Chapter Text
To nobody's surprise, Mugiwara hadn't even lasted a full day out of the week long coma induced by taking down the Strongest Creature near single-handledly before he started to get restless again. As soon as he had food in him (awake, the black hole ate even in his sleep, which was equal parts fascinating and disturbing), he was back to his full, obnoxious self. And whose problem was that?
“TORAOOOOOOOO~”
Curse the idiot's freakish proficiency with haki; he'd known his corner of peace wouldn't - couldn't - last long.
He slipped the scroll he'd been reading - an account on Wanoan medical history - closed with a sigh, setting it as safe as it could be to the side and calling forth his power.
“Room, Tact.”
Without even looking, he plucked up the rival supernova from behind him, bringing him forward so he was suspended in front of him, arms still spread to grapple and grin still stretched with misplaced glee.
He could already feel his eye starting to twitch.
“What could you possibly want that necessitates you to bother me instead of one of your crew? Besides, you're supposed to be resting, Mugiwara-ya.”
He knew that last part would be about as likely as the sea moving when politely asked to, but he still was a doctor at the end of the day.
The pest in question just stretched languidly where he floated, like a cat, completely unbothered to be held in a rival captain's power. He tipped his head back so he was looking at Law upside down, with a pout.
“But that's boringgggggg. The crew's all busy! Resting sucks!”
Law removed his glasses - movements tracked by hopeful eyes - to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“What about Son of Kaido? He seems to… match your energy levels.” Double the headache.
Mugiwara put his hands behind his head, idly spinning around with an even bigger pout. “Yama-o's busy too. Said something ‘bout Oden n left.”
“And you think bothering me is your solution because….?”
He lit up then, stopping his spinning to sit up cross-legged, with his palms on his knees.
“A spar! Torao is strong!”
“You just woke up from a coma, from a fight in which you appeared to briefly die, and you want to fight more?” He clarified with a sigh, already resigning himself to the answer.
“Yep!” The rival pirate chirped, “I ate lotsa meat, so I'm all good now!” He flexed an arm to demonstrate, more muscular than when they'd departed on Zou already, but inflated it and his chest in a ridiculous exaggeration.
Law rolled his eyes and released the Room to stop the display, dropping Mugiwara onto the tatami mats in a tangle of rubber limbs and a giggly bounce. That dreaded straw hat immediately popped up, bright eyes shining from under the brim.
“So we're gonna do it?!”
Law looked to the ceiling in a silent prayer for something: his rationality, sanity, will to live. Take your pick.
“Fine. I'll entertain you, if only to prevent you destroying an era's worth of priceless history out of boredom. I'm not doing it alone, though. Eustass-ya has to suffer with me.”
“YOSH!!!! LET'S GOOOOO!!!!”
Mugiwara sprang up, muscles coiled in a way that had Law narrowing his eyes and baring one of Kikoku's fangs with a click.
“If you even think about doing what you were about to do, I'm Shambling you into the fucking ocean and leaving you there to drown.” He was not having a repeat of Dressrosa.
Mugiwara grumbled with yet another pout, but kept his rubbery limbs to himself as he literally skipped out of the room. Law followed with another sigh, setting Kikoku back over his shoulder and stretching out reading-stiff muscles. He must've been there longer than he’d realised.
“Time to get Gizaoooooooooo~” Mugiwara ‘sang,’ no longer skipping, but still bouncing every few steps.
Law found himself smirking. If dear ‘Gizao,’ was there, he'd create a bigger noise than Law and thus take the pest's attention away from him. Besides, he was a little intrigued to see how the techniques they'd all developed on the battlefield faced against each other.
He didn't even bother sending out his own Observation - further than the constant baseline, at least - because Mugiwara was like a hound on a scent, head fixed in one direction with a manic smile. All he did was occasionally right their path, since of course the idiot didn't know the castle layout, and was just trying to go in a straight line: he didn't even want to think about what chaos ensued on the trip to get him. He quickly realised their path was taking them outside, opting to use Shambles to switch them with a pair of pebbles instead of going through the intellectual hell that was convincing Mugiwara that they needed to move away from their goal to get to it.
The man in question immediately took off towards the port, a shishishishishi and the slap of flip flops trailing behind him as Law jogged in his wake. As streets and alleys passed by, his latent Observation picked up on Eustass’ grating presence just before his even more grating voice cursed his ears. Which was truly saying something: in a strange land such as this, that had so much reason to hate pirates, he kept his range pretty damn high. It wasn't much longer until the houses turned into shacks, and those started thinning, where the grating voice was joined by another; grating in a different but no less potent way.
“GIZAOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”
He couldn't make out yells and growls that were returned, but understood them well enough from experience, rounding a corner to see Mugiwara attempting to do his thrice cursed koala hug-jump attack, held back by a metal hand on his face. His limbs still snaked to wrap around Eustass-ya, getting swatted away with increasing annoyance. When he caught up, Eustass turned to him with a growl.
“What the fuck is this thing doing here?”
A good question.
“He was bored.” Law shrugged, not feeling particularly helpful.
“No fucking shit. It always is. What does it want with me?”
There was muffled yelling from under the metal palm - which completely covered Mugiwara's face - but the limbs stopped snaking, so Eustass released him with another growl and a wary look. Idiot Rubber landed on his feet, once again completely unbothered, planting his hands on his hips with the grin that haunts Law's nightmares.
“I wanna spar!”
“Oh yeah?” Idiot Metal got in his face. “You sure your scrawny ass is up to it? You were sleepin’ all snug and cosy until yesterday, Princess.”
Idiot Rubber's face immediately scrunched into furious indignance. “‘Course I am! I could beat you any day!!! Torao too!!!! And I'm not a princess, stupid!!”
Now that wouldn't do.
“I would never lose to the likes of you. Either of you.” He added, glaring at Idiot Metal.
Eustass’ poor first mate walked past, a large crate hefted on his shoulder, just as both wheeled on Law with growls, which he met, readying Kikoku to draw. Killer paused for a second, seeming to consider something, before shaking his head and continuing on his way.
“Oh, you want your spar?! You'll get your fucking spar, shithead!!!” Idiot Metal screamed, making his eye twitch.
Idiot Rubber looked seconds away from using a giant, inexplicably flaming fist the size of a house in the middle of the port.
“The wastelands are the best place for me to hand both of your asses to you. There, we can go all out. No whinging about handicaps when it happens.”
Both - surprise surprise - growled at that, narrowing their eyes at him but unable to come up with a good reason to refute.
“...FINE! BUT YOU'RE NOT GONNA WIN!!! I'M THE STRONGEST!” Mugiwara barked.
“NO THE FUCK YOU'RE NO-”
“I'll race you there. No powers.”
He waited for both to register what he'd said, because he had no need for a headstart, before all three took off in unison, pushing and shoving as they tore off. Law did take the initiative to swipe some water bladders and a pouch of dried meats off Idiot Metal's ship as they went past, though. Ope truly was a wonderful fruit.
…
None of them were back to their full strength yet - especially Luffy, as much as he vehemently denied it. After they arrived at their tournament ground - tragically, with no clear winner - they all fell into a heaping pile to catch their breath, sweating buckets and panting. They recovered quickly, not as quick as usual, swiping sweat off brows and springing up to face each other.
Then, as one, they attacked.
Their clash was undeniably powerful: definitely more powerful than it would’ve been before they’d landed on this godsforsaken country, and powerful enough that it would’ve destroyed the port if they’d stayed. But… it wasn’t their full power. Mugiwara’s quite honestly frightening new grasp on haki; Eustass’ metal beasts and beams; Law’s absolute control of his domain; all undercut by the pull of exhaustion. They’d seen that haki push back Kaido where all else had failed to ruffle a single hair, and it was still a fearsome force now, but it was wielded sloppily, with none of the impossible clumsy elegance Mugiwara usually brought to battles. Eustass took an extra moment to react, metal slamming together a blink too late to block, whilst Law’s own movements only brushed on his usual lethal precision, obvious openings missed and chinks left wide open.
It ramped on that way, clumsy blow for clumsy blow, as that exhaustion kept rising, and they were left trading sluggish swings with bare fists - the merest hint of haki used on Mugiwara. Even Eustass’ prosthetic fell into pieces, dropping off one by one - which, to him, was foolhardy, relying on your power constantly when actual prosthetics were well within your capabilities. He supposed it came with the benefit of being ammo for his attacks, though. With final, simultaneous, blows, they all fell backwards, sucking in the air still thick and cloyed with years of sickness.
