Disclaimer: One Piece not mine.

Summary: Greatness will not be measured by how brightly the flame burns; only how long it lasts. Trafalgar Law has chosen Strawhat Luffy, and he'll be defeated by no other. Post-Marineford.

Rival

Perhaps it's simply the respect one strong pirate owes another, Trafalgar Law reasons as he carefully wipes away the lines of dried tears from his patient's face. Perhaps it's pity. Either way, it unsettles both the physician and the pirate in him to observe Monkey D. Luffy in this state – unseeing as a corpse on the operating table, defeated with a thoroughness Law couldn't help but admire. Even exhausting the vast entirety of his intellect and spite, he could not have broken a man more completely than this.

The barely breathing shell on his table is the reason Law sets limits on how much he feels and gives. Feel too much, give too much, and look at what they do to you. He closes the boy's unblinking stare with gentle finality. Look at what's left.

If he were any other man, Law might envy the Strawhat. Every day lived like the last; every day as terrifyingly and achingly lovely as the last of anything must be. It is no wonder he has attracted such a fascinating crew; or that they love him with the devout ferocity of disciple, champion and parent combined. If he were any other man, Law too would happily die for such a captain.

Law prides himself on his unstinting understanding of character, and it's this that allows him to appreciate the beautiful rarity that is Monkey D. Luffy. It'd taken only a single glance at the auction house to grasp the sheer immensity of the boy's potential. The jolt of recognition – like to like, strength to strength – pulsed fire through Law's blood, leaving keen relief in its wake. He's finally here.

Trafalgar Law is not an arrogant man. He applies the critical eyes of a stranger to himself and knows that in many aspects, he will never be Strawhat Luffy's equal. Just as his gambles are not half so steep, his triumphs will not taste half so sweet. His men risk their lives for him, but they will never live their lives for him.

These are shortcomings Law gladly accepts, especially now, gazing down at the tattered remains of such potential. Greatness will not be measured by how brightly the flame burns; only how long it lasts. Law has never been more aware of his own latent power, his tempered steel to the Strawhat's brittle gold.

They will face each other across battle lines one day. Trafalgar Law has chosen Strawhat Luffy, and he'll be defeated by no other.

I'm more than a match for you. Law presses his cool fingers to the boy's flickering pulse with a smile. Live and I'll show you.

-end-