You have a face to face talk with the fearsome Sakazuki, while other events start to set into motion.

Note:

Well, a little late but Happy New Year! This is the first update of 2021, that let's hope it's better than 2020 (which isn't very difficult ^^U).

There are more character's POV in this chapter, since with (y/n) captured I think it's necessary to understand what's happening at the same time. I hope they don't feel too OOC.

If you had been in a movie, maybe you would have some outstanding capacities that would allow you to deduce something about the place where that car was taking you.

Also, if you had managed to keep your head cool during the trip, maybe you would have been able to put into practice those lessons that you were taught when joining the Donquixote Family, after you started dating Doflamingo.

Maybe you would have been able to count the turns that the car was making, and the times it stopped in red lights, and the overall time that had passed until you were forced to leave the car with the same brusqueness that you had been thrown inside it.

But this wasn't a movie, and no matter how much attention you had paid to the Family's seminars about what to do during a situation involving kidnapping, putting into practice what you learn in theory isn't always easy.

During the trip, the only thing you have been able to do was focusing on not letting the panic win, while feeling yourself trapped in the middle of the backseats, totally blind, your hands handcuffed behind your back, and framed by two officers that are grabbing your arms with enough strength to guarantee that you weren't going anywhere.

Technically speaking it wasn't your first rodeo in the kidnapping department, but there were two big differences from that previous time:

First, last time it happened you had been unconscious until practically the moment you were forced to fight for your life, and therefore your mind and vivid imagination didn't have time to act; and second, at that time you could depend on the Family's support. You could depend on Doflamingo, and the man was aware that you were in danger and had been willing to do whatever necessary to get to you.

Right now, after leaving his side in the way you did, and with all the care you had put not to be found by the Family, the chances of Doflamingo knowing what had happened to you were non-existent. Smoker was the only person who knew about it, and considering the last time you saw him you doubted he could do something. He had enough with dealing with all the trouble it would cause him to have helped you.

You were alone, on your own. So, when you are finally led inside a building and through its multiple corridors until entering a room to be thrown unceremoniously in a chair, the stress and fear that had been bubbling up were pretty close to explode at any moment. Actually, you think it's a miracle that you manage to keep a decent straight face when the bag of your head is removed and you find yourself sitting in front of Sakazuki, from whom you have heard a lot of things, none of them good.

It would be stupid to deny that you are worried, because you are. The room where you have been put is nothing like the interrogation rooms you're so used to see in fiction. Their walls are completely white, lacking any mirrors and, especially, cameras, as if whatever that happened inside was supposed to be kept under the strictest of the secrets, which wasn't good news.

However, despite the nervousness invading you, the thought of averting your eyes from the Chief of the Police Department never crosses your mind. The main reason why you have ended up involved in the mess that the Donquixote Family brought with them is your stubbornness. That's the main quality that caught Doflamingo's eye, as he had said it to you on a few occasions. You don't know how your involvement with Doflamingo is going to end (if you manage to get out of there alive), but being able to stand your ground with him was something you would always be proud of.

And if you managed to do it with him, like hell if you are going to show weakness in front of Sakazuki, no matter how scary the man could be.

You don't know how many seconds Sakazuki and you spend staring at each other. What you know is that the man seems to get tired of your silence at some point, because he clenches his jaw and uncrosses his arms in order to snap his fingers with force.

The door slams open at that moment, giving you a scare that makes you unable to keep with the staring contest. Your attention travels to the two men dressed in complete black that enter the room: one of them is carrying a plastic wash basin while the other transports a big water jug.

Without spelling a word, the first man leaves the basin on the table. The second one, also in silence, raises the jug and starts filling the basin. You feel a shiver running down your spine while the water slowly starts to cover the recipient. Again, you have watched enough movies as well to know what that ritual was for.

"I assume that introductions aren't necessary, and that you know who I am." Sakazuki's voice makes you focus on him again. "Also, I take that you are clever enough to know why you have been brought here and what I want from you, right?"

Your silent treatment doesn't please Sakazuki, as you had predicted. What you had not predicted is the way the one of the men suddenly grips the back of your neck and submerges your head inside the basin, which by then was full enough already to fulfil its purpose.