“It’s…. not… over….yet….” Mugiwara wheezed.
Both he and Eustass groaned out what was probably a returning challenge, but not a single one of them moved so much as an eyelash.
They stayed there, spread out on splintered dirt, for seas knows how long, staring up at the unforgiving sun. Nobody moved, still breathing heavily, until Mugiwara’s stomach did its specialty, breaking the silence with a loud grumble. Mugiwara himself let out an equally miserable groan, pushing himself up and muttering about being hungry. Both he and Eustass groaned back, rolling their heads slightly in acknowledgment, before they flopped back to neutral and Law managed to sling an arm over his eyes. Of course that would be his first order of business.
Then, his eyes flew open again, dropping his arm off his face to prop himself up slightly - fuck, that was sore - and scan around, catching a glimpse of bright red disappearing into the nearby, but out of the battle danger zone, bamboo thicket.
“Shit.” he croaked, using Kikoku to pull himself up and take a swig out of one of the bladders, throwing another on Eustass’ stomach.
The man in question took it with a glare and a grumble, propping himself up too and beginning to reassemble his arm.
“Wha’s the issue?”
“Mugiwara. The plants and water haven’t had time to get rid of the poison.”
Eustass took a long swig of his water, bringing himself into a sit, now with two complete arms.
“Not my problem, got it.”
He scowled, because it shouldn't be his either.
He pushed himself fully up, brushing off some of the light brown dusting his jeans.
“I’ll be back with the moron soon.”
A disinterested grunt.
He propped Kikoku back over his shoulder, setting off towards where he could hear Mugiwara moving around with infuriating vigour, tracking his Voice on dragging feet. It was tired, but steady, content to be scampering around the wild - sounded about right - until it stopped moving altogether, which could only mean one thing.
He picked up the pace, energy returning to his own limbs so he could push himself into a jog, weaving through the bamboo.
“MUGIWARA-YA, WAIT!”
It was more than futile, but it couldn't be said that he'd done nothing. In fact, it had the opposite effect. Mugiwara’s Voice startled, moving with urgency - fucking hell - causing Law to pick up the pace again. At the very least, he could get it out of the moron's system before it made its way through.
Then, the Voice went…. different. It was still Mugiwara, just about, but not. He broke into a sprint, cursing whatever the catastrophic moron had gotten himself into this time under his breath as he crashed into a small clearing, the source of his Voice.
When he got there, he slowed down, furrowing his brows.
“Mugiwara?” He called, stepping into the clearing and towering over him. “I thought you stopped this side effect of Gear Third in your training wi-”
He abruptly trailed off, because when Mini Mugiwara turned towards him his face was open but entirely devoid of recognition. The kimono he'd been wearing was replaced by a tank and shorts and his hand was clasped around an incredibly poisonous looking mushroom with a bite mark missing. Like seriously, it was textbook ‘don't eat me unless you want to die an awful death,’ looking with bright blue and yellow spots, oddly shaped almost like a pair of wings.
He furrowed his brows further.
“Mugiwara, we've been over this. You cannot just eat whatever you find. Give me that.” He snapped, reaching out for the offending fungus.
It was like a flip had been switched on Mini Mugiwara, going from his usual open cheerfulness to animalistic fury quicker than Law, caught entirely off guard, could register. His haki did save him from a bite right to the sensitive webbing between his thumb and finger, pulling his hand out of the way as teeth snapped thin air.
What the fuck.
First of all, what the fuck.
Second of all, Mugiwara was always possessive of food. Of course he was. But, not like this. That bite had been pure intent to harm, no hesitation. But that was the other thing, he hadn't used haki: there was absolutely no holding back in his Voice, but he'd just snapped without the tool he usually wielded as naturally as his own breath.
He looked down - why was he still so small? - at Mugiwara with wide eyes, giving out a snarl of his own as the little shit tried to shove what was left into his mouth defensively. This time, he switched it out with a bit of lint in his pocket, making Mugiwara give off a very disgruntled yell.
“What the fuck are you doing, Mugiwara-ya?!” He hissed, furrowing his brows further the more he took in the Voice.
“HEY YOU!!! WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY FOOD!!!”
Expecting the attack this time, he was able to stop whatever the fuck he was doing without using his powers. Nor his haki, because Mugiwara still wasn't using his own, even as he squirmed in Law's grip.
“It wasn't safe to eat, you fucking imbecile!” He growled, blinking when the frantic writhing suddenly ceased and Mini-Mugiwara broke back into an easygoing grin.
“Oh! That's alright then!” He paused to look around, idly taking in everything around them and turning back to look up at Law. “Ne, mister, where are we?”
What?
“Don't play games, Mugiwara-ya. We're in the bamboo thicket you ran off to after our spar.”
“Mmmmm, no. I woulda remembered that.” What?. “Ne mister, who are you? N why do you keep callin’ me that?”
He looked down at Mugiwara, straight into the familiar-but-not brown eyes that were staring right back at him, open and honest.
He swallowed hard, placing him back down on the ground.
“Mugiwara-ya.”
“Yeah, that!”
“How old are you?” He asked, tone flat. He closed his eyes because please no…
“Seven!!!”
His eyes flew open.
Well, fuck.
“Fuck.”
Mugiwara - the child - crossed his arms and scrunched up his own face.
“You still ain't answered my question, mister. Who are you n why do you keep callin’ me that?!”
“I'm Trafalgar Law.” He answered, unsure of what else to fucking do. “I call you that because you have a mugiwara, and ‘ya’ is just something I add to people's names.”
“Hmmm. Okay!”
He felt a fit of nervous laughter bubbling up because that was it??? Just ‘Okay!’
“You're Traof- Toral- Tral-”
“Trafalgar.” He responded robotically, out of habit.
“Torao!”
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
“Sure.” That was not the battle he was choosing to pick right now.
Wordlessly, he took out the pouch of meat and tossed it to seven-year-old Mugiwara, who caught it and drained the contents with an excited yell.
“Torao is the best!!!!!”
And then, because what was happening wasn't punishment enough already, he felt headache #2 enter the thicket, rambling right towards them.
He stared at the child - who just stared back - as he waited for Eustass-ya to reach them, trying to decide on what to do. He reached an astounding total of zero options by the time he did, simply just stepping out of the way so he could see for himself.
“What's taking you fucks so lon…” he trailed off, halfway through brushing a leaf out of the way as he took in Luffy, tiny, and Law, standing off the side looking utterly lost.
“Huh? I thought that didn't happen afte-”
“He's seven years old.”
“....you what?”
“Mugiwara is seven years old.” He repeated, deadpan.
“I'm seven!!!!” Their fellow supernova confirmed, looking Eustass up and down and turning back to Law, pointing obnoxiously. “Who’s that?”
“Eustass Kidd.” He answered blankly, the man in question turning to him with a gaping mouth.
Mini Mugiwara put a hand to his chin, humming as he leant forward and searched Eustass’ face.
“Gizao.” He declared with a nod.
And, just like Law, Gizao himself decided there were bigger fish to fry, just nodding dumbly.
The child started swinging his arms boredly, looking around.
“Where's Ace and Bo?” He asked innocently, casually.
Law froze, whilst Eustass scratched the stubble on his cheek.
“You mean Firefist? He's-”
Law's eyes widened, and he stamped down on the tactless moron's foot hard, with haki and a pulse from his power that would send a rather uncomfortable zap up his leg. He received a killer death glare for it, but he met it dead seriously: seriously enough that Eustass-ya's eyes flashed with surprise for a second and he stood down.
He took in a steeling breath, drawing on his - unfortunately extensive - experience with his fellow captain to formulate the response that would be least likely to lead to a rampaging seven year old who nobody else could see. Nami-ya would have their hides if they returned with only about a quarter of her captain. And Nico-ya… Nico-ya was an unknown, which was even more terrifying.
“Listen, Mugiwara-ya.”
“Mmmmm?” Brown eyes peered at him from under a too-big hat, curious and seriously far too relaxed around two - apparently - strange men.
“There were some mystery powers, which will mean you'll be back with your brothers soon, but they asked us to look after you in the meantime.”
