Archive of Our Own

"A whole year?"

Luffy's voice of outrage rang through the galley. Something clattered to the floor, a fork most likely knocked loose by their captain's shout.

Nami only nodded, her expression heavy. She was the navigator of this ship, and she wasn't the type to joke about their course.

The Straw Hats had arrived at this island earlier that afternoon. It had looked promising in every way — a jagged coastline full of natural cover for hiding a ship, several bustling districts that suggested a thriving tourist trade, and a climate that was just right, not too hot, not too cold. Everything about the island seemed ideal. The only fatal flaw was that the Log Pose would take a full year to set.

A few of the crew let out heavy sighs, their minds drifting back to the nightmare of the island where giants and dinosaurs had roamed.

"I thought having three needles was supposed to prevent exactly this kind of thing," Nami muttered, eyes dropping to the Log Pose strapped to her wrist. "I had a bad feeling the moment all three needles pointed the same way."

The three needles, each sealed within a glass sphere, were all locked onto the very island where they'd dropped anchor. If even one of them had been pointing somewhere else, they could've simply changed course for that island instead. No such luck.

"This island must have an unusually strong magnetic field," Robin mused. "That's probably why it takes a full year to set."

But even her intellect couldn't turn up a way to speed the process along.

Laugh Tale wasn't going anywhere. The Straw Hats had no urgent business that demanded they push on to the next island right away. And unlike a certain prehistoric nightmare of an island, this place offered full infrastructure and every convenience they could need. More than enough to kick back and recharge. But even so. A year was a year. That was way too long to just lounge around doing nothing. And no matter how tight they ran the budget, ten people burning through their savings with zero income coming in? They'd be flat broke inside a month. The outcome was obvious.

"We should get an Eternal Pose."

"It's the only option. It'll cost us, but we'll have to accept it."

Jinbe's suggestion met with agreement from everyone, Nami included. However steep the price of an Eternal Pose, it was still far better than covering a year's living expenses for ten people.

The crew spent the rest of that day arguing over where to go. Like a parrot, Luffy kept shouting, "The middle one!" which did nothing for the navigator's blood pressure. They settled on three islands, ranked as first through third choices in case one wasn't available. Nami didn't want to think about the fact that this ridiculous method was actually how they were choosing their destination.

The next morning, Nami and Sanji headed out to what was apparently the only Log Pose shop on the island. They also collected one stray who had already gotten lost, and kept a firm hold on him for the rest of the walk. Nami had come prepared with a well-stocked wallet, but they ran into another obstacle almost immediately.

"We don't carry Eternal Poses for either of those islands," the owner said, eyeing the three of them with open suspicion, especially toward the one with the hood pulled low. "As for the third, we had one left in stock, but it sold just yesterday. You're looking at three months, minimum, before we get more in."

"Three months. Everything on this island is extreme," Zoro muttered flatly. He was peering at a tiny sailing ship inside a small glass bottle, apparently unbothered by his crewmates' frustration.

The owner's eyes moved toward the three swords visible beneath his cloak and lingered there. Nami clicked her tongue silently and stepped in front of him, blocking the view.

"You could change your route and buy an Eternal Pose for another island instead. We've got plenty of those in stock," the owner said, gesturing toward the showcase.

Various Eternal Poses were displayed, each one housed in a frame of wood and glass, needles all pointing in different directions. Some of the island names were interesting enough. None of them pointed the way the Straw Hats needed to go.

Nami's brow furrowed. "That's not something we can decide on our own."

"Should we call another meeting, Nami-san?"

"Guess we have to," she muttered.

The "middle one, no exceptions" rule had been absurd — but the islands they'd shortlisted were, as it happened, positioned to push them furthest along their route. Luffy couldn't have known that. And yet his single-minded instinct had stumbled onto something remarkable. Even without a direct order from her captain, Nami felt it as something close to obligation: as the navigator of the future Pirate King, she needed to get him to one of those three islands.

She leaned in closer to the owner, putting herself more squarely between him and Zoro, who had started browsing a display of unusually designed Log Poses. At this point, she figured it was worth asking anyway.

"Who bought it yesterday?"

The owner had been watching Zoro with growing suspicion, but now his face suddenly turned pale. He shook his head. "I can't tell you. He's a scary man."

It didn't sound like a matter of customer privacy. Nami, Sanji, and even Zoro, who hadn't been paying attention, all came to the same conclusion at once. A pirate?

Nami thought this might actually end up being simpler than expected. Any pirate who'd made it this deep into the New World would be somebody notable — somebody the Straw Hats would recognize. There might be a brief clash, but depending on who it was, taking something by force wasn't out of the question. After all, she had more than a few absurdly strong crewmates who could handle that part for her.

"You could at least tell us his name. It's not like he can hear us," Nami said, her voice easy and coaxing.

The owner hesitated, then reached under the counter and pulled out a bundle of wanted posters and began searching through them for a name.

"I kept it in case I decided to report him to the Marines… hm."

He let the sentence trail off and focused on finding the right poster. Nami blinked once, then caught Sanji's eye and rubbed her fingers together with a look that said, you think he got paid? Sanji gave a slow nod.

The owner had finally found the poster he was looking for. But instead of flipping it over, he stared at the three of them, visibly anxious.

"Please don't tell anyone it was me. He figured it out and threatened me. Said I could either get carved up or take the hush money. I didn't go to the Marines, but if he finds out I talked, he'll definitely come back to carve—"

"Don't worry about that. Just show us," Zoro cut in, kicking the base of the showcase in impatience. Sanji promptly shoved him back with a sharp look that clearly told him not to make things worse.

The owner steadied himself and set the poster down on the counter. "This is the one."

Nami and Sanji looked down at the paper with a mix of anticipation and concern. As it turned out, the face on the poster was someone the Straw Hats knew very, very well.

Nami's expression brightened instantly.

✱ ✱ ✱

They decided to put the idea of changing course on hold for the time being and returned to the ship. Perhaps Nami's earlier threats had worked, because all of their crewmates were already back on the ship.

She called everyone to the galley and got straight to the meeting. Luffy, who couldn't even focus on the short and simple explanation, perked up the moment she reached the conclusion.

"Traffy bought it?"

"Yep," Nami replied.

When she'd first seen the wanted poster the owner slid across the counter, she'd been just as excited as Luffy was now. It had been a relief that he wasn't just some villain she'd only seen in the newspaper, but someone they'd actually spent months interacting with. But as they walked back, her thoughts gradually turned more rational, and by now her expression had settled into the same skeptical look Robin wore.

Chopper was taking a more optimistic view. His imagination had already sketched out the Sunny happily trailing behind the Heart Pirates' cute little yellow submarine. But the picture in his mind quickly ran into a small problem. The yellow ship needed to be underwater, while the Sunny needed to stay above it.

"But the problem is, that yellow ship's a submarine."

"She sails on the surface too. She's got masts, so she can function as a proper sailing ship. Not just on engine power."

Franky filled Chopper in. He'd actually had the chance to study that hybrid vessel firsthand, having traveled from Zou to Wano aboard it. Of course, her captain hadn't been thrilled about a guest poking around the control room and torpedo bay, so Franky had kept his curiosity within certain boundaries.

"Then we're fine! Problem solved!"

"That's not the problem. The problem is whether he'll allow it," Zoro said flatly.

He had clicked his tongue inwardly the moment he saw the wanted poster back at the shop. He would have preferred a pirate known for plundering civilians — someone strong and stupid. That surgeon wasn't generous enough to abandon stealth navigation and do a former ally a favor.

"Right. Traffy-kun said back in Wano that we'd be enemies the next time we met. I doubt any old ties would matter to him," Robin agreed.

The whole crew fell quiet, turning it over in their heads. For a moment, the only sound filling the galley was the soft clink of Sanji placing small plates of pecan pie in front of everyone.

It was Nami who broke the silence. "Then we do it the pirate way. We steal it!"

"We whaaat?"

Usopp, who had been silent for lack of a better idea, gaped in shock. His outburst was almost immediately swallowed up by Luffy bursting into laughter.

Usopp looked frantically around at the others. Chopper was frozen solid, eyes wide enough to fall out of his head. Everyone else was grinning like this sounded like fun. Normally, Nami was the one whose reactions synced with his and Chopper's whenever they panicked. And she was the one who'd come up with this terrifying plan.

"Nami, are you serious? We're not talking about simple pickpocketing here. You want to steal an Eternal Pose from him?"

"It's the only option. Got a better idea?"

"A less suicidal one, maybe! And who knows how he'll come after us later—" Usopp said, the only one still completely flustered.

Luffy hastily chewed and swallowed his pie as if to shut Usopp up, then slammed his hand down on the table. The cook frowned slightly at his lack of table manners.

"Traffy's not just gonna sit there and take it either. Sounds fun. Let's do it!"

"Fun isn't everything, you idiot!" Usopp hollered.

