The third attempt he made a few days later, wasn't really planned.
After in the second hospital Law once again faced that complete rejection, emphasised by the staff's crazy panic, there was no other option than running away. It didn't help at all that he'd prepared himself for exactly such reactions; the doctor's curses and the nurses' screaming, coming at him, touched him after all. He jumped to his feet and ran away, along the corridors, outside, leaving the hospital - moving away, far from here, to never go back, to never stop. To hear nothing. To think nothing. To feel nothing.
He hated Corazon for having made him experience these feelings. He wanted to feel only anger and fury. And now he was feeling them, too, but even stronger were loneliness, shame, and the realisation he was the most worthless man in the world. No, that he wasn't even a human. It was as degrading as were these tears, flowing from his eyes, unwanted, no matter how much he tried to stop them. He couldn't do anything about it. The pain was too strong.
Those few years ago, after Flevance, he'd promised himself to never let anything hurt him again. He'd decided to be strong and tough. To never cry again. To never feel happy again, too, for such emotions made a person weak. Joy and sorrow were pointless; he needed only hate. And now, by cursed Corazon's doing, that strength he'd been cultivated for the last two years, had smashed to smithereens, reducing Law to a weeping kid who had been left alone and who wanted someone to help. It was so derogatory... and so overwhelming. He wanted to flee from those feelings, wanted to be again what he'd been when he'd first appeared before Doflamingo.
He ran and ran, never slowing down - meadows, fields, roads and streams flew under his feet - until he had no breath left. He fell onto the green moss in the forest shadow, gasping for air and trying to stop his tears. The world kept moving on, without being concerned about one distressed kid, like it used to. No-one cared... and that realisation made his chest hurt terribly. The birds were singing, the leaves were rustling, even the moo of a cow could be heard - nothing indicated that anyone, anyone, paid attention.
Not even Corazon had stopped him.
Law clenched his fists. Corazon, who could catch up to him at the distance of ten metres and who Law simply couldn't escape from - where was he now? Had he dispensed with him? Had he forgotten him? Had he decided to let Law go? Or maybe it had finally got to his empty head that no hospital could help Law, no matter how many of them they might visit? That it was all in vain? Strangely enough, that thought didn't make Law feel any better; quite the contrary, it depressed him even more...
His breath finally became even, and his heart ceased pounding heavily in his chest. He was still lying on the soft, scented moss with his eyes closed, ordering himself to become calm, getting his strength back and making plans. Then, Corazon was letting him go? Good. Very good. Law was fed up with that moron who thought he could change Law's life as he pleased. Law would return to Doflamingo, just like he'd planned all along. He would return to his reality, defined by cold precision and killing. If he was lucky, he would never see Corazon again...
Unpleasant smell of cigarette made him open his eyes immediately.
Corazon was sitting on a rock a few meters away. Once again, Law hadn't heard him coming, sitting down, lighting his cigarette, nothing. Maybe the man had used Nagi Nagi no Mi... but it didn't really matter, for when Law sat up and stared at the tall figure, he felt anger surging inside him. It was emotion well known and heartily welcomed, but this time focused at himself, for Law realised that upon seeing Corazon, instead of annoyed, he felt... relieved.
He clenched his teeth so hard that his jaws ached, then turned away and pulled up his knees. Suddenly, he felt like screaming and cursing - he, ever rational and calm Trafalgar D. Water Law. That was what that screwed up freak made him feel...! If only he didn't exist... But such thinking was utterly futile; Law had had his lesson two years ago and knew he didn't have power to erase Donquixote Rosinante from this world.
"How did you find me?" he demanded, still looking away. Stinking smoke told him Corazon was still here.
"I didn't. I just followed you."
Law clenched his teeth even more and wrapped both arms around his knees. "I thought you let me go," he said aggressively, but something in his voice quivered.
"I won't let you go back to Doffy."
Now Law did turn in his direction; or, rather, his head turned automatically to glare at Corazon. "Why are you doing this?!" he spewed, and then his words simply flew out, nearly without him notice, "Why?! You know well that all this trip is one big madness and we can't succeed. Why did you stick to me? It's because of my name, right? You got some delusions in your head and you believe in. You fancy you know something about me, something I don't know myself, and you want to take advantage of it, yes? You want to use me in order to beat Doflamingo, don't you? Say you don't, if you can...! Well? Say it! But you know what? I don't give a damn! I don't give a damn at all!"
He stamped the soft ground and only now realised he'd jumped to his feet at some point. He felt fury would blow him any moment... and, to tell the truth, it was much better feeling that than dejection that had been crushing him just a while ago. Not much - for he was acting like a total kid now - but still better. At least, he'd forgot all about crying.
Corazon, however, seemed to care little about his agitation - he didn't even answer his accusations - only smoked his cigarette to the end. Law sat down again and folded his arms, staring at him with hostility. Torn sleeve and wet trouser leg showed that the road the giant man had walked - even following in Law's footsteps - was much more thorny and bumpy than his own. Blisters on his hands indicated that Doflamingo's brother had come into contact with a cluster of nettles, too, and small twigs in his hair only added to that picture of misery. And yet, despite it, Corazon was sitting there absolutely unmoved, as if he'd just enjoyed a nice walk in the forest.
He lit another cigarette... and a bush nearby, too. Law suppressed a sigh and only watched that hopeless case that had decided to accompany him, try to put out the fire with his cloak. For some reason, his fury grew weaker.
It didn't, however, stop him from saying with a mockery when Corazon sat down again, "Cat got your tongue?"
"No. I forgot your question."
It wasn't a reply Law had expected, and his face must have looked quite comical for a moment, before he realised it and his expression turned gloom again. Still, he didn't feel like asking that again... spewing those accusations... that he didn't really want to believe.
"I asked who are you," he said instead, almost unconsciously.
Corazon shook his head. "You know who I am. Your companion in this journey to your new life," he replied, and it would sound quite poetic if it weren't completely stupid at the same time.
Law snorted.
"Don't give up, Law," Corazon went on. "Life is never about pleasant things only, you know it well. Actually, sometimes it's only about bad things, but it's still worth living, for happiness can come to you the very next day. You must have hope and believe that better time will come. I will find cure for your illness. I will save you," he said with emphasis and, for a moment, he sounded like someone perfectly normal, even though what he said was only nonsense.
Was Donquixote Rosinante really someone who believed such things?
Law didn't believe and didn't have hope... but for some reason Corazon's faith and hope didn't hurt him now. Still, the thought he would need to...
"I don't want to go to the hospital," he said under his breath, although he hadn't planned it, not in such a painful voice anyway.
"Don't give up," Corazon repeated. "Don't give up as long as you live. You want to live, don't you...?"
Law didn't answer. He was scared of the answer. He fixed his eyes on the ground, frantically trying to focus on something else, for he didn't like the direction this conversation had taken. In made him feel those unpleasant emotions from a while ago, and he wanted to run away from them more than anything.
"Did you burn that hospital as well?" he asked. In his mind, he could see the flames engulfing the doctor's office. He realised that vision improved his mood, even though he knew the truth.
"They have the sprinklers."
Law nodded and then gulped. "I hope that... the next hospital will have them, too," he said, wiping his eyes, although he still didn't dare to look at Corazon.
"We'll see tomorrow," he heard the calm and serene voice.
He would never admit it, but he was grateful for that answer.