“Okay!”
He and Eustass-ya exchanged incredulous looks. Mugiwara was nowhere close to the brightest at the best of times, but that was it???? They could be lying! They were lying! Kind of, at least: Flame Emperor had asked Mugiwara's crew to look after him whilst Law was there. Still, to him, they were two strange men who'd just cornered him in a place he didn't even remember getting to.
It wasn't that he was coddled, up to this point, either: the child was absolutely littered with scars, fresh ones, even more than was visible on his grown self. Some of them could be attributed to him being Mugiwara, scratches and scrapes from claws and brambles being expected enough. The concerning ones were the hundred of puckered puncture scars that were far, far too uniform, all over every bit of visible skin. That didn't happen naturally. When he'd Scanned him - near immediately - he'd picked up on far too much functional muscle for a seven year old who'd been anything but wild too. And yet, here he was, without a care in the world.
“Gizao has a cool metal arm! Are you a robot?!” Mini-Mugi gasped, eyes sparkling as they locked in on the impractical prosthetic.
“No.” He grunted.
“A cyborg?!”
“Nah.”
“Just cool then!!!”
Eustass-ya blinked a couple times, staring down at the child like he was a complex puzzle. Which, for him, was any puzzle.
“And Torao has cool tattoos!!!!”
Yet again taking him by surprise, Mini-Mugi grabbed his wrist in a completely fearless, insistent hand, and tugged down with not even a hint of the strength needed to make it budge. Law, as baffled as he was, let himself be maneuvered, watching detached as the child traced his ink with a surprisingly gentle finger.
Soon bored of that, Mini-Mugiwara jumped back to start poking around leaves, presumably for bugs, leaving him and Eustass-ya to watch in stunned silence.
“What the fuck are we gonna do? I don't know what to do with a child!” The brute hissed, watching Mugiwara pout as he found nothing under the rock he picked up.
“And you think I do??” Law hissed back. “I'm a surgeon pirate captain, not a nanny!”
“So, we just dump him back with his crew. He's their captain, their problem!”
Law shook his head. “We can't let Nami-ya see him like this, with us. She'll panic and blame us for putting her captain out of commission, and you do not want to deal with a panicked Nami-ya.”
“The redhead? Cat Burglar?? You're scared of her? She's tiny!”
“She wrangles him and his idiots.” Law shot back, pointing to where Mugiwara was now trying to punch a bit of bamboo, sending his fist flying directly back into his face. “Trust me, she can be plenty daunting in her own right when it comes to his antics. And, where Nami-ya goes, Blackleg-ya follows.”
Eustass-ya considered that for a few moments, eventually nodding. “So, what do we do then? Just kidnap their captain and hope he stops being pint-sized by the time they come looking?”
….it was their best option.
Eustass-ya grimaced at his expression. “Fucking brilliant.”
And then, because of course he did, Mini-Mugiwara abruptly stopped… whatever he was doing to turn to them with a familiar, specific pout.
“I'm hungryyyyyyyy…” he whined, pitifully, staring up at them with huge, imploring eyes.
Law sucked in a breath. Their only option was to, somehow, get back to Flower Capital and stay undetected by all of their crews. A hard enough task at the best of times, with how competently nosy they could be, and having an even more impulsive Mugiwara very much did not classify anywhere near ‘best.’ At all.
“Right, yeah. Of course. We'll go get it now, then.” Was it the most intellectual he'd ever been? No. Was he in the company of apes who were in no place to comment on it? Yes.
Eustass-ya shot him a scathing look, but started turning to make the trek back, shoulders slumped in defeat. Or, he would've if a tiny hand hadn't found its way into his, fingers stretching to wrap around all four fingers. Eustass stopped dead, staring blankly at his hand, then the tiny one wrapped around it, then the huge eyes connected to it, blinking up at him. He tried to pull his own away, somewhat gently for him, but the little hand just followed.
“...what are you doing?” He eventually asked.
“Holding hands.” Mini-Mugiwara was looking at him like he was a complete and utter invalid, which was very astute, and also absolutely golden coming from him.
“Yeah, no, I got that part, shithead. I'm asking why.”
“Ace n Bo say i gotta hold hands when i dunno where I am. I dunno where I am.” Mugiwara stated matter-of-factly, insistently pressing his hand more firmly into Eustass-ya's.
Law was about to burst into laughter over the sheer embarrassed fury on Eustass-ya's face when his hand was grabbed, rubbery fingers snaking over black letters and tugging him insistently forward.
“Torao too!!!!”
Firefist and Flame Emperor must've been working overtime to keep this child alive, because there was no way this survived on its own merit. He'd just met them for sea's sake! All he knew was their names! Yet here he was, two of the monsters of this era clasped firmly in rubber hands.
Law tried to tug his own away, but the rubbery one chased it, fingers still firmly in place, but making Mugiwara frown.
“They say I gotta!” He insisted, using his eyes to convey the absolute gravity of the situation.
Eustass-ya tried to pull his hand away once more, but this time Mini-Mugiwara whined and stomped his foot.
“Gizao!”
The fight left the poor man, slumping and relaxing into the assault.
“Fucking hell, Mugiwara. Fine! You can have my fuckin’ hand!”
Mugiwara beamed, turning to Law with suspicious eyes next, daring him to try to escape too. When Law just stared back, not moving but not giving in either, he narrowed them further.
“They say I gotta.” He repeated, eyes boring into Law's skull.
He'd spent enough time with the rival captain to know when a battle was already lost, and this was firmly one of them. At least, there was nobody around to see it, except Gizao himself, who'd be taking it to his grave too.
With Mini-Mugiwara satisfied, and faces burning as bright as Eustass-ya's hair and matching obnoxious cape, they started leading him out of the thicket. As they moved along, Law came to find himself glad about their connected hands: Mugiwara was actually contained, under his own willing insistence. Even as… small… as he was, he was slightly less of a headache than usual this way.
When they finally reached the edge and stepped out into the wastelands, he swivelled his head around owlishly, blinking up at the sun, and the scorched earth. He squinted at it, blinked, then looked at both of them in turn.
“What's wrong with it?”
How did you explain a history of corruption and ecological despair to a child with what he could only assume was the absurdly intense moral compass of his older self?
“The land was… sick. But it'll get better now.” Thanks to your reckless, righteous ass.
“That sucks.” He perked up. “I'm glad it's gonna get better, though!”
Law looked down at Mini-Mugiwara, who was gazing at the scarred horizon with a smile.
“You would be.” He murmured, thinking back on the quiet fury that had rolled off the boy when he was still a man, facing down Emperors without flinching; dismissing them. And why? Because it was his friends’ country.
The boy's stomach grumbled again, prompting them to move on before he could even start the usual - not that it stopped it.
“I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyyy.”
At all.
“When aren't you, Munchkin?” Eustass groused.
Said journey suddenly felt much, much longer. Even with the kid seeming to already possess superhuman stamina - more than the average Blues marine recruit, at the very least - his legs were little, and theirs strode across the strongest sea.
Not only that. Along the way, the absolute worst possible situation struck: Mugiwara got bored.
“I'm hungryyyyyyyy and it's hotttttt and there's nothing to look attttttt.” He whined, being practically dragged by the hands he still clung onto.
“There's nothing we can do about that until we get there, Mugiwara-ya.” Law sighed, for the millionth time. The little monster had drained all the water bladders a good hour ago.
Eustass, looking like he regretted absolutely every decision that had led to this point, growled and snatched his hand free, coming to a stop. Mugiwara looked curiously up at Law, who was just as in the dark as he was, then at Eustass, who surprisingly wasn't getting chewed out for his breach of the indomitable hand holding code.
They both watched as Eustass pulled scraps out of his toolbelt, grumbling all the while, cupping them in his hands and furrowing his brows to concentrate. He suddenly stopped, marching up to Mugiwara and grunting until he put his recently freed hand out. Then, with more delicacy than he'd ever had thought the man capable of, near reverently deposited what he'd been working on into the middle of the little palm.
Mugiwara held it with just as much - if not more - care, gazing at the intricate metal butterfly he now supported.
“It's an emeraldine moth!” He breathed, looking up at Eustass-ya with more grateful adoration than the man knew what to do with.
He stood corrected, intricate metal moth.
It stalled him for a good few seconds before he managed a small “You know what it is?”
