I drew two more of my OCs in Head Towards the Sun (My Broken Corazón)
They're hunters: sailors who hunt and kill Sea Kings for a living. Occasionally they trade with pirates, criminals, and civilians. Got to have someone worth trading, though!
Monkey D. Goi is the favorite uncle who brings back cool shit for his nephew. He couldn't care less if his nephew became a revolutionary or that his grandnephew wants to be King of the Pirates, but he does wish his brother would stop sending him letters about every other week.
He taught Rosinante and Hotaru hand-to-hand combat and also banned Hotaru from the kitchens after she nearly burned them down trying to boil some water for tea.
Alexia is shorter than her captain by 3 feet, but hardly anyone reaches Gois' height of 9 feet aboard the Intrepidus. She's skilled with nearly every weapon she has come across, but now and again she'd rather make love than war.
She taught Rosinante and Hotaru the basics in their chosen weapons, and also gave them 'The Talk' since no one had done so before.
For those curious, Alexia's tattoo says "la vie est belle" which is French for "life is beautiful"
An island located in the North Blue was in sight, and Rosinante felt both elated and nauseous all at once. This was different from Fishman Island. This wasn’t going to be a haven from Mariejoi and the Celestial Dragons who lived there; this was above sea level, and anyone could just as easily turn them over to the government should they be recognized. But this was also the North Blue, the last place he knew his brother to be. It was a big world, but at least he had something to go off of rather than nothing at all.
“Hey,” a voice spoke up, and Rosinante turned to see Hotaru. She wore a smile as she said, “We're nearly there. Closer than ever. Once you remember it all, we'll set out to find him, but until then, let's figure ourselves out. Yeah?”
It sounded so easy when she said it. Just remember Doffy's face, and then we can look for him. Learn how to be human so he never has to know they were struggling to say ‘no’ to others and do whatever their heart desires without fear of persecution. He needed to learn how to wake up in the morning without immediately silencing his voice box. The things that people do naturally daily, they now have to teach themselves.
How pathetic would he seem to his brother should he discover Rosi had to relearn how to be human?
Hotaru knocked her knuckles against his temple, pulling him from his thoughts. “Get out of there,” she said. “You're polluting the air with your negative thinking, and I won't stand for it.”
With a frown, he turned to the teen. One of her brows was raised, making her left eye appear even smaller than usual. Her face was so out of proportion that it looked unnatural, and he couldn't help but smile as he pulled her into a hug. He loved this kid. With his finger, he wrote ‘I am happy you are with me’ on her arm.
“Me too, Rosi.”
The port town they docked at wasn't much to look at. Near the docks, stalls lined up along the waterway, selling various seafood, seaweeds, and algae. There was even a stall set up run by kids selling what looked like handmade jewelry made from shells, minerals, and even beads. A little further inland, there were stalls selling fabrics, cosmetics, and health products; a few even sold food and drink. It was cute, even with factories further down the water's edge that were surrounded by mounds of rubbish. It provided a gritty view with a hint of smog that contrasted with the town's color and personality, and it was nothing at all like Mariejois.
Rosi loved this place already.
“Alright, you two,” Goi called out as he walked down the gangplank. “Alexia will show you two around the town. Help you get rooms at the local inn, see if anyone is hiring, and find all that fun stuff you need to live.” A step behind him was Alexia, a brawny woman with warm brown skin and a resting bitch face. While Goi carried no weapons and preferred to fight with haik-coated fists, Alexia had multiple knives and firearms hidden under her coat and within her boots. The woman was a walking arsenal, and there wasn't a weapon in the world that she wasn't proficient at.
“In the meantime,” Goi continued, looking to his second in command. “I'll talk with an old client and see if he wants to trade something for that devil fruit we found a while back.” Alexia nodded, and soon Rosinante and Hotaru followed her further into town while Goi headed in the opposite direction towards the factories.
As they walked, they checked out the different stalls that sold seafood and a few that sold fruits and vegetables from local farms. Alexia explained to them the places and people to buy the best produce, both in quality and price. Rosi couldn't help but stop by the stall run by three kids: a girl with a large smile and a yellow ribbon tied in a bow in her hair, and two boys who looked like they would rather be anywhere else. She told him that she made everything herself, from the bracelets to anklets, necklaces to pendants, and even a few earrings.
