Chapter 36
-Big sis! - several children exclaimed with joy when they saw the revolutionary arrive.
A couple of children hugged her, while others were more shy. Mina pet their heads.
-Oh! Grandpa Wolf is here today too!
-Ha! Of course, brats - he dropped his toolbox - I have to fix a few things around the house.
Some children accompanied the old man, while others stayed next to the pink-haired one.
-So... - Shachi began to speak - Have you set up some kind of orphanage?
-Of course not - she answered calmly - These children know how to take care of themselves. It's their home and I just take care of them when they need me.
The pirates looked at each other, confused.
"So... it IS an orphanage..."
While Bepo was playing with some children, the others sat at the kitchen table.
-So... - Law started a conversation - What have you been doing this last year?
Mina stared blankly at the ceiling.
-Actually... I lost the will to keep living many years ago - she began to speak - I have never had a motivation or a goal to fulfill like most people. For me, everything in life is just... annoying and pointless.
The pirates didn't know how to react to those words.
-How about the Revolutionary Army? Didn't you want to be free?
-I made a bet with Sabo the day I met him - she looked at the scar on her left hand - And I just kept living to see how he won it.
Law understood her a little better. That expressionless face, that indifference to almost everything around her... A person with no desire to live and who only allowed herself to be carried away by the current.
-But when the war ended I realized that, now that I'm finally free, maybe I need another excuse to continue living - she closed her eyes - I don't want to continue feeling so empty. I really want to have a purpose in this new life that has been given to me.
-And these children are?
These children are former Tenryubito's slaves - she answered - I saw them get on a boat when we gave the Coup in Marijoa. I looked for everyone who was still alive and decided to take care of them.
-That would explain why many of those children had horrible scars or missing limbs...
The oldest child was 13 years old, the youngest was around 8 years old.
Law looked her in the eye.
-And do you think you can continue living now? Do they make you happy?
Mina smiled.
-They help me feel less guilty for everything I did - she looked at the children who were playing with Bepo - I guess for now, I'll settle for that.
Law didn't reproach her for anything. He, better than anyone, understood the feeling of having no goals in life. Of feeling empty inside.
Because after Doflamingo's defeat, he had felt the same way. Defeating Kaido and everything that happened after that was just an excuse to continue living.
-What surprises me most is that Wolf-san helps you - Penguin changed the topic - He always asked us to work, but it doesn't seem that he's gonna ask for anything in return now...
-How unfair! - exclaimed Shachi.
-And how do you maintain them? - asked the captain - You will need fmoney for all this.
-I have a bank account on my name at the National Bank of the Grand Line from back when I lived in Dressrosa. I didn't use it before the war because I didn't want to be tracked down. But now that the World Government no longer exists, I took out all the money.
-You have that much money!? - Penguin asked.
Mina made a sarcastic face.
-It may not seem so, but there was a time when I was the heir to the throne of a country.
The three of them dropped a drop of sweat behind their heads. Sometimes, they forgot from which family she came from.
-That money... Doflamingo won't be mad?
-Hm? Why would Doffy be mad about it?
Law sighed.
"Of course she doesn't care. She doesn't have the kind of personality that cares about those things."
Do you really not plan to return to Dressrosa?
Mina pouted in disgust.
-I have no pending business in Dressrosa. Also, I have no special appreciation for the Riku. They are equal to Doffy.
-They didn't enslave their population - Law replied while raising an eyebrow.
-No, but they sent their country into bankruptcy. Dolan was a complete inept. Happiness ends when you have no money to feed your family. I don't justify Doffy's actions, but at least people had something to eat.
Law, however, felt that there was rather another hidden motive.
-Tell me the truth. Why don't you want to go back to Dressrosa? You don't care about Doffy's or Riku's policies.
Mina sighed.
-Because I can't stand Violet.
Law remembered Violet. She was not a bad woman, she had helped them a lot.
-Why? She's a good woman and helped with the revolt.
-That woman was Doffy's favorite lover - she pouted - I didn't saw her that angry when saw her leaving Doffy's room in the morning.
Shachi and Penguin blushed.
Law looked at Mina puzzled.
"Is it my thing or... does she seem upset?"
Anyway - Mina changed the subject - I just used to be a military slave, I had no political power.
Law froze.
-Did you say you were a... military slave?
However, Mina decided not to continue talking about it.
-Hey, Mina - Shachi asked - You said there were a total of 17 children, right?
-Yeah.
-But I've been counting them... there are only 16.
She smiled sadly.
-I know - she turned to look at Law - That's why I hadn't come looking for you yet. I have to find the last one.
-We can help you - replied the pirate.
Mina was surprised by that statement.
-Really?
-Of course, it's not like we have anything better to do. First of all, we came here to rest for a while.
-That would be great...
-Hey! - Wolf joined the conversation - Does that mean you're leaving now? But you just arrived!
They both stayed awake the last. Wolf and the other three had gone to sleep a couple of hours ago.
Law watched the woman in front of her go for her second bottle of rum.
-You keep drinking too much - he sighed - Seriously, you should measure a little more what you pour into your body.
She smirked.
-That was kinda naughty~
Law sighed.
-You will never change, huh?
-If I join your crew will you force me to give up bad habits? ~
-Are you asking to join? - Law returned the question with a grimace.
