Chapter 28
Law believed that conversation had once again thwarted the danger, but as soon as July started, Rosapelo and he got into a terrible fight. Shortly after the fateful trip, Law had removed the diamond fibres from the bones of boy's arms and legs, increasing the density of their natural tissue instead. It was a never-ending job, and Law was well aware of that, but he didn't have any other concept. He repeated the treatment day by day, trying to keep the bone density at the highest level, but he realised even that didn't guarantee that no injuries would ever happen.
Rosapelo was requested to never leave home without him. Law thought it wouldn't pose a problem - after all, the school year had just ended - but, of course, a fourteen-year-old boy could find a thousand reasons why spend time outside, especially during summer holidays and the finest weather. On his behalf, Law had to decline several invitations by his colleagues who, like last year, would happily receive Rosapelo in their homes. They understood the situation, though, and occasionally came to visit the boy when Law was at work, but it probably only intensified the teenager's desire to go outside and play. His team-mates came as well, urging him to go for practice - with the school year having ended, they could finally play as much as they pleased - and he had to repeatedly explain them that, for health reasons, playing sport was excluded, which he obviously did with a heavy heart.
Law was sorry for forcing Rosapelo to stay home, and tried to make it up to him, ease his situation just a bit. He bought up half of the Roger Bay bookshop inventory and would come home not only for breakfast and dinner but also lunch; he even began to take a second day off work per week, and they would make trips to neighbouring islands on it. But did it make any difference as there were still many hours that could be spent more actively...? Rosapelo didn't show his disappointment, and Law kept telling himself that his kid understood the need for such restrictions... until one beautiful July day, when he returned home at eleven AM and ascertained the complete lack of the teenager both in the flat and its immediate surroundings, that was the garden.
His first reaction was, of course, fear, but he quelled it at once with a commonsense conclusion that, if anything happened, he would've been informed. He didn't manage to think anything else, for the next moment the front door was opened and Rosapelo dashed inside, safe and sound, and, beyond doubt, unsurprised by Law's presence. He must have either noticed the parked bicycle or Law himself on his way from work, if he'd been so close to the house.
"I know I shouldn't have left," he said from the doorway, looking him in the eye from under the fringe. "I have no excuse. But everything is okay, so you have no need to worry," he added lightly.
Law stared at him in silence. Rosapelo was wearing his normal clothes and seemed to have only come out for a little while. He wasn't even flushed, which meant he hadn't run, just walked fast, at the very most... but it wasn't much of a console. Law felt his fear turn into anger, but he forced himself to remain calm. "Where have you been?" he asked in a neutral tone.
"On practice. But I didn't play, I only watched others play," the boy assured him, taking off his shoes... his normal shoes. "I'm a captain, they really need me there..."
"Was it the first time? Or maybe you were sneaking out day by day when I was out?" Law asked another question, still controlling his voice.
This time Rosapelo didn't answer at once; his expression became that of a guilty man, so Law could guess how it was. He clenched his teeth. And here he'd thought the teenager had been enduring his confinement pretty well... No wonder, if he'd been doing whatever he'd pleased, behind Law's back.
"Not day by day... only a few times," the boy replied more quietly, lowering his eyes. Then, however, he looked up again. "But nothing happened. What could've happened anyway? It's just fifteen minutes from here. And I really was only sitting and watching the guys play," he said with emphasis.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Law asked, although he knew such questions didn't have any sense.
"Because you wouldn't let me!" Rosapelo replied with annoyance.
"And that made you go against my order in secret? I thought I could trust you," Law said slowly.
It wasn't really fair, as Rosapelo had never betrayed his trust so far, and some part of him knew he shouldn't have said it... Yet, he was disappointed with the fact that his kid had been deliberately lying to him, maybe even for two weeks. It hurt, regardless of how much he tried to justify the teenager's selfish behaviour.
Offence flashed in the boy's eyes, and his cheeks turned red. "Nothing happened!" he repeated for the third time. "And couldn't have happened! Okay, I agree, I shouldn't have gone against your order," he admitted, although his tone didn't indicate that he was particularly remorseful, which he proved with his next words, "But that order doesn't make any sense. I'm not even allowed to do shopping! What might happen to me within one kilometre from home? Can I really hurt myself, walking on the pavement or sitting on a bench? I don't run or climb. Believe me, I'm careful! You know I am careful, don't you?"
Law did, but it wasn't enough now. The boy was clearly underestimating his condition and risking the injury. Law had to make him remember that order did make sense, and why it had been issues in the first place.
"Even if you're careful, it doesn't mean you will always avoid being injured," he said, frowning. "Someone may bump into you, for example. It happened before, didn't it? Should I remind you how many times you ended in the nurse's office because of that? Those weren't pleasant situations, and we must do everything that they don't repeat. Outside, you have no influence over other people's behaviour nor can you predict sudden accidents..."
"Right, earthquake and meteor shower might happen, too!" Rosapelo snapped back. "It's not a reason to lock me away! You're overreacting, Law-san!"
"Pelo, you have fragile bones," Law summoned up that terrible truth, striving to remain patient. "You can't-"
"Then, damn it, do something with it already!" the fourteen-year-old yelled, clenching his fists and emanating fury even from the tips of his hair, and that sudden outburst shocked Law. "How long should I wait?! When will I be healthy again...? When will I be able to live like everyone else, doing what I want?! Do you think I like it? That I'm happy and satisfied?! Why can't you help me?! You consider yourself the best doctor in the world, right?!"
Silence fell, filled with a signal of a ship calling to the port and buzzing of a fly beneath the ceiling, but it was those words that Law heard, echoing inside his head, every of them piercing his heart. Rosapelo was standing in the middle of the living-room and breathing quickly. His face was flushed, eyes angrily squinted, and fists slightly raised. He seemed to be ready to go at Law and demand what he was due.
Law felt chaotic emotions filling him. He could tell apart fear and dejection, hurt and guilt, and they fuelled one another. He feared for Rosapelo, for the boy's life and health, but he also was scared of his resentment. He felt disappointed with the boy, who'd abused his trust, but also with himself. Rosapelo was perfectly right, accusing him for constant failure in treating him... but his accusations were unjust and they pained Law... Could it be that the boy saw Law only as a doctor that he expected treatment of, and in that case...