The impression of the cold water mixed with the tight grip of the man makes you unable to react properly, so even if your face has only been underwater for less than 5 seconds, the shock of being deprived of air without any kind of warning makes you start to cough the moment you are set free.

"Maybe I was giving you too much credit," Sakazuki started to say why you were still coughing. "But I guess that you get now that I'm not a patient man. So, when I ask something, I expect an immediate answer, young lady. Understood?"

You have recovered enough by when Sakazuki finishes speaking, so you throw your best glare at the man while starting to talk in a voice that sounds trembling, both for the unexpected dive and the light fear you can't help to feel.

"(y/n)." Sakazuki frowns, not understanding your answer. "My name is (y/n), not 'young lady'."

You were playing with fire, but hearing that appellative that brought so many memories and feelings to you from that man's lips felt wrong, and you refused not to point it out.

At least this time you are more prepared when your head is submerged, so you have time to close your eyes and hold your breath. You know that it's useless to fight against the man's grip. Even if you could, and even if you managed to get out of that room (which was a big, impossible 'if') there's no place for you to go. It's evident that all those rumors talking about secret police facilities where the Chief carried out his 'investigations' had turned out to be true. You were in Sakazuki's territory, and there was no escape from it.

You know that your best option is to save as much strength as possible until finding a way out of the mess you were in again, but still your body twists uselessly as a reflex action, feeling the survival impulse of fighting to breathe again.

This time, you are kept under water for almost 10 seconds, almost twice the time you had been before.

"You're in no position to make any demands," Sakazuki says when your position is straightened again. "My officers have told me that you behaved like a good girl while being brought here, and that's your best option to leave this place." Sakazuki crosses his arms and leaned them on the table. "So, while you recover your breath, I'll get straight to the point. I know that you were intimately related to Donquixote Doflamingo, and also that you parted on bad terms with him."

You can't help but blink with surprise when hearing Sakazuki's words, although now that you think about it, the same as Doflamingo had eyes and ears in the police department, for sure it was the same with Sakazuki regarding the Donquixote Company. Besides, for sure there were rumors of the sudden disappearance of Doflamingo's current girlfriend, especially with the strings the Family should be pulling to try to find you.

However, you still don't know how the hell Sakazuki had managed to know where you were when the Family didn't. The question must be written in your face, because Sakazuki talks with an annoying arrogant smirk.

"We have kept Inspector Smoker under strict surveillance since his failed operation in Baroque Works, which was the day when you also paid him a visit."

Your mouth half-opens in stupor, remembering that incident.

"Apparently, Inspector Smoker was talking to one of his subordinates about what had happened with Crocodile, and he didn't realize that a stupid newbie officer that was dying to ascend quickly was eavesdropping to his conversation."

Viola had said that back then. That newbie (Helmeppo?) had informed Sakazuki about it, and when learning about it Smoker had gotten in touch with Viola to make sure you were safe, but that had happened months ago. Had Sakazuki been watching Smoker during all that time? But then, if he was being watched, why haven't they caught you two weeks ago, when going 'on disguise' to see the Inspector?

Sakazuki also answers that question after extracting a cigar from the pocket of his red jacket and putting it in his mouth.

"Smoker isn't a bad officer, but he lacks the guts to do whatever necessary to guarantee Justice, which sometimes involves certain collateral damage." Sakazuki makes a pause so that one of the officers lights his cigar, while you assimilate the fact that, for the Chief of the Police Department, you are nothing else than 'collateral damage'. "Since he went as far as making an operation fail to protect you, I deduced that he could try to help you again in the future. Of course, installing micros in our officers' homes or devoting resources to follow their every step is something that even I cannot afford to do without proper justification, but ensuring that the force displays an irreproachable behavior is part of my duties. I can't tolerate that the police reputation suffers because our officers indecently waste their earned money, after all."

Sakazuki takes a drag on his cigar before continuing with his speech while your eyes briefly travel to the other officer, who is filling again the basin that had ended half-empty for your previous dives.

