lives in a creepy, depressing house where there may or may not be a ghost.”

“Don’t forget that Luffy has taken a shine to him,” Sanji smirked. “That’s a recipe for disaster.”

Luffy made a protesting noise, before mumbling something about a flamingo wearing pink feathers. Nami patted his head softly, careful not to brush the bruises.

“So what’s for lunch, cook?” Zoro asked, trying to act casual, but Nami knew that the stairs accident shook him.

Law fired up his laptop, cracked his knuckles and logged into his account on the hospital website. Then he spent most of his morning fucking with Shachi and Penguin’s plannings. Yes, it was an abuse of power, but he didn’t care at this point. Because of them, he really thought he was being haunted by a dead mobster’s ghost. They deserved even worse than graveyard shifts and nothing but boring surgeries.

Once he was done with revenge, he started unpacking some of the boxes piled behind his couch, which had been gathering dust for weeks now. He filled half a bookshelf, feeling full of energy and hope for the first time in weeks. Maybe Luffy and his friends did fix things for good. He tried to organize everything neatly, but ended up sitting among books, re-reading about thoracic surgery.

His phone vibrated on the couch. A call from Shachi, he read on the screen. He probably saw the planning and decided to yell at him. The nerve on that guy.

“You’re an asshole,” Law told him before he could even say anything.

“That’s rich coming from you!” the idiot said. “Why did you–”

“Fucking with my new house,” Law cut him off – fucking with my head, he thought. “That was low.”

“What are you on about?” Shachi said, and he sounded genuinely confused. “I didn’t do anything to your house!”

Something told Law he had made a mistake. Wood creaked, upstairs, and Law felt a chill creep up his spine. The feeling of being watched was back.

“What’s going on, boss?” Shachi asked, when Law didn’t reply.

He was just losing his mind, nothing new here. Suddenly he didn’t know how he could have ever suspected his coworkers. They would have felt terrible if they knew about the insomnia and the nightmares. They wouldn’t have pulled such a prank on him, or at least they wouldn’t have let it go on for so long, not without gloating and mocking him for believing there was a ghost in his house.

“I’m fine,” Law lied, getting to his feet. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Wait! Are you going to change the planning back?” Shachi yelled as Law hung up.

“New case,” Nami announced, holding out a very thin file. “Someone left a message earlier. It sounds like a minor ghost possession, so we don’t all need to go.”

“Don’t look at me, I’m not good at exorcisms,” Usopp quickly said, raising his hands defensively.

“What? The great Usopp, who managed to destroy the Tamate box all by himself before it could kill everyone in the room, is afraid of a little ectoplasm?” Nami slyly said.

“Yes!” Usopp said, before quickly adding, “No! That was different,” he protested.

He had fumbled and dropped the cursed object while trying to flee. But a win was a win, and sometimes Usopp needed a little nudge in the right direction. Nami had perfected the art of sweet talking people into doing what she wanted.

“Fine, I’ll go,” Usopp relented.

Zoro felt conflicted for a second because he knew they couldn’t let Usopp to his own devices, but he hated the idea of leaving Luffy at the office after what happened this morning.

“Stay with him,” Nami said, taking the keys to the van and following Usopp to the door.

Zoro sat back in the armchair, keeping Luffy in his line of sight. He mumbled something about birds and feathers, and Sanji patted his leg reassuringly.

“How hard did he fall?” Zoro breathed.

“He’s fine,” the cook said. “You heard Nami, they went straight to Chopper’s clinic.”

“No offense, but that kid is only a vet,” Zoro grumbled.

“Do you remember what happened the last time we tried going to the hospital?” Sanji sighed.

Luffy had freaked everyone out when he started talking to recently deceased patients left and right, and the nurses ended up calling a shrink on him. They had to create a diversion so that he could escape, and Chopper had been the one to cast his broken wrist, pestering against the hospital the whole time.

Luffy raised his head, like he wanted to take part in the conversation.

“Rest, you dumbass,” Zoro told him, and Luffy actually listened to him for once.

Law was lying on his couch and looking at the ceiling. The lights weren’t flickering anymore. He checked every room upstairs, and nothing seemed out of place. There were no weird noises in the walls, and the heater kept the whole house pleasantly warm. And yet, Law felt like he couldn’t relax, not entirely. He kept expecting something to happen.

The wind picked up outside, and a dog started barking in the distance. Animals could sense danger in a way humans couldn’t, he thought. He hoped the storm they were talking about on TV wouldn’t hit them tonight.

His phone vibrated on the coffee table – an actual table that he finished assembling earlier this afternoon. There were many missed calls and texts, most of them from Shachi, a few from Jean Bart. He didn’t scroll all the way down to check. The last message was from Bepo.

Bepo [6:58 PM] – Eat something. We miss you at the hospital. Except Shachi. He’s still cross about the planning thing.

A second message followed when Law didn’t reply.

Bepo [7:02 PM] – I mean it. Eat!!

Thunder rolled in, as the storm was getting closer, and Law could feel it under his skin. That crawling sensation – like something bad was about to happen. His instinct was telling him to flee or hide. Law dug the heel of his hands into his eyes and rubbed. He was so tired. Lightning illuminated the room, closely followed by thunder. It cast shadows in every corner. Then a heavy book fell from the shelf on his left and his eyes shot open.

“Cora?” he asked, and his voice sounded tiny, like a child’s.

Only the storm answered him.

He got up to put the book back on the shelf. It was Dr Kuhera’s Anatomy, and it fell open on a double page depicting abdominal incisions. It seemed like a creepy omen, a dark message – but Law was a rational man. It accidentally fell open, and the page was random. It meant nothing.

Part of him wanted to call Luffy, to get his professional opinion, but he felt like a fool for even thinking that.

“What time is it?” Luffy asked without opening his eyes.

“We still have time before dinner,” Sanji reassured him, thankfully keeping his voice down.

His head was still throbbing fiercely, and he tried to resist the urge to touch his eyebrow to check the stitches. He was lying on the office couch, and Brook was playing a quiet lullaby from the other side of the room, where his music studio used to be. If Luffy nearly closed his eyes and kept them open just a slit, he could see it all, the rows of consoles, the microphone and the shiny guitars, now long gone.

“We need to go,” he said to no one in particular. “Torao is in danger,” he continued, trying to convey the urgency of the situation he could feel confusedly, but not really explain.

Sanji scoffed from the kitchen. “So he can see into the future now,” he mocked.

It smelled like he was cooking something, and Luffy realized he wasn’t hungry at all – his stomach was in knots, as he tried to make sense of the horrific wrongness he could sense. Sometimes it was frustrating not to be able to explain better – he couldn’t even tell if it was a ghost trying to communicate or if it was just instinct. Danger, his mind was screaming at him.

“Give me my phone,” Luffy hissed.

He tried to sit up but gave up when the room started spinning.

“If he pukes again, I’m not cleaning it,” Sanji announced.

“Like you were any help the first time,” Zoro immediately replied.

Luffy whined from the couch, “Zoro, please call Torao.”

“I did, earlier while you slept,” Zoro said. “He didn’t answer.”

“You did? Why?” Sanji asked from the kitchen.

Luffy didn’t need Zoro to answer that. He knew the swordsman could hear his swords humming in their scabbards, like they were eager for the upcoming carnage. Zoro looked at him, then at the swords, his frown deepening.

“Something is going to happen,” Luffy said. “Something bad.”

There was another strike of lightning, closely followed by thunder. At the same time, something fell and crashed on the floor in the kitchen. A big jar of tomato sauce, which hadn’t even been sitting on the counter last Law remembered, was now all over the floor, a jarring puddle of tomato gore. He thought about thoracotomies and how much blood was in the human body.

“What do you want?” he said, cleaning the mess with paper towels and feeling like a fool for talking to a ghost. “Stop breaking my shit.”

A thump in the living-room made him jump, as rain started beating against the window panes. Temperature dropped all of a sudden and he shivered. A draft swirled around his legs, and he felt the impossible wind push him backwards, into the living room. He tried to resist, but it intensified. Lights flickered and Law felt small and powerless. He nearly tripped on all the books now lying over the floor, and anger replaced the fear.

“I don’t understand!” he shouted, alone in his half empty house. “What do you want from me?”

The invisible force around him pulled and pushed, and he could have sworn icy fingers tried to grab his arms, his shoulders.

“Stop it!” he yelled.

The closet under the stairs opened, and a violent draft pushed him inside. He fell on his hands and knees, and the door slammed behind him, plunging him in the dark. The unmistakable smell of cigarette filled the tight, closed space, making his eyes sting.

“Why are you doing this?” he screamed, banging on the door, but it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard he pushed.

Somewhere in the dark part of his mind, where he kept the trauma and the sadness bottled up, he could picture himself, as a kid, desperately kicking and scratching at the inside of a wooden chest where he’d been shoved by Cora to protect him.

“I don’t need protection!” he yelled, blinking in the dark. “He’s dead!” he said.

You’re dead, he thought. He rested his head against the door. His phone started ringing, somewhere in the living room.

Zoro was trying to call that Torao guy again, just to appease Luffy, when the door slammed open and Usopp made a beeline to the bathroom. Exorcisms could be messy sometimes, but at least he didn’t look injured. He was always scared shitless, but Zoro knew he liked chasing ghosts and telling tales afterwards – embellished, of course, without all the whining and the screaming.

Nami came in after him and said, “Trafalgar needs help.”

“Told you,” Luffy said from the couch with his eyes closed. “It’s happening tonight.”

It looked like he still had a bad headache, and Zoro was starting to believe it might be caused more by his powers than by his actual head injury. After all, he knew about the swords and their discreet call for blood. Who knew what else he could sense right now.

“A criminal called Don Quixote Doflamingo wants him dead,” Nami said.

“The flamingo,” Luffy said with a nod – so that was why he kept muttering about birds.

“He was arrested for arms dealing a few years ago,” Nami read from her file. “He was charged with drug distribution and several counts of murder. He had quite an empire of crime.”

“So what, is Trafalgar a mob doctor or something?” Sanji asked, wiping his hands on his apron.

