Archive of Our Own

Luffy loved parties. He loved all the free food, and the music, and having all of his friends around him safe and happy and having fun. Something about this party was extra fun, though. Luffy didn’t know what it was, but it made him feel warm and bright and lighter than air. 

Every time someone smiled at him, or laughed, or made a joke or a toast, Luffy felt even better. It was like the party’s atmosphere was soothing the exhaustion that had been lingering in his bones after using Gear Five for the first and second time in the same fight. 

We love parties, he thought happily as he shoved what would probably be a whole day’s worth of food for a normal person into his mouth. He didn’t know why he’d thought we instead of I, but he shrugged it off. Everyone else was loving the party, too, so maybe that was enough for a we. 

Luffy reached for another plate of food, only to pause when he caught sight of Torao. He’d been patched up from his own injuries, but he hadn’t joined the party. Luffy wondered if he should drag Torao over to join him. He wasn’t sure if Torao had eaten anything, and eating was an important part of the post-fight recovery process. 

We should feed him. The thought floated across Luffy’s mind. Maybe this time the we was himself and Sanji, who had helped with the cooking. Luffy grinned and grabbed as much food as he could carry, then made his way over to Torao. He dropped a whole plate of onigiri on Torao’s lap just as the older captain looked up. 

“Mugiwara-ya, what the fuck?” Torao sighed. 

“You didn’t eat yet. If you don’t eat, you won’t heal,” Luffy explained very reasonably. He waited, very patiently bouncing on his feet instead of pushing more onigiri at Torao, until Torao finally grimaced and picked one up from the plate on his lap. Luffy watched intently as Torao unwrapped it and took a bite. The tiny smile that tugged at the corners of Torao’s lips made Luffy’s heart feel as bright and lightweight as it had when he was in Gear Five. 

I really like Torao, Luffy thought contentedly. 

I like him, too. The words felt like a warm echo of his own thoughts, bumping against the inside of his skull in a gentle but insistent way. 

That was weird. But not the weirdest thing Luffy had ever experienced, so he ignored it. 

“Did you get something in your eyes, Mugiwara-ya?” Torao asked. “They look a little pink.” 

“I’m fine!” Luffy grinned broadly and plopped down beside him. “Actually, I’m great!”

“Good. I would hate to end our alliance on a disappointing note,” Torao said. 

“What?” Luffy paused with another massive helping of food halfway to his mouth. 

“I’m not sure which part of that was confusing, Mugiwara-ya. Was it the part where I was nice to you? I can take that back,” Torao said. 

“No, I just…” Luffy put his food down. Some of the warmth from earlier had faded, and he felt disappointed and a little indignant. “You’re ending the alliance?”

“We’re ending the alliance,” Torao replied. “We finished what we set out to do, remember? We’re going our separate ways in the morning. We already discussed it.”

“But you’re saying it like we’re not friends anymore!” Luffy protested. Torao studied him for a long moment. 

“Is friends what you want us to be, Luffy-ya?” Torao asked softly. Luffy stared right back at him, caught off guard. He hadn’t thought Torao knew that Luffy liked him. Or if he did know, he’d chosen not to talk about it for a reason. At least…Luffy had always chosen not to say anything for a reason, so he’d assumed that Torao had a good reason, too. 

He likes us! Hug him! Wrap him up! Don’t let him go! Luffy shook away the suddenly overwhelming warm feeling that came with that thought, almost like he was burning up with the urge to follow through and wrap his limbs around Torao as many times as he could and never let go.  

But he couldn’t. 

Luffy knew Torao too well, and he knew he couldn’t keep Torao from going his own way. Not right now. Not when Torao was finally free. Luffy had known for a while that Torao would need to leave him. He just hoped he would come back eventually. 

“Of course I want us to be friends,” Luffy said out loud. 

No, what are you doing? He’s going to leave! Luffy pushed the thought away, wondering idly why it felt too bright, too hot, like the thought itself was on fire. 

Torao deserves to be free, Luffy told himself. 

“Then we’re friends, Mugiwara-ya,” Torao said with a soft, almost resigned tone. “But tomorrow when we go our separate ways, we’ll be rivals again.” That felt better than saying they were ending the alliance. 

“I won’t lose to Torao,” Luffy said, his mood mostly restored. That bright feeling was sharper, still warm enough to border on uncomfortable, but he was able to push it aside. 

“Yeah, yeah. Go torment someone else,” Torao replied with a smirk. “I think I just heard Eustass-ya claim he’s going to beat you to the One Piece.” 

“Gizao’s silly,” Luffy laughed. “But we’d rather sit with you than go argue with him.” 

“We?” Torao repeated. 

“Huh?” Luffy didn’t know what he was talking about. 

“Nevermind.” Torao shrugged and finished his onigiri, then picked up a second one. “You can stay if you’re not going to be too annoying.” Luffy beamed, the strange feeling from before settling back to a light warmth at the back of his head. He would miss Torao, but at least they would be parting with the agreement that they were still friends. That would have to be enough for now. 

Luffy tilted his face into the breeze, content to be back on the Thousand Sunny, even if he did still miss Torao from time to time. But he trusted that he and Torao would find their way back to one another, no matter what.  

“Luffy?” Nami’s voice was sharp with worry. Luffy twisted around and peered over Sunny’s mane to see Nami clutching the newspaper in a white-knuckles grip. “Luffy, come here!” Luffy reluctantly swung himself over Sunny’s mane and crossed the deck. He reached Nami and stretched his neck to peer up and over the newspaper, trying to read the page upside-down. None of the words on the page really registered, partly because he was upside-down and partly because the biggest picture on the page was Torao’s bright yellow submarine, in pieces and sinking beneath the waves. 

Luffy’s heart froze in his chest.

“Where’s Torao?” Luffy demanded, snapping his head back into place and grabbing for the newspaper. “Is he okay? It says, right?”

“Stop it, or I can’t read it and find out!” Nami snapped, snatching the newspaper out of his reach. Luffy frowned, but stepped back and waited for Nami to answer his questions. “It says Blackbeard ambushed them, and no one knows if most of the crew was just unconscious or dead at the end of the fight.” Luffy felt like his lungs didn’t want to breathe, and his heart didn’t want to beat, just in case any movement might somehow make things worse. “It also says that Bepo was last seen carrying Law away through the ocean. No one knows where they might have ended up, or if…” Nami trailed off as she looked up from the paper. “Luffy?”

“We have to find him,” Luffy said. His voice sounded strange to his own ears, and he still felt like he wasn’t breathing right. His body felt floaty and not totally his own. “I know Torao’s alive. He wouldn’t just die, not when his crew was hurt. He wouldn’t let Blackbeard kill him.” 

“Luffy, we have no idea where they are or how to find them,” Nami pointed out. “We have to believe they’ll be okay without us.” 

“No, we have to find them!” Luffy insisted. The last time someone he loved was in danger, and he found out about it in the newspaper…

He couldn’t let Torao down, couldn’t let Blackbeard or anyone else take away someone he loved again. 

“Luffy! There’s no way to-”

“Figure it out! You’re my navigator, aren’t you? You have to know something!” Luffy protested. He was breathing again, but now it was too fast. “Nami, you’ve got to. You’re the best navigator in the whole world, you have to be able to find them.” 

“What’s wrong?” Jinbei demanded as he and the others gathered around. “Luffy?”

“Torao’s in trouble,” Luffy said. “We have to find him.” 

“I told you, we can’t! Even if I could locate them and then navigate right to them, it would take days! There’s nothing we can do!” Nami’s fingers trembled as they gripped the newspaper. “I don’t like it, either, but we can’t help them.” 

“Nami’s right,” Sanji said grimly. “It’s best to just believe in them. You trust Law, right?”

“Of course I trust Torao. But I trusted Ace, too!” Luffy blurted out. “But he’s alone with just his bear, and his ship’s gone, and you know how hard it was when Merry…” Luffy stared around at his crew members, who were all exchanging uncertain looks. “I don’t want to leave him alone.” 

We won’t let him be alone. And if he dies before we find him, Blackbeard won’t get away with destroying someone we love twice.

The thoughts blazed through Luffy’s mind, like the bright white-gold of the sun.

Yeah. We have to try to get to Torao, Luffy agreed. 

And if we can’t save him, we’ll make Blackbeard regret this.

“Um, Luffy?” Usopp said. “I know you’re upset, but-”

“Luffy! Cut it out!” Sanji shouted. Luffy barely heard him. The white-hot thoughts were filling his mind. Usually, his anger made him more focused, more intent on his goal. But now…now, the absolute fury he felt burned through him, and he knew he had to go.  