Law swallowed down, when a cold fist grasped his heart. This way or another, he knew what he had to do. The boy's life had a priority, and no price was too high to pay. Even if Rosapelo were to hate him, Law didn't mean to revoke his decision and give up on the security measures. He loved him too much - even now, this very moment when they were facing each other like enemies - to turn back from the right path, guided by cheap cowardice. He was tough, and he could also be ruthless... Once, he'd been consider a particularly cruel man.
He clenched his jaws and focused his sight on Rosapelo. Something flickered in the boy's gaze as he opened his eyes wide, and his strained expression loosened. He took a step back and lowered his arms; he seemed scared. "I mean... Law-san..." he uttered. "It's not-"
"You have every right to feel that way," Law said, forcing himself to every word, as it seemed that everything in his body from his neck down had frozen. Yet, he knew he was right, and it was the only motive force he needed. "It's been a year and a half, and I still haven't found the way to help you... to cure you once and for all. I understand that you resent me for that. Yes, I'm supposed to be the best doctor in the world... all the more reason to feel disappointed with me."
"No, it's not like that... I shouldn't have-" the boy tried to interject, but Law didn't listen to him.
"But I promised to restore your health one day, and I'm still intend to fulfil that promise," he kept talking, and there was no emotion in his voice. "I'll do everything in my might to make it happen as soon as possible... but until then you must simply bear with me, even if you don't like it... even if you can't stand me."
"What...?" Rosapelo groaned. The last traces of anger disappeared from his face, replaced by a clear confusion, but Law didn't pay attention to that, either.
"However, I'm responsible for you, and thus, as long as you live with me, you will listen to my orders," he said with emphasis. "When I say that you can't go outside without me, then it will really be so. If you can't comply with it, then I'll take you day by day to the hospital and lock you in my office. Let me remind you that my office is on the eighth floor, so it's impossible for a normal person to escape from it," he added in a colder voice he'd intended. "All I ask you is to be patient a bit longer. Once everything is over, I won't keep you. You'll be able to do whatever you want."
Tears glistened in Rosapelo's eyes, and then the teenager passed him and ran to his room before Law managed to admonish him. The door slammed, and the silence fell again, so deep someone's heartbeat could be heard.
Law returned to the hospital at a pace only slightly slower, and without slamming the door. He couldn't look anyone in the eye, so he fitted in the corner of the lift and fixed his eyes on the floor. His appetite was gone, and he only wished to get to his office; he practically ran to it. He slumped in the chair and put the elbows on the desk, rested his forehead on his clasped hands and wondered if he could be even more pathetic.
Even if he knew he'd done the right thing, the burden in his chest wouldn't diminish. He felt awful about having behaved so authoritatively towards Rosapelo, imposing his will on the boy. Sure, he had all right to act that way after the teenager had ignored his guardian's requests and orders... but that argumentation didn't comfort him at all. The scene that had taken place... he considered it as his failure and felt ashamed.
Rosapelo had defied him - for the first time since they'd started to live together, so... he probably hated him...? Despite what Law had thought just a moment ago, now that prospect filled him with the deepest despair. He'd wanted to support the boy, be more an assisting partner than someone to threat and demand... and yet he couldn't. He remembered the boy's expression when they'd parted. It was as if he'd seen Law's real face. After that, Rosapelo would be scared of him and, beyond doubt, wouldn't even want to stay with him any longer... and this moment Law couldn't think of a more dreadful eventuality. Actually, he felt so bad, so hopeless that he could cry.
Law knew that he turned into an unpleasant person whenever something didn't go his way... whenever someone didn't agree with him... that he used to say horrible things and treat the other person badly. That was why, whenever possible, he tried to avoid confrontation. Just like Ikkaku had once said, he would become even more quiet than he already was, and withdraw. Now, however, he'd let that dark side of him prevail... and in front of Rosapelo, whom he cared about more than anyone else. How could the world still be normal after that? How could their relationship be normal again? He felt something had been ruined between the boy and himself, and with his own hands. He felt he would never be able to return home... the place he'd been feeling so good in, until today... where, for the last year and even longer, he'd been happy.
"Hello...?" a bright voice broke into his thoughts.
Law raised his head and saw the last person whose company he needed, standing in the doorway: the head psychiatrists of the Corazon Memorial Hospital, glancing at him from behind the opened door leaf.
Law frowned. "Go away," he said with resentment.
Clione raised his thin eyebrows and looked at him with, as Law interpreted it, a lenient amusement. "My radar told me you're in need of a specialist consultation," he said. "In reality, my intern had just seen you in the lift. She was so kind as to tell me you'd been looking like you blamed yourself at least for an approaching end of the world."
"I'm sorry I scared her," Law retorted. "Tell her that it's my normal expression."
"Not recently," the psychiatrist questioned his opinion and then, without waiting for invitation, entered the room. "As for my interns... You don't need to worry about them; it's not easy to scare them... Now, what happened?"
Law stared at him angrily, but Clione calmly looked back and smiled gently. He made himself comfortably on the coach, crossing his legs, and didn't seem like leaving anytime soon. Law didn't want to talk, didn't want to tell anyone about his failure, and there was no doubt the psychiatrist would get everything out of him... If he wanted to avoid it, he should get up and leave now - but where? He didn't feel like eating, and home...
He lowered his head and slipped his fingers in his hair as the feeling of hopelessness overcame him again. "I'm not qualified to be a father," he mumbled with his eyes closed.
"Why do you think so?" Clione asked, and there was no surprise to his words.
"I yelled at Pelo and ordered him to stay home," Law said quietly. "I forbade him from going outside without me, two weeks ago, but today I learned he hadn't respected it at all. I mean... I understand he doesn't want to sit at home... but it's for his own good. He's still at a risk of fractures 'cause I still hadn't managed to cure him. So we just got into an argument. It was terrible... No, I was terrible... I threatened him with locking him in my office, which scared him, of course, I could see it on his face... I bet he's sick with me... Besides, what normal person would like to stay with someone they are scared of? But I told him to bear with me a little longer... until I find the way to help him... and then he could do whatever he pleases." He lowered his hands and put his head on the desk, pressing left cheek to the cold wood and looking at the wall. "I thought the things were going well for us... that I treated him right... I thought, last year, that I would manage somehow... but now I see it won't work, I'm no good. I can only demand and impose conditions... nothing new... I made the boy cry," he said and felt his throat clench. "I'm a terrible parent, no wonder he started to defy me... but I should've been wiser and-"
"Okay, that's enough," Clione interrupted him. "I get the picture," he assured. "A point for you for being able to put into words what you're feeling. It's a progress comparing to what was before. But you need to work over the ability to see things objectively. And you still haven't done anything about your tendency to feel absurd and excessive remorse..."
