One Piece 1. Memories

Chapter 1 – Memories

Snow.

He usually loves watching it fall.

It always gave him a feeling of safety, nostalgia, home.

But not this time.

No, today he hates seeing it.

He hates how it feels cold on his skin and in his heart.

So freezing that he can't breathe.

He feels the wetness on his face, tear-drops turning into icy remnants of pain. His whole body feels frozen, numb. He doesn't move. He just stares while the snow keeps falling on his heart. He stares down at the red dashes cutting through the white ground like strings of fate before him.

He will never like the sight of snow again.

20 years ago on the Grand Line

"Captain! I see an island, north-western direction!", called the ship's navigator down from his post on the main mast.

"It doesn't exist on the map!"

The next thing to be heard was a short whoosh through the air as the ship's captain suddenly appeared seemingly out of thin air next to his navigator. Although his subordinates were used to their captain's devil fruit powers the navigator flinched slightly. The man beside him noticed his reaction and chuckled to himself. A rather big hand with long slender fingers clapped down on the navigator's shoulder.

"Let me see."

The captain took the spyglass from his subordinate and smiled widely as he spotted the rather unpopulated looking island with its snow-capped mountains.

"I would like to make a detour.", he said and glanced at the Log Pose around his navigator's wrist.

The compass' needle seemed to rotate in confusion.

"You sure, Captain? It doesn't look like that island holds any value to us. I see no buildings or other signs of civilisation. Maybe there isn't even a harbour for us to..."

The navigator's protests were ignored as his captain jumped down on the next second. But instead of landing on the wooden floor he seemed to land on an invisible rope and balanced in the air.

"Doflamingo wait!"

Another older looking crew member called from the railing. But his captain had already made up his mind. Doflamingo adjusted his colored sunglasses with his middle finger.

He gave a quick look over his shoulder and smiled again revealing two bright rows of teeth.

"I won't take long."

And with that he started to jump on the invisible strings and moved towards the mysterious island his navigator had spotted. The navigator watched him with a stunned expression and looked down on deck where the other crew members exchanged confused expressions. The old man down by the railing buried his face in his hand and grumbled something along the lines of "not this again".

The captain of the Donquixote Pirates still smiled to himself as he made his way through the clouds and towards his destination. If the death of Gol D. Roger four years ago had showed him one thing, it was that he could achieve everything he desired as the free-living pirate that he was. This was his era, he would become the new pirate king and regain the status and power of his birthright that fate had taken from him. He would be king and never have to live in poverty again. He would show the world who Donquixote Doflamingo really was.

"DOFY!"

He almost tripped and missed the next string as someone shouted his name angrily from beneath.

"THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"

Doflamingo looked down and spotted the person following him on a sea scooter. His smile dropped but he felt positively surprised anyway.

"Cora.", he muttered and stopped his movements just floating in the air.

The sea scooter came to a halt as well and the person driving it brought up her hands to remove her helmet. A wave of long red hair was freed from the confines of the headpiece and flipped behind the woman's shoulder.

"What were you thinking taking off on your own again?"

Despite her angry tone, a playful smile was showing on her lips. Doflamingo noticed that her lipstick was matching the color of her hair perfectly today. He found himself smiling again as he looked into Cora's magenta eyes that narrowed on him.

"I'm the captain which means I get to do as I please.", he replied with a singsong voice.

"Tsk. Since when do just the captains get to have all the fun?"

Doflamingo laughed down at her.

"I would have taken you with me but I'm not gonna relieve that experience of flying with you."

"Hey! It's not my fault that I'm afraid of heights!", Cora exclaimed obviously embarrassed.

Her cheeks were turning a light shade of red and she turned away quickly as she noticed Doflamingo gazing at her.

"What's with that silly look?", she muttered in a small voice.

Her words brought Doflamingo back to reality with a jolt and he quickly shook his head and regained his balance.

"Alright okay you can come with me. I didn't plan on taking long anyway."

Magenta eyes looked up at him cunningly.