“What are you doing?” Chopper cried out. “Luffy!”

“Don’t you dare go without me,” Zoro growled. There was pressure on his leg, and the white-hot fury wanted to burn it away, but Luffy pushed it back just enough to recognize Zoro hanging on to his leg. Luffy didn’t worry about why Zoro was hanging on to him like that. 

He’ll help us get Torao, Luffy knew. 

Fine. Then he can come with us, the white-hot thoughts conceded. Luffy didn’t worry about why he was agreeing with himself in his own head like that. All that mattered was Torao. 

“Jinbei, do something!” Nami snapped. 

“Zoro, hold on tight!” Jinbei warned. Before Luffy could wonder what they were talking about, something cold slammed into him, and Luffy found himself tumbling out of the sky and into the sea with Zoro still attached to his leg. 

Why had he been in the sky? How had he been up there? Why was he falling? Had Jinbei shot seawater at him?

Luffy hit the water, and the sea washed away the white-hot fury, along with the bright thoughts, and he realized he was sinking. He was going to drown without ever knowing if Torao was alive.

Zoro’s hand was still wrapped around his leg, and Luffy felt himself pulled through the water by that same leg. 

A few minutes later, Luffy was being hauled onto the Sunny’s deck, coughing up water and surrounded by his crew. They looked worried, which was weird. They were usually more annoyed than anything else when Luffy ended up in the water. 

“Luffy!” Chopper cried, wrapping his arms around one of Luffy’s. “Don’t do that!”

“Do what?” Luffy coughed. “What happened?”

“Do you remember what we talked about a minute ago?” Nami asked. Luffy lifted his head, frowning for a second in confusion, before he remembered and his whole body shuddered. 

“Torao’s missing. His crew is hurt. Maybe dead.” Luffy hated even just the sound of the words. “I yelled at Nami. And then…” He shrugged, not sure how to explain what he’d been thinking or feeling in the following moments. 

“Your eyes turned pink, and your hair became white and fluffy, like clouds,” Robin spoke up. “It looked like you were going into Gear Five.” 

“And then you just started floating!” Franky added. 

“I figured you were going to try to get to Law yourself, so I held on,” Zoro put in. “And then Jinbei knocked us down.” 

“It seemed like your devil fruit power was dominating your actions,” Jinbei explained. Luffy stared at all of them, confused. His devil fruit couldn’t control him. That was stupid. 

We can’t be controlled by anything. The thought was bright, but not as bright as everything in Luffy’s brain had been when he was apparently trying to use Gear Five to run through the sky all the way to wherever Torao was. 

“Luffy, I know you’re upset about Torao, but that was…” Usopp trailed off. 

“That was pretty weird,” Luffy agreed. “But Torao’s more important. Nami, are you sure you can’t-”

“I can try to get us close to where they were last seen, but like I was trying to say earlier, we have no idea where they are,” Nami insisted. “I can’t navigate to something I don’t know where it is.” Right. Because no one knew where Torao was, or even if he was alive or dead.

“We have to try.” Luffy could feel the brightness returning. “We have to.” 

“Okay. We will.” It was Zoro who spoke up. 

“But-”

“Nami.” Zoro and Nami stared at each other for a minute in silence. Finally, Nami sighed. 

“Fine. I do have one trick, but there’s no guarantee it’ll actually take us to them.” 

“Do it. I’ll handle Luffy,” Zoro said. Luffy pouted at the discussion of him needing to be handled, but since Nami was actually going to try getting him to Torao, he couldn’t complain too much. 

Nami really was the best navigator in the world. Luffy had to force himself not to catapult himself off the Sunny as she anchored off the shore of a tiny island that didn’t appear to have any inhabitants. They had circled the small but densely forested island twice, and Nami had confirmed that if Law and Bepo were anywhere she could find them, they would be here. She and Zoro had also made Luffy promise that if Law wasn’t on this island, he would wait until they heard news of him. 

“Chopper, Zoro, you’re going with him, right?” Usopp asked. 

“Yeah. Don’t worry, you can stay with the ship,” Zoro replied. 

“Brook, Robin, and I will search the island as well,” Jinbei added. “Hopefully one of our groups will find something.” 

“We will. We have to.” Luffy waited just long enough for Chopper and Zoro to get close enough to him for easy grabbing, then wrapped his arm around them both and launched all three of them onto the island, much to Zoro’s dismay. 

As if we would allow harm to come to him, the bright thoughts in the back of Luffy’s head snickered. He’d gotten used to the thoughts since the incident where he’d floated right off the ship, and was slowly coming to the understanding that the thoughts weren’t his own. He didn’t know whose they were, though, so he hadn’t told his crew yet. If they knew, they’d just worry about him even more than they had been. 

Zoro just doesn’t like not being in control, Luffy reminded the bright thoughts. 

Our swordsman is funny, the thoughts mused. 

My swordsman. You’re just a weird bunch of lights and thoughts in my head, Luffy pointed out. 

Well, your swordsman is wandering away already, the bright thoughts said. Luffy looked around and saw Zoro already several yards away. Luffy shot a hand out, wrapped his arm twice around Zoro’s waist, and reeled him back in. Zoro grumbled his usual protests, but Luffy just kept his arm around him like a baby leash and set off into the dense forest. 

It wasn’t long before Luffy sensed a familiar presence, weaker than he remembered and clouded with pain, but definitely familiar. Luffy followed the feeling, and found himself in a small copse of trees that grew so closely together that they almost formed a wall. There was a gap in the clustered trunks that looked like it had been made by a desperate polar bear, just large enough for Torao’s bear friend to squeeze through. Luffy peered through the gap, saw what was inside, and immediately yelled for Chopper. 

Torao’s bear was inside, his boiler suit ragged and stained with mud, salt, and blood. He wasn’t moving, and he was curled protectively around an equally unresponsive and even more battered Torao. The bright thoughts burned in the back of his mind, but this time he could do something, and they didn’t take over. 

“I can’t treat them while they’re in there,” Chopper said when he saw. “We have to get them out, but-“ Zoro had a sword out and had sliced through the entire copse of trees before Chopper could finish his sentence. “-oh. That works.” The trees fell away from the two unconscious pirates within, giving Luffy and the others access to them. Zoro manhandled the bear, while Luffy gently cradled Torao in his arms and moved him to a softer spot, where he could lay flat and Chopper could take care of him. 

“They’re both going to need food once they’re stable. I hope Sanji started on something light,” Chopper muttered as he pulled out his first aid supplies and got to work. 

Luffy could only watch as Chopper tended to Torao’s wounds. He found himself wishing his powers included some kind of healing, or maybe that he had listened to Chopper narrate his way through first aid more often. 

He wished he could help. 

Freedom, sunlight, and rubber are good for healing the soul, not the body, the bright thoughts sighed morosely. 

So you’re useless too, Luffy thought back grouchily. Great. 

I fulfilled my purpose. We freed him. You’re the one who let him go.  

He deserves to be free! To be his own person and make his own choices, Luffy insisted. 

Maybe he deserves to know all of his choices, the bright thoughts replied. You should tell him when he wakes up.

No. I won’t. I don’t want him to feel like-

Then you’re making the choice for him, and taking away his freedom, the bright thoughts scolded. Some vessel you are. 

Ves-what? 

“Luffy, help me!” Chopper snapped. Luffy refocused on the world around him and saw Chopper trying to shift Torao’s still form. “It looks like Bepo patched him up a little, but he lost too much blood. He needs a transfusion right away! His pulse is so weak, I don’t know if-“

“He just needs to get back to the Sunny, right?” Luffy asked. 

“Yes, but you can’t jostle him! It might open up the wounds, and then he’ll bleed out!” Chopper insisted. 

We will carry him. And we will not let him be harmed, the bright thoughts said. For once, Luffy agreed. The light and warmth of those weird thoughts filled his mind, and his body suddenly thrummed with power as an absurd giggle escaped his mouth.  

He’d slipped into Gear Five without meaning to. Luffy put that confusing realization aside, and carefully lifted Torao into his arms. Torao was so still. He usually squirmed and protested when he was first picked up, and the pale stillness of his expression was so far from his usual grumpy frown that it hurt. Luffy held Torao close to his chest and floated into the air. 

The trip back to the Sunny was brief, and Luffy carried Torao straight to Chopper’s infirmary and gently settled him on the bed. Chopper returned a few minutes later, and Zoro carried the bear on board shortly after that. Chopper immediately got started setting up transfusions for both Heart Pirates, and Luffy was left hovering. 

Literally. 

