Chapter Two

Luffy could see shinny pair of eyes peeping through the curling newspaper at the edge of display window. After years of travelling he was used to humankind's most notorious habit- Curiosity. The great scriptures warned of Curiosity and that's what Luffy sold. Curiosity was sister to Temptation, Luffy was always conscious about what he sold, it was Curiosity. Luffy ignored the brown pair of eyes peeping and continued hammering the wall. His grand old wall clock was going to hang there.

"Lamy, please hand me the clock we stole from Grandpa's" Luffy eyes focused on the nail and Lamy stood up from the floor. "You know that is expensive watch papa, if great-grandpa complains to peacekeepers we will be in prison!" Lamy paddled towards the red box placed on the wooden counter. "Clock, not watch child he won't, he is old and crazy but not insane. I wouldn't have stolen it had he given it me when I asked him. I mean the clock was getting rusted in that storeroom for years now. We rescued it! Rather you did" Luffy turned around smiling at Lamy.

"I am fast and smart!" Lamy cheered. "Oh yeah…. The smartness sure comes from your mama!" Luffy looked at his daughter with admiration. "Papa here you go" Lamy handed Luffy an old wall clock with two brass hands and one broken second's hand. "Thank you!" Luffy placed it on the wall.

"Many people are peeping in today!" Lamy giggled and Luffy jumped from the chair and walked towards the kitchen cum storeroom attached behind the shop. "Where ever we go, why do people peep in our shop papa?" Lamy asked paddling behind Luffy.

"Curiosity, the desire to see what's hidden, the thought to know what's in forbidden books, the inkling to cross the fenced area to see what's on other side. The world run's on curiosity. We provide that medium and people become curious in every town we go. Everybody falls prey to curiosity, like I can see some curious person has eaten half of the contents in the pickle jar on the left shelf, despite me asking her not to, but should I call it curiosity or temptation or theft?" Luffy looked at Lamy who pretended to unheard him, Luffy picked up the sack of apples and poured them on the big work table left by previous shopkeeper.

"Time to make apple chips" Luffy pulled a pouting Lamy by the waist and sat her on the table. "Papa, how long will we stay here?" Lamy asked snatching one red juicy apple rolling on the dark table. "Depends on how long we can keep the town curious and happy" Luffy smiled. "From next week, I am enrolling you in the school though" Luffy ruffled Lamy's hair. "Where they will teach me about the wrongs of Wild Wind and how we should not get crazy!" Lamy puffed her cheeks and emitted the voice of her last School Head Master. "Lamy… he taught you other things too" Luffy said in a heavier voice.

"Sorry.." Lamy pouted. "Okay have we counted all the items we bought with us?" Luffy asked chopping the apples. "Yes" Lamy nodded. "Day after tomorrow our suppliers will come and drop rest of the things, we will be good to reopen business in four days" Luffy grinned. "Will you make the streets happy again?" Lamy asked. "The streets are happy, we have to make the inhabitants happy" Luffy looked at his daughter with a mysterious smile. "Papa you are planning again" Lamy smiled at her father. "Planning! And me?" Luffy's eyes grew large. "True mom says you are in capable planning!" Lamy laughed. "I agree with the woman on this matter" Luffy smirked.

"Doctor-san, he has been refusing medicine for four days now" an old woman lamented near Law's arms. "Let me talk to him" Law pats the woman's hand. "I hope you have a good reason" Law sighed opening his medical box. "Grandpa, why are you not taking the medicines?" Law sits on the small stool placing the open box on the bed and asks the old man pouting like a child. "It's bitter!" the man pouted more. "If you don't drink the medicine I give, trust me I have to cut you open and fix your stomach infection" Law sighed. "I would prefer dying over drinking that vile thing! Have you ever tasted the medicine you make brat! Its poison! Pure Poison!" the old man grumbled.

"Fine, Granny… let him die in pain. When his infection will spread throughout his stomach, harm his liver and spoil his body burry him. Since he doesn't love you anymore you can marry old Riku from Sunflower Streets" Law stands up shutting his medical box and looks at the weeping woman. "If you think you have the right to die this way feel free to not undergo any treatment! Bitter medicine will not kill you, but your stubbornness will!" Law will never sugarcoat the truth.