"Then let's see who's faster!", Cora called out and started the scooter's engine again.

"Hey! That was jumping the gun!", Doflamingo yelled after her as she dashed through the waves and away from him.

"Damn cheater.", me muttered to himself as the corner's of his mouth curled up magically.

Cora chuckled at the mental image of Doflamingo's surprised expression as she left him behind. He was a smart man but kind of easy to fool if one knew how his mind worked. She had been on his crew for three years now but felt like they had known eachother for decades. Most of her crewmates treated Doflamingo with a mixture of respect and fear but she had never felt scared of him despite his reputation. Cora knew what he was capable of, she had often witnessed his wrath and brutality towards enemies but even if she despised how he tended to relish in the bloodshed, she never wanted to leave his crew. She was no angel herself even though she had never killed anyone. Doflamingo always teased her for not enjoying her fights, calling her a "softie" and "too kind for her own good".

But he never blamed her either.

Cora was ripped out of her thoughts when she smelled smoke in the air near the island. Looking up she noticed little flakes of ash falling from the sky. She left the scooter on a beach within a small cove and turned around.

"You smell that?", she asked Doflamingo who was sitting on a rock a good ten feet above her.

"Yeah... something's burning this island up. I saw a huge pile of smoke coming from a place near this cove.", he replied thoughtfully.

"I'm gonna follow the column of smoke and find out what's causing the fire."

They exchanged a quick look and Doflamingo disappeared in the sky again.

Cora narrowed her eyes. There didn't seem to be any major city on this island. If someone set this fire on purpose then what was their reason? With a few precise jumps she climbed up on a rock as well to get a better view. She looked around and suddenly gasped in surprise.

Not far away on top of a cliff line she saw a single house and a man standing in front of it. Cora ran up a hill and made her way to the house. The mean wore dark clothes and as Cora neared him she recognised a red symbol on the back of his coat. She had seen it before but couldn't quite remember where.

The man fumbled with something and didn't notice her getting closer. Cora realised that he was busy covering the house's walls with gasoline as the stench reached her nostrils. Soon he brought out a lighter and threw it down setting the house on fire.

"Hey!", she called out and caught the man by surprise.

He looked at her with dark expression and drew a gun from his belt.

"Who the hell are you and what are you doing?", Cora asked.

He responded by shooting at her without hesitation. Cora managed to dive away and dodge the attack. She drew the sword from the sheath attached to the holster around her back and jumped towards the man. With a quick movement Cora buried hilt in his stomach and brought up her knee between his legs causing him to cough and tumble. She used her boot to turn him on his back and let her blade hover above his throat.

"I'm gonna ask again, who-..."

She stopped herself as she registered a movement out of the corner of her eyes behind one of the house's windows.

Cora stepped closer and saw that a small boy was cowering in the corner opposite the window. The flames weren't reaching him yet but he was trapped by burning wreckage around him and unable to get out. Cora sucked in a quick breath and the thoughts were racing in her head. With a grunt she kicked in the door and jumped inside.

It was hard to see clearly throw the smoke but she spotted the terrified boy and made her way to his position whilst slicing the burning furniture that blocked her way. He looked up at her with a pair of teary grey eyes that reflected the bright orange flames surrounding him. Cora coughed loudly but reached the kid in time to save him from a falling tie-beam.

She carried him in her arms and wanted to get back outside as quick as possible but the way back was now completely covered in flames. Her eyes darted to the window and with a yell of pain she jumped through the glass and rolled over the snow-capped ground. All the while she was still holding the boy close and managed to keep his small fragile body from harm.

Unfortunately her own body was now covered in cuts and burns but at least they had both made it out alive. Cora was about to get back up as she felt the cold muzzle of a gun being pointed at her head. The boy in her arms gasped in shock and clinched the collar of her coat tightly. Cora glared at the man in front of her with an icy look.

"How dare you hit me you bitch!", he growled.

"You and the brat will die too!"

Cora laid a protective hand on the boy's head and used the other to grip the hilt of her sword. But before any of them made a move she saw a familiar figure appearing behind the man's back.

