Chapter Text
The coffee from the hospital vending machine was really bitter. It had a reputation for being nasty, and North Blue workers often avoided it. Law was not the case. The bitter, almost burned taste woke him up enough not to fall asleep from lack of sleep at night. It was questionable and dangerous for a doctor to depend on coffee to work, but Law knew himself well enough to know what his bearable quota of not sleeping was.
"You are the only one who can drink that." Shachi's disgusted face amused him. He looked at the thermal cup in disgust.
"It rivals the bitterness of his heart," Penguin teased, and Law rolled his eyes.
"He’s not bitter!" Bepo, the youngest of the group, defended him. In some way that Law still couldn't understand, he had developed a fascination for him. He was their defender of Shachi and Penguin's accusations. “He is just misunderstood.”
Their friends burst into laughter and a nurse passing by in the hallway glared at them because of the fuss. The breakroom used to be quiet if those three weren't there. When Law spent time alone there he became depressed; appreciating the quiet solitude, but missing the commotion of his companions. Always full of dissatisfaction.
On second thought, he understood why those three disliked the bitter coffee from the vending machine. They were too sweet and happy to bear that amount of bitterness. They already had Law for that. He smiled covering the curve of his mouth with the rim of the cup and finished drinking it.
"We have to get back to work." He looked at his watch and calmly checked the forms. “I have a planned surgery today, you guys?”
The three looked at their papers. It seemed a calm and normal day, without alterations. That's how Law preferred them.
"I have an appendix and a gallbladder operation," Shachi pointed out. He was a general surgeon, and the one who referred patients to other types of surgeons like them.
"I have a C-section," said Penguin, who specialized in childbirth.
"I only have surgery consultations." Bepo left his papers on the table and put on his medical uniform. He was a pediatric surgeon, the children loved him very much.
Law threw the plastic cup into the trash bin and walked ahead of his friends. They walked down the hall together until they separated into different rooms and continued to work. They did not leave at the same time, but sometimes they met in the hallways, in between runs, looking for nurses, doctors, supplies or whatever was necessary.
They had met at University studying medicine. Law had caught the attention of all three and had somehow served as a cohesion for the group. They had glued to him, amazed at his ability to study, and they used to ask him for help with some things, but they never made him feel that they were only with him because of his knowledge. Law had exceptional memorization skills, he was a prodigy, and others had trouble remembering part names and procedures. He had to admit that having them around made his study years better, and that, without their knowing it, they had saved him from dropping out many times.
He looked at his spreadsheet to see the name of the patient who was going to operate and typed on the computer. He adjusted his white coat and went searching for the operation room.
.
.
.
“How do you feel?” Law asked, looking at a teenager sitting on the examining table. The boy avoided his gaze and answered with a terse ‘fine’. “Why did you come to the consultation, then?”
He looked nervous, clutching the edge of his frayed hoodie. Law frowned. He encountered many cases like this in the Kamabakka. He recognized the behavior of a teenager with addictions. Memories of his own past floated like ghosts in his head.
"What did you consume?" He asked, looking at him seriously.
The boy looked at him in surprise. He didn't expect him to guess that fast. But if he had gone there willingly it meant he was looking for something.
"If you don't tell me, I can't help you," Law insisted, quieting his tone trying to get to the boy better. “What‘s your name?”
He felt the boy's gaze on him when he asked that. He hoped it would be a little kinder to get him started talking.
“Leo”
Law wrote it down on a spreadsheet and looked back at him.
"Who do you live with, Leo?"
The boy seemed unsure and nervous when he asked that.
“A- Alone."
Something stirred in his chest when he heard him. He looked very young, fifteen years old at most. He remembered again some images from his childhood that he quickly threw away. He couldn't work if he let his memories affect him.
He sat at the desk and wrote something on the prescription pad. An address. He held out the paper.
"Do you know Shirohige?"
The boy took the paper and denied looking at Law's curved letters, which were barely understandable.
"It's a shelter for boys and girls in your situation. You can go at any time. They're going to give you a bed and food.” He took off his glasses and stared at the boy. “Don't walk down the street alone. There you will have a safe place. And then you can come see me again to talk about the other matter.”
His words paid off and he saw a smile on the boy's face, who squeezed that paper tightly and left the room thanking Law before closing the door. Shirohige was the best option for him. He took out his cell phone.
[06/25 03:48 pm] Trafalgar Law: Ace-ya, I sent you a boy to Shirohige's. He came to the Kamabakka's office and said he was alone. I could not get much information out of him, he is quiet and suspicious, but I noticed that he consumes substances.
