Don't expect such frequent updates. The inspiration bunny bit me in the ass and I just had to write this. I don't know how long this story will be but it's probably not going to be a small story or a large one. You'll get an actual story, not just tidbits of their past. I was just writing her past and then this happened. Either way, I hope you enjoy it and leave a comment.
If you haven't finished the Dressrosa Arc, this will not be spoiler friendly.
They found her in the ruins of some waring country during a mission trip. It didn't matter what country and, honestly, they had forgotten the name of the country themselves. What mattered, though, was that they saw her, and they loved her almost immediately. Being a small, malnourished child of only five years old, they couldn't help but fall in love with her round green eyes and her raggedy ink black hair. Despite the advice from others, they took her in their arms and named her Trafalgar D. Marina.
As a child raised in the slums, of course she had a few problems. To put it simply, in her first few years living with the Trafalgar couple, she was a terror.
They first found the problem when the couple saw her picking at another little girl's hair, pulling the blond locks harshly as she commanded for the blonde's sweets. After returning the blonde to her parents, they sat her down and asked her why she would do something that hurtful. Her head hanging in shame, the Trafalgar parents decided to teach her a lesson.
"Marina, doctors are compassionate," they told her. "They help people, not hurt them. You must learn to be nice."
If you asked her now, Marina would say that she does not remember this exchange. And she wouldn't be lying. She doesn't. However, she does remember her parents telling her of this lesson and how she had apparently taken the admonishing to heart. The former slum rat had stopped being cruel, attempting to be a compassionate person her adopted parents had taught her to be— a personality trait that would later save her and doom her at the same time.
However, another lesson had to be taught when they found her hording her leftover food under the floorboards. After throwing out all the rotting food, they had to sit her down a second time and explain to her why hording food wasn't okay. They understood where she was coming from, but she was safe now.
"Marina," they cooed together as they swaddled her in their arms, "you will never go hungry again in your life. We'll take good care of you."
Marina believed them. They had given her all the food and candy that she had asked for. Why would they lie? She had even gained her normal weight and was feeling full and energized for the first time in her life. She didn't have anything to worry about.
But when she was eight years old, the Trafalgar parents had started to worry. They didn't know how she would handle it. Was she going to be happy? Upset? Her parent knew that she reacted well with the other children in her school, but she was only there for a few hours. How would she react to another child that was with her all the time?
"Marina, you're going to have a little brother soon," her mother gently tapped her nose, giving the short haired girl a gentle smile. "You're going to be big sister, so you'll have to take care of your brother. Okay?"
"Okay!" Her chirpy voice responded to her mother's delight. And it was the best decision Marina had ever made. When her mother placed the new squirming unnamed baby in her arms, Marina knew that she had fallen in love. With his watery grey eyes and his puffy baby cheeks, the eight-year-old couldn't help but fall in love with her younger sibling. He looked so much like his father.
"Name him Water! Like me! We're siblings!"
With happiness in her parent's eyes, together they took their two children in their arms and named their new born son Trafalgar D. Water Law. And Marina decided that she would always be there for him. With childlike innocence, the older sister promised to always be by her little brother's side. Through his knee scrapes and bruised hands, the sister held true to her words, always taking care of her younger sibling as he grew through his childhood years with his sister by his side.
At first when he tugged at her hair, she thought it was cute as he grasped at her like she was his life line. But as his tugs started getting stronger and her yelps got louder, their mother put her foot down. Marina was definitely in need of a good hair cut; the length was already past her butt.
"Marina, it's about time you cut your hair," her mother chided her as they pulled a little Law's hands out of her long black locks.
"No, Mama," her daughter gripped her hair as if trying to protect it from the hands of her mother. "I don't like blades."
And it was true, she didn't. When someone pulled out a blade back when she was an orphan, it usually meant that someone was trying to stab you. Her mother knew this though. And it seems she was prepared. Pulling out only a small pair of scissors, her mother gentle touched Marina's wrist. "How about this? We'll only cut off a small bit at a time."