“Robin found out more about his past. Looks like he was part of Doflamingo’s criminal organization when he was a child, but managed to get away.”

She shuddered, and Zoro knew it reminded her of Arlong and the things she had to do to protect her people. Luffy looked angry, so he was probably thinking the same thing. Freeing the hell hounds Arlong kept captive and setting them on their former master must have been kind of nice, Zoro thought – he was badly injured during that part and only had confused memories.

“But why now?” Sanji insisted.

“Mingo’s death,” Luffy breathed.

“Law did say something about a dude dying in prison,” Usopp pointed out. He had changed his shirt, but still had some ectoplasm goo in his hair. “So maybe a ghost wants him dead?”

Luffy shook his head, then winced. He seemed convinced it wasn’t the mobster ghost, and part of him wanted to trust him, but then Zoro looked at his swords again and they were still humming, louder and louder. Something was going on, he just couldn’t see the bigger picture.

“I tried calling him but he won’t answer,” Nami said, looking at her phone like it was the problem.

“Maybe he’s already in danger,” Zoro said.

“Help me up,” Luffy groaned, trying to sit up and swing his legs to the floor.

“You’re in no state to go,” Nami said, easily pushing him back onto the couch.

“I’m going anyway,” Luffy repeated, swatting her hand away.

He was stubborn like that, and Zoro smirked, helping him up despite Nami’s glare.

Luffy got to ride shotgun while Nami drove. Usopp spent the entire trip filling cartridges with rock salt. They usually didn’t use guns – but then again, their usual hunts didn’t involve the ghost of a scary mobster. Zoro remembered seeing the guy on TV once or twice, the pink, fluffy coat, the sunglasses, the grating laugh.

Nami’s phone rang and she picked up, only swerving a little on the wet road.

“Hi Robin!” Zoro heard her say. “Shit, are you sure?” More silence. “Okay, thank you. Yeah, we’ll be safe, I promise.”

Then she turned and said, “Mrs Daunighton died earlier today at the hospital.”

Zoro raised an eyebrow with a questioning look, while Sanji exclaimed, “Who the fuck is that?”

“She’s Law’s neighbor,” Luffy said. “The one spying on him from across the street.”

“Robin says she’s been hospitalized for weeks now,” Nami said. “Acute renal failure.”

“If she was away, but not dead yet, then who was moving the curtains?” Usopp asked, raising his head from the shotgun he was cleaning.

Zoro’s swords were humming in his lap. Sanji and he exchanged a glance.

“Probably just another, older ghost,” Sanji said with a shrug.

So banal, he seemed to say. He rarely went on hunts, too busy with the restaurant, and yet he always acted like he knew better than anyone else. And while he didn’t come often either, because he had training, teaching and competitions, Zoro felt the need to point out how wrong he was.

“It could be a number of other entities,” Zoro said. “Which you would know if you bothered with research once in a while.”

“Ha, don’t make me laugh! You? Doing research?” Sanji exclaimed.

Nami discreetly snorted at that, because it was true that he rarely even tried to read her files before they met with a client.

“Even so, I do more than you,” Zoro insisted, because he felt like being petty just to relieve some tension.

Sanji took it in stride, and they bickered and argued the whole ride.

Law had long stopped trying to open the door. His eyes had started to get accustomed to the near darkness, but the cramped closet still felt terribly oppressing. So he hugged his knees and tried to control his breathing.

“I hate you, you know,” he whispered in case Cora was still around, but he didn’t mean it, not really.

The storm still raged outside, but the whole house was silent now. His knuckles throbbed and his throat felt raw, even though the cigarette smell was gone now. He wondered how long it would take for him to run out of air – how long until one of his friends finally discovered the dried husk of his cadaver. Maybe Shachi would come and threaten him about the planning changes before that.

He heard a sudden bang, so close he jumped and hit his head on the shelf. Then the door opened. He let out a strangled yelp and backed away from the rectangle of blinding light, raising a hand to shield his face. His eyes adjusted and he could make out a silhouette, armed with a shotgun, towering over him.

“Shit, are you okay?” the stranger said.

And when he crouched and more light flowed in, Law realized it was just Usopp, Luffy’s ghost specialist. Armed to the teeth and wearing an ammo belt across his chest, with small cartridges filled with white powder – probably rock salt, his mind supplied.

“What happened to you, man?” Usopp insisted.

Law opened his mouth to answer, he found that he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. The ghost of my former savior dragged me into my house closet, kicking and screaming?

The rest of the merry band was probably not far behind, so Law crawled out of the closet and stood in the well-lit corridor, gingerly rubbing his scraped knuckles and looking at the downpour outside. He could make out the crappy van, parked in front of his house, and more people coming their way.

“Did the ghost attack you?” Usopp asked, sounding a bit frantic.

He took his blinking gadget out of his front pocket and waved it around, but Law couldn’t sense Cora anymore – no more cold drafts, no more chill up his spine. Only frayed nerves. Luffy stepped in the doorway, dripping wet. The hat on his head obscured his eyes and he lacked his usual smile. Law felt fuzzy inside at the thought that he came to his rescue, unprompted with that.

He could hear popping sounds, somewhere in the distance, and it took him way too long for his tired brain to finally realize it wasn’t the storm.

“I really thought–” Luffy started saying, but then something whizzed past his face and he stilled, raising a hand as if to swat a fly.

Gunshots. It was fucking gunshots and the door was wide open and they were sitting ducks and–

Luffy jumped forward and crashed into him, pushing him down while Usopp yelped and dived for cover, holding his gun with shaking hands and trying to close the door with his foot.

“Ghost attack!” he yelled and panic was making his voice high-pitched.

Luffy rolled over and sat up next to Law, shaking his head.

“Nah. Ghosts don’t use bullets,” the kid said, raising the hand he had pressed to his flank to show them that it was covered in blood.

There was a buzzing noise, growing in Law’s head, threatening to engulf him whole. His vision narrowed on the blood on Luffy’s hand, bright red, as red as his hoodie. There was a darkening patch of wetness, spreading rapidly. Law knew he should do something, but his whole body was frozen, stuck in a nightmarish childhood memory. Maybe he was only hallucinating – maybe he never got out of the dark closet.

Thunder shook the house, and all the lights went out.

In an instant the dull pain in Luffy’s head was overshadowed by the sharp one in his belly. He’s been shot before, so he knew it was only going to get worse. Lightning struck, and when he raised his head he could see Cora, dressed in a black feathered coat and a pink shirt, looking at them from where he sat on the stairs.

Distantly, he heard Zoro and Sanji, arguing about who’d get the shooter first.

“You go right, I go left,” Sanji said, immediately followed by, “Other left, you moron!”

Luffy didn’t worry about them, they were incredibly dangerous together, despite the constant arguments and insults.

Nami slapped him. “Luffy, don’t fall asleep!”

Her face was very close to his. She looked about to cry, but also very, very angry. He forced his eyes to stay open just for her. He tried to reassure her, but only a croak came out.

“What’s wrong with him,” Usopp asked and panic was making him snappy. “I’m the one who’s not good with blood, I thought he was a surgeon, why is he useless like that?”

Luffy’s unfocused eyes fell on Torao, and he got hit by a mindful of memories – the smell of blood and gunpowder, the pain in his hands as he tried to claw his way out of the dark, the raw screams that tore out of his throat. Torao had survived all that, he thought. Up on the stairs, Cora just nodded without a word.

He must have passed out because when he opened his eyes again, they had moved him to the living room. He was lying on Torao’s couch now, and bleeding all over it. It was dark. He could hear people arguing, but the words themselves made no sense. He felt like he was burning, the pain like flames licking his flank.

“Make sure his legs are elevated,” someone said.

“Can’t we just call an ambulance?” someone else asked, and they all started arguing.

He stopped listening and stared at Cora’s somber face. He was sitting on the armchair next to the couch now, looking at Torao with a tormented expression.

“He’s safe,” Luffy told him with a tight smile.

He raised a hand and tried to wiggle his fingers through the ghost when he didn’t react.

“Don’t move, you moron,” Nami berated, and she slapped his hand back down.

“We’re all going to die!” Usopp squeaked.

He was trying to look out the window without being seen, holding his shotgun with whitening knuckles. The street outside was dark. The whole house was dark. Or maybe his eyes were just closed again. He blinked and tried to keep them open.

“I’m fine,” Luffy assured him.

He was pretty sure he would have gotten a vision of his own impending death if he really was about to croak. He had too many things left to do to die just yet.

“The flamingo wants you dead,” he told Torao, because that was why they came here after all – to warn him.

“But he was cremated,” Law whispered, staring at nothing, and the circles under his eyes had never looked darker.

“He needs fluids,” Nami interrupted, her panicked face illuminated by her phone’s flashlight. “I found this in your first aid kit but I don’t know how to…”

Torao took stuff out of the bag Nami was holding and deftly inserted a needle into Luffy’s arm, before connecting it to a tube. Luffy stared at it, because wow, that was smooth, he hadn’t even felt it. Cold crept up his arm, as Torao squeezed whatever was in the plastic pouch attached to the tube.

He blinked rapidly to try and chase the small black flies that started filling his vision but it was a losing battle.

“Why won’t it turn back on,” Usopp whined in Law’s back, flipping the light switch repetitively.

“Probably just the storm,” Law said.

“That, or the people shooting at us cut the power to flush us out,” Nami said, phone against her ear, a frown on her face.

“I have candles under the sink,” Law said.

“Do not light candles at a time like this,” Nami warned, and something in her voice must have been scarier than the dark, because Usopp gave up and kept using his phone’s flashlight instead.

“Is he going to be okay?” Usopp asked no one in particular.

The kid looked like death warmed over, even with the bag of saline Law kept in his emergency bag – Shachi had given him so much shit about it, calling him a survivalist and all that. He was a pessimist, he couldn’t deny it, but he was right to be apparently. Law tried to keep his hands from shaking too much as he checked the wound. The bullet was still in, and it looked like it had missed any vital organ.

“He needs a hospital,” Law said. He might be able to remove the bullet himself, but he wouldn’t be able to stop a sudden hemorrhage; it was best to leave it in for now. “Are they still shooting at us?” he asked, as he applied a new pressure bandage over the wound.