Portgas D. Ace worked in Shirohige’s organization; a transit home for street boys and girls in emergency neighborhoods, such as Gray Terminal, where the Kamabakka organization was located. In the time that Law had been working there, he had recommended some children to go to Shirohige, where they helped them find a purpose, something to hold on to and gave them a big family. Many stayed until they reached the age of majority and remained in contact with the organization, and others lived for a time until they could relocate to better places. The doors of Shirohige's home were always open.
[06/25 03:55 pm] Portgas D. Ace: Okay, we'll be on the lookout for him. If you continue to attend him, keep us posted. Regards.
If you don't have a blood family to take care of you, you have your family by choice that will always cover your back, old Shirohige used to say. Law had known him from working there. The Kamabakka was a community center that provided medical care and recreational and sports workshops in an emergency neighborhood to boys and girls in vulnerable situations. It was not a job in itself because nobody paid him to go a couple of hours two days a week. The job that supported him financially was at the North Blue Hospital, where he worked as a surgeon with his friends from the university.
Law was at the Kamabakka because he wanted and because the creator was Ivankov, a medical friend who was his teacher during his university years. He had trusted Law to take him there when he decided to create it. The other doctor in the organization was Marco, his partner also in the North Blue and part of the Shirohige Home. Between the three of them, they covered six days a week of medical care at the institution, combined with activities and lunches.
The Shirohige organization had close ties with them and that’s why they used to interact a lot. When homeless boys or girls arrived at the Kamabakka, abandoned or lost, they took them to Shirohige's. Likewise, several of those who went to the Kamabakka to have a consultation or did some activity there were from Shirohige Home. Marco had made the contact with both organizations. Law admired that pediatric doctor for being in two social organizations and working in a hospital at the same time. If he could get more hours a day, he would sign up with many social aid organizations. Being there made him feel happy in a way he never experienced before. As if he really did something to change the lives of boys and girls who were just like him in the past.
He quickly responded to Ace when he finished his office hours and went through one of the classes. The last activity of that day was the Kendo Workshop until 7 pm, by Roronoa Zoro. Law saw the boys practice the stances from the door window and smiled. He knew that Kamabakka was a good thing. Everyone who worked there did so because they believed in it and that poverty was not a matter of effort or some meritocratic shit like that, but rather a lack of opportunities. That place was just a small help to start the long road of leveling things out.
He passed by the dining room where every noon lunch was served to the boys and girls who visited the Kamabakka on an empty stomach. From afar he saw Sanji, one of the organization's three cooks, sitting at the long table. Next to him was Nami, the accountant who helped Inazuma with the economy of the place. They had made coffee and were chatting, surely waiting for Zoro to finish the Kendo Workshop to go together. Sanji was there since noon, preparing the lunches for the boys and girls who attended.
"Law!" Sanji moved his hand to greet him and Nami turned around, smiling at him.
He approached the table to greet them and sat down when Sanji passed him a coffee. The blond man was the best cook he knew. The other two that the Kamabakka had, Paty and Carne, Sanji's companions in a restaurant where he worked, were just as good, but not as good as him.
"What are you doing so late here?"
The Kamabakka had four daily activities. In the morning, at noon where it was always the lunchtime, in the mid-afternoon and in the evening. Sanji always went before noon to cook and finished his shift at two in the afternoon. Nami helped with the organization's accounting and went at the same time as Sanji two days a week. It was rare to see them past five in the afternoon.
"We are waiting for Zoro," Nami said, lowering her cup of coffee.
"We have to meet Luffy to plan the August excursions, you had signed up to go, right?" Sanji asked, looking at him through his glass cup.
Law nodded. It was the second year that they made excursions to the forest with the boys and girls who attended the Kamabakka. A weekend, tents, bonfire, songs and games to promote the union between them all. Law was a fan of excursions and had agreed to go as a doctor in case something happened. The coordinating team was formed by Sanji in the kitchen, Franky and Usopp from the Carpentry Workshop because they knew about camping and building, and Luffy from the soccer team, who seemed to be a great entertainer and sports lover.
Law had come across almost everyone in the Kamabakka except Luffy. The soccer boy had different schedules and days than his in the organization and didn’t have the opportunity to cross him. It was not necessary. Everyone talked so much about that boy that he began to feel that he knew him. Not only was he a friend of the other coordinators who gave workshops there, but he was the godson of Ivan and his husband Jinbe, brother of Ace and Sabo, and a friend of Robin. He knew the last two from University; They were both teachers and Law shared different spaces with them. Sometimes he felt like he shared the same world with that boy whose face didn't know.
"Are we going to do fundraising events for the trip?" Law asked, putting his cup of coffee on the table.
"That's what we were thinking," Nami said, looking at Sanji. “I spoke to Inazuma about the expenses and what we have to do to raise that amount of money. Food sales, fairs, solidarity events. We have several ideas.”
