~

"The stage is all set Luffy, you wanna try out the mic?" Usopp called from the raised platform for the live. Luffy looked up at him from his lyric sheets and nodded climbing on the stage and tapping the device with his finger. "Sing something."

Luffy took a deep breath and closed his eyes, all serious but what escaped his mouth was completely opposite. "Sakura~! Tan-tan-tan! Sakura~! Tan-tan-tan! Ka-yo-i-no-sora-wo~ Tan-tan-tan~!!"

"I go through all that and you are still singing like this?" Luffy opened his eyes at the comment and jumped off the stage with a wide grin, not paying attention to Usopp who had shielded his ears from the feedback from the mic because Luffy was an absolute animal.

"Uta!" Luffy hugged his sister and she hugged him back. "We were only trying the mic, I am soooooo much better now! You'll see!"

"I sure hope so or your Torao won't be impressed." Uta grinned back and winked. Luffy's cheeks turned pink. Luffy had told Nami first but Uta had guessed something was up when Luffy went to her for his particular cover song, so Luffy confided in his sister as payment for teaching him. "Speaking of, is he coming?" Uta whispered so nobody else could listen, this was still a secret.

"Haven't asked him again but last he said he won't be able to make it." Luffy's shoulders sagged and Uta patted his back.

"Send him a live stream and then a recording too."

"Planning on it."

"Uta-chan~!!" Sanji cooed sprinting to the red and white haired girl and bowed, presenting a tray with multiple beverages on it.

"Thank you." Uta took a glass and Luffy sneaked one.

"Are you staying till the live?" Luffy asked when Sanji left to find Nami and Robin.

"Yes! I just have to see you sing your love-struck heart out! Oh but I won't be in plain sight and undercover."

"Ok!"

~

Law neatly folded a few shirts and coats and put them in his bag for the trip. He had an underworld surgery due in a few days in South Blue so he was preparing for that. He was looking through his shoes, wondering if he needed more than the ones he would be wearing when leaving but his thoughts were disrupted from the loud vibration that could only have been his phone.

|Are you coming?

|To the live???

|Can you make it?

Law looked at the back to back texts from Luffy and smiled. He of course remembered that Luffy would be singing for the first time for an audience and that Luffy wanted Law to be there but the older did not have it in him just yet to confront Luffy like that.

|Can't, sorry. Job in South Blue.

Law sent the text then added a few extra clothes in his bag because of course he was going to Goa. He would not miss Luffy's live but he didn't have to tell Luffy that. He would be a silent observer and leave before getting noticed. He didn't want to risk meeting anybody else and Luffy would be surrounded with people.

|It's ok, I'll send you a link for the stream and a recording later. Stay safe Torao!

Law tossed his phone aside and resumed his preparations. He knew he won't be able to sleep so once he was done setting his bag, he started on the medical reports of his client and devised the best possible plan of surgery.

The next day Law quickly checked on his patients in the warehouse, made notes of their progress, made memos of the precautions and medicines in case of an emergency and after explaining it all to the individual in-charge in his absence, Law went back to the Hearts building. With his tickets in his hand and bag on his shoulder, Law passed the lobby in hopes of making it out of the door without any interruptions but fate hated him so much.

"Leaving?" Clione asked peeking from the kitchen.

"Yes, job in South Blue." Law answered automatically and took another step in the direction of the door. He nearly jumped when Penguin appeared from behind him, looking over his shoulder.

"But your ticket says Goa." Penguin observed and grinned. "Are you going to Luffy's live?"

Law sighed, this was a lost battle. "Please don't tell him."

"Why not? He'd be happy to see you." Clione said and joined Penguin in the grins and smirks that Law was itching to wipe off their faces.

"I don't plan on meeting him until I can give him an answer." Law had told his friends about the latest development with Luffy first thing when he got back to Flevance because Penguin had looked downright ready for murder because Law had failed to mention anything to his friends after the fact that he liked Luffy like a brother. So to avoid getting decapitated at the front door, Law had very shamelessly yelled the news to everyone gathered to greet him back.

"I like him but I am thinking about it! He knows I'm thinking so don't kill me, Luffy would be very sad!"