Law sat up and glared at him. "Absurd and excessive? I had a fight with my kid...!"
"I'd say it's about time, " the psychiatrist replied, giving him a clear-headed look of his steel blue eyes.
Law blinked. "What...?"
"Law, do you really think that people don't get into arguments?" Clione asked in a voice of exasperated disbelief. "And if they happen, that means the end of the world? Every person is different, has their own opinions and beliefs. It's natural that the differences cause tension and provoke discussions. Even arguments and fights. And if we're talking about a parent-child relationship, then believe me, the full agreement is much more strange," he said with emphasis, clearly making a dig. "In that situation, a problem should be searched for."
"It's not that," Law replied; anger helped him to get out of sudden stupefaction. "Do you take me for a half-wit, Mr Wise? I know perfectly well that Rosapelo can't agree with me on everything. Of course we have different opinions on many things, I've learned it for the last year and a half... But so far they weren't any problem, we would accept it and get over, respecting our different thinking."
"And you think that now, as you can't get over, everything is lost? You're going to tell each other, 'It didn't work, bye'?"
Law frowned even more. "Of course not, it's just-"
Clione shook his head and sighed. "Law, for your own good, you should stop with that 'either-or' approach. With that white-or-black thinking. I know that your personality makes you regard your life in 'all or nothing' categories. You expect of yourself and your life that things will always happen in specific way, and if they don't, then it's the end. I'm well aware that you don't stop feeling and thinking that way only because I tell you to stop. But I'm going to keep telling it nonetheless, for every time I express my opinion, it's like a little pebble on the scale. And one day you'll probably be ready to try... to start doing things differently."
"Psychotherapy, no?" Law muttered, although he hadn't planned it. He pressed his lips tight, deciding to keep silent from now on.
The psychiatrist showed him a thumb-up yet continued talking. "In any case, arguments don't mean that people don't care... Actually, in most cases, it's the opposite. You can't make equality between angry words and hate," he said with emphasis. "I suppose it's your fear of being rejected speaking now. You still think that if you do something wrong, then Pelo will take and leave, right? Maybe that's why you have treated him so gingerly so far, as if you'd been scared of raising your voice, to say nothing of setting demands or forbidding him from doing things... Am I correct?"
Law said nothing.
"And it's been over a year. Law, it's normal that parents sometimes restrict their children. It's normal. And necessary because children need limits in order to develop properly. A parent who lets their kid for everything hurts them as much as a parent who forbids them anything. Then again, your orders and bans aren't based on your whim only on rational grounds, are they? If you care about my opinion, very little fault can be found in you as a father. The boy is happy with you, that's obvious."
Law gave the psychiatrist a suspicious look. It was very rare for Clione to praise him, so he found it hard to unreservedly believe him. Besides... He remembered Rosapelo's face when trying to hold his tears, again. "But he was hurt...!"
"Of course he was, what else did you expect?" the head psychiatrist scolded him. "He cares, so it's obvious he was hurt. If he hadn't cared about your opinion, no argument would have happened in the first place. It would be all the same to him what you thought. But I think I know what hurt him the most... what scared him the most, as you claim..." He mused. "I wasn't there, but..." He looked at Law again. "Did you really tell him that he had to bear up with you a little longer?"
"Yeah... something like that...?" Law admitted.
"Don't you think it may have sounded like, 'I'm going to cure you, and then get out of here'...?"
Law blinked... and then felt he went pale when that eventuality caught at his mind. No, it was impossible... Rosapelo couldn't have thought that... right? He must have realised Law's behaviour resulted only from the concern about his welfare and safety...! Or maybe... Maybe he didn't realise that...? Maybe he thought Law kept him only for medical reasons... only because he felt obliged to cure him...? He recalled the words he'd used, and his anxiety only grew. 'You have fragile bones'. 'You must avoid situations you could hurt yourself'. "I'll cure you, and until then you are to do as I say'. The whole conversation had revolved around the illness, and the emotional message lacked. Rosapelo could have really thought he counted only as a medical case... while it wasn't that...!
Law buried his face in his hands again. For over a year, he'd been trying to show how much he cared for the boy... but could it be that Rosapelo still wasn't certain of it? A year is quite a short time, after all... And if Law himself still feared of being rejected, like Clione had said, damn him, then wouldn't it be strange if the boy felt exactly the same... and even stronger? His father had left when he was still a little child, and then he'd lost his mother as well. Then, Law had entered his life, giving him stability - or so Law thought - but was it really hard to assume that Rosapelo had been afraid of losing him, too? No, Law found it ludicrously easy to imagine. After all - as he suddenly realised - it had taken him a quarter of a century to believe that Corazon had done what he'd done out of love, not sense of duty.
The words he'd said today Rosapelo may have interpreted as his fear come true, fear that had been accompanying him for almost year and a half. Oh, how could Law have been so thoughtless... how could he-
"Before you plunge into yet another pit of guilt, let me remind you that you're just a human being," Clione's calm voice broke his thought process. "You make mistakes just like everyone, but you can also learn from them. Nothing happened that couldn't be repaired, Law," the psychiatrist said with emphasis.
Law looked up at him and stared for a moment, as if he'd seen him for the first time. He frowned, trying to focus his sight.
"No, I can't read your mind," Clione said. "I just spent more than half of my life near you."
Slowly, Law nodded, although he had no idea what it was he agreed with, then activated the Ope Ope no Mi and teleported back home.