"We make those periodic consultations at the start of the month, and my analyst noticed that Smoker's food expenses had grown quite a bit during the first week of March. It was as if someone was suddenly living with him, but Smoker's lack of interest in romance is a recurrent topic of conversation in the force, especially among the female officers, so I decided to look into the matter." Sakazuki takes another drag and this time exhales the smoke of the cigar so that it ends in your face, something that is about to make you cough again. "And there you were, young lady."

You really hate hearing that appellative coming from him, but decide not to give the man the pleasure of reacting again because of it again.

"How's Smoker?" you can't help to ask, unable not to worry when remembering the unjustified violence Sakazuki's men had used against him.

Your question takes Sakazuki by surprise, since the man laughs and shakes his head.

"He's alive. Killing an inspector would raise too many unnecessary questions, but if I were you, I would worry about myself." Sakazuki points at you with his cigar while you feel a shiver down your spine, after hearing the man, a supposedly defensor of the law, talking about killing a partner with such ease. "Unless you are a good girl and collaborate with us, in which case you will be instantly released."

You frown.

"Collaborate how?"

Sakazuki puts his cigar back in his mouth and crosses his arms again.

"Simple: you pretend to go back to Doflamingo's side, and inform us of all the operations he's making from now on."

Your eyes snap open at your maximum.

"You want me to become a double agent for you?" you say in disbelief, sure that you have understood something wrong, but you haven't, since Sakazuki nods and adopts that patronizing tone that you have always hated when coming from older men.

"Precisely that. Given how you decided to run away from his side, I assume that you don't hold any kind of attachment towards him anymore, and that you want to see that man behind bars as much as I do. It's a win-win situation."

You stare at Sakazuki in disbelief. You had expected that the man tried to force you to say everything you knew about Doflamingo, but his proposal couldn't be crazier.

"Well, if I've run away from him as you say, I don't see what I could win by coming back to his side."

Sakazuki shakes his head.

"The point here isn't what you're going to win if you do this," Sakazuki's expression hardens, "but what you're going to lose if you refuse to do it. Your first mistake was associating with that criminal, and now you only have two options: option one, you agree to help us put Donquixote Doflamingo behind bars, proving that you are a citizen who loves their country and repents on his crimes; or option two, you stay in this facility for an indefinite amount of time, until you listen to reason and decide to pick option one. Your choice."

A shocked silence falls in the room after Sakazuki speaks. There wasn't anyone that hadn't heard about the man's crusade to 'maintain order', and his capacity of crossing the line of legality had gained him the fear of not just criminals, but also of some of the people working under his command.

Obviously, Doflamingo belonged to the category of people that Sakazuki aimed to eliminate for the sake of his also well known 'Absolute Justice', so it had sense that he was breaking at least a dozen of rules by keeping you there, without any proper warrant or justification, and throwing threats like no other defensor of the law would have ever done.

You suppress a gulp, evaluating your options. The first thing that comes to your mind is to pretend that you wanted to collaborate. That was the easiest option. After all, if you wanted to avoid any further and future pain, the first step was to leave that damn place. You only had to agree to whatever Sakazuki said, and once outside you could think about the next step to make.

Yes, for sure that was your best choice. The choice that anyone with a certain sense of self-preservation would make. But you weren't just 'anyone' anymore. You had grown braver since being with Doflamingo, and also stronger. So yes, accepting Sakazuki's conditions could get you out of there, but the mere idea of collaborating with him made you feel disgust. It would be the same as admitting that he could do whatever he wanted by abusing his power, and you aren't going to give him that pleasure.

Besides, being with the Family and especially with Doflamingo has allowed you to potentiate certain abilities, and paying careful attention to what people said was one of them.

"No deal."

Despite the nervousness, you feel satisfaction with the way Sakazuki freezes, clearly not having expected your definitive negative, is something that for sure not many people had achieved.

"Girl, I'm not sure that you have understood the position you're in—"

"I understand." You interrupt him, which makes him grab the cigar with so much force that it's about to be destroyed. "I understand is that you can't kill me, because right now, I'm your only chance to get to Doflamingo. So until I agree to your terms, or until you find another way to get to him, you cannot hurt me either." You lean forward, allowing yourself to smile. "After all, you cannot allow yourself to lose such a potential double agent, can't you?"