“Mn! I love bugs!” He exclaimed, swinging Law's arm but keeping the one holding the moth dead still. “We have these at home! Ace n Bo pretend they don't wanna but we go bug catchin’ and they're always the best at it n happy inside. Ace caught one of these once n doesn't stop bragging bout it cos me n Bo never have. They're hard ta get to cos they're asleep in the day n the caterpillars live up high.”
Eustass grimaced at the mention of Ace, averting his gaze. It had been pretty fucking apparent to anyone who'd seen the broadcast that Mugiwara cared for Firefist deeply, but Law had been there after. After, when he had to pump out a whole cocktail of drugs that were eating the boy from the inside just to get him a little bit further, when haunted eyes had raged. After that, when he'd fought and fought desperately to protect, even if he got his smile back. He looked into the shining, bright eyes and could only see the ones from then, worlds apart but the same.
“Right, well uh…” Eustass activated his power, making the mechanical moth flutter to life in an awed child's hand, lifting off to twirl and spin around his head. “Now there's something ta look at, so quit complainin’.”
Miraculously, he did. Mugiwara was absolutely enthralled by the moth, Eustass-ya watching him - hand once again firmly captured - with something dangerously close to fondness.
“How did you know it, Eustass-ya?”
The man shrugged with a grunt. “Saw em on a summer island we landed on in Paradise. Thought it looked cool, n I like makin’ cool things.”
It quite honestly hadn't occurred to him that Eustass would do things outside of fighting and being loud, or use his powers for anything other than destruction. But, he found the image of delicate tinkering more fitting to the man than he thought it would.
“It's so cool!!!! The coolest ever!!!”
Progress from there was less soul destroying, but still slow, even though Mini-Mugiwara hadn't started to tire yet - which was genuinely impressive for the distance they'd crossed - too slow. Curse those little legs. It took about half an hour longer for the agonisingly slow pace to override Law's dignity, pulling to a stop with a sigh.
“Mugiwara-ya.”
“Mmmhm?” He answered non-committally, still fixed on the metal insect.
He closed his eyes, shutting down the last, valliant bits of fight said dignity was trying to put up.
“Would you let me carry you so we can get you to food faster?”
“Mmmmmmmm, sure!”
Survival instincts of a fucking cucumber. Well, no, scratch that: his reaction when he thought Law was stealing his food was visceral. He did have a pretty fearsome guard, he just…. wasn't using it.
He'd been planning on crouching down, so Mugiwara could clamber onto his back in a piggyback, but the little menace had other plans. When didn't he.
In the next blink, both of their hands had been released and Mugiwara had launched himself at Law. Not at his back: no, Law now had a seven year old Mugiwara no Luffy clinging to his chest like a particularly insistent version of his family namesake. Arms and legs wrapped around his torso, locking the pest in place as he rested his head on Law's collarbone like a fucking pillow, straw hat getting pushed back as it brushed against his neck.
“Mugiwara-ya…”
“Yeah?”
“I meant on my back.”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmmm. Nah. This is comfier!”
Law's ears turned beet red as the moth did a mocking lap around his burning face, making Mini-Mugiwara giggle. He wheeled on Eustass-ya, who looked highly amused. He jabbed a finger at him, the other arm now occupied supporting Mugiwara's back.
“If you utter so much as a word, you're going down with me.” He hissed.
Eustass-ya's eyes flicked to the moth, his face immediately falling into a solemn grimace with a nod.
This would stay between them, to their graves. If they could get away with it, that is. Neither Eustass nor Mugiwara usually had a speck of subtlety, and Mugiwara was currently missing a whole lot of frontal lobe development he really couldn't afford to lose. Eustass-ya, at least, had the severity of being found out hanging over his head. The child… not so much.
Mugiwara made absolutely no inclination to move and he just wanted to be back by now too, so Law tightened the arm supporting Mini-Mugiwara's back with the umpteenth resigned sigh of the day and broke into a light jog, still about twenty times faster than before.
Mugiwara himself was surprisingly a non-issue, content to mirror Kikoku against Law's collarbone and watch the moth dance around them as a whole lot of nothing zipped by, occasionally bunching a hand in blue feathers but overall, for once, not being in the way.
Pretty much as soon as the castle's huge sakura came into view, Mugiwara's head snapped up, nostrils flaring as he scented the air.
“Meat!!!”
Of course he could smell it from there. It did, though, pose the question of how they were going to get Mugiwara in, fed, entertained and away from any of their crews, with the exception of maybe Tony-ya, who needed to see the mushroom Law held in his pocket in a bubble to neutralise its scent - a similar technique to Re-Room Silent, and the one he'd used to keep meat under Mugiwara's nose without being jumped.
He looked down at the child, who was peering back up at him, and then to Eustass-ya, who eyed him suspiciously.
“We're going to go through the back, smuggle him in your cape, find a corner of the castle to ride this out. I can Shambles food in from there.”
Eustass immediately began violently shaking his head.
“Hell no! He's already clinging to you. You do it!”
“No.” He shook his head back, rationally. “Your cape is thicker, and you are… heavier… than me. He'll be less obvious there.”
“You're clearly tryna call me fat, but I ain't even gonna rise to it cos your ass is just scrawny and you could only dream of bulking up this much, Scarecrow.” He scowled. “Just use your freaky powers, then!”
Law pointedly averted his gaze, looking anywhere but him.
“...you're too tired, aren't you?” The fucking asshole laughed.
Law whipped his head back around to face him. “I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU TRANSPORT HUNDREDS OF KILOS OF METAL, WITH PRECISION. ACROSS THE CITY RIGHT NOW, EUSTASS-YA.” He snapped, Mini-Mugiwara watching the exchange incredibly entertained.
“Fine.” He acquiesced with a grumble. “But only to get in, then you can take the little shit right back.”
They were getting much closer to the rear of the city now, looping around in a wide arc to keep their detour away from prying eyes. They stopped, crouching behind a convenient rock.
“Alright, Mugiwara. Are you ready to play a game?”
The child nodded, curiously, having already forgotten the shouting match from a few minutes ago.
“You're gonna hide in his cape,” He pointed at Eustass-ya, who was making a face at the disdain he'd poured into the address, “and be super quiet. A ninja mission.”
Mugiwara nodded seriously, already finally dis-attaching from Law to scamper over and burrow into violently red fur, Eustass sitting up stiff as a cadaver. The fur ruffled as the little shit got into position, until it finally settled, leaving an odd lump over the shoulders that was passable enough as the brute’s brutishness if you didn’t look too close. None of the child’s limbs were visible from under the edges, at least. He nodded, standing up to continue their infiltration, Eustass-ya joining him, still ramrod straight.
“We’re going to get caught immediately if you don’t loosen up, you know.” He remarked, tossing Eustass-ya an amused side eye.
The man in question let out a frustrated growl, but did so. He was still suspicious as shit, but it was dismissable enough as soreness from the match everyone would assume they’d had - and they did have - now he wasn’t doing his best to impersonate a board. And, like that, they entered the beginnings of the already reforming slums, slipping past houses until they found their way to the palace gardens unobstructed - the feast and party was on the other side of the city, still raging and drawing the ecstatic country to it. Now the real challenge would begin: having to stay inconspicuous under sharp eyes. They had to be careful, but carefully relaxed.
They’d almost made it into the castle, too, when they inevitably were spotted.
“Heyyyy!!!! Torao!!!! Gizao!!!!”
They both immediately stiffened, turning to where Son of Kaido was bounding up to them with his club resting over his shoulders, the other arm waving with the infuriatingly endless enthusiasm he shared with Mugiwara. The lump under Eustass-ya’s cape shifted slightly, but ultimately stayed still, Eustass himself shifting so it would be out of the oni’s line of sight.
When he reached them, he stopped short, narrowing his eyes and bending at the waist from where he towered over them to search their faces.
“What’s up with you?” He asked bluntly.
Fuck.
“We just had a spar. We’re tired.” Law replied, trying to employ his usual bored drawl.
“And Luffy?”
The lump stirred slightly again at the mention of his name, but stilled right after. Seas bless the absolute power invoking the word ninja possessed.
“You know how Mugiwara-ya is. He split off to get food from the feast.”
The oni leaned back, standing to his full height, amusedly unimpressed and letting them squirm for a good few seconds.
