Ch 23 - A Lowered Guard

Not since the first and only Heart Pirates Hot Wings Eating Competition had Law witnessed a loud and noisy gathering of this size in the mess hall as Sid ate her way through an entire grilled Sea King. The captain watched with mild amusement at the back of the room while the rest of the pirates stomped and cheered her on.

He should tell them to get back to their stations but secretly, he didn't mind taking a little break from their status quo. Even though he usually bunkered down in his office and kept his distance, being in quarantine for so long did make him miss interacting with his crew.

They were all in high spirits - happy to have surfaced and able to breathe in fresh air, relieved that Sid had pulled through her debacle, and joyous that they were able to capture not one but three Sea Kings in the span of 4 days for their food supply.

Bepo had pointed out that for this many Sea Kings to pass by them from the same direction could either mean they had a few more days of sailing before reaching land or there was a storm brewing somewhere and the Sea Kings were fleeing. There was also the possibility of both being the case so Law had an ear out for any sightings or announcements from the ones on watch.

"How can you still be hungry?!" Shachi whispered with awe. He sat right next to Sid so he was right where the action was happening, undeterred by the bones and flecks of sauce that flew towards him from time to time.

"Probably because she was living off of nothing but IV drips for almost a week," Penguin grinned. He sat on the other side of Sid but he, at least, had the sense to be peering at her over a napkin he was holding up, to catch all the culinary debris.

"Booooo," her sky sheep sighed with content as he nestled into her hair a little bit more, oblivious to the commotion around him.

Law's lip twitched at the white mound. Ever since he ended the quarantine, the sky sheep was stuck to her like glue. Even though he and Bepo had formed a bond of some sort, the sheep would not leave Sid's side no matter what.

"Sid! Sid! Sid! Sid! Sid!" his crew chanted.

Law's eyes scanned the crowd. Being at the back of the whole group, he was the only one who seemed to notice the timid herbalist, who was craning his neck to get a glimpse of the Shandian in action.

"Oy! Let him through!"

The group fell into surprised silence at Sid's bellow. Her hand, still clutching a half eaten chunk of meat dripping with sauce, waved over Buckner, who seemed the most floored out of them all.

"Come on. I don't have all day. If you want to come up, come up," Sid said as she returned to her meal.

When did she spot him? Law thought with amusement, Did she even look up from her plate?

She finished her meal with a zealous and hearty burp that made some men look at her with disgust, while the rest voiced their appreciation. Law was inclined to do the former but found himself smiling at such crassness.

At least she has the decency to wipe her hands, Law mused when she grabbed the napkin from Penguin.

"Alright!" Sid said as she stood up from the table and patted her swollen belly, "Now to digest all of this...Anyone up for a fight?"

"A fight?" Bepo repeated, "You want to fight?"

"Yeah." Sid flexed her arms and then started to rotate them in a circle to loosen them up, "I've been in bed for so long, I gotta move."

"That is true, Sid-ya."

The crew fell silent as they turned to the captain and gave him their full attention. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Your muscles may have weakened from being bedridden and from at least three of the viruses in your system-"

"The what?"

"I'll explain later," Law said, "More importantly, I actually would like to see you in combat in your current state. Better to know before we get to an island so I know how well you'll be able to perform your scouting duties."

Sid grinned. "Are you going to be my opponent then?"

Law shook his head. "Bepo will. I will just be an observer."

"What?! Me?!" Bepo exclaimed.

"Let's go, Bep!" Sid shouted, hooking her arm around his neck and practically hauling him to his feet.

Law's brow lifted. Nothing wrong with her arm strength…

"Wait…" Sid said as she realized something and then looked questioningly to Law, "Where should we go for this?"

Law smirked and started for the door. "Shachi. Penguin…", he ordered as he walked out, "Get the Platform ready."

"The Platform?" Sid asked as the crew erupted again into cheers.

It took about 20 minutes for Sid to figure out what the Platform was. No one bothered to explain to her and when she saw it for herself, she realized why. As she stood out on the main deck, under the clear, blue sky, she watched as mechanical arms stretched out from latches on the side of the ship and they unfolded like sheets of thin, metal paper, connecting at the center and forming a long platform above the submarine that stretched along the length of it and was just as wide. A ladder unfolded from underneath the platform and Law was the first to climb up it to get to the top.

He offered his hand to Sid when it was her turn and he pulled her up, over the side, and onto the fighting ground. They were about two stories above the water and with the platform covering the ship entirely, Sid could see nothing but blue skies and blue water.

"Oh...Wow…" she said as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, "Air...Fresh...air…" She opened up her arms to feel an incoming breeze. "Why don't you guys have this up all the time?"

"We only use this when we need a large area for training," Law said, "It covers the periscope so we could only use it in short periods of time since it interferes with the watch."

