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Law sat back against the mast of the Sunny with his eyes shut and Kikoku resting against his shoulder. It was a nice day, with a good wind and his wounds were healing nicely. He’d done all he could with his talents and powers to see to them and now it would only take time to heal fully. He felt the hum at his side and translated it with a startling amount of ease.
You’re fine, don’t whine.
Law sighed, wondering to himself when he’d accepted his swords voice. The thing had been buzzing and humming at him since he’d picked it up at seventeen. The cursed sword had always felt right in his hands even if it nagged him to no end.
He had stolen it from an auction and had been taken with it immediately. It’s length and shape offered him the reach he liked and who was he to deny liking the fur trim around the hilt. The white crosses and red rope were equally aesthetically pleasing. It had felt like a blade just for him and he didn’t hesitate in taking it.
Like many of the curse blades this one wanted blood. It was a danger to wield such a blade unless you were a skilled swordsmen. Law considered himself trained but not exactly skilled. He was a doctor first, a surgeon. He handle a delicate blade through surgeries but battles always had their place.
Fortunately for Law, Kikoku had a sense of humor.
The first time that Law had created a “room” and cut a man in half with the sword that never actually touched them, Kikoku was confused. Law remembered looking down at his hand, at the sword he was holding more precisely and feeling a faint, barely there rumble. It had taken a while for him to work it out, but later when he was ready to admit his sword was more than just bits of metal, he decided it had been perplexed. It had been used, it had cut something. There had been blood and screaming, but it’s opponent wasn’t dead and had at some point been put back together.
The second time Law used the sword and his devil fruit to swap the heads of several marines, the sword snickered. There were tiny vibrations and a wave of warmth betraying it’s good mood.
Law may not have truly been considered a swordsmen, but Kikoku liked him. He was bloodthirsty and creative with his attacks. They made a good match and Kikoku seemed to enjoy doing more than just slashing.
With a sigh, Law felt a faint throb behind his eyes. The Strawhats were a noisy bunch and despite their success rate, he couldn’t fathom how they got anything done. It was all mostly dumb luck and brute force. Even his own strategic prowess had taken some major hits from their recklessness.
“Torao!”
Law winced and again could feel Kikoku laughing at him.
“Shut up you fucking sword,” he grumbled quietly.
The rapid pulses he felt from the blade against his shoulder were like a constant mocking. He liked to compare it to being poked in the ribs over and over and this wasn’t something he’d ever had to deal with before meeting Monkey D. Luffy.
You like him. You like him!
“Shut up.”
“Torao!” Luffy crashed into him, arms wrapped around Law’s neck. Anyone else and Law would have asked them what the fuck they thought they were doing. With Luffy such a question was pointless and probably wouldn’t be answered.
Besides, Luffy had no sense of boundaries with most people so there was no sense in reading more into it.
You’d love to read more into though, wouldn’t you? Kikuko hummed low, taunting.
“What do you want Strawhat-ya?”
Luffy laughed, slumping against Law bonelessly. “Nami says a storm is coming. We have about twenty minutes before it’s here.”
“And?”
“And i figured i’d tell you in case you were still asleep over here. You’d get rained on.”
Law grunted, “And you decided to do that from the comforts of my lap?”
“Well sure,” Luffy grinned. “Your lap is pretty comfy.” He reached out to poke at Kikoku’s hilt because he was nosy and fidgety and could never keep his hands to himself. “It’s okay, isn’t it?”
That vibration returned against his shoulder and Law knew the damn thing was laughing at him again.
“Whatever,” Law shrugged, dislodging the sword from his shoulder. It fell to the side and was deftly caught in Luffy’s grip.
“Good,” Luffy said pulling the sword against his own shoulder, mimicking the way Law usually held it. “It’s a good fit.”
Law’s eyes widened a fraction, unable to stop himself from looking down at Luffy’s legs perfectly intertwined with his. Luffy looked ridiculously at home sitting on top of him. “Excuse me?”