You have time to see Sakazuki gritting his teeth before he's the one grabbing the back of your head to push it inside the water. This time he keeps you like that for almost 20 seconds, enough so that you feel the irremediably fear of being drowned even if your reason tells you that he cannot allow himself to do it.

"You are right, kid. I cannot kill you." Sakazuki snarls once your head is out of the basin again, though just barely, the tip of your nose still feeling the cold water while Sakazuki's grip keeps you there. "But that doesn't mean I cannot hurt you, because as long as there are no marks left in your body, there will be no evidence of my doings. And believe me: under my command there are very talented, imaginative people capable of delivering the highest possible pain without leaving a single physical trace. Not to mention, that everyone has someone who they fear to lose."

A tight pressure invades your chest when Sakazuki starts to mention some of the people most important to you. After almost an entire minute of spelling names, he continues.

"So I'll ask you once again." Sakazuki lowers his face to whisper the next bit in your ear. "Are you sure that you wanna risk your wellbeing and the wellbeing of the ones you love to protect that criminal?"

You can't hold back a couple of rebellious tears when picturing what could happen to the people Sakazuki has mentioned, but once again, you tell yourself it was another bluff. As long as you were his only bargaining chip, as long as you were irreplaceable for his plans, hurting the people important to you was something he couldn't risk to do.

So, you force yourself to push away the fear, and tilt your head enough to offer Sakazuki your best defiant glare.

"Who says that I've stopped loving 'that criminal'?"

Your honest words take Sakazuki by surprise. It seemed that he wasn't expecting that answer, and it angers him for the way his grip in your neck tightens.

"Then we'll have to convince you of the advantages of hating him."

Before your head is held under the water again, you have time to think that, for sure, everything would be easier if you had less pride.

After you were taken by force from Smoker's apartment, Akainu had remained behind to have a talk with him. Once Smoker was allowed to stand up from the floor where those officers had pinned him down, the Chief had accused him of having hidden 'relevant information related to the capture of a potential criminal'. A 'strong recommendation' to take some days off from work had followed that reprimand, while they considered other additional disciplinary measures for his improper behavior.

In other words, he has been put under house arrest, and was being watched by Sakazuki's personal officers 24/7, although Smoker was betting his badge (the one that probably he would lose soon) that no one else was aware of such actions, and that, once again, Akainu has misused his position and power to do what he pleased.

Smoker exhales a frustrated groan from his bed, where he is lying facing up with his arms crossed. He is fully dressed with the exception of his shoes. He hadn't bothered to change clothes before going 'to sleep'. He knew he would barely sleep that night. The shadow of his 'escort' under the door of his bedroom was a pretty big distraction, not to mention the worry he felt towards you.

He has spent the whole night trying to figure out a way to get you out wherever Akainu has taken you, because he knew what Akainu was capable of. Up till then, he had been naive enough to believe that the man only used his ruthless methods with criminals, but now he realized how mistaken he had been.

He curses under his breath with frustration, remembering how you had fought to try to help him instead of hiding, as he had asked you to do. You and him hadn't got the best start, and your attitude in Baroque Words had made him regret having wasted time getting concerned about you. However, the more he knew about you, and especially when seeing the moral dilemma that you had undergone when knowing everything about Doflamingo, he realized that you were someone with her own principles and ideals, and who planned to stand by them despite the man you had come to love.

Spending time with you during those two weeks has made him respect you more than he already did. Your unwavering loyalty in Doflamingo would always get on his nerves, and he will always think that someone like Doflamingo didn't deserve someone like you, but you have become someone who, despite her unfortunate associations, he considered a friend.

So, the thought that now you could be suffering at the hands of the people who were supposed to keep peace made him feel furious, and guilty. He had insisted to you how dangerous Doflamingo was, but in the end, his Chief had ended up being even worse.

Therefore, and as much as he hates it, the conclusion he has reached is that only Doflamingo has the means to set you free. Of course, he has tried to find another solution. Contacting the man who you had left and who had been looking for you non-stop during all that time maybe wasn't the best idea ever, but the alternative of leaving you with Akainu was even worse. Damn, if some days ago Smoker had been told that he would choose Doflamingo over someone else, he would have been unable to believe it.