"How long will he be stable, if he doesn't take medicine?" the old woman asks. "Depends on his arrogance Granny" Law walks out of the small house. "I know you are doing best for him, but could you not make something that is less bitter" the old woman asked looking down. "I have been trying" Law bows to the woman and leaves the small house decorated in flowers.

Law was angry with Dressrosa, he was always an angry bird in this town and everybody knew it. He was basically a loner, he hardly had people to talk of his age, the ones he knew were like him and he did not have people who could intrigue him enough. He regretted returning to Dressrosa after finishing his Medical School. But he had to return when his father's letter begged him to comeback, to Law's horror the only doctor in the town was him and this was his reason to stay here. He was angry with people for being stubborn and stupid over illness. The worst patients were children and old people. It was easy to make people in between both category drink or swallow their bitter medicine. But the other categories hated anything bitter! The children cried and the elders cussed.

For last four years Law had been trying to make his medicine less bitter. He could not use sugar, he tried honey but it failed on many levels, camphor left a strange smell, diluting the drinks with spring water left an itching aftertaste. He was so angry; on top of the patient troubles, he had trouble in family.

Having a Mayor for father was never easy. Doflamingo was good man, Law knew it, but his goodness was irritating. His mother was angry with his father and in her anger she was travelling around the country. Their only communication was through Law. He was the one writing letters and delivering those behalf of both. On top of that his father wanted him to marry a suitable girl as soon as possible.

Law still did not understand which part of his sentence- 'I do not fancy women, I am attracted to men' does his father not understand! If his father wanted to marry someone it should be Sanji, his cousin brother. The blonde was a first class womanizer. Though he was just twenty three, he was in love with girls of sixteen as well as women of sixty. Sanji just loved women! According to Law Sanji required a wife to keep him grounded and happy.

But the other trouble Law dealt with was his uncle Corazon, Sanji's father a clumsy architect who had signed a pact with gods to be Law's regular patient. Every other day the man came with cuts, scars, burns, bruises, infection, bleeding and what not. Corazon was a trouble magnet. And Law lived with Corazon and Sanji because living with his own father was painful.

As Law walked past Shanks's One and Half red Building he saw the old unused shop plastered in newspaper from inside. The nomad boy was doing his best to intrigue the population. It would be a lie if Law denied his own attraction towards the short guy. He yet had to know his name. Law was not going anywhere, so he could take it easy and slow until the shop opened. His eyes looked at the new Sign Board hanging by the old iron bar. The old wood was painted in red and on it the words Laughmaker's was written in silver. So Law would wait till the Laughmaker's opened its door to him.

As Law began retracing his path, he saw a glimpse of the dark haired guy through one of the curling newspapers at the display window. The guy with dark hair was crushing something in a stone grinding bowl with a small stone club, his hair held back by a red band and his skinny hands working with seriousness. The sight made Law run out of his breath. He was going to talk to him soon. Law hurried off as he did not want his father or Sanji to find him attracted to a new guy in town.

"I heard you rented your haunted house to a nomad?" Shanks was patted hard on the back by Yasopp, the town artist. "Yeah, but he is not a nomad but a wayfarer I guess" Shanks chugged his beer. "What's the difference between both?" Yasopp was clearly drunk. "Nomads are a tribe or a moving community, but wayfarer is a single soul. I have two wayfarers as tenants" Shanks laughed.

"Stupid, all are same" the happy artist hiccupped. "Yeah.. yeah… I am surprised as a famous painter you are calling everything same" Shanks smirked. "Yup…" Yasopp hiccupped more. "Sooo….Shanksss… did I hear two wayfarer?" Yasopp asked with sloppy eyes.

"Yup" Shanks drank his third glass. "Yo Shanks, tell about the nomads, who are the people you are renting out too" another man from corner table asked. "Yeah… what shop is the boy opening?" Shanks was now begin attacked with questions. "A curio shop.. I guess" Shanks smirked. "What's a curio shop?" another yelled. "I don't know how to put it in words, the boy is hammering the wall one moment, putting up bookcase near the stairs, scrubbing the floor, fixing the kitchen, chopping apples, planting things in my barren kitchen garden, pumping water out of the tube-well as well the well, reading books to the little girl, whatever it is, it should be good I guess. Rent matters to me most" Shanks was now laughing at Yasopp's hanging jaw.

