innocens - "harmless," "blameless," or "innocent"

"Why do you look at me that way?"

Doflamingo asked only once. There, in a town square of bodies. Half-delirious with pain and an arrow stuck in his eye. Both their faces filthy with tears.

xxx

Trebol had a keen eye for untapped potential. For all his other tiresome quirks, Doflamingo would give him that.

"I swear that's half our food stock," Diamante muttered, while they lounged around, watching the new additions stuff their faces, "Hey brats! Are you planning to stop anytime—"

"It's fine."

"But Doffy—"

"They're family now, Diamante," Doflamingo folded his arms, letting one leg hang off the sill, "We mustn't be stingy with family."

The boy, Buffalo, looked up, swallowing down another slice of pizza. "Wow, thanks Mister…uh, what was it…Young Master! You're a nice guy!"

Doflamingo chuckled, and as Diamante scolded Buffalo for his forwardness, he leaned over to prod his brother with his foot. "Did you hear that? I'm nice."

Rosi didn't answer. He didn't even look as if he'd noticed, his troubled gaze lingering on the children. A muscle in his jaw was taut and Doflamingo's mood instantly began to darken. He'd always disliked being ignored and his temper had yet to fully recover from losing Dellinger.

"Corazón," he snapped, a hint of temper that made Diamante flinch and Rosi finally blink up at him.

"You must be thinking of something rather important, little brother. Are we interrupting you?"

It's more irritation and derision than true curiosity. What thoughts could Rosi be having anyway, that Doflamingo didn't already have an inkling of. His brother must've realized this too, because he only shrugged and returned to leaning against the wall.

"It's nothing. Sorry, Doffy."

"Airhead," Diamante muttered, snide. It rolled off Rosi like water and Doflamingo's scowl deepened.

"Don't waste your energy thinking about pointless things," he warned, "It isn't useful to anyone."

"Oh, oh, I can be useful!" Baby Five's head shot up before Rosi could respond. Cherry jam was smeared over her mouth, staining the teeth of her eager smile. She looked at them with twinkling eyes, hands clasped, as Buffalo stole the rest of her sandwich.

"Tell me what you need me for, young masters! I promise I'll do it well!"

Diamante was riled within seconds. "There's only one Young Master here, you little shit!" he jabbed a bony finger in Rosi's direction, "Put this ditz on the same level as our Captain again and I'll beat your ass into the ground!"

Baby Five clapped her hands, giggling. "Yay, yay! Something's required of me! And it's so important that I'm being threatened!"

She was almost bouncing in her seat. Doflamingo was vaguely amazed by the degree of reverence she directed at him. Desperation lurked in it like a shadow beneath water. It was disturbing as all hell and he loved it.

"Fufu, what a mess you are, girl," Doflamingo leaned against the window, smiling slowly, "Just eat your fill for now and get cleaned up. I'll be counting on you both shortly."

He may as well have promised the moon. Baby Five spun back to the table with near-crazed gusto and started cramming food into her mouth. She's eating so quickly that Doflamingo had to amend his previous statement and order her to slow down lest she choke.

Diamante cracked up. The novelty of discarded children had never worn off for him. He made a joke about servants that Doflamingo only half-listened to.

Rosi's face was ashen.

xxx

For the entirety of that fall, his brother kept his mouth shut about the children. It was actually no mean feat, since they seemed determined to remind the entire ship of their presence at any chance—running everywhere, breaking things, babbling three hundred miles per minute to anyone pretending to listen.

The crew regarded them first with distaste and eventual grudging acceptance. Gladius was intrigued with the prospect of being around people remotely his own age, while Jora doted on them as if she were trying to atone.

They certainly held a different vibe from Dellinger, who had not been old enough to wander unsupervised and had never gotten underfoot as a result. Even more striking was how fast they adjusted, picking up group dynamics and cues within days and not batting an eye at some of the more…unsavory aspects of the pirate lifestyle.

Impressive, as far as kids went, and Doflamingo didn't really think Rosi had any cause for complaint, which only meant that he eventually did.

"They were imported."

