How had a child managed to get into the sub?
You stared at the little kid in front of you, who had stopped moving the mope and stared back at you with two big silver eyes you realized you knew very well. Although this eyes were still transparent and innocent, free of the regret and suffering that clouded those ones you had become familiar with.
He had Law's eyes.
And that hat... The kid was wearing a hat that had made you mistake him for a cow. It was the exact same hat your captain used to wear when you met him, although it looked a little too big on the kid's head, in contrast to when your captain wore it. He changed it shortly after you joined the crew for that other hat he wore now.
"Why didn't you tell me you had a son?" you blurted out in indignation, frowning your brows.
"What? I don't have a son! He's not my son!" Law exclaimed.
"How is he not your son? He looks exactly like you!" you continued with your accusation as you compared their faces.
"He can't be my son. I've never... " He stopped realizing what kind of information he was about to give you. "He's not my son, alright?" he concluded averting his eyes.
"But he looks exactly like you," you repeated, deciding not to pay attention to your captain's accidental slip.
"You're not my daddy. Where is my daddy?" a high-pitched voice interceded.
Law turned his annoyed gaze to the kid, making him burst into tears.
"Hey! Don't look at him that way, you're scaring him," you protested squatting down and hugging the child.
Law blinked in puzzlement. Look at him that way? What way? He wasn't making any scary face. This kid was a crybaby.
"Don't worry sweetie. He barks a lot but doesn't bite."
Law sent a death glare to you, but you ignored him.
"How old are you, honey?"
"Five," he answered between sobs.
"And how did you get in here?" you continued, speaking softly so you wouldn't scare him further.
"I don't know. I was playing with Lami and then, I was here. Where is my mom?" the kid explained.
You turned to Law to find he had froze, eyes widening. "What did you just say?" he asked squatting down next to you and placing his nodachi aside. "Repeat that name."
"Lami?" the kid answered hesitantly.
"Who's Lami?" you wanted to know.
"My baby sister," the little child said.
You looked at Law in confusion. Why that fact surprised him so much?
He asked the kid a few more questions that didn't make much sense to you, before standing up grabbing you with him. "It's me. This kid is me with five years old," he told you in a low voice.
"What? Why do you think so?" You didn't know if you should worry about your captain's mental health.
"Because of his answers. Everything matches with my own life. I'm sure, it's me," he explained.
You took a look at the kid. He was exactly like Law. He was too alike to him, even in the case he was family. But still... "And how is he... I mean you... eh... Why is he here?" You weren't sure how to address him now you knew the kid was supposed to be your captain.
"It had to be the fog. It actually had magical powers. It probably worked as a gate between past and present," he thought out loud.
"What are we going to do?"
Law paused to think for a moment. "For now, investigate. If he has come from the past we need to find a way to return him to his time. We don't know what his disappearance might cause," he concluded, eyes fixed on the kid, who hadn't move from the spot.
"Are you sure it's you? That sounds pretty crazy, you know?" You still weren't convinced about it. You went back to the child and crouched next to him. "What's your name, honey?" Law hadn't asked him his name. If he answered differently this time, problem solved.
The kid blushed a little and took a bit of time before answering. "Tr... Tr... T... Torao Water D. Law."
You blinked a few times processing the information. When you turned to Law, he had that shocked expression only the Strawhats could cause on him. And then, you started to laugh loudly.
Okay, he was definitely your captain in tiny version but... did he really just call himself using the same name Strawhats did? And your captain's face...
You knew your captain was glaring at you, and little Law probably was too, but you couldn't stop. He had said it in such a cute way.
Law crouched next to you to talk to little Law, glaring at you a last time before ignoring your laughs. "It's Trafalgar. Not Torao. Tra-fal-gar," Law corrected him. "Repeat."
"T... Tr... Torao," little Law tried with no success as he grabbed your sleeve. Law scared him, and for some reason he felt safer with you. It was a curious thing that he was scared of himself.
