hot_mes | PSL: fullcowl

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PSL: fullcowl

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(continuing from this)

[Even though he still has a long way to go to restore his strength, Law manages to last out the rest of the night without dropping off again. It helps that once or twice something a little too large passed a little too close to their hollowed-out tree, but whatever it was either didn't like fire or wasn't into humans and kept going on past. His haki alerted him in time, but he sat tense until it passed rather than wake Deku. Kid needs his rest, after all.

The gap in the tree must face east, because Law eventually can see a gray line in the distance as light starts to come up behind the hills, and then the approaching dawn getting brighter and brighter. The fire fizzles out about then, and he stretches out a heel to scratch some dirt over it lest the smoke attract attention. With dawn coming, he won't be able to sleep anyway, so he just lets Izuku sleep for as long as he needs. Besides, he's nice and warm.]

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[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...]

[When Law talks to him, he's distracted from him mumbling.

A pirate doctor. Well... you don't run into one of those every day.]

That explains a lot.

[Mes was the one he used to kill the boar though. Normally he'd be against torture, but considering their options they'll need to use anything they can to gain an advantage. He's not blind to that possibility.]

That'll be useful if we can run into soldiers one at a time...

Like a scalpel, it should be used for precision, not large cuts.

[choose the right soldier, take his heart, and get the information or utility out of him. The rest can just be knocked down and left behind.]

When the time comes for such an operation, it will be best to know every possible thing each of us and any allies we pick up can do. It won't be a time for surprises.

[so, by the time they have all the other resources for a raid, Law will make sure he's shown all of his moves, barring any he makes up on the spot.]

Especially since you've said using it is draining.

[A powerful but draining ability. They've just got make whatever they use it on count.]

Right. I'd rather work with fully known quantities than have to work partially blind when it comes to our own allies.

[he really would not like to put himself into the same situation as the fight he was in before being pulled to this hellhole. That definitely shortened his lifespan, he overused it too much.]

It means we'll have to choose allies carefully. If they're from worlds neither of us understand, we have to know we can trust them.

[he tosses his last stick in the fire, watching the green wood curl up slowly. What a lovely metaphor for two people who can't over-use their powers without hurting themselves, fresh living wood that slowly warps in the fire rather than being consumed in a split second.]

It's amazing how a little food will refresh the spirit as much as the body. [he feels so much better now.]

[He'd personally like to not destroy his arms- but if it gets them out of something terrible well...]

I don't know if anybody from my world is even around here. But you're right, I'm just not sure how to make sure our trust isn't misplaced.

[He doesn't think he was ever this suspicious at home, but he didn't have reasons to be. Out here, in the middle of a war, this is the time for caution.]

Yeah. Food's amazing like that.

We'll keep an eye out. If anyone from my world appears, it's more likely than not they're also a Devil Fruit user. Such powers are exactly what the warlord wants in his army.

[meaning, more likely than not it's another pirate, many of whom Law would not be on good terms with, or a Marine, which...ditto. Oops. But that's for a future someday, it's not a concern at the moment.

Law uses the knife-blade to push some of the sticks of their little cooking fire further apart, the preface to stomping it out and making sure it's good and doused before the leave. Also cauterizes the knife nicely.]

We shouldn't sit too long. Walking will help digestion.

[and miles to go before they sleep]

There are a lot of heroes back home... and a lot of aspiring heroes too.

[There's only one of those in particular that Izuku'll have a hard time working with- but still, he can work with them. And in these circumstances he'd probably see the necessity.

He watches Law stamp out the fire before getting up.]

You're right. Just keep heading towards the hill?

I think so. [once he's fully standing, he looks around, squints up at the sun, and then nods] It's still east of our original position, that's all we need. We're not looking for a small point, after all.

[anywhere east to the border will do. Off they go again!]

[Eastward they go.]

Is it three days before eating again?

[Then all they have to worry about is finding more water. It shouldn't be too much of a concern once they manage to pass over the border, but until then water will likely be difficult to come by again.

Which means they'll need to budget accordingly.]

No. I rationed it a bit, we should have enough for at least one more meal. But if we can't hunt or carry more, we'll have to ration it further.

[having full water bottles before leaving the stream means they're a step ahead, but yes, they'll have to ration that as well. At least, the further they go and the more they recover, the less critical it will be to go without a meal or a sip of water now and then.]

I don't know how likely it is to run into another animal like that.

Reasonably if there's one, there has to be others, but it's possible that they're territorial. In which case we might not come across one for another few days- there might be other animals too. I heard something owl like- but I don't think I can chase down a bird.

[there's something vaguely amusing about the mental image of Deku trying to chase a flying bird]

There are other animals, I've sensed them. Mostly small, probably rabbits and the like. Hunting takes time, both to try to catch something and then prepare it and cook it. If we can slip into another village, now that we don't have the control bands we might be able to talk someone into feeding us.

[of course, stumbling on another settlement requires the same luck and effort as stumbling on another monster, so really, whatever they find first, that's what they do to survive.]

[He's 80% sure the bird would win that race.]

Just depends on which we run into first, more wild animals or another village.

... I wonder how close we are to the border.

That, I don't know. [a little more seriously] Rumors among the army made it out to be a few days, but who's to say what 'a few' really means?

[not to mention, they're moving much more slowly than usual, while they're still weak.]

A few... It would have been better if they put it to kilometers. Days aren't very accurate, especially considering our pace is a lot slower than what they're probably used to using.

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