Penguin and Clione shared a look then shrugged. "Well, at least you're not running away."

"Like the negative-IQ baboon you sometimes regress into." Penguin added.

"I am ignoring that in favour of Flevance General not losing an important surgeon."

"As if you would ever hurt any of us."

"I feel like you are starting to take advantage of that. I'll have to think of some minor disfigurement to put you in line." Law smirked.

"Doctor you're getting into kinky territory." Penguin said swatting at Law's arm.

"Pfft-" Clione stuffed his face behind his hand and doubled over in laughter while Law turned red.

"That's it. Bye." Law turned and quickly went out of the door before Penguin could further embarrass him.

"Safe travels Law!" Law smiled in the collar of his coat and waved without looking back.

The travel to Goa was relatively smooth now that Law was getting used to visiting that particular country, his passport now had more immigration stamps of Goa than of any other country outside of Flevance. Since Law had told Luffy that he was going to South Blue for a job, he didn't have to lie to the receptionist or give her specific instructions about Luffy's arrival. Speaking of, he was very resigned about those instructions anyway seeing how Luffy somehow managed to find him regardless, one time Law had even checked his windows in fear that Luffy might actually climb through there, that would only have resulted in a near heart-attack for the surgeon.

Law kept himself busy with Pokémon Go the rest of the night till the day of Luffy's live, there was a gym near the hotel that he claimed every time he came to Goa. He was behind on the shiny Mewtwo that was appearing in the raids but also couldn't get into any said raids even with a remote raid pass. He just wanted the Pokémon for his pokédex, because frankly it looked like ice-cream soda mixed in milk to him so he was not keen on keeping it.

Law had picked plain black jeans, black hoodie, black masks and a normal black cap and glasses for his disguise for Luffy's live. He did not want to get spotted because of his signature jeans or his hat or anything that Luffy was creepily but attractively observant enough to notice about Law. He took out the flier he had filed in his planner and went through the address, it was at the port. Law assumed it was where the Thousand Sunny was docked and that the ship was the actual stage. He was right. The system was all set on deck that was visible from the side of the ship and the entire port was packed. There were people till the very back but even further behind was a boundary and there were stairs of sorts leading to the upper level. Nobody was there or in a mile of it so Law picked that area for himself, leaning against the wall and going through his messages when Luffy's chat popped with the URL for a live stream and a dozen other messages soon after. Law stuffed his phone in his pocket when the feedback from the mic sounded all the way to the back where he was.

The show was about to start.

.

Uta ran through the boundary separating the main road from the port and her shoulders sagged looking at the number of people in front of her. She was happy at how many turned out for Luffy but if she went in that kind of crowd, her cover would probably not survive. She was donning a black hoodie and black pants and a plain black cap and a black face mask. She had thought about glasses too but then she won't be able to see anything by the time the live would start so she forewent those.

Uta looked back at the boundary then in front of her and sighed, walking to the stairs and going to the upper level, she might not be able to see from there very well but she knew she would be able to hear alright. She was admiring the sun setting when she spotted someone walking towards the boundary wall. That person was dressed the same as she was, Uta wondered if he was undercover too. She hid behind a pillar until she heard the footsteps stop in front of the boundary wall and peeked from the edge to see that the man had settled himself against the wall.

Who is this guy?

Uta kept peeking but eventually straightened because she was there first and if that man had any problems with that, she would definitely give him a piece of her mind. Still, she couldn't help but look down and eavesdrop on the text the man received, maybe that would tell her something about who this person was. She knew Luffy could handle himself but this guy looked weird and creepy and sixty shades of shady and this was Luffy's first live!! Uta didn't want any such people following her brother, she was very familiar with the creeps this kind of stardom brought. Her negative thoughts though, literally disappeared, when she was able to read the still incoming texts, squinting very badly, and when the text registered in her brain, she let out a loud gasp that was thankfully covered by the mic feedback.

|Torao! Did you get the link?!

|We're gonna start soon!

|I hope you can see it live!

|It's ok if you're bsuy-

|Imma send a recording later too!

|Oh! And did you eat?!

|Are you working?

|Wait I'm texting you too much you must be getting distracted if you're working!

|Sorry Torao!

|I'll go now!

|TTYL!