“I have haki, you know.”
Fuck.
Really should’ve thought of that.
He and Eustass exchanged looks before slumping.
“Come with us.” He sighed, defeated, turning for one of the academic archive rooms in a part of the castle he knew had little foot traffic, but was set up with a cosy arrangement of cushions and mats.
The oni shrugged, unbothered by the bullshit he’d clocked instantly, following them and shooting amused looks at the Mugiwara shaped lump. The lump itself remained remarkably still all the way there, taking his ninja mission incredibly seriously. When they did get there, blessedly not passing anyone else, he slid the door closed and set up a Silent around them, turning to where Yamato had already made himself comfortable.
“So, why’s Luffy hiding in Gizao’s cape, and why does his Voice sound different?”
Law sighed, turning to the offending item. “Mission over, Mugiwara-ya. You win.”
A little rubbery missile immediately shot out, latching onto the new surroundings, then the new person.
The oni and the boy-supernova stared each other down with matching excited squeals as soon as they laid eyes on each other.
“HE IS SO SMALL!!!”
“YOU’RE SO COOL!!!”
Law and his fellow victim of circumstance stood back and watched awkwardly as Mini-Mugiwara started climbing the delighted oni - still towering over him from there - tapping his horns and clinging to his back.
“Ne, how’d you know my name? Do you know Ace and Bo too?!”
Law felt his heart sink - the details were unclear, but he knew the oni had some connection to FireFist - ready to explain, to intervene.
Yamato broke into a soft, warm smile, with a nod, immediately making Law relax. He already understood, probably more than they did.
“Ace told me all about you! Said you were his crybaby little brother.” He laughed, reaching around to pull Mugiwara off his back and squeeze him into a hug. “That your punches were as strong as pistols!”
Mini-Mugiwara had already been readying himself to object, but was immediately pacified by that, nodding his head and grinning proudly as he hugged the oni back.
In the meantime, Law had been working to extend his Room to the kitchens - not too far from where they were now, tactically - sweat beading his brow as he located a stack of meat and tugged, switching it with some of the leaves he’d pocketed earlier. He leaned on Kikoku, panting, as it appeared, Mugiwara and Yamato immediately latching on, but the oni allowing his miniature friend to dive in first.
When he did dive in after, Mugiwara growled, dropping into the feral state Law had experienced himself, full intent to harm and all. Yamato, however, was completely unimpressed, simply growling back, deep and powerful, tinged with a hint of Will. Mugiwara immediately backed down like a scolded kitten, hands flying off the stick he'd been attacking and sitting back with a pout. The oni softened up, chuffing lightly and sliding over a hearty portion, which was promptly devoured with grateful chirps
Law had kept a grilled fish for himself, benevolently passing a hunk of meat to Eustass-ya as he watched the carnage unfold too, him impressed and Law with detached fascination. The pair made quick work of the veritable feast before them, Mugiwara being actually respectful of Yamato's food, whilst the oni continued to chuff fondly and slide him big cuts, always to returning squeaks around stuffed cheeks.
When nothing but a barren grave of bones was left, Mugiwara burrowed right back into the oni's chest, purring as he settled against muscle. That much had been Law's handiwork: whilst Mugiwara had been asleep, the oni had approached him, asking him to remove the excess tissue. He had wanted it the ‘warrior's way!’ without the use of Ope, which was child's play for Law. However, the stubborn moron was refusing to eat until Mugiwara woke up and, even with oni's natural regeneration, he refused to perform a classic surgery on someone adamantly fasting for an indefinite amount of time. Yamato had agreed to a temporary fix with Ope, with the tissue currently sitting in jars in Tang's care to be slotted back in and removed ‘honorably,’ before they left Wano.
Yamato rumbled out a returning purr, knocking the straw hat back and rubbing his cheek over Mugiwara's head. He huffed out of his nose, Mugiwara doing the same back, then looked up at Eustass and himself as they sat themselves down opposite.
“So, what happened?”
Law sighed, yet again pinching the bridge of his nose. “We were out sparring on the plains. After, the idiot went off to eat something. I found him like that.” He looked up to jab his chin at the little issue mercifully attached to the apparent feral child whisperer instead of him. “He had this in his hand.”
He pulled the offending mushroom out of his pocket and held it up.
Yamato tilted his head at it with a hum.
“You know it?”
The oni nodded. “I do, and that's just a rare, but regular, mushroom. It's used as a delicacy here.”
Huh?
“.....so that's not what did it?”
“Nope!” Yamato chirped, resting his chin on Mugiwara's head, which was swivelling to whoever was speaking.
“....do you know what did?”
“Nope!”
“Fuck.” Eustass-ya so aptly summarised, widening his eyes as it caught up to him. “Wait. Fuckin’ wait a second here. That means we don't know when, or if, it'll wear off?!”
“It appears we do not, no.”
“What was your plan with it, anyways?” Yamato asked, looking back down to Mini-Mugiwara. “Why were you sneaking around?”
Both winced. “Nami-ya…”
Yamato looked thoughtful at that. “A valid concern for any warrior. You don't think she'd take it well?”
“We left with her captain and returned with a child, leaving the crew vulnerable. I cannot imagine she'd be thrilled, no.”
She did seem to have an inclination towards children, but he was not going to risk her panicking over it.
“Horns has a point .” Eustass grunted. “What was the plan? To just hide out here and hope nobody found us? That this thing-” He pointed to Mugiwara, who'd finally got bored of staying still and was making the journey to Yamato's shoulders, “- would stay put?”
He winced again, because that had been exactly the plan.
Mugiwara had climbed fully onto the oni's shoulders, peering at them from between his horns, with a hand gripping each to hold himself up. Yamato broke into a wide grin before whipping his head forward and throwing Mini-Mugiwara to the ground, his grip giving out before he stretched. He landed hard, bouncing a few times with giggles, before jumping up and starting to run haphazardly around the room with no clear intention.
Maybe feeding him hadn't been the right idea, after all.
Yamato tracked his movements, leaning back on his hands. “What are you going to do about haki? His crew will come looking for him sooner or later. Your entrance technique won't work against Jinbei, Zoro or Sanji-san, and I doubt Robin-chan either.”
“We could just keep kidnappin’ them as they appear. Eventually they'll run outta ones with haki n we can hide better.” Eustass offered.
Law sighed. “We'll have to fend off our own crews, too. My lot, for one, are a gaggle of needy, nosy bastards. When I get my stamina back, I can teleport us around, but that can only buy time.”
Mugiwara was about to start climbing up a wall of scrolls so Law, Re-Room already active and covering them with Silent, switched him out with a wishbone. The little crisis himself appeared back in the middle of their crisis meeting, looking at them then back at the wall he'd just been displaced from, then back to Law's hand, still raised open in the Shambles motion.
“You got mystery powers?????”
“Yea, Mugiwara. Everyone here ate a devil fruit.”
“You too?!?!?!” He yelled, snapping his head to Eustass and Yamato.
“Did the suddenly appearing food and flying scraps of metal not tip you off, or perhaps the fact the air is blue?” It wouldn't, would it?
“Mmmmmm, nope!” He confirmed, looking between them with eyes as big as saucers. “WHAT CAN YOU DO????
“Oh, oh!” Yamato shot his arm into the air excitedly. “I can turn into a mythical ice wolf. I ate Inu Inu, Model: Okuchi no Makami!”
Before Mini-Mugiwara could, most likely literally, jump on that, Eustass-ya puffed up his chest self-importantly.
“Jiki Jiki no Mi. I'm a magnet man.” He grinned, bringing the moth back out and making it flutter around the room, along with the rest of the loose scraps in his belt. The saucer eyes tracked the racing metals for a few seconds before trapping Law in their sights.
He sighed.
“Ope Ope no Mi. I can create operating rooms, the inside of which I can control more or less however I wish. We're in one right now, that doesn't let sound escape.”
He realised his mistake when Mini-Mugiwara lit up, but the damage had already been catastrophically, irrevocably dealt.
“EVEN THIS?!?!?!?”
He winced because reversal of time had not made him any quieter. If anything, it matched the usual infernal volume, but was infinitely shriller now.
“Yes, Mugiwara. Even that.” He got out through gritted teeth. “No sound can get out. It does not need testing.”
That wasn't the only damage that had been dealt, though. From one blink to the next, Mugiwara appeared right in front of his face, close enough he almost - almost - startled.
