JUNK

n. undesirable articles considered to be useless and of little value

"Disgusting."

Blood pooled from the chest wound, seeping into the pure white snow and the cracks in the marble pavement. It was sickly. The liquid garnet was sticky and thick. The young man released a pitiful moan that wrenched at the hearts of the bystanders. Tears streamed down the eyes of the children as their parents pushed them through the doors of their homes.

A utopia, they mused. It was a utopia for the privileged, hell for the poor.

A guard shoved his boot into the young man's side, trying to get a rise out of him: a cry, a flinch, anything. But the young man lay still in a pathetic, bloody heap.

"Junk in death as well as in life," the guard sneered, scuffing his bloodied boot off in the snow, "What do you reckon we do with him, captain? We still don't know exactly where he came from."

The guards murmured amongst each other as the crowd of spectators thinned and the man remained ever still. It wasn't until a lanky, dark-haired man in a furred coat stepped in that they turned their attention back to the scene. The stranger pressed two fingers to the jugular, feeling for a pulse and shook his head after a moment, murmuring something under his breath.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing? This is a crime scene!" the guard captain barked, shoving his way through his underlings and pushing the stranger away from the young man. "Who the hell are you to barge into government business?"

The stranger looked up with fierce black eyes, cold as steel, before rummaging around in his pocket to pull out a small piece of paper. He unfolded it neatly and presented it to captain's now-pale face.

"Trafalgar Law

Notable citizen of the Grand Line sector of One Piece.

His duties as mortician and a renowned surgeon and doctor give him the rights to do as he pleases within the boundaries of his given sector, as well as the outskirts of Grand Line, within reason. If there are further inquiries of his actions, take it up with the local admiral.

As signed,

The World Government"

"Oh, uh! Mister Law, sir! Of course, it's you! I don't know how I could have ever mistaken you for a commoner. Please, go right ahead. Do as you may. You have interest in this body?" the captain stuttered, tripping over his own tongue as he melted into a nervous puddle of sweat and anxiety. Though Law had been highly esteemed for his work as a doctor, rumors of his cruelty loomed over the sector. He was a cold, blunt man with an icy heart.

"There are no vitals. The kid's dead, as I assume you already know," Law deadpanned, "Assuming that you have nothing better to do with the body, I'll be taking it for my research. I will dispose of it promptly after I am finished with my work."

"Oh," the captain stammered, "Well, thatís all fine then. Iíll report the incident to my superiors and let them know what become of the body. Thought I canít assure they wonít want to look further into his identity-"

Law's sharp eyes cut through the captain like poisonous daggers and he froze in his speech instantly. "That won't be necessary," he all but hissed, "What use is knowing a dead man's name? There are far better things for you worthless guards to do than to write a history book on an individual."

The guards flinched back and looked to their feet as their captain continued to stuff his foot into his mouth. Law was mercilessly honest. He bent down to pick up the corpse bridal-style, blood oozing from the body and leaving abstract spatters in the snow.

"Mister Law, would you like one of my men to assist you in transporti-"

"No. If you weren't paying attention before, I strictly recall mentioning that you have better things to accomplish. My home is a short ways from here, and I am a capable man. Don't underestimate me."

"Y-yes, sir!" the guard captain saluted one last time and bowed politely before barking an order to his men to resume their posts, each one marching off, occasionally casting a curious glance back at Law as he carried out his morbid plans.

"Wake up."

His head felt light. Everything was dark with the exception of the random blinding flashes of color. He was out of his body, he could only assume. The feeling had left him. His body felt like little more than a husk, numb and hollow.

"Wake up, Straw Hat."

The voice in his head was void of emotion, cold and professional. He wanted it to go away and leave him to rest in this pleasant limbo. But it echoed strong throughout his head, persistent and authoritarian. He felt a groan rumble out of his throat. It was the first spark of feeling he had felt in what seemed to be a while. Then was the piercing ache in his chest, the throe in his side, the emptiness of his stomach and the pounding in his head. An overload of senses hit him all at once and he felt his heart racing as he struggled to keep his eyelids shut tight to ignore the pain. But it was too much; he groaned again and bolted up.

He was in a bed in an unfamiliar room. The sheets were white and rough. The walls were sparse and barely decorated. Everything reeked strongly of bleach and a hint of leftover blood. And then there was the source of the voice, a man leaning over his side with an IV needle readied in his hand.

"Finally. I didn't think you would survive. I'm impressed," the man noted vacantly.

He remembered the voice now. It was a hazy memory, but this man could be trusted. He recalled blood and snow, pain and a cold hand on his neck. Then the words "play dead or die" were murmured in something between a threat and a warning.

This man had saved him.

"Who are you?" the Straw Hat-toting man groaned, trying to sit up, but wincing in pain from his wounds. Bullets were a bitch.

"Trafalgar Law. Stop moving or you'll bleed out," the cold doctor stressed, "And I won't save you this time."

The man sunk into his bed like a rock in water, staring up at the hard white ceiling as he passively listened to the ambient noise: the sound of metal hitting metal, heavy breathing and the whir of a ceiling fan. He felt a tiny prick of pain as Law slid the needle into his skin and right into a blood vessel.

"My name's Luffy, by the way," he offered up in hopes of sparking conversation. He didn't seem to get much of a response out of the doctor. "Why did you save me?"

Law tossed something into the garbage pail beside the bed and sat back in a recliner. Luffy moved his head slightly to get a better view of him. He was a tall man with dark, handsome features. Definitely not someone Luffy had ever been associated with before. The doctor rested his chin in his hand and seemed to ponder for a moment.

"You seem like you could be a valuable asset," he started. "I've heard about you and the rest of your 'crew.' They've been wreaking havoc all across One Piece. The sectors are a mess over the whole ordeal. What's junk like you doing in a place like this?"

Luffy's eyes narrowed slightly at the slur. "Some assholes seperated us! I'm just trying to find my friends. It's not like I want to be a part of this country, I have better plans! Shishishi," he laughed heartily. "Why are you here anyways? You saved me, so you can't be a bad guy... So why are you living in a place like this?"

Law paused. "I have my reasons. I get to do my research here. There's always bodies readily available. Fools who have stumbled too close to the border."

"You don't want to be here though."

The statement unsettled Law. It was true. No matter how convenient it was to live here, there was no happiness in it. But he had far bigger plans as well, and that's where this seat amongst the higher ranks came in handy. Not to mention Luffy, and his crew, if they could find them. The dark doctor neatly crossed his legs and smirked. "You're right. But we'll get into that later. You're of no use to me right now, but that can't be helped."

"I'll be up and back on my feet in two days max," Luffy exclaimed, a fierceness in his eyes. "I still don't know much about you, but I like you. If you help me find my friends, I'll see if I can help you. But I won't be stuck in this bed for more than two days!"

"...Well, that's good. Any longer and I'd have to dispose of you," Law smirked. He stood up from his chair and called in a large, white bear. Luffy cocked his head at the peculiar character, but he couldn't really say he was surprised. He had some pretty bizarre friends himself. "I'm leaving now, but I'm letting Bepo stand guard. Move around too much and you'll die. Remember that."

Short chapters. Sigh.

I apologize! I have a lot of things on my plate hehe. Enjoy?