underlying scars

chapter 1

Insomnia, of course Law always had it. He was a doctor with hundreds of patients at a time from his devil fruit, after all, it was a fruit prime for surgery. Yet... it felt far too much surveying his newest patient, Monkey D. Luffy. The newest supernova. Just come from Marineford and Impel Down, the poison overflowing in his body alone could've killed him, had his body not been so resilient.

The fresh wound on his chest was just an add on. He can't seem to remember why he even went to Marineford, but the outcome from saving him became excruciatingly stressful. It had to be especially painful to the younger's crewmates, hundreds of miles away from their captain. The newspaper that came out right after the war only amplified their worries. The mind of a 17 year old from East Blue, running straight into a war and experiencing atrocities left and right had to scar to some degree. It was almost impossible for him to not have survivor's guilt. Plus his older, sworn, brother dying right in front of his eyes had to be overwhelming.

The screams of the brother's name rang out into the metal halls from time to time, the guilt settling in the pits of his stomach. Each jerk of the boys body would rip stitches, his vitals spiking at random, and the fact his rubbery body was so hard to operate on kept driving Law closer and closer to insanity. He would space out staring at the heart rate monitor, only snapping back when his eyes began to burn. The anxiety in his body practically tripled the first time Luffy's heart stopped, it happened so quickly that he finally came back to his senses when he accidentally pricked his finger with a surgical needle.

Though, that was always the worst part, his chest. Law was a doctor so he couldn't be exactly disgusted with it. Yet, something about the rubber flesh beneath felt vile. He had operated on several burn victims before, the skin was nothing. Though, the smell of burning rubber and flesh each time he walked into the room made him cringe.

His crewmates were saints through it all, truly. When Law couldn't be there to watch, because his crew cared for his health, another would keep check. They would bring Law food when Luffy's condition would become unstable. He helped them, so, why not return the favor?

—- time skip

Law snaps out of his daze, his paperwork below him forgotten. "What the hell?" Law mutters, the submarine shaking despite them being anchored to an island. The sound of shoes pounding along the floors and the entrance door being flung open sound above him. Jumping from his chair, his steps almost sounded the same in the halls. Everything was scattered around the medical room, the equipment to the bloody sheets. Even the footprints leading out of the room told everything. "How does he manage this when he's been injured for so long?" He said. Letting the tracks guide him out of the submarine.

Chaos reigned outside, Rayleigh and Jinbei watched on, concerned at the boy obliterating the forest behind them. Some of the Heart Pirates running in, "Do you plan to restrain him?" The white haired man staring down the younger. "No, no. Just.. making sure his stitches and bandages don't tear. Those things took far too long to put on." Tall mountains and colossal trees collapsing in the distance knock them out of their conversation. Smaller animals scurry out of the forest, almost tripping Bepo when he follows them. "Captain, captain! We ended up losing them, he got away! I'm sorry!" The two behind him agree to his claim, covered in leaves and dirt.