"Damn her…" Moria recalled what his shadow had reported to him. "Damn her! Why should she get in the way!" the corridor was silent, and his ranting echoed off the empty walls, ricocheting until it reached the curiosity of someone strolling through MarineFord that night. He turned down the hall where the last curse still resonated in the stale air.
"Why would she even be there? What the hell has she got to do with him, or is it for the Marines?" Moria growled, mercilessly pounding the concrete with his boots. "That woman….!" He stopped. "Why should she be an obstacle? I can get Straw-Hat's shadow whether she's there or not!"
"I doubt that." A grin glistened in the gloom.
"Doflamingo." Moria said quietly. Pink feathers came into view.
"Our little Hime is ignoring my warning. From what you've said, I'll guess she stopped you when you went after Straw-Hat."
"Warning…?" Moria looked down at Doflamingo suspiciously. "Are you with her too?"
"NO!" his suddenly raised voice made Moria retreat a step backwards. He had never heard him yell like that.
"I don't work with just anyone, or for just anyone." Doflamingo had calmed, a sinister, knowing smile, present as he spoke. "But I don't think she's working for anyone…yet that is."
Moria was confused, and Doflamingo frowned at his stupidity. "She's leaving herself vulnerable, someone will snatch her up soon….Using her would be child's play, because our little Hime," His smile resurfaced. "is really no more than a spoiled, arrogant child, herself."
"What do you want….what are you telling me this for?" Moria glared.
"Hostile, so hostile." Doflamingo chuckled. "That's why you don't have any friends."
"Don't play with me! What are you up to?"
"It's not what I want to gain….it's what I want to see." He turned away from Moria, but didn't attempt to leave. "Straw-Hat Luffy is my distraction from a monotonous world!" he threw out his arms dramatically, cackling. "He is my new play thing! Nothing more but nothing less…to me at least. So much is happening! I couldn't even begin to make out half of it!"
Screwed up bastard! Moria thought to himself. "You're going to waste Straw-Hat, while I could put him to good use."
"As one of your dolls?" Doflamingo's bored expression and remark offended the larger Shichibukai. But Doflamingo didn't let him indulge his temper. "Ah, but he is being put to even better use as we speak."
"How?" Moria spat, his temper hadn't receded at all, and Doflamingo noticed with sadistic pleasure.
"Would you like to find out?"
"That's why I'm asking!" fanged teeth flashed.
Doflamingo paused in thought. "Naw. I don't like you." He began to walk away casually as Moria flew into a passion.
"Damn you! Damn these fucking Shichibukai! You're maddening!" he screeched after the retreating figure and the memory of Boa Hancock.
"Have fun with yourself!" Doflamingo's voice rebounded back to Moria.
A body of darkness twisted around and constricted his legs and Doflamingo was halted in mid step.
Moria walked around the mass of pink feathers until he could see its face. He mirrored Doflamingo's signature grin, his sharp teeth making it more daunting.
Doflamingo's sunglasses flashed in the dull lighting, and both Shichibukai smiled ominously.
"You know…I was hoping you would do that."
****
Time passes…..a day later, about the same time in the middle of the night….
Pain, unsettled emotion, and soreness of the body, heart, and mind sent Luffy into an undistinguishable reality. He sat up abruptly, ignoring his pain. He couldn't help but cry out though, when it tore into him. This woke one who slept with a head laid almost on his shoulder, but still on the bed, and his movement and sound made a figure quickly grab for a light switch.
"Hancock?" he blinked, eyes stinging after being unexposed for so long. He jolted, sending waves of paralyzing pain though his body, seeing the other by the wall. "G…G…Grandfather?!" he shouted, confused and disoriented and unconvinced he was awake he blinked a few times furiously. They still remained.
"Luffy!" Hancock's eyes were watery with happiness, she started to hug him but had to stop, remembering his state. "Luffy, I'm so glad you're okay!" she settled on gripping his arm with her hands.
"Okay…?" memory rushed back, explaining his unbalanced emotions. "ACE! WHAT ABOUT ACE?"