Luffy was already too far gone, clutching his sides as he laughed uncontrollably at Nami's proposal. He was always a handful, but there were a few moments when he was truly impossible to rein in: when he was furious, and when he was having the time of his life.

"If we succeed, any retaliation is three months away. We can deal with that then. I'm with Nami-san on this," Sanji said, unbothered.

Usopp still had tears in his eyes, but even he had to admit that a three-month window — the same time it would take for the shop to restock — was at least some small comfort. As long as the next island didn't have an equally hellish Log Pose wait, the Straw Hats could put enough distance between themselves and any retaliation.

All the other men, aside from the faint-hearted sniper and the doctor, cast their votes in favor one by one.

"Seems like we've decided," Robin said with a smile. She tended to welcome any crisis or thrill that involved her crew.

Chopper looked vaguely unsettled — as if stealing from Law, someone he'd always felt a quiet kinship with as a fellow doctor, was a kind of betrayal. But his discomfort wasn't obvious enough to sway anyone, and so he went along with the plan too.

"The shop owner said it doesn't look like they're leaving anytime soon. He overheard some of Traffy-kun's crew outside talking about engine parts and the black market. If the submarine needs repairs, they'll probably be stuck here for at least a few weeks," Nami said.

"That big-mouthed guy sure picked up a lot. You're sure he's not going to the Marines? We could get dragged into a mess too, you know," Usopp fretted. He was still holding out hope that he could somehow derail the whole plan.

Nobody was listening, of course.

The Polar Tang would likely be staying submerged to avoid attention, and an island with terrain this dense would make it even harder to find. It was also possible that Nami was wrong, and that Law and his crew had already left the island.

Even so, the Straw Hats weren't ready to give up. Nami, Robin, and Usopp, who had eventually given in and agreed to help, disguised themselves as Marines and started asking around about the Heart Pirates and the black market. Robin, who was more at home in the underworld than anyone, managed to uncover a secret auction house known for handling rare and interesting goods. But nothing beyond that amounted to much. Sanji and Brook, both no strangers to moving unseen, searched through the island's more suspicious terrain, but all it led to were a few accidental clashes with other pirates hiding out there.

A week passed without a single lead on the Heart Pirates' whereabouts. The Straw Hats were starting to wonder if they were chasing a ghost.

"Are they even still on this island? What if the owner just mistook someone else for Traffy?" Chopper ventured cautiously.

He'd been struggling for days to pick up even a faint trace of Law or Bepo's scent. Today that search had involved retrieving their lost swordsman at least seven times, and he was completely worn out.

Sanji felt the same way. The repeated stakeouts without results were exhausting her, but she made a cotton candy to cheer up the youngest member of the crew.

"If it wasn't him, there'd be no reason to pay hush money. And paying him off in cash like that? That's exactly like Law."

Sanji ruffled Chopper's hair and turned away, missing the steady look Nami had been giving her from across the table. Nami took a bite of the cotton candy Sanji had made for her too, eyes narrowing. No texture, too sweet — not usually her thing. Chopper, on the other hand, would probably rush straight into a mousetrap if someone replaced the cheese with cotton candy.

Law was no different. And the cheese was right in front of Nami. Wherever that surgeon was hiding, it would make perfect bait — the kind that might just tempt him into peeking out.

The problem was that even if she dangled it in the middle of the island for all to see, he might already be gone.

"How are we supposed to hold out for three months?" Nami let out a long sigh, staring up at the ceiling. The idea had sounded bold at the time, but after a week of getting nowhere, she couldn't help wondering if it had all been for nothing.

"Come on, Nami-san. It's too early to give up."

Sanji set a cold Americano in front of her, just the thing to wash away the lingering sweetness in her mouth.

Nami smiled faintly at her thoughtful cook and took a sip. Just then, a light tremor ran through the ship. She didn't need to look anymore to know what it was: their newest crewmate, the fishman who'd joined them only a few months ago, surfacing from below and landing on deck.

"Ah, there you are," Jinbe called out cheerfully to the three coming out of the galley, wringing out his soaked shirt.

A week was too short a time to have given up hope entirely, but Nami looked at him flatly. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes. I found the Polar Tang. I widened the search a little, and there she was," Jinbe replied, as if it were nothing.

The three of them blinked. The news came just as their last bit of hope was fading, and for a moment none of them reacted.

"Wait, seriously?" Sanji was the first to snap out of it. She vaulted clean over the second-floor railing and landed on deck.

Nami and Chopper came thundering down the stairs, already calling him the best. Jinbe, who had delivered the news so calmly, looked slightly taken aback when they all rushed him in a group hug.

"You're the one who insisted they'd still be on the island. Why are you so excited?"

"Because we'd basically given up!" Nami cried, her voice ringing out bright and sharp.

Just minutes ago she'd been listlessly picking at her cotton candy. Now she was fired up again. Sanji felt a quiet surge of relief at the navigator's return to form, and joined the rest of them bouncing around in a tangle of arms.

The rest of the crew was off the ship — out gathering information, on recon, or finding their own idea of a good time — so only the three of them were there to hear Jinbe's report on his underwater search.

"They weren't close to the shoreline. They were holding position underwater near the reefs to the northwest. I didn't want to get close enough to be spotted, so I asked a school of mahi-mahi to keep watch and report back regularly on the submarine's position."

"That's amazing, Jinbe! Just knowing they're still here is huge," Chopper said, eyes shining.

"You were all putting in the work up top. I only did what I could in my field. I just wish I'd widened the search sooner."

"No, this is more than enough. You did great. Now we just have to figure out how to get close to that submarine."

Jinbe stayed modest. Nami was already burning with ideas.

With the mahi-mahi keeping watch over the Polar Tang, it was only a matter of time before they had a read on when and where she surfaced and how her crew moved in and out. The goal was to slip aboard during a gap in their guard and steal the Eternal Pose, but that would take more groundwork first. Nami, of course, was already thinking one step ahead — mapping out what they could pull off next with the mahi-mahi's help.

They got on the den den mushi and called the crewmates who'd gone ashore, ordering them back to the ship. Jinbe's find was too big not to share, and they needed to move to the next phase. The faint spark of hope had grown into something far stronger.

✱ ✱ ✱

At nine that evening, a loyal mahi-mahi swam up to Jinbe and reported that the yellow submarine was heading toward the island's northernmost point and slowly rising toward the surface. The submarine had been lingering in the same general area during the day. The island's northern coast was thick with reefs, which was precisely why the Straw Hats had never considered hiding the Sunny there.

It looked like the Polar Tang was planning to surface in that reef-filled stretch of water at this hour of the night. There would almost certainly be crew members going in or out, so Nami got Brook and Sanji ready to tail them. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that Law was a deeply paranoid captain.

"Something's not right. Even with floodlights, weaving through reefs in this kind of darkness sounds risky."

"Must have a really good helmsman," Usopp said, shrugging.

"I think…" Robin said quietly, after a brief pause. "…submarines are equipped with sonar. They can make very fine adjustments with their motors, too. Navigating around reefs would be easier for them than for a sailing ship."

"Then why are you saying it like that? You're making me nervous."

"Well… when Jinbe said he'd found the Polar Tang earlier today, I started wondering whether their sonar might have detected him. Sound waves don't just reflect off inorganic matter."

A brief silence fell over the galley. Sanji quietly muttered, "Shit."

"So we've already been spotted?"

"Sonar doesn't tell you exactly what it's detecting. As long as Traffy didn't get a SUPER clear look at him, he'd probably assume some large sea creature passed by," Franky explained. He turned to Jinbe and added an apology. The large sea creature shrugged.

"I'd really appreciate it if they just chalked it up to a whale shark," Usopp muttered gloomily.

Even with Franky's extensive knowledge of ships, no one could say what other capabilities the Polar Tang might have up her sleeve. Law likely never imagined his former ally would plan to stab him in the back, but keeping the control room and its sonar bay off-limits had turned out to be a wise decision.

Pushing aside her lingering unease, Sanji set out with Brook. Carrying Brook's skeletal body under her arm and taking to the sky with Sky Walk wasn't difficult, but the island was large, and the Sunny was tucked away at a secluded cape to the east, so reaching the northernmost point the mahi-mahi had described took some time. When the reef-lined coast came into view, Sanji lowered her altitude and moved into the trees for cover.

"Sanji-san, I've been thinking. Even if their sonar didn't detect Jinbe-san, wouldn't it have picked up the Sunny?"

Sanji glanced down at her bony crewmate. Twigs and leaves had gotten lodged all through his afro from the rough ride. He was staring up at her. His empty eye sockets reflected no moonlight.

Sanji clicked her tongue. "Honestly? I'm pretty sure they've already spotted us. Unless they stayed up north the whole time, they must've seen the Sunny while circling the island. And there's no way that paranoid bastard didn't find it suspicious that Marines were only asking about the Heart Pirates."

"Then why are we sneaking around?"

"At least he doesn't know what we're after. The Marines didn't tell him, and neither did the sonar. Either way, all we need is the Eternal Pose."