Last year they had done some events to raise money. They all did a good job and nobody had to put their own money because they raised the amount they needed. Law recalled a sale of cakes and sweets, made by Sanji, that had been a success. The cook, Franky and him had sold everything in a matter of minutes.
"We should repeat the bake sale, last year it worked very well."
Sanji nodded and Nami wrote it down in a notebook that was already full of other ideas. Law looked at the time on his cell phone and decided to get up.
"If you need anything, send me a message on WhatsApp." He put down the cup he'd been taking and waved at them. “See you next week.”
He walked over the dining room and left the Kamabakka, looking for the bus stop to return home. He did not tell them about the situation of the child he attended earlier, but then he would send a message to the organization's group chat so that everyone would be vigilant if he returned. Law was sure he would. The Kamabakka and Shirohige helped people and he was proud to belong to that.
.
.
.
When he reached his apartment, the freezing cold welcomed him. He had left everything closed and his presence was the only source of heat that his house had received in hours. He took off the clothes he wore in the hospital and hung them on the small balcony, spraying them with disinfectant. He had acquired that habit at University, when he discovered the infinite possibilities of getting viruses and bacteria on clothes, and more so working at hospitals.
He put on a wide jumpsuit and rummaged through the drawers until he found a pair of comfortable pants. His cell phone vibrated on the nightstand and he saw Cora-san's name on the screen. A smile tugged at his lips without realizing it. His adoptive father texted him almost every day. He was one step away from making a group chat with him to talk over there in addition to their private chat. That's how intense he was.
[06/25 06:30 pm] Cora-san: How did it go today? I bought a new watering can for the plants, you should see how beautiful it looks in the garden! Do you want to have dinner at the weekend?
He laughed softly, the low sound coming from him like a purr. Corazón was so strange to write messages. He did not usually send more than one and put all the questions and announcements of his life even if they had nothing to do with each other. Messages like: ‘How was your day? I went to the guard because I fell out of the chair. The other day I saw the neighbor and I think he is interested in me. How are your friends?’ were very common. They seemed very funny to him.
[06/25 06:33 pm] Trafalgar Law: Hello Cora-san. I just came from the Kamabakka. I'm fine.
You can send me a picture of the garden.
I'm free, Do you want us to go eat somewhere or do I go to your house?
Cora-san didn't go to Law's apartment very often. It was too cold for him.
[06/25 06:34 pm] Cora-san: Come home! Now I'm sending you the picture.
Cora-san's garden was very colorful. When Law left the house he had plenty of room for himself. He made the winter garden outside and filled it with plants and decorations. Law always gifted him some garden decoration, a new flower, a cactus or wooden signs to hang. When he sent the photo he saw the new watering can on a wooden cart with all the garden tools. He had given it to him on a birthday and he smiled seeing that he had put a photo frame too. The photo was of them when Law was younger. It had been taken at that home when they had just moved in. He was eighteen,dark circles under the eyes, much deeper than the present ones and an expression of misconduct and disdain. He was angry with life back then. Corazon was always the only one who showed him that living could be good too.
He quickly answered his father's message and put the cell phone in his pants pocket. Thinking of Corazón always made him feel good. He wouldn't admit it out loud but having him around had driven him out of madness many times. Law was not a sociable person, nor pleasant nor charismatic, but Corazón, Shachi, Penguin and Bepo stayed by his side. And that was his treasure.
He turned on the television and had a cup of coffee. It was dinner time but he didn't feel like cooking. He hadn't made the purchases and it was too late to leave. The chair received him with a blanket that he had left the night before and that protected him from the cold environment. He didn't know why his apartment was so cold. In summer it was ideal and in winters he always had extra blankets on the couch and bed to wrap around while doing his things. Television news reports showed a robbery of a couple from a high neighborhood and journalists assumed that the thief was from Gray Terminal. He rolled his eyes as he checked his cell phone.
He had missed calls from Ivan and messages in the Kamabakka's group. He frowned. He read over something about a fire when a call came in from Marco.
“Hello?” His tone of voice sounded exalted. The mention of the fire worried him.
"Law, hello," his colleague greeted him hastily. There was nervousness and concern in his voice. “Listen, we were calling you because something happened in the neighborhood.”
The neighborhood was the way everyone referred to Gray Terminal. The name had a general negative connotation for people who didn’t live there and many times the boys and girls of the Kamabakka refused to say it. Law did not agree with the stigmatization of the name, because there was nothing wrong with it, but he had gotten used to calling it ‘the neighborhood’ with affection, as if it were the neighborhood of his childhood, of his beautiful and sad memories.
“What happened?” He asked too emphatically.
“There was a fire in Tama's house, some boys went to help, but they need a doctor. I am on call in the North Blue and Ivan is there but it is not enough, are you free?”