“They're all so pretty,” Hotaru said from beside him, looking at a bracelet with multiple colored beads and a pearl in the center. Rosi nodded as he caught sight of a pendant that felt oddly familiar. Picking it up, he ran his thumb over the stone. It was reddish-brown with hints of golden brown striped through. It was beautiful, and it reminded him of–
“Why do you wear such dark glasses when your eyes are so pretty, Aniki?”
“Fufufu, you think they're pretty, mi corazón?”
“The prettiest!”
“Well, how about this: when it's just us, I won't wear them. That way, you can see them all you want.”
It reminded him of Doffy.
He looked up at the girl and tapped the pendant, wanting to know how much it was. She looked at the stone and said, “That's a Tiger's Eye. Senor Pink says it is a protective stone that brings good fortune to the one who wears it!” Rosi blinked. Señor what?
Hotaru laughed, “I think he wanted to know how much it was,” she told the girl. “Though knowing it brings good fortune is nice to know, eh?” The teen pushed him lightly with her elbow, and he smiled at her in turn. If that were true, maybe he would remember what Doffy looked like if he wore it all the time. Looking back at the pendant, knowing that his brother's eyes looked like this stone, he felt it might just be possible.
“Oh,” the little girl said, her cheeks turning pink as she told him the price, as well as the bracelet's price, when Hotaru asked how much it was. As he got out the necessary money, she asked, “Can you not speak?” That was a question he wasn't sure how to answer. He thinks he can, but he's just never been able to get past the fear and anxiety of voicing anything since he was forced to eat a devil fruit.
“No,” Hotaru answered for him. “He hasn't made a sound for many years. I think a friend of ours called it a trauma response.”
One of the boys sitting nearby, one with white, patched skin and a spotted furry bucket hat, looked over at them, his gold eyes widening when he got a good look at them. Rosi smiled nervously, hoping it was because they looked odd rather than having been recognized. When he handed the little girl the money, he put the pendant around his neck and hid it under his sweater so it touched his skin. If it did bring good fortune, then surely the boy wouldn't say anything about them to anyone.
Shortly afterward, Alexia led them away, saying they needed to find an inn so they would have somewhere to sleep that night.
They were led a few streets over to an inn called The Cackling Crow, where the lady at the front desk recognized Alexia immediately. Rosinante and Hotaru left the two to catch up while they put their luggage away. Which, admittedly, wasn't much. Rosi had four pairs of the same two-tone color block jeans, five turtleneck sweaters with a heart in the middle in different colors, and three pairs of undergarments, all of which fit in a single duffel bag. Hotaru was much the same; she had six wrap-around dresses in three different colors and five pairs of socks. Those also fit inside a single duffel bag.
They each had their hairbrushes, toothbrushes, and other personal bathroom essentials. Sarkani had wanted them to keep themselves clean and educated them both in self-care now that they were free.
Once everything was put away, Rosi led Hotaru back down to the lobby, where Alexia was still waiting at the desk with the receptionist.
“Zenrin and I would love to have you over again while you're here,” the receptionist said with a smile. Alexia smiled back at her, pushing off the counter she had been leaning against. “If I'm free tonight, I'll stop by,” she told the woman before leaving with Rosi and Hotaru. Once they were outside and walked further away from the Inn, Hotaru asked, “How do you know the lady?”
“I've slept with her and Zenrin a few times when we docked here.”
Rosinante's eyebrows raised while Hotaru's furrowed. In all honesty, he had never thought about anyone's personal life, but he was getting better at hearing others talk about their sex lives after being on the Intrepidus for nearly a month. To hear someone say they have been with two people at the same time was a concept he had never known existed.
“Why would you sleep at their house when you have a bed on the ship?”
What?
Rosinante and Alexia looked at Hotaru's confused face for a while before Alexia asked, “No one has given you The Talk, have they?” When the teen continued to look confused, the woman sighed and looked at Rosi. He shrugged since he didn't know what that meant. “Right,” she said. “Can't say I'm surprised, all things considered.