He couldn’t hear any gunshots, only the wind and the rain outside, and the house that creaked all around every time thunder shook it.

“No, but we’re sitting ducks,” Usopp said.

“Luffy won’t be able to run to the Merry,” Nami added, pushing a strand of hair out of her face with a bloody hand.

“Not while a ghost is shooting at us,” Usopp muttered, his shotgun pointing at the dark street through the half-closed shutters.

“Not a ghost,” Luffy groaned, startling them.

He tried to sit up, and Law just pushed him back down gently.

“I’m guessing calling the police and letting them handle things is out of the question?” Law still asked wearily.

Nami seemed like a smart girl, if she hadn’t already, there must have been a good reason.

“They’ll send the cavalry, it’ll become a standoff and the whole mess will take hours,” Nami said – hours Luffy didn’t have, Law thought somberly. “And Smoker’s in charge, and he’s a brute. He tried to arrest Luffy once, after he trespassed at the Loguetown museum.”

“He nearly got decapitated,” Usopp added.

“By the police?” Law gasped, raising his head to look at them and see if they were joking.

“No, by the ghost of a crazy clown,” Usopp said with a shrug, like it was a normal occurrence in their lives.

“Of course,” Law muttered. “I don’t know why I asked.”

The wind pushed a shutter open and Law flinched. Usopp yelped in fright, before valiantly scrambling to shut it again.

“Get a grip, people,” Nami said, pacing in the room.

She punched yet another number into her unresponsive phone, and she was getting more and more annoyed. Luffy was right, Law thought, she was scary when she got angry.

“My phone is not working,” she said, her face lit by the bluish light of the screen.

“Mine has no bars at all,” Usopp confirmed.

“Back with us?” Law asked Luffy when he saw that he had his eyes open, blearily staring at the ceiling. “How’s the pain?”

Luffy threw him a very confused look.

“I don’t…” he trailed, shooting a hand to touch his abdomen.

Law grabbed it and pushed it away gently.

“I gave you morphine earlier,” Law explained.

“Oh boy,” Usopp muttered from where he was crouched by the window.

Luffy just blinked owlishly. He didn’t ask why Law had opioids at home and Law preferred not to think about the actual reason.

“Where’s Zoro?” he breathed, eyes darting around the room and lingering on the empty armchair just a second too long.

Law shuddered without knowing why.

“He’s with Sanji,” Nami supplied. “They’re fighting the shooter, and not each other, I hope.”

Luffy closed his eyes again, apparently satisfied with the answer, and not worried for his friends like Law thought he was. Something exploded outside, and it sounded like a grenade, but Law was no expert.

“The ghost’s coming,” Usopp whispered with a terrified expression.

“Nah, he’s here and he’s behaving,” Luffy said, weakly pointing at the empty armchair next to the couch.

Law stared, unsure how that statement made him feel. Cora was in the room with them. Sitting down like an actual, living person. It was hard to wrap his mind around it and part of him still wanted to cry bullshit, even after everything he had witnessed.

“What about the one outside?” Usopp asked anxiously. “What if he gets in?”

On the couch, Luffy just shook his head. Law grabbed his hand and put his fingers on the inside of his wrist, checking his pulse – rabbity quick and getting weaker, but they still had some time before it became critical.

“Cora is saying something about a baby,” Luffy said. He frowned, as if it was hard to understand whatever he was hearing. “Five babies?”

“Baby 5,” Law swore.

He thought she had been arrested when the police busted Vergo’s lab, a few years ago.

“I think I see something mov–” Usopp started saying from his vantage point at the window.

The rest of his sentence was lost when a bullet pierced the window pane above his head and lodged itself in the corridor wall. Usopp screamed and dropped to the floor. Nami just looked pissed, and Luffy was probably too out of it to care, as Law twisted his body to shield him as best he could.

After that, Usopp stopped trying to see outside and decided to open a few cartridges to draw lines of salt in front of the doors and windows. Law decided not to comment; he just hoped it wouldn’t banish Cora from the house. He focused on Luffy, putting his feet back on the couch’s armrest when he tried to sit up, keeping an eye on the tightly packed wound in his flank. It was bleeding again.

“You know that’s useless against bullets, right?” Nami told Usopp, pointing at the white lines on the floor.

“Better safe than sorry,” Usopp said. “Remember that crazy guy who could possess and control cats, back in my hometown?”

Luffy nodded and smiled, like that was a fond memory.

“Yeah, that was scary,” he said – but his face said he had fun.

“Ghost cats?” Law asked with a frown.

“Regular cats,” Luffy said.

“But they had very sharp claws,” Usopp added.

“Your life makes no sense,” he told him.

“It’s our second sleepover,” Luffy commented, and Law couldn’t help but scoff because who called slowly bleeding out on someone else’s couch a sleepover? “It is,” he insisted.

“How come you’re not scared?” Law felt the need to ask.

He understood that ghost hunting or whatever Luffy did for a living was dangerous, but getting shot must not happen everyday.

“He’s had worse,” Nami said with a tight smile, and Law didn’t doubt it was true.

“Don’t worry,” the kid said with a grin. “Zoro and Sanji are the best.”

He sounded so sure, even proud of his friends. The cook didn’t look like a fighter, but maybe he had secret skills. His eyes rolled up in his head and he passed out again. Shit. Law checked his pulse and grabbed more compresses.

“He’s running out of time,” he told Nami as he packed the wound again.

Someone yelled outside, the cry cut short almost immediately, and Law hoped it was the bad guys and not one of Luffy’s friends.

Luffy was dying, Usopp just knew it. Law and Nami were putting up a brave face for his sake but they couldn’t fool him. He was bleeding out. He looked dead already, his lax hand still in Law’s hand, too pale, too still.

Usopp gripped his gun and tried very hard not to cry because he wouldn’t be able to aim with tears in his eyes. Then again, if the enemies outside were humans, rock salt wouldn’t help much. That was not what he had signed for, he thought. He knew he should have been angry at Law for being on someone’s hit list and at Luffy for leading them right into the middle of danger. But Law had no idea and Luffy had always been like that – helping everyone, accidentally more often than not.

More screams rose from the house across the street. The temptation to open the shutter a little bit more and peek was too strong – not knowing what was going on was even scarier, Usopp reasoned. It had stopped raining. There were no bullets flying anymore. Maybe it was safe to make a run for it, maybe…

When he looked outside, he saw Zoro, standing in the middle of the street, illuminated by lightning. He was drenched and his white t-shirt was torn and bloody. He had his three swords out. Usopp couldn’t see Sanji, but he knew he was fine, he probably hadn’t even creased his suit. And then a huge man suddenly charged out of the dead neighbor’s house, holding what looked like an automatic weapon pointed at them.

“Oh shit,” Usopp swore, scrambling back and hoping the man hadn’t seen him.

Tires screeched, further down the street, and a large truck rammed into the Merry in an explosion of sparks, shielding Usopp and nearly running Zoro over. Usopp could only watch as their poor trusty van went up in flames, oil spilling everywhere.

“No!” he yelled as Nami’s hand on his arm stopped him from running outside.

The truck had a lion painted on the hood, or maybe it was a sun, Usopp couldn’t be sure with the street lights out. A towering man got out of it and Usopp gaped and stared, because it was Franky, with a grin on his face and a cool looking weapon in his hands.

“Zoro, move!” he yelled.

Franky shot in the direction of the advancing man, and Zoro rolled away at the last second, avoiding the net that shot out of the gun – the man he was fighting did not, and he fell to the ground, screaming and twitching in pain.

“It’s super electrified,” Franky commented, and Usopp could have kissed him.

Law was saying something, inside the house, his voice snappy and tense, and all the joy and elation Usopp felt died out.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Franky said, pointing at the awesome truck.

“Luffy’s…” Usopp said, words catching in his throat.

“Don’t worry, I brought a friend,” Franky said with two thumbs up, even though Usopp couldn’t see anyone sitting in the passenger’s seat. “He’s waiting for the all clear.”

“If the pervert cook didn’t fall in love with the girl he was fighting, we might be good,” Zoro muttered. He kicked the guy on the ground. “There are two more tied up upstairs.”

As if on cue, Sanji appeared on the neighbor’s porch, pushing a pretty woman wearing a very short skirt and even more ammo belts than Usopp. But hers were packed with deadly bullets and even what looked like hand grenades. She had her arms tied behind her back with Sanji’s tie, and the cook was guiding her outside, while simultaneously trying not to touch her.

“I just wanted to please him,” she sobbed. “I did what he asked, I just wanted to make him happy.”

“Hold on to your socks,” Franky bellowed.

He climbed back into the truck’s cabin to fire a single firework, which exploded overhead, briefly illuminating the whole street. An ambulance with blue lights swerved in from the end of the street.

“Jinbei!” Usopp exclaimed.

Something was happening outside, but Law had his hands full with the kid on the couch. His heart rate was worrying, his breathing shallow and the bleeding was getting worse. The bullet must have shifted inside, tearing more deeply into him. Law swore, keeping pressure on the entry wound.

All around them, the house was shaking. Kitchen cupboards were opening and closing on their own, books were falling from the shelves in the living room. The draft down his spine had nothing to do with the open window. He should have felt terrified. Instead he kept his eyes on the dying kid under his bloody hands, so pale he looked dead already and he growled.

“Oh no you don’t. Not again. I don’t care if he sent the entire Pica army to get me, you won’t lock me away again. Not this time!”

He heard the front door opening in his back, and he had to look, just in case it actually was the ghost of a pink psychopath. Instead he saw a large man with a severe underbite, wearing a gaudy kimono and old fashioned sandals.

“Jinbei,” the man said. “I’m a medic.”

Law raised an eyebrow because he certainly didn’t look the part.

“I was going to a birthday party when Franky called,” he explained, looking sheepish.

Then he spotted Luffy on the couch.

“Captain,” he said with a worried frown. “What did you do this time?”

Maybe it was the man’s voice, or the cold air coming from the open door, but Luffy suddenly roused, grabbing Law’s hand and whispering with insane intensity, “Don’t let them take my hat.”