Law jumped up without hesitation and clutched at his coat. The cup of coffee abandoned on the small kitchen island.
“I'm coming. Send me the address.”
"They sent it to the group chat."
He thanked him before hanging up and got into his car as fast as he could. He did not usually drive within the neighborhood because the streets were very complicated and narrow and he preferred to use public transport. He didn't use the car much anyway, but he knew it was urgent and he gave himself permission to check the location while driving. He didn't have almost anyone’s number saved from the Kamabakka WhatsApp group chat, only Ivan, Marco and Inazuma, but he knew the names of the others and had talked with them several times when they crossed paths at the organization.
He arrived in a short time and after being lost in some streets of the neighborhood where he didn't know how to turn, a little because of nerves and a little because of the inexperience of not driving as much there. Smoke flares were the final indication and he left the car in the middle of the street. There was a fire truck in front of the precariously constructed building pulling water with the hydraulic hose. He saw Ivan and others from the Kamabakka throwing buckets of water and trying to get everyone out of the house.
Law came running and touched Ivan's shoulder roughly.
"Did they all already get out? Where's Tama-ya?"
Ivan saw him sideways and Law thought he recognized relief in his features.
“Tama is still inside, Luffy is trying to get her out, but the entrance is on fire.”
He did a quick scan of the situation and saw Zoro from the Kendo Workshop throwing water along with Sanji. Law didn’t hesitate. He snatched a bucket from one of the closest boys and threw it at himself.
"Where's Tama-ya?" He asked, trying to see out the window.
"Near the front door, behind the fire. Luffy is trying to enter.”
He turned around and saw a great flame coming out of the door. At the entrance of the house was a young man, he guessed Luffy. He was in the middle of the fire, but apparently still far from Tama. He'd gotten himself wet just like him, but it wouldn't do much good with that big tongue of fire. He took a bucket from Sanji and went to the door, throwing the contents into the fire to slow it down.
"I need more water here!" He yelled looking at the firefighters.
One of them directed the hydraulic hose to the door and they calmed the fire, although due to the fire conditions they knew that as soon as they closed the hose everything would catch fire again. Going in with the power of that hose would be very difficult and Law doubted that the boy next to him could hold it too long, but was surprised when he saw him use the monstrous thrust of the force of the water to get to Tama faster.
Law passed behind him and covered his face, full of water, to see better. He could distinguish the girl's screams. And saw Luffy hold her.
“Do you have her?” Law shouted under that pouring rain and the flames at his sides in one of the most surreal pictures he had ever experienced.
“Yes!” He heard him scream and Law took Tama in his arms when he reached the door. Luffy seemed tired of walking against the water and protecting the girl's body.
The water stopped and flames began to threaten the entrance. Law scanned Tama's body for burns and then Luffy's. He saw damage to both and surely Tama's family would also have to be cared for. When they came out, he saw Sanji's face through his eyes blurred by the water and tearful by the smoke from the fire. Luffy coughed next to him and was sure he had been sucking in the smoke from the fire.
He lowered Tama who did not hesitate to run to her parents and Law evaluated the situation and the injuries with a better perspective. He only had to treat the family and Luffy. The others had come out without injury.
“Are you ok?” He asked the boy, looking at his bare shoulders where he had been slightly burned. Luffy nodded, although his eyes were irritated.
"They are in worse condition, don't worry about me."
Law clicked his tongue and looked at Ivan.
"I'm going to take them to the Kamabakka to check them, will you stay here until the fire is controlled?" Ivan nodded and he looked at Luffy. “Tell them to come, let's go in my car.”
Luffy called Tama and his parents and took them with Law.
"Get in," He said to the boy, opening the passenger door.
"I'm staying, I don't need to be checked."
"You have burned shoulders and smoke in your lungs. Get in, come on,” Law insisted, and Luffy looked at his friends who were still throwing buckets.
Zoro waved him off and Luffy reluctantly got into the car. She and Tama's parents settled in the back seat. Law didn't care that everyone was wet.
"Luffy-ya, right?" He questioned him as he started the car and tossed his cell phone into his hands. “I need you to tell me how to get to the Kamabakka on the map. Just put the address and then the directions.”
Luffy typed quickly and held the cell phone as a woman's voice told him where to turn.
"You are Torao, right?" The boy asked after a few minutes in silence. Law frowned.
"I am Trafalgar Law," he corrected, although he didn't know if he was talking about him.
"Yeah, Torao," Luffy repeated as if saying it well. “The other Kamabakka doctor. At last I know you, everyone talks about you.”
Law raised an eyebrow confused because he didn't think anyone was talking about him. He was just a doctor in the same organization that Luffy had his soccer team on.
"I think it's the other way around," Law replied without taking his eyes off the street and his attention on the cell phone. “I feel like everyone talks about you all the time.”