The war was over. Kaidō of the Beasts had been defeated, the shogun had been dethroned, and the Wano Country could breathe freedom again and connect with the outer world. Once again, the Straw Hat Pirates had made impossible come true, proving that the Worst Generation definitely deserved attention. Their bounties were undoubtedly to rise, but Law didn't feel like thinking of it now.
They'd been celebrating for a few days already. In the meantime, the winter had ended, and the country of the samurai had bloomed with the delicate cherry blossom. No-one noticed the spring coming; it seemed that during just one night the bare branches had been covered by a pink and white veil. It only made people continue with partying... although some didn't really need any excuse to drink and eat, and laugh, and dance, and express their joy in any possible way.
To say that Law felt tired of it already would be exaggerating, yet, after those few weeks - more intense than anything he'd lived through until now - he did need some space indeed. He didn't consider himself a recluse, but he still was closer to a loner than someone who loved being a focus of the attention or needed constant company of others. Law was far from condemning that kind of people; he simply had different personality, and keeping others at bay was as natural for him as breathing. He didn't let others get too close to him - at the emotional level - and it held even in the case of his own crew. Then, as for the Straw Hats...
They were still allies, untied by the common goal; several lesser and greater fights they'd battled together had proved they could really co-operate smoothly and trust each other. It was with some embarrassment that Law admitted he'd stopped frowning upon the Straw Hatter's idea that 'ally' equalled 'friend'; he'd already known that the Straw Hats were a good material for friends, while their captain... Well, he was the last one to ever be bothered about the barriers made by others, and had the dangerous ability to invade the hearts. Sometimes, Law came to the conclusion that the moment the young pirate would make himself home in his own one was drawing near - and that realisation didn't really fill him with the reluctance he'd expected it to, for he was perfectly aware he'd managed to become attached to the crazy captain, himself. Still, at the same time, his nature that urged him to withdraw would show more and more... and maybe that was why he preferred to walk alone in the city now, finding the solitude appealing, and regaining his calm balance… or at least trying to.
It didn't take him long to understand he'd gone out of the frying pan and into the fire. The capital was hosting the spring festival, one of the most important in the whole country, and it took place in the area of the shrine to the west. Every year, it welcomed numerous visitors from every part of the Wano, as they hoped to take part in the religious ceremonies, listen to the big drums concerts, write their wishes on the special lanterns and enjoy the atmosphere of the festival, as well as its cultural and gastronomic offer. Festival had been held for centuries. The rulers could change, the country could fall in ruin and then be reborn again, but this event kept its place in the calendar, proving that it was the tradition that the Wano Country citizens valued above all.
Enthusiastic crowd kept moving towards the hill nearby, and for a moment Law let it carry him, too, wondering what he should do. He didn't like festivals - they made him think of something unpleasant that he'd long forgotten; they didn't seem like a right place for someone seeking solitude, either. But if he turned back... In the end, he resigned himself to the situation, coming to the conclusion that one could find some peace in the crowd, too. No-one here knew him, nor did he stood out in that local garment, that loose, patterned clothing named kimono he'd been wearing since they'd infiltrated Wano. He was here already, he could as well have a look; he always had time to go back... He felt a strange urge to not think of anything - strange because just a moment ago he'd wanted to calmly consider a few things. He shook his head and shrugged. Maybe he'd had too much wine today, and that was making his thought process incoherent...
The stairs leading up to the shrine weren't too long. Having climbed them, Law saw the spacious square, now lit with the countless lanterns. The shrine itself was situated father from here, at the border of the forest - and in front of it were situated numerous colourful tents. Judging from the smell and noise, they contained various eating-places, shops with more or less cheap festival accessories, as well as spots for games and other entertainment. There were even more people here than downstairs - clothes of every possible colour and tints, decorated with every possible pattern created the unique mixture and required attention - and yet, miraculously, those human masses didn't get in the other's way, didn't bother one another. Joyful, excited voices could be heard all over, people would walk relaxed and laugh over the cups of rice wine. Children were running from one fun to another, some impatiently tugging at their parents' sleeves, others stuffing themselves with the sweets. No-one would tell that it was just a few days ago that the war had ended and the country had been freed from the usurper. The festival devoured attention, it was the holiday alone, and it stayed in the people's mind for ever; no events of a year or two could disturb its particular celebratory atmosphere.