“When I said I slept with them before, I meant I've had sex with them.” Hotaru's eyes widened, and her cheeks darkened significantly. “People have different ways of calling it; sleeping together, the horizontal tango, making love, the beast with two backs, banging. The cap calls it hanky-panky since he's an old fart.” Rosinante tripped over a rock at all the unique names, but luckily, Alexia was used to him stumbling, so she caught him before he ate dirt.
“There are a lot of ways to have sex,” she continued once he was back on his feet, and as they continued to explore the port town, Rosi and Hotaru learned that there were, in fact, many ways people can have sex with each other. Not just men with women, but women with women and men with men, or multiple people, which she explained in great detail, as that was what she preferred. With him shifting focus to learn more of what she had to say, he tripped and stumbled more often than he would if he just focused on walking. As uncomfortable as The Talk made him, especially when people on the street looked at them funny, it was leagues better compared to how he learned about sex at 15 and held much more variety.
At least Hotaru was spared that.
Monkey D. Goi was perhaps the only ‘D’ Doflamingo was willing to work with. Nothing like his marine brother and yet somehow exactly like him. Whereas Garp was the Hero of the Marines whose insubordination was often overlooked, Goi was the man criminals went to for information and valuable treasure. He followed the rules on the surface, but underneath it all, he broke as many laws as the pirates that haunted the seas. He made deals with all sorts, including pirates and wanted criminals. He never ‘bought’ anything, as trade was his preferred method; trading passage for labor, information for treasure, and vice versa. Today, the man wanted to trade a devil fruit for information.
Information, seemingly, about Doflamingo himself.
“Nothing big,” the man said, leaning so far back in the chair he sat on that two of its legs were no longer touching the ground. “I just want to know if I owe my crew money or not.”
Doffy raised a brow as his mouth curved into a smile. “You often make bets with your crew about people you've had dealings with, or is it just me?” While it was strange to hear, it wasn't all that surprising; Goi was a strange man who did stranger things after all. He was curious as to what the man wanted to know and what his crew had bet on.
“Nah, this is a special occasion,” he said. From how relaxed the man seemed, he wasn't lying. “So, is the fruit something you're interested in, or is there something else you want?”
Doflamingo looked back at the photograph Goi had given him earlier. The fruit itself was oddly colored and decorated with swirling designs, as nearly all devil fruits were. From his studies, he found that devil fruits were often based on ordinary fruits or even vegetables found in day-to-day life, sometimes even specific ones if their qualities were similar. This one was based on the Samara fruit, more specifically, the Maple Samara Fruit. Upon closer inspection, the picture reveals it's significantly bigger than the usual 2-inch spinning seeds that fall from maple trees. Becoming a devil fruit must have mutated it.
From that alone, it must relate to a devil fruit that has something to do with spinning.
Pulling out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia that he kept in one of his desk drawers, he compared the picture to the ones listed. The angle was different, but it appeared to be a picture of the Spin-Spin fruit, something Buffalo had shown interest in, as it gave the user the ability to fly without making them an animal.
“It is,” he answered, putting the book away before looking back at Goi. “But, depending on what you want to know, it will determine whether it's of equal value or not.”
The man shrugged as he nodded. “Fair enough.” He leaned forward, the chair making a loud thump as all four legs were returned to their rightful position on the floor. As he began digging in his pockets, he continued. “Probably should give a little context so you're not lost. On Fishman Island, we picked up two people who wanted to go to the North Blue: a man and a teenage girl who is either his daughter or sister. We aren't sure of their relationship and, by the ship's rules, no one ever asked.”
Goi pulled what looked like another photo, but this one was crinkled, whereas the one of the devil fruit had been smooth. “He can't speak, but the girl can. He plans to find his brother, whom he has been separated from for the last 15 years. It must be around 16 years now, as I think about it. When we landed in Spider Miles, I had Alexia check them into The Cackling Crow and show them around town while I came to talk to you.” Doffy watched the man stare at the photo in his hand for a moment longer before he looked back up at him. There was a furrow in Goi's brows as his eyes flickered over his face.
“A few bet that the brother is dead or would never be found. I was one of them. Now that I'm here, I'm beginning to think I might be wrong.”