“Mystery powers!!! What's an operating room?!?! What else can you do?!?!”
Fuck.
He'd just made himself The Subject of Interest.
He made a sound dangerously close to a squawk, throwing his hand out to point at a nonplussed oni.
“He can turn into an ice wolf! Isn't that cool!?”
Mugiwara nodded sagely. “Very cool.”
But, he stayed fixed on Law. Worse, he went and made himself comfortable right on his lap, knocking his head back so he was peering at him upside down. Law had stiffened, not returning any gesture at all, but the child was entirely undeterred, letting out a soft shishishishi.
“Mystery powers!” He insisted, much to Law's mounting dismay.
He shifted, trying to dislodge the invader but achieving just about nothing. Mini-Mugiwara was somehow even worse with personal space than Mugiwara Mugiwara, just blinking expectantly up at him.
“...an operating room is where a surgeon works. That's what I am: a surgeon. The Surgeon of Death, to be exact.”
“Cool!!!! Wozzat?!”
“A surgeon?”
“Yah!”
Law squinted at the child: surely surgeons were common knowledge for seven-year-olds. Even ones as… unique… as Mugiwara.
“A doctor who cuts into people to fix them.”
“Oh! So you go all chop chop!!!!”
“...amongst other things. Inside my Room, I can switch objects’ positions - what I did to you just now, like teleporting - make them float-” he made some of the bones do a lap around them, “-and, yes, cut things. With Ope, I can do it harmlessly, taking people apart and putting them together again without so much as a scratch.”
Mugiwara gasped, pivoting so he was facing Law normally. “So I could see inside me?!?! All the gunky bits?!?!?”
He really hadn't changed at all, had he? Maybe they could just give him back to his lunatic crew as is: the brain was certainly the same. Most people were grossed out seeing their still-functioning organs, but Mugiwara had always seen it as a game.
Instead of replying, Law just smirked and crooked a finger to pull out Mugiwara's beating heart. He held it in front of him, which the child gazed at in wonder, then down at the square hole in his chest. When he, predictably, reached out grabby hands for it, Law sent it back to its home. Whilst he had no qualms about vivisecting a child as per request, he was not risking subjecting one to the abject agony mishandling led to. Mugiwara pouted at it being back out of his reach, but lit up again soon enough.
Eustass was more than content to sit back and watch the exchange with a huge, shit-eating grin. Law was equally content to shoot him a warning glare and a matching middle finger. Mugiwara went back to looking between all the adults, tragically still stuck to Law.
“You all ate devil fruits!!! Me too!!! I got the Gumo Gumo no Mi!!!”
They knew. It was pretty fucking hard to miss when he screamed it before every. Single. Attack.
With another shit eating grin, Eustass pointed at Law, only being fed by the venomous glare he shot back.
“He's a pirate captain too, y'know?”
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. The attention had just come off him!
Law pointed back, somewhat hysterically. “He is too!!!”
Thank fuck, Mugiwara's head snapped to Kidd this time. Still occupying Law's lap, though.
“FOR REALS?!?!?” His head snapped back to Law, and then Kidd again.
“Yes, for reals. I'm captain of the Heart Pirates, and that thing is captain of the Kidd Pirates.”
Then, finally, Mini-Mugiwara, lifted himself up with a grunt, hopping over to start poking at Eustass-ya's metal arm, giggling when the man kept trying to push him away - with no real force, Law noted - and just clinging on more persistently. He ended up draped across his shoulders, hanging upside down to tamper at optimum capacity. That, too, grew boring for him, shifting his attention back to the only one who actually wanted him there.
As soon as he toddled within range, Yamato struck, grinning victoriously as he held Mini-Mugiwara upside down by an ankle in one hand, hat hanging from its string and him slowly spinning from side to side.
“Ice wolf!!!!” He cheered.
Yamato's eyes flashed blue as he bared his teeth, growing quite honestly impressive fangs and blowing a cloud of cold air over Mugiwara, dusting his face in a light coating of frost. Mugiwara giggled, doubly so when he was tossed into the air and caught again, then set down none too gently.
Then, to Law's equally mounting dread, he stopped and frowned, looking around the room.
No.
“It's boring in here!’
No.
“We should play tag.”
Both he and Mugiwara wheeled on the oni, who was back to being in a relaxed sprawl; him with an incredulous gaping mouth, and Mugiwara with a cheer. Eustass raised a brow, staring expectantly at him too.
“Have you perhaps forgotten the part where we’re trying to stay undetected?”
What curse had he invoked to surround him with so many impulsive, brutish morons? Because SURELY that was the only explanation for everything he was suffering through at that very moment.
“Think about it: if people know what we’re doing, they won’t come looking.”
“Ain’t that kinda void if they can, ya know, see us anyways?”
Great! Now his only ally in common sense was Eustass-ya.
“Ahah!” The oni puffed himself up proudly, clearing having been hoping for that response. “No.”
He groaned - once again pinching the bridge of his nose - and sighed, long and heavy. “And why’s that?”
“We run really fast.” Yamato crossed his arms with a decisive nod.
It was earth shatteringly stupid, but that was just the theme of the day, wasn’t it?
“So the grand idea is to just run fast enough nobody notices he’s-” he gestured to where Mugiwara was, briefly, once again being entertained with the moth, “-missing about 70% of himself?”
“Got a better one, Surgeon of Twigs?” Well, at least that was back to its natural order. Eustass-ya agreeing with him had sent crawling shivers down his spine.
He pressed his mouth shut, because he didn’t, and they all knew it.
“Who’s It first, then?” The fucking caveman crowed with the smugest smile he’d ever seen.
Mugiwara went to raise his hand but Yamato, standing to his full towering height, leaned down to press his hat onto his head, causing him to look up curiously.
“What do you say about riding an ice wolf, little pirate?”
“REALLY??????”
Yamato just nodded with a big grin, crouching down and, in a burst of ice crystals, transforming into a horse-sized white wolf. He stood proudly with swirling fur markings accented in shifting shades of blue, horns straightening over a sleek head and a wreath of clouds wrapping around his neck. He gracefully lowered his front legs so Mini-Mugiwara could climb on - with a little help from his own fruit - and starfish himself against the thick fur at Yamato’s scruff, near completely disappearing. The oni-wolf stood back up, looking them down with an I told you so curl to his lips and glint in his eyes.
“So, who is starting the game then?” He asked, incredibly smug, Mugiwara poking his head to watch the answer.
He and Eustass-ya’s heads immediately snapped to each other, sizing each other up and coiling to pounce, readying to atta-
“TAG! YOU’RE IT!”
A hand smacked him right between the shoulder blades as a wall of white and blue fur trampled through their face-off, disappearing as a blur and with a howling SHISHISHISHISHI!
It took both of them a moment to process what had just happened before, near simultaneously, they broke into smirks and exploded into action, Law tearing out of the room right on Eustass-ya’s tail.
He could feel Yamato - and Mugiwara - rampaging through the castle a bit ahead, but they weren’t his prey. No, that was currently vaulting out of an open window and dropping down into the gardens. He grinned, extending out his room - stamina recovered enough to make this game interesting - to swap himself out with a bit of gravel where the brute was going to land, crouching down with a smirk. Eustass’ eyes widened with a manic grin when he spotted him, controlling his prosthetic to change his course, landing just out of reach and taking off running. Almost out of the castle grounds entirely, Law saw his opportunity when Yamato made himself known again, leaping from a rooftop to cut off Eustass with a wink - and very enthusiastic goading courtesy of Mugiwara - creating a moment of distraction. That was all he needed.
He flicked out a bit of gravel, focusing his intent on jumping and grabbing as he did that very thing, Eustass-ya dodging with yet another smug grin. A smug grin that fell at Law’s own victorious one, accompanied by the flash of DEATH.
“Shambles.”
His eyes widened, but it was too late as Law switched places with the piece of gravel, grazing an ankle with his fingertips.
“You’re it.” Then, he let that fully register into sweet, sweet defeat before winking. “Shambles.”
He hit a rooftop with a roll, taking off as Eustass crashed through alleys below like a particularly graceless bull. Law wasn’t his prey - that was the pair a couple alleys ahead - but he’d still be captured in the blink of an eye if he gave Eustass an opening. So, he stayed high, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and landing hitting the ground in a sprint as he followed them, not wanting to miss the show, picking up speed as Eustass used a cart to make a roadblock and force Yamato to take an extra precious second to leap over.