"You mean a shop where we could get everything?" the waiter smiled placing Shanks the bill. "More or less" Shanks was not going to utter a single word. He found Luffy interesting, if making Luffy and his shop mysterious was going to help earn Luffy more why would he spoil the sport. It had been years Shanks had entertainment and he was not going to let it go.

"He will open the shop this Sunday, so why not take a peek" Shanks stood up placing the money on the table he smiled at Yasopp. "Sunday?" Yasopp smiled. "Yeah… goodnight gentleman" Shanks walked out taking his coat from the coat-rack.

A Shopkeeper was all it took to get on his nerves. No he was not an evil man; he was just a fearful man, a proud middle-aged man afraid of change. Sanji sighed as he saw his boss-uncle grit his teeth when Law paused on his walk in front of the 'devil building'. Sanji was a calm person in every day matter of life, except women. Doflamingo was prancing around his office and Sanji could not concentrate typing on that shitty type writer anymore. "Why is Law looking at the devil house?" Doflamingo asked.

"Let brother be" Sanji sighed again.

Why did he join work for his uncle? A question he asked every day. Answer was simple man working in kitchen was insulting. Sanji had passion for two things, cooking and woman. Sadly he could not pursue both at same time in Dressrosa. His ideal woman was one who would let him cook for her everyday and let her feed with his own hands. But Dressrosa was a shitty community town which could never digest the idea of a man cooking and earning his keep. Being cook at people's home or open a diner- it was women's job, not a man's to go to people's house to cook or feed people in big dinning halls- bullshit.

So back to the question on why he joined work for his uncle. He had a college degree that was of no use in this town, but more importantly he had clumsy father and grumpy brother to look after as well, an angry aunt to please, the best thing was he could cook for them without any of them seeing it as frowning job. He required money to look after himself too and most importantly he was the only one who could yell back at his Uncle after Law and his aunt. But the real truth was that he is the only one to keep this crumbling family together.

Sanji's father Corazon was a nice man, clumsy, forgetful, naïve but to top it all stupid. It made him wonder how his free and happy go lucky father was brother to his uptight composed uncle.

"Sanji" Doflanmingo stopped and looked at his nephew with confused eyes. "Yes" Sanji looked up. "Tomorrow you are attending the prayers" Doflamingo was back to his composed self. "No ifs and buts! Bring Law with you" Sanji huffed as soon as the word left Doflamingo's lips.

"We both know uncle Mayor! Your son will never come" Sanji pulled out his tobacco stick and placed it on his lips. "Don't smoke in here" Doflamingo hissed up. "As for me, I can't come to prayers either, Violet and I, we are going out tonight" Sanji blew the smoke in air. That was a clear no. "You are going out tonight! Why can't you come in morning?" Doflamingo regretted the question the moment he asked.

"You think after doing it whole night, we can move in morning?" Sanji stood up. He put the wooden covering on his rickety type writer and picked up his coat. "You seduced Viola? Riku's second daughter? Did she not lose her husband three months back! Should she not be mourning?" Doflamingo hissed. "No woman on earth deserves to lament for a man who left her alone even if he is dead, no man is worth three months of tears, it's long time to be in despair" Sanji grinned wearing his coat.

"It's not even four and you are leaving me!" Dofalmingo was pacing to and fro again. "I have done my work, I think as per schedule, you are to meet pretty pink priest at the prayer hall" Sanji walked out of the office exhaling clouds of smoke trailing behind him and an angry Doflamingo rushing to open the other windows.

And Doflamingo stops at his footsteps when he sees Monkey D Luffy talking with young pink haired priest. Both were laughing and having a warm time. This was the first time he saw the timid priest express so much on his face out in the open. His round glasses were resting not on his nose but above on his forehead, it was really odd in Mayor's eye. The sun had not set and Doflamingo was looking around, people were walking around the central town square. Some were looking at his home cum office building, young mothers were telling the history of the statute that stood at center of the square. Others were walking towards the sunflower streets where the vile thing called 'bar' existed.