"I see," Sid said as Bepo joined them

Soon the Heart Pirates were all standing in a corner of the Platform with their captain that the front, watching as Sid and Bepo faced each other at the center.

"Boo?" the sheep asked as Sid took him off her head and gently nudged him towards Law.

"Go stand on the side with Law."

"BOO!"

The sky sheep slammed into Sid's chest and she stumbled back a few steps, clutching Boo to her. Law reached out and grabbed her arm to steady her.

"SID!" Bepo gasped.

"I'm fine," Sid said and then glanced at Law when his hand did not loosen by her statement, "Really."

Law stared at her for a moment and then reluctantly released his grip.

Sid looked down at Boo and smiled. "Wow...Either I got weaker or you got stronger." She ran a thumb over the curve of one of his horns. "These are coming in nicely."

"Boo…" the sheep whimpered tearfully and Sid sighed.

"Boo...Ugh...I know you're worried but..."

"...If...If you'd like...B-Boo...You can watch with me…"

It took all of Law's will power not to have his jaw drop to the floor like the rest of his crew as Buckler made his way through the crowd with an unwrapped chocolate bar in hand.

"Y-You..You can have this," Buckler murmured with his eyes downcast and directed towards his feet.

There was a long, painfully drawn out silence and then suddenly, there was a distinct sound of teeth nibbling into hard, chocolate. "Booooo!" the sheep sighed with content as he situated himself on Buckler's forearm while he finished off his snack.

"Thanks, Buck! I owe you one," Sid said with a grin.

"I-It's nothing," the herbalist said while still avoiding eye contact but that was more than enough for Sid.

"Amazing...She got Buckler to speak to her. It took me months!" Clione whispered to Law.

Same...Law thought but kept that to himself. He raised a hand to regain everyone's attention. "Alright. Now that everything is out of the way, you two ready to fight?"

"Sorry if I hurt you, Sid," Bepo said out as he kicked out a leg, bent it when his foot touched the floor, and stretched out one arm while the other bent with his palm at the side of his head, "Ready, Captain!"

"Likewise," Sid replied. Sid moved her legs so that she stood with knees bent and at about shoulder width. She kept her hands in front of her chest with her palms out. "Ready."

"FIGHT!" Law called.

Bepo was the first to attack. His fist coming straight for Sid's jaw in a blur of white. The Shandian warrior was quick to avert it and managed to strike at the same time, which the bear blocked with his other arm.

She can keep up with Bepo...Did the vaccinations not affect her at all?!

As the fight continued and Law looked on for signs of her illness, something else caught his eye that made him temporarily forget the purpose of him observing in the first place. It wasn't just that Sid was able to avoid the Mink's punches and kicks. It was how she was doing it that piqued Law's interest.

"Stop!" he found himself yelling out.

Bepo and Sid both froze at the same time, giving Law the perfect freeze frame of what he had spotted. Bepo's arm was extended out, with a punch intended for Sid's nose, but the Shandian was no longer in front of him. Instead, she was to the side of his arm, with one hand ready to push it away and the other balled into a fist that was aimed for his gut.

Defense and offense simultaneously...

"Interesting…," Law voiced our loud, "Bepo...Mind if I tag you out?"

Both fighters relaxed their stance and gaped at the captain.

"C-Captain?" Bepo asked.

"You want to fight me now?" Sid asked.

"Correction," Law said as he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it to the side amongst cheers from his crew, "I want you to fight me."

"What's the difference?" Sid asked as Law took Bepo's place and he raised a fist.

"You've been careful whole time with Bepo...I'd like to see more effort," Law said.

"Are you saying I held back with Bepo?" Sid asked.

"I'm saying you were toying with him," Law said, "So...If you want a more serious opponent...Here I am."

"I won't go easy on you," Sid smirked.

"I'm counting on it," Law replied as they started to circle each other.

Law jabbed with his right and immediately felt a slap to the back of his hand that veered his punch off course. His left hand shot down and grabbed her by the wrist, stopping her own punch from connecting to his solar plexus. Without missing a beat, Sid crouched down and swept her leg out. Law jumped back to avoid getting knocked down, releasing her fist in the process.

"Not bad, Sid-ya," he said as he lunged forward and jabbed with his left this time. Just like his first punch, he felt the slap against his hand but this time, she also had to swat away his other fist, which had gone for her solar plexus. Then without missing a beat, she raised her leg to knee him in the groin, which he jumped back again to avoid.

Sid raised her fists and returned to her readied stance. "You're not so bad yourself."

Law let out a snort and then approached her again, unleashing a flurry of blows.

Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah!

She deftly slapped and pushed every one of his punches away while simultaneously alternating her feet to kick at his ankles, hoping to knock him down. He had to keep stepping back to avoid her kicks but that did not stop him from continuing to strike at her.

Bah! Bah! Bah! Bah!