"Nothing left to lose, then," Brook said cheerfully.

Sanji didn't answer. She was playing it cool, but the idea of facing the Heart Pirates head-on, with both sides fully aware of each other, didn't sit well with her. She'd agreed to Nami's plan partly because she'd assumed, naively, that it wouldn't come to that. The conversation Sanji'd had with Law right before leaving Wano still made her a little uncomfortable.

The sea rolled in near-total darkness, the horizon barely visible. It helped that the Polar Tang was painted yellow and that her metal hull reflected the moonlight. Sanji kept herself and Brook hidden in the foliage and watched the ship sitting out on the water.

The deck was empty. She could sense a few presences below the hatch, but more immediately visible were two men pacing across the uneven rocks. Heart Pirates crew, without a doubt. They didn't look like they had any intention of swimming out to the ship.

When Sanji glanced back at Brook, he was already slumped with his jaw hanging open, soul already separated from his bones. A faint wisp of green smoke was drifting slowly toward the men. It was foolish to hope for a miracle, but Sanji still found herself wishing they were juggling the Eternal Pose.

A moment later, a translucent blue sphere engulfed the submarine and the men. When it dissolved, all that was left where the men had been standing were a few small pebbles. That made it clear — Law was on that submarine. Sanji swallowed drily, but the submarine quietly slipped back beneath the surface. The yellow submarine, bright against the dark sea, vanished without a trace. Only then did Brook's soul return to where his body sat hidden among the trees. Sanji exhaled, the tension finally leaving her shoulders.

"So where's the Eternal Pose?"

"They weren't going to conveniently mention that with us listening, Sanji-san."

He slipped his soul back into his bones and let out his usual laugh. "Yohoho." Sanji knew it was foolish to have expected much from ten minutes of eavesdropping, but Brook seemed far too cheerful about it.

"They're planning to set sail in a week. Not very helpful, right?" he added playfully.

Sanji stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging open. Brook held back a smile as he watched the gloom slowly lift from the cook's face.

"You idiot! Why didn't you say that earlier? Let's get back!"

Sanji grabbed Brook by the collar and kicked off the air, launching them both into the night sky. He let out a strangled noise, but she couldn't suppress the surge of excitement at finally having something useful. This operation had veered far from the original plan, but no matter how messy things became, knowing the deadline mattered. And a week felt like plenty. With ten people putting their heads together, they'd come up with something by tomorrow. Sanji was sure of it.

Most of the remaining week passed under closer, more careful surveillance. It might have already been too late, but the crew agreed it would be best not to draw any more attention to themselves. So from then on, only Brook and one other left the ship each day. It had to be someone who could move quietly without incident, which meant Robin, Nami, and Sanji took turns accompanying him.

Two days into the new routine, they finally managed to spot the surgeon, who had been keeping himself well out of sight. That was the good news. It meant they were able to observe when he went out and returned, which routes he took, and how he spent his days. The moment Nami recognized a pattern, she immediately began planning how to infiltrate the submarine. They had two days left, and the crew would need to move the moment they got word that he'd gone out.

Unfortunately, fortune no longer seemed to be on their side.

When Brook and Robin returned to the ship, most of the crew was buried in dozens of large sheets of paper spread across the table — rough sketches and layout plans of the Polar Tang, drawn from the descriptions of crewmates who had once been aboard her.

Brook hesitated before speaking up. "I mentioned that Traffy-san has been carrying the same bag for the past few days."

"You did."

"I'm fairly sure the Eternal Pose is inside."

Usopp dropped his forehead onto the table. "Fine. Let's just wait three months."

He looked ready to rip up his work and give up entirely. Nami quickly swept the papers out of his reach.

"Wait, you saw it?"

"I saw something glassy catch the light inside the bag. Actually, I noticed it two days ago too… but today Robin-san confirmed it by sprouting an eye inside the bag."

Robin nodded, as if to say she was sorry to report it. She added that the name of their destination island was clearly written on the wooden frame.

The mood turned gloomy again. Luffy casually suggested, without thinking it through, that they could just jump him and take it by force, but nobody thought it was worth entertaining.

"If Traffy has any sense, he's not going to stand there while someone steals his bag. He'd trap them in that weird bubble thing of his and cut them up on the spot."

"And the moment he realizes we're after the bag, it's over. He'll hide it somewhere in that bubble where we can't reach it."

"Why doesn't anyone on our crew have superpowers like that?"

Usopp's complaint kicked off another round of half-baked brainstorming. Spiking Law's drink with laxatives at the bar, based on the information that he always spent time in some random bar before heading back (vetoed by Chopper on ethical grounds); Brook's soul stealing the bag (the soul couldn't touch physical objects and wasn't invisible); making an identical bag and swapping it out (they didn't have a blueprint of the bag, let alone a photo taken from afar, materials, or time)…

The only thing they concluded was that the crew had terrible planning skills and far too much imagination.

Then the idea came up to knock Law out and steal the Eternal Pose while he was unconscious. Nobody even managed the kind of smile that says I respect the creativity but not the braincells — yet Nami sat quietly, turning it over in her head.

"That might be the only way."

"What? You actually want to knock Traffy out?" Chopper cried, his eyes wide. As a doctor who believed in human dignity, he couldn't tolerate even mildly unethical solutions.

Never mind that everything they'd already done in this plan was a serious violation of Law's human rights.

"I mean, let's catch him off guard. Distract him for a moment and grab it."

"So now you like my hypnosis idea?" Usopp asked hopefully.

"No, not at all. This is an upgraded version of Sanji's 'spike his drink with laxatives' plan," Nami said, cutting him off. She pushed on before Chopper could object again. "We get him properly drunk. I don't know what his tolerance is like, but if he drinks enough, sooner or later he'll let his guard down."

In the end, at least one of them would have to step forward and confront Law. If the Heart Pirates were planning to set sail in the morning, they had less than thirty-six hours. This wasn't the time to worry about moving quietly or unnoticed.

"Then we should send someone who can really hold their liquor. Jinbe, Zoro, or you Nami," Usopp suggested.

Everyone agreed. Zoro even looked pleased at the prospect of getting to drink freely, even if it was technically part of a mission.

But Nami shook her head.

"No. There's only one person who should drink with him. Sanji-kun."

"I'm sorry, WHAT?" Sanji startled, the words hitting her out of the blue.

The laxative idea had only come up because she'd gotten swept up in the mood — Luffy, Usopp and Chopper throwing out one hopeless suggestion after another. It went against everything she believed in as a cook, putting something like that in food or drink, so it had never been a serious proposal. She'd come up with the initial concept, sure, but she never imagined she'd be the one stuck carrying it out.

"Why me?"

"Isn't it obvious? Even if everything goes wrong, he won't take your heart out."

Sanji felt her heart sink. Nami said it as if it were the most obvious truth — the sky is blue, grass is green, Law won't take Sanji's heart.

"But I can't really hold my liquor… and I'm not exactly light-fingered—"

"You can just pretend to drink. Don't worry about the rest. If he looks like he's out, I'll step in," Nami said confidently.

Sanji looked around at everyone, even more confused than before. She'd half expected Zoro to volunteer, but he just shrugged.

The crew was already moving on to the next point, apparently in agreement that Sanji was going in first. Unless Nami's hesitation came from fear, the crew accepted her decisions without complaint, because she was usually right. Sanji still wasn't thrilled, but she couldn't bring herself to push back any further against the navigator she admired so much.

Once the direction was decided, the plan quickly took shape. The crew stayed up late in the galley going over every detail and contingency. Whether they succeeded or failed, a clash with the Heart Pirates was probably unavoidable — so the more airtight the plan, the better.

Once the last of the crew lingering in the galley had turned in, Sanji went to bed as well. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and forced her eyes shut. She clasped her cold hands together over her stomach. Her hands and feet always went cold when she was nervous. That had never changed.

Over the course of their voyage, she'd spent countless nights like this before, lying awake with a mix of anxiety and anticipation as some scheme waited to be set into motion. On nights like those, her hands and feet usually stayed warm.

This was different. The thought of seeing Law again after the way they'd parted in Wano made it hard to settle.

After the Onigashima battle, Sanji ended up fairly low on Chopper's list of patients. He'd seen her get pulverized on the Live Floor, but she was still on her feet and moving, and she didn't have much in the way of visible injuries. A thorough examination was clearly warranted.

But there were too many patients in front of him who were barely holding on to life and needed immediate attention. Sanji, of course, pushed her own needs to the back of the line, and Law was the one who stepped forward to treat her.

At the time, she didn't think he was the right person to discuss Stealth Black or lineage factors with. Even though she secretly harbored feelings for this ally that went beyond friendship and loyalty. Truth was, she hadn't planned to tell her crewmates everything either. So she stayed quiet while Law dressed her wounds, keeping to herself the fact that she should have been on the casualty list. Too busy concealing the 'mutation' and her emotions to notice that this surgeon rarely acted as a field medic.

