Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece.

Law had long since realised, if not yet accepted, that there was no such thing as peace and quiet on the Thousand Sunny. Mugiwara-ya was the essence of noise, chaos and general insanity, and everyone on the ship was automatically drawn into it, regardless of their resistance.

That did not mean he was expecting a long rubbery arm to snake around his midsection and yank him away from the book he was perusing in a vain attempt to avoid said captain, and into the medical bay, of all places. Tony-ya looked as surprised as he felt, before his face changed into a panicked concern.

"Is everything alright?" he flailed. "Do you need a doctor? Is someone hurt?" Law had seen Tony-ya's medical prowess with his own eyes, and acknowledged it as being impressive, but the tanuki could definitely do with an attitude adjustment. Panicking was the last thing a doctor should be doing.

"Torao hasn't had his check-up," Mugiwara-ya stated in that childlike way of his that implied he thought Law needed one. Law's protests at the nickname, half-hearted at best by this point, were drowned out by the logic that he was a doctor and was perfectly capable of doing his own check-ups, thank you very much.

He was pleased when Tony-ya pointed out the exact same fact to the rubber captain, and switched his focus to waiting for Mugiwara-ya to let go of him enough that he could Shambles away without taking the nuisance with him, only to have his attention rudely grabbed by said nuisance.

"Torao hasn't had his check-up." The words were the only thing the same in the repeat. The jovial atmosphere had gone completely, and Mugiwara-ya's eyes were shadowed by that hat of his. This wasn't the happy-go-lucky captain Law had come to know. This was the captain that had punched a Tenryubito in the face for shooting a friend – not even a nakama, just a friend – and Law wondered why the hell this side of him was showing now, when they were alone in the middle of the Grand Line with no enemies in sight.

"T-Torao," the tanuki addressed him, and he turned his attention to the small creature, knowing that Tony-ya, while still holding some misgivings, was now going to try and give him a check-up. He supposed the obedience was expected, considering Mugiwara-ya had just given what was effectively a Captain's Order.

Law, however, was not a Straw Hat pirate, and as an allied captain held the same status as Mugiwara-ya. It didn't matter that he was on the other's ship; an alliance was an alliance.

"I can perform my own health checks when necessary," he said sharply, making sure to aim his glare of displeasure at the captain and not the quivering tanuki. It was hardly his fault his captain was spouting nonsense Orders.

"No." The stubbornness Law had glimpsed when he'd tried to convince Mugiwara-ya to abandon the children returned full-force.

"Mugiwara-ya…" he growled, prepared to fight his corner, alliance or not. He was not standing for the implied insult that he could not look after himself.

"Torao is too skinny."

The remark, almost showing signs of Mugiwara-ya's usual flippancy, shocked Law into silence. To his knowledge, Mugiwara-ya's medical expertise was zero, and Law knew his coat was thick enough to hide his slight figure.

Tony-ya fidgeted, and Law suspected he was fighting his instinct to snap back about something. Hopefully that Law was a competent doctor who was well aware of any weight discrepancies and would be dealing with them accordingly.

"Take off your coat, Torao."

No such luck, and Law found himself staring incredulously at the tanuki, who seemed to be siding with his captain rather than his fellow doctor. After a moment's thought he remembered that Tony-ya's loyalty was supposed to be to his captain first and it should be no surprise that the timid tanuki caved.

"There is nothing wrong with me," Law snapped, mildly unnerved by the fact that Mugiwara-ya's eyes were still shadowed by his hat, hiding what he was thinking.

"Then this won't take long," Tony-ya retorted. Law supposed he should have expected that answer, but he still wasn't giving in to these outrageous demands. He knew his weight was less than it should be, but he also knew why and it wasn't a reason he wanted coming to light. There was nothing Tony-ya could do about it, anyway, and he did not feel like being plied with more food at mealtimes than he already was.

"No," he retorted, still waiting for Mugiwara-ya to let go of his waist so he could disappear already.

"Is Torao scared of doctors?" said rubberman asked, his demeanour edging closer towards his usual disposition. Law could see his eyes again now, big brown and full of concern. He decided he'd rather they were hidden under the hat's shade again. They were seeing too much.

"That's ridiculous," he scoffed, pushing away memories of a terrified boy fleeing through hospitals to shrieks of 'monster!' and the like, followed by a blond giant of a man who punished any that insulted him. Perhaps he wasn't as successful at pushing them away as he thought, because he saw the tanuki's face soften, and he lightly patted the edge of the infirmary bed.