He was still in Gear Five and floating a few inches off the ground as he watched Chopper work. 

“Oi. You’re gonna collapse if you keep that up,” Zoro said from the doorway. Luffy turned to him, and Zoro frowned at him. “Seriously, cut it out.” 

“I don’t know what-“

“Hey. Let him down,” Zoro snapped. Luffy was confused for a moment, until the bright thoughts laughed and retreated, and Luffy dropped to the infirmary floor. 

You have good taste in swordsmen, the thoughts told him. 

“Huh. That was weird,” Luffy said out loud. 

“Yeah. I don’t know what’s going on, but that wasn’t completely you, and I don’t think I like it,” Zoro replied. “Is that the same thing you keep listening to? The one that makes your eyes go pink around the outside?”

“Wait, you can tell when the bright thoughts are around?” Luffy realized. Zoro’s eye narrowed suspiciously. 

“The. What.” 

“The weird thoughts I keep having. It sounds like me, but it’s not. They’re always really bright and warm.” Luffy shrugged. 

“How long has that been happening?” Zoro demanded, his fingers curling instinctively around the hilt of one of his swords. 

“I dunno. A while, I guess? Since Wano. But nothing bad happened, except that time I almost floated off the Sunny.”

“Luffy, you did float off the Sunny,” Zoro snapped. “Do you know what’s actually happening to you?”

“Nope! But nobody’s gotten hurt yet, so-“

“Luffy, did you say you’ve been hearing thoughts that aren’t yours?” Chopper interrupted. He had finished with Torao and was staring at Luffy anxiously. 

“Yeah, but it’s not a big deal,” Luffy insisted. 

“That’s a huge deal!” Chopper objected. “Luffy, what if it’s a side effect of Gear Five? You said it’s been happening since Wano, right?”

What an intelligent little creature. I like him, the bright thoughts decided. 

“Yeah, but-“

“No buts! Sit down and let me examine you!” Chopper ordered. 

“Chopper, I’m fine, really. I’m more worried about Torao,” Luffy said. 

As you should be. I would not cause harm to my vessel on purpose, the bright thoughts commented. 

“See, Chopper? The weird bright thoughts said they wouldn’t hurt me, and that you’re really smart!” Luffy told him. Chopper and Zoro exchanged horrified looks, even as Chopper wriggled happily from the compliment. 

Let me talk to them, the bright thoughts suggested. You don’t know enough to reassure them properly. 

No way. You’re my problem, not theirs, Luffy objected. 

Then let your fuzzy little doctor give you a checkup to reassure himself and your grumpy swordsman, the bright thoughts replied. Otherwise they might not leave us alone with Law. 

I don’t like the way you say Torao’s name, Luffy thought with a frown. 

You’re free to not like it, the bright thoughts chuckled like they’d made a fantastic joke. Luffy shook his head and looked at Chopper. 

“Go ahead. If you think of a way to make the thoughts quieter, that would be great,” Luffy told him. Chopper nodded seriously and set about examining Luffy. 

After nearly half an hour, Chopper announced that he had run out of things to check, and Luffy seemed fine. Whatever was going on might be related to his new Gear Five abilities, but Chopper would do more research. In the meantime, Luffy was allowed to keep vigil over the unconscious Torao while Chopper went to check on Bepo and then begin his research, ideally with Robin’s help once she returned. 

Zoro retreated as well, leaving Luffy and the bright thoughts alone with Torao. 

Jinbei returned from exploring the island with Robin and Brook, and was a little amused when Chopper immediately flung himself at Robin, causing her to activate her devil fruit to catch him and steady them both. 

“Robin! Something weird is going on with Luffy!” Chopper wailed. 

“What about Law? Did Luffy find him?” Robin asked. 

“Yeah, and he used Gear Five to carry him back here, and now he said he’s hearing thoughts that aren’t his!” 

“Luffy is hearing someone else’s thoughts?” Jinbei repeated, frowning. 

“Yeah! He doesn’t know what they are, but he said they’re bright and warm!” Chopper explained. “I already took care of Torao and Bepo, but I can’t think of where to even start trying to diagnose what’s going on with Luffy!”

“Let’s go to the library and see what we have,” Robin suggested. 

“Okay. If you think it’ll help,” Chopper agreed. 

“Wait. I might know something,” Jinbei said before the two could leave. “Chopper, how long has Luffy been hearing the thoughts?”

“Since Wano,” Chopper answered. 

“Are there any other changes anyone has noticed?” Jinbei asked. 

“Yeah, Zoro said sometimes Luffy’s eyes kind of turn pink,” Chopper answered hesitantly. 

“Then it may very well be a side effect. Or it could be more than that,” Jinbei said grimly. “I believe I mentioned my conversation with my opponent in Wano, and what he said about the Gum Gum Fruit as well as the story he heard about Nika.”

“Oh, yeah! What does that have to do with anything?” Chopper asked. Robin’s expression shifted, and Jinbei had a feeling she had made the same connection he had. 

“If we consider what Vegapunk told us about the Gum Gum Fruit and Nika, there is a possibility that those things are connected,” Robin said slowly. “Do you think…?”

“It’s possible. I don’t know whether it would just be a phantom will, like in animal Zoans, or if it’s something more, but it would explain it,” Jinbei agreed. 

“I don’t understand! What’s going on?” Chopper demanded. Jinbei and Robin hesitated, neither one of them ready to say it out loud. 

“We’re saying that the bright thoughts Luffy is hearing could be some form of the sun god Nika,” Jinbei explained. 

“Or at least whatever being it was that inspired both the legend and the creation of Luffy’s devil fruit,” Robin added. 

“So…you’re saying Luffy’s possessed?” Chopper shrieked. 

Nika liked the vessel’s friends. They were good friends, the kind that would die before betraying the people they loved. And since Nika’s vessel was a person they all loved, it made the vessel one of the best ones Nika had ever had. The pirates’ absolute faith in their captain and friend made it so much easier to sustain consciousness within the vessel, and had made the awakening process smoother. 

Not that Nika had that much experience with awakened vessels. Usually, he was just along for the ride, watching them struggle against whatever oppressive forces were relevant to their lives. It had been centuries since a vessel had awakened, allowing Nika to communicate and even influence events. 

And now, here he was. With a vessel that responded to him, and who had gathered the best power base of any previous vessel except for maybe the previous awakened vessel. 

And, as a bonus, this vessel had something Nika liked even more than the pirate crew that gave them power: a very tired and incredibly powerful man who managed to be absolutely gorgeous despite the constant exasperated glares he always had because of the vessel’s antics. 

Yes, the presence of one Trafalgar Law was possibly Nika’s favorite thing about his current vessel. 

Nika remembered hearing Law’s voice when Luffy had defeated his big dragon opponent when he first awakened his connection to Nika. He remembered seeing Law later, at the celebration of their victory, and just knowing that this was the perfect man. 

The exasperated striving for order amidst the chaos that was Nika’s vessel. The strength, the skill. The tattoos. Nika was very fond of the tattoos, especially the ones on his arms that kind of looked like little suns. 

And he believed in Nika’s vessel with his whole heart and soul, no matter how much he’d probably deny it. 

Plus he was, and Nika couldn’t stress this enough, really fucking hot. And, being a sun god, Nika knew a thing or two about being hot. 

So when the vessel finally started to doze off, Nika took the chance to slip forward in his mind, taking control of the vessel’s body. He would never do such a thing when the vessel was conscious, not without a damn good reason - he was a god of freedom, after all - but when the vessel was sleeping, control of the body was fair game. 

And he wasn’t done watching the one and only Trafalgar Law. 

Nika fed a bit of power into the vessel’s body, just enough to access his own abilities, and set the body to hovering over Law. He sprawled on his belly in the air, kicking his feet up behind him and resting his chin on his folded arms as he watched Law sleep. 

He really was very pretty, Nika reflected. Nika wanted to protect him, especially after whatever had left him so battered and alone that he only had the adorable polar bear guy for protection. Whoever had hurt Law would burn beneath the sun if Nika had anything to say about it. 

In the meantime, though…Nika would watch over him, purely for protective purposes, and definitely not because Nika wanted to stare at him for the next century at least. 

Nika’s attention wandered over Law’s very soft-looking hair, then down to his sharp jaw, and then back up a little to his lovely golden eyes, which were open and glaring at Nika. 

“Oh! Hi there, sleepyhead,” Nika beamed. “Feeling better?”  

“Who or what the fuck are you?” Law hissed, trying to sit up. 

“Whoa! Wait, the fuzzy little doctor will be mad if you move!” Nika protested, pulling just enough rubbery cloud from the vessel’s hair to wrap around Law and stick him to the bed. 