“Your sword,” Luffy said absently and thudded it against his shoulder. “It fits good here. I see why you carry it around like this.”
Law swallowed thickly and refused to scowl. Scowling would betray some kind of disappointment he wasn’t going to admit to. “It’s too long to carry at my waist like other swordsmen.”
Luffy hummed and nodded once as he understood what Law was saying. The blade was much longer than he was used to seeing. “I like it though. It reminds me of you in some ways.”
“Sure,” Law shrugged once. There was never any sense to Luffy’s thoughts. His mind took him on a journey that Law just couldn’t keep up with.
“Have you had it for a long time?” Luffy asked, moving to offer the sword back but instead ended up laughing when the red rope tied to the hilt of the sword had somehow gotten tangled in the buttons of his shirt. “Oops.”
Law sighed, “Don’t pull on it.” He reached out, attempting to shove Luffy’s hands away so he could untangle the rope himself without it being torn or Luffy’s buttons being ripped off.
“How did that even happen?” Luffy said, sounding nothing but amused. He seemed fine with Law doing all the work to free him.
“You’re chaotic,” Law muttered, feeling Kikoku’s amusement even without direct contact. That little bitch was doing this on purpose.
It also didn’t help that Luffy was awful at keeping still. He rocked slightly, shifting closer so Law didn’t have to reach as far to work on the knot. “We’re stuck.”
His laughter was only interrupted by a second soft laughter. Nico Robin wandered passed them, her smile genuine and her arms crossed. Law could hardly bring himself to glance up at her knowing stare. “Stuck?”
“Yep!” Luffy grinned. “Law’s sword likes me.”
“His sword, yes.” Robin nodded. “Well you know what they saw about red string?”
Law felt his face heat but Kikoku being difficult on purpose.
“Red string? What’s that?” Luffy asked.
Robin snickered. “They say the red string connects those that are destined to meet. Fated to be together.”
“It’s a rope not a string,” Law grumbled.
The words only made Luffy brighten. “Stronger the bond. I like that, it’s perfect! A red rope.”
“Perfect,” Robin parroted, evidently loving Law’s discomfort.
Law sighed again, pausing in his struggles to rub his eyes. “For fucks sake…”
“You don’t like it?” Luffy asked, tilting his head to look in Law’s eyes directly. “I think it sounds right.”
“Okay, enough of this.” Law said, cupping his hands and creating a room. Inside his territory, objects bent to his will and Kikoku was finally pulled free from Luffy. “There.”
“Don’t worry, Luffy.” Robin said. “The red string doesn't always need to be connected to be true.”
“That’s a relief,” Luffy nodded, smile returning. “It’s better that Torao carries it around. I might lose it.”
“What?” Law blinked, trying to figure out if Luffy actually knew what he was saying. Robin’s laughter didn’t help him one way or the other.
One drip at a time began to fall as the rain rolled closer.
“Oh shit, we gotta get to our posts before the storm gets here and Nami gets all pissed.” Luffy said, jumping up and bending down quickly to press a kiss to Law’s cheek. “Let’s go!” He ran off with a very pleased looking Nico Robin behind him.
What just happened? No, seriously, what just happened?
You could say thank you, so ungrateful.
Law actually threw his sword onto the ground and glared at it, his face red. “You fucking bastard.”
It planned that whole encounter somehow. He never knew what Kikoku was fully capable of but he knew it was best not to underestimate it. Cursed blades should never be underestimated. Whatever his feelings for Luffy were, they were his and didn’t need to be put out into the universe. He didn’t need his sword intervening, but who could know what would happen next. Luffy could have brushed the whole encounter off as nothing, or he could cling to the words Nico Robin had planted in his head. It was really too early to tell.
Law nearly jumped when he heard footsteps coming up behind him and saw Zoro with his arm resting on the hilt of his own swords. He looked down at Kikoku and then back at Law. To anyone else cursing his sword in a tantrum would have been an act of insanity. Zoro though, merely nodded in understanding. “Try having three.”