“I’ll keep it safe,” Law promised, annoyed by the dumb request.

It seemed to pacify him, and he blinked a few times, staring at a point behind Law’s shoulder.

“He’s gonna be okay,” he mumbled, and Law wondered who he was talking about.

Then he was out again; his blood pressure must have bottomed out. Law reluctantly released the grip he had on the wound to let Jinbei gather the kid in his arms. He wrapped a large hand over the bloody bandage and pressed down, not even eliciting a groan.

The drive to the hospital was a blur. Law remembered getting into the back of the ambulance while a lot of police sirens were coming closer. The familiar street was littered with bullet casings and burned impacts, and the kid’s old van was burning in the middle of it, despite the rain which was still falling.

Once they got away, Luffy’s phone started dinging like crazy, receiving at once all the unread messages and notifications that were blocked earlier. Law fished it out of his pocket, wincing because it was slick with blood. The screen was cracked, the background picture a smiling Zoro. Law didn’t look at the messages and called Shachi instead, telling them to get ready for emergency surgery.

“What the hell did you do, boss?” his coworker asked, worry evident in his voice.

“I think I got a ghost arrested,” Law muttered.

He stared at the heart monitor, which was beeping steadily, and he pushed more fluids into the stubborn kid.

Chapter 3 Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Law ended up in the ER, holding a plastic bag with the kid’s belongings in it – flip flops, loose change, his hat and his phone. Law knew he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the operating room, but it still stung when they pushed him out of the way, a flurry of frenetic energy to keep the kid alive when it had been his damn job so far.

His feet led him to a plastic chair and he let himself fall in it, suddenly exhausted. His hands – hell, even his forearms – were covered in dried blood, and the tattoos underneath looked grim. Death, his knuckles proclaimed – it was all he brought to the people around him.

Luffy’s phone started ringing in the plastic bag, and he realized it was the theme song from that kids show about a girl who befriended ghosts. He smiled as he took it out. Sanji, the screen read. He realized he had no idea what happened to the others after they left in the ambulance.

“Oh good, you’re awake!” the cook said before Law could tell him it wasn’t Luffy. “Police arseholes finally released us,” he said, sounding tired and a little bit manic. “They impounded Franky’s monstrosity. And of course Zoro had to antagonize them, so they’re keeping him overnight. Stupid Smoker knows pretty well the mosshead moron has a permit for his swords.”

“Sanji,” Law tried to interrupt, feeling his voice crack.

“… but Robin says the manslaughter charges won’t hold anyway.”

“Sanji,” he said again. “It’s Trafalgar Law. Luffy’s–”

Worried voices panicked into his ear, the louder being Usopp’s, who sounded like he was hyperventilating.

“I’m at the hospital,” Law explained. “Luffy’s in surgery now.”

“Let us know when you have any news,” Sanji said.

Then Law heard angry klaxons in the background, and Nami arguing with someone.

“Sweet Nami darling,” Sanji said quietly. “Please don’t yell at the taxi driver, he’s not responsible for traffic.”

Law had to promise he’d keep them updated three times before they let him hang up. For all they tried to pretend it was no big deal, that Luffy had had worse, they were definitely worried for their friend. But he’d be fine. He had to be.

He fell asleep in the plastic chair, surrounded by the somewhat familiar chaos of the ER. He woke up with a start when a shadow fell on him. He tensed and gritted his teeth, ready to fight whoever would try to ask him to leave.

“You’re Luffy’s friend,” the shadow declared.

It was the paramedic from earlier, Law realized, still wearing his gaudy kimono.

“I hardly know him,” he protested, stifling a yawn.

Suddenly he wanted nothing more but to be back home, under the bed covers, and to sleep for two days straight.

“And yet you’re holding on to his hat, like you promised,” the man said, pointing at the plastic bag in Law’s lap.

“You can’t have it,” he said without thinking, because apparently he wasn’t entirely awake yet.

“See, you’re a little bit his friend if you’re already protecting the hat,” the man smiled largely. “There is a captain Tashigi asking for you at the reception. I told her you were in shock and to come back later.”

Law nodded and mumbled some thanks. It was hardly a lie anyway. He felt jittery and nauseous at the same time.

“They’re moving him to a room upstairs,” the medic said. “One of the docs said you could go see him – that is, unless you’re needed elsewhere,” he teased.

Law didn’t bother arguing this time and he got up stiffly. Shachi must have taken pity on him. He didn’t have time to talk to him when they arrived earlier.

“Thanks,” he told the paramedic, before hurrying to the elevator.

Bright. Loud. Too many voices.

No matter how hard he shut his eyes, Luffy could still see the dozens of dead people roaming the place. He whined and tried to put his hands on his ears to block their chatter but his arms felt like jelly. His whole body was numb.

He squirmed some more, feeling something painfully pull the inside of his arm, until a cool hand stopped him. It didn’t feel like a poltergeist; too gentle, too solid, so Luffy reluctantly opened an eye.

Torao was standing next to the bed, looking exhausted.

“You okay?” Luffy asked, voice scratchy with disuse.

Torao just scoffed and squeezed his hand before fiddling with the tubing snaking out of his arm. Machines were beeping softly and maybe if he focused on it he could pretend the room wasn’t filled with dead people.

‘They left me to die, I’m telling you,’ a gaunt old man in blue scrubs was muttering, facing the wall.

‘Nurse! Nurse!’ a disheveled woman kept yelling from somewhere on his left.

A man with his face half burned up looked straight at him and he shuddered. The more he looked, the more crowded the room was getting.

“Go away,” Luffy mumbled. “Shut up.”

It was the drugs, he thought, they had to be messing with his head somehow – Chopper would know. He tried to grab the tube and pull it out but his fingers were weak and uncoordinated. Torao caught his wrist before he could succeed.

“Make it stop,” he pleaded, mirroring the old woman lying in a bed that no longer existed.

He was afraid Torao would call someone and add living people to the already chaotic room. But then, he wasn’t sure how, he seemed to get it.

“You’ll hurt,” Torao warned, staring at him with eyes that looked like molten gold.

Luffy nodded, eagerly, because he couldn’t care less. He watched, transfixed, as Torao’s long, tattooed fingers removed the tube from his arm and turned off the beeping machine. He felt cold and jittery. He kept his eyes shut and waited for the ghosts to quiet down a bit. He wondered if the others were okay.

“I lost my phone,” he said.

“I have it,” Torao said. “They’re at the office,” he continued, reading from what sounded like a group chat. “Usopp is freaking out. Sanji is cooking a very late dinner. He’s sorry you can’t be there to share it. Nami says you never share anyway.”

“And Zoro?” Luffy asked.

“Sanji says he’s still in jail.”

“That happens,” he sighed.

The pain was starting to make itself known, somewhere deep in his belly, but he could hardly hear the ghosts anymore, so that was fine. He breathed through his nose, trying to imagine Usopp’s lamentations and the delicious kitchen smells. Tremors started running through his body – he was pretty sure it was shock, or something equally annoying.

“Scoot over,” Torao said quietly.

Luffy looked at him, thinking maybe he had just imagined it. His jaw was clenched, he looked tired and annoyed, but also determined. Luffy rolled on his uninjured side, and Torao climbed on the hospital bed, gingerly lying behind him like he was suddenly regretting his decision. Luffy grabbed his arm and dragged him closer. It pulled on the stitches, but he didn’t care. He fell asleep feeling warm and safe.

Law was starting to doze when light from the corridor flowed in. His face heated up when he recognized Bepo on his morning round. The kid was clinging to him even in sleep, so he couldn’t move.

“Aw, boss,” the big idiot cooed softly. “You have a heart after all.”

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll cut you up and burn the body parts in the morgue incinerator,” Law warned.

“I took a photo,” Bepo said – he was clearly enjoying making him uncomfortable. “It’s already on the group chat.”

“Then I’ll have to murder the others as well,” Law growled.

Bepo checked the kid’s vitals; he tsked when he noticed the clamped IV, but he didn’t comment further. The kid was resting, and he looked relaxed – Law hoped no ghosts were tormenting him in his sleep.

That morning, the breakroom became a high place for gossip, as Law’s coworkers were either worried about him or curious to know why he spent the night with the patient he came with the night before.

“So he was caught in a shooting?” Bepo repeated, like he still couldn’t believe it.

“It was on the news,” Penguin said.

His morning coffee left a bad taste in his mouth when he turned on the TV and recognized Law’s street on the news. Then he saw all the texts from Shachi he had missed and he rushed through traffic to get there.

“I only triaged the kid when he arrived, and it looked like a GSW,” Shachi nodded. “Law was fine.”

“They were saying it could be a hit from the mob,” Penguin said.

“I thought he was dead,” Bepo said with a deep frown, careful not to say the name out loud, like it had evocative powers.

Penguin vaguely knew about Law’s past involvement with the Don Quixote family, because his boss had opened up once or twice while shitfaced.

“Maybe his ghost came back to get revenge,” Shachi laughed.

Bepo threw him a murderous look, and Penguin put a placating hand on his arm. He could become fiercely protective of Law when he wanted, but it wasn’t good for his blood pressure.

“But he’s not in danger anymore, right?” Bepo asked.

“The police came by last night,” Shachi said with a shrug. “They wanted his statement, but the kid was in surgery and Law was asleep. We told them to come back later.”

“Do you think that boy really is a medium?” Penguin wondered, because he vaguely remembered Law saying he had hired a psychic investigator or something equally stupid.

“He has a website and everything,” Shachi confirmed. “I checked it and it looks like crap.”

“He could still be legit, if he has the gift,” Bepo argued.

Law woke up expecting things to be awkward once Luffy was a little bit more cognizant, but it seemed he didn’t care one bit about social conventions or personal boundaries. He insisted to get up to pee and nearly face planted in the bathroom. He was pale and exhausted by the time Law helped him back in bed.

When Law relocated to the nearby chair, and only then, the kid started freaking out.

“Where is it?” he said, wincing as he tried to get out of bed again.

Law pushed him back down, but he was suddenly crazy strong for someone who got shot and sewed back together the night before.

“Where is what?” Law growled, feeling what little patience he had left wearing thin.