“You bastard, I’m going to kill you,” Law snarled, straining against his new fluffy restraints. . 

“No, please don’t do that, I like this vessel!” Nika protested. “He’d be heartbroken if you killed us.” Nika watched as Law processed that. He could practically see the gears turning in Law’s head. 

“You’re in Mugiwara-ya’s body.” Law said it out loud like he needed to hear it to believe it.

“I mean, it’s really sort of our body now, but yeah,” Nika agreed cheerfully. He loved how smart Law was! 

“Let him go,” Law demanded. “Whatever you are, if you don’t let him go, I swear I’ll find a way to kill you.”

“You’re just as pretty as ever when you’re mad,” Nika blurted out. That seemed to confuse Law. 

“Excuse me?”

“You’re pretty,” Nika repeated cheerfully. “And you’re smart. No wonder my vessel loves you!” Law stared at him, no longer struggling against the cloud restraints. 

“Mugiwara-ya loves lots of people. Usually the person he loves the most is whoever fed him last,” he said after a few seconds of silence. 

“Maybe so, but you’re special. He gets all warm and fuzzy when he thinks about you,” Nika admitted. “It’s nice to have a vessel that’s so in love.” Law opened his mouth, then closed it again with an audible click. “I like you, too, by the way. Not just because you’re pretty, either.” Nika grinned and reached down to poke Law’s cheek. “You’re awfully grumpy on the outside, but I can tell how much you care about the vessel. You’re really sweet under all that grouch, aren’t you?”

“I’m going to dice whatever you are into tiny pieces,” Law growled. 

“Oh, that sounds fun! I’ve never been in pieces before!” Nika giggled. Law looked like he didn’t know what to say to that. “By the way, you don’t have to keep wondering what I am. I’m happy to tell you, if you want to know.” Law’s scowl darkened, but his attention was fixed on Nika. It was a nice feeling. “I’m Nika, the sun god. This vessel ate the devil fruit that carries my will, so he’s stuck with me. Which means so are you!” 

“You expect me to believe you’re a god?” Law snorted. 

“You can ask the vessel’s friends about it later. I think the big blue guy and the lovely historian will figure it out soon if they haven’t already,” Nika admitted.

“Even if you are a god, I’ll still find a way to kill you if you don’t let Mugiwara-ya go,” Law snapped. Apparently the calm that came from being distracted was fading, and Law was getting angry again. Any minute now, he was probably going to try to get up again. And as much as Nika liked talking to Law, he didn’t want him to hurt himself any more. 

“Will you promise to say still until the little doctor says you can move if I stop controlling the vessel?” Nika asked. Law stared at him, his rising fury ebbing into disbelief. 

“What?” 

“If I do what you asked, and I stop controlling the body, will you promise to listen to the little doctor and stop trying to get up?” Nika repeated. 

“You’re a god, possessing Mugiwara-ya’s body, and your condition for not controlling him anymore is…me resting?” Law sounded like he couldn’t believe it. “That’s it?”

“Would it be more or less believable if I added conditions?” Nika asked, tilting his head. 

“That might depend on the conditions,” Law admitted. He made a face like he hadn’t meant to say that, and Nika couldn’t stop a little giggle from escaping him. It was just too cute; Nika reached out and squished Law’s cheeks. “Hey!” Law scowled and tried to move his head away, but Nike didn’t let go. 

“How about this for a condition: I want you to stay with the vessel for now, while you’re injured. Let us take care of you. Not just the little doctor and the vessel. If you can promise me that, I’ll hand control back to the vessel’s body, okay?”  

“What if I have a condition I want to add, too?” Law said, the weight of his scowl diminished slightly by Nika still squishing his cheeks. 

“Sure, I don’t mind. As long as it’s something I think is funny,” Nika agreed. 

“Quit calling Mugiwara-ya a vessel. He’s a person, and he’s more than just a body for you to mess with,” Law insisted. Nika paused, his squishing of Law’s cheeks easing into a gentler, sweeter hold. Law’s expression did something complicated, like he wasn’t used to that kind of thing and didn’t know how to feel about it. 

“You’re an absolute treasure, Trafalgar D. Water Law. I agree to your terms.”  

“Then I promise I’ll let Mugiwara-ya and his crew take care of me until I’m healed,” Law replied. Nika beamed, pleased with himself. He floated the vessel - Luffy - back to sit beside the bed Law rested on and relinquished his hold. Nika held on to his awareness just long enough to hear Luffy’s joyful cry when he woke up and noticed Law scowling in his direction. 

“Torao!” Nika chuckled to himself. Law’s reply was equally amusing. 

“Mugiwara-ya. Did you know you have an alleged god living in your head?” 

The warm, happy feeling of Luffy’s relief, curiosity, and affection was enough to lull Nika into a little nap of his own after that. 

Fights during their voyages between islands or while they were anchored in port weren’t exactly rare for the Straw Hat crew. Even being attacked by other pirates instead of Marines wasn’t unheard of. 

What was unusual was being attacked by an enemy they had previously defeated. Luffy and Chopper were the only ones left on the ship when this particular attack happened, since neither of them had been willing to leave Torao for long enough to go explore the island. Even Bepo had been dragged into exploring by Zoro. 

Luffy had sent Chopper to watch over Torao, and faced their attackers himself, surprised to find that they were equipped with gear from Germa. Luffy had thought they’d settled things with Sanji’s terrible biological family, but apparently not. Or maybe someone had just hired a bunch of Germa mercenaries, since Luffy didn’t see any of the actual Vinsmokes attacking. 

Still, it felt almost too easy as he plowed through the ranks of soldiers. The bright thoughts, which he now knew to be Nika, didn’t like it, either. 

Luffy still wasn’t sure he knew what to think about Nika living in his head, or Nika liking Torao, but at least nothing bad had happened yet. 

“Luffy!” Chopper screeched. “Stop him!” Luffy turned and found an infuriatingly familiar person emerging from the infirmary. 

“Caesar!” Luffy shouted. “What are you doing here?” 

“Oh, shit.” Caesar hesitated, then grimaced and hauled something out of the infirmary behind him. No, not something. Some one. Caesar had Torao, who looked dazed and barely conscious. He was bleeding from a new wound in his shoulder. 

“Luffy!” Chopper shouted from inside the infirmary. “Do something!”

“Let go of Torao right now,” Luffy demanded, advancing on Caesar. 

“Don’t come any closer, Mugiwara. I already took out your little raccoon-“

“I’m a reindeer, you monster!” Chopper protested. He finally dragged himself out of the infirmary, looking even more dazed than Law. “Be careful, Luffy. He’s got some new gas weapon or something. I can barely move.” 

“Yes, well, if you keep trying, I’ll have to shoot you with a seastone bullet like I did with Law here,” Caesar snapped. Luffy felt icy rage settle over him even as Nika’s blazing fury ignited in his stomach. Luffy was in control, at least for now, but it was close. 

“Leave Torao alone,” Luffy ordered. 

“No, I need him for something. You can have him back when I’m done with him.” Caesar’s mouth twisted into a sadistic grin. “At least, I can promise to return his body.”

Luffy started to step forward, only to freeze when Caesar pressed the barrel of a gun to the side of Law’s head. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Luffy snarled. “If you kill him, you won’t get what you want, and I’ll beat you to a pulp.” 

“If you get close enough, you’ll do that anyway. I might as well get the satisfaction of killing Law before you get here,” Caesar replied. He stepped back, dragging Law with him. 

He must be stopped, Nika said. There was a dark edge to his voice that Luffy wasn’t used to. 

I’m fast enough. I can get my hand between the gun and Torao, Luffy replied. Then we can beat him up while Chopper takes care of Torao. 

He will come back, Nika warned. Again and again. 

Then we’ll beat him up again and again, Luffy insisted. 

And what if next time, he kills Law before he reveals himself? Nika growled. You are too kind, Luffy. That is good in a vessel. But I am a god, and I do not need kindness. 

You’re a sun god. A warrior of liberation, Luffy thought, confused. 

Yes. Do not overlook the warrior part simply because I value freedom, Nika chuckled darkly. Let me handle the clown. I swear I will not allow Law to come to any harm. Luffy stared hard at Caesar, who took another step farther away. Even if Luffy got over there in time, even if he beat Caesar, Nika was right. Luffy didn’t know what Nika was planning to keep Caesar from coming back, but what Luffy had done so far clearly hadn’t been enough. 

Fine. You take over. But you better not let him hurt anyone else, Luffy warned. 