"I wouldn't be so sure on who will be dying soon..."

The man's eyes widened in shock and he had just enough time to look over his shoulder when a couple of invisible strings tightened around his body. Unable to move, he grunted in frustration as he fought against the strings without any chance of escaping them.

"Why don't you point that pistol at someone who really deserves to die?", Doflamingo chuckled and moved his fingers.

The man observed terrified how his own arm was now raising the gun to his head.

Cora covered the boys eyes with her palm just in time.

Only a loud bang was heard and the man before them fell to the ground to never stand up again. The silence which followed after was only disturbed by the boy's heavy breathing and the crackle of flames and the collapsing building behind them. Cora frowned deeply and got up slowly with the kid in her arms.

"Are you okay?", she heard Doflamingo ask with a soft voice.

She only nodded and walked past the corpse to her feet whose blood was staining the snow in a bright red color. Doflamingo looked back at the burning house before he started to follow Cora. Both made their way back to the beach in silence.


	2. Trafalgar Law

Chapter 2 – Trafalgar Law

Doflamingo's crew couldn't have looked more surprised when their captain and crew member returned. A lot of questions were asked as soon as they layed food on deck.

_"What happened to you Cora-san?" "Who's the kid?" "Were you attacked?!"_

Doflamingo called the ship's doctor to take care of Cora and the boy first and ignored the confused expressions and questions for the time being. He was about to follow Cora when the old man, Lao G, grabbed him by the arm and stopped him in his tracks.

"You have to explain this.", he whispered.

"The crew feels very anxious. Do we have to prepare for battle?"

For a moment Doflamingo just stared at him bluntly. Then he burst out laughing which earned him a glare. He calmed himself slowly and laid a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Oh Lao G, you're always so goddamn serious!"

He turned to face his crew and raised his voice.

"I assure you, there is nothing to worry about! We ran into a couple of bandits who thought it would be a good idea to oppose us and well..."

He licked his lips and grinned to the memory of slicing them up one after another.

"_...there's no one left to come after us."_

"But who's the child Cora-san was carrying?", Lao G asked still frowning deeply.

Doflamingo clicked his tongue.

"His home was burned down by one of the bandits. Cora saved his little ass and I allowed her to take him with her."

Lao G nodded but still seemed angered. But on the other hand, he always looked like this so Doflamingo paid it no mind.

Diamante, one of Doflamingo's closest confidants, spoke next.

"Well then I guess we have a new crew member! Let's stop the questioning now and give our captain some space, shall we?"

The crew exchanged some more worried looks but returned to their tasks on the ship without further questions. Diamante stepped closer to Doflamingo and laid one arm around his shoulders.

"Nice to have you back Dofy. By the way what's that little turds name?"

Doflamingo smiled and scratched his head.

"To be honest, I don't know yet. The kid hasn't said much since Cora pulled him out of his misery."

"Hmm."

Diamante narrowed his eyes at him.

"I don't wanna go on your nerves but why did you let her keep the kid?"

Doflamingo's smile faded rather quickly. Diamante removed his arm and turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to step on your toes."

He started to move away from his captain but stopped suddenly and glanced over his shoulder.

"You're always like this when it comes to her you know.", he whispered without a trace of a smile.

"Just be careful."

Doflamingo watched him leave with a frown. A part of him wanted to kick his ass just for daring to speak to him like that. But another hidden part of him understood why Diamante was worried. When he had made that ugly bastard shoot himself in the head earlier, he had enjoyed every second of it. Until he had seen Cora's expression that is. She never said it out loud but Doflamingo felt her discontent with his actions.

He saw it in her eyes.

For some reason he didn't want her to look at him like this.

Doflamingo growled and headed for the doctor's room.

Cora sat on a chair opposite the bed where the doctor was busy cleaning the kid's wounds and disinfecting them. She watched the boy flinch but he didn't complain about the pain.

"What's your name?", she asked him.

The boy's grey eyes darted towards her in surprise. It took a moment for him to find his voice.