Doflamingo resumed his walk and caught last bit of the conversation both were having. "Thank you, brother Coby, it will be good that Lamy will study under a free thinker like you" Luffy giggled. "I look forward to teach her, since she will bring various experiences to other children here" Coby rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "I hope sending Lamy to prayer house won't harm anyone's feelings, she is after all born out of wedlock" Luffy asked. "Not at all, you can join as well" Coby blushed. "Ah… Mr. Mayor" Luffy turned around to find Doflamingo again frozen in his position.

"Good evening gentleman" the mayor was fast to respond. "Evening" Luffy nodded and Coby bowed his head. "Well I think Mr. Mayor has an important business, I should not keep him waiting. By the way I open my shop tomorrow, please do visit" Luffy bowed to both and walked opposite towards the One and Half Building now glowing under the setting sun.

"You seem friendly with Mr. Luffy" Doflamingo smiled at Coby. "Yes, he is different Mayor-san" Coby resumed his smile less timid face and pulled his glasses down. "I was wandering if our prayer house began admitting non-believers, Mr. Luffy sure seems a non-believer" Doflamingo asked. "Well, I don't see why we can't invite non-believers, they are not insulting the goddess, I asked him to attend the prayer with us and he can offer his voice to the god he has faith in. You invited his daughter to join us after all" Doflamingo was surprised, to find the pink haired priest talking back to him.

"Yes.. Children are innocent" Doflamingo mused. "I was here to hand you the sermon for tomorrow" Doflamingo handed the yellow paper with neat handwriting decorating it. "Thank you" Coby mumbled. "Tomorrow is a big day" Doflamingo mumbled. "Yes it is, it's the anti- temptation day" Coby nodded his face expressionless, but timid so far, yet a defiance was growing inside him. Doflamingo knew it was the influence of Wild Wind, Coby was still a new priest, he was easy to influence, hence Doflamingo had been watching his work with prayer house personally. Yet the boy got influenced.

Doflamingo sat at the corner of the prayer hall, his eyes looking at two people simultaneously. Coby reciting out from the scriptures to worshipers, Lamy, the new member of the prayer house reading her book with absolute seriousness. The little girl was dressed in white frock with pink laces, her shoulder covered in two brunette ponytail and her lips following each word and eyes locked on the idol in center. Doflamingo smiled at her devotion, they could save the girl. The prayer house was filled with people and all had their thoughts of goddess, while his family, younger brother was nowhere to be seen, his son had given up on goddess years back and his nephew was missing like lady Viola- both were together in some part of the town, this very thought burned his temples.

The mountain goddess, the deity of Dressrosa stood at the centre. Goddess Mansherry had her eyes closed and her palms were raised and open towards the worshipper, she was goddess of fertility, goddess of love and peace and protected Dressrosa from the curse of Wild Wind. Doflamingo had put his entire stock of faith in this one goddess all his life. He had faith everything would be fixed one day.

"We should thank the goddess for her generosity, it is our duty to preserve and flourish together. We should always be humble and resist the desire to give in to the enchantment of Wild Wind. Temptation may come in forms of food hence we should resist from being greedy, forbidden books stimulate our minds in wrong way so we should be careful of fancy words and our desire to understand mysteries of the supreme leads us to rework on the body that is holy and should be left untouched, all this desire should be controlled and confessed in name of goddess and one shall be clean. Let's recall the words together, may the goddess bless us always and make us live a temptation free life. May Ethereal Peace Prevail ***" Coby spoke from the raised balcony on right and nodded to Doflamingo who was happy at the good recitation of his own words. Coby always breathed the true meaning of his words Doflamingo smiled. "Ethereal Peace" all repeated.

Lamy looked straight at Coby from her holy book next moment, her eyes locked on his, a flash of uncertainty passed through his body. Doflamingo watched the exchange of glances and realized that the child had no faith in his words she just came to prayer hall to have her own prayer, a thought that ran through Coby's mind for Luffy was now in Mayor's mind at same time. It was now Doflamingo's humane duty to save the child from her faithless attitude. With that thought the blonde man shut his book.