The photo was set on his desk and pushed towards him. It was a picture of a man sitting in front of a mirror putting on makeup. “The girl said his name is Rosinante, but she calls him Rosi,” Goi said. “You by chance got a missing brother with that name?”
With his heart in his throat, Doflamingo picked up the photo, inspecting it further. The man sat before a small vanity, his golden hair shaggy with crooked bangs cut too short. The lipstick he wore was a near-perfect match to his eyes —a carmine red. There were scars on his face, hands, and neck. He was smiling at the mirror, but his eyes, as reflected, seemed to be looking at the person behind the camera rather than himself. The smile was achingly familiar.
He looked at the man's hands. There were scars along each finger, two of which were slightly crooked. He remembers a crack in a blood-stained door. He sees a multitude of scars on the man's face and neck, some small, some hard to miss. There had been blood all over the floor back then. Are all of those scars from that night or somewhere else? He looked like he had been through hell. What have they done to you? Yet the man still smiled. Same as Rosi had every time Doffy patched him up after a run-in with angry civilians. Always smiling because he was alive, and Doffy was right there with him.
His heart aches the longer he looks at the photo, but he can't bring himself to look away.
As calmly as he can, he asks Goi where Alexia might have taken him.
“By now? Possibly the Crystal Cavern to get something to eat.”
The man said more, but he was no longer listening. He was up and out of his office, weaving through the base at a quicker speed than normal. Someone called his name, but he ignored them. His baby brother was alive and so close. He needed to find him, touch him, hold him, so he knew he was real and not some dream.
Everything else could wait.
According to Alexia, the Crystal Cavern was a place for food and entertainment, and where lonely people sought out company and pleasure. A stage was set up across the entrance, where a woman danced and another played the lute. Booths were set along the right-hand side, a bar to the left that wrapped around a corner where the entrance to the kitchen was, and tables were spread out between them. Not far from the kitchen entrance were two sets of stairs; one leading up and another down. Alexia told them that downstairs was storage and a hidden room where shady deals were made, while upstairs were bedrooms people rented for an hour or two, a balcony to see the stage, and an official meeting room where normal business dealings were conducted.
It explained why there were men in suits heading upstairs and provocatively dressed people flirting with patrons or carrying trays laden with food and drinks.
“I don't think I've ever seen a woman with so much skin showing before,” Hotaru said faintly, her entire face red as she watched someone with long dark hair wearing a dress that was more string than fabric. Alexia smirked and leaned towards the teen. “That ain't a woman, sweetheart.”
Suddenly, Hotaru's neck and chest were as red as her face as she crooked out an “Oh.” She never stopped staring, even when Alexia led her to a booth and someone walked over to take their order. Rosi couldn't help but laugh, though no sound was heard.
Alexia smirked at Hotaru before looking at Rosinante. “I know you two haven't found anything job-related yet, but you think you'll be alright here?”
Spider Miles, as he learned the town was called, was full of life. There had been mention of pirates who lived and worked at the factories, but everyone said that as long as they didn't interfere with the pirates or make fun of them, they would be left alone. Hotaru was surprised that the town wasn't ruled under an iron fist, and when she said as much, the people shrugged. “Their captain has said he has no use for us other than land for his factories. We don't mess with him; he won't mess with us. The smog is just a small price to pay, all things considered.”
Hotaru had been so confused, not used to pirates leaving people alone.
“Pirates sold me,” she said quietly when Alexia asked. “When I was small, my father went against the Shogun, who was allied with pirates. As punishment, he had me taken from my home and given to the pirates, saying to do whatever they wanted with me. Their captain said I was too small for anything and had his men sell me at an auction house.” Rosi wrapped an arm around her as they walked, holding her close. “The Shogun had said he didn't care what they did, so long as they told him about it,” she said so softly it was barely heard by the two she walked with.
“I think my parents know what happened to me, and I hate that.”
Rosi couldn't say the same. He's not entirely sure how he wound up in his situation. Maybe it was the people of Downs who saw Doffy hide him away, or visitors who heard him in the barn and thought there might be someone worth something inside. He knows that it would never cross Doffy's mind that he had been sold into slavery, but he might think Downs hurt him. Or maybe believes he died. How does one explain that they weren't dead for so many years, but somewhere out of reach, without saying they were a slave?
