Trafalgar Law's Past- Meeting of Corazon
Thick lines cut across the sky. Each line spread out in rays from directly overhead, the afternoon sun peeking through the structure that towered over the town, encaging the entire island in with the mysterious power.
It was the work a devil fruit, something Trafalgar Law had only read about. This was the cursed power of one of those pirates who had invaded their small island. He hadn't seen pirates either, only hearing stories of their great adventures, and even more quiet whispers of their equally great evil.
His heart hammered in his small chest, lungs squeezing tight with fear, making it hard to breath. The groceries his mother had been carrying had been left forgotten in the market, all of the contents spilled out on the cobblestone only to be crushed underneath the panicked feet. Shrill screams constantly tore through his ears, making his insides clench, the primal smell of fear wafting around like a sickening stench. Wretched sobbing sounded from those who watched as their loved ones, their neighbors, husbands, children, sisters and brothers, everyone randomly turning on each other, lashing out to kill without a warning. All the while the killers agonizing cried out, their voices grating and anguished, as they called out for it to stop, for their loved ones to run, for forgiveness of those ones they had already slain. Worse were the wails of children's screams on his young ears. They didn't stand a chance. Adults were supposed to protect them and now they were cutting down the easy targets with ease.
Smoke and rubble burned at his eyes, stinging at his throat like the contained sobs he forced himself to hold in as he ran after his mother. She was still in control of herself, but he constantly feared his own mother turning against him, yet she is his only safety now till they can get home. She would never hurt him... not on her own will. That is what he kept telling himself.
Suddenly the tip his foot caught onto a jutting out stone in the street, sending him plummeting forward, his spotted hat tumbling off of his jet black locks. He lands hard on his hands and knees, those boy shorts of his doing nothing for protection as his skin stings from the scrapes, little pebbles digging in. Tears form in his eyes as he looks up, gray orbs desperately searching for his mother. 'Please don't leave me behind,' he thought, heart fluttering so violently with fear he felt sick, until his eyes caught on to the familiar apron strings flying ahead. She was getting farther away.
"Okasan!" Law screamed at the top of his lungs, for the first time a small hiccup of a sob escaping. 'Please. Please turn around. Don't leave me.'
She turns around, apron swirling about her, halting in the road. She is coming back, her legs rapidly dashing back towards him. Her firm grip wraps around his hand, the soft hat being pushed back on his head as she plants a chaste kiss on his head. Seconds later she is dragging him up the street, frantically encouraging him, "Come on Law. Please be strong for mommy. You can do it sweetie."
Law vigorously nodded, lower lip trembling as he continued to follow her through the back roads, avoiding the townspeople. He would be strong. There wasn't time to be weak now. If he was weak he would die.
They had to make one last sprint up the hill leading to their small house turned into a clinic. His lungs were on fire now, both of them panting and sweating. As thy neared the house, before Law could rush inside to see if his dad was their his mother sharply grabbed him by the collar, her knuckles white. The sheer force of it scared him for a moment as he looked up at her.
"Wait," she whispered, nudging him to stand behind her. "Lawrence?" She called out, waiting for her husband's response. If he was controlled too... they would have nowhere left to run. No safe place in this cage.
"Carla?" A male voice called back, the front door of the house slowly opening. The stubbled and strained features of a man peered out, in his hand clutched a scalpel. His tired gray eyes landed on his wife, Law safely tucked away behind her. "Thank god... please hurry, come inside. We don't have much time dear."
Lawrence ushered them both in locking the door, sliding the deadbolt into place. The windows were drawn shut, boarded up. Naturally people would come seeking a town doctor for help during this tragedy, but with his own family to look after he chose them over the townspeople. "Carla... at this rate everyone will..." His eyes slid to his young sons wide eyed stare. He lowered his voice, speaking just so the grownups could hear.
Even what Law could hear he didn't understand. He was scared and is parents were scared. People were dying out in the town and his dad was forced to barricade them in the house because everyone was killing each other.