...Torao?

Is he... by any chance... Luffy's Torao? FOR REAL?!

Uta didn't waste a second and went down the stairs but stopped herself midway thinking what she would even do or say. She couldn't risk confronting him for the fear that he will leave before the live even started but she really wanted to see this Torao up close. Shaking her head and calming herself down, Uta decided to go down the remaining stairs anyway. She wouldn't aggressively confront the man but she was not letting this opportunity slide either.

Uta casually approached the man as he was taking his masks and glasses off. For a second she was sure she had seen that face somewhere before. She didn't stop or get intimidated at the sideways glare the man threw at her so she would stop. No, she would not stop, she needed to know if he was Luffy's Torao. Uta stopped a few steps on the man's left and leaned against the wall as well, taking off her mask too and stuffing it in her hoodie. She gathered if she wanted a chance at a conversation, she needed to make the guy trust her a little and that would only happen if her face was visible.

Standing beside the man, Uta noticed he was tall, a bit too tall for her liking and he was thin, Luffy was lithe but this guy was thin. Uta felt the man was analyzing her by the thick aura around him so she decided to speak first.

"Are you a shady person?" Uta asked, her eyes fixed on any reaction the man might give but he just stared at her. She mentally slapped herself at the question. Her brain had given her so many ideas but she had decided on such a stupid question.

"You're Uta." It was a stern voice.

"I- yes I am! Answer my question! I am dressed like this because I don't want attention on me, why are you dressed like this too? Are you someone famous too or are you shady?"

Law sighed internally. She is definitely Luffy's sister. They both talk too much and what's with this line of questioning?

"What does it matter if I am shady or not?" Law asked smirking, eyes flashing gold and dangerous.

"Well, if you are shady, I need to report you. No one's allowed to ruin Luffy's live." Uta answered taking a defensive stance. "Only shady people dress like this!" Law looked at her unamused and raised an eyebrow with a jut of his chin to indicate she was dressed the same. "You could be a kidnapper." Uta tried again.

"I could be, not to kidnap Luffy though. I might be here to kidnap you." Law played and chuckled. "Where are your bodyguards?"

"I don't need bodyguards! I can fight on my own just fine!" Uta pouted and brought her fists up.

Oh she is definitely Luffy's sister.

Law sighed and faced the stage, relaxing in the wall more. "I am not here to hurt anybody."

Uta dropped her fists and stared at the man, replaying his last sentence, noticing how subtly soft his tone had gotten towards the end. Uta also leaned against the wall, she knew he wasn't a bad guy and that he would not leave and that gave her a chance to observe his reaction when Luffy would open with his cover song.

There was loud cheering from the crowd gathered and both Uta and Law in the back directed their attention to the front. As far back as the both were, they could still clearly see Luffy jumping on the stage followed by Zoro, Sanji and Brook. Uta shielded her ears when Luffy took the mic and Law wondered what she was doing but it registered too late in his brain.

"HEY EVERYONE!" Luffy greeted in the mic, too close to his mouth and the feedback was so bad with so many speakers, it resonated in Law's soul.

"Fucking monkey!" Law cursed under his breath and shook his head to get the ache out.

"Sorry sorry! Nyahahahahaha!" Luffy laughed, the mic now at a proper distance with the help of Brook. "I want to keep this short because I really wanna just get singing! You already know who each of us is but for those who don't, I am Luffy! Zoro's on my right, Sanji's on my left and Brook's right behind me!" Luffy said pointing his thumb at his friends.

Law watched as Luffy talked to the crowd, he also silently observed Luffy's sister and she had a very sisterly-proud expression on her face. Uta, on the other hand, was also stealing glances at the man beside her. She was still curious if he was actually Torao. Well, she would find out soon enough.

"Ok so! First up is a cover then I'm doing an original that Brook wrote, my nakama aren't doing solos today or mains, we're still figuring it out. Anyway, so the story behind the cover song is that I wanted to sing something for the fans that have been silently supporting us and requesting that we do a live but the majority part of the choice is because of something else." Luffy explained grinning with a hand rubbing the back of his head.

