Chapter Text
There was a laundry list of things wrong with the island they were stopping at for supplies, but somehow none of them were the thing sitting at the bottom of Law’s chest.
He just didn’t want to be there, and he couldn’t pinpoint why. It annoyed him to no end.
Unfortunately, Bepo was getting over-worried about their current rations load, and Penguin needed half a store’s worth of tools, many of which Law was certain existed on the ship. He was pretty sure Shachi was hiding them because he wanted doubles. Not that that was a bad idea, but there weren’t enough people on board to cause enough problems to require that many tools. At least, that’s what Law told himself. He stayed in the operating room and out of the kitchen for a reason.
“Captain, we’re preparing to dock.” Bepo didn’t take his eyes from the viewscreen in front of him, focused on piloting the Polar Tang towards shore.
“Put us somewhere out of the way. We don’t want to attract any attention.” Law turned towards Penguin, who had poked his head up out of the hatch in the floor of the control room.
Penguin looked down at his boiler suit, at Bepo’s, and then over at Law’s bright yellow sweatshirt, all of which had their Jolly Roger on the front. “Sure, that makes sense.”
Shachi’s voice floated up from farther below, and Penguin made his way back down with a wave. “Surfacing in ten!”
Bepo looked up from behind the wheel. “You’re supposed to announce that over a speaker.”
“Bepo,” Penguin’s head popped back up. “There are four of us on this sub. I can see two right now, and Shachi is the one controlling ascent. Do we have to follow that rule?”
“It’s supposed to be protocol….”
Law interrupted both of them. “Just take us up, we’re making this stop as short and painless as possible.”
Penguin and Bepo looked at each other and then turned simultaneously back to their task. As his hat disappeared below deck, Penguin shouted up “Surfacing in nine, fearless leader!”
It was going to be a long day.
Two men and a polar bear, all in boiler suits, wandered down the street, meandering past houses and shops in search of somewhere to sit and rest their arms. After picking up groceries and various tools, the bags they had were starting to become heavier and heavier.
Shachi looked around. “Isn’t there a mink colony on this island? Do you wanna stop there, Bepo?”
“Captain said to make the trip short, we should head back….” Secretly, Bepo wasn’t thrilled to be spending time on this island either. He’d heard of Calamon, a tiny landmass in the North Blue, and on their way towards the Grand Line. He knew about the mink colony too, but judging from the looks he’d been getting all day, Bepo was fairly certain it wasn’t a well-loved section of the town.
A few blocks down they came across what looked like a cafe, with outdoor seating and huge umbrellas to shelter patrons from the steady stream of snow falling from the sky. The three pirates huddled at a table, setting bags and crates down before massaging their sore arms.
“We should have made Cap come with, he coulda just teleported all this back to the Polar Tang.”
“Peng, I don’t think that’s how his fruit thing works.”
“Well, what’s the point then.” Wincing as his shoulder cracked, Penguin looked around. “Hey, are those guys staring at us?”
Across the street, a small group of thuggish-looking men were whispering and pointing in their direction. Shachi waved. “Maybe they recognize the Heart Pirates! Our bounty papers have been in circulation for a little while now.”
Ever since they’d set sail from Swallow Island, Law had made sure to get their name out there. They’d raided ships and fought a fair number of marines, gaining a good amount of notoriety for their part of the world. It helped that most marine ships weren’t equipped to deal well with submarines, which gave them an advantage. They could hit an island or base with little to no warning, and escape underwater before backup could box them in. After the last few months, their bounties had grown into a tidy sum, especially with a Devil Fruit holder for a captain.
“Judging by the looks on their faces, they don’t seem to be happy about something.” Penguin straightened up, head turning as the group approached them.
Shachi kept the smile going, but his hand slipped down to finger a wrench at the top of one of their bags. “Can we help you guys?”
The group looked at each other, and the one closest to them stepped forward, brushing long brown bangs from his eyes. “Yeah, get your damn pet out of that seat. Animals stay on the ground.”
Shachi and Penguin both bristled at that. “Scuse, thought I heard you insulting our navigator here. Wanna repeat that for us, ya damn townies?” Said Sachi, his voice low and tight.
