Title: Akanbou no Isha

Author: AppleL0V3R

Beta-reader: N/A

Fandom: Naruto and One Piece

Pairing: Trafalgar D. Water Law and Haruno Sakura

Other Characters: Heart Pirates

Part: Two

Summary: Sakura remembered when Law was a small sickly child with nothing and no one. But the man in front of her was definitely not that kid anymore.

Word Count: 2,290

Rating: T

Type: Two-shot – Complete

Genre: Crossover, Canon Compliant (One Piece), Canon Divergent (Naruto ending), Humor, Pre-relationship, HEA

Warning: Spoilers (Both)

Disclaimer: If you've heard of it before, then it's obviously not mine.

Started: June 30, 2017

Completed: N/A

Lasted Edited: August 12, 2017

Notes: Super sorry it took me so long to finish this two-shot up. I started a new job as I explained on my profile and it's more physically taxing than I've ever had as well as being my first graveyard job, and the adjustment meant the only writing I've done has been for a book I'm working on. But, obviously I managed to pull this out (nearly a year later). Again sorry for the wait.

On that note, for anyone who might be wondering, this part takes place during the Saboady Archipelago Arc in One Piece, making it a full ten years (or so) after the setting of the first part. Enjoy!

*.*.*

After over a decade spent between the Grand Line and the Shinobi Nations—more on the Grand Line than not, if she were being honest with herself—Sakura still remembered the sickly boy she had helped cure and then teach medicine to for close to a full year after their first meeting. They had parted ways when he was fourteen and had attained the first members of his crew after his first mate—a talking bear, to Sakura's amusement—and a sub to serve as his pirate ship. There had been no hard feelings or misunderstandings on either side.

From the moment that had run across Bepo, Sakura had known Law would go his own way, and that his own way included piracy. As someone with a moral compass that did not exactly point north, she had no room to judge even if she wanted to. In fact, the kunoichi had been proud to see him depart—healthy and full of determination. The only worry she would have was him biting off more than he could chew in his quest to avenge his murdered father-figure. But Law had proven capable and cunning during his time with her, picking up medicine the way she had—like he was born for it—and learning the ins and outs of his Devil Fruit in much the same manner. It had taken him almost no time at all to understand the depth of what the Ope Ope no Mi could achieve and even less time to start wielding it with any proficiency.

It filled her with hope that he stood a fighting chance, even after she saw first had what Doflamingo himself could do, what strings he could pull.

So she was hardly surprised when Law's first wanted posted appeared a bare two years after their parting, and even less surprised that captured him flipping off someone unseen with triumphant grin that reached his golden eyes. The intervening years saw regular though not frequent raises in his bounty and steady growth in his person. By the time he was rumored to be in Paradise with a full pirate crew, he was well on track to being a Super Rookie.

It never failed to make her smile when she caught sight of one of his wanted posters, and pride every time it was a new one. They were proof that Law was thriving. And after seeing him at his worst, his lowest, she could not help but cheer for the man he was becoming. Even if that man had gained the moniker 'Surgeon of Death.' And the tattoos that he seemed to have more of with every bounty poster. But, she figured that was just the mid-twenty-something in her talking, considering what she and Team Seven had been like before she had met Law.

Naruto had tried talking her into returning permanently to Konoha, settling down as the head of the hospital and everything. But she couldn't bring herself to, even after years of distance from the horrors of the Fourth Secret War. She would always remember the sight of Konoha reduced to a crater in the ground, and that would serve no one if she tried to force herself into the peaceful rebirth of the Shinobi Nations. Naruto had done a world of good for all of them, had ushered in a time of peace, that though arguably still fragile and new, spanned across the giants and little villages alike. Everyone who had ever believed in Naruto before the War knew that if anyone could have changed everything, it would have been him.

So while she was happy for her hometown and for her team who were still like family to her, there was a void inside her that only grew within Konoha's towering gates. There was still something out here on the Grand Line for her to find, she just knew it. And thus, she found herself taking all sorts of missions from all sorts of people as she steadily made her way through Paradise and then the New World. The perk of being neither pirate nor marine, meant Sakura could go anywhere she pleased so long as she could find transportation and the weather permitted.

And since the island of the Shinobi Nations rested on the Red Line in the Calm Belt near Reverse Mountain, Sakura often found herself bouncing between both parts of the Grand Line equally when she returned to report in at least once a year. She was always back in time to help celebrate Naruto's children's birthdays—she was their traveling godmother after all.

In fact, she only had one mission left on her docket before she was hurrying to finish up so she could make it in time for Boruto's birthday when she saw Law for the first time in a decade.

Her mission was simple and straightforward—the client wanted her to retrieve someone being sold at the Auction House by any means necessary. And as much as it went against her every moral fiber, she knew the easiest way to accomplish that was to attend the auction and buy that someone rather than storm the place and attempt to tear it all down. Not that she would opposed to it if push came to shove and 'any means necessary' meant breaking everyone else out too. But in reality, the Auction House was just the cherry on top of the atrocity that was the Sabaody Archipelago in terms of stomach turning inhumanity. What she really wanted to do was take the tenryuubito and found herself infinity thankful that none of Team Seven was with her right then, except maybe Kakashi. Pragmatic her boys had never been, no matter what the rule book had demanded of them as shinobi.

Still she found herself surprised when a familiar face sauntered down the aisle steps, jumpsuit clad bear and two crewmates accompanying him.

