Day Five: Watching

"Torao! Get up! You need to get up now!" Shaking and shouting awoke Law from his slumber. "GET UP NOW! I WANT YOU TO GET UP RIGHT NOW!"

"What?" Law asked as he sat up on his own. Luffy had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and was shaking him to get up. "What's going on?"

"You look nice when you sleep." Law's eyes widened as he looked to the mouth of the cave. The entity was standing there. "That one is highly annoying. He disturbed you and ruined my view."

"What are you doing here?" Law asked as he stood up. He walked to the threshold. Just out of the other's reach. "I know the truth about this cave and the birds. Don't you even think you'll be able to catch either one of us without them."

A growl sounded from the black mass in front of him. "That bitch told you, didn't she?"

"Yes." He didn't try to correct him on what he called her. To him, he could call her whatever he wanted to. Law knew who she really was and was forever grateful for her kindness. She was a Goddess. He would not call her anything else.

"I'll kill her."

"Torao, what are you talking about? There's another person on the island?" Law looked back at Luffy. He looked surprised and confused to hear that.

"No. She's the one protecting us from him." He turned fully to the teen. "There's a Goddess that protects people that visit this island." Law gestured to the entity. "He's the reason she's protecting us." He didn't mention that their feelings are another reason for her doing so.

"Oh. That's really nice of her."

"I'll get you one way or another," the guy said in a low, threatening voice.

"I don't think so. You can stay the hell away from us. I won't let you touch me again." Law hated that he had been able to touch him in the first place.

"Yeah! Our..." Before Luffy could finish his sentence, Law covered his mouth. He gave him a confused expression.

"Don't tell him about them. It would be better if he didn't know," Law whispered to him. Luffy nodded befoe he let his mouth go.

"What were you going to say? Your what?"

"Our friend won't let you do whatever you want," Luffy said. Law was proud that he was able to fix it so fast. I guess that I can count on him to be smart at times. That's a good thing.

"That bitch is in my way." He stepped a little closer but was held back by an invisible force. "You will be mine. I won't let that brat have you or that bitch keep you from me." Law's eyes widened at the mention of Luffy. He looked over at the younger man. He swore that if Luffy got any angrier, he would have steam coming out of his ears. "I'm sorry. Did I upset you? You act just like a fucking child. I wonder how he's able to put up with you. You're too much of a handful for me."

Law stepped in front of Luffy to block the guy from looking at him. "I handle him just fine because I've known him for a long time. I'm used to his childish nature and his randomness. It's part of being his friend."

"Now, get out of here," Luffy said through gritted teeth. "You aren't welcome here. Our friend doesn't want you here and neither do we. Get lost before I make you."

"Fine. But I'll be back later. I find it interesting to watch you two interact." He began to walk away. "I'll see you later, my dear. I hope I can, at least, touch you again." Law wanted to shout at him but didn't. "You're 'friend' is in the way. I hope you do leave him and that wench at some point." Right after saying that, he disappeared. Law frowned as he thought about the way he said friend.

"Torao, are you okay?" Luffy asked as he came to stand in front of him.

"Hm? Yeah. I'm fine." He turned around before walking over to the fire pit. "I need to go fish some more. We need more food. We're running low."

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure. Make sure you don't bother the birds that come with us." Luffy agreed with enthusiasm as Law grabbed Kikoku. He felt safer with his nodachi than to be left weaponless. The birds gathered on them once they noticed that they were leaving the cave.

"Do you think the Goddess is nice? Do you know why she's protecting us?"

"The Goddess is very nice, and I do know why she's protecting us," Law answered as they walked to the beach. The waterfall didn't contain any fish. He designated that spot for bathing and drinking because of the water flow.

"How do you know? Have you met her before?"

"Yes. I talked with her for a bit yesterday. When I went for a walk in the cave, I found her shrine and talked to her. Then, you attacked me when I came back and told me not to go off on my own without telling you."

"Oh. Do you think I can talk to her?" Law looked back at Luffy. He had a rainbow coloured bird on his shoulder. It was nestling close to his head on his left shoulder while the others stayed on alert for anything.

"I don't see why not. It's not like she won't speak to you." Maybe you'll understand what she meant by she's protecting us because of our feelings for each other. I only see him as a friend, right? He's just my friend. Nothing more. It's the same for him too, right?

After a bit, they made it to the beach. Law hadn't been wearing his shoes because he didn't see the purpose of doing so. It was too hot to wear them, and he walked into water almost all the time.

Unsheathing Kikoku, Law dropped the sheath on the ground before walking into the water. His energy stated to be sapped but he didn't let it show. "Room." He made a small Room before using Takt to bring the fish up. Using his sword, he stabbed the fish and the Room disappeared.

"Hooray! Food!" Luffy cheered while dancing around. Law smiled at seeing him. The birds on him seemed to be holding on for dear life because of how much he was moving.

"Calm down. The birds are having a hard time staying on you," Law said as he walked up. Once he was out of the water, he felt better and wasn't fighting to stay standing up.

"Alright. What are we doing next?"