That was when he asked. As casually as if he were asking what was on the menu today.

"Black Leg-ya. Want to join my crew?"

In an instant, Sanji's entire train of thought snapped back to reality. The surgeon in front of her was watching her with calm eyes, waiting for an answer. All she could do was blink, flustered, and ask back stupidly.

"...What? Why?"

"Because you interest me."

The chill creeping into her fingertips in Law's grasp back then was much the same as it was now.

Too many thoughts and questions were rolling through her head at once. Because you interest me? It felt like too much had been left unsaid. When had Law decided she was good enough — as a cook, or as a fighter? He'd never been the type to voice his preferences. Except bread and umeboshi. He'd never once praised her cooking or her kicks. He'd only ever watched her with that bored look of his. His gaze followed her shadow like a cat, quiet and watchful, and vanished the moment she turned around.

Oh.

Sanji's mouth fell open. She could feel her pulse beating all the way to her icicle fingertips.

He might have been good at hiding his feelings, but not his eyes.

Sanji quickly pulled her fingers away from his — his fingertips felt warm by comparison. Those amber eyes held steady now, no longer retreating. She could almost feel them burning against her skin.

Her lips moved on their own.

"Sorry. I won't betray Luffy."

She wrapped her other hand around her fingers. Both were cold. Neither offered any warmth.

Law only said he'd expected that answer, then left. As if nothing more needed to be said.

Sanji sat there for a while. The noise of the crowd in the distance felt strangely far away. She stared at her hands, which showed no sign of warming up. She realized the feeling had been mutual, yet it brought her no comfort. Law apparently had no intention of using clearer words. Nor of talking about any kind of future. It had been her choice not to press him. Even if he asked again, she'd give the same answer. She had no intention of ever leaving Luffy and her crew.

And yet something could have been different. She could have at least left the door open with a less definitive answer. Maybe things wouldn't have ended the way they did. She really hated herself for replaying it, for regretting a choice she'd already made.

✱ ✱ ✱

Morning came. Usopp, Robin, and Brook left the ship early and took up position near the submarine's hiding spot, as reported by the mahi-mahi. Their job for the day was to tail the captain. On top of that, there were two things to confirm: whether he was carrying his usual bag with the Eternal Pose inside, and which bar he went into after nightfall.

The moment they sent word, Sanji would enter the bar. Nami, who would handle the pickpocketing, and Zoro, there to stop any unexpected trouble or fighting, would also slip inside and take up unobtrusive positions to watch how things unfolded.

Once the operation succeeded, Luffy and Chopper would cover their escape and create a diversion if needed. They'd have to set sail the moment the Eternal Pose was in hand, so Franky and Jinbe would stay on the ship and follow the operation through the den den mushi. As always, the plan and the division of roles were flawless.

The daylight hours slipped by quickly. As shadows stretched long and the streets began to glow with the color of sunset, Sanji, Nami, and Zoro received word that the target had entered a bar. A little earlier than usual. With departure set for tomorrow, it wasn't hard to imagine he was simply going through his routine at a quicker pace. Even so, the fact that he was following his routine at all was something they had to be grateful for.

The three of them had been passing the time at a café in the city center, and rose from their seats, knowing the moment had come. They'd needed to stay ashore and keep a bit of distance from Law, which had meant moving from café to café all day — by now, each of them had already had at least three cups of coffee.

They reached the bar Usopp had passed along through the den den mushi. Sanji hesitated at the door, strangely nervous, and turned to pick a fight with Zoro for no real reason.

"You hear me, Mosshead? Don't drink too much. That guy's sharp. He'll notice if something's off!"

"I know, I know," Zoro yawned.

Even that exchange didn't help her relax as much as usual. As Sanji lingered with her hand on the door handle, Nami stepped in to give her a nudge.

"Don't worry, Sanji-kun. I'll keep a close eye on Traffy and make sure he doesn't try anything!"

"Uh… okay," Sanji nodded.

Nami and a few others clearly knew something. It seemed like they'd seen through to the truth long before Sanji had — the truth she'd only grasped at the very last moment. If she'd picked up on that steady, awkward gaze of Law's at the same pace as them, things might have gone very differently. But there was no point in dwelling on that now.

Sanji took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The bar was pleasantly noisy. There weren't many empty seats. Here and there, rowdy drunks were clinking glasses, shattering them, and testing their masculinity through arm wrestling and other such contests. A typical back-alley bar. Sanji had quietly worried it might be too early for a decent crowd, which made her a little relieved. Noisy enough that Nami and Zoro could sit quietly in a corner without drawing attention. Normally she avoided this kind of noise, but if it interfered with Law's Observation Haki even a little, she could have wept with gratitude.

Sanji scanned the dimly lit interior carefully. The first thing she spotted was a man sitting alone at the bar. The familiar rounded hat, tattoos visible beneath the rolled sleeves of a black shirt, a long sword leaning against the bar beside him. There was no mistaking him for anyone but the Surgeon of Death. Sanji quickly checked that there were no obvious threats and no other exits, then shifted a few steps to the side. A small black bag sat next to Law. Something made of glass caught the light inside it. Robin had sprouted an eye inside the bag earlier that day to confirm it. Without a doubt, it was the Eternal Pose.

Sanji glanced back through the small circular window in the door. Nami was craning her neck to peer inside, and gave a big thumbs up the moment their eyes met — smiling brightly as if there was nothing to worry about. Sanji forced herself to steady her nerves and gave a single firm nod.

She strode up to the bar and took a spot at a reasonable distance from Law. The bartender, who hadn't paid much attention to the customer lingering at the entrance, looked up at her.

"Bourbon, double. One large ice cube."

"Coming right up."

Sanji rested a hand on the back of a stool and tried to whistle, looking around. Nothing came out but air. She pretended not to care and kept Law at the very edge of her field of vision. He was sitting with his chin resting on his hand, looking lost in thought. A glass sat in front of him, no ice. Sanji realized that her desperate attempt to look relaxed had gone completely unnoticed, yet kept performing anyway, like an actor aware of the camera still rolling.

"Law? What brings you here?" Sanji tapped him on the shoulder.

His gaze slowly settled on her.

Meanwhile, Zoro and Nami watched through the window, holding off on going inside. They were planning to wait until Law was fully absorbed in conversation with Sanji.

"What's with that acting?" Zoro clicked his tongue, already writing it off as a lost cause.

"It's fine. Traffy will let it slide."

Nami was remarkably patient. Law would probably be surprised to run into Sanji in a place like this, which should be enough to make him overlook her acting a little strangely. Then again, he was sharp — he'd probably catch on quickly that she wasn't quite herself. But if Sanji played up the charm, he might just let it go anyway.

"Black Leg-ya."

"…Mind if I sit here?" Sanji asked, keeping her voice light.

Law stared at her for a moment, then gave a small nod. "Go ahead."

Well. Sitting next to him is a start. Sanji pulled up the stool and sat down.

It felt like sitting on thorns. Her crewmates had given her quite a few conversation topics as icebreakers, but not a single one was coming to her now. Honestly, she wasn't sure she could casually say any of them out loud. Their last conversation had ended the way it had — how was she supposed to chat about the weather like nothing happened?

Sanji tapped her fingers lightly on the bar. She was racking her brain trying to figure out how to break the silence, and coming up short. She didn't exactly have experience sidling up to someone she'd turned down. Still, the thought of her crew's future was enough to push her forward.

She watched the bartender prepare her drink and opened her mouth.

"So, what brings you to this island?"

"My crew had business here," Law replied flatly.

He still had his chin resting on his hand, eyes fixed on the amber liquid in his glass. Sanji's gaze followed. She wasn't close enough to catch the smell, but the color and viscosity suggested something high-proof — whiskey, most likely. How many drinks would it take before he passed out? Hard to say. He looked perfectly sober right now.

Sanji studied how clear his eyes looked, gauging how far along he was, and hummed. "Sounds like a good captain."

"So is yours. That's why you said you wouldn't leave him."

It caught Sanji completely off guard. She lost her words. She hadn't expected him to bring that up so directly, so soon.

Without thinking, she glanced back at her crewmates still standing outside the door. They were the only ones she could lean on right now. They were scowling and waving her off furiously, as if to say don't look at us. Sanji reconsidered the idea of having anyone to lean on and quickly looked back at Law.

"Hey… that's… obvious, isn't it? You wouldn't ditch your own crew and join ours either," Sanji said, carefully deflecting.

The words had come out half-formed, and she knew the argument was flimsy. But she pressed on anyway.

Law looked down at his glass and let out a small snort.

"Don't tell me you're still thinking about it."

"Of course not," Law said simply.

Sanji felt a small measure of relief, though something inside her still stung.

The bartender came over and slid a cylindrical glass in front of Sanji. Unlike Law's drink, hers held a reddish caramel-colored liquor with a single large round ice cube floating inside. Sanji picked it up and brought it alongside his glass, which he'd already had a few sips from. "Cheers."