Law tried to remember what else Kin'emon and Kanjūrō had told him about the event. It apparently was called 'Wish Festival', and the two samurai swore to their ancestors that if one attended it with pure soul and honest heart, then even the most secretive and impossible desire would undoubtedly come true. Wano had seen many miracles that had happened by the magic of the festival, and even though neither Kin'emon nor Kanjūrō had experienced any+6, they would never doubt that common truth. Some even speculated that Kaidō had conquered Wano solely because of that miraculous power to make wishes come true, but, unfortunately, had been felled before the festival took place. Some were definitely unlucky.
Law respected his companions, and that was the only reason he'd refrained from an acid comment upon hearing such a rubbish. He had self-diagnosed allergy to word like 'miracle', 'magic' or 'wish'. He'd never been the one to believe in fairytales, and life had taught him that if one wanted something, they needed to gain it with their own effort. Every wish had its price, and nothing could happen just like that. The very thought that a person might be given what he wanted on a silver plate, was ridiculous. Still, what right did he have to judge others? If people believed all it took was to desire something, did it matter anything to him? There was no point in getting upset because of someone else's beliefs; he'd always thought so and didn't plan to depart from that principle today.
He kept moving slowly towards the shrine, occasionally grabbing a snack - octopus dumplings were superb, while grilled squid was on a good way to the top of the list of his favourite dishes - or a cup of rice wine of that unique flavour. His good mood was soon back when he imagined how delighted with this place the captain of the Straw Hats would be, as would his whole crew, too. He had no doubt that Zoro-ya would visit most of the drinking stalls, and the cook, Black Legger, would find lots of culinary inspirations. Chopper-ya would probably never leave from the cotton sugar place, and the navigator, Nami-ya, would break the bank in tha games and attractions area. Law smiled to himself, having realised that thinking of the Straw Hats improved his mood... although, at the same time, it made him strangely irritated.
He was under the impression that the longer he stayed with the Straw Hatter's crew, the more he was forgetting something important... the more he was changing himself, turning into someone else than he'd been for years. He couldn't deny that the Straw Hats attracted him like a magnet, and he really had a weakness for their captain. Monkey D. Luffy, defeating Donquixote Doflamingo - something he couldn't achieve himself, despite trying for a long time - had deserved his lifelong gratitude and respect. Regardless of how different they were, he could imagine himself spending next years in the company of the Straw Hats, experiencing new adventures... new fights, battles and wars. Such a vision of the future wasn't bad itself... yet it caused an unpleasant sensation in his heart, for it was so much at odds with his past. Law felt that, had he taken that one more step - he'd taken many of them so far, yet he'd always known he could still move back - something would be lost for ever. Some part of him kept telling him that now, after Doflamingo's defeat, he should close that chapter in his life - a chapter that had started sixteen years ago in Spider Miles - and start a completely new story. Another part, however, resisted and made the very idea repulsive.
He didn't like that inner split. He considered himself someone to always make the best decisions and stick to them in every situation. He used to calmly analyse the problem, quickly weigh all pros and cons, and then choose the solution, always guided by his reason, never by emotions. However, this particular problem had nothing to do with the reason... and maybe that was why Law felt so annoyed. He instinctively understood that he should just leave it to fate and simply let the matters evolve, but for a person that always needed to have a full control over his life, something like that would be unacceptable. He pressed his lips in a thin line and decided he didn't really want to think of it... at least not until the solution suddenly appeared before his eyes itself, which, of course, didn't sit well with him, either.
In the meantime, he'd reached the shrine. The wooden building, painted red, was impressive, although it nicely matched its surroundings nonetheless. The curved green roofs faded into the darkness of the forest, but the front was lit by the fire burning in the stone lanterns. Numerous paper lanterns, hung on the strings, were swaying gently in the evening breeze, casting the shadows everywhere their light could reach. The sound of drums and bells was coming from inside the shrine, along with the low, cadent tone: prayers of the priests, who didn't feel in the slightest disturbed by the laughter and joyful shouts of the crowd celebrating next to them. There were cherry trees on the both flanks of the shrine, now covered with fair blossom. The petals had already started to fall, a precipitate more delicate than snow. Kanjūrō had said that the full blossom was short, one week at the most, and that was why the people of Wano used to celebrate that time with such zeal.