"Oh no!"

They were entangled in this forceful dance until Law heard the gasp of his crew, alerting to him just how close he was to the edge of the platform. Quickly, he stepped to the side, ready to grab Sid at the last second if she fell over herself but he was pleasantly surprised when she pivoted just a split second after him and threw out a strong left hook.

Law ducked and rolled away from the edge and away from Sid, smoothly getting back to his feet just in time to capture her fist, stopping it from breaking his nose. He twisted it around and then got behind her, pinning her arm to the small of her back, beneath the base of her wings. "Give up?" he taunted with a victorious smile.

Suddenly, Sid' other arm reached up and grabbed him by the neck, pulling his head closer to her.

"HYAAA!"

Wham!

With a shrill war cry, she leapt off the ground, slamming both of them onto the floor with Law sandwiched between the metal floor and her.

"Oof," he grunted, absently releasing her arm.

Sid immediately stood up and she planted her foot right on his chest. "Give up?" she asked, matching his mocking intonation perfectly.

Law broke into a wide grin as he pushed her off so he could stand up as well. "You'll have to do much better than that to get me to surrender."

"If you say so," Sid said, matching his grin, and she dove right at his midsection.

Law caught her in time and dug his feet in to keep her from spearing him to the ground, or worse, forcing both of them right off the edge of the Platform and into the sea, showing strength and balance that far surpassed what Sid expected of him. She picked him up from the waist and threw him over her shoulder, which he recovered from by rolling right back onto his feet from behind.

"SHE THREW THE CAPTAIN?!" Shachi and Penguin gasped as they clutched and shook each other as if to wake one another up from this illusion.

Sid spun around just in time to block Law from kicking her right over the edge, swatting his foot away as she lunged forward with her fist pulled back.

Bah!

Sid's eyes widened when her punch was deflected by Law's slap.

"I think I understand your fighting technique," he said, "You don't try to stop the force. You just change its direction."

Sid straightened up, pulling back her arm, as she looked at Law in amazement. "You...You figured that out in such a short time?"

Law smirked again. "I'm a quick study...Do all Shandians fight like this?"

"It's one technique that we're trained in…" Sid admitted, "I just prefer it over the others."

"Oh? What's another?"

Bam!

Before Law could react, Sid had grabbed his arm, turned right into him so that she was tucked right underneath it, and threw him over her shoulder with her hands still on his arm, pinning him back.

"Want more?" Sid asked as she let go of his arm and waited for him to turn on his back.

Law stared up at the silhouette of the Shandian's head as she leaned over him with the sun right above them. She held out her hand with a grin.

Law barked out a short laugh and then grabbed her by the forearm, pulling her down onto the floor. He quickly flipped around so that she was face down on the ground with her arm bent behind her and slammed one of his knees pressed into the small of her back to hold her down.

"Don't let your guard down, Sid-ya," he teased with a wide smile, "Not even with me."

"...Well...played," Sid grunted in between some labored breaths that made Law release his hold immediately and turn her on her back.

"Sid-ya, are you okay? Did I hurt you?!" Law asked.

Law couldn't tell who was more taken aback by the worry in his voice. Him or Sid. Either way, it jolted him and he scrambled to his feet.

Sid gazed up at him with a confused frown. "I-...I'm fine. You caught me off guard and knocked the wind out of me...That's all."

Shit, he thought with a grimace. He had lost himself in the moment and completely forgotten the purpose of this exercise. It was all to make sure Sid was physically sound so she could do her job...So what the hell was he getting involved and carried away like this for?

"Get some rest, Sid-ya," Law grunted as he grabbed his hoodie. His fist clenched around the fabric as he threw it over his shoulder and stormed away from the Shandian, "You're medically cleared but you're still not back up at 100% yet. Clione!"

"Eh? Yes, Captain?"

"You're in charge of Sid-ya's recovery. I want daily reports on her progress. Shachi, Penguin! Put away the Platform. Everyone, back to your duties! Dismissed!" Law ordered as he disappeared down the ladder.

"Y-Yes, Captain!" his crew stammered back.

Sid slowly got up to her feet and she walked over to Buckler, who had a happy, chocolate smeared sheep in his hands. "Wh...What just happened?" she asked.

Buckler looked down at his feet. "That's...just how the captain is...He likes to keep his distance," he whispered softly and slowly for only Sid to hear, "...But...I think you surprised him...You surprised all of us, to be honest..."

Sid blinked. "How?"

"...We've never seen him smile like that before…"

"I see…"

Sid collected Boo from Buckner, not even reacting to the chocolate getting on her skin and clothes. As she scaled down the ladder and sat on the deck, watching the Platform unfold and tuck back into the ship, she couldn't help but ponder Law's words.

Don't let my guard down, huh?...Was that a reminder for me...or for you?