The day I (didn't) die
Snow fell around my body, it's cold flakes contrasting with the warm liquid of my blood. My breathing was labored, and I could feel my body growing numb. My vision became blurrier and blurrier, until all I could make out were distorted colors, blended together to make a landscape. I was dying. The little strength I had left was draining away through the bullet wounds in my chest, blood seeping through my black-feathered coat into the ground below, staining the snow below me. As a marine, I had failed my infiltration mission. As a pirate, I had failed in loyalty. I had even failed as a younger brother.
But as a guardian, I had succeeded. And that was what mattered to me.
I had saved Law, who, two and a half years ago, had looked at the world with hate and emptiness. The same look that my brother once had. But I could understand his pain. He had lost everything, just like I once had. And I took it upon myself to at least give him his life back, if nothing else.
And slowly, I could see the emptiness replaced. Every smile, no matter how small, would light up his small face, showing a glimpse of the boy he had once been. And I began to smile, too.
I had finally managed to save him, everything that I could do was done. I willed myself to stay awake for as long as I could, so my devil fruit powers would stay in effect, keeping him safe for at least a little longer. A peaceful smile stretched across my face as I closed my eyes, patiently waiting for death to come.
And then I was slowly rising up into the air, supported by large, black, feathery wings that resembled my coat. I could see everything beneath me, including my own body. Snow was quickly burying my form, but I was glad to see that my smile was still on my face, true and genuine, showing the world that I had died happily.
I spun around, wings flapping to keep me steady. In the distance was a fight between Doffy's crew and the marines, the spray of cannonballs exploding and turning the snow where it landed into gray slush. Running from the fight, stumbling in the deep snow was Law. His cries were barely audible over the sound of the fight, but I felt tears threatening to come to my eyes at the sound of his grief. The grey cloak I had given him was wrapped tightly around him as he ran. I wanted to go down to him, to hold him, to comfort him, but my wings wouldn't stop moving, steadily lifting me higher and higher, until at last, tears dripping down my face, I turned away, passing through the clouds, and when I turned back, the island was a mere speck on the dark ocean.
Then there was light. Bright, beautiful light, that seemed like the caress of a loving hand, wiping the tears from my painted face. Spirits, just like me, flitted around on different colored wings, too quickly for me to register their faces. But there were two spirits who weren't moving. They hovered in place with white wings, looking at me. I felt my heart skip a beat as I saw the gently smiling faces of my mother and father, and, at last, my wings stopped, and I hovered in place, staring. Mother opened her arms to me, and I experimentally tried moving my wings. They obeyed my mental commands, pushing me forward, just slightly, and I slowly glided towards them. It was as though I was in a dream, slowly moving towards her embrace.
And then my wing caught fire.
Gentle smiles quickly turned into expressions of horror and panic as I whirled around, trying desperately to pat out the fire. My wings were beating frantically, which only helped to feed the flames. Other spirits had halted and were staring at me, open-mouthed as they witnessed the spectacle. And as if that wasn't enough, I found out that I wasn't just clumsy on my legs.
One wing folded, the other widely outstretched, I found myself falling, fire and black feathers trailing behind me. I tried to beat my wings, but the fire had somehow managed to loosen the feathers on my right wing, and I watched in horror as my outstretched wing dissipated into a flurry of feathers. My panic only increased when my left wing also caught fire, and I could only gape as the second wing also disappeared, and I was falling back down to the ground below. I couldn't tell if I was screaming or not, because the wind was whistling in my ears, effectively blocking out any sound that I might have made. The island I had just left seemed to rush up to meet me faster than my eyes could register, and I crashed back down into the earth.
~oOo~
"Cora-san! Cora-san!"
Law flung his arms across the slowly freezing body of the former member of the Don Quixote family, tears running down his white-spotted face. His hands clenched at the feathers of Rosinante's coat as he sobbed. "Come back," he croaked, one small hand reaching for the man's wrist, feeling for any hope of a pulse, but there was none. "Please come back," he whispered.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Rosinante lurched upwards as though he had been punched in the gut. The sudden motion threw Law off of the man's body, and he tumbled into the snow. His spotted hat flew off and landed behind him, but Law didn't move to pick it up. He could only stare, and a sort of choking noise could be heard from his throat.
Corazon was breathing heavily, one hand on his heart, which had suddenly jumped from not beating at all to beating at what must have been a hundred beats per second. "I...I thought I was going to die..." he gasped, staring forward. "Wait...I was...I was already dead..."