Law moved along the line of trees, staring at the dark sky through their branches. Again, he couldn't resist the impression how dual were his feelings; he had to admit that the cherry blossom was beautiful, but at the same time the falling petals distressed him and made him think of a winter landscape. As far as he could, he tried to avoid such sceneries. He was pretty much insensitive to extreme temperatures - he tolerated frost as well as heat - but to see white powder falling down on the ground would always make him feel strong aversion. He closed his eyes and shook his head. It was not snow, falling from the skies so gently, covering everything with an even layer so mercilessly... So pure, waiting only to be stained with blood...
He shuddered and opened his eyes, then put forwards one hand and saw a single petal land on his palm - one little pink heart... His chest ached dangerously.
"What is your wish?"
His head turned to the side those words had come from, words spoken in a low, deep voice and with belief. Suddenly, he felt as if the world had changed and he had found himself in another dimension, detached from everything he'd known. The sense of unreality was so strong it drowned out all noises - the sounds of the festival, so clear until just a moment ago. Under a canopy and behind a small table a woman was seated - neither young nor old - regarding him with an intent look. Her black hair was falling along her face, only to disappear again under the ritual hat. She was clad in a white robe and looked exactly like a priestess should look. She had her hands clasped on the table, with only the tips of her fingers showing from the long sleeves. She was sitting still, and no gesture indicated it was she who had spoken - but it couldn't be anyone else, and her eyes were focused solely on Law, as if there was nothing else here. Indeed, in this reality, separated from the rest of the world by a cloudy veil, there were only two of them.
In the next moment - he'd barely noticed her move - the priestess was already stretching a narrow paper towards him. 'What is your wish?' She spoke no more, yet those words were ringing in his ears as if she'd said them aloud again; the sound was strangely metallic, as if resonating in the closed space. Unintentionally, he grabbed the card and only then realised it. He withdrew his hand, letting go of the paper that fell on her palm, nearly as white.
"I have no," he said in a low voice, his throat clenching.
The women, however, never taking her eyes off him, folded the scrap in one smooth movement - he missed some of her moves again - then tossed it up and clapped her hands twice. Without a word, nearly hypnotised, Law could only follow its flight... and see that instead of falling down, it gathered speed and then disappeared amongst the flowery cherry branches. It seemed to him he could perceive a faint flash, a spark of light, a miniature explosion in the white-pink blossom.
His gaze returned to the priestess. "I didn't write anything..."
"There was no need. Wishes are in one's heart. Yours was all too clear."
He squinted, feeling anger. "I have no wish that could come true," he drawled, trying to persuade her.
She shook her head, and he had no idea whether she was agreeing with him or the otherwise. "I'll try to ease your pain," she said in the same deep voice, firm, calm and impassive, yet it angered him even more. "But only for a moment... I'm sorry."
Furiously, he turned to leave. He tried to breathe slowly to regain his self-control. That anger was pointless, and he shouldn't give in to it... In fact, everything was pointless, he'd known that since long - despair, disappointment, and above all hope - except maybe for this pain that had never stopped returning, even now, after all those years. But it was his old friend and shouldn't throw him off balance. Yet, no matter how many times he said it to himself, he couldn't find peace, couldn't find that composure that was as close to him like his own name; quite the contrary, it seemed to him he would fall to pieces any moment. Unexpectedly, so suddenly and without warning, he'd been exposed and made utterly defenceless.
He felt dizzy and had to rest against the nearest tree, then plumped on the ground and pressed his eyelids tight. All of the sudden, all strength left him, and he could only cringe at the foot of a cherry tree like a scared child - even though some part of his ever-working mind was mocking his weakness. Yet, no mockery could make him get up and face the world, not now, not for the next five minutes, not until his inner world was back to normal.
However, the pain wasn't fading. He was bleeding from his wounded heart, every beat reminding him of the loss. Buzzing in his ears made him unable to think clearly, and his whole conscience concentrated on that single instinct. Desire. Wish. It was so severe, so tangible he could almost touch it. Desire that could not be realised. Wish that had no hope to come true. Futile, extremely futile and nonsensical regret that normally Law would completely remove from his mind. There was no place for unnecessary things in his life...
I want Cora-san here.