He felt gross, stubble scratchy on his cheeks, and he itched for a long shower and fresh clothes. And an entire pot of coffee.

“My hat,” Luffy mumbled, and he looked about to cry.

“I have it, don’t move.”

Law retrieved it from the plastic bag he had shoved under the bed last night, and put it in Luffy’s lap to stop him from pulling out his stitches. Luffy held the old, ratty hat like it was the most precious thing he owned, and in the end curiosity won.

“Why is it so important?” Law asked.

“It belonged to someone I love very much,” Luffy said, looking a little glassy-eyed now. “And there is a strand of my dead brother’s hair sewed in the band,” he added, so casually it made Law nauseous.

“Why?”

“So that his ghost would always find me,” Luffy whispered. “If he ever came back.”

They said nothing for a while, because what could Law have said after that? He felt selfish to have his own personal ghost while Luffy, despite his gift, couldn’t see his own brother. The kid just held on to the battered hat, lost in thought. He must have realized Law was staring at him because he finally shrugged.

“I’m fine,” he said, an obvious lie.

“Yeah, I know. You’ve had worse,” Law said. “How’s your pain, with 10 being the worst pain you can imagine?”

Luffy’s face scrunched up, like he was actually thinking about something horrible.

“Stop imagining stupid shit and answer me,” Law snapped.

“You’re not very nice for a doctor,” Luffy remarked.

“I prefer when my patients are under anesthesia.”

“Three,” Luffy said. “For the pain thing.”

As if on cue – and the little shit was probably eavesdropping by the door – Penguin came in without knocking.

“Can you bring him some paracetamol?” Law asked, pointing at the kid on the bed, who stared with big round eyes at the ridiculous penguin hat his coworker was wearing.

“I’ll get you a coffee as well,” he promised, as he checked the surgical dressing and took Luffy’s vitals. “Looks like you need it.”

He paused and turned as he was about to go out.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” he told Law. “We were all worried. And Shachi’s not really mad at you, you know.”

It was utterly bizarre to see Law interact with a human being that wasn’t an unconscious patient or a fellow doctor. Well, technically he was a patient, Penguin corrected mentally, but Law didn’t act like his doctor. It was strange.

When Law had freaked out about some supposed sabotage at his home and exacted revenge on them, that was normal behavior for him – unhinged, but expected. But staying at someone’s bedside all night and just chatting with him? That was just weird.

“Maybe he’s in shock,” Shachi suggested. “His house was attacked, so it’s only logical he doesn’t want to go home.”

That didn’t explain anything, Penguin thought, because he could have slept in the break room where the exhausted interns got some rest in between rounds. But instead he shared a bed with that guy; Bepo had to take a photo because they wouldn’t believe him otherwise.

Around seven, a dangerous looking man with green hair caused quite a commotion when he managed to sneak in before visiting hours. In fact he never found the room he was looking for, and security tried to escort him out before he assaulted anyone. Law stepped in and he was the one who talked them into letting him stay.

“Did you really have to bring your swords?” Penguin heard Law ask the man through the closed door, because of course he was listening in from the corridor. He didn’t hear the man’s reply, only Law who exclaimed, “What danger? It’s a hospital!”

There was exasperation in Law’s voice, but also the calm resignation that came with knowing someone well enough to know they wouldn’t listen anyway. So Law had made new friends outside of work. It was incredible, and also a little scary. Penguin just shook his head and went back to the pharmacy before someone noticed his absence.

An hour later, a short teenager wearing an off-white lab coat managed to sneak in unnoticed. He marveled at Law becoming a surgeon so young and asked a thousand questions – and Law answered them all!

“He’s just being nice,” Bepo concluded when Penguin finished telling him about it.

Law clearly wasn’t in his right mind, he thought. He used the rest of his coffee break to type all his worries about Law’s sudden personality change into their group chat. Shachi must have been awake, because he answered in record time.

Shachi [9:05 AM] – Is it really so weird that he made friends?

A second message followed seconds later.

Shachi [9:05 AM] – Yeah okay it’s weird.

Bepo [9:08 AM] – You’re being mean. I think they’re cute together.

Shachi [9:09 AM] – Think he’ll change me back to a day shift if I don’t tease him about it?

Bepo [9:13 AM] – I bet you 10,000 berries they end up together before the end of the year.

Penguin [9:13 AM] – Like a couple? No way!!

Penguin chuckled lightly as he stared at his phone screen. Maybe that would do Law good though. He needed a break from all the crap he’d been dealing with these past few months.

“What are you laughing about?” Law asked, startling him.

“No-nothing,” Penguin stuttered, quickly putting his phone away.

Law rubbed his chin, clearly bothered by the stubble. He was wearing hospital scrubs, and he looked dead on his feet.

“Everything okay? What are you doing…?”

Penguin watched Law grab Bepo’s jacket from his locker. It was too large on his thin frame. He patted down the pockets and fished out car keys.

“Does Bepo know you’re taking his car?”

Law threw him a tired look that meant, ‘what sort of a question is that?’ – of course Bepo would have agreed to anything Law asked for.

“I’m going home,” he said. “The police need my statement or something. Can you keep an eye on the kid for me?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Penguin nodded. “Are you really okay?” he tried.

“Never been better,” Law said. “It was nice to discover that someone wanted me dead. At least my house is not haunted like I thought,” he added with a dry laugh that sounded like a cough.

Penguin [11:58 AM] – He’s gone, I’m sorry.

Penguin’s text nearly gave Law a heart attack. He meant that the kid had walked out against medical advice, but Law still yelled at him for not wording things better.

Then he called Luffy’s number. He wasn’t expecting him to pick up, but he did rather quickly. He sounded cheerful, even if he was talking with his mouth full.

“Where the fuck did you go?” Law barked into the phone.

“I was hungry and your tall friend said I could go if I signed some papers.”

“I’m going to kill Bepo,” Law muttered.

“Oh no!” Luffy exclaimed softly. “He was nice, he gave me his number.”

Law sighed into the phone, promised not to kill anyone, and hung up.

He was standing in his living-room, staring at the couch covered in dried blood, and the armchair on which a ghost might be sitting. His house was in shambles, with police tape all around it. Just being there felt weird, like it happened to someone else entirely. But he survived, he thought, everyone did, and he didn’t win in the end.

He ate instant noodles and went upstairs to take a nap, wondering the whole time if Cora was still there, silently judging his bachelor’s habits. He flipped the finger in the direction of the darkest corner of his bedroom, just in case, half expecting something to fall down or break in retaliation, but nothing happened.

He woke up to several messages on his phone. Shachi was talking about a betting pool, and Law guessed he wasn’t supposed to receive that. He found that he didn’t really care; it seemed like they were having fun at least. Bepo was asking him how it went with the police, and if he was alright, each message more frantic than the previous one.

The last message was more concerning than the rest. It was from an unknown number and read,

??? [5:30 PM] – Does this look infected to you?

There was a picture, along with the message, an upside down shot of someone’s abdomen. Law sat up straight and stared at it, because it was Luffy’s wound, his tired brain realized. The sutures looked red and puffy, like he had been moving around too much, or maybe it was the beginning of an infection.

Law [7:42 PM] – Why didn’t you go back to the hospital? Who is this?

??? [7:44 PM] – It’s Nami. Chopper can’t come he has a dog emergency.

Law [7:45 PM] – Why didn’t you call your paramedic friend?

??? [7:46 PM] – We only call Jinbei for emergencies. He’s busy he has a job.

So Law was just a convenient medical provider, it seemed. And ranking below the teenage vet apparently. He was still trying to make sense of what he was reading, when she sent him a pin on Googlog-pose. The little compass indicated a very pricey restaurant downtown.

??? [7:48 PM] – Thank you!

He hated her in that instant, for not doubting for one second that he’d come, and he hated himself for considering it. He’d drop by, make sure the fool didn’t rip his stitches or developed an infection, nothing more. He wasn’t curious at all.

He got out of bed with a heavy sigh and decided he had time to take a shower first, since the kid probably wasn’t actively dying.

When he got to the Baratie – a high end restaurant in a nice part of town – it looked closed. The paranoid part of his brain was already telling him to run away, that it was a trap. He stood there, the strap of his bag of supplies digging into his shoulder, as he tried to warm his hands in the pockets of his too thin hoodie. He should have kept Bepo’s jacket. He was wondering if he should knock, call, or just go home, when a side door opened and Nami gestured for him to come inside.

“Are you closed?” he asked as he stepped into a dark corridor.

“It’s complicated,” Nami said. “Thank you for coming,” she added with a warm smile. “I’m pretty sure he’s fine, but Zoro insisted I sent you the picture.”

Right, the overbearing friend with the swords, of course he’d worry.

“He might have accidentally elbowed him in the side,” she added like it was no big deal at all.

Law felt less stupid for bringing what was left of his first aid bag with him. She led him through the dark restaurant, all the way to the kitchen, from where he could hear talking and laughter. They were all there, chilling around a big table covered in plastic containers and empty dishes.

Luffy spotted him and sprang to his feet, jumping on him and squeezing him in a too-tight hug.

“He looks fine,” he deadpanned, trying to resist the urge to shake him off and push him away.

But Luffy suddenly winced and released him, pressing a hand against his side with a frown.

“You idiot,” Law said. “Sit down.”

Law’s stomach chose this moment to gurgle loudly, and the blond cook made a face and looked at him like the noise personally offended him.

“I’ll heat something up for you,” he said, grabbing food from the fridge.

Law knew better than protesting, so he just opened his bag and put on plastic gloves, while Luffy removed his shirt. He followed his hands as Law removed the sloppily applied dressing – the tape was already peeling off.

The others either gawked – Zoro and Nami – or pretended to be busy with something else – Usopp. The wound wasn’t leaking and it wasn’t hot to the touch. Only one suture had loosened slightly.

“Your hands are cold,” Luffy remarked, as Law disinfected the skin around the wound and applied strips over the stitches.

“Whose fault is that? I got dragged out of bed and it’s freezing outside.”

“Zoro was worried.” Luffy shrugged.

The green-haired swordsman vaguely protested, but he looked relieved when Law slapped a new dressing over the surgical incision and told them he’d be fine.