Marina was hesitant but allowed her mother to take her ink black locks into her hands. Her mother struggled against the small blades but was able to cut away little chunks of black hair nonetheless as her daughter's eyes remained tightly shut. As the scissors snipped away at her hair, Marina clutched her teddy bear— a gift from her father. And slowly her mother chopped off the daughter's long ink black hair, leaving the girl with a short black bob.
"Alright, Marina," her mother put down her scissors, far away from baby Law's searching hands. "You're good for now. We'll have to take you to an actual hairdresser tomorrow to get the uneven cuts."
She returned the squirming Law back into Marina's hands and the two siblings were left to each other as the mother went off to find the broom. The little girl turned to the mirror, taking in the short black hair bordering her face. It was different from what she was used to— scraggly hair draping across her head in a think mat— but this was nice. Marina looked and felt lighter. Her hair bounced from the loss of the heavy weight, free from the heavy shackles of long and tangled hair.
Funnily enough, Law seemed to like her new hair style more too. He giggled at her new still messy bob, grasping at thin air as he attempted to reach for the familiar black ink. His sister looked down on her bubbly brother, taking in his wide, smiling mouth and his bright grey eyes staring back at her own. And this was when she decided that she loved her new hair style. And she wouldn't let anyone tell her differently.
Until she met him.
"You cut your hair."
"I did."
"Why?" His deep voice grumbled out in a slightly offended tone.
His tone confused her, jumbling her own thoughts as her confusion grew evident on her face. Marina self-consciously reached up to her hair, lightly grasping the tips of her freshly cut hair as she pondered over his response. "Why does it matter?"
His eyes drifted from her frame face over to the cracked window in their refurbished building, taking in the messiness of the junkyard. The blond man ignored her question, opting for one of his own as his curiosity grew with more glances to the black-haired woman standing before him. The shaded eyes returned to the clean, and sickly thin, woman standing before him. "How come you don't have Amber Lead Syndrome?"
"I'm adopted," her short reply came as she mentally prepared herself from more of his questions. She could feel his eyes roam her, but she couldn't see them. Still, she remained unwavering as she looked back into his sunglasses.
"From where?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know," he raised his eyebrows at this.
She shook her head, letting her hair swing around her face. "I don't know."
"And how did you get out from Flevance, Rina?" The blond scanned her again, trying to see how Jora had thought that the black-haired woman had resembled the little scrawny kid from a few months earlier. Looking closer at her figure, seeing as how both the Trafalgars were too skinny and had black hair, he had to give Jora some slack.
"Marina."
"What?" The blond lifted a thin blond eyebrow, surprised at this woman's gull.
"My name is Marina."
The captain leaned back into his chair, tilting his head at this snippy woman taking up his time. "Oh? But Law seemed to have only called you Rina."
He was slightly surprised to find her breaking her contact to smile at the floor boards, a past memory no doubt replaying on her mind. The woman returned her gaze back to the blond man sitting before her, giving him a beaming smile. "He's my brother; it's his nickname for me."
"Rina!" A four-year-old boy bounced into a twelve-year-old's arms, hanging onto her arms as she swung him around in a small circle. His giggles filled the room as she hugged him tighter to her body, relishing in his happy laughter. This life was so much better than the one she had almost completely forgotten. The one from before. Before she had two parents giving her a good night's kiss. Before she had a little brother to look after. Before she had decided to cut her hair.
Marina had decided to keep her short bob; it was so much easier to brush through. And it also tangled less often! She had found that she truly did love the new style. It was… freeing, in a way. She had lost the heavy weight of the hair, allowing her to move her head with a lighter feeling as she moved her neck. Her neck could get quite cold, however. And so, Marina had started to hate winter.
The winter breeze would always blow on her neck with the likening of a gentle lover's kiss on a lazy morning. She liked the feeling, but it was still too cold. It sent shivers down her spin as the breeze caressed her still pale skin, paler than some of the patients lying in her father's hospital. They never could figure out what happened to those people.
"Wina!"
Ah, the reason for her favorite season Spring. A small brunette waddled over to the two siblings, reaching up from her older sister with her small grasping hands. Her hair was also a short bob, the only similarity to her adopted sister. Marina had prepared her hair into two cute piggy tails. With the girl's wide grey eyes and her beaming smile, the little girl was the embodiment of happiness.