He felt his lips curve in a sneer. Acknowledging it was almost degrading. As much as he desired it, he was aware it could never be. It was impossible to bring the dead back to life; Law was too wise to believe anything else. Thus, it was better to stifle that desire, that nonsensical wish, and accept the reality he could do nothing about - for, even though it had already been half of his life since those events, that pain had never disappeared. Law didn't want to feel it; he preferred to coat it with thick layer of cold logic and calm rationalism.
Why it required so little - a single remark made by a stranger - to bring him to his knees and crush with that load?
A voice in his head whispered an answer, 'Because you're a human being.'
He took a deep breath. True, he was a human. And no matter how much pain he felt, he didn't want to ever return to what he'd nearly become years ago: a killing machine that could feel only hate. He was a human and had to bear it. He breathed in and out the whole volume of his lungs. He was already calming down. Soon, he would be back to normal, would be able to open his eyes and get up to move forward. To live his life - was there anything else to do? He'd been living for so long now that he could no longer imagine another option. He'd known he had to survive - that time, thirteen years ago - even if he never experienced anything good. He'd been doubly saved, and his life had been secured with a greatest sacrifice. Even if he often felt his existence was worth very little itself, realising the price that had been paid for it was enough to go on. No matter how much it hurt, he didn't intend... he couldn't give up on living - that one thing was obvious to him. That one thing defined his reality.
He took yet another deep breath. His heart was no longer pounding like mad in his heart; his blood was no longer seething in his veins. He could hear voices of people again, laughters of adults and peeps of children, claps and cheers, drums and chants - soft, peaceful sounds of the festival, just as they had been fifteen minutes, half an hour, one hour ago. He could feel wind on his skin and earth under his feet again. He was here, in Wano - alone, like he'd been for long. Everything was like always.
"Law... Hey, Law...!" his thought process was interrupted by a voice that didn't fit his reality... the voice he recognised at once even though it'd been thirteen years since the last time he'd heard it.
He opened his eyes despite knowing he'd regret it anyway.
Before him, with his face less than half a meter from his own, was squatting Donquixote Rosinante. Corazon. Cora-san. With his freakish painted smile, eyes underlined with colour, with anxiety in his gaze under the unruly fair hair. He was wearing red, patterned kimono, his own hood with hearts that absolutely didn't fit his clothing, and clogs that everyone here used.
"It's a dream," Law said automatically even though he sounded like an idiot, even though his heart accelerated. He must have fallen asleep under that tree pouring the rain of pink hearts; no wonder he was having such a vision.
He'd often had dreams like this. Their content would differ, but they always ended in the same way: with that feeling of hopeless emptiness. He would rarely - never? - realise he was dreaming... and thus he should take advantage of it now and wake up as soon as possible. Actually, he didn't know if it was possible, but he needed to try nonetheless.
He closed his eyes and shook his head, muttering under his breath, "Wake up, wake up..."
"It's not a dream," he heard it again, that voice he'd never forgot.
He pressed his eyelids even tighter, still trying to wake up and ignoring everything else. So, he'd dozed off during the festival, amongst strangers and in public, really great... Apparently, the end of a long battle had relaxed him too much - him, a man who never lowered his guard and couldn't sleep next to someone else. He shook his head again, this time with annoyance.
"It's not a dream, Law," Corazon repeated stubbornly.
Angry, Law opened his eyes and looked at him again. If it was not a dream, then... a hallucination! Something his mind produced. So, it'd finally happened: he'd lost his sanity. It seemed that all those traumatic events from his past - all those horrible things he'd had to experience as a kid - were finally taking their toll. His psyche had said, 'Enough!', and refused to co-operate any more. Farewell, rational and clear-headed Trafalgar Law, whose reason could always be counted on. "Welcome to the madness," he said ironically.
Corazon shook his head and sighed, "There's nothing wrong with your sanity, Law."
"Show me a madman who doesn't believe it," Law replied mockingly, knowing well that talking to your hallucinations was a basic symptom of a mental disease.
"I forgot how stubborn you've always been," Corazon said. Law squinted; such remarks were dangerous, for they only strengthened the delusion all this was really happening. "How should I make you believe I seriously am here?"