"Sit." Now there were undertones of care and concern and Law cursed Mugiwara-ya's uncanny ability to read people at the most inconvenient of times. It showed further when he wasn't forced to obey by the arm wrapped around his waist, although it didn't loosen its grip either.

It was the fact that neither of them were forcing him to move that led to him obeying and perching on the edge of the bed. Mugiwara-ya immediately sat next to him, maintaining his uncharacteristic silence.

"Your coat, Torao," Tony-ya repeated quietly. Law hesitated. He would never say he was body shy – he had tattoos all over his torso and he no qualms about leaving them on display from time to time – but this wasn't a usual situation. Normally people would focus on the tattoos and not notice he was too lean for his height, or…

Well, Law knew that the tattoos would not distract Tony-ya, and in his current state probably not Mugiwara-ya, either. Neither of them said anything even when he hadn't moved for a minute, waiting in a patient silence that he hadn't known Mugiwara-ya was capable of. He should be unnerved by his ally's out of character behaviour, but strangely it was far more reassuring than if he had been his usual loud and chaotic self. The arm still wrapped around his waist no longer felt restraining but supporting, which was peculiar because Law could have sworn it hadn't shifted an inch.

It only shifted when he began to pull down the zipper on the coat, to allow Law to completely remove the garment. Underneath his coat was his favourite hoodie, which itself covered a warm top, and he felt a chill as he peeled off the layers. He had to remove his hat to pull the clothes over his head, and replaced it as soon as he could. It gave him a false sense of cover despite his now-bared torso, which Tony-ya was observing critically. Mugiwara-ya didn't replace his rubbery arm around him, but didn't move from where he was sat beside him either.

Tony-ya moved closer and Law couldn't help but tense up slightly. He'd been right that the tanuki wouldn't be at all distracted by the tattoos, and he did not like the look on the creature's face. He liked it even less when a hoof tenderly reached out to barely touch a particular point just below his tattoo, and barely restrained himself from flinching away completely.

"Luffy, could you leave us?" Tony-ya asked, not looking at his captain but rather at Law's face. Law didn't want to meet the tanuki's gaze and turned his eyes to the side, where Mugiwara-ya was sitting. He expected some refusal; as the captain of the ship Mugiwara-ya had every right to remain in the infirmary and override his doctor's advice. Considering the rubberman's insistence that Law was checked over, and the fact that Law was easily capable of escaping from the tanuki, it would have made sense for him to refuse.

Once again, Mugiwara-ya defied expectations as he stood and nodded.

"Tell me if something's wrong with Torao," he ordered, before his demeanour changed, as if a switch had been flicked. "I'm gonna go see if Sanji's got any meat!" One arm extended out through the suddenly-open door and presumably grabbed hold of something before the rest of him snapped through the air to join it. From the sound of swearing and a slamming door, Law concluded that Mugiwara-ya had indeed flung himself into the kitchen, and that Kuroashi-ya had not been impressed.

He was brought back to his current situation when Tony-ya closed the infirmary door, and engaged the lock. Law wasn't sure why he felt so cornered; there was no way the tanuki was old enough to have even heard of White Lead Poisoning, let alone have any idea what marks it would leave after successful treatment.

"I thought I recognised your name," the tanuki said, pulling himself up onto his stool to face Law. That was not a conversation opening Law had anticipated, and he found himself floundering for an answer. To his understanding, before joining the Straw Hats, Tony-ya had lived on a small island in the Grand Line and should not have heard of him before their meeting on Sabaody. "Doctorine doesn't leave Sakura Island any more, but she used to travel to see other doctors." Law had a sinking feeling he knew what Tony-ya was about to say, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. "She once told me about a married pair of doctors from North Blue. They were trying to find a cure for a disease that was devastating their home country, but they and the rest of the country died before they succeeded."

"And their names were Trafalgar," Law finished with a sigh. Of course he had to run into the apprentice of the one doctor in the Grand Line that knew about his parents. Tony-ya nodded.

"Doctorine said there were no survivors," he said, and there was an inquisitive note in his voice but the tanuki kept going, which Law was grateful for. He did not want to explain his life history. "I assume the Ope Ope no Mi cured it?" He nodded stiffly, but didn't offer any further explanation. He wasn't certain his voice would hold steady if he did. Tony-ya seemed to understand his plight, as he moved the topic on quickly. "Despite Luffy's opinion, I don't see anything wrong. You're clearly underweight, but that doesn't seem to be affecting your health at all." This, Law's voice was steady enough to comment on.