Law wondered what that something else was.

"Oh Luffy." Uta cooed silently but it didn't escape Law's ears.

Law wondered what she was on about.

Law was wondering a lot.

"Can I start?" Zoro's voice rang from behind Luffy who nodded and the green-haired man started a series of taps on his three drumsticks.

"Here it comes!" Uta squealed and Law yet again, wondered what was wrong with her but it all happened extremely slow and extremely fast at the same time that Law heard his name.

"This is for Torao who can't be here." Luffy said and smiled, took a deep breath. Law's own breathing had stopped. With a loud thump, his heart brought his attention back to the present just as Luffy exhaled and everything went quite, until...

"Last summer, we took threes across the board

But by fall we were a cover story "now in stores"

Make us poster boys for your scene

But we are not making an acceptance speech

I found the safest place to keep all our old mistakes

Every dot com's refreshing for a journal update

So long live the car crash hearts

Cry on the couch, all the poets come to life

Fix me in 45

So long live the car crash hearts

Cry on the couch, all the poets come to life

Fix me in 45

I can take your problems away with a nod and a wave

Of my hand, 'cause that's just the kind of boy that I am

The only thing I haven't done yet is die

And it's me and my plus one at the afterlife

Crowds are won and lost and won again

But our hearts beat for the diehards

So long live the car crash hearts

Cry on the couch, all the poets come to life

Fix me in 45

So long live the car crash hearts

Cry on the couch, all the poets come to life

Fix me in 45

Long live the car crash hearts

Long live the car crash hearts

Long live the car crash hearts

Long live the car crash hearts

Long live the car crash hearts

Cry on the couch, all the poets come to life

Fix me in 45

Woo!"

There was a loud chorus, everyone was jumping and cheering but Law was not only rooted to his spot, his eyes were fixed on Luffy and he had gone as still as a statue. His mind was racing because why wouldn't it? Luffy had dedicated a song to him and not just any song, a Fall Out Boy song! And not just any FOB song, he carefully selected this particular song. It felt like a public love confession to Law, what else was it supposed to be? It was a declaration! And Law knew this wasn't some random choice or a coincidence, he could feel Luffy had thought about this a lot and worried over it too. Law was always listening to these songs when Luffy was in Flevance but Law didn't think Luffy would have remembered or cared.

Calm down! Calm down! Law kept repeating in his head.

The weirdly still Law did not go unnoticed by Uta. She was observing him the entire time and had come to the conclusion that he was indeed Torao when he had gone unnaturally stiff when Luffy said his nickname on the mic. And now it looked like he didn't know what to do, his face was screaming ninety emotions at the same time and among it all, under a lot of guard, Uta spotted adoration. Luffy had told Uta that he had already told Torao about his feelings and that Torao was taking time to think but what she was seeing, there was only one confirmation in her mind.

Boy, Torao is smitten already.

Law had half the mind to just get out and away from the port. His brain was ringing with Luffy's voice singing him Thriller and to a Law for whom Fall Out Boy was special, Luffy's singing was beautiful. These were the songs that got him through the worst months of his life. Law remembered finding some songs in Cora-san's collection and getting enraptured with the music and lyrics and meaning and how it all just fit. The entire collection Law owned now was one of Law's most precious gifts from Cora-san.

Law was getting memories bombarded in his head. He was getting emotional.

He had not expected this at all. He had thought the live would just be Luffy being silly and that it would have maybe originals, he was caught off-guard with this, his heart still hadn't settled and he was finding it extremely hard to keep blood rushing to his head and tears from forming in his eyes. He didn't want Luffy's sister seeing him like this and get him arrested for appearing like a predator.

Before Law could continue on his train of thoughts, he could vaguely make out Luffy saying something before another song began, he assumed this would be the last song for the day.

"Woah woah woah woah woah!

One Piece!

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!

One World!

Konnichi HELLO! Tobima wa CIAO!

Tabi shite NAMASTE! Yabо̄ wa JAMBO!