Silenced was reigning in the flat. The sunlight was coming through the windows and garden door, forming the spots on the wooden floor and showing up the specks of dust in the air. Tiger was sitting on the coach and licking his belly; he didn't even react to the host's sudden appearance, as he was probably used to people appearing and vanishing from his sight all of the sudden. Law, jumping several steps at once, ran upstairs and knocked on the door to Rosapelo's room; he could barely hear the sound, as his heart kept playing its own melody in his ears. There was no answer, but he entered nonetheless, and Tiger slipped right behind him, as if he'd only waited for the occasion.
Rosapelo was lying on the bed with his face pressed against the cover and his arms put around his head. He didn't move. Law came closer and sat down on the floor, resting his back on the edge of the bed. His eyes caught the photograph of Mr Irma on the desk. He thought distractedly she probably hadn't experienced such difficult times... but, he realised the next second, she hadn't brought up a fourteen-year-old kid.
"I'm sorry, Pelo," he said. "I used many bad words a moment ago. I focused on wrong things. You were right, I overreact when it comes to you... I'm scared like hell that something might happen to you. That's because you're the most important person to me. If you-" He stopped and gulped. "I don't want you get hurt again, you've already been hurt more than enough. For me, there's nothing worse than your suffering. That's why I want to do anything to prevent it."
Silence.
"You're my kid first, and only then my patient," he kept talking, and the words came to his mind easily. Apparently, it was exactly what Clione had said: he'd finally learned to express his feelings in words... and it was good. "I want that you get healthy... but it's not why you're here. We became a family, and we'll always be it, Pelo. It's not that, once you recover, I'll tell you to leave. If you thought that, then I'm terribly ashamed of myself. Of course, if you wish to leave, I won't stop you by force... but I still hope that you stay because... Like I told you last year already, I can't imagine living without you," he said in a softer voice.
"I don't want it," came a stifled answer.
Law felt his heart drop into his stomach. He turned his head to look at the boy. "You don't want it?" he repeated dully.
Rosapelo raised his tousled head and looked at him with his blue eyes, blinking several times. "I don't want to leave," he specified firmly... but then he averted his gaze. "It's me who... I'm sorry for what I said," he added more quietly. "And for having gone against your order, Law-san... It won't happen again, I promise."
Law stared at him for at least thirty seconds, trying to comprehend how that could be even possible. After anger, screams and tears, after threats and imposing his will, after protests and bad words... After dejection, hopelessness and feeling that the world had ended... All it took was one 'I'm sorry', and then another, and then understanding, and then forgiving, and the disaster had been over, as if it had never happened. How could it be so easy? He couldn't explain it with logic.
'You're just a human being. And nothing happened that can't be repaired.'
A common sense that could only coldly analyse balance of losses and benefits or rationally put the debts and favours together, couldn't give him any answers... so he had to rely on his heart, that was telling him now that interpersonal relations worked on different principles and were based on different values. If one looked with their heart, then life wasn't a game with a single defeat meaning a definite end. He remembered that Corazon had never given up on him.
He reached and tousled Rosapelo's hair affectionately. "Thanks," he muttered. "Thank you, Pelo..."
And the boy said nothing, he only nodded, pressing his lips together. Tiger jumped on the bed, as if he'd only waited for a suitable moment, and made himself comfortable on Rosapelo's lower back. The teenager moaned and turned his head back, surprised by a sudden heaviness. "You don't need to watch me," he said reprovingly to the cat, that didn't care about that complaint only kept lovingly digging the claws into his clothes. "I already promised I won't go anywhere..."
Law laughed and got up. The corners of the boy's lips twitched as well. "I hope he will go soon so that I could prepare the dinner on time," Rosapelo declared, glancing at him.
"Dinner sounds good... especially that I had no lunch today," Law replied. "I'll have to grab a salad from the canteen."
"Then go already. The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be back," the boy muttered.
"I'll be back," Law agreed and activated the Ope Ope no Mi.
He couldn't cease being amazed at miracles happening one after another in his life... but he'd rather forget the amazement and focus on happiness they brought.
For the next few days, he intensely thought of the way to reinforce Rosapelo's bones. Once more, he performed a detailed scan of the boy's body, only to find no pathology. He read everything about the skeletal diseases in the books in the paediatrics and orthopaedics sections of the hospital scientific library and in the medical journals from the last five years. He held a case conference with Kaya, Marco and Uni. He investigated the problem from the physical, biological and physiologic viewpoint.
Without getting any effect.
All methods could work in case of an adult, but not a fourteen-year-old kid who was still growing. Applied at this stage, they would result in hindering that growing, and it was the last option Law would agree too.
Every time he put down yet another book or a medical magazine that hadn't given him the desired answer, he fell into even deeper pit of hopelessness that he found even more difficult to raise from. It was a horrifying thing to observe a disease, see its progress and being unable to do anything with it, especially when it concerned the most dear person in the world. It seemed that with the Ope Ope no Mi he was a perfect doctor, capable of defeating every illness, every physical defect... and the truth was that he couldn't find a solution in this particular situation. He felt like cursing the fate for bringing such a misfortune to the only person he cared about.
In other times, however, he tried to see some hint in it. Maybe there was the deeper wisdom and the greater meaning in that? Maybe Rosapelo had met him because it was exactly Law, and no-one else, who could help him? When he viewed the problem from that point, he felt slightly better. He'd never wanted to put a human life in hands of something as vague as destiny... but if the two of them hadn't met by accident, then maybe some good should result from it, not evil...? Just as he'd met Corazon, who had managed to save him despite everything, despite the verdict of nature... then maybe Rosapelo needed him to be his saviour...? It gave hope and motivated Law to keep searching, analysing, thinking.
He noticed he reminisced Corazon more often nowadays. First, it was only fleeting thoughts, associations... single constatations. Then, he started to remember images, like photographs, portraits, face close-ups - smiles, grimaces of anger or sadness - accompanied by sounds. It seemed to him he could remember Cora-san's voice, sometimes perfectly calm, sometimes ringing with every possible emotion, all of them genuine. Then, he started to see in his mind the whole scenes, events of their journey, moving like a film under his eyelids. Cora-san setting the hospitals or himself on fire, Cora-san getting angry at the doctors and the nurses, Cora-san doing stupid things to cheer him up, Cora-san tripping over his long legs and never hurting himself... Cora-san keeping Law close and always protecting him from harm...