However, aside from learning that the residential pirates would leave them be, they found that work might be hard to come by. Factories run by pirates who only hired their own, shops run by families, and hired the occasional friend or two. Sailors who didn't need anyone, farmers who already had farmhands and didn't have the money or room for another. Finding work would take a while, but Rosi had faith it would all work out.
He nodded to Alexia's question with a smile.
Upon the stage, the two women finished up their song and dance, bowing at the applause before leaving the stage. No one else went next, so all that was heard was the murmured conversations being had all around the room. Their waitress brought them their ordered food and drinks, and once Hotaru was forced to look away from the person in a string dress, they began to eat.
That's when the front entrance was pushed open with a little too much force, causing most of the patrons to look over in interest while Rosi and Hotaru froze and held their breath. With their backs to the entrance, they didn't know who entered, having found more entertaining things to look at inside rather than the people coming and going. Most of the people they could see shrugged off the dramatic entrance and returned to their previous conversations and meals.
Alexia paid them no mind, used to their jumpy nature and fearful responses to loud noises, and raised an eyebrow at the person who entered. “Interesting seeing you here, Donquixote,” she said, and Rosi looked at her so quickly his neck ached. She wasn't looking at him. “I thought Goi was supposed to be talking to you about that devil fruit,” she added with a wave of her hand.
Someone was heading towards their table; their shoes tapped on the wooden flooring, and the closer the person came, the more Rosi felt a subtle change in air pressure. The person was dangerous, but oddly, the heavy atmosphere felt comforting, as though it were hugging him instead of threatening him. When the person stopped beside their booth, he realized the presence was familiar, achingly so. It reminded him of–
“I'm going to survive no matter what you do to me, and I'll be back to kill every last one of you!!”
“Rosi?” That voice was new and spoken in a low tone that sounded so nice. “That's you, isn't it?”
Rosi looked away from Alexia, who looked between him and the new person, and up towards the voice. The man was tall, taller than himself, and blonde with shades that, while not black, were so strongly colored you couldn't see his eyes. Rosi only knew two people who wore shades like that. One was a child back at Mariejois, and the other was his–
“Aniki,” he said, though no sound left him.
Doflamingo's face softened, but he also looked sad. Rosi's vision blurred, and he tried smiling, but he wasn't so sure it worked. From his peripheral vision, Alexia looked shocked and a little distressed, and Doffy frowned slightly, reaching out his hand and wiping away the tears that fell. “Don't cry, mi corazón.”
That just made him cry harder.
Hotaru watched the new man, Donquixote, with worry and a bit of suspicion. Alexia said this man was a pirate and often made deals with Goi. Sure, he was Rosi's brother, and that's nice, but a pirate was still a pirate. So what if he looked at Rosi like he was some rare and delicate flower, or smiled at his brother like he was the man's entire world? He was still a pirate! The pirates she'd seen and met were never nice or kind or cared about anything other than money and power. Hell, that one pirate captain had been mean and cruel to his child, and that had been his flesh and blood!
So this brother, who made Rosi smile like the sun, couldn't be trusted. A pirate is a pirate is a pirate. She'll play nice, follow Rosi wherever he goes, and be there should this brother ever falter. Hotaru has done it before, and she'll do it again. With Sarkani gone, someone has to look after the clumsy man.
“Well, with that out of the way, where did you leave the cap?” Alexia asked from beside Hotaru. The woman had gotten up so Rosi and Donquixote could sit together and was now seated beside her. As much as she liked the woman, she wished she hadn't moved. Rosi could have stayed, and she would have scooted over to make room, even if it meant she was squished into a wall; at least she would be beside Rosi. They had been separated before, after being set free, but it felt different this time. It felt more like when they were separated by one of the Celestial Dragons back in Mariejois.
It had to be because the man was a pirate.
“He's still back at the base,” the man said, looking away from Rosi, finally, and towards the woman beside Hotaru. “I left before giving him a solid answer, so I'm sure he's still there.” He turned away to look back at Rosi (Oh, come on! That was barely five seconds!), and said, “Let me take you there, introduce you to the others while Lexi retrieves her captain.”