Behind the shades, Doflamingo rolled his eyes, regarding his brother with annoyance. His office would host many more of these stand-offs in the years ahead, Doflamingo reclining in his chair, Rosi leaning over the massive desk to glare at him.

A folder of Baby Five and Buffalo's personal files lay strewn between them, his brother's hand flattened over the contractual terms Trebol had left lying around. Doflamingo twitched. Damn fool should've had the copies destroyed first chance he had.

"Only from a neighboring island," he said, "They were on the boat for three hours at most. It was basically a ferry ride."

"That's not the point, Doffy. These kids could've been kidnapped. They could've had families or homes wherever they were taken from."

Doflamingo stared.

"You obviously haven't spent much time with them if that's still your impression."

A flash of pure chagrin crossed Rosi's face.

"Doesn't mean they're alone."

"They are."

And it wasn't even a total lie. As Joker, he'd gone digging for more information on the children weeks ago, learning many of the grittier details even the seller couldn't have provided.

Baby Five had most assuredly been abandoned, spending life on the streets and in between masters, fostering that incessant need of hers to be wanted. Buffalo's parents had been brutalized and killed during a mugging. He might've had other relations somewhere out in the four seas, but what did that matter.

As far as Doflamingo was concerned, this was the only home the kids needed to involve themselves with from now on. The fact that Rosi couldn't get this through his skull was starting to agitate him.

"Why are you so set on having brats on board anyway?" his brother was asking, "They're too small to do actual work on deck and they'll just get in the way during fights. They don't serve any purpose for you, so why?"

Why not? Doflamingo bit the words back, despite them being the first ones to slither into his head.

"Stop thinking in the short term," he said instead, "Children are an investment, Rosi. What you collect in the future depends entirely on how much time you're willing to give and what you plan to do in that time."

Rosi's lips pursed.

"Investment? You're a pirate captain. What kind of investment are you looking for? A ring of junior hitmen?"

That painted a funny picture. He could recognize the advantages.

"Heh, we'll see."

"Doffy!" Fire blazed in Rosi's eyes. He clutched the side of the desk in one shaking hand. "This isn't a game! We should take them back—"

"Where." It was not phrased as a question. "Take them back where, hm?"

The amusement had gone out of Doflamingo's face like a doused candle.

"You forget your place, Corazón."

A heavy, frigid silence charged into the room, whitening the hot anger in each of their breaths. Color drained out of Rosi's face and left it hard and gray. Doflamingo eyed him closely, danger lurking in the shadows of his expression.

He wondered what he would do if Rosi expressed true defiance towards him. He realized he didn't even know.

And he was a bit thankful Rosi wasn't dumb enough to find out.

"I apologize, Young Master," his brother said, tone acidic, "I was out of line."

Doflamingo had a lot of things he wanted to reply with then. You always are. Don't test me again. Why are you angry? Don't get in my way.

"Get out," was all he ended up voicing, "I'm tired of seeing your face today."

xxx

They ignored each other for the rest of the week.

Sengoku suggested a second chase. Another joint operation for Baby Five and Buffalo similar to what they'd done for Dellinger. Rosinante vetoed the idea without a thought. Doffy would never fall for the same ploy twice. He was already more paranoid of marine ships than ever before.

And secretly, the depths of Doffy's rage that day had pierced Rosinante to the core. Not so much out of fear (though that was there of course, just a little bit, always), but caution. His brother's temper was nothing new to him, but to have it coupled now with ten-feet of height, Devil Fruit abilities and Conqueror's Haki...some care was definitely required on his own part.

For the time being, the children would have to stay.

xxx

"What do you mean, Doffy? What way?"

"That way. Like you're scared. Do I scare you, Rosi?"

"No." Rosinante answered quickly. Maybe too quickly.

His brother laughed. He was laughing more and more these days and Rosinante hated it. Blood dripped off their chins to the same languid beat.

xxx

(Baby Five had never had a family before. She found it quite wonderful.

Every day, there was someone who required something of her, whether it was another pot of tea for Lao G, helping Pica-san polish his helmets or holding someone up for money with Trebol-san. Machvise let her sit on his shoulders to dust high shelves and Gladius went out of his way to teach her how to shoot guns.