"Cora-san!" The tall man was thrown back into the snow as the small child all but launched himself at his chest, holding him in a tight hug. Corazon gently ruffled the boy's dark hair with a large hand, smiling fondly at the boy.
"You-you died," the child sobbed, his face buried into the older one's shirt. "You were dead, and I thought...I thought..." Unable to finish his sentence, Law just held onto Rosinante, tears flowing thick and fast down his cheeks.
Rosinante pushed himself off the ground with one hand, the other holding onto Law, but as he did so, he felt new blood flow and his expression turned into one of pain. Law quickly scrambled off the hurting man and turned to examine him. "You've still got the bullets in you," he said, biting his lip and reaching his hand out to brush away the snow from the wounds. "The wounds might-" Then he stopped as blue light swirled around his palm, forming a small blue sphere before disappearing.
Law sat back, staring at his palm. He twitched his fingers experimentally, but nothing happened. "Was that...my power?" He asked Rosinante, dumbfounded.
"I think so," Rosinante answered, also staring at the boy's hand. "Try that again."
Law's hand hovered over Corazon's wounds, and he tried to tap into the power that he had felt when the light swirled around his palm. To his delight, the sphere appeared again, creating a small dome that encased Rosinante's chest. Closing his eyes, Law concentrated, and suddenly, several small, bloodstained bullets fell into the snow. Rosinante could only stare in amazement as Law dug out a tiny scalpel from underneath his cloak and set to work, his brow furrowed in concentration. The entire process took just a few minutes, and when the sphere disappeared, Corazon once again pushed himself to a sitting position, his hands poking through his bloodstained clothes to the skin underneath, which had been closed together, sealing the wounds.
"You did it!" Rosinante cried, beaming proudly at the small surgeon. Law smiled, his eyes closing. "That's good," he said, and then the scalpel slipped between his fingertips and he fell to his knees. Corazon grabbed him, steadying him. "Law? Hey, Law? What's wrong?"
"My energy," Law muttered, trying to push himself to his feet. "It takes a lot of energy to use my power. I don't know if I have enough energy to heal myself..."
"Don't even think of dying when you've come so far!" Corazon scolded, helping the boy find purchase on the slippery ground. "I'm not going to let you fall! So don't give up! You're too close to give up now!"
Law nodded, and grabbed onto Corazon's arm for support. "Okay," he said, picking up his scalpel once again. With Corazon's hands under his arms, holding him up, Law reached out his hand. The blue sphere reappeared, but it was smaller. Law barely blinked as he slowly and carefully moved the scalpel across his skin. The first patch of white fell to the ground, blending in with the snow. "Keep it up!" Corazon said, holding Law steady as he started to sway. The sphere flickered slightly, but Law stared at his skin, determination on his face as he focused on the next patch. The white flakes fell from his skin, revealing tanned flesh underneath. As the last patch of white fell onto the ground, Law's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed into Rosinante's arms. The man quickly checked Law for any spots that could have been left untouched, and when he found none, he tightly hugged the unconscious boy. "Hey, Law, it's okay now," he whispered, prying the scalpel from Law's fingers and tucking it safely into his coat before kneeling down and picking up Law's fur hat, placing onto the child's head. "You're free."
Corazon hid Law inside one of the small houses, waiting for him to recover. When, at last, Law woke up, the pain and fatigue gone, he stared in fascination at his spot-free arms, as though he could hardly believe he was free.
Law and Corazon left the island, heavily disguised so that no one would notice them. Rosinante took Law officially under his care, and for the first time in years, Law felt truly happy.
One day, while walking down the street, a small tan hand clenched in the large hand of the other, Law suddenly laughed quietly to himself. Corazon turned to his adopted child. "What is it?"
"Cora-san," Law said, looking straight ahead. "Do you remember the last thing you said to me before you...well...died?"
"Hey, Law," the man said, and the child, who had been examining the soundproof box, looked up, his face turning into one of shock as he saw the man's wide smile, accompanied by a missing tooth and a peace sign. "I love you!" The lid closed, and in the darkness, Law grinned.
"In all the panic, I forgot to tell you something," A smile as bright as the sun above their heads shone on Law's face. "I love you too, Cora-san!"
Corazon felt as though his heart would burst with happiness. As he opened his mouth to say something, he slipped and fell, but he got back to his feet almost immediately, grinning widely, and he felt as though he couldn't ever be happier.