“Yeah, unibrow, you know who you’re talking to? We’re pirates, all of us.” Added Penguin, putting a hand up on Bepo’s shoulder.
“I said,” Unibrow Guy started, “Get your damn pet out of that chair, and if you wannabe pirates have an animal for a navigator, those wanted posters must be more exaggerated than we thought.”
That crossed several lines. Before the Heart pirates, both Shachi and Penguin might have been inclined to agree with them, but after joining up with Law and Bepo, they were crewmates. More importantly, they had become friends, ad no one insulted their crew like that.
Shachi stood up, clenching the wrench in one hand. “We’re gonna give you one more chance to apologize to Bepo here, or else you jerks get to help add to our bounty.”
No one talks down to the Heart Pirates and gets away with it.” Ground out Penguin. Behind him, Bepo stood to his full height.
“Well, for a buncha pirates, ya sure do a lot of talking and not a-”
Unibrow guy didn’t get to finish the sentence before Shachi beaned him in the head with the wrench. The rest on the town gang watched as their pseudo-leader fell. Shachi spun the wrench in his hand. “Anyone else have anything to say?”
Apparently, they all did, as the other four townies rushed the pirates. Shachi began swinging wildly, and behind him, Penguin and Bepo kicked and punched anyone getting past. One of the townies pulled a switchblade and went for Penguin’s side, but a quick and heavy fisted paw was brought down on his shoulder. Returning the favor, Penguin kicked one running in from the side in retaliation.
The fighting shifted further into the street, attracting people from nearby buildings and houses. The slow-growing crowd was murmuring heavily, but no one stepped in to help either side. Despite being the instigators of the fight, it seemed that the people of Calamon weren’t interested in defending mink or pirates.
Suddenly, a shot rang out from the crowd, scattering pedestrians and startling the townies enough for them to scatter, bruised and beaten heavily. One of them had picked up Unibrow guy from the street, dragging him along behind in a rather undignified fashion.
Shachi waved the wrench after them. “Yeah, you better run, assholes! That’s what happens!” The effect was ruined slightly by his heavy panting, and the slight swelling of his lower lip.
“Uhh, Shachi?” Started Penguin, turning towards Bepo. The bear mink was currently holding his side, red streaming down his snowy fur and dripping on to the ground. He swayed once, and then toppled to the street. The two Heart pirates rushed towards their friend, lifting his head and putting pressure on the wound. It wasn’t immediately life threatening, but the bullet had gone in deep, and the Polar Tang wasn’t close by. Dragging Bepo there would cost a lot of time.
Penguin looked around, but the street had become completely deserted. The two hefted the bear up on their shoulders and began to make their way to port, hurrying despite their exhaustion. “I know you wanted to head back quick, Bepo, but you didn’t have to go through all this trouble,” mumbled Shachi.
Bepo’s reply was slow and quiet. “Sorry….”
After two blocks, Bepo’s feet dragged even harder on the pavement, and it seemed like everyone in town had completely disappeared. As they rounded a corner, however, a nearby barrel began to speak to them.
“Ohmygosh! Is he ok?”
Penguin and Shachi looked at the barrel, at each other, and at the barrel again. “Uhh, how hard did I get punched, Peng? Cause that sounded like a barrel with a little girl’s voice.”
“Close,” said the barrel, and a mink child climbed out into the alleyway. She was maybe ten, with small fox ears and a tail to match. Her clothing looked ragged and torn, but she smiled up at them. “Do you guys need help?”
The two men kept staring. “You… do know we’re pirates, right? You know,” Penguin gestured at their boiler suits, “the logos?”
“But…” The little girl looked down, “Your friend is hurt. And there ain’t no doctors that’ll treat minks in this part of the city. It’s illegal.”
“So how were you planning on being helpful?” Grumbled Shachi, shifting Bepo’s weight.
“I have a friend who’ll maybe help, but ya gotta be quiet-like about it. If I tell you the address, and you say that Annie sent you, then she’ll help. Well, as long as you don’t annoy her. I’m Annie by the way.”