I won’t. I swear, no one else will come to harm at the hand of Caesar Clown again, Nika promised. 

Okay. I’m trusting you, Luffy said as he let his grip on himself fade. Nika’s warmth blazed through him, blinding him to the outside world, and Luffy fell back, no longer able to see, hear, or interact with the world outside his own mind, trusting that when he regained his awareness, Torao would be safe. 

Law’s vision and thoughts were blurry from the gas Caesar had used, but he saw the change in Luffy as he processed Caesar’s words. Law saw Luffy’s body curl forward slightly for an instant, then straighten up. There was something distinctly unnatural about the way his head tilted as Luffy stared at Caesar. 

No, not Luffy, Law realized even before the whisps of clouds began to curl around Luffy’s body. 

Nika. 

The sun god was in control again. 

A giggle escaped Nika’s mouth, but it was a humorless, dark sound that sent chills down Law’s back. 

“Do you know what the funny thing is about being a symbol of freedom, someone who brings hope and smiles to those in need?” Nika asked, his grin stretching even wider than Luffy’s usually did as his body settled fully into Gear Five. 

“What is that?” Caesar demanded, pressing the gun more firmly against Law’s temple. “What are you doing?”

“The funny thing is,” Nika continued like Caesar hadn’t spoken. “Someone who knows how to inspire hope also knows how to destroy it.” 

Between one heartbeat and the next, Nika was across the ship, with his hand clasped around the barrel of Caesar’s gun, curling it in on itself like it was a cheap rubber toy, all before Caesar could pull the trigger. Nika plucked the gun from the clown’s terrified grasp. He seized Caesar’s jaw in a haki-coated hand and slammed him against the Sunny’s infirmary wall so hard that Caesar didn’t even have a chance to dissolve into gas. 

“What the-“

“Here’s the other thing people forget,” Nika chuckled. Somehow, his laugh was menacing rather than carefree. “In order to be a warrior of liberation, you first have to be a warrior.”  

“What… are you?” Caesar cried. 

“Don’t worry about that,” Nika laughed. “Worry about what you’re going to be when I’m done with you.”

“Nika-ya. Wait.” Law pushed himself up, leaning heavily on the wall beside him. 

“No. I promised Luffy I wouldn’t let him hurt you or anyone else,” Nika said. Law saw the look in the god’s pink eyes, and he knew what he had to do. 

“Tony-ya, go get the others,” Law ordered. 

“But you’re still bleeding!” Chopper protested. 

“I’m fine. Go,” Law insisted. Chopper hesitated, shaking his head to clear the last of the gas’ effects. “Nika-ya won’t let anything happen to me,” Law said. Chopper stared at him for a few more seconds, then dashed away towards the island. 

“You sent the little doctor away. That’s sweet,” Nika hummed. “I’m glad he won’t have to see this.”

“See what?” Caesar yelped, scrabbling at Nika’s arm. 

“What about Mugiwara-ya? He doesn’t kill. You can’t do this in his body,” Law insisted. “He’ll never get over it.”

“Then you’ll have to help me dispose of the evidence,” Nika replied. “But I am keeping my promise, even if Luffy doesn’t understand what it means. Caesar Clown will never lay a hand on you again.” 

“Wait, you’re not going to kill me, are you?” Caesar wailed. “Aren’t you supposed to be the hero, Mugiwara?”

“Luffy doesn’t like being a hero,” Nika giggled. “But who says heroes can’t kill?”

“You’re sure Mugiwara-ya can’t see what’s happening?” Law demanded. 

“I’m sure. I’ve got him shoved way down. Now will you let me end this?” Nika pouted at Law, a sharp contrast to the way he still has Caesar pinned. 

“…will you listen if I say I won’t let you?” Law asked. 

“Nope! Good point,” Nika chuckled. Before Law could say anything else, Nika grabbed Caesar’s neck in both hands and wrung it like he was killing poultry. Law flinched at the awful sound Caesar’s spine made. The clown’s body fell lifelessly to the ground when Nika let go of him. “There. Much better.” Nika dusted his palms off and turned to consider the rest of the attackers, which Law immediately recognized as Germa soldiers in varying levels of post-Luffy unconsciousness. “I’m thinking maybe these all go overboard, what do you think?” Nika asked conversationally. 

“They’re in no shape to swim. They’d drown,” Law pointed out. 

“Works for me.” Nika shrugged. 

“Luffy won’t like it,” Law protested. Law didn’t exactly love the idea, either. Drowning a few dozen soldiers in the harbor while the Straw Hats were already planning to pick a fight with Blackbeard was a terrible plan. 

“Luffy is allowed to not like things,” Nika sighed. “I just won’t tell him.”

“Okay. Maybe I don’t like it, either,” Law snapped. Nika paused, studying him. 

“Of course you don’t,” Nika said at last. His voice was low and soft, with a spark of interest, like he was putting together a puzzle. “You’re a doctor as well as a pirate. You also chose to ally yourself with Luffy and his crew for more than just a fight. You care about all of them, and you have a soft spot for Luffy more than anyone else. Which part of you doesn’t want those soldiers to die, Law? The doctor, the loyal ally, or the man in love?”

Law was frozen in place by Nika’s words, by the way it felt like his ribs had been cracked open to display his heart. 

“None of those,” Law said. It was a lie, but also kind of the truth. “It’s the part of me that’s seen too many people die when they couldn’t protect themselves.”

“I see.” There was a knowing look in Nika’s magenta eyes, one that made Law think he knew exactly how much of what Law had just said was true. “What will you do with them, instead?”

“Send them back to their boss as a warning,” Law answered. Nika considered him for a moment. 

“What will you give me in return?” Nika asked at last. 

“You need something from me again?” Law shook his head. “I thought I was a treasure, Nika-ya.” 

“You are a treasure,” Nika agreed easily. “But there’s still something I want from you.” Law gestured for Nika to continue, and he did so with only a small huff. “I want you to promise not to tell Luffy what I did. You’re right about him not liking what happened, and I don’t want him to shut me out or refuse to use my power to defend himself or you or his crew if he realizes what I’m capable of. And-“

“No and,” Law interrupted. “Lying to Mugiwara-ya about something this big is already more than I’m usually willing to do.”

“Even though it’s for his own good? You said it yourself, he’ll never get over it.” Nika pouted and hovered in the air, arms and legs crossed and lips turned downward in an exaggerated pout. Law couldn’t argue with him, not about this. Nika was right, if only because he was using Law’s own words against him. 

“Fine. I won’t tell him you broke the clown’s neck,” Law grumbled. 

“There’s one more thing I want,” Nika told him, his too-wide grin returning in an instant. 

“No.”

“If you don’t do it, I won’t give Luffy the body back for another few hours. Maybe days,” Nika said cheerfully as he tossed Caesar’s body overboard. “I agreed to let the soldiers live in exchange for your silence on my little indiscretion. For me to give the body back this time, I want something else from you.”  

“What do you want?” Law growled. Nika chuckled, leaning close so their foreheads were almost touching. 

“I want you to answer a question honestly for me, without holding back.” Law’s scowl darkened, but he also knew that the other Straw Hats would be returning soon. He wanted Luffy back before they arrived. 

“Fine. Ask your damn question,” Law spat. 

“You sounded so confident earlier when you told Chopper I wouldn’t let anything happen to you,” Nika observed. 

“That’s not a question,” Law pointed out. 

“Don’t worry, I’m getting to it. My question is: why? Were you bluffing for the reindeer’s sake, or do you actually believe I won’t let anyone hurt you? And if it’s the latter, what makes you so sure?”

“You went from zero questions to three,” Law scoffed. “But I’ll answer them. I know you won’t let anything happen to me. You were too worried about my recovery last time we talked, and you came out after Caesar said he was going to kill me. For some reason, you like me. You’re not about to let me get hurt or killed if you can avoid it.” 

“How do you know I don’t just really hate Caesar?” Nika insisted. “Maybe spite is part of my domain along with the sun.”

“You gave Mugiwara-ya his body back last time in return for me promising to rest,” Law replied. “You care about my well-being.”

“Maybe I was being spiteful to you and your refusal to rest properly,” Nika countered. 

“You’re trying to convince me to doubt my own observations without actually telling me that I’m wrong,” Law observed. “That just confirms my theory.”

“Boo, come on! Doubt a little!” Nika laughed. “That way I can convince you.”  

“And how would you do that?” Law scoffed. “Honestly, I’m surprised the god of freedom is so tied down by worrying about someone like me. Yet here you are, making promises and restraining yourself just to get an answer out of me.” He’d meant it to tease the god a little, but Nika was suddenly very close to him, their noses almost brushing as Nika’s fingers curled around Law’s jaw. 