"T-Trafalgar Law."

His voice sounded strained and weepy but he tried his best to keep it together.

Cora smiled at him fondly.

"Law, huh? My name is Cora Zon. You're on Donquixote Doflamingo's ship."

Law gulped and averted his gaze.

"Is he the one who...?"

He was recalling the memory vividly behind his eyes.

"He did it to save us.", Cora said as she looked down as well.

Law nodded but still looked scared. Tears were filling up his eyes but he tried his best to keep them from leaking out.

"They... they killed them... my parents..."

Cora raised her head.

"I... I managed to hide but... I couldn't... I was..."

Law's voice broke and he bit his lip.

The doctor moved away from him slowly and turned to Cora.

"Alright, you're next."

"I'm fine for now.", Cora replied and walked over to sit beside Law.

"But..."

"It's okay. Would you give us a moment?"

The doctor seemed rather displeased by that idea but complied since Cora was clearly above him in the chain of commands. When he had left the room Cora hesitantly laid an arm around Law's shoulders.

"I'm sorry... I know what it's like to lose your parents..."

Law looked up at her in surprise.

"It sucks. And it always will but... you're safe now."

She smiled at him again.

"You can cry if you want to. I won't tell anyone."

Law sobbed and finally the tears were running down his face. His head dropped on Cora's shoulder and the tears kept flowing like a waterfall. Cora held him close but didn't say anything more. Her eyes raised to Doflamingo who was standing in the doorway. Law didn't notice he was there until he kneeled in front of him so that he was on eye level with the boy.

Doflamingo turned Law's crying face with his thump and index finger so that he was looking at him directly.

"I understand that you feel sad now but I want you to turn that sadness into strength. You're gonna be a member of my crew and that means you have to grow strong."

Law sobbed again but didn't look away.

"I promise you, you'll always have a family here if you promise that you'll always be loyal to me in return."

Cora watched them both carefully but didn't interfere.

Law saw his own crying reflection in Doflamingo's shades. The man before him was smiling but it wasn't the same genuine smile that Cora had given him before. This smile was different. It was a promise but also a condition.

He nodded when it didn't seem like Doflamingo would say anything more.

"Yes, I promise.", he said while the tears were still falling from his eyes.

Doflamingo's smile seemed suddenly more friendly than before. He took Law's tiny hand in his own and raised it before them.

"Welcome to my family, Trafalgar Law."

Doflamingo convinced Cora to let the doctor take care of her wounds while he would show Law a room where he could stay. Law was still fighting his tears and didn't want to leave without Cora at first but gathered enough courage to follow his new captain.

"Here. It's pretty small but it'll do for now."

He opened the door to a small cabin with only a bed and a couch inside.

"It belongs to the doctor but since he's mostly staying in the room you were just treated in he won't mind if you sleep here."

Law nodded and took a small step forward towards the bed. He felt pretty exhausted and fell down on the mattress immediately after Doflamingo closed the door behind him. But he couldn't sleep. Memories were haunting his mind. Disturbing images reappeared in his head as soon as he closed his eyes and Law growled in frustration and punched the wall next to him. The pain distracted him briefly but it didn't last long until the memories returned. But suddenly within all these terrifying images, he saw a friendly face. A smiling face.

_Cora-san._

Law tried to focus on that memory.

And after a while he managed to fall asleep.

Stitched and cleaned up, Cora left the doctor's room and headed towards the kitchen when she bumped into Doflamingo.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You're hungry too?"

"You bet."

They walked along the floor in silence but Doflamingo noticed Cora watching him intently and after a while he couldn't ignore it any longer.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just..."

"Yes?"

"Thanks... for today..."

Doflamingo stopped in his tracks and Cora turned around.

"What's wrong?"

Doflamingo looked rather serious which never meant anything good.

"Don't thank me.", he muttered in a low voice.

"What?", Cora asked confused.

"You're my subordinate. It's my duty to help you. The kid stays because you as my trusted family member asked me to let him stay."