"Trafalgar," Law repeated.
"Torao." The poor boy couldn't get to properly pronounce his name.
You rolled your eyes. Was it really that important to insist over this? Your captain was so stubborn...
"Okay, repeat after me." your captain decided to try a new strategy. "Tra."
"Tra," the kid repeated.
"Fal."
"Fal."
"Gar."
"Gar."
"Trafalgar Law," the surgeon finished.
You both stared expectantly at the kid.
"T... Tr... Tr... Torafga Law," he blurted out after many failed attempts.
Law and you sweatdropped at the weird name that had resulted from this 'game'. "It'll do by now," Law concluded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Very well!" You applauded trying to cheer the little boy. "I'm (Y/N), and this grumpy here is Captain Torao," you introduced your captain using his mispronounced surname.
Law sent you another of his death glares, which seen in such a short distance intimidated quite a bit, so you decided to correct yourself.
"Okay, okay. He's called Law, as well as you."
"I think I'm going to take him to the sick bay to do a blood test," Law told you.
Little Law moved closer to you in search of some safety.
"If you think it's necessary..." You placed an arm around little Law. "Don't worry. I'll be with you, okay?" you told him.
He just looked at you with those innocent grey orbs and slowly nodded.
Law and you rose to a standing position, you with little Law in your arms, and went to the sick bay.
Once there, you placed little Law on the stretcher and sat beside him. He studied his surroundings as Law prepared his little arm for the needle. Unlike many children, he stayed calm during the whole process, observing with curiosity every of Law's movements even when he inserted the needle and started extracting the blood. You, on the contrary, looked away when the time came. The sight of blood made you dizzy.
"Aren't you going to give him a lollipop?" you asked your captain once he was done.
"You know I don't have lollipops, (Y/N)-ya," he muttered taking some test tubes out of the cabinet.
"Well, you should. Law wants a lollipop," you continued crossing your arms.
The surgeon gave you a skeptic look. "He hasn't asked for a lollipop," he retorted, turning his attention back to the tubes.
"I know, but I do. You never give me lollipops. Doctors must give lollipops to their patients to help them feel better." You pouted.
Law just ignored your absurdities and went on with his work.
You sighed assuming you would never get your lollipop. "Should I 'introduce' him to the rest of the crew?" you wondered looking at the kid.
"Sure. And bring them up to date on the situation, by the way," he demanded, focusing his attention on you only partially.
"Aye, aye, Captain." You helped the kid to get off the stretcher and went to the rec room taking his little hand.
As soon as he met Bepo, you knew they were going to get on well with each other. It was good he got distracted playing with Bepo. That way, it would be easier for you to explain what had happened.
Some didn't believe you until Law confirmed your story. It took him a while to have the blood test done, but it gave him the results he expected; the child's blood was also his. He found trail of the Amber Lead Syndrome too, but he kept that information to himself.
During dinner, he informed you all of what he had planned to do. As for now, you were going to disembark at the nearest inhabited island to do some research. It was more likely to find the information you needed on Memory Island, but it was unreachable until the fog faded, so your best option after that was investigating at the nearest islands.
When you finished discussing about your plans it was late at night, and little Law was falling asleep on your lap. You offered to share your bed with him, to what Law agreed. It was obvious the kid had taken a liking to you, so it was the best option. You already cared for him too. It had been just a few hours, and he had already won your heart. You couldn't help it; he was a small, naive version of your beloved captain.
You took him in your arms and headed to your room with Bepo, Shachi and Penguin. Once inside your room, you moved away the blankets and carefully placed him on one side of the mattress, trying not to wake him, and took off his shoes and hat placing the latter on your night table. Your crewmates tried being as silent as possible too.
You laid on the other side of the bed, covered him and yourself with the blankets, and closed your eyes to sleep. The kid shifted closer to you in his sleep, probably in search for some warmth, so you placed your arm around him in a protective hug and slowly fell asleep, listening to his steady breathing.