He didn't falter, jumping from wall to wall in a blur and joining Law on the rooftops, Mugiwara lighting up and sending him a cheery wave when he noticed him running parallel. He smirked back, fully drawing Kikoku as several chunks of metal registered on both his Observation and his Room. They weren't aiming to hit them, just to hinder and narrow their paths: leaving only openings towards the still-raging festival, where he knew they'd be trying to avoid.
Well played.
Whenever he cut them, they'd slam themselves back together, and whenever he'd Shamble them to the edge of his range, something else would take their place - usually one of the ones he'd displaced earlier. Yamato had started off just smashing through the ones that appeared in front of him, but had to spend too much time making sure Mugiwara was covered from the jagged edges to continue, grimacing when he looked over his shoulder to see Eustass gaining. There was a determined glint in his eye as he took the open route, heading to the heart of the crowds.
Everything continued that way: metal slamming around, trying to cage them in, and them darting around it, with Eustass-ya gaining on them as they wasted precious moments slashing, jumping and weaving, until. Until.
He really should've seen this coming. He'd been too focused on the people aspect of the celebration to consider another, perhaps more crucial, fact.
Food.
There was food everywhere.
All three of them were too caught up in the chase to react as Mugiwara fucking jumped off his furry perch, disappearing into a gap between buildings. By the time they had, they were already a few blocks away, skidding to a stop and exchanging frantic glances before tearing back off the way they'd come from, sensing Mini-Mugiwara's presence drawing closer and closer to the crowds.
Worse, he could also sense First Son of the Sea and Nose-ya directly in his route, with Bepo, Peng and Shach not far behind. Why wouldn't they be? And, of course Blackleg was manning the kitchens; he wouldn't get away with using Shambles to snatch some to lure Mugiwara away without creating a very angry chef who, just like his captain, had inexplicable fire attacks. It was best to abandon logic entirely when dealing with the Straw Hats, for the sake of one's sanity.
Strawhat himself was making impressive pace towards immediate discovery, definitely within haki range for his crew by now. At the very least, his intention for meat was so damn strong that it was masking the fact his presence was missing over a decade of experience. He was back within Room range, but he couldn't exactly just pull him back and leave without arousing suspension: alarm bells would go ringing in all of his crew who'd sensed him if their captain didn't turn up for meat.
He did tug him back, the little shit immediately tearing back off in the direction of the food without so much as blinking at his sudden displacement. With a growl, Law snatched him up and held the writhing tangle of rubber close to his chest, even having to use a bit of haki to stop him wriggling free. The three adults kept running full pelt, now all parallel and without sabotage.
“We can't just disappear now they've sensed him.” He yelled over the wind their speed created. “We have to, somehow, get past all of them and get some meat.”
Mugiwara finally stopped struggling at that, realising they were at least somewhat on the same page, now instead snuggling in.
It was absolutely, crucially, vitally imperative they were not spotted.
Yamato grinned, baring finger-length fangs. “We run really fast?”
“We run really fast!” Eustass cackled from his wonderful vantage point of not - immediately, if Law had anything to do with it - having his reputation on the line.
They were going to run really fast. Seas help him.
He grimaced, adjusting his grip. “Listen, Mugiwara-ya. We're going to run past the meat, and you're going to grab as much as you can as we pass.” He paused for a second, thinking. “Can you stretch yourself to look bigger?”
Blackleg-ya may shout bloody murder at his black hole of a captain, but was never truly mad at him taking food - so long as it wasn't at the expense of others, which Mugiwara wouldn't knowingly do, anyway. He probably wouldn't actually be mad at Law spiriting some away, either, just very, very loudly curious - it wasn't like him, at all. His kicks, whilst not aggressive, hit like a warship. A flaming warship. They just had to make it look like, in some sort of game, Mugiwara had imposed himself on Law - which he had. His - adult self's, at least - absurd haki would work in their favour there: if anyone asked why he didn’t simply just teleport the pest away, he could explain the whole haki-devil fruit interaction he'd discovered.
They just had to run really fast. Fucking hell.
The pest nodded, sticking out his tongue to hook his arms and legs around Law's back, stretching his torso out longer. It was… non ideal, but better than nothing. If they ran really fast.
With that as sorted as it would ever be, they all dropped into the streets and, sure enough, ran really fast. The celebrations were still running, but the crowds were thinner than the insanity Mugiwara waking up had brought - everyone having been waiting with baited breath for the ‘straw hat hero,’ to do so. Law couldn't say he hadn't been anxious too, having personally seen how Mugiwara had woken up just a day after a hit that should've - by all rights, even with Law's interference - been fatal. That, along with the fact he'd heard his Voice fade twice during the battle, didn't sit right with him as a doctor. But, whenever he scanned the reckless fool - which he did more often than anyone except perhaps Nico-ya would know - it was completely normal, just sleeping. He'd seen how he slept after Dressrosa, too. So, he waited.
Now he wished he hadn't.
He cursed the ‘whim,’ that had sent him to Marineford profusely as he darted between startled civilians, Mugiwara clinging gleefully to his front, stretched out in a very poor imitation of his future self. He grit his teeth and put on speed as he approached the corner he knew Son of the Sea and Nose-ya were behind, feeling Eustass and Yamato right on his tail.
He called upon all of the frustration this infernal day so amply provided.
“WOULD YOU GET OFF ME, MUGIWARA!?!?!” He screamed, rounding the corner to perplexed faces that flew by.
The little shit just giggled and clung on higher as they approached the next hurdle: his idiots.
“I'M NOT A HORSE! USE YOUR OWN DAMN LEGS!!!!”
Those little shits did nothing either. Bepo at least had the decency to look concerned, whilst the other two shitheads just idly watched the group fly past, heads turning as they did.
“DON'T THINK YOU'RE GETTIN’ AWAY WITH THIS, MUNCHKIN!!!” Eustass jumped on the opportunity to vent his own grievances.
His grip subconsciously tightened as the final, biggest hurdle rapidly approached: Blackleg. Based on his Voice, he knew they were coming, which was non ideal. The infallible method of running really fast wouldn't work against one of the fastest people alive, with eyes that were used to matching his speeds. But, they had no other option. He angled himself so the bulk of Mini-Mugiwara wouldn't be visible to the chef, actually nervous as they came to the last corner, the parasite sniffing the air as they neared his prize.
He put on as much speed as he physically could, skidding around the corner and kicking out dust in Eustass-ya's face for good measure.
“I'M NOT YOUR DAMN CLIMBING FRAME, MUGIWARA!!!!”
Blackleg watched them approach, taking a bored drag from his ever-present cigarette.
“OH I'M GONNA FUCKIN’ GET YOU FOR THAT, SCARECROW!!!!”
“VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!”
Just as predicted, rubbery arms shot out from around Law, scooping up a haul of meat and snatching back to their owner, already near the end of the street by the time they reached him again.
A yell of “OI, YOU SHITTY CAPTAIN. THERE'S OTHER PEOPLE TO FEED, ASSHOLE!” Followed them, but Blackleg made no move to follow, staying at his post.
He found himself breaking into hysterical laughter as they continued on, back into less populated alleys, because they ran really fast. Mugiwara was seven years old, and they just ran really fast and it had worked. The very same seven year old was munching on stolen meat and still fucking clinging to him.
They slowed down when they made it back to the edge of town, out of even the more competent haki ranges. Eustass grinned wide, approaching slow as Law stood stock still and Mugiwara watched him with curious eyes, munching the last of his prize. He stopped in front of them, slowly raising his normal hand, then bringing it down fast, slowing down right before it connected - Mugiwara not so much as twitching - and ruffling his hat almost softly.
“Tag, ya little bastard.”
Mugiwara lit up, swallowing the last of the meat and squirming to be let go again and once he was - this time happily so - he launched himself at Eustass-ya, scurrying around to cling to his cape.
Yes!
“Oi! That ain’t an invitation, you little shit! Git off!” This, of course, was no absolutely no avail, and only resulted in Mini-Mugiwara scurrying around even more, having found a much funner new game.