"Cora-san... You're dead," Law replied, his chest clenching with the pain he'd known well. "You died on the Minion Island thirteen years ago, shot dead by Doflamingo," he drawled in a softer voice, trying to keep the eye contact. The truth should be spoken with head up and straight gaze.
Corazon shrugged as if it didn't matter in the slightest. "So?"
"And you have no power to bring yourself back to life," Law continued on the same note. "True, Yomi Yomi no Mi does exist, but it belongs to someone else and is active."
Corazon sighed again. "You and that reason of yours..." he said. "You can tell yourself there's nothing wrong with your head… even too much," he muttered.
"What was that supposed to mean?" Law asked, frowning. "No, forget it. I didn't ask," he corrected himself. He didn't want, he really didn't want to talk with his hallucinations.
"Are you not happy to see me again?" Corazon asked unexpectedly, and there was some disappointment, even resentment, to his words.
Law stared at him, suddenly very confused. He couldn't answer that question. Cora-san had been the only joy of his life, but... When he finally was able to speak again, his voice rang with some desperate conviction... bordering with question... "You are... dead..." he stuttered out what had been his only and the most hated truth for the last thirteen years.
Corazon's gaze became softer. He nodded, and Law felt his racing heart fall into his stomach. For a moment, he really had believed that Donquixote Rosinante had come back to life, no matter how crazy and illogical that was.
"Then... you're a ghost," he whispered, although his rational mind didn't want to accept that option either. Ghosts didn't exist...! Maybe to cover that absurd he then added with irony, "You made so much trouble on the other side that they had enough of you?" It was a grotesque thought but very fitting nonetheless. "Or maybe you came back to haunt me? You're going to stay with me for the rest of my miserable life...?"
Corazon's eyes were serious, and he was barely smiling now. Law didn't remember if he'd ever seen him wearing such an expression... and he looked away. Then, however, his eyes returned to the tall figure leaning over him... and, irrationally, he wished to hear an affirmative answer.
"Why should I want to haunt someone who was more dear to me than life itself?" the words he heard made him speechless again.
He pressed his lips to stop their tremble and looked down. Still, something urged him to keep staring at Corazon over and over again. Even if it was a hallucination or a ghost, for it couldn't be anything else... Would looking do him any harm? And the longer he looked - how strange - the calmer he felt. "Maybe you changed your mind," he said when he could trust his voice again.
Corazon smiled and shook his head, and Law felt lighter at heart. That smile had always banish his troubles away.
"You won't find another place where spirituality is as strong as here, in Wano," Donquixote Rosinante said. "People here believe that every tree and every stone have a soul, and that the dead become guardian spirits of the living ones. Do not underestimate the power of the local priests who are able to communicate with the supernatural beings and see what most of the people cannot see."
Law nodded, although all that sounded like a nonsense for his rational mind. But, wait a moment... He was apparently seeing a ghost, talking with a phantom. Maybe he should revise his views...? Maybe there was something after death...? Well, of course, there could be as well the power of a Devil Fruit in question - why hadn't he thought of it before? Maybe that priestess really had an ability to make people's wish come true...? Why, he didn't have any trouble believing in the Devil Fruits and their possibilities, even when they couldn't be explained by the logic. Yes, it must have been so.
His heart sped up again, and his thought flew on. Could there... could there, after all, exist a Devil Fruit capable of reviving another person? Law had been searching for it for years but had never come across as much as a mention of it. Yet, Wano had been a closed country for a longer while and had secrets that the outer world had never known about. His heart kept accelerating, and his head was spinning. Could it be... that Cora-san had really... come back to life?
Suddenly, he couldn't utter a world. His eyes wide, he stared at Donquixote Rosinante, who was sitting before him and appeared as alive as if he'd never died. The next moment, his hand, as if it had a free will, darted forward to grab Corazon's hand handing on the man's knee. The flesh he felt under his fingers was warm and real. Then... could it really...?
"Cora-san..." he whispered in awe.
Then, however, Corazon shook his head and gave him a look both affectionate and apologetic, and Law felt cold shiver of disappointment enhanced by a thought, 'Of course it's impossible'. Now he remembered what the priestess had said, 'Only for a moment'. He'd got Corazon only for a moment. That was the only fact here, and he should as well forget the rest. There was no point in feeling disillusioned; in reality, he hadn't managed to believe in anything.