"Lami!"
"I want hug!" The small girl pouted, stomping her feet as Law stuck out his tongue at her. Lami tripped over herself in her small waddle, tightly wrapped in a heavy winter coat. She landed face first in the deep snow, her hands falling above her head as she plummeted down into the white blanket.
"Lami!" Marina called out to her sister, attempting to hold in her laughter as Lami waved her arms back and forth in the snow. Law couldn't hold in his laughter, letting his mocking laughs echo through their backyard. Marina dropped Law into the soft snow below him and moved over to her little Lami. She lifted the brunette out of the snow, holding in her giggles as she took in Lami's red face and deadpanned expression. Lami frowned when she saw her brother laughing in the white snow.
And this is the only reason why she tolerated the icy winter. Because of her siblings. Her baby siblings. The ones she promised that she would protect and look after. They were her family. They might not have been her blood, but they were the only things she wanted to remember. The memories from before were already fading, and soon she would only remember the memories of them. The memories of the laughter of her two siblings, of when her mother read stories to the three of them, of when their father decided to teach them of his profession.
Marina was terrible at modern medicine, something Law was good at, but she found that she had excelled in herbal medicine. She loved growing special medicinal herbs and using them for her father's patients. Her mother had taught her how to correctly use the plants to a doctor's advantage, something that she would never had believed was so important.
After all, Law wouldn't always be by her side. Away, but never too far.
Right?
"Why are you picking at the weeds, Marina?" Her name rolled off his tongue like smooth wine down her throat despite the slightly condescending tone he had used. The captain touched her freshly cut hair, wishing she still wouldn't cut off her long locks when her hair grew out in wavy black locks. He watched her stop with her herb picking.
"I'm not picking at weeds, Doflamingo," Marina returned his name with a snippy tone, pushing back her inky hair with her dirty fingers. She put a hand on her hips. "We need the herbs."
"We don't need to resort to weeds, Marina," Doflamingo rolled his eyes at the woman. "We can get medicine."
"Yes, but those don't last very long in Spider Miles' heat. Certain medicines degrade after high temperatures," Marina brushed off some dirt patches. A small Dellinger waddled over to the woman, wrapping his tiny arms around her small waist. He latched onto the woman, forcing her to gather the child into her arms. Doflamingo must admit, the human and fishman hybrid had gotten quite good at manipulating the soft-hearted woman. Dellinger burrowed his face into her chest, shooting a knowing smirk at the captain before he did so, causing the older blond to roll his eyes at the child. "If you dry these herbs, you can store them much longer in this heat."
Doflamingo watched her carry the child back to the ship, his eyes locked firmly onto her round backside. He will admit; he loved watching her swaying backside. She was alluring, pulling him into her just like the thing she was named after: the sea. He could see her long black locks swinging as she walked as well; if only she out grew her inky tresses. She did look good with her obsidian hair framing her face, but she would look even better with her the liquid obsidian flowing down her back, like a queen.
"She's a distraction."
His brow furrowed at the words, hating how his officer worded his 'observation.' The captain ran a hand through his own blond hair. "And what makes you say that?"
"You've always had your eyes on her ever since Law brought her here," Diamante merely raised his brow at his captain's tone, not expecting him to be so defensive of the former street rat. His red cape hung heavy on his shoulders, almost dragging across the dirt if it wasn't for his abnormal height. In all his years following Doffy, he had never seen the captain so distracted by a mere woman. "Either be finished with her or forget about her, Doffy. You can't afford distractions."
"Diamante," Doflamingo rumbled his officer's name deep within his chest, growing slightly irate as his officer attempted to control him. He shot a sick smile to the man named after a mineral. The smile sent shivers down Diamante's spine; he was not used to Doflamingo's anger being directed towards him. "You worry too much. Stop thinking about it."
The former Celestial Dragon followed after his growing obsession, leaving the top officer to himself. Diamante frowned, not liking what he had just heard from his future king. It seems that he must get rid of the distraction himself before Doffy gets too attached.
She was seventeen, almost an adult and almost ready where she could make her own decisions. Marina was so close. She loved her parents, but sometimes she really hated them bugging her about every little thing she does.