The problem now was how he would be able to get in touch with the Donquixote Family, because needless to say, making any kind of calls was strictly forbidden, and he couldn't risk doing something reckless like trying to knock Akainu's officers and leave the apartment, because in case of being caught, he would lose the chance of taking you out of there.

He was still thinking about what he could do, refusing to give up, when his mobile sounded from the first floor. He sighs, resigning himself to the fact that Akainu's men are going to hang up. However, he's surprised when the door of the bedroom opens and the officer hands the device to him.

"Officer Tashigi is calling." Smoker looks at the officer as this one activates the speaker. His assumption that Akainu was acting on his own without involving anyone else is now a certainty. It's obvious that they didn't want to risk that his close partners suspected of him not appearing in the office. "Answer the call, but if you mention anything about Doflamingo's woman—"

"Kid, spare me the threats," Smoker interrupts him with a tired tone while taking his mobile, making sure to show annoyance and hide his relief for the damn big opportunity his subordinate has provided him with. "I know what Akainu is able to do, thank you very much." Whatever threat the officer plans to make has to wait, since Smoker picks up the call at that moment.

"Boss, is something wrong? I think it's the first time that I arrive at the office sooner than you."

Tashigi sounded more astonished than concerned.

"Yes, just a fever. I hope to be fine in a couple of days." He pretends not to see the cutting gesture the officer does with his fingers. "How are you advancing with the case?"

Knowing Tashigi how he knows her, he knows that she will spare no detail, and that's what she does. The officer glares at him when she starts to ramble, but Smoker simply covers the mobile so that Tashigi doesn't hear his next words.

"She knows what a control freak I am. Not showing interest would be suspicious."

The officer snorts but seems to accept his explanation. Tashigi's diligence doesn't disappoint him, so during the next five minutes Smoker listens to Tashigi's explanations and rambling while occasionally intervening, which gives him plenty of time to put into action the plan that he had already prepared in case he managed to get in touch with someone he trusted.

"...and that's all. I was thinking about going to interrogate the first witness again, since her testimony is the most promising."

Smoker hums and throws a side-glance to the officer, who was walking around the room distractedly and yawning, surely after spending the whole night keeping watch.

"That's a good approach." Now that his vigilant has lowered his guard, it is the moment to raise the bet. "Although before doing that, maybe you should check a couple of things first, baby girl."

The pause that follows is longer enough so that Smoker knows that Tashigi has realized something is wrong, but not so long to cause the vigilant to suspect.

"Okay, boss, what should I do?"

Smoker makes sure to keep talking calmly and casually during the following minutes. When he hangs up, the officer confiscates his mobile once again and leaves his bedroom. Once he's alone again, Smoker exhales a long, deep breath and drops on the bed again.

He is certain that Tashigi would decipher his message, and that she would manage to get in touch with the correct people. Now, the only thing he hopes is that you had been right during all the times that you assured him that Doflamingo really cared about you, because if you are wrong and that man dared to do something to you as revenge for you having left his side, he would have an extra motivation to catch that bastard once and for all.

"...although before doing that, maybe you should check a couple of things first, baby girl."

Tashigi's eyes open wide while sitting at his desk when hearing Smoker use that pet name that Tashigi loathed.

Unlike other men with whom she has worked with, Smoker was someone who always treated her with the respect she deserved, and who acknowledged her talent and capacities, without using that patronizing attitude that several other people have displayed with her. She has complained to him several times about the bad habit of older Inspectors with more rank that addressed her in such a way, and therefore, Smoker doing exactly that combined with the fact that Smoker has missed work for the first time in his career implied that something really bad was happening.

Tashigi gulps softly to calm herself, assuming that the worst-case scenario is happening, which was that Smoker was in danger, maybe held hostage in his own home by one of his multiple enemies.

"Okay, boss, what should I do?"

Despite the worry she's feeling, she manages to sound composed, and when Smoker talks again, she makes sure to take note of everything he says.

"I think you should focus on the other witness. You know who, right? The one who you almost kick out of my office for being hysterical."

Tashigi frowns, initially confused. As far as she knew, the last time she did something like that was when you appeared in the department out of the blue asking to talk to him and...