And even that cursed island, Minion, memory of it always making his heart beat faster and his mouth filling with bile. Minion, where Cora-san had achieved the impossible, sacrificed everything to defeat a devil in the fight for Law. Until the very end, he had guarded Law against evil, never letting him out of his arms and taking every blow at himself. No matter how many times he'd fallen, he'd always got up. No matter how many bullets he'd taken, he'd always mustered strength to move on, as if he could prolong his life if it'd been essential to Law surviving. He hadn't hesitated even once. He hadn't cared about himself. He'd channelled all his determination to save Law. He'd been someone much larger than a human, in every aspect. Law considered him an angel, a powerful god who could face a whole army... and yet had died by a single bullet shot right in his heart by someone who'd once been his closest person: his own brother.
If not for Doflamingo - and Law - Cora-san would have lived until this very day, and probably for many decades yet. As a Celestial Dragon, he'd had much longer life in prospect. As for his unnatural durability, making him immune to practically every injury, Law could see it with his own eyes. No-matter what trouble Cora-san had got himself into, he'd never even broken his nail, to say nothing of more serious wounds. His organism was almost invulnerable...
Law straightened up in the chair and stared at the opposite wall, although he couldn't really see it. Everything vanished, and the time stopped. In his ears, a silence of perfect void was ringing, and his mind became clear and bright, and was showing him a solution so ideal that everything lost its meaning.
He could modify the genetic code of Rosapelo - change the material responsible for the bone structure - inserting the data of the genome of the Celestial Dragons.
When the moment of epiphany passed - and it seemed the most important moment in his whole life - his brain started functioning again, and in higher gear than before, analysing and planning the operation at the lightning speed. Oh, it was so easy...! He knew with all himself that, with the Ope Ope no Mi, he could do it. It wouldn't be an interspecific synthesis; the Celestial Dragons were, after all, the humans, only perfected to some extent, at least physiology-wise. Genetic material of every 'normal' person had potential to develop in that direction, although, of course, it wasn't something achievable at will. But the Ope Ope no Mi could modify the genome according to its user's will and knowledge; Law had done it countless times when curing the congenital diseases. It was as simple as hardly anything.
There was a problem, though: how to get the genetic material of the celestial Dragons? During the revolution, majority of the Mary Geoise citizens had been killed, and few survivors had been sent to a small island, its location known only to Sabo, the leader of the World Government. That decision had been made both in desire to protect the people from that degenerate caste... and protect the self-proclaimed gods from the people. Coexistence hadn't been considered; the Celestial Dragons wouldn't be able to function on equal terms with the normal human population that they considered as animals... while people would never let them live in peace, and sooner or later a massacre would happen. Sabo had showed the survivors pity they probably hadn't even deserved... but Law thought that being exiled to an isolated scrap of land with no chance of return, and forced to live with no wealth, no power and no significance, was, in fact, much greater cruelty.
In any case, Law shouldn't consider that option; he had no mean to reach that group, and he didn't believe that Sabo would make an exception and tell him the location, regardless of the good cause. Still... there was one Celestial Dragon within Law's reach... but even thinking of him in this contexts made him feel sick and evoked absolute objection, so he immediately forbade himself from doing it.
In fact, he didn't need the genetic material itself; he would do with just knowing its sequence. Maybe he could find some information about the genetics of the Celestial Dragons in the archives of Mary Geoise that had been saved from destruction...? Who could tell what had been the level of their medicine and science...? With the unlimited wealth, they'd certainly hadn't lacked money to perform research, and their self-admiration had beyond doubt made them constantly seek proof of their own perfection. If those material and documents had been preserved, then Law had the chance to get them in his hands. Every mean was better than...
Yes, it was a good idea. The very same evening he wrote and sent a concise letter to the government archives, requesting that all information concerning the physiology of the Celestial Dragons be forwarded to Raftel. Well, he suspected that it would be more sensible to take a leave and visit the central in person. Who could tell how many records there were and how long it would take the archivists to find what interested him? Himself, he would undoubtedly browse through those materials faster, since he already knew what he looked for. He should try to deal with it this summer...
When just a week later, in mid-July, he return home and found Rosapelo unconscious on the floor - the traces indicated the boy had fallen from the stairs - with fractured skull and head injury, Law realised the two of them were already on borrowed time. He no longer had any privilege of hesitating and being picky, not when the life of his dearest kid was at stake... of someone that Law didn't imagine his existence without. He'd survived the death of his parents and sister, he'd endured the death of Cora-san... but it was clear to him like his own name that he wouldn't stand losing Rosapelo.
When his child was on the post-operative ward, safe for the time being, Law returned to his office, put the Den Den Mushi closer and dialled the number. His hands no longer trembled.
"Sengoku-san, I must ask you a favour," he said after he heard the familiar voice in the receiver. "You need to get me an entrance to Impel Down."
The underwater prison was situated at the far end of the world, right on the other side of the globe. Getting there in the fastest, utilising the newest technology submarine would take over a week. Using teleportation that the Ope Ope no Mi enabled him to, Law could cover that distance in less than two days. That way, apart from making the travel considerably shorter, had one more advantage: it was so exhausting that Law couldn't afford even thinking of what he was about to do. If he'd spent a week in a conventional means of transport, perhaps he would've changed his mind, given up on his plans... such great repulsion it evoked in him. Now, however, he was in Mary Geoise before he knew it. He spent over twenty hours there, sleeping, to regenerate his strength. Sengoku-san had carried out the assignment, and the permission to enter Impel Down was already waiting at Law, so, as soon as he recovered, he went to his final destination.
Abandoning the hospital didn't bother him. He'd had a reason why interrupt the work... no, a reason more important than the work. Rosapelo's life had the utmost priority, and saving him was governing Law's actions now. He'd decided he would never allow it that what he loved was taken from him, and that decision determined everything he was doing now. When he were to choose between helping others and helping Rosapelo, then there was no real choice at all.