Still, how was it possible in the first place...? He gave Corazon a questioning look.
"Don't ask me such things," the man replied, shaking his head again, apparently reading his mind. "That's not what I'm here for."
Law blinked. "Then... why?" he asked hesitantly, just as if the answer might scare him. He thought that if Cora-san... his ghost had suddenly appeared before him after thirteen years, it could spell come calamity.
Corazon, however, grinned and got up with vigour... a bit too much of it, since the next moment he lost his balance and tumbled down on the ground with a dull bump, losing his both clogs in the process. Law, speechless, observed how the giant man got on his feet again, dusted himself off and stretched one hand towards him. "To enjoy this festival with you, Law."
Law stared at that hand for a longer while before looking at its owner again. On Corazon's face, there was obvious happiness and enthusiasm... and anticipating his answer. Law thought it was Cora-san who looked like someone whose wish had come true.
He nodded slowly and rose, adjusting his sword on his shoulder. He made his decision. Did he have anything to lose? Even if it was just a dream from which he would wake up... or a product of his mind, something completely unreal... or even a ghost that would vanish when the day dawned... Would tomorrow be any different that all those days he'd lived through so far, days that had only strengthened him? Even if he were to return to his lonely reality as soon as tomorrow... it wouldn't be able to hurt him more it already had, and in that case he could as well forget himself for just this night. He could spend this night with Corazon. He thought that nothing else mattered.
"Then, let's go," he said, daring one shy smile.
Cora-san beamed like a sun. "But let me smoke first," he replied, putting out the long, Wano-style pipe from behind his belt.
Law patiently observed how his companion first burned his fingers with fire, then nearly plucked out one eye with the sharp tip, and finally crushed the delicate item altogether. In the end, he took out a pack of cigarettes - more familiar and, almost, safer - from his kimono and soon inhaled the smoke. Law told himself he would try to stop him from setting the city on fire, but at the same time he had to refrain from giggling, as hot sweetness filled his chest.
Everything was just right. There were things that even death couldn't erase.
He spent the next hours in a sweet daze of someone who had managed to bend the reality to his own visions. Someone who, in full awareness, had indulged in a dream, determined to enjoy it and ask no more. Cora-san was undoubtedly dead - like he'd been for the last thirteen years - and nothing would make Law believe otherwise. However, now he understood that he'd accepted that long ago, and thus he welcomed everything that was happening to him now as a happy surprise. He was under the impression that those few hours healed some wounds in his soul - wounds that he hadn't been able to cure despite his best medical knowledge and the powers of Ope Ope no Mi. After all, Cora-san's presence had always been the best medication for all his complaints; it had never changed.
They laughed and joked, ate and drank, played and sang. Law put out small fires, picked up the knocked over tables and tended to the injuries. He didn't ask anything. He realised that abandoning - for just a moment - his common sense wasn't that bad. He felt free, and in an entirely different way than before. And he couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun. Satisfaction he'd enjoyed after Doflamingo's defeat wasn't even close to this experience.
Maybe he really was on a good path to insanity, he thought sarcastically... before Cora-san seized his full attention with another absurdly improbable feat of clumsiness.
The morning was inevitably to come. The skies were still dark, but Law's biological clock told him the night was ending. The festival continued, but most of the visitors had already left home, and voices of those still present were fatigued. Finally, the birds started to sing, and the wind changed its direction and was carrying salt now.
With the last bottle of rice wine, they sat down under the cherry tree pouring the pale petals. Law knew that the day would put end to this vision - and he accepted it. He still had one hour, maybe half, a quarter at least...
He poured wine to the two cups, and when he lifted his own, he saw the moon reflected on its surface. The image was then blurred when a pale heart landed in the cup. He blinked, suddenly painfully aware of the solitude that awaited him. He knew well that accepting something didn't mean it would hurt any less.
"Cora-san... Won't you stay?" he asked in a low voice, never raising his eyes from the shiny sheet of wine. "Won't you stay this time?, he repeated, acknowledging his own defeat. This very moment he felt like that kid, half of life ago, that had once again lost a beloved person.
"Law..." Corazon answered softly. "I don't belong to life. I don't belong to your side."
"Can't you be my guardian spirit?" Law blurted, aware that in any other situation he would blush violently. Now he didn't care about it in the slightest. He would do anything... say anything to keep him here.