“Beef gyudon and udon noodles,” Sanji announced, bringing back steaming containers to the table.

“I wanted onigiri,” Zoro muttered.

“You already ate,” Sanji replied.

They started bickering like an old married couple, and Law did his best to tune them out.

“So,” Nami said with a smile that looked a bit predatory. “Let’s discuss payment.”

“For the late visit?” Law said around a mouthful of rice. “Don’t worry about it.”

The girl made a face. “I meant for our ghost intervention.”

“We didn’t chase his ghost away,” Luffy interjected, grabbing the noodles when it became clear Law wouldn’t touch them.

“He didn’t need to know that,” Nami said, cuffing him over the head. “Our captain still took a bullet for you. And your assassins are in custody thanks to us,” she reminded him.

The police were still scratching their heads about the whole thing, and why they wanted to kill a guy like him, Law discovered earlier, which meant that Nami and the others hadn’t spilled whatever buried info they found on his past. And for that he was grateful.

“What do you want?” Law asked.

“You could cover his medical bill, for starters,” Nami said.

“Food!” Luffy exclaimed.

“Not sure which one will put you in deeper debt,” Sanji laughed.

“Why are you closed?” he asked the cook.

“Someone,” Sanji said, looking pointedly in Luffy and Usopp’s direction while they were doing their best to look innocent, “tried to do a little banishing this afternoon, and the screams scared my cooks away.”

“You really should be resting,” Law told Luffy – how he was not sleeping it off was beyond him, he should be in a world of pain right now and yet he just sat there, kicking his feet and licking a spoon.

“You still have a house demon problem in your kitchen,” Usopp pointed out.

“Well maybe I like it that way,” Sanji retorted.

“Freak,” Zoro muttered.

“You’re one to talk, mister ‘I talk to my swords’,” the cook replied.

And just like that, they were arguing again. Law thought he should go home. Instead he stayed and listened as Usopp talked about the dangerous demon he sent back to hell a month ago. From the way Luffy was grinning and Nami shaking her head, Law guessed more than half of the story was fake, but it was still entertaining.

They all pretended not to notice when Zoro grabbed Sanji by his tie and dragged him into the walk-in pantry. Then they started making out in there, and they were absolutely not discreet. Law wouldn’t have guessed they were together, they seemed to match like oil and water. But opposites attracted, he thought, as he watched the kid poke the dressing on his side with a filthy finger, until Nami slapped his hand away.

“It itches,” he complained with a pout.

He seemed childlike right now, and yet Law had witnessed first hand how resilient and powerful he could be. If not for him, he would be dead – or at least still trapped in his closet. He shuddered at the thought.

Law fell asleep with his head on his bundled up hoodie as soon as he finished eating. He looked dead on his feet, but Usopp had seen plenty of victims of poltergeists and other vengeful spirits develop insomnia.

“He can’t sleep well at his house,” Luffy commented.

“I don’t like that he’s staying here,” Usopp said. “He’s dangerous,” he insisted, because everyone seemed to have forgotten that point.

He only got a glimpse of what Robin found on him, before Nami snatched the folder away, but what little he saw was already enough to feed his nightmares for days. He never liked human criminals – at least supernatural creatures had a reason to do what they did.

Nami shushed him. She kept her voice down as she said, “Zoro insisted.”

“Well he’s not here to protect us,” Usopp muttered. There was soft rhythmic banging coming from the inside of the walk-in now, and Usopp groaned. “I think I liked it better when they were arguing.”

“Torao’s a good person,” Luffy said.

“He assaulted you,” Usopp reminded him – apparently he had been the only one horrified to learn that he half strangled Luffy during their sleepover, and how casually Sanji brought it up later.

“He only shook me a little,” Luffy said with a hand wave, “because I talked about his ghost friend. You know how people get.”

“The Dressrosa mafia sent hitmen after him! They nearly killed you!” he hissed.

It earned him more shushing, from Luffy this time, but Law didn’t even stir.

“Pff, it’s nothing.” He shrugged, then groaned because it pulled on the stitches, and Usopp gave him a pointed look. “It’s not his fault.”

“I think,” Nami said, “that he was dealt bad cards from the start, that’s all.”

Usopp knew she spoke from experience – hell, they all had childhoods ranging from awful to properly horrific, but none of them turned to a life of crime before they were teens. Well, except Nami. And Franky. And Sanji. He was starting to see her point.

“They wanted him dead because he managed to get away,” Luffy insisted with a deep frown and an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face.

Usopp wondered how much of that blind faith came from his trademark optimism bordering on stupidity, and how much was just from his ability to read people. He opened his mouth to reply something just to be contrary, when the door to the kitchen banged open and Ace stepped in, looking furious.

Law startled awake and grabbed a knife from the table, brandishing it in front of him. He blinked at Ace, who was half naked despite the freezing temperatures. It seemed to run in the family, even though they were not blood relatives. Then he angled his body to shield Luffy behind him. That was actually adorable, Usopp thought. Luffy grinned and waved at his brother, while Ace just growled.

“Are you the asshole who hurt my kid brother?” he said through clenched teeth.

“His brother?” Law mumbled. His eyes flickered to Luffy who was leaning against his shoulder. “I thought you said he was dead…”

“Wrong brother,” Nami said.

“It’s just Ace,” Luffy said with a smile.

“Don’t change the subject,” Ace spat out.

He still looked murderous, but a little bit confused as well. Law just stared like he was seeing a ghost. He raised a hand to touch him, and Ace recoiled with a step back.

“The fuck is wrong with that guy? Luffy?”

It took a few minutes to convince Ace that Law wasn’t a threat, while he hugged Luffy a bit too tightly. It took even more time to make him sit down with them like a civilized person and stop pacing like the brute he was pretending to be.

Usopp decided to stop voicing his own doubts about the gloomy surgeon. Maybe everyone had a shady past to some degree. That guy clearly had enemies – the way he jumped to his feet and grabbed the nearest weapon told a grim story – but Usopp liked self-sacrificing heroes who stood in front of danger while still half asleep. The more there were around him, the safer he felt.

Once Law was finally awake enough to sense the lingering hostility in the room, he realized that maybe he overstayed his welcome and he started packing his bag. Usopp looked at his beeping phone.

“Looks like Franky needs my help. He’s at the impound and the truck won’t start.”

Luffy yawned and rubbed his eyes; he looked dead on his feet, and Sanji gently pushed him toward Zoro.

“Get him upstairs, he can sleep in the bed tonight.”

It was clear that it wasn’t the first time something like that happened, considering how easily Zoro nodded at the suggestion. The quiet familiarity made Law uneasy, so he left without telling anyone goodbye and walked faster as he tried to ignore the heavy footsteps in his back. Ace caught up with him outside, as he was looking at his Yagara Bull app to see if any driver was in the area.

“Let me give you a ride,” Ace said, and it didn’t sound like he could refuse.

It beat waiting in the cold, he thought, and he followed him to an old pickup parked under a no parking sign. The passenger side was covered in wrappers and empty energy drinks. He just pushed them to the floor and sat down with his bag on his lap.

Ace started driving without asking for his address, and after a few minutes of awkward silence, Law realized they were going in the right direction.

“What do you do for a living?” he asked, wondering if he was a cop, even though he didn’t look like one.

“I’m a firefighter. I know how to make a body disappear,” he added with a wild glint in his eye.

So do I, Law thought, but he knew better than to answer the badly veiled threat.

There was more silence, as Ace maneuvered through traffic, giving him sideways glances in the central mirror.

“I’m just a client of the agency,” Law finally protested, because it seemed Ace was getting the wrong idea. “It’s not like we’ll see each other again.”

“You don’t know how he gets when he likes someone,” Ace said.

“What?” Law stupidly asked, unsure if he heard him correctly.

And then for the first time since he met him, a smile bloomed on his freckled face, like he was thinking about a fond memory.

“You’re fucked, man. He’ll never leave you alone now.”

Law stayed silent the rest of the seemingly very long drive to reach his home while thinking about opening the door and jumping out.

In the days after that, the house still felt slightly too big, but it didn’t seem menacing like before. There were no noises in the middle of the night keeping him on edge, no lights flickering, no nothing. Come to think of it, most of these things were probably the result of Doflamingo’s henchmen trying to mess with his head, rather than his own personal ghost – well kudos to them, because they nearly succeeded.

At one point he called the hospital to schedule an interview with HR. He apologized to Shachi. Bepo sounded ecstatic when he assured him he’d be back at work before the end of the month. Then he started talking about parties and welcome back gifts and Law just hung up on him.

The police called. They told him his would-be assassins were detained at Enies Lobby and that he’d receive a court order to testify. He texted Luffy about it, but the kid’s answer was cryptic at best. When asked if he’d be in court, he replied that he didn’t believe in pressing charges.

When night fell, the house was just too damn silent, he thought, looking at the bullet impact on the wall, while lying on his new couch.

“Cora?” he tried.

But nothing happened, not even a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye. He grabbed his phone, typed a message, deleted it, typed it again. It was stupid, he thought. Absolutely dumb. No one called ghost hunters because they missed their ghost.

Law [7:58 PM] – Do you think you could

He fumbled with his phone, and accidentally pressed send.

“Shit,” he swore, trying to erase it, but it was already marked as read.

Luffy [7:59 PM] – torao!! of course i could! could what?? :)

Luffy [8:00 PM] – have you eaten already?

Law [8:02 PM] – You sound like my friend Bepo.

Luffy [8:03 PM] – the tall nurse who loves teddy bears!

Bepo did have a disturbingly large collection of plushies at home, and Law briefly wondered how Luffy knew about that.

Luffy [8:06 PM] – do you need me to come over? :c

And before Law could even reply anything, Luffy had already typed another message, which vaguely sounded like a threat, even though Law knew better by now.

Luffy [8:07 PM] – don’t move i’m coming for you! Tonight

He sighed and let his head fall back on the couch cushion. There was no stopping him so he didn’t even bother with a reply.

Law was in his kitchen waiting for coffee to brew when the kid got there, in an unremarkable car driven by Nami. Law guessed they were still working on the truck. Their old van carcass was removed from the street only a few days ago.