He'd never been in Impel Down and had never planned to come here. It wasn't a place that the likes of him would visit on their own will. Even though the new authorities had stimulated the modernisation of the prison (and of many other governmental structures) - some of the convicts had been given a real legal process to have their verdicts revoked, the verdict could be something else than life sentence, the tortures couldn't be used in every crime, and many other changes had been performed to secure the prisoners' basic rights - it was still a dreaded symbol of justice. Hannyabal had proved to be Magellan's worthy successor as the chief warden, and he'd beyond doubt learned from his predecessor's mistakes. For over fifteen years, he hadn't allowed a single escape, although he'd had to let free some of the inmates, those who'd had their sentence reduced or even had been pardoned by the new authorities. He hadn't done it with enthusiasm, but, in many aspects, he'd been much more flexible than Magellan. It had helped him to adapt to the new age and its demands, without stepping out of line.
Of course, for the prisoners in the deepest levels not much had really changed, if anything at all. Those convicts had committed the most foul crimes against humanity and no attenuating circumstances might let them go out to the surface again. They deserved to be isolated from normal people, so that they would never hurt anyone. The new government had abolished the death penalty, although it was certain that for some to be sentenced to life in Impel Down was much worse option than a quick execution. Law didn't wonder that after whole years and decades of isolation in a dark and damp place - with no hope for freedom - many lost their sanity or turned into inert, vegetating plants... He knew well what lack of hope could do to a man.
Hannyabal was waiting for him in front of the main gate and didn't even blink when Law materialised before him on the only bridge leading to the building.
"Trafalgar Law, I awaited you," the chief warden greeted him. "You don't lose time. I've just received the message that you had departed from Mary Geoise... I barely managed to run to here from my office...!"
"My time is very precious," Law muttered, handing him the document enabling him to visit and leaving unsaid that the man didn't look as if he'd just run a sprint. "I wish to get this thing done as soon as possible."
"As for that thing of yours..." Hannyabal mumbled, running the paper down with his eyes. "I wasn't told what business the greatest doctor in the world has in my prison."
"You weren't told because I didn't consider it necessary to mention it to anyone," Law replied coldly. "I want to see someone."
"Not me, I reckon...?"
Law said nothing.
"Well, having connections is a nice thing, isn't it now?" the chief warden commented with slight resentment. "To issue permissions to visit my prison just like that, without even bothering to ask my opinion..."
Law spared himself yet another, perfectly useless, remark that Impel Down was under the jurisdiction of the government, and so the decision belonged to the politicians. He was only standing and staring impassively at the big man, who was still examining the paper as if he'd been expecting some trick.
"It looks genuine," he finally claimed with reluctance, then put the document in the pocket and waved at the guard. "Open it."
The gate made no sound, even though Law had unconsciously expected it. Hannyabal must have taken a good care of his prison, not only of his position in it... The gate was only slightly opened and then quickly closed again as soon as they got inside. Law found himself in the corridor, lit by the torches by the walls, its far end obscured by darkness. It was amazingly quiet here, and the steps - clicking of heels on the stone floor - was reverberating loudly.
"A climatic place, isn't it? I really like it here," the chief warden said. His voice had turned unexpectedly casual, as if he'd already 'forgiven' Law having suddenly appeared in his prison without asking his permission. Maybe was he even glad of that visit...? Law suspected that the guests from outside didn't come here often... In fact, he didn't care about it in the slightest; he was too tense to bother himself with feelings of the Impel Down boss, and thus he was just walking with his eyes fixed at the darkness at the end of the corridor.
"Let's go there, first," Hannyabal showed at the door leading to some office. An officer inside jumped out of behind his desk upon seeing his superior and saluted. "He is Vice Head Jailer Derek. Derek, our guest, Trafalgar Law, has arrived. He wished to see one of our prisoners...?" he finished in a question, looking at Law again.
Law clenched his jaws, resisting the urge to clench his fists again. Delaying wouldn't do... even if everything inside him protested against saying that hateful name. He hoped it would be the last time. "Donquixote Doflamingo," he spat.
A surprise flashed in Hannyabal's eyes, only to turn into distrust the next moment. "Doflamingo...? Why do you want to see him? You don't plan to set him free, do you...?"
Now Law did clench his fists, and the nails dug into the insides of his palms. Before he replied, though, an outraged voice of the officer was to be heard, "What are you saying, Chief Warden, Sir?! It is Trafalgar Law who had brought about Doflamingo's defeat...!"
"Hmm, it may be true," Hannyabal admitted reluctantly, never taking his eyes off Law. "But you can never be too sure around them."
"Them?" Derek asked, confused.
"The outsiders," the chief warden explained to him in a voice of someone who knew more, although it didn't seem that the younger officer was any wiser after that answer.
"As far as I am concerned, he may rot here. I couldn't be more happy," Law said in a whisper, for he couldn't trust his voice. "But first I must see him."
"But I'm going to watch you anyway," Hannyabal informed. "Besides, the chief warden is obliged to be present during the visitation of the Level 6 convicts, it's a rule. Not that they are visited often... You're going to leave all your weapon here, if you have any on you, and we'll put the Seastone Cuffs on you. It's a normal procedure," he added as an explanation, although Law hadn't even winced since he'd expected something of that kind.
After the personal control and applying the security means, they headed for the lift that started to slowly move down. Officer Derek accompanied them. During their journey to the Level 6, Hannyabal tried to entertain his guest, but Law didn't listen to his talk. He couldn't quite remember the last time he'd been so upset. All muscles in his body were tensed, as if he were preparing for attack or escape. His heart was beating fast in his chest, and his mouth was dry. He fixed his eyes on the floor, trying to drive away an unpleasant thought that the Seastone Cuffs made him defenceless like a baby. He hadn't felt this way since the time before getting the Ope Ope no Mi...
"...Here is Level 2. In my predecessor's days, it used to be guarded by wild beast, but such practice was then abolished by the new government... It's a pity; no-one could control the prisoners like those monsters. On the other hand, we managed to create new jobs, so-"
Was he scared of Doflamingo? Once, he certainly had been, when being in awe of his power. That awe had never let him take his enemy lightly... had made him wait half of his life before he'd dared to challenge him. And the truth was, he hadn't managed to defeat him; it was Straw Hat, who'd done it, in the end... But was he still afraid of Doflamingo? Even now, when that monster had been locked in for fifteen years and should never get away...?
"-but sometimes it's a tough business. As a chief warden, I must be the strongest and always in a good shape, but I'm having those backaches every now and then, some rheumatism, Heaven forbid. This dampness is playing havoc, and I've been working here, without bragging, almost forty years. Maybe you could check me later, since you're already here? Your Devil Fruit can heal every disease, right...?"