Suddenly there was a hammering on the door outside that made Law jump in his skin. The people were yelling "Run Doctor Lawrence!" and "Get away Carla san!" His dad abruptly seized him by the arm, roughly dragging him to a back room reserved for surgery. He was too scared to cry out or ask why.
There was a screech of metal as Lawrence sharply tugged a grate on the floor open, flipping open the meta hatch. He grabbed Law by the shoulders, looking into the tear stained and scared face with a sad smile as tears stung at his own vision. There were so many things he wanted to say to his only child... but there wasn't time. "I love you Law and I am so very proud of you. You will be a great doctor just like your old man someday, eh?" He softly chuckled, the sound coming out more like a pained wheeze.
"Dad..." Law started more tears pouring out of his eyes as his own father, a man he saw so strong and looked up to, break down and begin to weep.
Lawrence smiled through his tears, cupping the back of Law's head tenderly as he gently kissed his sons small forehead for the last time. He motion for Carla to come over, giving their child a tight hug that would also be the last between them. It ended sooner than any of them would have liked, the sound of axes hacking away at their front door tearing them from the tender moment.
Picking his son up by lifting him with his hands underneath each arm, he carefully lowered Law into the hatch. It was a space used to catch blood or whatever else happened to leak out from operations, but it had been cleaned, and they were out of options. Patting his son on the head, he carefully closed the hatch on him, fastening the lock on the grate to keep it closed. Those bright gray and tear filled eyes made his heart ache, but letting Law die was by far worse.
"No matter what happens, don't make a sound. No matter what you hear, or see, you must stay silent. Promise me."
A sob began to choke its way out of Law's chest, his throat painfully tight. He is going to be left behind. He knows deep inside his parents are not coming back. Yet he forced himself to nod, swallowing down his tears and sobs as his lower lip quivered.
"Be strong Law."
Sinking down to sit in his cold metal cage within a cage, he frantically nodded his head again, clamping his hands over his mouth. He would not cry.
The door broke down.
He would not cry.
People started screaming, desperately yelling for it to stop.
He would not cry.
The sounds of his parents raised voices filled the room. There was more screaming. His mother and fathers voices screamed and cried out.
He would not cry...
There were more crashes around his home, more painful shouts, and dying screams. The worst is when an eerie silence fell upon the house. Not even the sound from the town could be heard anymore. Only that harsh and metallic tang filled the air.
For what felt like hours he sat there, in reality it being much shorter. But the dead silence and smell of blood made the seconds drag out to unbearable moments.
Slowly he stood up, the dried blood from his knees cracking. His small hands wrapped around the bars of the grate as he stood up on his tip toes, trying to see out of his small prison.
There were people on the floor, but he couldn't tell who they were from this low position. A russet hue light beamed through their front door that had been cut down. Finally Law dared to timidly call out, barely above a whisper. "Mom? Dad?" …
He swallowed as there was no answer, trying a little louder. Still no answer. His heart began to steadily increase with each attempt, his calls getting a little louder each time before he found himself screaming. No matter how loud he called no answer came. Not even when he yelled his throat raw, shaking the bars with all of his might.
They were not coming. He has been left all alone.
Law's scraped up hands limply fell away from the bars, tiny reddish smears of his handprints left on the metal. His chest tightened, eyes burning, his raw throat aching. Tears poured out of his stormy eyes, leaving shining trails across his tanned skin, running down his neck till it soaked into his collared shirt. He cried, loud and bitter, anguished sobs and wails pealing out of his already spent throat. Hiccups shook him. It felt like he was drowning in his own tears; lungs burning and every bit of air being used for sobs.
"Oi oi oi... what's with all the racket? I must have missed one," a unfamiliar voice complained.
The small child abruptly fell silent, shaking now in a mixture of fear and grief still heavily wracking through him.
"Heeeyy... don't gotta kill everyone bro. It sounded like a little one. Look it stopped," came a second voice, their footstep making the floorboards creak till they came to a halt.
"Tch, you are too soft... the town governor should have listened to me. Now he doesn't have much of a torn to rule over at all. Fufufufufu..." The first voice chuckled, also coming to a stop. "Hmm... where do you think it is?" He crowed innocently, his footsteps creaking around the house.