The moment Doflamingo stepped out of the prayer hall, he recalled a tale his wife had told him on their first night as married couple. Once up on a time there were cruel gods who disliked humans. So to harm humanity, they created another kind of creature, a woman; hence sexes were formed creating man and woman in the world. She was sent with a box full of harmful elements, but the clever gods asked her not to open the box. But she did open to the box giving into to temptation and humanity suffered. She was tricked by goddess of Curiosity***. Temptation, his wife had often said was the easiest way to puppet a woman.

The door of temptation was open; Lamy rushed towards now the sparkling display window, open red door with similar shinny glasses. The red sign board of Laughmaker's was getting swayed by the wind and was looking at Doflamingo with a catlike smile.

The dirty glass around the shop were spot less, the wooden shelf in the display window repainted, each shelf was decorated in colours of various kinds and shapes.

A tray full of chocolate shaped like stars and moon smiled at the Mayor, an indigo bottle tied with silver ribbon at the nape mischievously waved at Doflamingo, old books perfectly preserved smirked at the blonde, wax idols of goddess Mansherry shinned for the tall man, flowers in old vase seek the lonely husband , upturned tea cups, engraved ceramic plates reflected his aching torso, a basketful of buns teased his suppressed hunger , a marble grinding bowl sympathize with the sad father , empty golden photoframe questions his believes, basket of sweets makes him tremble.

Outside the shop on the left of its door and right below the signboard a board was standing and shouting out the Today's Menu happily! Coffee, Blueberry cake, Jam cake, Nankhatai***, Mint tea, Apple Chips, Hot Chocolate and free stories.

Temptation was looking at Doflamingo and Monkey D Luffy was already welcoming his first customer. The old man from Greenbit street was dragging his wife towards the shop. "Hello boy" the old man smiled. "Hey there" Luffy held the hesitant old women inside. "Is this a coffee shop boy?" the old man asked. "No, grandpa, this is place where my daughter and I we make people happy" Luffy smiled.

"Happy you say?" the old lady smiled as she entered as Doflamingo watched in confusion, oldest member of his community prayer hall were first victims of temptation. "Yes granny, we are Laughmakers" Luffy waved Doflamingo his hand before slipping inside the shop.

From familiar corner Law's heart stopped when he saw the nomad boy help the old couple walk inside his café. It took him two weeks to figure out the place was far removed from a Café.

TBC

Disclaimer- No No No No,,,, I don't own ONE PIECE

I found four name for Luffy's child- Lami, Lamie, Lammy & Lamy. I am going with Lamy.

***May Ethereal Peace Prevail- It's my translation of the Hindu rather Sanskrit Chant/Mantra- Om Shanti Om. Om is seen as the wholistic word, it is suppose to imbibe the universal cosmic sounds in one word, it echoes, its soothing and the purest of all the words in world Or so I have been taught by my grandpa. Shanti means peace. The basic translation stands as either 'Let peace stay in cosmos' or simpler terms 'Eternal Peace'. I became a bit crafty and used Ethereal- pure perfect light. There is an Indian Film which calls Alien with help of 'Om'

***Woman with Box Story- Pandora's myth.

***Nankhatai- a white sugary baked biscuit kind of dry sweet thing made in India.

Castrada, Heroes-Legacy, Lionel Orlando, MiyamotoWhite, Tannylu, anna. ashiqa, kirayampi, onegirl92, Harihi, Illumi Senri, Elliona1, Pachyun, oO. Hotaru. Oo thank you for follow and favourites :D

Lionel Orlando, Illumi Senri, Harihi, daydreamfox, LunaSkye23, Son of Whitebeard guys thank you for review. Sorry I am being economical. Many complains came that I talk too much on A/N :/

Sadly I can't answer the questions, let's keep it secret okay

Complains I was PMed- That this story is a copy of Tokyosketch's Pocketful of Magic

My reply- Just read my story! It's one chapter old! Do you see magician? Do you see angry Luffy? Somehow we both are using shopkeeper themes. Get over it. If it was magical story I would put it in Supernatural

Bye.