Corazon burst out laughing. "Me? A guardian spirit? What guardian spirit I would be?"
"The best one," Law drawled, but his heart clenched with that old pain. Yet he wanted… needed to say it... for he hadn't managed to then. No, that time he hadn't even realised it. "Cora-san, you took care of me and stayed with me," he added in a strangled voice. "You gave me what I needed. Your presence saved me, even more than Ope Ope no Mi. You helped me in so many ways, you and no-one else. I don't need anyone else, only..."
He stopped, pressed his lips in a tight line and lowered his eyes; he didn't want to sound hysterical, yet it seemed he had. So, just a moment ago he'd thought he'd accepted it...? Ludicrous. His hand trembling, he lifted the cup and drank down, but his heart was still beating painfully. Once again, he resented the fate for having treated them both so unjustly. But he knew who was at fault...
"Law... My time ended," Corazon said; his voice was sweet and calm and convinced, and Law couldn't accept it. "I lived out my life and-"
"If not for me," Law interrupted him, "you would have kept living. If you hadn't bothered yourself with me, everything would have been fine. All what happened... on the Minion Island... wouldn't have happened," he choked, wishing again he could turn back time. For those years, he'd managed to forget that guilty feeling that was now weighing on him with a terrible load. "And though I'm grateful to you more than I could ever express... or repay... It really would've been better if I... if you-"
"No," Corazon silenced him flatly.
Law clenched his fists. Out of the corned of his eye he saw the red hearts swaying when Cora-san shook his head firmly, and then he heard low yet pressing voice, "Law, Law...! I don't regret anything I did. Nothing. If not for you...," now there was smile to Corazon's words, even though he seemed angry just a second ago. "Because of you even someone as worthless as me could do something good. Because of you, Law," he stressed. "Let me be happy with it... that I managed to save you. Don't ruin it with that needless sense of guilt. Don't write off that success of me..."
"Never!" Law's head snapped up when he stared at the man he owed more than just life to. "I just..."
"Had hard time," Cora-san whispered in a reply. "I'm sorry I had to leave you," he said straight, so unlike him. "I'm sorry I'll have to leave you again," he added in a softer voice.
Law shook his head and lowered his eyes, unable to say anything. Cora-san had always spoke things that could perplex him and made it impossible to retort.
Corazon filled their cups. "Yet you managed," he said and smiled again. "I don't know if you want to hear something like this, but... I'm proud of you. You found your own strength and retained your humanity. Despite how hard it was, you turned away from the darkness and didn't lose hope. You didn't give yourself to despair. You didn't become second Doffy, and that is what makes me really happy," he added emphatically.
"You're overestimating me, Cora-san," Law muttered. "I'm a pirate... an outlaw..."
"And you have a good heart," Corazon supplied, "and moral fibre, and compassion, and need to help. Despite all evil you had to face, you grew up to be a fine man, Law. No-one needs to be ideal. It's enough if we just follow the light."
Law kept silent; his throat was closed. Yet, he raised his eyes and looked at the man that had made him what he was now. He hoped his gaze could convey it, 'That's all because of you'.
Cora-san smiled gently, then put one arm on his shoulder and squeezed in a supportive manner. "I know you will manage," he said with the same voice with which he'd once stirred up hope and then carefully and patiently nurtured it, until the day of his final victory. "Keep going, Law, and don't look back. What happened... It just laid foundations for your own story… for the story with people that are around you. Living people. You don't need me," he added, shaking his head.
"Cora-san..." His heart clenched painfully again, although some part of Law knew his late protector was right.
"You do have such people," Corazon pointed out. "People you can laugh and cry with, join hands and achieve common goals. That is the right direction, not looking back at the past. Leave the Minion Island, leave all that and look ahead," he persuaded, his fingers digging in Law's shoulder as if trying to urge him toward the right decision.
Law gave him desperate look; Cora-san demanded impossible. "I can't... How could I..." he whispered.
"Law, answer just one question: do you intend to forget me?" Donquixote Rosinante asked in an emphatic voice.
Law blinked... and then stared at him like at a half-wit he'd considered him to be long ago. "I'll never forget you, Cora-san...!" he rasped in a breaking voice what he was sure of more than anything else.