His voice filled the emptied room. The Marines had given Hancock the room to herself when they found out that she would be staying there that night, they had done the same the previous night also. Luffy's exclamation was still heard through the wall. A doctor making his rounds, checking on patients, got up. Alarmed that there should be any noise at all at this time at night, he went into the other room.
"He's fine, don't yell so loud! You'll wake everyone up!" Garp didn't seem to realize he was also yelling, and out of habit, he hit Luffy on the head. Unfortunately the doctor opened the door in time to see this.
"What are you doing!" the distraught doctor ran over to Luffy's bed. With the room to themselves, the curtain had been pulled back. "He's just woken up! And you go and hit him on the head?" he growled. "Fool!"
"Who are you?"
Luffy's voice made the doctor gasp and jump back, remembering who his patient actually was….and what he was.
"I..uh…" he cleared his throat, trying to collect himself. He looked vaguely at Luffy…..he's a pirate….the thought ran through the doctor's mind and the general prejudice surfaced in his heart.
"Where's Ace?" Luffy lost interest in the mumbling man, and turned to Hancock and his grandfather, earnestly.
"Don't worry. You saved him and he's alright, Luffy." Hancock's gentle voice and smile made the doctor blush. Luffy sighed with relief, and then thought for a moment.
"I.." the doctor began, but Luffy started talking and overwhelmed the doctor who glared at him in annoyance.
"I remember the ship, but after that…nothing." Luffy's eyebrows furrowed, but then relaxed and he smiled. "So Ace made it out alright? That's good." He sank back into his pillow. He tried to move his hand but realized something was attached to it. "What? What are these?"
Garp looked blankly at his grandson. "Those are sea stone cuffs. You didn't think that we could leave you completely unrestrained while you're in Marineford, now, did you?"
"MARINEFORD?!" Luffy was shocked at the news and sat up quickly again, wincing slightly.
"You're as slow as ever." Garp couldn't help but smile a little. Same old Luffy, no matter what happens…
"So…what happened to me?" his own situation dawned on him.
"Commodore Smoker spotted you when you fell off the ship, and I swam out and got you. You didn't miss much." Garp casually leaned against the wall.
"Smokey? He saved me?" Luffy laughed, surprising the others who had not even expected him to know who Smoker was. "I knew he wasn't a bad guy."
"Smokey? You mean Smoker, right?" Garp laughed at the absurd and expected interpretation of the name. He had already known that the two were acquainted.
"He's a friend of yours, Luffy?" Hancock frowned, remembering how she had treated the Marine.
"Sure…Only I don't think he likes me very much." Luffy continued to smile.
"Then that means he's not your friend, idiot!" Garp smacked him on the head again.
As Luffy rubbed his head, Hancock stood up to force Garp to pay for hitting Luffy, twice now, in her presence, but a low grumble from the bed stopped her and all eyes turned to Luffy.
"I'm hungry."
****
As a parade of food made its way into the hospital, the other patients woke up and peered into the next room out of curiosity, bewildered to find Straw-Hat Luffy wide awake and seemingly eating the entire island's provisions.
The doctor had refused to get Luffy more than a small plate of leftovers, anything more would mean waking up the cooks. Hancock announced that she would just have to do it, and to prevent her from having to go through the trouble and hazard of cooking, he left with her to wake up the cooks. She then returned and food was quickly presented, and more came without hesitation when Hancock repeated Luffy's requests. Garp lounged on a chair, laughing at the men who fell under the Hime's spell.
The Marines were both disgusted and amazed at the amount of food Luffy was eating and how good it looked after days of hospital food. They were even more surprised when the pirate invited them to join. Somehow, a kind of party came together.
Even Tashigi was lured by the festivities. She quietly made her way to Luffy. Hancock realized that a girl wearing red glasses stood next to Luffy. Her menacing glare made Tashigi flinch, but she continued, determined.
"Straw-Hat Luffy?"
"Hmm?" Luffy's mouth was full of food, mostly meat.
She cringed, but couldn't help feeling somewhat amused. "Do you remember who I am?"