She got to spend time with Buffalo whenever she wanted and wasn't even starved or beaten for mistakes. Yes indeed, Baby Five could get use to living in a place such as this.

There was only one thing, really, that would make it even better than perfect.

"Good morning, Corazón-san!"

A momentary side-glance and a grunt! Baby Five beamed at the acknowledgement, while Corazón-san stepped over her head like a person would a pebble, coffee mug in hand. She had to jog to keep up as he strode down the hall.

"Ne, Corazón-san, do you have any orders for me today? Do you, do you?" Baby Five had managed to receive and complete a request from every single member of the Donquixote Family except Corazón-san, who seemed to avoid her and Buffalo a lot in general.

Maybe he hated kids or was afraid of them? She did remember Jora whispering to Lao G last week that Corazón-san had had a very tense argument with the Young Master about her and Buffalo. Word traveled super fast through the ship just like in the streets, so it must have been recent.

It was too bad, because she liked Corazón-san. Something about his eyes. And he was very handsome and tall, and reminded her of the Young Master.

Baby Five tapped her chin thoughtfully as they walked/jogged. Maybe a compliment would get him to like her a bit more. They always got her to do just about anything. She could even pay Corazón-san one of the highest compliments she knew. Her previous master had given it all the time to handsome men like him and usually got a very happy reaction as a result.

"Ne, Corazón-san…I get so hot looking at you."

In retrospect, maybe Corazón-san was just a little different from the men her previous master had spoken to (Diamante-san had even said he was a very special kind of person), because he dropped his cup, tripped over his own feet and went down with a crash into the lounge.

Baby Five gasped, covering her mouth as the mug shattered, splashing hot coffee all over the floor and onto her shoes.

"Oh, dear!"

Corazón-san sat up, rubbing his head, as she dropped to her knees, puzzling over how to best clean up. Unfortunately, she'd worn out the last of the rags yesterday night and the deckhands didn't let her use the mops. She would've gladly ripped strips from her dress instead, but it'd been a gift from Jora. Baby Five's scrunched her face. Well, at least the cup was easier to deal with.

"What are you doing?"

She blinked, broken glass piling up in her hands. Corazón-san was staring at her. It was the first time she'd ever heard his voice. It sounded strong, as deep as the Young Master's.

"I'm taking care of it," she replied promptly, crouching down for another shard, "You don't have to worry, Corazón-san. No one will even realize this happened when I'm done."

"What—that's not—no, stop. Stop, you're going to hurt yourself."

A big hand suddenly fell on her wrists, gently taking the coffee-stained pieces she'd collected. Baby Five blinked again, craning her head to look at him.

"Is that what you require of me?"

Corazón-san's eyes flickered.

"I don't require anything of you."

At first, the words didn't make sense to her. Baby Five spent a belated second or two blinking stupidly at him before her eyes widened, numbness shooting through her body. The center of her vision grew hot and blotchy, until Corazón-san was nothing but a towering blur of dark feathers and pink hearts. It felt vaguely as if she'd been gutted.

Corazón-san did not require her. She could not find a way to be necessary to him.

"Shit." Corazón-san was kneeling down. His hand fluttered for a second at her face. "Why are you crying?"

"You don't need me, Corazón-san?" Baby Five asked, not even feeling the tears roll down. "Am I a useless person to you?"

For a second, they stared at each other.

Then Corazón-san sighed and rubbed his eyes. He reached for his cigarette pack. A wispy drag of smoke fanned out into the air. Baby Five didn't know why he bothered angling it away from a waste of space such as herself.

"Okay," he murmured, "Okay, fine, how about this? Corazón-san is kind of a mouthful. It's probably troublesome to say. From now on, I'd like you kids to call me…Cora, instead."

Baby Five's head whipped up, tears forgotten within seconds. "Cora…san?" Excitement thumped in her heart.

"And that's what you need of me?"

Cora-san just nodded.

His mouth smiled, but his eyes did not. They never quite did and they never quite would.)

xxx

"I don't know how to be anything else." Doflamingo's voice was low. He was the one crumpled against the wall and yet Rosinante felt infinitely smaller. Why was their father taking so long?