"And that's perfectly enough," Corazon said, smiling again. Then he put his large hand on Law's head and moved his face close to his. "Go with your companions, wherever life takes you. Law, don't apologise for being alive, I can't stand it. Smile. You're the most important person in my life. I want you to be happy," he added with affection.
Law nodded. Again, he wasn't unable to say anything. He sniffed and emptied his cup in one gulp. Cora-san did the same... and the next moment jumped to his feet (smacking his head on the lowest branch) and started to move frantically (it resembled some mad dance) and brush down.
"Laaaaw...! I think I sat on an ant nest...! Heeeelp...!"
Law burst out laughing and didn't care about the tears rolling from his eyes. In Corazon's presence, staying sad wasn't an option... He got up to face that unexpected danger, smiling and sniffling at the same time.
When the situation was put under the control (and even the bottle of sake was rescued from the wild prance), the say down under another tree. They didn't bother with checking if the place was safe, but Law was ready to expose himself to attack of the wasps, for example; with Corazon's luck, there might be even a hornet hive in the branches. The eastern sky was already getting brighter, and if this wish was a miracle of just one night, they had only a few moments left...
After such a dose of laughter, Law was sure everything would be all right. "I'll be fine," he said in a decisive voice, putting the empty cup down. "I'll be fine, Cora-san," he repeated and looked at his companion as if he wanted to assure him and get his assurance.
And Corazon did nodded. He was still smiling, but his eyes were serious and respectful.
"I don't know if we'll ever meet again," Law went on. "But if it's possible in Wano, then believe me, I'll come here regularly... so look out for my sign on the other side... if you ever wish to see me," he added softly, but then his voice grew stronger again. "Thank you, Cora-san. For everything and for this night. For coming here. Thank you that I could talk to you. That I could tell you this." And as he spoke, he realised it'd been the greatest desire of his heart. He smiled, and this time the smile was wider and convincing. "I'll manage... I won't waste this life you gave me, I promise," he said with emphasis. "I don't know if that's what you wanted when you saved me... but I'd like to believe it wasn't only because of 'D'...?"
Cora-san shook his head. "I love you," he said without hesitation, looking him in the eye.
Law lowered his head, delighting at the tickling warmth that filled his chest. Then, however, he raised his gaze again to bravely look at the man who, half of life ago, had built his world anew. And then he did something that fully contradicted his character and yet completely agreed with his feelings - something he hadn't done thirteen years ago and regretted it ever since. He hugged Corazon, burying his face in the kimono on the man chest.
"Thank you, Cora-san. I love you too," he whispered and felt truly happy, maybe for the first time in his life.
Corazon put both arms around his shoulder and closed him in the embrace. Law felt the warmth of his body and heard his heartbeat that even death couldn't stop. It made sense; that was what Donquixote Rosinante Doflamingo had always been: a passionate heart that had never stopped loving. No, it had never been about 'D'... 'Don't try to find a reason for somebody's love!" said Sengoku, and now Law finally understood that the old admiral had been right from the very start. Cora-san had simply gave him love and then had died for that love - for him. Not for Trafalgar D. Water Law, who should be Doflamingo's nemesis, but for the boy he had met and cared for. That realisation was able to heal even the deepest wounds.
Law felt he relaxed - by the side of the only man he could fall asleep around... his guardian angel. Everything had been said and heard, and kept in his heart for ever. He knew it would light up his life for next thirteen years at least.
Sleep fell on him like a feather mantle, covering him with the sense of perfect security.
He waked up in the sunlight and the rain of flower petals. Salt wind was blowing through his hair, and the sky was blue and calm... He felt strangely calm himself, as if he'd just had a pleasant dream. He smiled wryly, but then his smile grew warmer when his gaze caught two cups in the grass, buried by pink hearts.
Back in the palace, Kin'emon indiscreetly asked who was that stranger Law-dono had been seen with the previous night and seemed to be on good terms with. Law smiled and replied, "It was my guarding spirit."
The samurai's expression clearly indicated that he was shocked with such an answer by the man known for his calm judgement and reason. However, before Kin'emon managed to decide he had been ridiculed, Law patted him on a shoulder in a friendly manner and added, "Wish Festival can make wishes come true," before leaving with the secret sweeter than any dream.
The memory of it would support him for the rest of his life.