“This is stupid, you didn’t need to come,” he muttered as he got out on the porch.

“Follow-up visits are free of charge,” Nami said from behind the wheel. “Our idiot captain insisted.” She let out a deep sigh to show what she thought about the idea.

Luffy was still wearing his silly hat and dumb flip flops, but he was wearing a much warmer jacket. When he turned to grab something in the car, Law saw it had the Whitebeard Firefighters Brigade emblem emblazoned on the back. The message wasn’t really subtle, but Law had to recognize it was effective.

Next thing he knew, Nami was driving away, leaving the kid on his doorstep with a plastic bag from the Baratie and nothing else. At least it looked like Law was getting a free meal out of it.

“You want to know if he’s still there,” Luffy said once he was standing in his kitchen, staring at the floor where the jar of tomato sauce had exploded.

It wasn’t a question, not really. More like a very astute observation. Law opened his mouth to answer, trying to make sense of his very confused thoughts and drawing a blank. He didn’t know how much of what he experienced was Cora, and how much was the people stalking him from his dead neighbor’s house. He didn’t miss the drafts of cigarette smoke and how random shit kept falling all the time. Or maybe he did miss it a little.

“Grab some forks,” Luffy said, not bothered by his lack of answer. “Let’s eat.”

The house was silent as they shared food – what looked like lots of different leftovers from his friend’s restaurant. There was a lot of meat and not many veggies, so Law guessed the kid just grabbed what interested him out of the kitchen fridge.

“That couch is much more comfy,” Luffy commented, testing the springs with a bounce or two.

Law made a face. The previous one was covered in dried blood and the movers from the store gave him a weird look when they took it away.

The kid stared at the bookshelf, now fully stoked with medicine books and comics. The only thing missing were his Sora figurines, still in a box upstairs. Law tried to decide if Luffy’s eyes were lingering on Dr. Kuhera’s Anatomy or if it was just his imagination.

“So,” Luffy finally said once he had emptied all the containers. “About your ghost.”

“I just want to talk to him,” Law blurted out – and apologize for not being able to save him, the kid in him screamed.

Luffy put a hand on his knee and Law nearly jerked it away. He clenched his fists and forced himself to remain still.

“Good thing I’m here.”

Luffy winked at him, then he dug into his pockets and threw something over their heads. It fell like rain, crushed purple petals that Law recognized as wisteria.

“What are you…”

Luffy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He put his thumb into his mouth and bit down, hard. The lights flickered. It meant nothing, it was just a coincidence, a faulty wire, or a storm was coming, it didn’t mean that–

All the light bulbs in the room exploded simultaneously and Law gripped the kid’s free hand without thinking.

When Luffy opened his eyes, they seemed different, lighter maybe. The smell of cold tobacco filled the room and Law nearly choked on a sob. Luffy – Cora? – opened his arms and grabbed Law’s shirt when he was too slow to react, pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

“I’m sorry,” Law mumbled.

“I know, I know,” Cora whispered into his ear. “You were just a kid. Stop blaming yourself.”

“You came back,” Law said, trying to blink away the tears and failing miserably.

“I never left.”

When Luffy felt Cora release his body, the TV turned on by itself and cast shadows everywhere in the room. He yawned and rubbed his face. Channeling a spirit was exhausting. His finger throbbed painfully and his head felt too tight.

Torao was still sitting next to him on the couch, and he looked spooked. There were tear tracks on his cheeks, or maybe it was just a trick of the light. Luffy knew by now that it was always best not to comment on other people’s emotions in times like these.

“Told you he was still here,” he said with a weak smile.

“Can you see him? Is he…” Torao turned and looked around, squinting at the shadows.

“He’s…” Luffy hesitated as he tried to explain how it worked, “… here but not here? I guess it’s tiring for ghosts too.”

It didn’t make Torao happy like it should have. If anything he looked even gloomier.

“I’m sorry about your lights,” he quickly added because Nami kept repeating that property damage was not okay.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Torao said. “You’re still recovering.” Luffy looked up and only found concern on his face now. He was worried – about him? “Your finger is bleeding,” he pointed out.

“It’s nothing,” Luffy shrugged.

He found out years ago that a little pain was a good way to focus his energy, enough to invite ghosts into his body. It was still a weird experience.

“What were the flowers for?” Torao asked, picking up a now dried up petal from his lap.

“It’s for dynamic fair.”

“Dramatic flair?”

Luffy could do the channeling without help, but Nami seemed to believe that clients wanted more of a show. And Usopp said something about the plant being used by shamans to sharpen their powers in some cultures. Drawing pentagrams and lighting candles was more fun in his opinion.

“Yes, that. And I’m not allowed to use candles after the incident,” Luffy explained with a deep frown.

It wasn’t even his fault, Usopp had jumped in fright when a door had slammed and stumbled into him. In turn, he had knocked over a few candles. The clients’ curtains had only been a little bit singed, it wasn’t like they had burned the house down or anything.

His phone started dinging, the sound muffled because he had left it in Ace’s jacket pocket, in the kitchen. It was probably Usopp asking if he got murdered. He wasn’t a fan of him coming here alone, but Luffy had insisted. Something told him Torao wouldn’t have liked to have witnesses.

“Can you grab it for me?” he asked, because the thought of getting up right now was making him lightheaded.

All his energy had been eaten by the ghost. He knew he should have brought more meat.

“You should put a password on it, you know,” Torao told him when he came back with his unlocked phone and a glass of water.

“You didn’t,” Luffy pointed out.

“Most people know not to mess with my phone,” Torao said.

Luffy downed the water and sent a bunch of reassuring messages to the group chat.

“How can I thank you?” Torao asked.

Luffy knew he didn’t mean money. He was genuinely grateful to have been able to talk to his ghost, unlike most people, who in turn would take it on him. It wasn’t his fault that their grandpa wouldn’t tell them where he hid the money before his death.

“You could sleep with me,” Luffy suggested.

He felt drained and the idea of being alone was scary right now. Zoro had a theory that he was able to feed off people’s energy when he shared a bed with them, but that sounded silly.

Torao’s expression morphed into barely hidden panic. He clenched his jaw and shook ever so slightly. Damn, now he was spooked again – what did he say… Oh.

“Oh no,” he tried to explain. “I mean sleep. In a bed. With pillows and stuff.”

Torao looked relieved but his aura told him he was disappointed, which was funny, but Luffy was too tired right now to think about it.

“Oh,” Torao said. “I’d like that.”

The room was quiet upstairs. Luffy let himself fall on the bed, flip flops discarded on the floor, his hat carefully set on the nightstand. Meanwhile, Torao looked like he was having second thoughts, as he sat on the edge of the bed. Even Zoro didn’t look that stiff when he found himself in an uncomfortable situation.

“So,” Luffy said. “Big spoon or little spoon?” Torao looked at him like he was speaking in tongues so he continued babbling. “Zoro says he’s a knife, but I know he prefers to be held, and Sanji–”

“Could we just…” Torao started, weirdly hesitant. Luffy nodded encouragingly. “… face each other? But under the covers.”

Luffy rolled over, slipping under the comforter. It was warm, and dark, the light from the room soft and diffuse. He could see the appeal. His headache was starting to calm down already, as he focused on Torao’s calm breathing. His eyes were closed, but he was frowning too much to be asleep for real.

“About your brother,” he said unexpectedly. His eyes looked gray as they found his face in the low light.

“Don’t worry about Ace,” Luffy quickly said. “He means well.”

“No, I mean your other brother, the one who–”

“Sabo,” Luffy whispered.

He wasn’t really sure he wanted to talk about Sabo, not when he was still exhausted from having a ghost use his body as a puppet. But Torao meant well. Torao had opened up about his own past the last time they were in this room, even if Luffy fell asleep in the middle of the story.

“Have you considered the possibility that he never contacted you because… maybe he’s not dead?”

How did Torao know they never found a body to bury after the fire all those years ago?

“I read the story online,” he explained, as if he could read his mind. “Someone’s keeping a freakishly detailed blog about your life.”

Nami could easily shut down that weird rooster head guy’s site, but Luffy said he didn’t mind, so she didn’t. The knowledge that Torao looked him up online made him feel tingly inside.

“I like that idea,” Luffy finally said with a sigh.

It made no sense, because Sabo would have never abandoned them like that – but maybe he had his reasons, and if Luffy wasn’t so damn tired he’d be able to think about it more clearly.

“Now sleep,” he mumbled, closing his eyes for good.

The sun woke Law up, and he felt good for the first time in forever. Luffy was still snoring, drooling on the pillow, his legs tangled in the comforter. Law should have hated that intrusion in his life, but he found that he was too well rested to really mind.

And from the kid’s comments the night before, it sounded like he had already slept in the same bed as most of his friends anyway. Friends. Law had coworkers. He had Bepo who was a mother hen. He had Cora. He wasn’t sure he ever had friends. Luffy was supposed to be his medium, but he never paid for his services.

“Shh,” the kid groaned into his pillow. “You’re thinking too loud.”

He turned and patted his leg awkwardly, as if to tell him to go back to sleep. But Law needed to pee and he needed coffee. He was about to get downstairs when he saw it and froze.

On the nightstand, between the kid’s hat and his own phone, was a small, pink leaf shaped as a heart. But the storm had swept away all of the neighbor’s tree’s remaining leaves, and the windows weren’t open last night.

“I didn’t place it here,” Luffy muttered without turning around.

It made no sense, and yet it didn’t fill him with dread or sadness like it should have. Just nostalgia and the certainty that Cora would keep watching over him.

“Want to help me make pancakes?” Law asked on a whim.

Luffy sat up, immediately awake.

“It worked!” he squealed. “And Usopp didn’t believe me when I said I could manipulate people’s thoughts!”

A tiny part of Law, the part that always worried no matter what, suddenly wondered if he craved pancakes not because he was well-rested and happy, but because the idiot medium planted the thought in his mind. So he grabbed the comforter and pulled.

“Come help or I’ll eat them all without you,” he warned.

“You wouldn’t! Torao’s mean!” Luffy grumbled, but he still rolled out of bed in record time.