Luffy swallowed, almost choking as he forgot that he was wearing the sea stone cuffs. One cuff was linked to his wrist and the other was linked to the railing of the bed, by request of Hancock. "No."
Hancock had been concerned, but now a smug smile spread across her face.
Tashigi started. "Don't you remember at Alabasta when you were looking for Crocodile? I wanted to thank…." …you for saving that country, is how she would have continued, but instead Luffy interrupted her.
"AH!"
A couple of Marines looked in his direction.
"I remember now! You told me where to find Crocodile!" Luffy smiled and bowed his head a little. "Thanks! That was a big help!"
"I…!" Tashigi was as speechless as the few Marines and Hancock who had seen this. A pirate of his stature, thanking a Marine?
"Luffy!" Hancock said, distressed. A few jealous Marines wished she would call them by their first name, or at least know what it was.
"What?" Luffy had begun to eat again.
"You can't…you shouldn't do that…..she's a Marine." Hancock had difficulty scolding Luffy in any manner.
"So? She helped us."
"Us?" Hancock was confused.
"My crew and Bibi." He swallowed to make it easier to speak. "It actually helped Robin too since Crocodile would've probably killed her."
"Your crew?" Hancock said dumbly. She had forgotten all about their existence. He is a pirate…..Hancock was uneasy counting the two female names mentioned.
"Yeah, I'm going to go to the last place I saw them (Marines were listening and even the dense Luffy wasn't going to ruin his hope to reunite with his crew) and we'll continue to go on to the RedLine."
A few choked and looked at Luffy's optimistic face with disbelief.
"You mean to escape?" Tashigi inquired, frowning.
"Or you could just let me leave. I don't care either way. I'm not staying here forever." Luffy's optimism was undefeatable.
Disturbed, Tashigi wanted to discourage Luffy, but a familiar voice by her ear made her start.
"You really know how to make a mess of things, Straw-Hat. I'll give you that." Smoker looked at Luffy and then the lively Marines and then the masses of food. The noise was slowly waking up those sleeping throughout Marineford.
"Smokey?" his unexpected presence surprised Luffy, and food flew at Smoker as he exclaimed. Growling, Smoker wiped it off with revulsion.
"That's the second time, damn it!" He fumed, wanting to hit Luffy, but Luffy was injured and cuffed with sea stone, and doing so would make him into a bully…in his mind.
"So you saved me?"
Luffy's words weren't caught by anyone outside of Hancock and Tashigi and the one addressed.
"What?" Tashigi turned to Smoker who glared even more venomously at Luffy.
"No. Your old man did." Smoker said brusquely.
"No, you told him where I was or whatever. That's what he said. I wanted to say thanks agai…."
"GARP!" Smoker snarled and stormed over to the amused old man and started yelling at him.
"Wow…he'd actually do something like that?" Tashigi said to herself, but her attention fell back to Luffy who seemed awed by something.
"Someone's actually yelling at Grandfather? Whenever I do that he beats the crap out of me……….that's not fair!" Luffy continued intently to watch Smoker berate Garp who only smiled and even laughed.
"He does what?" Hancock cried and stood up abruptly. "Why he'll…" she stopped before going over to Garp when she heard Tashigi and remembered that she was there and would be left alone with Luffy, so she sat down in her chair again.
"He does what?" Tashigi's voice echoed Hancock's.
"What? He's always been like that, just because I refused to be a Marine."
Tashigi's surprise along with a few random Marines, prolonged the topic, and the night continued.
****
Eventually Hancock couldn't stand the attention others were receiving from Luffy. The food was practically gone, so Luffy didn't think much of it when she threw all of the Marines out of the room, specifically making sure Tashigi was among them.
Smoker more or less left on his own, mainly to avoid Luffy. Now only Hancock, Garp, and Luffy remained, which had become the norm in the hospital as of late.
Some noise in the other room prompted Hancock to get up and open the connecting door to demand their silence, but she met someone as she forced the doors open.
"What do you want?" Hancock was too surprised to be cold, and this man had never bothered her before.
"Hawkeye?" Garp got up, wary of the Shichibukai.
Luffy couldn't think of any questions to add, so he was silent.