“Is this friend of yours close by? We’re kinda in a hurry,” Asked Penguin.
“Yeah, if you go down that way another block, and look for the building that has a vet sign, and knock, than you’ll find her!” Annie pointed off to the side down another alley. “But ya gotta say that I sent you, or she’ll think you’re tryin to get her in trouble. She can’ do it technically legally, ya know.”
“Sure….” Penguin looked at Shachi, Bepo had passed out, and the Polar Tang was still a ways away. “Guess we’ve got nothing to lose?”
Shachi sighed. “Better be a damn good vet, or Captain will string us both up for going there first.”
“Oh she’s the best! She treats us all the time!” Annie skipped away down the street, checking for people before turning around again. “Don’t forget, tell her I sent you! And be nice!”
With that, the little mink disappeared around the corner. Penguin and Shachi looked at each other again.
“I knew this was gonna be a long-ass day…” Mumbled penguin as they started down the alley.
They’d found the vet building pretty easily, as it was the shabbiest one on the street. The sign looked as though it had been nailed back on countless times, and the roof was in desperate need of repair. Still, they had few options outside of lugging Bepo all the way back to the Polar Tang, and Bepo was losing blood every minute they wasted. Penguin reached out a fist and rapped it against the door.
Loud shuffling came from within, followed by a few muted curses, and then the door opened. Standing in front of them was a taller woman with short, blonde hair, chewing on a pencil. Despite the vet sign, she wore jeans and a patched-up leather jacket to ward off the cold. She looked at the three of them cooly. “What.”
“Uh, we need some help for our crewmate here and-” She interrupted Shachi. “S’illegal to treat minks on this side of town. Go to the other district ya damn pirates.” With that, she began to close the door.
Penguin shoved his foot in the opening just before it slammed shut. “Uh…. Annie sent us?”
At that, the woman stopped and looked all three of them up and down. Then, she sighed, reaching into a pocket, and shoved something at Shachi. “I said I can’t help. Out.” With that, the door shut completely.
Penguin looked at the door. “Well that wasn’t helpful at all.”
“Maybe…” Started Shachi as he opened the piece of parchment she’d practically thrown at him. “Or maybe this isn’t the right entrance.”
The note said, in smudged handwriting, to go around back and knock three times. Deciding it was worth a try, the two pirated hauled their friend around the side, through a tall, gated fence and to the back door. Knocking three times, Penguin almost fell as he lurched back when the door opened suddenly.
The woman stood there now, a white lab coat on and gloves in one hand. The jacket remained under the coat, giving her a bulky look. “You said Annie sent you? I gotta talk to her about associating with strangers. It’s not often a pirate crew shows up at my door.”
With that, she gestured them inside. They passed through a small living room with a well-stocked bookshelf, and stopped at a door. Pulling out a key, the woman unlocked and pushed it open into a room that was much better kept than the building would suggest. A small operating room with a table large enough for even Bepo, as well as nice looking equipment that was decidedly not for household pets. Shachi and Penguin hauled Bepo over and set him down gently, then looked around. The woman, gloves on, began poking and prodding the wound in Bepo’s side. Absently, she addressed the two of them. “Name’s Jack. Don’t touch anything you don’t know how to use, and don’t wander off. Now, how did this happen? This is a pretty fresh bullet wound.”
“Well, we were minding our own business-”
“Doubt that, since you’re pirates.”
“Minding our own business , when these assholes came up and told Bepo to shove off. We don’t let people push around our crew, so we kicked their asses no problem.” Shachi crossed his arms at that, smiling proudly. The woman, Jack, looked pointedly at his swollen lip and the random bruises and scrapes covering all three of them. “Uh huh. And then?”
Penguin jumped in. “Then some asshole from the crowd started letting off shots at us! Didn’t even have the guts to get in a fair fight, pretty lame in my opinion.”
“Probably patrollers, to be honest, they aren’t all that keen about minks wandering around on this side of town. The governor puts up a good front, but he’s been pushin’ to get them gone ever since he got elected.” As she said this, Jack finished cleaning the bullet would. “Would one of you hand me those?”