No longer a sickly little boy, the long-legged and leanly built man in front of her had definitely appeared to have grown into his own. She found herself torn between being able to see him for the first time in a decade and the unease of running across him in a place that auctioned people off to the highest bidder. What was Law doing here? She held off on judgement solely because she was there, too, and for reasons that had nothing to do with dehumanization or enslavement. Perhaps Law was looking for a challenge or crewmate. She could not know, and would not assume the worst in spite of his varying epithets.

Her personal favorite was Dr. Heart Stealer. Even if she was fairly certain that given his Devil Fruit that the intent was literal instead figurative.

She tracked his progress until the small group found a seat a handful of rows down from where she had settled far enough in the back to mostly go unnoticed without being too close to entrances and exits. He seemed at ease as he settled in, tossing an arm over the back of the chair next to him and casually positioning the nodachi he had acquired during his time with her against his shoulder. At six-six, the long sword no longer looked so out of place with him as it had when he was fourteen year old and barely over half her height.

Gone too was the white patches of skin that had named his illness for the world to see, though she was sure that up close faint discoloring still might be discernable.

Sakura smiled at the sight of Bepo beside him, just as comfortable and at ease despite the venue. A decade of friendship, real friendship, she knew could do anyone a world of good and she was happy to see the two of them had stuck with each other after all this time. It also made it less likely that Law was here for the same purpose as the noblemen who had no problem as viewing people as chattel. Minks fetched quite the high price in a place like this, the fact that Law walked one right into the building calm-as-you-please spoke volumes.

Piracy, it seemed, had done their rebellious natures good as well.

A man, clearly dressed to draw attention like a neon sign, waltzed on to the stage with a wide grin. Sakura clenched her fists where they were hidden against her person to keep from leaping out of her seat and doing something in true, knuckleheaded Naruto-fashion and instead refocused on her mission.

And the fact that she couldn't miss Boruto's birthday.

She kept the reminder on repeat in her head like a mantra throughout the overdramatic introduction and settled herself in to wait for the specific auction number to be called before she did anything.

*.*.*

Sakura really should not have been surprised that the first time she saw Law in a decade would cause the last mission on her docket to go all kinds of wrong. Man was trouble with a capital T, even back when he'd been a kid. Or maybe it was just her luck in such circumstances. Either way, she found herself amidst the chaos of three famous up-and-coming pirate crews, two injured tenryuubito and far far too many marines. Given that none of that had been her fault, she almost considered demanding compensation for the trouble.

But compensation would imply a completion of her mission and the auction going to hell before she could collect undermined that.

Part of her wished she had nixed the last mission like she had thought about doing—given the sheer distance it took her out of her way for one tiny little thing—but it was far too late for that now. She was here and while she wouldn't be able to deliver exactly on the request but the person was still here and she could certainly still get him and go. She just had to weather a Vice Admiral on top of all the marines and pirates and mayhem.

In the back of her mind, she should have known that after the last few smooth sailing missions it would be this one that went to hell in a handbasket. And really, when had a Team Seven not gone as wrong as possibly could? She had practice enough to still get the job done despite the circumstances, even if that meant going through Law or bypassing the bulk of a marine bass army to do it.

She just had to find where the Dark King had gotten to, ask him real nice where his giant friend had gone and be on her way. Easy.

"Sakura?"

She glanced in the direction of the sound of her name purely out of habit and couldn't decide of her luck had worsened or bettered when she saw white fur and a hesitant expression on a very familiar mink. Still, she couldn't help but throw him a smile, genuinely happy to see him again and know that he had grown in the last decade right alongside someone who would have protected and loved him. "Bepo. Long time no see, eh?"

A slow nod, and then the bear was looking to-and-fro as if suddenly remembering where they were and what was going on. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged, "An assignment, obviously. What are you doing here?"

He made a soft 'oh' sound, like neither concept had occurred to him. "Sorry."

Sakura huffed, her smile turning fond in the face of his familiar habit but she refrained from commenting. Idiosyncrasies, they all had them. Bepo's was almost adorable. "Seriously, Bepo, what are the Heart Pirates doing in an establishment with strong ties to the Donquixote Pirates?"

Before he could respond, another achingly familiar voice cut in from across the amphitheater-esque room. "Bepo! Hurry up, we're going!" Both bear and kunoichi turned toward the Captain of the Heart Pirates, who paused at the sight of Sakura. He blinked once and she waved cheerfully. Worried she might be, but Law was a crafty, cunning man with a heart hidden under all that attitude and cold calculation. At least, he'd been shaping up that way and, epithets aside, no news had contradicted it.

Law tapped Kikoku against his shoulder, his curiosity plain but his intent to get gone in a hurry even clearer.

She glanced at Bepo beside her and shot him a smile too, "Whatever the reason, be safe, okay? And make sure Law doesn't do anything to reckless."

Given their parting on good terms and the engrained trust built between them, Sakura was unsurprised when he snapped to like her request had been an order. While distracted by Law starting to shake his head only for his eyes to widen, Sakura was surprised to find herself dragged with when Bepo hurried to his captain's side. But neither pirate gave her time to shake of the shock before they were out of the building meeting up more jumpsuit wearing pirates that she could only assume belonged to Law.

Even as the thought to plant her feet or protest crossed her mind, she realized the futility of it. Finding Silvers Rayleigh now would take a miracle and her success on this particular assignment equally forfeit with it.

Telling herself it was because tales aboard a real life infamous pirate crew's ship would be more valuable the original present she had planned to get with the profit from this last mission, Sakura decided to hell with it and joined the chaos. And if Law, the doctor pirate who clearly grown into his own since the last time she saw him, with his half smile made something loosen inside her that had been tight for far too long, well then what was the harm?