"You shouldn't talk anymore."

Doflamingo shook his head. There was nothing in his expression, nothing that wasn't as cold and hollow as glass and Rosinante bit his lip.

He hesitated only once, before crawling over, scooting beneath his brother's arm. The stench of blood was overwhelming, but he pressed himself close.

"Maybe sometimes," he whispered, "Sometimes, Doffy, I…I am a little scared."

Doflamingo smiled. He said nothing for a very long time.

xxx

("Cora-san gave me a request today."

Although they ought to be sleeping, Baby Five was too giddy to relax. The ship creaked and moaned. Sometimes it was frightening, but tonight it sounded like music.

"Cora-san?"

"That's what Corazón-san asked me to call him from now on. He said you could call him that too."

"Hmm, Cora-san's so much easier to say."

Baby Five giggled, clasping her hands over her heart, "Isn't it?"

"Yeah, I like it…and you didn't think he was scary?"

She turned her head, giving the adjacent bunk a chiding look.

"No way! Cora-san's not scary at all, Buffalo. He was actually really nice."

"Well, he looks really scary sometimes! And he fights with Young Master. Trebol-san doesn't like him at all. I heard him tell Diamante-san that he's ruining everything."

Baby Five blinked. "Ruining what?"

"I don't know."

"Hm, well I like Cora-san. And shouldn't it be natural for them to fight? Because they're brothers."

"Yeah, I guess." They were both silent a moment. Then, because it'd been lingering at the back of her thoughts the whole day…

"Hey, Buffalo…why do you think Cora-san is always so sad?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? He doesn't look sad to me."

"Well, not on his face but…sometimes, in his eyes. Usually when he's speaking with the Young Master or looking his way. He just…he looks really sad." Baby Five wondered if the Young Master noticed it too.

Buffalo snorted. "That's stupid, Baby. Why would Young Master make Cora-san sad? Young Master's awesome!" In the shadows, she could see him turning towards her. "He taught us how to read. Doesn't call us stupid or yell if we mess up. And he lets me have extra helpings!"

Baby Five smiled faintly. She supposed she couldn't argue with that.

"I hope we get to stay here, Buffalo," she whispered.

"Me too," he whispered back, "Trebol-san said training's gonna get harder next week. You'll be okay, right?"

"Of course." She frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you don't have a Devil Fruit power."

"So? I've never needed one. And someone has to save you when you fall overboard."

"I'm not gonna fall overboard! I can fly!"

Baby Five scoffed and flopped onto her back again. "Barely." But she wasn't actually angry. Buffalo was only worried about her.

"I'll be fine," Baby said, softly into the dark.)

xxx

(She was not fine.

The pub's single fan whirled around and around on a half-broken hinge. Bourbon and gunpowder glazed the air. Baby Five was surprised she could smell anything at all with how swollen the left side of her face was. Three of her fingers burned. Sprained or broken.

A concussion scrambled her memories. She could not quite remember anything that had happened, save for the fact that Buffalo was right. She was not strong enough. There was no place for her in the Donquixote Family.

Baby Five was too tired to cry. She pressed her face into the leg she clung to, clenching white fabric between her fingers.

The Young Master's hand came down, dancing light for a moment on her shoulders before he continued walking.

"You're going to trip me, Baby Five."

She barely heard him, keeping her eyes shut tight. She didn't know what happened to the men in the bar after the Young Master arrived. It was all a storm of screaming, bullets and bad words that Baby Five had faded in and out of while lying face-down in the dirt. Now it was dead silent. Still enough to hear her Young Master's steps shift course as he walked, as if avoiding things on the ground.

She wondered if he had killed everyone.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I'm sorry, Young Master. I tried my best."

A soft, acknowledging noise. There was no heat in it. No pity.

"I know, Baby."

He wandered about the room some more, rummaging through bags and at one point prying open the cash register. It wasn't clear how much time went by, before his hand reached down to touch her again.

"Get off," he said and she instantly obeyed. He scooped her up before she could fall on unsteady feet and deposited her on a leather couch. Wires creaked beneath his weight as he sat down beside her.