Notes:

I really liked writing this one, even though I had to fight plotholes left and right the whole time. What do you think? Let me know if you liked it, or just yell into the comments!

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Gentlethem_Luck on Chapter 1 Tue 07 Jan 2025 07:02PM UTC

💜💔💜

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Gentlethem_Luck on Chapter 2 Tue 07 Jan 2025 07:31PM UTC

💔💚💔

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 2 Tue 07 Jan 2025 07:34PM UTC
  
  Oh no, two broken hearts now 🥲
  
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Sroloc_Elbisivni on Chapter 3 Mon 30 Dec 2024 04:25PM UTC

this was so fun!! I loved all the little details—i’m grinning about Bartolomeo’s blog. also fjdjdkks you got me with the hair + alive Ace thing. I’m glad he’s around to let Law know exactly how much trouble he’s in. I really like your Luffy voice, too—he’s hard to get right and the way you handle him rings very true. especially the ‘attempting to plant the idea of pancakes.’ and the hospital adventures. also shoutout to your Usopp, EXCELLENT usopp narration, especially the bit where he went ‘yeah i love having guys who will jump in front of danger hanging out near me, it makes my life so much easier.’ all of the strawhats delight me here.

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Mon 30 Dec 2024 08:06PM UTC
  
  Awww thank you so much, I love it when people say what they liked in the fic 🤩
  As for writing Luffy... I realized that basically I wrote lots of intelligent stuff, then deleted half of it and only kept the cryptic parts. I love weird, aloof, slightly autistic Luffy from the manga.
  And Usopp... I love Usopp very much, he's such an important character because he's perpetually scared but trying to put on a brave face...
  
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reaperlou on Chapter 3 Mon 30 Dec 2024 10:00PM UTC

This was sweet. Cora being his clumsy self even when he’s dead 🤣
Ngl I kinda thought Doffy was gonna try to possess Law at some point but I was not expecting there to be an actual shootout.

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Mon 30 Dec 2024 10:21PM UTC
  
  Me right now, with my half cooked plans for a second fic in which Law gets possessed by a ghost... 😅
  
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2. 1. reaperlou on Chapter 3 Mon 30 Dec 2024 11:40PM UTC
    
    BWAHAHA FOR REAL!?!
    
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  2. 1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:43AM UTC
      
      Maybe Law started hanging with Luffy and the others a bit, and maybe he picked up a few things and got the stupid idea that he could summon Doffy to, what? Insult him from beyond the grave? Get closure and tell him how he thinks? But the spirit is too strong and ends up possessing him, and the others are all a little too slow to catch up. Maybe.
      
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    2. 1. reaperlou on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 04:04PM UTC
        
        Law fuckin would. And by the end Doffy is being so obvious but by the end he leaves on his own cause he got sick of their shit. If Law wants to torment himself with these fuckers that’s fine but Doffy wants none of it
        
        Last Edited Tue 31 Dec 2024 04:06PM UTC
        
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Rawrlix on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 05:16AM UTC

Absolutely loved this fic!! Paranormal investigator Luffy and crew is such a great space to play in! I was totally expecting Doflamingo to be impersonating Cora, great to actually have him watching over Law and the baddies be real people; also with Ace running in at the end!
Also really enjoyed Bepo/Shachi/Penguin and their shenanigans, great read❤️❤️❤️

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:34AM UTC
  
  I don't think ghost Doflamingo would have had the patience to do that, although that would have been so so cruel...
  I'm happy Bepo & cie sound good because their characterisation is mostly based on other vaguely remembered fics and my own whims...
  
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PourALittleWater on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 05:27AM UTC

This was a really fun read and I enjoyed how all the characters fit into this universe. It was really beautiful to think of Cora staying with Law. I’m super curious how Luffy managed to convince the other strawhats that the paranormal is real. I mean, enough for Nami to finance the whole thing is kinda wild. Though, I imagine it has something to do with arlong. Thanks for the read and happy new year!

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:40AM UTC
  
  So, what you're saying is that there is room for flashbacks? (*takes notes* 😅)
  
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pinkfilledheart on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:04AM UTC

everything was so lovely in this fic !!!! loved it a lot and it was really funny too... the ace and sabo alive thing made me soooo happy I love them so much. thank you for writing !!!!

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:49AM UTC
  
  As I was writing the danger scenes in the middle, I had to re-read the start to remind myself that it was supposed to be silly and not too serious 😅
  As for Ace... He wasn't supposed to be alive at first, but then I thought it would be a nice subversion of expectations, so I'm happy it works.
  
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daggermoon on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 09:01AM UTC

I never was a big fan of AUs, but you might have got me hooked. This was so fun, I would honestly read a whole series of books on this setting and characters. Well. Don't we all love some good ghost stories?
I also liked the fact that Brook is a ghost here. Some room for interesting interactions from the other side?
Thank you for the great read!

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 12:04PM UTC
  
  Sometimes, you decide to write something and you feel that it's too OOC, and everything is a trainwreck, but you still continue because why not. But you're not entirely happy with it.
  And sometimes it just seems right somehow, and it makes sense?
  To be entirely honest, at first I wanted to write another installment in someone else's AU, in which Law is a vampire and the Strawhats have a paranormal agency and fight monsters, but then it strayed too much from it and I decided to make it its own thing.
  
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2. 1. daggermoon on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 07:02PM UTC
    
    It makes so much sense!
    I'm glad you decided to write it this way ♥️
    
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Luffy_in_Love on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 08:41PM UTC

I really like this. You should turn this into a mini series.

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 31 Dec 2024 09:14PM UTC
  
  There is like a 80% chance something like that will happen in the next two to three months. I'm on the vibes part of the process for now. Thanks for the encouragement, it means a lot.
  
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blossomshed on Chapter 3 Fri 03 Jan 2025 10:29AM UTC

this was such a fun romp! (fun for me not so much for law & luffy) really liked how a wider world of supernatural dealings is hinted at while the main threat was ultimately just people. luffy luffying his way into laws life was wonderful 🥰 thank you for sharing such a cool fic!

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Fri 03 Jan 2025 12:44PM UTC
  
  And thank you for your wonderful comment 🤩
  I had fun (making them suffer) too 😅
  
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Valgresa on Chapter 3 Sun 05 Jan 2025 02:48PM UTC

This was probably one of the best one piece fics I’ve read in a while, really good work!!❤️

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Mon 06 Jan 2025 08:03AM UTC
  
  Aww you're too nice with me 🤩
  
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Gentlethem_Luck on Chapter 3 Tue 07 Jan 2025 08:01PM UTC

💜💚💜

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frogfemur on Chapter 3 Sun 12 Jan 2025 06:59PM UTC

Lol not laws panic of luffy wanting to literally sleep with him
This story was really cute and I hope he has some resolution with sabo

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Sun 12 Jan 2025 07:25PM UTC
  
  At first I want to write a slow burn, getting together kind of story, but then the aroace won and they ended up just hugging and platonically sleeping together a lot.
  
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smol_fri on Chapter 3 Tue 14 Jan 2025 03:41PM UTC

aww!! this is so so cute! im so happy that law got his closure after all ughh 🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Sun 19 Jan 2025 08:17AM UTC
  
  Law deserves to be so much happier uuuurg. (I'm writing a second part, where he gets loved, mostly against his will, by Luffy and all his friends.)
  
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2. 1. smol_fri on Chapter 3 Sun 19 Jan 2025 09:16PM UTC
    
    PART TWO WHATTT
    im so excited i cant wait!! law deserves all the love fr 🙌🏾🙌🏾
    
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  2. 1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Mon 20 Jan 2025 06:05PM UTC
      
      I hope writing it will go faster than the first fic :c
      But your excitement feeds my motivation!
      
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yoha_ha on Chapter 3 Thu 30 Jan 2025 06:28PM UTC

Awwww

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Depressionitself on Chapter 3 Tue 04 Feb 2025 04:38AM UTC

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH AHHHHHH!!😭❤

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Tue 04 Feb 2025 03:49PM UTC
  
  Me too 🥹 thank you for telling me
  
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2. 1. Depressionitself on Chapter 3 Tue 04 Feb 2025 09:01PM UTC
    
    Of course!!❤️❤️❤️
    
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mfd on Chapter 3 Fri 07 Feb 2025 06:36PM UTC

Yagara Bull app and Googlog-Pose are SO AWESOME

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Fri 07 Feb 2025 07:58PM UTC
  
  At one point my brain unlocked the concept of AU world building, I don't even know how I thought about that but it works 😅
  
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mfd on Chapter 3 Fri 07 Feb 2025 06:51PM UTC

I ADORE this fic! It's so fun and the Straw Hats previous shenanigans on other ghost missions were fun

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Uhmy (Guest) on Chapter 3 Tue 11 Feb 2025 09:36PM UTC

Amazing just great ... you got me hooked so bad. I would really appreciate another short chapter with the two really getting together. It was amazing journey so far.. and thank you !!! Thank you sooo much! ♡

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Fri 14 Feb 2025 08:12AM UTC
  
  I'm hoping to give you even better than a chapter, I have a whole second fic in mind, complete with new adventures, in which their relationship is the focus point. It's... taking a while because I got distracted, but comments like yours make me want to work on it.
  
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Neeks (neeks_maeve) on Chapter 3 Sat 08 Mar 2025 02:29AM UTC

OMG this was so fun!!!!!! I was so entertained that I didn't even notice the time passing 😅
I would love for there to be a sequel to show Law dealing with his new life as part of the chaotic group that is the Mugiwaras (and who knows, maybe close Sabo's story 👀). But anyway, it was extremely interesting and I laughed a lot at Ace's antics of trying to scare Law and Bepo, Shachi and Penguin just in the corner watching LOL

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1. CatLovePower on Chapter 3 Sun 09 Mar 2025 08:10PM UTC
  
  Technically it was just one big one-shot, and I'm happy to know it reads easily. Part two has been brewing in my head for a while now and I'm going to start writing it sooon (I'm excited about it :D).
  
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2. 1. Neeks (neeks_maeve) on Chapter 3 Mon 10 Mar 2025 10:51AM UTC
    
    YIPPEEEEE LESGOOO
    
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