“The sun is too bright to look at for long,” Nika said, his voice soft and serious. “That’s why people need the moon; to rest, to have a quiet sanctuary from the sun’s light. Even a vessel, even the sun itself needs shade. You are the moon Luffy needs, and the one I find interesting and endearing enough to want as well. We would do anything for our moon, Trafalgar D. Water Law.”

Law didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know if there was anything that anyone would be able to say that would be an appropriate response to a god - a sun god no less - calling them his moon. 

Honestly, Nika, what the fuck? 

Law considered saying that out loud, but before he could decide whether or not it was a good idea, Nika just giggled and floated up slightly to kiss Law’s forehead. 

“I love seeing you speechless. But since you answered my question like I wanted, I’ll keep my end of the deal.” Law blinked, and Nika’s power vanished, leaving Luffy’s unconscious body to collapse against Law.

Law would normally be able to hold Luffy up just fine, but he was still recovering, had a new concussion, and did still technically have a sea stone bullet in his shoulder. He refused to collapse under Luffy’s weight, though. 

So Law settled for an undignified slide down the wall at his back, until he sat leaning against it for support with Luffy snoring away in his lap. 

Law grimaced and wondered if he’d be able to dig the bullet out of his shoulder with his bare hands. It would probably hurt a lot, and it would risk infection, but maybe…

“Torao! Luffy! What…” Chopper returned right on time, with the other Straw Hats and Bepo on his heels. “What happened?”

“Captain!” Bepo wailed. 

“We’re fine. Probably.” Law sighed and prodded Luffy’s cheek with his index finger. “Can someone get this idiot off me now? And then maybe Chopper can help me with this bullet hole in my shoulder?” 

The others scrambled to help, and Law let them without too much argument for once. It left his attention free to consider the sun god that was apparently fascinated by him. 

Nika was trouble, and Law wasn’t sure how to handle him. Especially if he decided to keep calling Law his moon or other bullshit like that. He couldn’t decide if a sun god calling him the moon was better or worse than that same god calling him a treasure. 

Both were terrible, as far as he was concerned. But the worst part might be Nika’s apparent delusion that Luffy needed Law. He’d tried to claim Luffy was in love with Law back when they’d first talked, too. Clearly, Nika thought Law meant something special to Luffy, but Law knew that wasn’t the case. 

They were friends, nothing more. Luffy had said it himself, back on Wano. 

Nika was either wrong, or crazy. Or both. 

Probably both. 

Law would have to mention it to Luffy later, so maybe Luffy could tell Nika to stop saying things that made Law’s poor heart hurt. 

Actually…that might require too much explanation. 

Maybe Law should just tell Nika himself. Maybe he could make another bargain with the sun god.

Law waited by Luffy’s side while he slept, enduring Chopper’s fretting as the little reindeer tended Law’s wound before finally bustling off and leaving the two of them alone. 

It felt strange to be considering the course of action he kept coming to: that to get Nika to stop trying to tell him that Luffy was in love with him, Law would have to ask Nika to come out again. He had just gotten Nika to quit controlling Luffy’s body, and he was already considering calling him out again. 

It felt insane. Ridiculous. 

“Torao?” Luffy mumbled, his eyelids fluttering. He wasn’t completely conscious, but Law reached out and took Luffy’s hand anyway. 

“I’m here, Mugiwara-ya,” he murmured. Luffy’s head turned, and he frowned blearily at Law. 

“You’re not shot?”

“I was shot earlier. But Tony-ya fixed me up again,” Law answered. 

“Clown,” Luffy grumbled. 

“He’s gone,” Law assured him. “He learned his lesson this time; he won’t come after you again.”

“After you,” Luffy corrected. 

“He won’t be after me, either. Nika-ya handled it,” Law said. He was so tempted to tell Luffy the truth, just to spite Nika for continuing to insist that Luffy loved him. But he wouldn’t go back on his word, if only to try to protect Luffy from knowing what had happened. 

“Good. Torao deserves to be safe,” Luffy announced through a yawn. 

“Go back to sleep, Mugiwara-ya. It seems like Nika-ya used up a lot of your energy.” 

“But I wanna keep talking to you,” Luffy complained. Law managed not to react to that by reminding himself that Nika was delusional and Luffy was not in love with him. 

“We can talk once you sleep some more,” Law promised. “I’ll still be here when you wake up.” Luffy seemed content with that, finally letting his eyes drift shut. 

“Good. ‘Cause we gotta talk about what’s next,” Luffy mumbled. Law didn’t know what that meant, but he didn’t like the sound of it. 

“Sure, Mugiwara-ya,” he said anyway. “We’ll talk about whatever you want.” Luffy was asleep moments later, but Law waited until he was full on snoring before he reluctantly spoke again. “Nika-ya?” Luffy kept snoring away. “Nika-ya, I want to talk to you.” The snoring stopped. One of Luffy’s eyes opened just enough to reveal its pink hue. “You have to stop.”

“No.” 

“You have to at least hear what I have to say before you say no,” Law insisted. 

“Fine. Tell me.” 

“I want you to stop trying to convince me that Mugiwara-ya is in love with me. He’s not, and it hurts to hear you lie to me about it.”

“Which part hurts? The so-called lie, or the idea of me lying to you?” Nika hummed. 

“The lie. I don’t care if you lie to me about something else, just…not that. Please.” Law hated sounding like he was begging. 

“I do not want to hurt you, Trafalgar D. Water Law. You are a source of great joy for me. I will stop, as you’ve asked.”

“Good. What do you want in return?” Nika’s other eye opened, and he lifted his head to frown at Law. 

“Nothing. If something is hurting you, I will make it stop. There is no price for you to pay.” 

“That doesn’t sound like you.” There was always a catch with Nika. Always some price, something he wanted. 

“It is the truth. I do not want to hurt you, and I do not want to lie to you, or for you to think I am lying. If you cannot trust that, then I will simply have to crush more things that hurt you.” That was not what Law was going for, and it was kind of unnerving. 

“That’s really not necessary. Just…keep your word,” Law insisted. Nika hummed again and pushed himself up to a sitting position just to kiss Law’s forehead before flopping back onto the bed. 

“I will always keep my promises to you, my joy.” Before Law could respond to that - what the fuck, Nika? - Nika’s eyes closed again, and it was just Luffy in the bed, asleep. 

Fuck. 

“Hey, Torao?” Law looked up from the book Robin had let him borrow and blinked. Luffy stood in front of him, a serious expression on his face for once. 

“Yes, Mugiwara-ya?” Law sighed. 

“Chopper said you were better.” Luffy sounded awfully conflicted about that. 

“Tony-ya is right. I’ve almost completely healed from Caesar’s attack, and the lingering damage from my fight with Blackbeard,” Law confirmed. He wasn’t sure what Luffy was getting at. 

“Does that mean you’re going to leave?” Ah. That made sense. 

“Not today.” Law stared at the book in his hands. He’d been hoping that this volume and others like it in Robin’s collection might help him figure out a strategy to use on Blackbeard, but so far… “I still don’t have a plan for getting revenge or getting my crew back, if they’re even still alive. I won’t risk their safety by trying something without a plan.” 

“So once you have one, you’re going to leave?” Luffy asked. 

“Of course.” There was nothing else to say, really. 

“Let us be your plan.” Law’s attention snapped up to meet Luffy’s eyes. One of them was Luffy’s normal dark color, while the other was Nika’s bright pink. Luffy’s hair on the side of the pink eye was lighter and wispier, almost all the way to his Nika-possessed appearance. 

“What?”

“Nika wants to get your crew back for you, but I know you want to do it yourself, so we have to wait until you ask for help.” Luffy sounded sad as he explained. 

“You can do things yourself without doing them alone.” It was stranger than Nika’s usual unsettling possession to have Nika and Luffy apparently sharing Luffy’s body, taking turns speaking. But maybe it was a sign that Luffy was getting along better with the sun god, maybe even that he was starting to be able to control when he was possessed. 

“It’s not wrong to have help,” Luffy said quietly. 

“It’s my crew, and they’re captured or dead because I wasn’t strong enough to protect them. I need to be the one to get them out,” Law insisted. 

“We know that. And we won’t stop you from going alone-“

“Speak for yourself.”

“-but we want you to be okay. I don’t want to see you planning to die again, Torao.” The way Luffy’s voice echoed slightly as Nika interjected, then returned to normal in an instant, was unnerving to say the least. But Luffy’s words also reminded Law of how upset he’d been when he realized Law hadn’t exactly planned to make it off of Dressrosa alive back then. 