Her eyes open more. The news of Doflamingo's girlfriend having gone missing have spread in the whole city. The tabloids haven't stopped making up theories about it during the past two weeks, speculating on her break up with Doflamingo, who hadn't been present in one of the most important conventions of the year, that he never missed.

So then, Smoker's suspicious attitude has something to do with you? Was he in trouble again because of you? She can't help to feel a little annoyed because of it. Smoker has denied to be romantically interested in you every time that she has 'subtly' asked him about it, but even if it was true, it was obvious that the man has a soft spot for you if he was willing to risk himself so much to help you…

She insults herself internally. Definitely, that wasn't the time of letting her jealousy take the best of her. The priority was to help Smoker, no matter what, and to figure it out what was wrong with you.

"Yes, you're right, boss." Tashigi carefully thinks of her next words before saying them. "He was acting strange back then, like he was in danger."

It's a subtle way to ask if you were the one being in danger, which is confirmed by Smoker's next words.

"Yes, the last evidence we got, #38956 I think it was, seemed to confirm his fears."

Tashigi's memory wasn't as good as Smoker, but he had reviewed the case enough to know that there wasn't any evidence with that code. Also, she knows that, unlike her, Smoker hates riddles and complicated puzzles. So, she rapidly applies the A1Z26 cipher to the number, the easiest and most basic substitution cipher that comes to her mind.

Her heart skips a beat when the word 'Chief' appears in her mind, which combined with Smoker's previous words gives him a pretty good idea of what has happened to you.

"Understood, boss," she says with a determined voice that, she hopes, lets Smoker know that she has understood his message. "I'll take care of it."

"Good. Also, remember that that exhibitionist and him were close friends. Questioning that one could be the key to get to the witness."

Tashigi is still trying to figure it out what Smoker meant with that bit when the man coughs in an obvious fake way and announces he has to take his medication, another proof that, for sure, the Inspector was being watched because if there was someone who hated to take any kind of pills was her boss.

When the call finishes, Tashigi suppresses a gulp and without wasting a second stands up to walk to Smoker's office. There's nothing strange in her doing that, since Smoker trusts her enough to allow her free entrance to consult whatever she needs.

This time though, she notices several eyes fixing on her, as her movements are also being watched, so she deduces that she doesn't have much time to find out who Smoker was referring to before being put under surveillance as well.

After entering Smoker's room with the spare key that the Inspector gave her a year ago already, Tashigi closes the door and locks it to start checking the man's desk to find that report she knows the man keeps of you.

She feels another pang of jealousy when seeing how much information he has gathered about you but pushes the irrational feeling aside again. Her eyes rapidly scan the people associated with you, trying to find the one Smoker has defined as 'exhibitionist'. At last, her eyes stop in a familiar face, that she remembers from a case a couple of years ago when that person was imprisoned for pissing in public. The man had been punished with some months of communitarian services, and a contact number had been stored in the person's report in order to periodically check that he was fulfilling the punishment.

Hoping that the person hasn't changed the phone number, Tashigi extracts her mobile. She is about to make the call when, suddenly, the handlebar of the office starts to shake violently, followed by an intonated voice that never fails to make Tashigi's get the chills.

"Oooh, how strange. I would have sworn that officer Tashigi had entered here~"

Tashigi gulps, but his fingers barely tremble when rapidly replacing the call by a message. If Vice-Chief Borsalino had teamed up with Chief Sakazuki to be alert on Smoker and his associates, something big was happening involving you.

She has heard stories of Borsalino that put him at the same level of cruelty as Sakazuki, but Tashigi manages to keep her cool while sending the message and then deleting it from the outbox. She was aware that a thorough analysis would manage to expose what she has done, but erasing the evidence would gain her some time in case her mobile was suddenly confiscated.

"Yes, Vice-chief Borsalino, I'm here," she answers with her best calm tone while approaching the door to open it, managing not to flinch when seeing the man smiling at her disturbingly from his impressive height. "The case I'm investigating is very complicated and I needed a place to study it in peace, since the main office is so noisy."

Borsalino exhales a long-drawn hum and looks at her over his glasses.

"And in order to do that you needed to lock yourself in here?"