Law froze, only his hands raising to cover his mouth as he listened to the unknown men wander around his home, wide eyes staring up at the grate with fear.
"Bro..." The second voice said, sounding rather exasperated.
Suddenly a blond head appeared over the grill, an insane smile stretching across the man's face under a pair of sunglasses. Law couldn't help it; he flinched and screamed around his hands, falling back on his rear as he stared up at the man, more tears forcing their way out of his eyes. The blond man laughed, standing back up straight.
"Ahahahahah! What a place to hide a kid! They went and locked the poor bastard up too!" He practically howled with amusement, his voice being that of the first mans.
"Oiii! Don't go scaring small children like that," the second voice scolded, soon after a man who looked a tiny bit younger, though practically the same, minus the goggles covering his eyes looked into the grill. A frown pulled at is features when he stared at Law. He looked back up, grousing at the sunglass wearing man, "You scared the little guy half to death Dofy. There is no need for that. The town is yours now."
"Nah… the kid is fine. A little scare won't kill him. I told you, you are too soft Corazon."
Corazon let out a sigh, scratching at the side of his head underneath the goggles. With a sharp kick, he busted the lock on the grill, making the little spotted hat wearing child flinch, shaking even more. "There, there. It is alright now. Come with me little guy, big brother Corazon will take good care of you," he gently murmured, slowly opening the hatch.
Law whimpered. His last line of defense had been so easily broken. More big tears rolled down his face as he warily stared up at the goggle wearing man. Two large hands dipped into his space, surprising him with the gentleness as they picked him up, lifting him out of his metallic prison. Both of his gray eyes widened as he was settled against the broad chest, a hand rubbing at his back in comforting circles, sending warmth into him.
The boys crying had stopped as soon as he held him against his chest, holding him close. Corazon smiled, speaking to the small child in a soft encouraging voice, "There now. I'm Corazan. What's your name little guy?"
Hesitating for a moment, he stared at the stared at the stranger, uncertain at first. Yet the man's voice is gentle and coaxing. "Law," he mumbled out of his hoarse throat, his tiny hands gripping tightly at the man's shirt.
"Law huh?" The man Corazon had called Dofy came over, presumably looking straight at the kid though it couldn't be seen because of those sunglasses. He didn't see why his younger brother had bothered picking this runt up. It annoyed him. Corazon is far too soft.
Burying his face back into the goggled man's chest, Law hid when the laughing man came over. He didn't like that other man.
Corazon glanced at his brother, patting Law on the top of his head, rubbing him through that furry hat of his. "That is a very cool name tough guy," he said enthusiastically to the young boy hiding in his chest, grinning as he tried to comfort him. His older brother of course looked annoyed that the child had favored him, but he continued with his efforts. "This guy over here is my brother, his name is Doflamingo. I know he looks scary but he isn't that bad. Fufufufufu!" He chuckled at his brother's expense, earning himself a light bop to the side of his head.
Dolfamingo let out a sigh and began to walk out of the devastated house, stepping over the bodies literally the floor on his way out. "Whatever. Bring the kid if you want, but you will be the one taking care of him Corazon."
Law slowly lifted his head enough to stare after Doflamingo. His eyes fell on the bodies scattered on the floor, many beyond recognition. If his parents had died here they were nowhere to be seen now. He sharply sniffed, rubbing at his face with the back of his hand as more watery trails leaked down his face.
Corazon smiled sadly at his tiny armful, those gray eyes a bright red from all the waterworks. He patted Law's small back and softly promised, "Don't worry. I won't leave you alone. You will be safe with me."
Law stared at the goggled man, trembling at the words, if anything the flood of tears increasing. He had been left alone, his parents gone, neighbors dead, left to die by himself and with no one else to go to. Now this man offered him that so easily…
When both tiny arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, Corazon was a bit taken aback by the force of the hug. He smiled again though, keeping a hand on Law's back as tiny sobs continued to shake him, though not the ones of fear this time. A call from Doflamingo reminded him to keep up though. Striding after his older brother, he held the small child to his chest, ready to protect the one he had rescued.