His voice sounded calm but Cora couldn't shake the feeling that he looked very troubled behind those colored shades of his.

"Alright then...", she replied and started to walk again.

Whatever bothered him so much he wouldn't tell her anyway. He always played his personal feelings close to the chest. He only shared what he wanted to share. The rest stayed hidden behind colored glasses and wide smiles.

She heard him sigh in frustration. As she turned around again to ask what was wrong this time, he was already standing right in front of her.

Cora herself was pretty tall but Doflamingo still had to lower his head to be on eye level with her. For a moment she felt like frozen. They had never stood this close before and she could tell that something was off about him.

Suddenly his lips moved to her ear and he was speaking with an alien, gentle voice, like she had never heard him speak before.

_"You almost died today... don't you dare."_

Cora's eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

The next moment Doflamingo walked past her without saying another word.

She watched him leave unable to find her voice.


	3. Strong

Chapter 3 – Strong

Three days had passed since Trafalgar Law had joined the Donquixote Pirates and the six-year-old already regretted his decision. He was told to help clean the ship and apart from that didn't get to do anything useful with his time. He was also told not to bother the crew members of high importance, namely Doflamingo's top four in command. They were the most powerful and trusted among Doflamingo's "family". Unfortunately, Law learned that Cora was one of them which meant that he didn't get to see her as much he had liked.

But every night before he would go to sleep, she was walking past his door and wished him sweet dreams even though she didn't get to stay for long. One evening she even brought a book with her and took the time to read a story to him.

She sat beside him on the bed and let her fingers stroke through Law's soft dark hair until he had fallen asleep. Cora didn't quite understand why she acted that way around the kid. She had never been the motherly type and usually she didn't want to be responsible for the well-being of others.

But with Law it was different. She saw how he was still suffering from the loss of his parents but the boy never complained. Cora had wanted to help him from the moment she had laid eyes on him.

Although she didn't know why, she swore to herself that she would never let him get hurt again.

She would protect him.

With careful steps she left the room and closed the door behind her slowly without making a sound. As soon as she was outside, Cora noticed a familiar presence nearby.

It turned out Doflamingo was leaning on a wall behind her.

"You've been avoiding me.", Cora said calmly.

"You seem quite fond of this child.", he replied, ignoring her question.

Cora narrowed her eyes.

"Don't let the boy distract you so much. We're pirates, not nannies."

She stepped closer to her captain. He wore his everyday smile that concealed his true intentions perfectly. His shades caught sight of her reflection.

"He has no one left.", Cora whispered.

Doflamingo crossed his long arms before his chest.

"Boohoo..."

Cora gritted her teeth as she felt anger rise in her chest. She directed her glare at him. When she spoke again her voice felt like ice on Doflamingo's ears.

"Do you really not see it?"

He raised a brow at her.

"See what?"

"He's the same as us. It's the same story. The world decided to take everything away from him, just like it did to us. And just like me, he was saved by you."

She supported her last statement by pointing at Doflamingo.

"It's almost as if fate wanted us to find him."

Doflamingo suddenly burst out laughing.

It took him several moments to calm down again.

"Mind telling me what's so goddamn funny?", Cora bit out.

"Fufufufufu... Cora... he's not the same as _me_!"

"Why not?!"

Doflamingo stepped back from the wall and walked away from her in slow steps.

"Because he's _weak_. If we hadn't saved him, he would have died. Nobody ever had to _save_ me.", he explained calmly.

Just before he moved around a corner Cora said:

"I believe he will surprise you."

Doflamingo just laughed again and continued to walk away.

Law lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling. The tall captain's loud words and laugh had awoken him from his sleep and he had listened to everything the man had just said about him.

_He thinks I'm weak... _

The statement angered him more than he had expected since he knew that Doflamingo was right about his inability to save himself. He couldn't do anything when the robbers had kicked in the door of his home. His mother had told him to hide in closet before that which was the reason why the bandits didn't search for him. He remembered sitting in the darkness and hearing his parents talk to the intruders.