Tashigi sustains the man's inquisitive gaze without blinking.

"As I've said, I wanted to work in peace."

Borsalino stares at her for some long seconds, but before he could add something else, a new feminine voice sounds from the other side of the corridor.

"Is something wrong, Kizaru?"

Tashigi is about to exhale a relieved sigh when Inspector Hina, who she deeply admires and who has always acted as her second protector and mentor, turns the corner and addresses him, breaking the nerve-wrecking tension that was falling in the corridor.

"None at all." Borsalino says with a cheery voice that contrasts with his still slightly menacing aura. "I was just catching up with the officer here present."

The frown of Hina's face doesn't disappear when she talks again.

"Well, in that case you won't mind that I take her with me. There are some matters Hina has to discuss with her."

Borsalino sustains Hina's imperturbable gaze before chuckling to himself.

"All yours, Inspector Hina." Borsalino offers Tashigi a last glance. "See you around, officer Tashigi. If you see your superior, send him my best wishes to recover."

Tashigi tenses but nods with a polite smile. She makes sure to lock Smoker's office again and goes to Hina's side without rushing her steps. The moment she's next to the woman she feels instantly safer.

"Thank you," Tashigi murmurs when they are far enough from Borsalino so that the man can't hear her.

"No problem." Hina sighs with impatience and lowers her tone. "And don't worry, I've sent some of my officers to check why he's not here today. I guess that's the reason why you were in his office?"

Tashigi doesn't hesitate in nodding, knowing the close friendship Smoker and Hina share.

"I knew it," Hina says, sighing again. "I don't know what mess that idiot has got himself into, but I hope he's aware of the luck he has having you or Hina will have some words with him."

Corazon exhales a sigh from the shop counter where he's leaning, attending a call of an annoying client who was protesting because the costume she has received was smaller than she thought.

He considers himself a rather patient man, but the past two weeks have been stressing and he has to bite his tongue not politely tell that woman to fuck off. Carnival is being as stressful as always, carrying a workload that feels bigger than the previous year because you aren't there.

He sighs during the call, that at that point he's ignoring, when his thoughts travel to you again. He repeats to himself once again that you are fine, that you and Doflamingo are only taking a break, and that you would be back someday. And when that happened, you better be prepared to stand all the calls of the annoying customers, because Corazon planned to punish you - in his own, merciful way - to make you pay for having left without saying goodbye.

"Uhm, Cora-senpai…"

The relief that Corazon feels when he's interrupted lasts until he sees the worry that both Bartolomeo and Cavendish are displaying.

"Yes, Bartolomeo?" He covers the phone hander so that the customer doesn't hear him while Bartolomeo rapidly approaches him, his eyes focusing next on the screen of the man's mobile. His cigar falls from his half-parted mouth to the ground when reading the message displayed there.

[Akainu has y/n]

After some seconds of stunned silence, he looks at Bartolomeo again.

"Who has sent this?"

"I-I don't know. I don't recognize the number."

Corazon exhales a loud curse, and after hanging up the call without even paying attention to that woman's rambling anymore he rapidly abandons the counter to recover his coat.

"Boss?" Bartolomeo presses with a worried tone while Corazon fumbles with his coat in order to reach his mobile. "Cora-senpai, what's happening? Who is Akainu? Is (y/n) okay? What's happening?"

Cavendish places a comforting hand on Bartolomeo's shoulder, since the punk's worry for you is making him talk too fast and loudly. In the meantime, Corazon is displaying an uncharacteristically serious expression while typing a familiar number.

During those weeks there had been tensions between him and the Family, due to their mistrust in him since they believed that he could know something about your whereabouts that he wasn't telling. Now it was time to push that aside. He doesn't know if that message is true or not, but in any case, it has to be investigated. Because if it turns out to be true, Corazon knows that there's no way that he could do something about it alone.

"Doffy, it's me." Corazon exhales a deep sigh when the call is finally picked, getting ready for what was coming. "It's about (y/n). She may have been captured."

I promise I haven't forgotten that this is a Doflamingo/Reader story xDD I also know that Doflamingo hasn't appeared much in the past two chapters, but he will finally appear again in the next one, where his POV will be showed to for the first time in the story :)