Chapter 22

If it has to be forced,
it usually ends up being ugly.
Whatever it is, allow it to manifest
and unfold spontaneously, naturally.

- Akin Olokun

A month passed, each day the same as the next. Breakfast, lunch, training, dinner, bed. If he wasn't tired yet, he would read the books Violet brought to him. They weren't as interesting as the ones Sabo would give him, but at least it gave him something to do.

Some of Doflamingo's family would 'train' with him, since the other gladiators weren't strong enough for him. He's even had to fight Violet a few times. The family members were tough, but he had a feeling they went easy on him. Since they were going easy on him, he did the same, not showing them everything he knew.

Grandpops and the family had taught him to never show all his cards to enemies, to keep it for when it's really needed as a surprise. There was no need for Doflamingo to know everything about him.

He would get one day a week to rest. On those days, Violet would spend time with him, and one day she taught him to play chess.

"You remembered how each piece move quick," Violet said as he took her pawn. "Young Master would be proud to know this. Though you need to learn where to move the pieces better."

He ignored the remark. It seems 'Young Master' is proud of anything he does. Luffy's just glad to have something to pass the time. At least the other prisoners were fun to talk to. They ignore him when Violet comes, though.

The only good thing is that no one has treat him badly. Everything he asked for, he was given. Though it felt weird to ask for it when the person wasn't there. The first time he did it, he was thirsty and said so out loud. Not too long after, Violet showed up with a glass of water for him. If he wanted a snack, if he wanted second helping of food, Violet would always show up soon after with something for him.

-*/-*/-*/

"If you're not going to eat that, mind sharing?" one of the men in the cell next to his asked one evening.

Luffy looked down at his plate of uneaten food and shook his head. "Trust me. You wouldn't want this," he said as the stabbed at his plate. He hasn't been eating as much as he used to when he started tasting something strange in his food a week ago, the reason for not asking for seconds lately.

"What did you say, you brat? Don't you know that you get treated better than anyone else here? Stop wasting food and share some," the man reprimanded. "That reminds me, we've never asked, but who are you anyway? You're in a prison and yet get treated so much better than the rest of us."

"I'm just a tool, nobody important. And really, you don't want this." Luffy tore a piece of his bread and tossed it towards a mouse in the corner his cell. They all watched in horror as the mouse died not long after eating the offered food. "Don't worry. My brother would like you. He doesn't like wasting food either." He gave the man a smile.

The man was suddenly taken aback by the smile that didn't belong when faced with poisoned food. "How – how can you keep eating if you knew?"

"Hm? Because I was taught to not waste food," Luffy answered as if that was the most obvious answer. "I'm getting used to it. Besides, Mingo doesn't want to kill me. If he did, he would have done so already, instead of bringing me here."

The prisoners looked at the boy sadly. After getting to know Luffy, he's been their bright light in the dreary cells. Even after being thoroughly beaten by the boy at least once each, they felt the need to protect him. But what can they do? They're just as stuck as he is in their prison.

-*/-*/-*/

The next day, she brought him a some fancy clothes that Doflamingo wants him to wear out.

"Can you help me? I don't know how to put these on. My brothers always dress me," he held the pile of clothes out to her. He took off his shirt and waited for her.

"You can't dress yourself? Well, that explains why your shirt buttons always look off."

"The slip-over shirts you give are so much easier to wear," he proudly.

"You've worn some of those T-shirts backward."

"I did? Why didn't you say so?" he pouted to which she giggled.

"It's noisy outside," Luffy commented as she helped him dress.

"You can hear it from here?" She asked curiously. She, herself, couldn't hear the commotion from where they were. "Young Master wishes for you to take care of some troublemakers. Hence the clothes. He wants you to make a good impression on the citizens, since you'll be representing him."

"What did they do?"

"What they did is not of importance," she said. "What is important is that the Young Master wants you to get rid of them for him." After putting on his helmet and beard, she lead him out of the cell.