Rosi was nodding before Hotaru could even think of protesting and bit her tongue to keep any noises to herself. He looked so happy, and she didn't want to ruin that. Sure, Rosinante was a happy person by nature, but he's only ever smiled like that at Aureliano. It nearly killed Rosi when she separated him from the boy, and it broke something in him when they were forced to leave Mariejois without him. She can't be the one who takes that smile away. Even if that means they become pirates.
She couldn't help the groan that left her as she sank into her seat. “We're gonna become pirates, aren't we?”
Donquixote looked at her with a smile that spelled danger. “Something wrong with pirates?”
She waved him off; the bite in his tone must have been from offense since he didn't know her at all. “It's nothing against you and your crew, promise. I've only ever had bad experiences with pirates, so the idea of becoming one is…” She shrugged as a way of explanation. She was not going into that conversation with a stranger. But he is Rosinante's family, so she held out a hand towards the man with a dangerous smile, praying to Nika he didn't bite as she said, “I'm Hotaru, by the way. Don't believe I've said that yet.”
His smile grew as he took her hand. “Donquixote Doflamingo,” he says. He squeezes her hand, so she squeezes back. That seemed to delight him, and he released her hand. “How long have you known my brother?” he asked as he stood, holding a hand out for Rosi to help him up. Alexia stood and took out some money, setting it on the table. Hotaru picked up her sandwich and Rosinante's strangely wrapped sandwich. Why was it wrapped all the way around? Weird.
“Since I was a child,” she said, handing Rosi his weird sandwich before making sure her sword was still within the ribbons that held her dress together. “I think it was about 11 years ago?” she asked, looking at Rosi, who was nodding along slowly. He must not remember it well either. It was shortly after she had been branded, and that time for her was mostly a blur, especially the first few months when she had to learn how to be a living doll.
“I don't remember it all too well, honestly. I had just escaped those pirates I mentioned earlier, and was hurt pretty badly. Rosi nursed me back to health, and I kinda just stuck with him since.”
Rosinante put a hand on her head and smiled as he ruffled her hair. She batted his hand away and ran a hand over her hair, hoping he didn't mess up her ponytail. Doflamingo watched them curiously. She wondered what he was thinking as they left the tavern and began to head towards the factories. Rosi didn't seem to notice anything, happily eating as they walked, even if he stumbled now and again.
Hotaru glanced at Doflamingo again. He wasn't smiling, and as uncomfortable as his smiles had been, this was even more so. So, she approached this the way she would Rosi and hoped it would work. She lightly elbowed him, and he looked at her so quickly that she feared a little for her life. She tried smiling as she told him, “He's like a brother I never had. Always looking out for me. I have you to thank for that, I suppose. He learned from the best, yeah?”
The man's smile returned, though this time it seemed less dangerous. More mischievous. It didn't make her uncomfortable like the other ones, and it certainly wasn't the smile he gave Rosi, but she supposed it was better. “That makes us Family,” he said, resting his arm on her head like she was some kind of mobile armrest. It was heavy, and she had a feeling he was leaning into it. “So, how old is this new little sister my brother picked up?”
She lightly glared at him as she said, “I turned 15 a few months ago.” She took a bite of her sandwich as she walked. She had a feeling that trying to bat his arm away would get her nowhere, so she accepted her fate and ate her sandwich. On Doflamingo's other side, Rosi watched them with a smile.
At least he was happy she had become Doflamingo's armrest. If Rosi uses her as an armrest in the future, though, she's taking his ridiculous pink hat and hiding it somewhere.
When Law arrived back at the hideout with the other kids, what he found was both familiar and unfamiliar. The executives were threatening someone; nothing new there, it happened often enough. What was new was the man's attitude. He was, what his father had called ‘cool as a cucumber’; leaning back in his chair, two of its legs raised off the ground as he tempted gravity. Arms behind his head as he looked towards the ceiling, exposing his jugular to the sword pointed right at it. “Keep your panties on, he'll be back,” he said. Then he raised an eyebrow at the three men before him, a slight smile on his face as he added, “Unless you think Donquixote is too weak to handle himself?”