"It's a side effect," he allowed, resting his forearms on his thighs and letting his torso hunch over slightly now that he wasn't being scrutinised. Tony-ya nodded in comprehension, before changing the topic again.

"Do you mind if I give you a check-up?" he asked, starting to stumble over his words. "I mean, you're a doctor and all and probably better than I am but Luffy said and sometimes it's good to get a second opinion although I guess your crew can probably give you that-"

"If you must," Law cut off his rambling. The tanuki wasn't incorrect that it was best to get someone else to check every so often, and he knew he had suffered slightly from his months in less than ideal living conditions on Punk Hazard. It had been several months since Penguin had last given him a cursory once-over. Now that Tony-ya had discovered his medical past, there was nothing to hide.

He remained silent as hooves prodded and probed, moving limbs when necessary. Tony-ya had no qualms brushing against the almost-unnoticeable paler patches of skin that marked the disease he'd survived, and he eventually found himself voicing his observation.

"You're not afraid of it." To his credit, Tony-ya didn't need to ask for clarification.

"Why should I be?" he shrugged as he took Law's blood pressure. "It's cured, and even if it wasn't, it's not a contagious affliction." Law's breath caught in his chest. While Cora-san had never shown any fear of catching the disease, even he had never come out and said that. He did not know if he'd yelled it to the hospitals he'd razed to the ground, but since the massacre of Flevance he had never heard anyone declare that it wasn't contagious. He was used to the cries of 'white monster' and being chased away before he 'contaminated' anyone.

"You know?" he managed, forcing his breathing back into a pattern.

"I've never heard of a contagious poison," Tony-ya pointed out. He felt his eyes get suspiciously damp, and pulled the peak of his cap down lower. A gentle hoof brushed against his knee for a split second before the tanuki continued to check his vitals, and Law was glad he didn't make a big deal out of it. He wasn't certain he'd keep his composure if Tony-ya had tried to comfort him.

The rest of the check-up passed in silence, Tony-ya saying nothing about Law's wet eyes when he checked his vision, and soon Law was able to pull his clothes back on.

"As I thought, you're perfectly healthy," the tanuki told him. "The few side effects you have don't appear to be impacting your health at all. You are underweight but your heart and lungs are strong and there's no point piling you with food to try and increase your weight. I'm sure you already know all this though and this was probably a waste of time but Luffy should get off your case now."

Law had wondered when he'd start rambling again. He'd appreciated the professional front Tony-ya had put up, but he'd come to realise that, although it was as it should be, it wasn't the tanuki's usual style at all.

"Of course, I'll tell him there's nothing wrong with you and that your weight isn't a concern. I won't tell anyone about the disease; it isn't relevant to us anyway-"

"I appreciate that," Law interrupted before Tony-ya got himself too tangled up in his rambles. "Thank you, Tony-ya." He left the room to squawks that sounded a bit like the tanuki was pretending to be unaffected by the praise and failing miserably.

Mugiwara-ya jumped on him almost immediately, which Law managed to evade with a well-timed Room to the other side of the corridor.

"What did Chopper say?" the rubberman demanded, invading Law's personal space undeterred. "Do you need more meat? Sanji can cook you more meat no problem." Law had no doubts that any extra meat cooked by Kuroashi-ya would end up in Mugiwara-ya's stomach regardless of its designated plate.

"Torao is fine," Tony-ya piped up from behind him, and Mugiwara-ya frowned.

"But he's so skinny! He needs to eat more!"

"Some people are just naturally thin, Luffy," the tanuki sighed, sounding as if he was already exhausted by the conversation. Law resumed his walk towards the deck and his abandoned book. "Torao is perfectly healthy. There's nothing to worry about."

Law noticed that Tony-ya didn't say that the check-up was a waste of time, and found that he agreed. He hadn't realised he'd needed to hear someone say his childhood bane wasn't contagious until the other doctor had done so, but his chest was just a little lighter now.

I like to think that somehow Kureha knew, or at least know of the Trafalgars. We know from Nami's illness that she also looks for medicines for extinct diseases, so why not White Lead Poisoning?

As for Law being afraid of doctors despite being one himself, after being submitted to all that trauma with Rocinante, I think it's plausible that he no longer trusts the profession as a whole.

As a side note for readers of my other stories: yes, I am still alive! I'm stuck working on my dissertation right now (deadline is next month) so I can't really focus on any of my substantial plots right now, but they'll be back once I'm done with uni. As always, updates are on my profile page.

Thanks for reading!

Tsari