Baby Five quickly huddled into his side again. She was cold and bruised all over and the child in her sought comfort. There was a corpse lying a few feet away, half-concealed behind the armrest. It wore a wedding ring and a cheap gray suit. Baby Five hid her face, burying it into the dark cradle of her Young Master's coat. He patted her back idly.

"Let's figure out your role," the Young Master said, "Clearly, you don't fare well in a direct fight."

Baby Five's shoulders drooped. She nodded, sniffling. "…Yes, sir."

Another silence reigned and Baby Five knew she should've been helping him brainstorm, but couldn't find the strength to do anything save stifle her whimpers into his shirt. The Young Master was even bigger up close and as warm as the summer sun. She didn't think he would let her hold on as long as she did, but he never pushed her away.

"Think I'll make you an assassin."

Baby Five stilled. She blinked up at him, face half-wreathed in pink feathers. "...an assassin, Young Master?"

"Yes." He crossed his leg at the knee, shifting so her shoulder ended up cushioned against his thigh, "You already have the code name. Plus, I've always found our operations lacked a…subtler touch. What do you say?"

Baby Five worried her lip. She had no idea what pirate operations should or should not lack, but he was asking her a question and giving her a role and she wanted to provide the most adequate answer she could.

"If that's what you require then…I shall work to be the very best assassin there can be."

The Young Master laughed. Deep down, there were times the sound unnerved her, but it didn't then. It was soft and real and made her feel safe. She could've listened to that laugh forever.

"I'm sure you will."

His giant hand ruffled her hair and Baby Five smiled at him. He smelled like honey and reminded her of gold. At the angle he was looking at her, she thought she could see the top half of one blue, blue eye, moving behind the rim of his glasses.

"You know I'll always be counting on you, Baby Five," his voice was firm and without nonsense, "I'll always want you to be necessary. So you have to promise, alright? That you will never stop being useful to me."

Baby Five nodded. Her eyes felt hot. She wondered if she was going to cry, so happy was she.

"I promise, Young Master."

He smiled. The hand slid down to hook her by the chin, brushing away one of her errant tears. She could sense his gaze roam over the crusted blood at her temple, the bruises of her cheeks. When he spoke again, it was quiet and measured.

"You're brave girl, Baby. A strong one. Can't wait to watch you grow."

She reached up to touch his hand and felt it close over her soul.)

xxx

"Cora-san, Cora-san!"

Rosinante slowed to a halt as Baby Five skipped towards him, smile spread wide. It had been weeks since the botched hit and her injuries had mostly healed, though a faint smattering of bruises and band-aids remained. It made her look smaller and younger than ever.

"Kid…" he greeted and was almost talked straight over in her enthusiasm.

"Ne, ne, Cora-san, look what I can do!" She raised her hand without waiting for him to react, palm up. Rosinante's eyes bulged as the flesh suddenly rippled and lost its shape.

"Is that…a bazooka?"

"Yep!" Baby Five rocked on her heels, brandishing the heavy artillery as if it were a pinwheel. "It's the Buki Buki no Mi's power! Young Master got it for me. Now I can be the very best assassin possible for him!"

A blush of absolute delight graced Baby Five's cheeks. Rosinante's nails dug into his palms.

"…You're really attached to Doffy, aren't you?"

"Of course! He's counting on me. He says I'm a brave, strong girl and he wants me to stay. I love the Young Master very much!"

But does he love you?

Rosinante swallowed. He could not bring himself to smile back.

xxx

"Sometimes, Rosi," Doflamingo said, "I'm a little scared too. Sometimes, I feel like…I don't work how I'm supposed to, like something else is trying to climb into my skin."

He turned, chin resting on Rosinante's head. His breath wavered. He wouldn't remember this conversation later or ever again.

"I don't mean to be the way I am."

"I know, Doffy."

"I didn't want to let that bird go."

Rosinante's breathing was just as shallow. Shallower even. He gripped his older brother's sleeve in his quivering, child hands.

"But you did."

xxx

The year ended with barely a cry. Gold Roger's bones lay eight years buried. Doflamingo was twenty-five. Rosi twenty-three.

The White City of Flevance perished in the dark.