She pointed at a pair of thin forceps, and Shachi handed them over. Carefully, she pressed them into the wound, ignoring Bepo’s moans as she extracted the bullet from a few inches below the surface. “Your friend here is lucky, his fur took the brunt of the shot. Any further and it might have hit something valuable.”
With that, she plunked the bullet on the table beside her, and began stitching up the wound. Bepo shifted slightly, his eyes opening blearily. Penguin and Shachi rushed over.
“How ya feeling, Beps?” Bepo stared at Shachi, and then answered.
“Do we have any fish?”
After making sure Bepo was ok, and that the vet lady wouldn’t murder him, Penguin borrowed a transponder snail and went to the living room to call the Tang. He’d lost the rock-paper-scissors battle for this one, and he wasn’t looking forward to the conversation.
The transponder rang twice before picking up, “Hello?”
Penguin winced at his already annoyed tone, before answering with a drawn out “Heeeeyyy, Captain…..”
“Penguin? Why are you calling me. Aren’t you three done shopping yet? I told you I wanted to make this stop short, we’ve got more-”
“Yeah, I know, Cap, and I just wanna say that I suggested waiting for the next island before docking but Shachi needed the new tools and-”
Law stopped him with a groan. “What happened.”
“Bepo got shot.”
Law’s tone changed, and Penguin knew he was gathering supplies, and probably Kikoku. “Where are you, I’m headed out right now. Keep heading to the Tang and I’ll-”
Penguin let him go for a bit before interrupting him this time. “Well, actually, we’ve got it mostly under control. The guys that did it are gone and we went to this vet place and-”
“Vet place?”
Penguin gulped. “Yeah, we, uh, we were pretty far from the Polar Tang when it all went down, and we wanted to get help quick, ya know for Bepo, so we kinda, uh, wenttoavetinsteadoftryingtocallyouandI’msorry.”
It took Law a few seconds to parse through the end of that sentence. Somehow, that made Penguin more nervous. “You went to a vet.”
“Yeah.”
“I have a devil fruit.”
“We know, and-”
“I have a devil fruit that specifically helps me treat people, and I’m the sub’s doctor, let alone the captain, and you went to a vet instead?” Law’s voice got louder as he went. “Whatever hick vet you’re at is just going to make things worse. They don’t even like minks here, so any person allowed to treat them isn’t going to be any good. Where are you.”
Penguin answered him sheepishly, but tried “She’s really good though! She got the bullet out fast and her stitch work looked pretty neat, kinda like yours, so I don’t think you need to worry-”
Law hung up. Penguin returned to the operating room and set the transponder snail down, glancing at Shachi before looking over at Jack. She was about halfway through the stitch job, and was conversing with Bepo about their island hopping so far. At his return, Bepo shifted his head over. “What was that about?”
“Well…” Penguin scratched the back of his neck. “So I called captain and told him what went down…”
“Oh no…”
“...and he’s on his way.” Shachi put his head back and moaned, quietly muttering about their impending demise, as Bepo stared into space. Jack looked over.
“What’s up with you idiots?”
Shachi glanced down. “Our captain is…. Pretty picky about who treats his crew.”
“Uh huh... “
“And… I might have told him where we are?” Penguin added, wincing slightly.
Jack’s finger’s stopped working for just a moment as she processed that, before she went back to stitching. The three Heart pirates looked at each other. Shachi spoke up again. “Aren’t you….worried?”
“Well if he’s any sort of doctor, then he’ll know you did what ya had to. Plus,” She started, tying off the last stitch and snipping the extra, “I don’t do half-assed work. If I can sew a tail back on and keep it working, I’m pretty sure I can deal with a bullet wound.”
As she got out bandages and started wrapping up Bepo’s side, Penguin decided he couldn’t argue with that. Besides, he thought, Law could be reasonable. Sometimes.
Okay, they might be screwed.
