hot_mes | PSL: fullcowl

[Meat go on stick, stick go over fire...there! Now they wait, because nobody wants to get sick from undercooked meat out in the middle of nowhere.

Even if they've been walking half the day and had a little hunting excitement, Law is looking a lot better than even when they woke up that morning. He's using his right arm more, though he occasionally rubs at the spot where the scar is now hidden underneath his sleeve, and despite the dark circles under his eyes (those never go away) he looks healthier and less wan. He looks down at Deku beside him, wondering what else there is to know about his tough kid.]

Once we reach the territory controlled by the empress. What do you want to do?

Me... um...

[He looks into the fire for a moment.

Deku didn't look that bad off before, but he looks a bit more like himself now that they've stopped running for their lives (well the running bit is over for the moment). Like this his slightly mangled right hand and the scars on each side of it are obvious, and the wound to his upper right arm is clear as day.]

I mean, I guess I wouldn't mind helping her. But... I'd like to help everybody who's still stuck in the Warlord's dungeons. Nobody deserves something like that. And joining her faction is probably the most straightforward way to help them.

What about you?

[he's noticed the scars, but even if they're recent, there's not a lot he can do as a doctor to erase them once they've scarred up.]

I hadn't thought about setting out to sea until yesterday, when I mentioned it. I have nothing against the empress herself, but there are other ways to go about winning her war besides just throwing soldiers onto the front line. [he's thinking aloud while he pokes at the fire, turning some of the boar-steaks] With a ship, there's a lot I could do. Maybe even rescue slaves.

[Izuku himself has already accepted them- if he goes over his 5%, two more times his arms will be permanently disabled.]

You think you could do that- rescue them?

Maybe we can ask her for a ship... Since we all have the same goal of defeating the Warlord, she might be willing to part with a ship. But that's assuming she has that many to work with...

Among other things. I know that the only way home is through one of these countries, and won't come until the war is over. So just sailing off into the distance isn't in my best interest, ending the war is. I'll do what needs to be done.

[he heard that 'we,' there. Law looks at Deku again]

Warming up to the idea of joining my crew?

[He did say we, didn't he?]

I don't know if I'm ready to be a pirate... But I think we work well together, and I think we could do a lot of good.

[Law smirks to himself, relaxing and draping his arms in his lap as he tends the cooking]

What is a pirate, but someone who resists the laws of the ruling government? If the laws we break belong to Wulgrimm, is that really so bad?

Justice is not absolute. Pirates can do good when the government fails.

[he's seen it first-hand, even if the intention wasn't to liberate a country or end a civil war.]

[He'll think it over for a moment before speaking up.]

Is that what pirates are like where you're from?

[Then maybe it wouldn't be that bad, especially if they're going to be fighting Wulgrimm anyway. Plus he's pretty sure Law needs somebody around to fish him out of the sea if that's the kind of blanket weakness all the devil fruit users have.]

[he doesn't fall into the water as often as certain Straw Hats but yeeaaaaahhhh he needs at least one crewmate who can swim around]

Don't get me wrong. Pirates are like anyone else - they take all forms. The cruel and the terrible, the tyrants, the petty criminals, the jackasses. And the strong, the brave, the adventurous.

Sometimes you don't have a choice, and survival depends on flying a black flag. But here? It's probably just a word. I don't even know if they would find meaning in it if I ran a black flag up the mast.

[... He might just stay with Law for that one specific reason- fishing his friend out of the ocean before he drowns in it.]

Then... if I'm working with you I wouldn't mind. I don't know how they view pirates around here either- you don't learn a whole lot when you're confined to the dungeons and some soldiers' rooms whenever they ask for you.

[he grimaces for a moment, just imagining this kid in some brute's room, being used for such a shitty purpose. He has to squash down the anger before he does something dumb like slam a fist into the fire on accident.]

I haven't learned much more by fighting on the front lines. There was some talk of a fishing village below the stronghold, so they have some use of the sea, but I don't know about pirates and the like.

[his smirk starts to come back] Maybe it's time they were introduced to a new idea.

[he uses the knife point to poke at a couple of the steaks, checking to see if any are done. One is, so he turns it one more time to be sure and then offers it to Deku first. He's been doing all the hard work, and young, growing bodies need protein.]

[Please don't hurt yourself, he only knows basic first aid and they're lacking in clean bandages.]

Yeah, seems like a good time to make them learn.

[Though he's not one for terrorizing random villagers.

He'll take the meat offered to him-]

Ah, thank you.

Eat up. You need your strength. [like he doesn't?

Law pokes at another one, letting it drip into the flames. The aroma coming off the cooking meat makes his stomach growl angrily. How terrible, his pride makes him blush at the embarrassing noise. Just a minute or so and he can join in, though.]

Once we reach the border, we can at least stop looking over our shoulders and expecting that every living creature or person we meet is out to get us. After that, though...I'll take a fishing boat if that's all they've got.

You should too, you know.

Do you miss it? Being out at sea, I mean?

[he's getting there! Look, see, this one is finally done. He shouldn't have cut them so thick, oh well.]