Jidori de PEACE!

Ii kao NI HAO!

Fune kara ochitara do BONJOUR!

Iku no? Ikanai no? BUON GIORNO!

Arate no kenpo!? Xiaolongbao

Yakedo ni chui-ippai tabete

Jiyu no megami ni ai ni ikо̄

Madjina hengao de warawasetai

Jump!

AROUND THE WORLD!

Nanatsuno umi o koete ikо̄!

AROUND THE WORLD!

Itsutsu no tairiku mite mawarо̄!

Ooh ooh ooh ooh ONE PIECE ONE PIECE

AROUND THE WORLD

Konnichi HELLO!

Ta no XIN CHAO

Kakushite me BAREV!

Suta no HOLA!

Sawaide idesu ka? SAWASDEE KRAB! Oh

Bо̄ken subarashii SVEIKI!

Ikeba hamaru no sa GAMARJOBA!

YES! Hara hetta marugerita wain to pasuta

Manzoku shitara Santa Kurо̄su

Sagashi ni iko tonakai

Taikesu kо̄gokitai

Jump!

AROUND THE WORLD

Kokoro de kotoba koete ikо̄

AROUND THE WORLD

Chigai o "WAHAHA" to warai aо̄

Bо̄ken no kokoro wa Sūpā Bо̄ru

CROSS THE BORDER Uchu made buchi agattara

Kokkyo nante mieyashinai

ONE PIECE! ONE-WORLD!

AROUND THE WORLD

Nanatsuno umi o koeto ikо̄

AROUND THE WORLD

Itsutsu no tairiku mite mawarо̄!

AROUND THE WORLD

Nanatsuno! Umi o koeto ikо̄!

AROUND THE WORLD

Itsutsu no tairiku mite mawarо̄! YEAH!

Woah woah woah woah woah

One Piece

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah!

One World!

ONE WORLD!"

The audience was going crazy as was Law's heart but he was struggling, trying to stop his sniggering from being heard, this was an entirely Luffy song and although sung very nicely, it still rung of Luffy and Law was mesmerized. He hunched his shoulders to try to hide his smiles in the collar of his hoodie but when it felt like it wasn't doing the trick, Law brought his hands out of his pockets and lowered the bill of his hat to hide his face too.

Uta was very happy by the way the audience cheered for her brother, she was proud of Luffy. She was about to comment on it to Torao beside him but when she turned, she saw the man hiding his face. Uta first cooed internally at how adorable it looked then her attention went to the hands and the tattoos, and she stopped for a moment. She swore she had seen those tattoos somewhere before, just couldn't put her finger on it. While Uta was staring and thinking, Law accidentally dropped his hood back when he was adjusting his hat and Uta caught the sight of his double pierced ear lobe. Now she was sure that had seen those somewhere too.

"Nice meeting you, Akagami no Uta." Law said and brought the girl out of her daze. Before Uta had any chance to say anything in return, like how the hell this guy knew she was Akagami, Law was gone.

Law made for the exit before the ending introductions started, he had come to hear Luffy sing and he had done that, now he would like to leave and overthink on his way to South Blue. He hoped Uta won't tell Luffy about a certain shady creep in the back because Luffy would definitely figure out Law was there. His heart was hammering the entire way back and Law was pretty sure his face was as red as Buggy the Clown's nose.

~

"Here's to a successful first live!" Nami cheered clanking her mug of non-alcoholic beer with Zoro's mug of alcoholic beer. Usopp, Chopper, Brook, Franky, and Robin joined from around the table. It was no secret Nami and Zoro were the ultimate drinking buddies because no one else had those kind of guts.

"We'll join you too! Congratulations guys!" Sabo announced appearing in the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny, where Sanji was cooking away a feast, with Ace and Uta in tow.

"Alcohol for me!" Uta jumped from beside the brothers and made for Zoro's bottle, snatching it before the mosshead had the chance.

"Where's Luffy?" Ace looked around and voiced his question when he didn't find his brother. He looked to Zoro then Sanji for answers.

"Spamming Torao's chat probably." Zoro shrugged.