“I’m not planning to die,” Law assured him. 

“That is not enough.” Nika sounded like he was actually frustrated, and Law was reminded of how Nika had bargained with him to get him to even stay with the Straw Hats this long. 

“You’re just going to have to be okay with it. This is my choice,” Law insisted. 

“I know that.” Luffy’s voice was soft, worried, but firm, like he was convincing himself of something. “Torao deserves to be free, and to make his own choices.” That was a weird way to phrase it.

“Our treasure deserves to know all of the choices available,” Nika countered. That made more sense; Luffy was trying to convince Nika. “If you do not tell him, then I will.” 

“Enough.” Law glanced around, making sure it was just them within earshot - though there was no telling if Robin might have an ear close enough - and then stood, moving forward until he was in Luffy’s space so he could stare down at him. 

“Torao?” The eye Luffy controlled widened. The one Nika controlled narrowed. It looked absolutely comically absurd, two different expressions - one confusion, one suspicion - on the same face. 

“If you two can’t behave, I’ll leave now and do my planning somewhere else,” Law threatened. 

“Wait, Torao, that’s not-“

“We had a bargain, Trafalgar Law.” 

“What?” Luffy blurted out. “What bargain?”

“I’m not injured anymore,” Law said, ignoring Luffy’s confusion. “I only agreed to stay while I was injured.”

“Then let us make a new bargain. One that will keep you safe longer,” Nika insisted. 

“Torao?” Luffy’s half of his own face looked strangely uncertain. Nika’s side of the face smirked for a second before the pink eye and floaty white hair faded back to Luffy’s normal appearance. “You stayed because of a deal with him?”

“He didn’t tell you?” Law realized. Then he grimaced. “Of course he didn’t. He never does.” 

“So…you didn’t want to stay? Nika made you?” Law almost scoffed at him. Almost. But even though Nika was wrong about his belief that Luffy was in love with Law - he had to be wrong - Law knew that Luffy considered him a friend. If Luffy thought that a part of him, even a part he couldn’t control, had done something that might have hurt Law or forced him to do something he didn’t want…it would upset him. 

“Nika doesn’t make anyone do anything. He’s all about freedom. But he does seem to like making deals when he wants me to do something,” Law explained carefully. A shadow passed over Luffy’s expression as he processed this. 

“I never wanted to trap you, Torao. I thought you were here because you trusted us.” Luffy was taking this harder than Law had expected. 

“Mugiwara-ya, it’s not…look. I do trust you. I would have stayed for a while no matter what. I just had a specific timeline because of Nika-ya.” That…didn’t seem to cheer Luffy up the way Law had fought it would. “You know, I thought you were happy that I stayed this long. So what’s the problem?”

“The problem is I don’t want you to stay because you have to! I was happy you stayed because I thought you wanted to! I didn’t want you to feel like you had to stay!” Luffy shouted, his face scrunched up in frustration. “That’s the whole reason I didn’t tell you I love you!” 

“That makes no sense!” Law snapped. “If I did what you wanted, who cares why I did it?” Then Luffy’s words sank in. “What the fuck does you loving me have to do with anything?” Like he’d told both himself and Nika before, Luffy loved lots of people. It didn’t mean anything. Not the way Nika had tried to convince him it did, anyway.

“Stupid Torao! Of course why matters! Plus, if I said I loved you, you might feel like you have to stay with me!” Luffy sounded actually upset now, and Law was even more confused. Luffy never really made any sense, but this was a new level. 

“That’s stupid. You told Nami-ya you loved her earlier because she shared her tangerines with you.” 

“That’s different! Nami is Nami! Torao is special!” Luffy insisted. He crossed his arms and pouted sullenly as he continued, almost like he was talking to himself. Was he arguing with Nika again? “But if I tell Torao he’s special, that I love him differently, he’ll either run away or feel like he can’t leave. Torao isn’t good at letting himself be loved.”  

Law just stared at him, completely bewildered. What did that even mean, that he was ‘special’? And for Luffy to accurately predict the two conflicting feelings that Law did indeed have every time he had been faced with affection or care in his adult life was completely unfair. Law wasn’t even going to touch the minefield that was ‘Torao isn’t good at letting himself be loved.’

“Mugiwara-ya, what are you actually saying? What does that mean, that I’m ‘special’ and you ‘love me differently’?” Law finally asked. He couldn’t imagine what Luffy meant. If Law was ‘special,’ was it because he wasn’t part of Luffy’s crew? Or because they’d been allies for so long? How could Luffy’s feelings about Law possibly be that different from his feelings about anyone else? He’d said he wanted them to be friends back on Wano. Just friends, nothing more.

“Stupid Torao. I already said if I tell you, you’ll either run away or be trapped. I don’t want you to leave, but I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner, either!” Luffy’s shoulders hunched, and Law had a feeling that if he let this go now, he’d never get an answer. But if he pushed, he might go too far and make Luffy shut down. 

Fuck, this was why Law hated emotional conversations. 

“Luffy-ya,” Law sighed. Luffy froze, his expression going soft and surprised. “Why don’t you sit with me for a minute?” Luffy’s eyes widened, and most of the defensiveness and frustration drained out of him in an instant. He dropped onto the deck without a word, legs crossed and staring at Law. “I want you to explain it to me. Will you do that?” Law asked, trying to make his voice even and not frustrated. 

“But then-“

“If you really want me to be free to make my own decisions, don’t you think I deserve to know what I’m making decisions about?” Law watched Luffy’s reaction as he first frowned, then scowled, then finally pouted and looked away. “Luffy-ya, I want you to tell me the truth.” He was doing his best to keep certain things Nika had said before out of his mind, but Luffy was making it difficult. They were friends. That was all. 

“Fine. But you have to promise that you won’t get mad at me for it,” Luffy said at last. Law almost teased him about sounding like Nika with that bargaining, but decided not to at the last second. 

“I won’t be mad at you, Mugiwara-ya,” Law promised instead. Luffy took a deep breath, then finally looked Law in the eyes as he spoke. 

“I love you. Not like I love my crew, or my other friends, or the Sunny, or Sabo. I love you like…parties and meat and adventures. I want you to last forever. I want…” Luffy hesitated, and Law had no idea what kind of face he was making. He wasn’t positive that he still had a face, since he couldn’t really feel it. How did one even begin to process that, let alone respond? That shit was not the kind of thing you’d say to a friend. Unfortunately for his stupid heart, Luffy must have seen something encouraging in Law’s expression, because he kept going. “I want to hold your hand just because, and I want to kiss you when you’re sad or happy or just any time. I want to wrap you up and keep you safe even though you’re really strong, and cheer you on while you fight, and I want you to be happy and free and I really want to be around you, but I don’t want to smother you or hold you back. I…” Luffy’s eyes flared pink for a second, but then he shook his head and leaned closer, so Law couldn’t possibly look away, and there was no trace of Nika in Luffy’s eyes or voice as he said, “I’m in love with you, and I’m afraid that now that you know that, it’ll ruin everything.” 

Law stared at him.

What else could he do? 

Luffy said he loved him, that he was in love with him. That was…holy fuck, the asshole sun god was probably so smug up in Luffy’s head right now. 

Because Nika was fucking right. He’d been right all along. 

“…Torao?” Luffy sounded like he was actually nervous, and wasn’t that absolutely wild? Luffy was never nervous about anything. He was always confident and believed things would work out. But he was nervous about Law. He was going to have so many feelings about that later. But for right now, he needed more information, information that would shape exactly what feelings he had later. 

“I’m a little confused, Mugiwara-ya.” That was a huge fucking understatement. “Back on Wano, you said you wanted to be friends.”

“Well, yeah! But I just said that because you seemed upset and stuff, but you kept insisting that the alliance had to be over. That’s how I knew you might feel trapped if I actually said I was in love with you.” Luffy explained like it should have been obvious. Maybe it should have been. Fine, Law could process that later, too.

“Mugiwara-ya, why do you and Nika-ya want to help me get my crew back?” Law demanded. Luffy pouted so hard that Law wondered if he was using his devil fruit powers to stretch his bottom lip farther out. 

“Because we like helping Torao,” Luffy answered. “And because we don’t want you to get killed.”

“You think I’d get killed if I did it alone?” That was insulting and actually hurtful. If Luffy didn’t believe in him…

“Yes.” Ouch. Okay, maybe Law didn’t want to know this after all. “Not because I think you’re weak,” Luffy explained. “You’re really strong. And if you did run into someone stronger than you, I know you’d come up with something to win anyway. But your idea of winning might mean getting your crew out, but not yourself. And I want you to live, Torao. I don’t like the idea of a world without you. And I don’t want you to be alone. It’s not fair that you’re always trying to do dangerous stuff by yourself when there are lots of people who like you and want to help you.” 