-That was a lie~ I don't want to be a pirate. I'm fine as I am right now.
-What a shame - Law snatched the bottle from him and finished it - I think it would look good on you, our Jolly Roger ~
-Would I really have to wear that suit? - she asked with displeasure - I mean... it's not that there's anything wrong... but it's not that I'm excited either...
Law laughed.
-Don't worry, they wear it because they want to. I find it ridiculous too - he shrugged - But if they want to I won't break their illusion.
They both continued to drink and talk for a while longer.
-That feeling of emptiness ... you're not the only one who feels it
-Any advice? - she asked with a crooked smile as she continued drinking.
-Not being alone - he looked at her - You're not alone, believe me. You don't have to keep fighting alone.
She laughed lightly.
-I'm not fighting anyone, captain ~
That emptiness - he touched her chest - It is worse than any war, because it never heals. I tell you from experience
Law saw her staring at him silently. Suddenly she smiled.
-What? - he asked while blushing.
-Are you really not mad? Not even now that you know who I am? The blood that runs through my veins?
-Law remembered it.
-Are you really Doflamingo's daughter?
-You may not believe it - she replied with an empty smile as she settled in - But Doffy was a good father. In his own way, I guess.
-He killed his brother, the man I considered to be my father. Cora-san saved my life. I will never be able to forgive Doflamingo, and less knowing that he tried to execute you.
"It really would be better if I don't tell him that his beloved Cora-san is my father, not Doffy" she thought with an awkward smile "I think it would make things more complicated ..."
-Don't worry - she sighed - I'm not going to ask you to forgive him. If you kill him, I will do nothing to prevent it.
I really don't understand you, don't you really hate it?
-It's the duty of every child to forgive the sins of their parents, don't you think?
"What is really going through your head? I don't understand you, but I don't think it's as simple as that"
Law wanted to know more, but decided not to continue with this conversation that, obviously, led nowhere.
Mina chuckled.
-Are you disappointed now you know the kind of human being I really am?~
-Don't say stupid things - he sighed - We have known each other for three years, my love for you won't change so easily.
She was not expecting those words.
"Does he love me? Someone like me?"
Law could see her confused face, which made him chuckled.
"What a funny face, I guess it couldn't be that easy"
-I'm not asking you to feel the same. I just wanted to tell you. I'm 27 years old now, I don't like to beat around the bush.
-I have nothing to offer you - she answered without smiling - I am not someone capable of giving you back everything you give me.
-I know.
She sighed.
Was she really loved? Something as unknown as lov ... would she be able to feel that one day?
-Do you think my feelings are annoying? - Law asked with a smile on her face. Why was she smiling?
- Annoying?... No, I just don't know how to return them.
-So, what do you think of me?
Law saw that she was looking at him totally confused. Honestly, the pirate was expecting complete rejection, so her answer surprised him.
-You really rock my world everytime I see you, and that confuses me...
-Damn, thats so confusing - he sighed.
-Looking at you, make my heart beat fast. When I see you - she aproached him - I really want to stay like that forever, because it makes me feel right. As long as you're with me, I don't think anything else matters to me.
Law stared at her with a blank face, and then began to laugh.
"Then you DO love me, silly girl" he thought.
Wasn't she the cutest? Not being able to understand something so simple... but that didn't mind him at all. It was more than enough.
Law always thought that, if he ever fell in love, wanted to have a relationship like his parents'. If there was one thing he remembered about them, it was the way they looked at each other.
-That makes me happy.
That woman looked at him just as his mother did with his father. That face of hers was always impassive, yet, he knew she only smiled like that to him.
And that was what he was looking for. Even if she wasn't the romantic type, he was fine with that. She was that way, and that made her special for him.
He kissed her.
-What a cute confused kitten~
She looked at him confused.
-What the hell are you talking about? Silly pirate.
Law chuckled. She was just too cute in her own way.
Mina saw that Law was already asleep. She sat on the bed and hugged her knees with her one arm.
Again she had dreamed of Doffy. Would he still be in Impel Down? Mina haven't seen his name on the news since the war ended.
"I don't know why I keep worrying about you. It's crystal clear that my feelings will never be reciprocated."
Doflamingo was the man who had done her the most damage. But also the man she had loved the most. He enslaved her, but at the same time showered her with gifts and displays of affection that confused her.
"Mina, my beloved daughter~" were the words he said to her before sending her back to the battlefront.
Those words made her so happy that she even forgot that this man was the same one who allowed them to hurt her.
Mina shook her head.
"No, Doffy is in the past. I don't think I'll ever see him again."
However, that feeling of longing didn't disappear.
"Although maybe... I might want to see you one more time"
She needed to know if that longing was real. Because if it wasn't, then she could finally be free of that chain that still bound her to him.
She heard Law growl in his sleep.
"What a beautiful face..."
That man accepted her for what she was. Wasn't that a good thing?
It was confusing. The chains of Doflamingo's overwhelming love still surrounded her.
That someone like Law loved her, made her feel dirty.
Her body was covered in scars and wasn't innocent at all, wasn't she someone to be disowned?
Mina leaned back next to Law and hugged him from behind.
-Can you really love someone as unpleasant as me?
She hugged him tightly while hiding her face, forcing herself to sleep.
"Because if the answer is yes... Can I be happy by your side? Am I allowed?"