_Take all you want! We have plenty! Just take what you want and leave!_

With a chill running up his spine, Law remembered the bandits' laugh and low voices.

_We're not here to steal anything._

The next thing he heard were a couple of loud shots and his mother's screams which died down quickly after another loud bang rang through the house.

Law buried his face in his hands and tried not to weep at the memory.

_I want you to turn that sadness into strength._

Suddenly Doflamingo's words returned to his mind. Law bit his bottom lip and clenched his hair roughly between his fingers.

"I will not be a nuisance to Cora-san...", he whispered to himself, "I will become strong..."

A single tear ran down his cheek as he made that promise to himself.

Cora heard the boy's whispers from the opposite side of his door and refrained from entering again.

She smiled to herself and sighed in relief.

_Yes... he will definitely surprise you..._

Within the next days and nights, Trafalgar Law discovered that the doctor had stored a box filled with medical books beneath his bed. At first Law was hesitant to lay hand on someone else's property but as he asked Cora about it, she assured him that it would be alright if he asked for the doctor's permission. The old man didn't really care about the old books anymore since he now used newer copies but was slightly confused at Law's request.

"Why do you want to read them? Those contain some quite disturbing images for a kid like you."

"I'm interested in human anatomy.", Law replied simply.

The doctor's eyes widened at that but he didn't have the time or patience to argue with the boy.

"Do as you like kid. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Law smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Thank you, Doctor!"

He ran back to his room and was about to burst through the door when he was suddenly lifted of his feet. A large hand was holding him by his collar and Law was about to protest when he recognised his captain's face.

"Woah, woah! What's with the hurry kid?"

The man grinned at him but he knitted his brows at the same time.

"I... uh... I wanted to go read something... Captain.", Law replied shyly.

Doflamingo snickered and lifted Law's head by placing a finger beneath his chin.

"Hmm... how about you help cleaning the kitchen first?"

It wasn't easy but Law managed to hide most of his disappointment and just nodded. Doflamingo noticed the little pout on his lips anyway but chose to ignore it.

He sat the boy down on the ground again and patted his head.

"Fufufufufu, that's a good boy..."

As soon as his captain was out of sight, Law sighed and stuck out his tongue. He grumbled to himself and made his way towards the kitchen.

After they were finally finished, Law felt like he could collapse right there on the freshly cleaned, shiny floor. He slurped back to his room with the last of his strength and fell down on the bed.

"_Damn Flamingo..._", he muttered to himself and released a grunt of frustration.

Law raised from the mattress and sat down on the floor before the box of books.

He rubbed his eyes and yawned several times but forced himself to stay awake until he had finished the first chapter of the first book.

One morning within the same week, Cora knocked on Law's door and entered the room slowly.

"Law? Are you-..."

Her eyes grew wide at the scene before her.

Law had fallen asleep on a pile of open books and notes about medical studies. She sat down beside him and shook his shoulder gently.

"Law... Law, wake up."

"Hmm...?"

The boy blinked and slowly turned his head to look at her with dozy eyes.

"Cora-san...?"

Cora gave him a warm smile and brushed Law's messy hair out of his face.

"Have been reading all night again?", she asked softly.

Law yawned and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah... there's so much that I... want to know..."

Cora chuckled.

"Well, you know that you got time right? You don't to rush yourself."

Suddenly, Law's expression turned serious and he seemed wide awake.

"No! The faster I learn, the faster I will be able to help in the doctor's room!"

Cora looked at him in surprise but couldn't keep a smile from raising her lips.

Law's eager visage looked really adorable.

"Alright. But promise me to get some sleep once in a while. You're getting dark circles around your eyes."

Law subconsciously touched the skin beneath his lashes.

He heard Cora chuckle as she stood up and made her way to the door.

"I'm getting breakfast. You want some too?"

Law's eyes glowed in anticipation and he hurried to get on his feet.

Cora took his hand in her own as they walked along together.


	4. Flame

Chapter 4 - Flame

Doflamingo was lying on his stomach with his feet hanging over the edge of his bed when a clicking noise ripped him from his dreams. He blinked a few times and frowned deeply as he realised it that the sun hadn't even come out yet.