Law slowly turned his gaze toward her. Then he picked up his glass and clinked it lightly against hers. Sanji's expression brightened at once.

"Perfect! They clinked. Let's head in," Nami whispered.

She checked that her long hair was tucked fully under her newsboy cap, then looked Zoro over. He had a dark cloak pulled around him and looked like a suspicious apple seller from a fairy tale. When Nami reached over to pull it closed so the three swords underneath wouldn't show, he let out an irritated groan.

"What are you, my mom?"

The two slipped inside, careful not to let the door make a sound. A table behind a pillar was still littered with empty glasses, but they didn't care and took their seats. It was a blind spot from Law's line of sight.

Sanji took a cautious sip of her whiskey. She rolled it around on her tongue a few times, and the moment she swallowed, it burned down her throat. A strangled cough escaped before she could stop it. She quickly cleared her throat, trying to hide the embarrassing reaction, but there was no way Law had missed it.

"You okay?"

"Uh— it's just been a while since I drank any whiskey," Sanji said quickly.

Not entirely a lie. Whiskey was often used in cooking, so she had occasion to taste it from time to time. She just didn't make a habit of drinking it for any other reason. She generally preferred sweet-and-sour cocktails.

Sanji thought about it uneasily. She needed to reassess one of the key variables: Law's tolerance. She had a vague but firm conviction that he wasn't on the same level as the crew's three heavy drinkers. But right now he was drinking what looked like high-proof whiskey straight. That wasn't a good sign.

Sanji mildly regretted letting her stupid pride push her into trying to look mature. Nearly a decade living with the old man who still treated her like a kid, and this was the result. The urge to look grown-up always showed up at the worst times. She turned the glass slowly in her hands, deciding she'd take a sip every thirty minutes.

Law watched her from the corner of his eye. "What are you doing here alone?"

"Just felt like grabbing a drink. Long day, you know. Besides, I actually like drinking alone," Sanji answered casually.

No response came. Law simply raised an eyebrow and said nothing. Had he seen through the lie?

She chewed on her lip and snuck a glance at Law as he slowly sipped his drink. She'd meant to read his expression. But her strategic thinking had slipped away, and her thoughts wandered in a completely different direction.

Long fingers. The nails were cut short, and the tattoos running over the knuckles and veins of his hands looked menacing. And yet his hands always moved carefully and precisely when he treated someone. They had, at least, when he'd tended to the scrape on her elbow.

Apparently it wasn't subtle enough to go unnoticed. Law set down his glass and his gaze moved to her. His look seemed to ask, What are you staring at? Sanji fumbled for a cigarette, stuck it in her mouth, and lit it. She took a drag and exhaled, pretending nothing was wrong.

"…Why did you get those?"

"What?"

"The tattoos. I was just curious," Sanji said. She lightly brushed the back of her hand with the fingers that weren't holding the cigarette. Law looked down at his own hand.

It was something she'd genuinely been curious about for a while. She was fairly certain Law hadn't gotten them just to look cool.

He flexed his fingers, then murmured, "You think they're strange?"

"No, they suit you. You have nice hands," Sanji said, exhaling another stream of smoke. The tension was easing, and she was starting to feel proud of her acting — maybe she had a talent for it after all.

Law's gaze, which had been on his own hand, shifted to Sanji's resting on the table.

"Yours too."

Sanji nearly choked on the smoke. She closed her hand into a loose fist and lowered it under the bar.

"Well… I'm a cook, so I take good care of my hands. Though I guess it's the same for you, being a doctor," Sanji said, just to say something.

She waited for him to answer about the tattoos, but he said nothing. He didn't seem to be in the mood to share. Wondering why everything she said felt like one misstep after another, Sanji slipped her fist quietly into her pocket. She just didn't want to look at her hand anymore. It made her too self-conscious.

All of this, of course, was being watched by Nami and Zoro. The bar was loud and they were too far away to catch the conversation, but it wasn't hard to guess what was going on.

Nami took a sip of her beer and muttered, "Are they seriously talking about hands right now? What is this, an actual date?"

"Tch. Childish," Zoro scoffed.

He set his empty glass down on the table with a thud and snapped his fingers at a server who happened to be passing by to clear a nearby table. Nami grabbed his arm quickly and pinned it down.

"Hey! Told you not to draw attention!" she hissed, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"We still need another drink…" Zoro muttered under his breath.

Nami was sure the commotion hadn't been that noticeable. So how had Law ended up glancing over anyway? She pushed Zoro's head down onto the table and spun herself completely the other way, pretending nothing was wrong while she kept chatting with the server. Her heart was pounding the whole time.

When she carefully checked the situation again, pulling her cap down a little lower, Law had already looked away. He was holding out his nearly empty glass toward Sanji.

"Cheers."

"Hm?"

"You seem to like that part."

Sanji hesitated, the half-smoked cigarette back between her lips. It would be rude to clink glasses and not take at least a sip. The thirty-minute interval she'd promised herself wasn't anywhere close to being up, but she picked up her glass and touched it to his anyway. She was focused on barely wetting her lips when Law made an unexpected move. He tipped back the last of his drink, then grabbed his bag and sword and started to stand.

"Where are you going?" Sanji grabbed his shirt.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

"Heading back."

"Come on, have another one!"

"…Didn't you say you liked drinking alone?" Law asked suspiciously.

He wasn't the type to enjoy pointless chatter. Anyone would be, especially with someone who had once turned him down. Sanji thought fast.

"I- I do, but not tonight. I want to drink with you."

She clearly had no idea how that sounded.

Law stared at the cook making such a strange insistence. Eventually he sat back down on the stool and set his things down again. He ordered another drink, looking completely uninterested, and Sanji exhaled with quiet relief.

"…Can you let go now?"

Sanji hurriedly released his shirt.

This plan was not going smoothly. Clearly not. They should have prepared a contingency for what to do if Law tried to leave before the pickpocketing was done. Sanji — and, she guessed, her crewmates — had made the mistake of assuming that his feelings for her were strong enough that he'd never be the first to get up and go.

She watched the bartender calmly bring out a fresh glass and a bottle of single malt whiskey. Once Law finished this drink, he would try to leave again. And this time she wouldn't be able to stop him, unless she could bring up something interesting enough to make him want to stick around. Unfortunately, Sanji didn't have Usopp's talent for that kind of thing. She couldn't picture Law listening with shining eyes no matter what topic she threw out.

She took one last long drag from the last of her cigarette, and an idea came to her. Smarter than the laxative idea, still pretty stupid, but probably effective.

As soon as the bartender set a fresh glass in front of Law, Sanji stubbed out her cigarette and raised her glass.

"Cheers!"

"Isn't that a bit fast?" Even so, he lightly clinked his glass against hers.

Sanji shook her head. "I hate getting drunk slowly."

She took a silent breath and looked down at her glass for a moment. The whiskey was barely touched — just a sip or two — and there was still an ocean of it left.

Zeff's voice suddenly echoed in her head. Years ago, back when she was still young but already dreaming of becoming a great chef, he had decided she needed to develop a palate for alcohol, and set a glass of whiskey in front of her.

"Listen up, little eggplant. This isn't beer — you don't throw your head back and chug it. You take your time. Appreciate the color and the aroma. Savor it."

Sanji mentally apologized to Zeff and to whatever distiller had worked hard to make this fine whiskey. She hoped the soul of the first-rate chef within her would look the other way for a moment — and then knocked the whole glass back. The original plan had been to get Law blackout drunk, but he showed no sign of cooperating. So she'd decided it was better to get there herself and make herself his problem to deal with. She desperately hoped Nami would figure out what she was doing.

As Sanji set down her nearly empty glass, the swordsman, the navigator, the bartender, and even the surgeon beside her stared in shock. She barely managed to hold back the tears pricking at her eyes as her throat and stomach burned.

This was all because of Luffy. That rubber idiot really ought to appreciate his cook's sacrifice.

Sanji calmly reached for another cigarette. Law, whose jaw had practically hit the floor, had finally closed his mouth. She was playing it cool, but the tips of her ears had already gone red, and the fingers holding her lighter were trembling slightly.

"That's enough for tonight. You should head back, Black Leg-ya," Law said quietly.

"…Why?"

"Only drink what you can handle."

He seemed too focused on watching the small swirl in his glass as he turned it. He had to be — otherwise he would have noticed the subtle shift in the expression of the swirly-browed cook sitting right next to him.

Sanji was clearly irritated. She knew Law was a few years older than she was, but she had never once wanted his advice. She'd reflect on her stupid pride later, but right now her jaw tightened again.

Not a chance.

She ignored his advice and called the bartender over and ordered another of the same.

"I can handle it. You know what? I can outdrink Mosshead," Sanji insisted.

Law didn't stop her, but shook his head. "He's beyond human. You are not."

"Then you're wrong about me."

"If you drink all that and pass out, I won't be able to help you."

