#quakerman

It was good to see ol' Ed again. At their age, it was important to treasure the friends who were still alive, especially when time and the world weren't shy about stealing away loved ones. Yes, they were both far more gray and wrinkled, old wounds aching, and Whitebeard's golden locks were now gone, but despite the years punishing their bodies, it was good to see both their spirits were still strong.

"Raisin' her, I always hoped Ikkaku would end up on your crew," Tomasu stated, thinking fondly of how his timid and solemn granddaughter had slowly come out of her shell thanks to the stories he'd told her of the World's Strongest Man. Tales of his exploits, and especially how he was a good man who valued his family regardless of blood relation or past, had helped her see the good in the world and form her into the sassy ball of sunshine she is today. "Considerin' how ya saved my life an' brought me back home, she always kinda felt like she owed some o' her happiness to ya. If ya hadn't, she'd still be stuck with her shitty parents."

That briefly made his scowl, though he shoved thoughts of his daughter and son-in-law away. This was a happy occasion, and he wouldn't let his failings as a parent overshadow his happiness as a grandfather, nor his reunion with a dear old friend. "Glad she found her way into your family eventually. Still, I don't regret her joinin' Trafalgar first. Good for her t' make her own way in the world, and that upstart's been good for her, despite bein' a fuckin' doctor."

He spat the word like a curse. Tomasu had a low opinion of most medical professionals since the Siren Plague. If those bastards at Arkham Hospital had actually listened to him instead of ignoring his advice, scorning his connections to doctors from Fishman Island, and spending his money on a damn statue, his beloved wife would still be alive, along with a lot of others with merfolk heritage.

It was a lazy day on the Moby Dick, most were just chilling, gambling or chattering. Except for Casey, who was a little energy ball. She was bouncing around, singing a random song she’d written. Her eyes glittered in pure happiness and peace. However, it didn’t take long before those eyes looked up at Whitbeard.

   ✉ @quakerman said:    ❝ This is no place to take a nap.❞ - (From Quakerman)

[ Unconscious/Unsteady Sentence Starters ] Hearing a deep male's voice—an older gentleman maybe?—Nami jerked her head up from where she'd been resting it against the dip her knees created. Had she fallen asleep? Nami was only planning on closing her eyes for a second, and she couldn't remember losing conscious. The heat was making her feel a little funny, probably the beginnings of heatstroke or something. So, she'd taken to sitting under the overhang of one of the shops while she waited for Sanji to finish with his shopping. Sure, she could've gone into one of the countless boutiques and did some shopping of her own, which was the original plan. But she just wasn't feeling up to it with how her head was spinning. The man was right, though. This really wasn't the smartest place to be taking a nap. Crowded streets with some pretty shady characters? Falling asleep was basically asking for trouble, especially for someone as well known as Nami.

The sight of Whitebeard - of Pops - standing before her had so many emotions running through Ikkaku's heart and mind. At first, she'd thought it had to be a trick. Edward Newgate was dead. She'd seen it with her own eyes and felt the ripples his demise had caused the world in the two years after the war. She hadn't heard from the other Whitebeard Pirates since before the Payback War. Well, up until Wano, at least, where she'd seen Marco and Izou again.

And now...now here was Whitebeard. Was he real? Was he an illusion? Was he a Pacifista disguised as him made to lure unsuspecting pirates to their doom?

She didn't care. What did she have to lose anymore? Her legs moved on their own and before she knew it, she was in the big, warm, protective hug she'd thought she'd never experience again. Ikkaku had been put through the wringer in the past few weeks, and she just desperately needed something to cling to.

It had been so dark, and Ikkaku needed a spark of hope so the shadows wouldn't suffocate her.

"He's..." It was so hard to articulate her jumbled emotions, especially when it came to being separated from Law. It had been bad enough on Zou, not knowing if he would return and rejoin his Hearts after watching his vivre card start to smolder in its glass jar. Now she didn't even know if he was alive at all. And she'd already lost so much. Her response came out in jumbled sobs. "I don't know for sure. He's gotta be alive. He's too strong and stubborn to die. He can't be dead. If I could survive a fight with Blackbeard, he's gotta be alive and kicking."

That was the only hope she had. Hell, if Whitebeard of all people was alive, surely Law was still alive somewhere, right? Bepo was probably with him, keeping him safe while her brilliant captain planned his next move and sought to reunite the Hearts.

Not budging, she crossed her arms and gave him a stern frown. “Listen, Pops, I have spent three years dealing with Law. Do you know how ungodly stubborn doctors are as patients? Always acting like they know best, spouting medical jargon that barely makes sense hoping I’ll go away and leave him to suffer alone. And you know what? All it did was teach me how to be more stubborn.”

Nodding for Bepo and Vista to carry away the giant sake bottle, she continued, “So you can call it ‘healing water’ all you like, but I’m not budging. Your definition of ‘a little sake’ could probably drown someone. Your usual nurses are clearly too easy on you. You are going to stay in bed, drink the tea and soup Thatch ever-so-kindly whipped up for you, and then sleep for the next twelve hours so your body can recover.”

Despite her unyielding tone, it was all out of concern. After all, she and the crew had finally acclimated to being part of Whitebeard’s family; it’d be a shame to lose the patriarch so soon.

Sweat immediately began pouring down the back of her neck as she processed that question. Not because her answer was particularly damning, but because she wasn’t sure what Pops’ reaction would be.

Ikkaku glanced around, making sure that Law wasn’t anywhere nearby eavesdropping. He was...protective of her, to say the least, and she already suspected he didn’t much like Ace given their polar opposite personalities.

   “We really should be doing this in a hospital, Newgate,” Law says, eyes moving between the corporate juggernaut and the medical file that has been shoved into his hands.

    Getting strong armed into a house call for the CEO of the biggest shipping company in the world was definitely not something Trafalgar Law was expecting to happen upon getting his doctor’s license. There has been a lot of things in his life recently he wasn’t expecting but he does make it look like he’s taking it all in stride. Even getting that email demanding his services from Whitebeard Inc didn’t seem to bother him, at least that’s what his colleges think.

   Law had been so tempted to refuse the summons. He has other patients to care for and passing them all off to another doctor all because of some rich corporate overlord seemed both insulting to his pride as a doctor and just massively negligent. The guy already has doctors in his own employ. Why did he need Doctor Trafalgar Law himself?

   He sighs, eyes falling onto the file as he flips it open. A pair of reading glasses are pulled out of a pocket and Law slips them on. He’s here now so he’s going to do his job.