"Hmmggrrff..."

The clicking sound came from a carrier sea gull picking against his window.

He extended one of his long arms and reached for his glasses which were lying on a counter next to his bed. Grumbling in annoyance of having been woken up too early, Doflamingo made his way to the window and took the letter that was tied around the sea gull's neck.

"The hell is this...", he mumbled while reading the letter.

_Donquixote Doflamingo,_

_I don't expect you to have heard of me but it appears that you are the one responsible for the slaughtering of an entire unit of my subordinates at the island of Anawak. _

_Whatever your reasons might have been, I can't let your actions be without consequences._

_I grant you three days to deliver __10 billion Beli as a peace-offering to the harbour of Noainu which is the nearest island to your current location. I demand you to hand over the money to me alone at exactly 3 pm._

_If you choose to refuse this deal, I will have no other choice but to destroy your ship and kill you and your crew._

_Yours faithfully,_

_Liam G.W. Unatok_

The color of Doflamingo's face turned a shade of red that made his head look like a tomato.

His hands trembled slightly as he sat down on his bed and read the threatening piece of paper once again. Anger soon made let his blood boil and he clenched his fist with enough force to pierce the skin with his nails.

The sun was rising by now and turned the morning sky in a fiery red light that suited the seething rage of the Donquixote Pirates' captain.

With on swift move, Doflamingo jumped of his bed and stalked out of his room.

A ray of light fell on Cora's face and woke her from a pleasant dream that had involved a birthday cake with strawberries and a dancer in light clothing.

Her heart almost jumped out of her chest when the door to her cabin was jammed open.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS SHIT!"

Cora screamed and lifted her blanket before her chest in panic. Doflamingo had burst into her room with a face glowing like a beacon and was now running in circles before her bed.

Cora covered her eyes with one hand in embarrassment. Doflamingo always slept in nothing but a pair of boxers and apparently had not taken the time to get dressed yet.

Cora sighed heavily and phrased her question as carefully as possible.

"Dofy... uhm... what are you doing?"

"THIS HAS TO BE A FUCKING JOKE! SOME NOBODY PUNKASS SHITHEAD DARING TO THREATEN ME LIKE A BITCH! DO I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING BITCH?!" Doflamingo growled and made some obscene gestures as he continued to pound through her room.

As his temper didn't seem to regulate itself any time soon, Cora decided to take action.

She hesitantly raised from the bed and stepped in Doflamingo's way as he was in for another round across her floor.

He stopped frantically and gave her an impatient look when Cora raised a hand before his chest.

"What are you..."

She interrupted his question by taking his fist into her hand and unclenched his fingers with her own. With that a coiled up piece of paper was freed from Doflamingo's grip. Cora took the paper ball which used to be a letter and unknotted it carefully.

Doflamingo was still panting but had calmed down enough to stop running around the room. Instead he watched as Cora read the letter with narrowed eyes.

He noticed that her red hair was a total mess with random strands pointing in all the wrong directions and it actually served to bring a smile to his face.

She was wearing a flimsy black shirt and wide pyama pants instead of her usual uniform. Coming to think of it, Doflamingo realised that he had never seen Cora that disheveled before and he decided that he liked that look on her.

"This sure is surprising. Do you think this guy poses a real threat?"

"What?"

Cora noticed surprised that Doflamingo had totally spaced out for a moment. It sure was way too early for all of this...

"The _punkass shithead_ who send you this letter, remember?"

She waved the paper before his face and frowned at him.

Back in reality, Doflamingo snatched the letter from her hand and huffed.

"A real threat, yeah sure... this is a bad joke nothing else.", he grumbled.

"But he seems to have quite a bit of information about our whereabouts. The guy I encountered at Law's home wore a strange symbol on his back too. Maybe those men were more than simple bandits after all."

Doflamingo looked at her with a thoughtful expression. Suddenly, a menacing smile appeared on his lips. Cora already knew she wouldn't like what was coming next.

