Chapter 5: To Elbaf

"Yulie look, look, the ship is finally complete"

Yulie turned around and saw Bepo running towards her, arms extending in the way of the Polar Tang. She smiled and nodded at him before finishing the soup she was cooking. It had been a week since she had saved the Heart Pirates and everybody else quickly opened up to her especially when she had told them that her brother was the infamous Monkey D. Luffy.

Everyone except one.

"Here, it's not poisoned don't worry"

Yulie handed the bowl of soup to Law who just stared at her, brows knitting in between. Ever since he learned that she was Luffy's younger sister, he had unnecessarily complained about this and that. Yulie had thought that everything would be alright seeing how they were once allied with each other but no, it turns out, aside from being grateful Law is extremely extremely annoyed at her brother's presence.

Although Yulie could vouch that Luffy is annoying at most times that was because he was her brother and she would always find something annoying when it came to him. She doesn't appreciate Law's perception of this matter of course.

"I never said it was"

"Oh you know just a precaution, in case you might think that I'm annoying too and that I want to poison you"

"God, you're like a child"

"Newsflash genius, I AM A CHILD!"

Yulie snapped, her voice rising a decibel higher before she turned her back on Law and proceeded to hand out the soup to the other members who were now whistling and minding their business. They had somehow gotten used to this interaction between the two, and now it no longer surprises them.

"Wait Yulie how old are you anyway?"

Yulie turned to Shachi who was eyeing her curiously. She contemplated whether she should answer it but decided it could do her no harm anyway.

"I just turned 18"

"Just turned? When?"

"Whoa 18 is not a child you know"

"No wait, maybe it is since she'll still be a young adult"

"Guys focus"

Penguin shouts retrieving everybody else's attention before turning back at Yulie, who was getting her bowl of soup.

"So when did you exactly turn 18?"

"Does it matter?"

Yulie questioningly asked before sitting down with them, taking a sip from her soup.

"Of course it matter, we're friends now"

Yulie could hear the scoffing of Law whose back was pressed on the trunk of the large coconut tree. The man seriously has issues with me, she thought.

"Just last week, the day I found you guys"

Everybody else stopped, some of them had their spoons suspended mid-air and even Law was now speechlessly staring at Yulie who seemed to have taken the reactions all in.

"See, this is why I told you it doesn't matter"

She says matter of factly before downing her food. It took exactly 30 seconds before the whole group erupted with a barrage of questions to her and Yulie could only laugh at their reactions.

"Sounds like fate isn't it? If I hadn't found you guys that day, I would've spent my birthday alone on that vast expanse of water for the first time. And… maybe I would've been able to reach Elbaf by now"

That was true. Yulie never spent any of her birthdays alone, lonely yes, but never alone. The whole village was there during her early years, Dadan and her brothers were there when she was growing up until Ace and then Luffy set sail. It was something she would've quite missed had she never met the heart pirates on that particular day.

"Are you going to Elbaf?"

"Yeah, there were some things I need to look there and some old friends were stationed there too"

"But are you going there on your makeshift ship?"

Yulie nodded at them.

"You don't know that it might be quite impossible to travel all the way there on that right? You'll never make it"

Yulie shrugged at them.

"You don't know that, I might be able to"

"You'll die"

The new voice joining their conversation surprised everyone. All of their eyes turned around to meet Law's who placed his bowl down.

"I won't"

Yulie stated with confidence as she turned around, brows creasing at the middle of her forehead. She sees Law let out a sigh.

"You really are very much like Strawhat do you know that?"

"I'll take that as a compliment"

Law lets out another sigh as he stares at Yulie's back, his gaze then going up to the Polar Tang. I might regret this decision , he thought, but it was the only way he could think of as payment for Yulie saving his crew's life and he was sure he would regret this decision.

"Alright, we'll take you on your way and drop you off there"

Everyone's eyes widened in the direction of Law. Yulie could barely keep her mouth shut as the captain of the heart pirates walked towards the ship and ascended on it without another word.

"Is that really your captain? Or am I seeing a ghost?"

Shachi laughed at her before shaking his head.

"Captain is kind and nice at times, he just doesn't want to show it and he isn't expressive enough"

Yulie shook her head at him still not believing every word he had just said. She couldn't just believe her eyes and ears, it was a total 180 from how he was treating her the moment she announced that she was Luffy's sister. She was almost certain that Law and the crew would bid her farewell the moment they were ready to ship sail. But here they were, him offering her a ride like Elbaf was his vacation home and he wanted to just drop her there.

Yulie got on her feet in a moment and ran after Law, she saw him halfway through the door where she first saw the many medical books lying on the ground. So this is his room, she thought.

"Law wait"

Law made little effort to turn around meeting Yulie, his hand on the doorknob ready to go inside.

"What?"

"Do you know whose turf Elbaf is?"

Of course, he knows, Law wasn't an idiot. He lets out a sigh and faces Yulie completely, the distance between them only inches apart and he could feel himself breathe again. He grimaced at the unnecessary feeling, ever since he had met her, he could almost swear it was a whole different person, an entity he didn't know that was in his body.

He would always catch his breath at the sight of her, lose all rational thoughts when he was with her and yet he would always feel so alive and breathing when she was near. It's an unknown entity, definitely an unknown entity, he finally thought to himself.

"Red-hair"

He answered briefly towards Yulie before opening his bedroom door. He caught his breath when Yulie sidestepped him and entered his bedroom facing him. He instinctively stopped in his tracks and took a step back.

"If you know why are you offering me help? If you are doing this because I saved you and the others, don't. I didn't save you just so Shanks and his crew could slice your ship in half"

Law quipped up an eyebrow before crossing his arms in front of him.

"How are you so sure that he would be able to slice the Polar Tang in half?"

"Do not underestimate him genius, one wrong step in his turf and you won't be able to come out of there unscatched or worst, alive"

Law knew that too well, he wanted to say that but he couldn't. He felt another lump in his throat when he saw how intently Yulie was staring at her. He could see the resemblance between her and Luffy and yet there was something so different in her face that he couldn't distinguish. Law cleared his throat.

"In any case, I just need to drop you off there. I have no plans on staying there not when I need to take revenge on someone"

Yulie froze in her place, she knew tiny bits from the crew that the person responsible for their loss was Blackbeard, the same man who put her brother in Impel Down. Suddenly she could herself shaking, a small tremor in her body as she remembered how the tragedy of Ace started. She would never forget that story, her grandpa had been the one to fill her in and she could never forget about it.

Law eyed Yulie who remained still and frozen in place. He saw how different emotions fleet in her eyes and he couldn't help but wonder what the problem was. He was starting to reach out to her when she spoke so suddenly making his hand freeze in the air.

"Alright, then I appreciate the offer. Thank you."

And then she was gone.