A smile spread on Law's face before he could prevent it, and he pulled on his hat to try to hide it. The old man was pretty cool, even if he was someone who liked to tempt the laws of nature.
It was even funnier because Doflamingo had heard him.
“Surely you don't think so low of me, Diamante?” the captain called out, three people following just behind him, all of whom were familiar. “You wound me.”
While Diamante rushed to reassure him, Law stared at the former slaves and their travel companion, all of whom he had seen earlier today. Baby 5 recognized them, too, and happily called out to them cheerfully, rushing over despite the looks the Family was sending her way. “Hi again! Did the necklace bring you good fortune? Are you here to join the Family?”
The man smiled at her and nodded while the teenager answered. “Yep. That necklace of yours helped Rosi find his brother. Pretty cool, huh?”
Baby 5 went a little dreamy-eyed, and Law watched them as she asked them if she had been useful. They didn't show any surprise at her question, but their eyes showed a kind of understanding. The man, Rosi, knelt down to her with a nod, holding out his hand. Baby 5 gave him her hand, and Law watched as he wrote on her arm with his finger. When he finished, he let her go, and she stared at her arm a moment before a large smile spread across her face. With her hands on her face, she gushed over how useful she had been.
“Hotaru is correct,” Doflamingo said, and everyone turned to look at him. “Whatever necklace you made helped me find my little brother today, Baby 5. Thank you.”
Law hoped she didn't have vasovagal syncope and faint from how red her face was because he did not want to have to deal with that and everything it entailed.
While Baby 5 danced around, happy she was helpful to so many people, Law turned to the ‘cool as a cucumber’ man when he began speaking again. “So, he was your brother?” He sounded curious but looked upset. Doflamingo smiled at him, “Looks like you owe your men money, Goi.”
“Ah, wouldn't be the first,” he said with resignation. “About that fruit…”
“We have a deal,” Doflamingo said. “Same time, same place.”
The man, Goi, nodded and let his chair rest on the floor properly before standing. “Alrighty. Guess I'll see you then.” When the man left, the shorter woman followed him out. She must be one of his people.
Afterward, Doflamingo properly introduced his brother, Rosinante, and the teen, Hotaru. Rosinante was his blood brother, and Hotaru was the girl his brother had taken in as his little sister. He hadn't seen his brother in 16 years, and he was happy to have him back at his side; so delighted in fact, that he said his brother and his brother's new little sister were joining the Family and were not to be harmed. The ‘Blood Law’, he called it. Nothing was said about where he had been. Doflamingo looked far too pleased to be someone in the know about where his brother had been for the last 16 years.
16 years…
Senior Pink said that Celestial Dragons picked people off the street to make into slaves, and while he wasn't sure what that entailed, he knew it was bad enough that his father refused to let anyone leave the house when one visited Flevance. Reflecting on the man's reaction when Law recognized him and Hotaru, and how quickly they walked away, he's certain they want to keep their past a secret, even from Doflamingo.
The hospital was set on fire, and he knew Lammi was too weak to sit up by herself, let alone leave the cupboard where he hid her. The fire was everywhere: in every room, every hall. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe, but he still had to try. That was his baby sister; he couldn't leave her. When he finally found the cupboard, the door was open, and a small corpse lay before it.
Law clenched his fists as he watched the reunited family. It was different, very different, but it was so familiar it hurt.
But Rosinante was here now, and he was alive. He gave Doflamingo another sibling in the process, and it made the man so happy that he put in place a ‘Blood Law’ to keep the Family from thinking about hurting them. Lammi was gone, and she wasn't coming back. Law knew that, but if she had somehow survived not just the fire but the Amber Lead…
He'll keep their secret and burn any posters he finds, even the ones in his room. Any trauma someone asks about, or signs of PTSD, he'll explain away like it's nothing. No one will find out, not if he can help it. If Doflamingo does one day find out, which he just might, the man has ways of sniffing out information; it won't be because of Law.
Besides, when it comes to hiding from the World Government and its lackeys, and Law was speaking from experience here, who better to protect two former slaves than Donquixote Doflamingo?