"I need you to go get some more fruit. I'm going to crush them up and season the fish with them. Also, I'm going to crush them up into a drink for today." Luffy looked surprised at his explanation of why he needed the fruit. "Do you think you can do that for me?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you back at the cave." Law nodded as the other ran off into the forest. He shook his head with a smile at his disappearing back.

Walking back to the cave, the birds started to chirp to each other. Law wondered why they were doing so. Turning his head, he almost paled at seeing the entity near him. "What are you doing here?" he asked him.

"I wanted to see you. Can't I do that? Plus, that annoyance isn't here."

"He's not an annoyance. He has a name."

"Monkey D. Luffy. I already know his name. Not that hard to remember." Law back up when he took a few steps toward him. "Why are you backing up? I can't touch you. Those filthy birds are on you. It pisses me off when I see them with you. I just want to strangle them."

"That's nice to know." Law continued his trek back to the cave. "And, no. You can't come to visit me. I don't want to see you. Ever."

"Come on, baby. Don't be like that. I'm really good at everything."

"No. I'm not interested. And don't call me that."

"But you're interested in that little twerp. Am I right?"

That made Law snap his head to him. "No. I'm not interested in him like that." The birds seemed to start yelling at him. "Stop that," he whispered to them. "I just want him to go away." Seeming to understand him, the birds stopped.

"What was with them?"

"Nothing. Now, leave me alone." He, finally, got to the cave. Luffy wasn't there yet. He must still be collecting fruit.

"Are you a virgin?" The question made him freeze on the threshold of the cave.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you seemed a little too sensitive when I was touching you under the waterfall." Law's face turned bright red at hearing that. He had wanted to completely forget that moment in his life.

"No. I'm not. I've been with a few women before," he answered as he walked inside. Law pulled the fish off and set them to the side. The birds got off and sat next to him.

"So, you're still a virgin."

"I already told you that I'm not. Are you even listening to me? I've been with people."

"You're a virgin from the back." Law whipped his head around to look at him with wide eyes. "Just because you're not a virgin that way, doesn't mean you aren't from the other. You might've been with women, but you haven't been with another man."

Law was at a loss for words. "Why does that matter?" he finally got out. The information was not something he wanted to hear from him. Especially since he was trying to get into his pants in the first place. That thought just made him shiver with disgust.

"Are you going to let that shitty brat be your first?"

Spluttering at the question, Law couldn't believe what he just asked him. "Wh-What?" He almost screeched the question. That was not an expected question. He had no idea the guy would ask him something like that.

"Are you going to let Luffy be your first?"

"I don't feel like answering that question." Law went back to fixing up the fire pit for their breakfast. "Stop asking me dumb questions or questions in general. I won't answer you from this point on."

"Fair enough." He felt uncomfortable because the guy wasn't gone. Law didn't like that he could feel the guy burning holes into his body. It was almost as if the guy was trying to undress him with his eyes.

After a bit, Luffy still wasn' back yet and the entity was still there. Law had the fire going and was just waiting for the younger Captain with the fruit. "What's your name?" Law asked as he leaned back on his hands. His legs were stretched out so he wouldn't cramp up.

"Zoltan." He swore that he could hear a smirk or smile in his voice. "It means King or Ruler." Law didn't like where he was going with the name. "I can be your King."

"No. I'm my own person. I'm free to do whatever I want. I'm not tied down by anyone or anything. I have my own crew and I do what I want when I want." Law was saying all of this through gritted teeth. "I don't like for people to think they're better than me."

Turning back around, he continued to wait for Luffy to return. Soon enough, Luffy started shouting. "I'm sorry! I got caught up in watching a bullfrog!" Law looked toward him to find Zoltan still there. Luffy stopped just a few feet from him. "What the hell are you doing here?!" he screamed at him. Law saw that his shirt was off, and it was holding the fruit he had gathered.

"I was just having a conversation with Law," Zoltan answered. He said it like the two were fine with each other.

"Get out of here!" Luffy looked ready to kill him.

"Fine. I guess that's the better option. You can punch me which I find very upsetting. No need for you to do it once again." Zoltan turned back to Law. "I'll see you later. You have a very sexy sleeping face. Can't wait to watch you sleep again."

"Get out of here already!" Law shouted back at him. The entity chuckled as he walked past Luffy. The guy looked ready to maul him to death.

When he was gone, Luffy entered the cave. "He didn't mess with you, right?" he asked as he placed his shirt down next to him.

"No." Law grabbed an empty coconut and placed a few fruits inside it. They were quiet as he crushed them up, dipped the fish in, and stuck them in the fire to roast. Law, then, crushed up some more fruits before adding coconut milk to them. It made a nice drink for the time being.

"You're really good at this," Luffy said as he watched him. "How do you know it's going to taste good?"

"I don't. I'm just experimenting. It's probably not going to be that good. I just thought about it when I was fishing."

"You're strange." Law rolled his eyes at the comment. When the fish was done, Law had just finished making two drinks for them. When Luffy took a drink, you could see stars in his eyes. "This tastes great! Sanji needs to make something like this!"

