Chapter Text
The ‘alliance’ doesn’t dissolve. Law doesn’t put much thought to it, because it’s better for his stress levels if he doesn’t think too long on whatever the hell Monkey D. Luffy has inevitably gotten himself into. And it makes a kind of sense, given that Joker’s still not dead.
Again—like always—the problem comes in the form of other people.
Sabaody is the same as ever, full of too many people and too much movement and too much noise. Nothing good has ever happened to Law on Sabaody. That hasn’t changed, either.
“Where is he?” Eustass Kidd growls, shoving his face into Law’s space, eyes wide and teeth bared. At his side, a crew member—probably the first mate—in a full mask mimes out an apology.
“Be more specific,” Law chides, shoving Kidd back with the hilt of Kikoku. “He who.”
“The Kage Kage user you brought along to Marineford,” Kidd hisses, with an air of annoyance, as though Law should already know what he’s talking about. Law has no idea who the user of the Kage Kage no Mi is.
Hell, Law doesn’t even know for certain that there is a Kage Kage no Mi.
That aside, Law didn’t ‘bring anyone along to Marineford’, save his crew and—
Law blinks, and then looks Kidd over. Law would like to think that Kidd’s not that kind of idiot, especially with their names being linked under the banner of the ‘Worst Generation’. But then he recalls that said generation also includes people like Mugiwara no Luffy, so on second thought, Kidd is probably exactly that kind of idiot.
“You’re looking for Shinku.” It’s not quite a question. More a statement of disbelief.
“Is that his name?” Kidd crosses his arms, still sneering. “Yeah.”
“Why.” Law still can’t quite manage any inflection. Why the hell would Kidd want to meet Shinku? Law’d told the creature—being, thing, whatever—to fuck off from the get go and his life hasn’t known peace since. Snakes have started physically manifesting on the Polar Tang.
“I wanna know why everybody is suddenly falling over themselves to get an alliance with you,” Kidd packs as much derision possible into the word, and Law can feels his brows raising of their own volition. That was almost an impressive amount of spite.
“Whatever,” is all he says. Kidd wants to meet Shinku so bad? His funeral.
Law turns away from Kidd and towards Beppo, to ask for the Den Den Mushi, but winds up biting his tongue instead.
“Don’t fucking do that,” he snaps, repressively.
Shinku—folded in on itself and masquerading as Beppo’s abstract, many-eyed shadow—laughs.
[You called.]
The hell I did, Law almost says. But he did say Shinku’s name.
“Since when do you come when called,” Law asks instead.
Shinku steps out of Beppo’s shadow and unfurls into the uncanny humanoid body that it’s been favoring lately. The black of its skin is so deep that it looks like a human-shaped crack in the fabric of reality, as though the air itself has split open in the shape of a person.
[Since I had a Name to be called,] it answers, grinning.
Law opens his mouth to say something scathing, but then he remembers that he was the one who decided to give Shinku a name, because—in the moment—he’d needed something with more force than hey, you.
Damnit.
Turning away means conceding the point, but whatever. Law turns back to Kidd, because he’s the moron who wanted to talk to Shinku in the first place.
Except.
Kidd and his presumed first mate are on the ground. The maybe, maybe-not first mate is unconscious, Law thinks, though it’s a little hard to tell with the mask. Kidd, on the other hand, is definitely conscious but also has the wide-eyed vacant stare of someone who just got concussed. One of his hands is twitching erratically.
“Did you do that?” Law asks, but that’s not really the right question. He tries again: “Why did you do that.”
Shinku flows forward to lean over Kidd, looking curious. A deep, wet noise drags itself up out of Kidd’s throat.
[You’re the weird one,] Shinku says accusingly, but without bite. If anything, it sounds fond. [This is normal for me.]
“If you think I’m gonna drop to the ground just because you show your ugly mug—” Law starts with a scowl.
Shinku laughs, a sound like a knife parting flesh, and Kidd’s entire body spasms. Law cannot believe that Shinku just… induces seizures, and yet here they are. [You’re a real peach, y’know that?]
“A real what—”
[Aah, so defensive. You really are nice for a human, though.]
And it's not like Law was unaware that Shinku isn't human—he has eyes—but the creature itself rarely called attention to its own state of being. This is new. New things about Shinku tend to bode… exasperating for Law, which probably manifests as existential terror for anyone else.
“So what,” Law starts, trying to regain his footing. “You’re so scary that you make people drop like flies?”
[Present company excluded, obviously.]
“Uh huh,” Law lets his skepticism shine through, crossing his arms. “And this is because…?”
Shinku grins, from a mouth that is located in a place mouths are generally not found, teeth resplendent.
[Mortal creatures just can’t be exposed to some things. Fragile constitutions.]
… If it’s implying that Law isn’t mortal, he might actually just destroy this half of the Grand Line.
The thought clearly translates through body language alone, because Shinku laughs and adds, [You’re mortal. That little fruit of yours goes a long way, though.]
“Fascinating,” Law says, dryly.
It actually is rather interesting, and with anyone else Law would want to continue the line of conversation, but Shinku can smell interest almost as well as it can smell fear, and the last person it tried to talk to about Void Math or whatever literally imploded.
But that’s beside the point, because—
“Can you dial it back, or something?” Not that Law cares, but Kidd is the one who wanted to talk to Shinku, which would be difficult to achieve, what with the paralysis and heart arrhythmia.
Law doesn’t hear or see or feel anything change, but after a moment Kidd jerks forward and lurches upright, breath punched out of him, face pale and drenched in sweat.
“Well,” Law prods, after Kidd spends five minutes doing nothing but staring vacantly into middle-distance. “You wanted to talk.”
Kidd flinches, wide eyes and dilated pupils passing right over Law and jumping from Shinku’s head (too many mouths) to its torso (uncomfortable amount of eyes) to various limbs (slowly starting to bud into something that’s decidedly not human and possibly invertebrate). Instead of words, he lets out a strained, dry wheeze.
Thrilling.
Law resists the urge to sigh, barely. This is going to take a while.