No, it wasn't fear. It was rather deep revulsion caused by the prospect of meeting the man he'd never ceased hating... and asking his help, on top of it. The very thought made his insides turn inside out and bile raise to his throat. This hatred still hadn't burned out, even though it would soon be three decades since that monster had harmed Law the way that couldn't be atoned for. Law had never wished to see him again. It was enough he hadn't managed to forget about him...
"...I sometimes wonder if I should apply for early retirement. Maybe you find it shocking - after all, there's hardly anyone with such an authority as I - but as a doctor you surely understand one should take care of their health, too. To say nothing about being unable to find a girlfriend; no girl wants to live here... I dream of living in a residence on some sunny island where it's always warm-"
He had never wished to see him again, and yet he was here - because of Rosapelo. Apparently, love was stronger than hatred... and at least that realisation warmed his heart in the darkness around and inside him. He breathed deeply and loosened his fists, noticing his nails had cut the insides of his palms. He'd wished to live without being restricted and governed by anyone, with himself setting the rules - and that was how he'd been living for almost fifteen years - but now he was stepping down into Hell, willingly, in order to save another man. No matter how painful, revolting or difficult it was, he would bear with everything to help Rosapelo. What was his psychological comfort when compared with the boy's suffering? Just a ridiculously low price for health and life.
He felt better and, when the lift stopped at the lowest level, emerged from it, holding his head high, determined to go through it with dignity, although currently he had just a short corridor to go through. Level 6 was governed by silence and darkness. The torches, spaced at considerable intervals, could barely lighten the cages with the prisoners. Only some of them seemed to retain their senses, probably those who'd been here the shortest period of time. Most were lying inert, following the passing people with their indifferent sight, and no understanding, no traces of feelings or emotions could be seen in their matt eyes. Sometimes a stifled moan could be heard, as if the person uttering it was too weak to scream. Most of the time, only regular water dripping could be heard. Even if the prison had undergone a modernisation, Law thought it hadn't reached this level. The prisoners were kept alive, or, at least, their bodied were. What happened to their minds was probably no-one's concern.
That was why Law was shocked and his skin crawled when they approached Doflamingo's cage and stopped some three meters away. The light of the nearest torch showed only thin calves and feet shod in the simple loafers; the rest was hid in the shadow, but Law's eyes quickly got used to darkness and would soon see the details of the figure that only outline was visible now.
"It that you, Hannyabal?" a voice soaked in a hateful smile came from the cage, a voice that Law had never forgotten and that made his muscles tense in a sudden spasm. "I recognised your walking. What do I owe this pleasure? And I think the Vice Head Jailer, too..? But the third one... Have you brought me a visitor?"
Doflamingo was lying spread on the floor, and his huge body, clad in striped uniform, was bound with several Seastone Chains. He was looking at the low ceiling of his cage - or maybe even not looking, since he seemed to easily perceive his surroundings with hearing...? Maybe he didn't want to waste his energy on raising his head... At first glance, he didn't stand out of other prisoners - put in chains and immobilised in his cage - but the words he'd just spoken were still ringing in Law's ears, filling him with terror.
It had been almost fifteen years since the leader of the Donquixote Family had been locked in the underwater prison - long enough for a normal man to go crazy - and yet that monster had kept his sanity. He hadn't yielded to hopelessness, hadn't yielded to Seastone draining his powers, hadn't yielded to damp darkness of the sea depth. He seemed to have come here only yesterday, or simply resting and restoring his strength to move on soon.
'He's dangerous,' flashed through Law's head. 'We mustn't lower our guard or underestimate him, for he still haven't given up...!'
"I see you're enjoying yourself, Doflamingo," Hannyabal said in a grumpy voice.
"And something tells me I'm going to enjoy myself even more," the prisoner answered at once. "Well, what is it? What do you need me for?"
"Not me. Mr Trafalgar Law has a business with you."
Silence that fell after those words seemed to drill the eardrums. Law clenched his fists again, paying no attention to the pain. Very slowly, Doflamingo raised his head and looked at him, and Law could almost feel his stare piercing him, although Doflamingo's eyes were hidden behind dark glasses like before.
"Law?" the fallen Celestial Dragon asked, stretching the short name beyond limits, clearly savouring it. The tiniest hint of surprise was barely audible against the excitement and deep pleasure in his voice.
But what struck Law the most and almost confused him was a complete lack of hatred. For a split second, he couldn't grasp it... After all, it was him who'd contributed to Doflamingo's fall and life imprisonment in Impel Down... And Doflamingo was glad, seeing him? How couldn't he not hate him... when Law himself was almost choking up with hatred...?
Then, however, he realised he was facing a monster whose actions had always been incited by instincts and drives, and who just wasn't capable of higher emotions. Doflamingo could experience anger, excitement or urge to destroy, but love, happiness or despair - and even hate - were completely beyond his reach. He couldn't even comprehend them.
"Law, I knew you would come back to me one day," Doflamingo spoke, his voice still ringing with that disgusting satisfaction, and then the chains clattered when he slowly sat up and looked in their direction. Law tried to consciously slow down his breathing and resist the impulse to take two steps back. He told himself his enemy couldn't reach him. "What I don't know is why you're here... Have you come to talk about old times? Reminisce our past in the Family? Or maybe you'd like to talk about our future...? Could it be that you're sick of living like a saviour of humanity? It figures. You're just like me-"
"I'm not like you," Law responded; the words escaped his lips before he hadn't thought of them.
"I wish I could offer you some wine and cocktail," Doflamingo went on, as if he hadn't heard him at all. "But, as you can see, my possibilities are limited. You could even say that my hands are tied," he added in the tone of telling a good joke.
"I didn't come here to chatter with you. I'd rather be silent for the rest of my life than talk with you, Law said in disgust.
"But you are talking with me," Doflamingo pointed out, clearly revelling in that truth. "Then, you undoubtedly want something from me. What can I do for you, sitting in the Level 6 of Impel Down and unable to use my powers?" he asked, almost laughing. "Of course, my offer is still on the table, as long as you're breathing and walking on this earth... Do you remember my offer from Dressrosa? Unless, of course, you start babbling about resurrecting my good-for-nothing brother... But you must have forgotten about him already... didn't you, Law?"