Sanji took a drag and stared at him. The alcohol and nicotine made her sway slightly, but she could swear her head was still clear. She lived by a simple rule: if someone took a swing at her, she swung back.

"No, you'd help me. You liked me."

Then again, maybe her head wasn't so clear after all.

Even she was startled by what she'd just said. She wanted to coolly conclude that maybe this was just what happened when you downed a double shot — but her rational mind wasn't quite up to that level of composure right now. She slowly dropped her head, realizing she'd completely messed it up. She was certainly better at controlling herself than some of her crewmates, but that was when she was sober.

Law said nothing and took a few sips of his drink. Sanji finished the rest of her whiskey miserably. If she didn't still owe him an apology, she'd happily stick the whole ice cube in her mouth right now. She needed to stop her drunk tongue from running loose.

"I shouldn't have said that," Sanji murmured.

If Law stormed out in disgust right now, she wouldn't have a word of defense. However he'd once felt about her, she had no intention of using it against him as a weakness. She was after what was in his bag, yes — but she at least wanted to preserve his dignity.

Law turned his head away from her entirely, rested his chin on his hand, and let out a sigh. Not loud enough to be obvious, but the irritation came through clearly enough. Sanji carefully glanced back at Nami and Zoro. She desperately needed any kind of support.

Nami stared back with wide eyes and a shrug, as if she had no idea what was going on. Zoro, on the other hand, furrowed his brow, pointed at Law, then crossed his clenched fists in an X in front of his chest. Sanji had no idea what that meant. What… fight him? She squinted and stared at Zoro for a long moment. Nami punched him in the shoulder.

"Are you crazy? A hug? Out of nowhere?" Nami hissed.

"At this rate, we'll either be here all night or the cook passes out first. I heard his crew say Traffy likes strong liquor," Zoro muttered, rubbing where she'd hit him.

Nami stared at him, then quickly glanced toward the bar. They'd both seen the bartender set what looked like whiskey in front of Law earlier. That didn't tell them much about his tolerance. And from here, they couldn't tell whether his face had gone red, whether his eyes had glazed over, or whether his words were starting to slur.

"Why are you only telling us this now?"

"Would it have changed anything? You were gonna send her anyway," Zoro said, sounding bored.

Nami glared at him but couldn't find a comeback. He wasn't wrong. Even if everything went wrong and the plan got exposed, Sanji would be fine. They'd known that going in, and they would've sent her to the front regardless.

"Still, a hug is too much! He's going to think she's crazy."

"He'd like it. Traffy's a guy, isn't he," Zoro said flatly.

Nami tried to picture Law behaving like the kind of guy Zoro meant. Maybe her imagination just wasn't as good as Chopper's, but she couldn't make it work. What the crew had noticed of Law's feelings showed only in his terrible ability to hide where he was looking. They'd never seen him make any effort to flirt with Sanji. In fact, he treated most people like rocks that talked back.

Nami shook her head slowly.

Getting no help from her crewmates, Sanji tried to regain her composure. She stubbed out her cigarette with half of it still left and waited for the spinning in her head to settle. The nicotine faded and the alcohol hit her all at once, making her suddenly feel exhausted — but she blinked hard and pushed herself to stay sharp. She started by tapping Law lightly on the shoulder. He turned his head halfway and looked at her from the corner of his eye.

"Sorry."

Sanji managed an apology. The same lips that had been flapping so shamelessly just minutes ago now felt heavy and stuck. The bartender cleared her empty glass and set down another, but she didn't notice.

"But I did want to drink with you tonight. And when you got up to leave so quickly, I kind of panicked, so…"

Sanji's voice trailed off. Partly because she could hear her words slurring, and partly because she wasn't very sure about what she was saying.

Why was she backing down like this? Even she thought it was embarrassing. Her crewmates had probably expected her to wrap Law around her finger and leave him a complete mess. Sanji herself hadn't expected to be perfectly composed around someone she had feelings for — but she also hadn't anticipated looking this pathetic in front of him.

Still, she needed to recover the situation. Which meant keeping him from leaving.

"Why did you want to drink with me?" Law asked out of nowhere.

Those gold eyes were fixed on her, clear and direct, and Sanji hesitated. The honest answer was to watch you drink yourself into the ground — but she wasn't crazy enough to actually say that. She stalled, caught off guard by a question she hadn't thought to prepare for.

"I don't know… it's just been a while, and I'm happy to see you…?"

Well, it wasn't entirely a lie. If she had to choose between glad and disgusted to describe what she'd felt when she'd spotted Law and gone over to him, it was clearly the former. Her heart had been hammering and her breath had nearly stopped — but the version of herself she was pretending to be wasn't someone who felt those things. He had no way of knowing how cold her hands and feet were right now, underneath all the composure she was faking.

Law let out a quiet "Ah." He nodded and took a sip, and Sanji breathed out quietly and took a sip of her fresh whiskey. Water would have been better for the thirst, but calling the bartender again was very low on her list of priorities.

What now? How do I keep him here any longer? Sanji stared down at the round ice cube slowly shifting in her glass. To break the awkward silence, she'd have to scrape together whatever nerve she had left and force some kind of small talk. Law had said he was over it, so all she could do was brazen it out, start chatting like none of it had happened, and hope he wouldn't think she was being cruel.

While the two at the bar were drinking slowly, Zoro and Nami's table had already seen several rounds of refills. Nami was watching carefully as Law and Sanji seemed to break out of their weird stalemate and ease into something resembling normal conversation.

"Something's off. Sanji-kun's not usually like this. She looks all flustered around him."

"That's what I said. Getting him drunk is going to take forever. It'd be faster if that idiot cook just pulled him into a hug," Zoro said, unbothered.

Nami hated that she was starting to agree with his idiotic suggestion. Their target wasn't going down nearly as easily as expected, and was even drinking slowly — compared to a certain someone who guzzled by the barrel. Even so, there was no way she could send Sanji new instructions at this point, let alone something as absurd as telling her to hug him.

[Nami, how's it going? Is Traffy drunk yet?]

[Naamiiii. I'm hungry. When are you guys coming out?]

Chopper and Luffy's whining crackled through the tiny den den mushi she had tucked in her ear. She hissed at them to wait a little longer and turned her attention back to the bar.

Almost all the remaining empty seats had filled up. The only empty stools were the ones around Sanji and Law, as if the two of them were in a world of their own. Nami hadn't brought a watch, but she was sure a good while had passed. After all, there were quite a few empties on the table. She wasn't the type to drink just for the sake of it, so Zoro had downed most of them.

The plan was for Sanji to signal the backup team once Law was drunk enough, but she wasn't looking their way anymore. Whatever they were talking about, at least she looked less awkward than she had earlier.

"You think Traffy still likes her?" Zoro asked out of the blue. Even he must have been getting bored if he felt the need to start a conversation.

"Looks like it. You can tell by the way he looks at her."

Thirty minutes ago Law had seemed slightly annoyed, but now he was half-turned toward Sanji. She was the same. The difference was that she occasionally dipped her head unsteadily — probably the alcohol, Nami figured — or glanced over at the bartender, while Law kept his eyes on her the whole time.

"Imagine if it were me or Robin sitting there. Traffy-kun would've downed his drink and vanished the second we said hello. He's only sticking around because it's Sanji-kun," Nami said with a faint smile. For someone with such a fearsome reputation, that surgeon had a surprisingly soft spot.

If Sanji suddenly threw her arms around Law right now, or even kissed him, he'd be completely stunned — and it would be one hell of a show. The latter would definitely be the kind of story that lived on for years at the crew's drinking table.

But the problem was Sanji.

"I doubt she'd go that far. You think she'd actually hug him if we asked her to? She's terrible with guys. She wasn't even comfortable coming out here."

"She would. If you told her to," Zoro said, deadpan.

And it was true. Sanji would move heaven and earth if Nami asked. Compared to that, cozying up to Law was nothing.

"Should I actually tell her to do it?" Nami said, half-joking.

Just then, Sanji, who had been quietly talking with Law, suddenly burst into giggles and clapped her hands. Zoro and Nami broke off their discussion and whipped around to look. Law was staring at her with an expression of mild bewilderment, which suggested whatever he'd said hadn't been that funny — she was just drunk and overreacting. Her second double was nearly empty by then.

Both of them knew exactly what Sanji was like when she was drunk. It didn't happen often, but when it did, she laughed too easily and too much.

"She's that drunk. Think she'd even understand you?" Zoro muttered skeptically.

Just then, their target suddenly pulled another unexpected move. He picked up Sanji's glass, drained what was left of it, and stood up. It looked like he was finally going to send her on her way.

Sanji looked up at him, startled, but Law was already moving just fast enough that his sluggish drinking partner couldn't grab him, pulling his wallet from his bag. She realized her half-drunk state had produced an unexpected side effect. She wasn't nearly drunk enough to be a real nuisance yet, but he was already trying to end the night.