“Like you and Nika-ya.” 

“Like me and Nika,” Luffy agreed. “Though you don’t have to take Nika’s help. I can help you on my own. He’s a jerk.” 

Law considered it for a moment. He’d been beaten by Blackbeard once, and he had lost his crew. He would have been killed if it wasn’t for Bepo. If he went back alone, or with just Bepo…he might get them both killed. And if he died, would anyone even care that his crew needed help? The Straw Hats probably would, but they had their own adventures, which Law’s recovery had kept them from for long enough. 

But…if he had Luffy on his side…well, Luffy made the impossible happen all the time, right? 

“Okay. You can help me, if you promise to follow my plan,” Law decided. Luffy beamed, and there was a glint of pink in one of his eyes as he nodded his agreement. “Both of you.” 

“So…you don’t hate me?” Luffy asked hopefully. Law almost asked why he’d hate Luffy, but stopped. He knew exactly why. 

“I don’t hate you, Mugiwara-ya, and I don’t hate Nika-ya, either. He’s enough like you that it’s kind of endearing, actually.” Law watched as Luffy’s expression flickered into Nika’s smirk for a fraction of a second. Luffy seemed relieved, sagging a little even as he smiled brightly at Law. 

“Oh, that reminds me. How come you barely ever use my name, but you call Nika by his name all the time?” Luffy’s pout had returned in full force. 

“I don’t have anything else to call Nika-ya. If I called him something like Sun God-ya, his ego would get even more enormous than it already is,” Law replied. 

“Can’t you use my name, more, then?” Luffy insisted. 

“Maybe I’ll consider it if you actually follow my plan this time.” 

“What’s the plan, then?” 

Right, the plan. Law could process everything about Luffy actually being in love with him later, after his crew was either rescued or avenged. Right now, they needed to focus. Luckily, the inclusion of Luffy and, by default, Nika, made the scraps of a plan Law had already been trying to make work come together more easily. He smirked and leaned towards Luffy.

“So you know how you and Nika-ya can float?”

Penguin was having a terrible day. The Blackbeard Pirates weren’t great at feeding their prisoners regularly, and they weren’t exactly gentle when they handled the captured Heart Pirates, either. Penguin and the others had also received only the bare minimum of proper medical care for the injuries they’d sustained during the fight with Blackbeard’s crew.

So between the pain and the hunger and what Penguin was pretty sure was an infection-induced fever, he really wasn’t having a good time.

At least his fever dreams were getting entertaining, though. He’d never seen Straw Hat Luffy with magenta eyes and fluffy white hair, wearing all white and bouncing from foot to foot like a maniac during any of his previous fever-induced hallucinations.

The giggling that spilled constantly from Luffy’s mouth was weird, too, but again, it was more entertaining than his usual weird dreams, so Penguin wasn’t complaining. 

“Hi, guys!” Bepo chirped, sticking his head through the bars of Penguin’s cell.

“Weird. I think my fever is bad enough that I’m hallucinating Bepo,” Penguin announced. 

“Maybe they put something in the food this morning, because I see him, too,” Jean Bart replied. In the next cell over, Shachi was staring directly at Bepo, too. 

“The bars are bent around his neck,” Shachi whispered. Penguin took a closer look and realized Shachi was right. 

“You guys are being weird,” Bepo informed them. “And you look terrible. Sorry, but you do.” Then he stepped back, and the floor rippled around his feet. 

Maybe Jean Bart was right. Maybe it wasn’t Penguin’s fever, maybe they were all high as fuck. 

“Come on, Luffy - or maybe Nika - sorry, anyway, everything’s rubber right now, so you guys better hurry!” Bepo insisted. 

“What the hell? This dream’s already fucking weird,” Penguin replied with a shrug. He tugged at the shackles on his wrists, and they stretched like rubber bands. He pulled his hands free, then his feet, then helped Jean Bart with his chains, too. 

“Hurry, before he gets bored and decides to do his own thing instead of the plan!” Bepo whispered. The other Hearts followed Penguin’s lead, pulling free from their restraints and then stretching the cell bars enough to slip through them. Soon enough, the entire Heart Pirate crew was crowded into the aisle between their cells. 

“If this is a dream, I’m going to kill whoever wakes me up,” Ikkaku muttered under her breath. Penguin resolved not to annoy her or make any sudden noises, just in case. 

“Okay, Luffy. Or…Nika? Both of you?” Bepo turned to the dancing, white-clothed Luffy with the pink eyes. “It’s time. Let’s all go see our Captain.” 

Penguin was seriously weirded out as the dancing slowed, and Luffy’s arms stretched around them all. The world went stretchy and weird, and Penguin felt like his bones might have turned into rubber, and then there was a little squeeze, and…they were out. 

Luffy had wrapped up the entire crew and squeezed them out of the prison’s exit in one weird bound. Penguin did not want to think about how that happened, especially because he was starting to think - worry? Hope? - that this wasn’t a fever dream or a drug induced hallucination. 

This was just too weird, even for fever-cooked brain cells on drugs. 

The whole group was dragged into a huge leap before Penguin could think anymore, which was actually helpful, because he didn’t want to think anymore. 

“Is that the Straw Hat ship?” someone hissed. Penguin craned his neck, which went too far around, holy fuck, he hated this, and spotted the Thousand Sunny moored offshore. 

Wait, how high up were they?

Luffy was cackling, and then he outright whooped. 

“Torao! Let’s go!” Luffy shouted. Was Law nearby, then? Was he okay? Penguin couldn’t see him. “We have the wedding gift we promised!” His voice went weird and multi-layered, like two people were talking and the words were echoing around in Luffy’s mouth. 

“Wait, the what?” Shachi yelped. Penguin just sighed. If this was a dream, he would need to tell the others when he woke up. If it wasn’t…well, his life was already so goddamn weird, this might as well happen. 

Before he knew it, Penguin and the others were dumped in a heap on the Straw Hat ship. Penguin wondered if maybe it was over, but no, a fresh hell awaited them. 

The fluffy bouncy giggly Luffy danced around them, pulling them one at a time out of the pile and propping them up against the ship’s railings. Penguin was confused at first, then horrified when it was his turn, because Luffy scooped him up, twirled a bit of his own fluffy white hair into an ornate bow, and then stuck it on Penguin’s head where his hat usually sat. He was then placed delicately next to Shachi, who had two tiny cloud hair bows in his hair and a third at his neck like a bow tie. 

“This might be worse than prison,” Shachi whispered. 

“Shut up or he might come back,” Penguin hissed back. 

“Mugiwara-ya, what the fuck are you doing to my crew?” In their moment of need, their captain appeared on the Sunny’s deck and stomped over to Luffy, who was twirling clouds around Hakugan that kinda looked like strings of lights? They even twinkled, too, which was unsettling. Was it miniature lightning, or…?

“I told you! It’s a wedding present!” Luffy repeated himself with a giggle. 

“Who exactly do you think you’re marrying, Nika-ya? You haven’t even confessed to me, let alone proposed or gotten any kind of engagement agreement out of me,” Law snapped as he started going from Heart to Heart, assessing their injuries as they all just stared at the unfolding display of strangeness before them. “Stop tormenting them.”

“I confessed, though! Did you finish processing? Did you kick Burger Face’s butt?” Luffy asked. Penguin noticed that half of the white fluffiness faded from Luffy’s hair and one of his eyes lost its pink tone as Luffy’s voice returned to normal. 

“No, I haven’t finished processing, I was focused on the plan. Now let me take care of my crew,” Law grouched. 

“Aw, but we want to marry Torao. And date him! And-“

“Not right now. We can talk later. Where’s Tony-ya?” 

“Here!” Chopper chirped, emerging from the Sunny with a first aid kit. 

“Who the fuck is ‘we’ suppposed to be?” Penguin muttered. 

“Please don’t let there be two Luffys,” Shachi groaned. 

“So if you won’t date us yet, does that mean we have to court you harder! Better!” Luffy announced. 

“Who the fuck is ‘us’?” Penguin demanded as Law stopped in front of Penguin and sighed. 

“Oh, that’s Mugiwara-ya and the sun god Nika-ya who possesses him sometimes,” Law explained. Penguin stared at him, horrified. How had the Straw Hats gotten crazier and more terrifying?

Penguin didn’t even know how to respond to that, other than: “The fucking what?”