"Just eat and drink. I'll take you to meet the Goddess when you're finished eating." Luffy agreed before continuing to eat his meal and drink his drink. Law took a sip and had to agree with him. The drink he concocted tasted very good. He thought about telling Sanji about it when they came to pick them up.

Before they left to go to the shrine, Law decided to call the rest of the crew to get an update on how far they thought they were away. The snail rang a few times before being picked up. "Hello?" It was Franky that answered.

"Robo-ya, do you know where Nami-ya is right now?"

"Yeah. I'll go get her."

Silence followed as they waited for someone to come to the snail. Luffy decided to sit behind Law and play with his hair. He had taken his hat off because he didn't see any reason to keep it on. It would only make him even hotter than he already was. That wasn't a good thing considering the weather on the island.

"Hello? Law? Luffy? Are you guys there?"

"Yeah. How are you guys?" Luffy asked, still playing with his hair.

"We're doing just fine. There was a small storm that happened last night. I got us to set anchor because we needed to keep our course and not have to find where we left off." She sighed. "We still don't know how far we are from you two. Your signal is stronger than yesterday, but it's still a little fuzzy. I think we're about a few hundred miles off from you guys. I'm not really technical with transponder snail signals."

"Can you get Usopp to look at it? Or Franky?"

"Isn't Nose-ya good with stuff like this? And Robo-ya? They work together on things, don't they? They made the piece on this snail."

"Yeah. I can get one of them to check it out. Give me a moment." Her voice went a little quiet as if she turned away. "USOPP! COME HERE FOR A MOMENT!" Nami's voice went back to normal and she wasn't yelling anymore. "He's coming. I'll get him to check just in case I'm wrong."

"What do you need? Is there something wrong with it?"

"I need you to tell me how far we are away from them based on the strength of the signal," the woman said.

"Hey. Can you guys talk while I check? You can talk about anything. I don't really care what it is. It will help with diagnosing it faster."

"Torao and I are not in a good spot," Luffy said as they talked.

"What do you mean? What's going on there?" Nami asked.

"He's got a guy after him. And the same guy doesn't like me." There was silence for a bit on Nami's end. Law felt embarrassed that Luffy was spouting that to them.

"Law, what does he mean that there's a guy after you? I thought it was an uninhabited island. Did more people show up?"

"No. He's not even human," Law answered. "He's an entity that has been on this island for a while now. I guess he took an interest in him." He didn't want to mention specifically why. "He possessed Straw Hat-ya the first day we were here. I was able to help him out. Now, he's continuing to mess with us."

"That sounds really harsh. I don't know what to tell you." She was quiet for a minute. "Tell me, do you know why he's after you, Law?"

Before Luffy could even open his mouth to speak, Law shot him a heated glare that said, 'keep your mouth shut'. "No. I don't know why. I don't want to talk to him, nor do I want to interact with him."

"Understandable. There's no reason to acknowledge someone you don't like." There were shouts from the rest of the crew. "Look, I've gotta go. Sanji and Zoro are at it once again. I need to break them up. Just... stay safe for now. Don't worry. We're trying our hardest to get to you guys."

"I understand. Don't hurt yourselves. Also, when you get here, stay a good bit from the island itself. I don't want you guys too close to it." He didn't really want to mention why he wanted them to do that. "Just send someone on a boat. Don't bring the ship close."

"O-kay. I won't ask you why, but I'll make sure the rest of them know that."

"I figured out how far away from us they are," Usopp announced out of the blue. Law had forgotten that he was even there.

"Well? How far away?"

"We're about a good one hundred thousand miles from them." Law couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Nami sighed deeply. "That's a good five days journey. Sorry, guys. It's going to be a bit longer before we get to you."

"Please, don't rush. We can hold ourselves up for that long," Luffy said. Law looked at him and he nodded. "We'll try to stay safe while you guys get here."

"Okay. Stay safe and keep an eye on Law, Luffy. He needs to be protected if this guy is after him. I have an idea why he would be, but I'll keep my thoughts to myself for right now." Law paled at her implications.

"N-Nami-ya, don't tell me..."

"I said I wouldn't say right now. I'll give you my opinion tomorrow when you call us." Law agreed before they hung up.

Law and Luffy leaned back as he put the snail up. He looked at the younger male. "Want to go meet the Goddess?"

"Yeah. She's in this cave, right?"

"Yeah. She's at a shrine in this cave. I'll show you there, but you need to watch your step. There's a staircase you have to walk down," Law explained. "And I want you to watch yourself in the shrine because of the plant life there. I don't want you to damage any of them nor kill them by stepping on them."

"I got it. I'll watch what I'm doing so I don't damage any of the plants and so I don't fall down the stairs." With his rules in place, Law and Luffy stood up. He guided him to the stairs and thus started their journey to the shrine of the Goddess that Law thanked for keeping them safe from the guy there. I really, really hope he will be able to understand what she means. Or that she can explain it better to me and him.

Are you guys and gals liking it so far? Please let me know if you are. Am I doing well? I hope you all like the chapter so far. Anyway, have a great day and I love you all so much. Tatty-bye!