Then again, maybe now was exactly when she had to act. It wasn't the timing she'd hoped for, but when had any part of this mission ever gone according to plan?

Law set down a few bills and stepped toward her. "Black Leg-ya, it's time to—"

"No! I'm not going."

Sanji dropped face-first onto the bar and threw a full tantrum. She'd never even done this as a kid, not even at the market with Zeff when he wouldn't buy her something she wanted. Her face was burning all the way up to her scalp. When she got back to the ship, that rubber was going to pay for every last bit of this humiliation.

"Wow, what a sight…"

"No, no! Sanji-kun! Over here, over here!"

Zoro watched like it was someone else's problem. Nami was whispering frantically, desperate for Sanji to look their way, but she couldn't risk raising her voice.

Law looked genuinely flustered. He clearly hadn't built up much immunity to people behaving unreasonably — something the crew had witnessed more than once in how he handled Luffy and Zoro.

While Law was briefly distracted by the bartender coming over with his change, Sanji quickly flicked her eyes toward Nami and Zoro without lifting her head. Her expression said What do I do? Nami, throwing caution to the wind, pointed at Law and mimed a kiss, squeezing her eyes shut and puckering her lips.

Sanji's eyes went so wide they looked ready to pop out. What? A kiss?

That was definitely not part of the plan. She stared at the two of them, bewildered. There was no way that idea had come out of Nami's efficient mind. It had to be the unfiltered brainwork of the smirking Mosshead beside her.

"As if, you shithead! How crazy do you want me to look?" Sanji screamed. Of course she didn't make a sound, so none of that outrage actually reached Zoro.

The bartender was handing Law his change. Nami had to get the message across again before Law spotted any of them. In her urgency, she pressed two fingers to her lips, then moved as if to tap them against Zoro's cheek. Instead, her fingers ended up touching his lips as he turned toward her at exactly the wrong moment. A tragedy.

"The fuck!" Zoro shot to his feet, knocking his chair over.

Loud as the bar was, it was enough noise to turn heads. Law had just pocketed his change and was starting to look in that direction.

Sanji shot to her feet, took his face in both hands, turned it toward her, and pressed her lips against his. She was, in her heart, cursing Luffy for what felt like the hundredth time. At this point she needed someone to blame.

Nami, who had been yelling that she was the one disgusted while stomping all over Zoro, and Zoro, who was taking the beating, both froze and stared. Sanji squeezed her eyes shut and pulled Law's face closer. His tall frame bent down awkwardly with it.

Please! Now! Do it NOW, Nami-san!

The burning that had torn through her throat and stomach when she'd thrown back the whiskey was now spreading through her entire body. For the moment, Law was frozen in shock, but any second now he might shove her away and carve her into a hundred pieces. Nami had to get the Eternal Pose before that happened.

Then one of Law's hands grabbed the back of Sanji's head. For a fraction of a second she braced herself to be grabbed by the hair — but the force moved in exactly the opposite direction. He was pulling her closer.

His lips, which had been perfectly still, softened and began to move against hers. A shiver ran down her spine. Startled by the sensation, Sanji pulled her hands from his face and tried to push him back. His chest, under her palms, was pounding.

The whiskey tasted sweet for the first time. Sanji had, at some point, had grabbed his collar hard enough to wrinkle it. It was the minimum show of resistance she could put on for Nami and Zoro. It did not matter how messy the setup was or how reckless the distraction had been. This was a moment she'd secretly imagined and dreamed about enough times to want to slam her own head into the counter from embarrassment.

And yet it was everything she'd wanted.

Then someone in the middle of the bar whistled, and Sanji came back to herself. She cracked her eyes open to take stock of the situation. Law's eyes were closed. She hadn't expected to find herself admiring his eyelashes from this distance — but she needed to focus. Because Nami was creeping up behind him, true to her nickname, the Cat Burglar. She was a practiced pickpocket, and she worked fast and quiet. If she'd had the Op-Op Fruit powers, she could have stolen someone's organs without leaving a trace.

Nami was now two steps behind him. She caught Sanji's desperate eyes and gave a small nod as if to say, You're doing great. Just a little longer. The bag was within reach. She could even see something glass catching the swinging light above the bar. More precious than any diamond, and now almost in her hands.

But before her fingertips could feel the glass, the bag suddenly slid out of reach as if something had snatched it away. It was in Law's hand — the same hand that, a moment ago, had been pulling Sanji closer. His lips were still damp from the kiss as he turned to Nami with eyes cold enough to freeze her solid.

"Nice try," Law said coolly.

At that moment, Zoro drew his swords and lunged. But Law was faster. He opened a Room that swallowed the bar whole and vanished without a trace — bag in hand, and Sanji in his arms.

All that was left where they'd been standing was a single pebble, dropping to the floor.

The onlookers murmured as the pair who'd looked like they were in a romance movie disappeared into thin air — up, down, nobody could say. Nami stood frozen for a moment before a whisper of despair escaped her lips.

"…We're screwed."

She snapped out of it and spoke into the den den mushi in her ear.

"Emergency! Everyone! Find Sanji-kun!"

✱ ✱ ✱

In the blink of an eye, Sanji found herself standing on a cool, quiet alley paved with stone. She swayed, and Law steadied her by the arm. A wave of nausea hit without warning and she clapped a hand over her mouth. It was only natural that going past your limit would do that, but she'd barely managed to stay on the right side of that line tonight. It was just the sudden, unfamiliar teleportation turning her stomach. Even so, actually throwing up here would be the absolute worst, so she focused on keeping it down.

Sanji stood there with her head down, breathing slowly, acutely aware of the gaze boring into the top of her head. When she finally looked up, those cold amber eyes — the same ones that had terrified the Log Pose shop owner earlier — were cutting right through her. She noticed the bag was still on his shoulder, but forced herself not to even glance at it and tried to step back. Her back and heels hit the wall immediately.

"You played me," Law said evenly.

Shit, shit, shit. Sanji's brain scrambled. The alcohol felt genuinely gone. Right now she needed to think less about stealing the Eternal Pose and more about keeping her limbs attached. His eyes were sharp enough, his voice low enough, that she briefly considered pulling out Usopp's signature move: abandon all plans and beg for your life.

Sanji decided her first priority was to calm him down and defuse this uncomfortably close standoff.

"Okay, listen. I know you're angry, I get it. But there's a reason for all of this."

Law blinked once. At a glance it might have looked like go ahead, I'm listening — but it was closer to the opposite. Whatever she said, it wasn't going to land.

"We wanted to talk to you. There's… a situation."

"I know that, Black Leg-ya. What I don't know is what kind of situation would make you, of all people, kiss someone you clearly dislike."

Sanji's stomach dropped. "I don't hate you! And the kiss was— Wait, you knew?"

Law let out an irritated sigh. He finally took two steps back, but Sanji still felt suffocated.

"There was quite a bit of evidence that you'd been sloppy. Is it really that surprising? Off the top of my head: the school of fish that kept circling after our sonar caught a fishman, three Marines wandering around an island with no base, no ship, and no commanding officer… and your terrible acting," Law explained calmly.

Sanji felt her face go warm. Which meant Law had noticed something was off from the moment she'd approached him — and had been playing along.

It occurred to her that maybe they shouldn't have spent weeks wondering if the plan might work. They should have just stormed the Polar Tang, knocked Law out, and taken the Eternal Pose by force.

"Alright then. You already knew everything, so let's just get it out in the open. Why did you toy with us?"

"We had reasons to keep a low profile on this island. Getting tangled up with you would've made that impossible. But I was curious why you were so desperate to find me," Law said, tilting his head slightly.

It was obvious he was waiting to hear what the situation actually was — but Sanji didn't answer right away. He'd already caught on that they were after the bag. Whether to lay out the full story, though, was another question.

Just then, Luffy's voice rang out in the distance, shouting their names as he bounced across the rooftops. The two of them looked up at the same time. All that was visible above the alley was the dark night sky, and they were hidden in the shadows, but it felt like only a matter of time before he found them.

Sanji quickly gauged the distance to Luffy with her Observation Haki and was about to call back when Law grabbed her by the shoulder and created a Room again.

"No, wait, not again—"

Sanji's vision lurched again. The next moment she found herself sprawled on top of Law. He lifted her upright and set her down a little distance away, then settled back onto a wooden crate with an infuriating air of composure.

Sanji's stomach rolled as she looked around. She could faintly hear waves and smell the salt in the air. It looked like an abandoned warehouse close to the sea. Luffy's voice was gone entirely now, which meant she'd been moved somewhere far from the town in an instant.

"Can you stop doing that? Look, I get that you have questions, but I didn't volunteer for this shit! I was just bait, okay? Go talk to Luffy," Sanji snapped.

Law's eyes narrowed for a moment. He gave a short scoff, but his eyes weren't laughing at all. "That'll be difficult. I took the bait because it was you. And I'm not letting you go. Not after that."