Yeah. Some. It's only been a couple of months, but it feels like forever. [full-on pout] I miss my hat more.

[and with that he digs in. It's nothing fancy and not even salted but holy shit, it tastes like a feast!]

[It's been a long time since he's eaten anything, and even this unseasoned meat is amazing.]

We'll go back for it. That and your nodachi, right? They're still in Wulgrimm and we've got a lot of unfinished business there.

[only starvation could make Law into a good cook]

Mm. If we go back for the others, we'll definitely find them there.

[he's not in a hurry, though - better to strengthen their assets and prepare before attempting anything like a raid. It would be terribly lame if they couldn't free anyone and only came away with a hat and a sword.

By the time Law finishes his first stick o' meat, the rest are pretty much done, so they can just sit and chow down for a bit, until everything cooked is gone.]

[Izuku could probably manage a decent meal, but he's no cooking hero.]

When we're properly equipped and ready to stage an assault on them. It might take a while before that happens though. We should try to gather as much intelligence on them as we can though...

[He'll eat and pace himself as he tries to think of the logistics of a naval attack on Wulgrimm.]

I have enough information from my time with them to know the layout of the fortress and the ways in. But we'll need more than that, you're right. [impressed look!] You really are schooled in tactics, then.

I'm not a fan of frontal assaults. Unless you're certain of the strength of your resources, they can be nothing but suicide missions. [in other words, he'd never try one here without Luffy himself] Once we have a ship, we have the luxury of living at sea while we gather resources and information.

[more crew would be nice, too, but he's prepared for it to be a crew of two for some time. Until they can trust others, and decide what else they need besides other fighters.]

[He looks up from his mumbling-]

Um... I studied a little bit about tactics, but mostly I've been learning it as things have happened. [He's just a particularly fast study when it comes to battlefield tactics. And a whole lot has happened over his one year at Yuuei.]

A frontal assault is a bad plan unless we were sure that we outnumbered the enemy, and even then it's a risky proposition. We should decide what our objectives are before we go rushing in- if we were to rescue the slaves on our first mission... we would definitely need you at full power...

Outnumbered, or out-powered. You are correct. Whether for a raid, or intelligence-gathering, or rescue, any assault we made ought to prize stealth over strength.

[he gestures a little with his nearly-empty stick] Tactically, as long as others handle basic combat, it allows me to conserve my energy to use my ability. That would be crucial in a raid. [he flicks his tattooed fingers idly, mimicking the gesture to call a Room without doing so] Scan, Mes, Shambles...they would be more important than offensive techniques like Gamma Knife or Takt.

[at this point he doesn't even care if he's saying words that make no sense to Izuku, it isn't important to explain every named move in his repertoire. He's thinking aloud, and maybe just happy to have the energy to think and plan again.]

Mm... I can handle a lot of combat on my own, but I'll eventually run out of energy. We'll need at least a few more fighters, even if we are going for stealth. We can't plan for everything that could happen, but we can at least take some safety measures.

You've already seen what I can do- it's a linear ability but strength, speed and agility above most people is really useful... Still, I'm not sure I'm strong enough to take on an entire army. [He's basically tapping into 8 people worth of power whenever he activates One for All.]

Shambles, that's the one where you can teleport people right? [He saw Mes, and he can guess what Scan does. He can ask later, anyway. This is likely going to be a long journey.] That's probably going to be the most useful when we're getting slaves out of their cells.

Do you know your limits yet, or is it arbitrary? Given time, I might be able to train you enough to extend it, but I wouldn't rely on it alone. [he would never dare treat a crewmate like that, burning through their usefulness and then discarding them] A true raid would require a larger ship, anyway. Some dinky little fishing boat would never carry that many people. A larger ship means a larger crew to man it, so additional fighters will be a given of sorts.

[Good, he's catching on] Right. I can also shift objects, or call them to me. It has its limitations as well, depending on the size of the Room. It would be too easy to Scan and then Shambles every last prisoner to my position - such a move would probably kill me.

Five percent is as much as my body can take. [He'll gesture at his right hand.] This is what happened when I was using a hundred percent, I broke my bones and I kept using it. [He gestures to his upper arm.] That's what happened when I went over 100 percent. If I do that one or two more times my arms will be permanently disabled. If I want to use more of my power, I'll need to keep training myself.

Right, of course. That would be... Maybe if we could manage some way into the castle? Maybe somebody who'd turn traitor? It's not like the Warlord really inspires any loyalty... If we could sneak into battlefields and talk... Or take the soldiers prisoner if they refused to turn...?

[his eyes rake the scars, taking in the possibilities]

There is a significant difference between five and one hundred. Yet, training is a good idea no matter what. I'll see to that. Remember. [he looks directly at Izuku, trying to catch his eyes] I'm a doctor. I know the human body well.

[he tosses the empty stick into the fire to burn away and grabs more meat. He knows that they need to pace themselves, but if they can finish this, they should have enough energy to make it through the rest of the day. He listens to Deku's absent rambling, following his train of thought, letting it inspire his own brainstorming.]

Mes is a technique I don't usually use to kill. It's more useful to me to remove someone's heart and use it to control them.

[just putting that out there...]

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