Law sat on a nearby crate, crossing his legs and watching Eustass spin in circles, reaching for his slippery passenger - still to absolutely no avail. Yamato was back to his human form, setting himself down on the neighbouring crate to do the same. Eventually, with a frustrated growl-yell, the man gave up, turning to face them with his arms crossed and stoically ignoring Mini-Mugiwara’s antics. The lack of reaction took away some of the fun, Mugiwara settling - still firmly latched on - on his front this time, snuggling into a collarbone much the same way he had on Law. Eustass once again went stiff as a board, but stopped fighting it, realising that it just spurred the little pest on.
“So what are we gonna do about-” he gestured with his metal, free arm to Mugiwara, “We can’t just babysit him forever.”
“Not a baby!!!”
Law turned to Yamato. “You really haven’t heard of anything like this?”
He shook his head. “I’ve heard many tales, none like this. As you’re aware, there’s a fruit that can send people forward in time, but I have never heard of something that brings a past self to the present. I’m sure it would’ve been mentioned alongside Toki Toki if it was known.”
“Fuck” Once again very aptly put by Eustass, plopping himself - and Mini-Mugiwara - on a crate opposite.
“Hey, Mugiwara-ya.”
“Mmm?”
“What do you remember before meeting us?"
“I was just sleepin’, then I was here!”
Well that narrowed it down.
“And you didn't eat anything, or meet anyone weird before that?”
“Nope!”
Well, that really narrowed it down.
“...maybe he'll turn back when he sleeps again?” Yamato offered, still remarkably unfazed.
They all turned to where Mugiwara was half snuggled under red fur, peeking out from under a straw brim.
“It's the best lead we've got. In the meantime, we can check castle records for accounts of anything similar.”
And pray to remain unnoticed.
…
Mugiwara stayed firmly stuck to Eustass-ya as they made their way - yet again - to the castle. Mugiwara - yet again - was tucked as a lump in Eustass’ cape, the man silently having used scraps of metal along the lining to pull it over their stowaway as he was assigned his second ninja mission.
They, somehow, didn't have any near misses until they got into the castle itself. That was in the form of clopping hooves, wide eyes and a squeaky voice. They'd tried to avoid him with their observation, but the little doctor seemed to use his nose to find them whenever they diverted.
Fuck. Hadn't thought of that, either.
Before he appeared around the corner, Law sent a Re-Room Dampen around Mugiwara to seal his scent, hoping Eustass-ya's latent stench would mask the fact another had just entirely suddenly disappeared.
As soon as Tony-ya saw them his eyes lit up and he trotted over.
“Torao!!!”
Was he never going to escape that infernal nickname? Whatever.
“Tony-ya.” He replied smoothly.
“Have you seen Luffy? He should be resting!”
He let himself give a little snort at that because the only time Mugiwara rested was when he was asleep. Even that was up for debate.
“We were just with him. He split off to get meat.”
It was Yamato's turn to snort at what was now a half-truth - both of those things were true, simply not in the way they were being presented - Eustass-ya shifting uncomfortably the longer they stood still.
Mercifully, Tony-ya crinkled his brows with a nod.
“Thank you, I'll go look for him. He needs a checkup!”
Everyone watched him pass, all the way until he was out of sight, exchanging looks and holding back laughter before hurrying off again. Yamato took the lead from there, taking them to one of the archive rooms he hadn't been to yet; he had no doubt Nico-ya had, though. There was a similar setup of blankets, cushions and mats set up right in the natural sunlight.
They began parsing through scrolls and books - accounts of folklore, mythology and highly exaggerated legends - all settling down in the nook. Eustass-ya had managed to rid himself of his curse with a gruff ‘What's your favourite animal?’ and then releasing a beetle of some sort to join the moth. Mugiwara himself was finally, blissfully, content to sit still watching them: he didn't want to get his hopes up, but the menace seemed to be worn out by the events of the day.
They'd still turned up with absolutely nothing when Mini-Mugiwara started yawning wide, blinking around with a frown. Law put down the book he'd been making his way through with a frown of his own.
“What's wrong, Mugiwara?”
The child looked down, picking at a thread in the mat showing through blankets.
“I miss Ace n Bo.” As you will, more than you could ever know.
The room, already in hushed concentration, went even quieter, broken by rustling fabric as Yamato leaned forward to scoop him up and hold him tight.
“You'll be back with them soon, little one.” He cooed, softer and gentler than Law had ever seen him, a distinct raw sorrow of his own weaved in.
And, that was enough for Mini-Mugiwara, who pressed himself closer as a hand almost as big as his back itself covered him. He let out another yawn, then cast an insistent gaze over Law and Eustass-ya, reaching out grabby hands at them.
He and Eustass-ya exchanged a look, once again in spine-crawling agreement: good luck with that.
Mugiwara whined, making more insistent grabby motions as Yamato watched with a shit eating grin, looking down at him and ruffling his hat.
“Will you sleep without them here, little warrior?”
A vehemently shaken head, and a smug oni. A very smug Oni, who wasn't saying anything but absolutely screaming well, you want him to sleep, don't you?
With an eye roll, Yamato transformed, lying down half curled with his head resting on a front leg, and Mugiwara nestled between it and the other one, snuggling into the new fur with a sleepy, happy chuff. He was still staring down Eustass and Law, though, making insistent grunting noises as they just stiffened and stubbornly refused to move.
With another eye roll, Yamato huffed, hissing out a stream of cold air through his snout.
Before either could do anything, ice was forming behind their backs and pushing them forward, stumbling right into the infernal wolf's flank on either side: Law had fallen against his shoulder, tipped right next to Mugiwara, and Eustass had been deposited on the other side of Yamato's head. Both immediately tried to escape, but Mugiwara's renewed whines were followed by hands fisting their shirts. When they stopped for a second, frozen, Mugiwara immediately relaxed again, yawning and snuggling closer into surprisingly warm fur. When they started to struggle again, it was a deep, warning growl that stopped them dead in their tracks, vibrating right through their bones from their position against the source.
He looked over to where Yamato had cracked open a fierce blue eye to absolutely stare him - and probably the same for Eustass-ya, on the other side - down, just daring him to activate the Room he'd been brewing. He considered his options before calling off the crackling energy under his fingertips entirely. Eustass must've similarly backed down, because Yamato closed his eyes again with a content - but still somewhat terrifying - grumble.
Resigned to his fate, Law slumped against the white fur, opting in defeat to pretend he was leaning on Bepo. He called forth a Room - under Yamato's watchful eye - to bring the books and scrolls they'd each respectively been reading to them, handing Eustass-ya his over a broad back.
Loathe as he was to admit it, he was comfortable. Yamato's fur really was a lot like Bepo's, the fading sun was hitting them just right and the smell of carefully tended to parchment hung in the cosily warm air, the only sound the rustle of turning pages and puffs of breath. The weight of the day let itself be known on Mugiwara, who was letting out huge yawns as his eyes drooped closed and he valiantly fought it. Law and Eustass-ya couldn't claim to be too much better off, accepting defeat and actually relaxing thanks to their earlier exhaustion returning. It was… cosy. Content.
Perhaps that's why neither of them registered anything before the door slid itself open, arms sprouting out of Yamato to lock them in place as they startled and tried to scramble to freedom. They were just left staring aghast as Nico-ya stepped gracefully into the room, sliding the door closed behind her and picking up a scroll from a wall alcove far too casually.
Without so much as acknowledging their horrified, incredulous looks, she knelt down in front of where Mugiwara had been nodding off, now looking up at the newcomer with sleepy, curious eyes.
“Hello there.” She smiled, with the same gentle warmth she always reserved for him. “I'm Nico Robin. May I join you?”
He looked her up and down - still sleepily - before rubbing an eye and nodding.
“‘M Monkey D Luffy, and I'm g'na be King ‘o the Pirates.” He mumbled with a smile.
“That sounds like a very fitting dream, Little King.” She smiled back. “Torao, would you mind moving over?”
The arms around him disappeared in a small burst of petals and Law, stupefied, did. Robin took his spot relaxing against Yamato's flank with a relaxed sigh, Luffy immediately half climbing onto her lap and finally drifting fully to sleep sandwiched between a purple kimono and thick fur.
Law could only gape.
“You-”
“Knew all along? Yes.” She winked, cradling her captain's head in one hand as she began reading with the other.
With another deep inhale, Law did the same.
Curse this wretched crew.