Law bit his lips, for suddenly he felt like yelling. Just a moment ago, he'd wanted to stand back, and now he had to resist the urge to go at Doflamingo with bare hands and pound him, beat to a pulp, until no trace, no tiniest bit of that filthy creature was left, as he didn't deserve to live. When he'd been far, at the other end of the world and justice, Law had been able to push Doflamingo out of his mind... but now, when he was here, looking at that monster again, breathing the same air... now hatred grabbed him by his throat and obscured everything else.
Yet, he didn't want to live by hatred, especially that love had always been stronger. And, he remember, he was here because of love. That was why, when he spoke, his voice was cold and perfectly composed. "I'm surprised you still remember him, since it was Cora-san who initiated your fall..."
"What's that rubbish, Law?" Doflamingo asked, and the earlier satisfaction had vanished from his voice. "Corazon? Initiated my fall? My foolish brother died at my own hand before he managed to do any real damage to me. After killing him, I claimed a kingdom, built my empire and remove any threat from the Navy. Corazon had no say in what happened after he died in a pathetic way."
"The only thing that is pathetic here is you, Doflamingo," Law replied, and his tone was still calm. Now he felt he had control over the situation and wouldn't lose it any more. "You never understood it. Not on Minion, not in Dressrosa, nor now. You're monster devoid of human feeling. Even if you put all your energy and thought for a hundred years, you can't comprehend what feelings are... what love is and what it can do. Cora-san showed me the way I should follow. It was him who ripped me off of you... not only physically, but of your way of thinking and perceiving. He saved me... not only my body, but my soul, in the first place. Normal people have souls... And what the monsters of your kind have inside? I suppose you're just empty...?"
Doflamingo chuckled frighteningly. "Oi, oi... It's our first meeting in fifteen years, and you're talking such things. You didn't grow into a good boy, Law. But you're right. I don't need any feelings to govern me, and emptiness is very good. I can fill it with what I want. What it was that Corazon's love," he spat that word, "drove him into? Dying like a dog-"
"It pointless to talk with you about it," Law interrupted him flatly. "And I don't plan to spend here any longer than absolutely necessary. What I want from you is your blood sample."
Doflamingo raised his brows. "What do you need my blood for, Law? What do you want to grow from it?"
Law said nothing.
Doflamingo grinned. "You already know my answer," he said. "I agree to that, and everything else you might wish, if you perform the Perennial Youth Operation on me."
"What's fun of being immortal if you're never going to leave Impel Down?" Law asked, although it didn't really interest him and he was getting tired of this conversation. In fact, he didn't know why he was even having it. He didn't really need a consent... Maybe he simply - unconsciously - wished that something happened to persuade him out of that idea that filled him with such an objection...? Ridiculous...!
Doflamingo rested his head on his hand. "Law, Law..." he said, clearly amused. "You should know me better. I don't plan to spend my whole life here."
Hannyabal, who had only listened to their conversation without commenting so far, moved now in a restless manner. "Hey, Doflamingo! Watch your mouth!" he called, and Vice Head Jailer Derek backed him up. "If you still dream of seeing the outside world again, them you're an utter full. As long as I'm the chief warden-"
"Exactly. As long as you are the chief warden, Hannyabal..." Doflamingo interrupted him. "We don't know if your successor won't be better disposed to my... proposals, right?"
"This way or another, it's a nonsense," Law threw in. "Be serious, Doflamingo. Have you gone mad? You're the worst... the most vile scum that has ever walked on the earth, and besides you turned my life in hell, and I never forgave you. I won't perform the Perennial Youth Operation on you. If, somehow, I were forced to do it, it's obvious I'd choose someone else, anyone, any-"
He stopped short when the meaning of what he'd just said hit him. For the second time within just one week, he found himself in that strange suspended animation between two fractions of a second, where the light was brighter and the darkness deeper than before and the whole world seemed to make a perfect sense.
The Perennial Youth Operation would grant Rosapelo eternal life in perfect health. Law could do it himself, without help of the most hated man. Why hadn't he thought of it until now? Why had he needed Doflamingo to get the idea? This knowledge hampered his euphoria... but only for a moment. It didn't matter because of who; what mattered was that he'd understand what he could... should do.
"Law... Could it be that you have a candidate, after all?" Doflamingo asked, stretching the words and vowels, and that tone made his every word sound almost obscene.
Law focused his gaze on him, but he was under the impression that the fallen Celestial Dragon was already escaping his perception, slipping out of his mind. His thought ran to Raftel, where his heart, too, was going out to. Longing for Rosapelo that he'd pushed away for the last three days, struck him with all its might. Now, he had no longer anything to do here; there was no point in staying here. He was sick of this place and wanted to go back, look at his son again... Until now, they hadn't parted for so long... and so far...
"Trafalgar...?" Hannyabal asked somewhat sheepishly, and then his arm twitched, as if he wished to nudge him but checked himself in the last moment.
Law turned on his heel and made his way to the lift. He could barely hear the words behind them; he let them slip over his mind and vanish in the dark. "Actually, it would make things easier for me if you died, Law," Doflamingo called, and his voice was satisfied again. "The sooner the better. I could once more search for the Ope Ope no Mi and this time get it..."
"Doflamingo, I told you to watch your language!" Hannyabal shouted at him, but the prisoner only laughed sleazily. "Trafalgar, is your business over? You really want to leave already?"
Law only nodded briefly, so deeply in thought that he didn't pay attention to his surrounding. Strange euphoria was filling him... but was it really that strange? He almost felt like laughing.
When in the lift again - this time going up, back to light - Hannyabal said, "I didn't understand much of your conversation... Except one: that man still poses a great threat. I think I won't think of retirement yet," and his voice was firm as steel.
"Very good idea," Law replied automatically.
Then he cast Doflamingo off from his mind for ever and bid a farewell to hatred. There was no need to waste his life on it. When he came up to the surface again, standing under the blue sky and bright sun, he breathed in the salty air and marvelled at how exquisite it was: to feel he could finally do something worthwhile. Now he could no longer refrain from smiling.
When he spread out ROOM and started his journey home, he was still filled with happiness. He was perfectly certain he would smile all the way to Raftel.