"Either way it doesn't make much of a difference... Anyone daring to blackmail me like this will only end up shortening their own life expectancy..."

Troubled magenta eyes met a pair of vicious shaded ones.

"I will do some research on this, promise me you won't do anything rushed.", Cora said in a low voice.

Doflamingo's smile wavered for a second but he suddenly seemed to have regained his cool.

"Do what you're best at. I will talk with the others about this in the meantime."

Cora nodded in agreement but then scratched her head uneasily.

"Maybe you should put on some pants first..."

Doflamingo's smile dropped for a moment but the next second he burst out laughing.

"Haha yeah, I guess that's a good idea."

Cora shook her head at how shameless on human being could possibly be and tried not to watch as Doflamingo turned around and left her room.

The ship's doctor was busy with relabeling some medicine bottles as he noticed a tuft of black hair across the other side of his desk. He sighed and set his pen aside.

"What is it this time, Law?", he asked rather impatiently.

A pair of shy grey eyes peeked over the edge of the table.

"Hello Mister Doctor, may I ask you a quick question?"

The request seemed carefully prepared.

"Yes?"

An eager look appeared on the kid's face as he moved his head higher.

"If a patient is a devil fruit user, they have a weakness against everything sea water related, right?"

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise. Law had been studying his old medicine books and came by once or twice a day to ask him about medical knowledge but this question seemed to move towards a different direction than usual.

"Yes that is the case... why do you ask?"

"I read a chapter about allergies last night and that in some cases, it seems possible for a patient to develop a resistence against the agent causing the allergic reaction by injecting small amounts of the allergen into the patient's body. So I was thinking that maybe if devil fruit users are weak to sea water, injecting small amounts of it into their bodies might help them to overcome their sensitivity?"

The doctor was now gaping at Law like he had grown a second head.

Law waited for him to answer with an excited expression.

"This... uuuhh... you know, no one knows how the devil fruit powers work exactly... I don't think there's an answer to your question...", the man babbled while staring at the kid before his desk.

Law seemed to think about the doctor's words for a moment before his face lit up again.

"Maybe we could test that theory!", he exclaimed happily.

The doctor now shook his head in disbelief.

"Law no... we don't have time for this, stop coming up with these wild theories and get back to work okay?"

"But...!"

"You don't want to make the captain angry right? Go back to work."

"But he's got a devil fruit power too doesn't he? By the way which one is it? He would be interested in getting stronger right?"

"NO LAW STOP! It's none of your concern! You're just a brat! You should be grateful the captain lets you stay on this ship at all, don't push your luck kid!", the doctor yelled angrily.

Planning some kind of scientific experiment with Doflamingo was a very suicidal idea.

Law stepped back quickly at the man's sudden outburst and turned his face to the ground in disappointment. His mouth turned into a thin line and he felt the painful stitch of tears in his eyes.

Law hated that everyone on this ship was treating him like a good-for-nothing idiot and it made him clench his hands into fists as stormed out of the doctor's room.

On his way down to the ship's belly he retrieved the scalpel he had stolen from the doctor's desk and rubbed the wetness from his eyes. The ship's belly was a very cold and damp place and inherited some small green stowaways that lived in the dark corners between the ship's cargo containers. Vergo, Doflamingo's boatsman and trusted crew member had forbidden him to come down here but Law always managed to sneak in and out without being seen.

Law crawled behind one of the containers and immediately found what he was looking for. A small green frog was sitting a few steps away from him without any concerns on its mind. A smirk appeared in Law's lips as he slowly moved towards his target.

Cora was skimming through the latest morning papers as she researched information about their new enemy in the ship's library. Her heart-shaped lips curled up into a smile when she found the article she had been looking for. She remembered the cover page which showed a photograph of the marines arresting a group of people who had tried to kidnap one of their soldiers.

Cora reread the article. The men in the photograph all wore black jackets with a distinct red symbol on their backs and now she recognised what it was.

"Holy crab!", Cora exclaimed as she ran out of the library.


End file.