Law got to his feet. Sanji had been about to call him petty bastard, but she faltered and started backing away. He opened a Room that filled the warehouse entirely, and it was obvious that no matter how fast she tried to get away, she'd end up right back in front of him.

Pinned with nowhere to go, Sanji watched him close the distance in an instant.

"So tell me. What were you trying to get by using my feelings?"

Sanji noticed her lips trembling and quickly pressed them together between her teeth. She kept her eyes fixed on the hand resting on his sword and clenched her fist, only then realizing her fingers had gone cold again.

Law was standing close enough to take her heart, and he'd had more than enough chances. And yet he still hadn't drawn his sword, only pressed her to talk. Just as Nami had said. As surely as the sky was blue and the grass was green, he wouldn't hurt Sanji.

The fact that his feelings for her clearly hadn't gone anywhere made her this happy, and he had no idea.

"…I didn't mean to use your feelings. Like you said, we're sloppy — not calculating enough to come up with something that vicious," Sanji muttered.

The idea that Law's feelings for her could be leveraged might have been quietly underlying the plan all along, but she genuinely hadn't wanted to use him. Because instead of writing off what he felt as something simple or foolish, she'd been truly glad. Because she empathized with it. She wasn't even the kind of ethical doctor who believed someone's dignity should be preserved simply because they were human.

"But if you were forced into this, that means your crewmates know about what happened between us—"

"No, you dumbass! Why are you so stupid? They don't know anything about that! I never told them! Because if I did, they'd find out how much I regret what happened, ah— goddamn it—" Sanji swore under her breath and dropped into a crouch. "…I don't hate you. If I really hated you, why would I bother acting at all?"

Her feet felt frozen inside her shoes. Sanji buried her face in both hands and idly wondered whether Diable Jambe might warm them up. Any distraction would do, if it meant the embarrassment might ease a little.

She heard a rustling beside her as he slowly lowered himself to her level. What sounded like his sword was set down on the floor.

"Black Leg-ya."

"Shut up. You're such an idiot. How does someone who knows everything miss something this obvious?"

A quiet laugh from Law. Sanji ignored it and pressed her face deeper into her hands, ignoring even the dull ache from her fingers pressing against her eyes.

"Look at me."

Law's fingertips touched her fingers. He easily pulled them away from her face and held them lightly. Sanji could feel his steady gaze on her. She thought she could make out the faint curve of a smile at the corner of his mouth — but she kept her eyes fixed somewhere vague around his shoulder. She had no intention of letting him see her face, which was undoubtedly a blotchy mess.

Law tightened his grip on her fingers.

"Correct me if I'm wrong. So you won't betray your captain, but you like—"

"—Yeah, right, genius," Sanji cut him off with a mutter.

Her face was burning. Coming from the guy who said she interests him. Sanji realized, too late, that she should have thrown the same words back at him.

"Good to know," Law said with satisfaction.

Sanji bit down on her lip and spent a generous moment mocking his tone in her head. It was the only thing keeping her heart from leaping out of her chest.

Just then, the faint shout of a boy reached them again from far away. Luffy's search seemed to be moving in their direction. Law clicked his tongue quietly and pulled her to her feet, still holding her hand.

"So. What do you need?"

Sanji finally glanced up at him. The eyes that had been blazing with betrayal not long ago now burned like a calm fire.

Still, Sanji wasn't convinced. After everything they'd pulled, would Law suddenly do her whole crew a favor? But then again — if there was any chance this could end the way Usopp had originally hoped, in a peaceful conversation, wasn't she the one who should handle it?

Right now, Law looked ready to forgive her even if she'd spiked his drink.

"A way to get to Eigis Kingdom. That's what we need."

"Eigis Kingdom?"

Law seemed to turn it over for a moment. He let go of Sanji's hand and reached into the bag. He pulled out a small glass object that glinted in the light — the Eternal Pose every one of her crewmates had been dreaming about for two weeks.

Law glanced at the name on it and held it out without hesitation. "Take it."

"What?"

Sanji stared at him, eyes wide. Just like that? Is this some kind of trick? Looking again, Law was the one who seemed puzzled.

"I assumed you were after the coin I won at the auction."

Sanji's mind flashed back to Robin mentioning an auction house. A secret auction house where interesting items showed up.

Sanji worked her lips in confusion.

"Why would we want that— no, that's not the point. This is your next destination."

Law looked like he was about to explain just how rare that coin was, but held it back and shook his head. "…It isn't. We were heading for an island no Eternal Pose points to. There's something we need to buy there."

"You mean engine parts? From the black market?" Sanji asked, jaw dropped.

Law raised an eyebrow as if to say, you already know everything, don't you.

"We needed a few Eternal Poses to calculate the route. I thought they'd be useful for comparison, so I'd been carrying them with me and stopping by the shop every day, but it was always closed. I assumed it was because of me, but it was you."

Sanji was still reeling. All that effort, and it had come down to something this cheap. She couldn't stop thinking that they should have tried Usopp's way from the start.

"But you still need it. You sure you can just give it away?"

"I don't need it anymore. The old man finally opened his shop, I got what I came for, and I made him pay for the hassle," Law said, slinging his sword over his shoulder without a second thought. He let out an occasional incredulous laugh, apparently amused by the fact that an Eternal Pose was all the Straw Hats had been so desperately after.

Luffy's voice was a little closer now. Law was already opening another Room — large enough to drop him straight onto the Polar Tang's deck wherever she was. He probably wasn't about to just leave like this, but Sanji's nerves got the better of her.

"I'll pay you for it."

Nami would have flipped out.

Law was mentally calculating the Polar Tang's position when he turned his attention back to Sanji. The corner of his mouth curved up.

"You've already paid."

Sanji stared up at him. It wasn't until he glanced at her lips that she understood what he meant — and her face went up in flames. She drove her fist into his stomach. Law let out a small grunt and staggered, but seemed to be thinking something over.

"But we still have a few things to talk about…"

Law reached into the bag and rummaged around for a moment, then produced a pen. Sanji watched him turn something over in his mind before writing a string of numbers along the top edge of the wooden frame of the Eternal Pose she was holding.

"If there's anything else you'd like to confess."

"No, I don't!"

"Funny, I don't recall hearing anything," Law said, clearly amused. He had no more goodwill left to extend to the Straw Hats as a whole — but tormenting Sanji a little seemed like fair compensation.

Sanji was considering treating him to another round of violence when footsteps approached from not far off. They must have figured out that the Room was centered on the warehouse. Luffy shouted the first part of a technique name, and Nami, for some reason, was screaming.

The moment Law's hand lifted from the back of Sanji's, Luffy crashed through the warehouse door, yelling "Rocket!" He had Nami tucked under one arm, curled up as tight as she could manage.

"Call me," Law said simply. As unbothered as if his pursuers hadn't just appeared right in front of him, he vanished, leaving behind only a small piece of wood.

Sanji coughed through the cloud of dust Luffy had kicked up and hurried to help Nami to her feet, since Luffy was too busy fuming about letting his old ally slip away.

"Aw, come on! I almost had him!"

"You would've had him without dragging me along! Jinbe said the Polar Tang is northeast of here. It's not that far," Nami snapped.

Luffy had absolutely no idea which direction northeast was, but looked ready to burst back through the warehouse wall anyway. Nami, who had no choice but to guide him, was already following with an irritated expression. Sanji quickly grabbed them both.

"Wait, wait. We don't need to chase him anymore. We've got the Eternal Pose."

Sanji held it out as proof. Luffy's eyes went wide, and Nami, face smudged with soot, straightened up mid-stride. She quickly took it from Sanji and looked it over. No signs of a fake.

"How?" Nami asked, bewildered.

"He just… gave it to me? Said he didn't need it anymore," Sanji said awkwardly.

Nami stared at the cook. Even if he said he didn't need it, that surgeon wasn't the type to hand over what someone wanted after they'd made a fool of him. Nami examined the Eternal Pose again and noticed a ten-digit number written on the frame. A closer look told her the ink was still fresh enough to smudge onto her thumb.

Sanji looked away before Nami could catch her eye. The tips of her ears were red.

"That's it? That was boring. We should've just talked to him like Usopp said," Luffy said.

"Exactly," Sanji said quickly, trying to dodge Nami's silent interrogation — but her steady gaze still fixed on Sanji's back.

Nami tossed the Eternal Pose lightly into the air and caught it. The knowing look on her face had settled into a fully confident smile. "So it wasn't Traffy who got caught in the trap. It was Sanji-kun."

Sanji watched the navigator stride past with a pale face. Nami had always had good instincts, but this had to be a new record.

It was never easy to keep a small secret on a ship as cramped as the Sunny. A few self-appointed detectives on the crew would share what they'd figured out, and they weren't going to make it easy for Sanji to have a relaxed talk with the surgeon at her own pace.

So this time, she needed to put every past mistake and careless moment behind her and look for a chance to turn the tables. First order of business: getting that number back from Nami. The discussion with Law about the trap could come after.