"Being a lovesick puppy probably." Sanji answered grinning and shaking his head.

"He's on the figurehead," Nami started, "and definitely texting Torao."

"Fucking hell, how many of you knew he was going to pull a stunt like that?" Ace sighed and sat down, chugging the drink Franky passed him.

"We just knew he was singing that song but not that he was singing it for Torao." Usopp remarked.

"That sounded a lot like a declaration of love to me, singing someone a song, in public, that's really bold." Sabo commented.

"Who's up for asking Luffy when he gets back?" Usopp asked and everyone but Sanji raised their hands, the blond was busy chopping food.

The conversation and cheers went around for the hour it took Sanji to prepare everything and once he had set the table, he figured it was time to call Luffy back. He was about to holler for the boy but the aroma from the food had done his job for him and Luffy ran in, mouth already salivating at the prospect of food.

"Oh you guys are here too!" Luffy noticed his siblings and sat down at the head of the table, and waited till everyone's glass or mugs were full for a group cheers. He never thought he would wait for anyone when it came to food but maybe he was learning to because of Torao.

"Ok before we do this epic cheers, we were all thinking, Luffy." Ace interrupted.

"Yeah, why did you dedicate an entire song to Torao?" Sabo followed with the question.

Everyone looked at Luffy in anticipation, wondering what he would say but he just laughed his 'nishishi' and everyone gave up, Luffy still didn't want to talk about it. They all raised their choice of beverage vessel and clanked them, a silent cheers before drinking.

"Because I like Torao!" Luffy grinned before drinking from his own glass. Everyone present choked and spat their drinks at each other but Luffy was safe from it all. He enjoyed their reactions but refused to say anymore the rest of the night where they enjoyed their success and love.

~

Uta stormed the Akagami's office, ignoring everyone who wanted to talk to her. She was here on business. It had been days since the live and she couldn't shake the feeling she had seen Torao before but she was able to recall she might have seen a picture or two once.

"Shanks! Where is it?!" Uta called and the red-haired man came running from the other room. It wasn't every day that the Akagami's collective daughter came to the office.

"Uta!" Shanks greeted but when he saw that the girl was looking through files and throwing them aside when she didn't find what she was looking for, Shanks got concerned. "Oi oi, what are you looking for?"

"Your journal on underworld figures!" Uta called from under Shanks' desk, he had a hidden compartment there, maybe he kept those pictures there.

"Don't say that loudly!"

"Got it! You're not as sneaky as you think old man." Uta grinned when the lock clicked and she quickly hid the files behind her before Shanks could snatch them from her.

"What do you want with those pictures?" Beckman asked from the window Uta was deciding to jump through and escape.

"Benn!" Uta greeted and hugged the man and he made the mistake of letting his guard down. The girl spun the big guy around and jumped out, running, waving the file. "I'll get this back in a few minutes! You can figure it out then!"

Uta went in her room and locked it. She quickly went through the pictures and sure enough, she found Torao. Shanks kept tabs on underworld activity to make sure nobody was going out of balance and creating chaos, he preferred peace, even among criminals. She turned the picture around and found a name. Trafalgar Law. Once it registered in her brain that Luffy's Torao was involved in underworld activities, instead of being fearful for Luffy's sake, Uta laughed. She laughed because she found it very funny that Luffy gave a man as dangerous in both name and deeds as Trafalgar Law, the very cute and fluffy nickname of Torao.

"Uta! Tell me what's going on!" Shanks knocked on the door, he was worried his daughter was caught up in some shady and dangerous stuff. Uta opened the door, the aftermath of a laugh still on her face and handed Shanks the file, Trafalgar Law's picture on top of it. "What's Trafalgar Law got to do with it? What happened?"

"Oh Luffy will tell you when he wants to. Don't do anything to embarrass him though." Uta chuckled some more and left Shanks with his own thoughts and went to hang out with the rest of the men.

"Is Luffy in trouble with Trafalgar?!" Shanks' question and worry rang behind Uta and she just laughed.

Someone was in trouble alright and it wasn't Luffy. Law now had Akagami no Shanks on his tail.

~