"You two aren't going to sex, right?" Her father held out his finger, practically already admonishing her for something she didn't do. Her brother next to her giggled, already knowing what sex was— he came from a family of doctors after all— and laughed at his sister's expense.
"Dad!" Her green orbs widened at her father's bluntness and her eyes grew furious as they spotted the little brother laughing on the couch. "No! Of course not!"
"Look, you guys can be open with me. I just want to make sure you'll be safe. You two have been dating for a few months and you know the danger of STDs…."
"Hahaha," her brother laughed even louder as he paged through his own book.
Marina rolled her eyes at her dad, packing up her purse as she tried ignoring her brother's laughter. She'll give him so much shit when he comes home with a girlfriend. Her mother poked her head into the living room, spotting her husband talking about something with sexually transmitted diseases and her middle child giggling at his sister. The Trafalgar mother knew immediately what was going on. Walking over to her eldest daughter and grasping her by the hands, she planted a small kiss on Marina's forehead. "Just have fun, sweetie."
Marina gave her mother a relieved sigh, noticing her mother slip something into her purse. What could that be? "I will, Mom."
"And Law?" Her mother gave him a smile.
"Mom?"
"Don't give your sister a hard time. Or she'll give you hell when you bring home a nice lady."
Law's face turned beet red as he buried his head deeper into his medical book, causing his sister's laughter to ring into the living room. After giving her father a hug, she headed out the door with a farewell wave to her family. Turning around, she quickly landed herself into someone's arms. Sheepishly peering up, she took in the blue eyes staring down at her. She smiled wide.
"Alex!"
"Hey, Mari," the other teenager's own smile grew wide when he took in her black hair and green eyes. His own blond hair shone in the sunlight. Alex gave her a toothy grin and grabbed her hand, leading her out of her parent's yard. "Ready for our date?"
"Of course!" Marina gave him another wide grin, latching onto his arm as he led the way to the diner. Remembering her mother slipping something into her purse, she stopped, confusing her date as she did so. "Wait."
"Did you forget something? Do you want to head back?"
"No, my mom gave me something." Marina rummaged through her purse, finding a neat little box hiding under her wallet. She grabbed the box, bursting with laughter as she read the covering. Alex grabbed the box, confusion on his face as he heard her laughter. He couldn't help but crack as smile as he read the cover. It was a box of condoms. She guesses they really will have sex.
Rosinante awoke to the feeling of her naked body pressed up against him. He had covered them in his large feather coat, making sure she was warm even if they were camping out on a summer island. He knew how easily the woman wrapped in his arms got cold. The Donquixote wrapped his arms tighter, breathing in the small— small for him— woman's scent: lavender.
"Rosi?" A soft sigh of his name came from the woman in his arms, sighing his name in his favorite way. "What time is it?"
"It's early," he gave her soft peck on his forehead, squeezing her tighter. "Go back to bed."
"Ah," Marina managed to roll over in his arms, her hands clasping onto his black coat. She murmured a few more barely distinguishable words. "Don't forget to pack the kids' lunches for school."
Rosinante couldn't help but smile at her words. She was dreaming of having a life with him. A dream where he had most likely married her, a dream where he had children with her, a dream where they had simple lives. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to have that life with her when he was finished with his Doffy business. Just maybe. He'll see what Sengoku can do for them. For now, he'll just settle with dreams and a peck on the forehead.
"She's not getting better at all," her mother whispered to her father in the darkness of the room as the studied their x-rays. "This makes no sense."
Marina sat in the corner, not liking how Lami's condition was being talked about by her parents. Everyone they had tested had it, everyone except for her. They told it wasn't contagious, she got that. It made sense. That's why she didn't have it. But if it wasn't contagious, where did it come from? How did literally everyone in her family have it?
Her parents have it; Marina could see the little white spots growing on their skin. Law had it, even if he couldn't visibly see it yet. If you squinted hard enough, you could see the white spots on some of her classmates.
Every day, more and more people were getting sent to the hospital for the mysterious white disease they had now called Amber Lead Syndrome. They gave it a name, but no one could cure it. And they were all going to die because of it.
Let me know what you guys think.