His crew, Law thought as he stalked through the practically deserted town, were idiots. As he made his way down alleys and streets towards the address Penguin had given him, pedestrians quickly moved out of the way. He didn’t know if it was Kikoku, the Jolly Roger, or his pissed off look that made them back off, but Law didn’t particularly care. He had a bear to rescue, a crew to discipline, and a hick vet to kill.
Ok, now people were definitely staring at him. And not because of the sword, the Jolly Roger or his general demeanor, which he’d gotten used to over the last few years. No, this was something a bit different.
“Oi, Hat guy!”
All right, that was a new one, even for him.
Law slowed and turned to the man speaking to him. He was coming out of a bakery, ad did not look at all comfortable with talking to a pirate. So, Law wondered, why was he bothering?
“What. And make it fast, I have too many idiots to deal with today.”
That, believe it or not, didn’t endear him to the baker, but the man continued anyway, and Law had to give him props for that. “It’s just, you’re headed to the mink district?”
It was worded like a question, though Law couldn’t see any reason for it. “No, some vet.” He recited the address, and the baker visibly deflated a bit, which peaked Law’s interest. “Why?”
“Well, people going over there…. People like you ‘n me, ya see, not the animal ones…. Not that they’re animals, I mean, but they are, although-”
Law could feel the migraine crawling its way up into his cerebellum. “Get on with it,” He gritted out.
The guy started. “Ya just gotta watch out for the Ripper, tha’s all!”
Ok, that one piqued Law’s interest. “The Ripper?”
“Some psych is running’ around the mink district and, well… nearly guttin’ normal folks getting caught up over there. Not that them folk aren’t deserving of some punishment for harassing ‘em, but…” Now the man looked as though he wanted to run, or vomit, or some new olympic combination of the two.
The migraine was getting more and more inevitable. “”’Nearly’ gutted? That doesn’t make any sense.”
“They leave… outlines, all over the people. Carvin’ em up where all their organs are, like they could’a done it…. Jus stay outta the mink district, all right young man?”
Now Law was fairly certain that the baker had absolutely no idea who he was, besides some kid running around towards danger. And while some small part of him appreciated the effort, not only was it fairly pointless, but it had slowed him down from catching up to/beating on his crew. Nodding without any sort of real response, Law continued on, shoving that new info down with all of the other things he needed to avoid about this island.
Organ carving was a new one though, he might have to keep that one in mind.
Turning a corner, he finally came up on the vet building his crewmates were at. It was a sorry sight, for sure, and just cemented in Law’s mind how bad-off Bepo was on this island. Anyone allowed to treat the mink’s on this island must be hard-of-luck, especially with some vigilante running around. Reaching the door, he pounded on it, patience running out faster than before.
After a few moments, the door opened a crack, and a woman’s voice snapped out “We’re closed.” before it slammed shut again. Law blinked twice.
Inside, Shachi looked up as Jack returned to the room. “Who was it?”
“Some homeless asshole with a dumb hat. Anyway, Mr. Bear, you’ll want-”
“It’s Bepo.”
“Mr. Bepo, You’ll want to change these bandages once-” More knocking at the door, even harder this time. Jack sighed, and stood up again, muttering something about getting shoved to the outskirts of town. Shachi, Bepo and Penguin sat and listened as she stalked to the door again. They heard it open, and the start of more angry yelling, when the very much pissed off “ Room .” of their captain rang through the building. A good amount of banging and yelling happened, until Law himself stepped into the room. Shachi tried to think of the last time he’d seen Law look that mad, but realized that he’d probably blocked out the memory. “Heyyy, Cap….”
“Both of you, grab any useful medical supplies that aren’t contaminated. Bepo, show me the bullet wound.”
“Bepo pointed at his side, but protested, “It’s fine now! Jack did a good job stitching it up, and the bandage job looks like yours.”
That made Law pause. He examined the bandaged side, and saw that it was a good job, but something seemed… off about it… “Why is it backwards?”
“ I… ” came from the doorway. “ Am. Left. Handed. ” Law and the others turned, and those unprepared for the sight balked at the sight of the female veterinarian standing there, holding her head at about chest level, looking furious and surprisingly calm for someone who’d been decapitated.
Law had been right. It was going to be a very long day.