Looking for Law
My life used to easy, carefree even. When that changed I went looking for a man, a pirate, that could help restore purpose within my life. His name was Trafalgar D. Water Law, captain of the Heart Pirates. He was supposed to be docking his ship here soon. I had been at this port for almost 6 months. I helped offload ships for a little bit of money to keep me fed and housed.
I was at the dock unloading a merchant ship when I saw the Heart Pirates jolly roger. They didn't dock where regular ships did because most of the population knows what a pirate flag looks like. Plus being that he was a surgeon. There would be way too much attention on him and his crew.
That's why I worked all the docks at different parts of the day. This particular day I got lucky and was working the edge docks which is where it meets a steep hill. His ship was heading to the other side of that hill. Scaling the hill wouldn't take long.
I finished my work and the Captain gave me my wages. I quickly ran to the other side of the hill. Putting myself in the best spot to see them coming in. I laid in the grass watching the sail slowly out of sight underneath. I quickly made my way down to the area they anchored.
I ran to the first person I saw.
"Hi, may I speak to your Captain?" I asked without hesitating.
The person looked at me like I had grown a second head. He turned back to group coming off the boat. I knew he was trying to figure out if I was a threat or not. Understandably, I would wonder about someone who asks something this.
He made a gesture. Then one of the men walked back the way they had come. He turned back to me.
"Wait a moment," he said to me.
I nodded and stepped back. A part of me knew that it wouldn't be that easy to get his audience. The rest of me needed to be accepted as a crew member as fast as possible. It took a few minutes before I noticed the other man came back.
It took me another minute to realize someone was following behind him. The black coat was an immediate identifier in my brain that I was actually about to meet Trafalgar D. Water Law. I felt calm, then ten seconds later I felt nervous.
I barely looked up when I saw he was standing literal inches from me.
"You wished to speak with me?" he asked.
His deep voice washed over me and I had to blink to reset myself
"Yes," I almost whispered.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"To join your crew," I said looking him in the eye.
"Do I look like I take in stays?"he asked rhetorically.
"No," I said. "I know my way around a ship."
"And?" he grunted.
"I have been working this dock for six months and I can hold my own" I said as a last ditch effort. "I came here to this dock. Specifically looking for your ship. I have survived on my own since I was 13 years old. I have no family and my only purpose was to find you and be a part of your crew."
He raised an eyebrow. I knew he probably heard stuff like this before. I had to try. Otherwise I would beat myself up for it.
"Go grab the jacket and hat from my office and bring it here," he called to someone.
I didn't understand what those items were for but Law seemed to have a plan for them.
"When he comes back, put the hat and jacket on. Lastly, follow my lead and don't ask questions," he said.
I nodded and waited patiently. A man brought me a large purple hat with black and white fringe around the entire brim of it. The long coat was the same one Law wore only it had a grey version of his Jolly Roger. I quickly put them on.than turned slightly to get approval from Law. All I got was a grunt and a head jerk indicating i for me to follow.
I quickly closed the gap between him and I. He took longer strides than I did. A few others were in the small group getting off the boat with Law. One of which was a bear, I think. To be honest, I didn't know the rest of Law's crew all that well. I always paid more attention to information about Law over anyone else.
We walked into town. The air around his group was different from when I would stroll though town by myself. People knew who Law was. His bounty spoke for itself. I tried to look confident as I followed them.
We stopped at an inn known for back alley dealings. Since pirates can't do things the way normal citizens do. This didn't come as a surprise. When we walked in I felt a strong need to run. I didn't know what caused it, but my gut instinct was screaming for me to run.
"I know you're here Law," said an ominous voice.
I didn't move and tried to keep the fear off my face. I'm almost certain whoever spoke was the reason my gut instinct was ringing every bell it could in my head. The voice came from further inside the inn. There were quite a few pirates in here. None of whom were saints. Most of them had bounties equal to Law's.
"Joker," said Law walking to a small table at the center of the room. "What a lovely surprise."
As we follow I saw the man he called "Joker". I knew who he was instantly. Only because he was the reason I was an orphan with no homeland to go back to. The fear I felt turned into seething rage.
Something must have alerted Law to my attitude. I felt his sword nudge my leg. I quickly calmed myself. I shifted to put my hand on my hip. However, the motion caught Joker's attention.
"My, my, who is this little lamb?" asked Joker.
"No one," said Law in a bored tone.
"Ah, ah, ahh," said Joker. "You gave her a very special jacket."
"Well, yeah," he said. "She's earned it."
"Mmm, I'm sure she did," Joker said with an eerie tone.
His tone seemed to imply something nasty. I didn't stop to correct him. He didn't know who I was or that I literally just joined Law.
"We're just here for a drink. No need to start a fight," said Joker.
Law just looked at him. It was painstaking seconds until Joker walked away and sat back at his table. Law went to another table and we all sat down. Someone walked up and took our order. Law looked at me with a question in his eyes. I shook my head to let him know now wasn't the time.
An inn worker brought out our food and drink. We ate and made idle chit-chat. We all knew people were listening. Once we finished, we left the money on the table and walked out. We were walking in the direction of local shops.
I felt someone grab me and cover my mouth to me keep from screaming. I was pulled into an alley. I heard a familiar laugh and know instantly who it was.
Joker aka Donquiote Doflamingo.