Once Violet opened the door leading to the outside, Luffy cringed at the sounds of crying voices. It was much louder out here. The sounds left a heavy feeling in his heart, and he struggled just to move his feet forward.

Walking through the town, he noticed something he didn't when he first came. There were toys walking and talking on their own. No one else seemed to think anything strange of it, so he didn't think to ask about them. They looked just as happy as the people living there, but he could hear them, even if they didn't say it out loud.

"I'm human." "It's me. Don't you remember me?" "Doflamingo did this to us." "I'm not a toy." "I'm not a toy." "I'm not a toy!" "I'M NOT A TOY!" "Help me."

"Violet," Luffy's somber tone caught her attention. She turned to look at him and stopped in her tracks, lowering her hand in an attempt to wipe away the slow steady stream of tears.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" she asked in concern. She could feel an oppress aura seeping around them, thinking it might be the cause of the boy's problem, though she wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"Does it matter how I take care of them?" his voice cracked as he asked.

"Young Master just says for you to get rid of them. Is there a problem? If you can't do it, I can talk to Young Master for you," she offered kindly, giving up on stopping his tears.

"Okay," he calmly moved towards where he could feel the disturbance, with Violet following behind this time. "The sooner I can go back to my room, the better I'll feel."

Once they reached the area near the ocean but not close enough for him to see the sea, he found the disturbance Doflamingo wanted him to take care of. There was a small group of pirates scaring the citizens of Dressrosa, demanding for Doflamingo. There were only seven of them, and the people of the town were all hiding in the surrounding buildings.

There were hushed whispering once the townspeople noticed him. They all recognized him from the coliseum. The hushed sounds finally caught the attention of the pirates who were busy over turning stalls, sending fishes, fruits, vegetables, and other sell-able wares all over the ground.

"What's this?" a large bulky man glared down at Luffy. "Don't you know we're pirates? Get lost, old man. We have no business with you. We want Doflamingo's head."

"Captain," another man jeered, "they're saying this old man is the champion here. Even 'beating' a few of the Families."

"Is that so?" the first man, the captained smirked. "This shrimpy old man? Really? He's already in tears in our presence. The Donxiqote Family is nothing but a bunch of wusses to be beaten by this scrawny shrimp." They all laughed.

"Please leave," Luffy said quietly, clutching the hem of his shirt.

"What was that, runt?" the captain hissed.

"Please leave," Luffy said louder, looking at the man in the eyes to show he was serious, though the tears still streaming down his eyes didn't help with the look. "Mingo doesn't want you here. So leave."

They all laughed at him. "Did you hear that men?" the captain laughed. "Mingo doesn't want us here. What are you going to do about it, huh?"

Luffy took a glance around at the hidden towns people. There weren't that many people since it was still early in the morning, but they were still innocent bystanders.

"I'm talking to you!" the captain yelled at the boy when the man noticed he wasn't being taken seriously and punched the boy in front of him.

Luffy fell to the ground. He'd gotten distracted by one of the stuffed toy elephant, trying to protect a little boy, and the surprise punch caught him off guard that he lost his grip over his haki, causing it to break free of his control. There were several thuds around him, and he looked around to see all of the civilians falling to the ground, along with the pirates. He scrambled to gain control over his haki.

Violet walked over to the shaking boy hunched over himself, stunned at what had happened. "Luffy, what did you do?"

"Haki," he mumbled with his face pressed into his knees and arms around his legs. "Lost control."

She knelt down and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What happened to cause you to lose control?"

"It's hard to control here. To many voices. The toys, they're crying. I don't know what to do. I can't help them," he lifted his head to show his tired eyes, tears no long coming. "It's quiet now, but I can still hear the others."

"You can hear the toys crying?" she asked slowly as to understand what he said.

"Not crying, screaming. They're not toys. They want to be remembered," he said tiredly. "It hurts them to know how happy their people are, not knowing, remembering the person that's right there next to them. I can hear your sufferings too." He said the last part so softly that she almost missed it.

She gave him a sad smile. "What you hear is the person's heart." She got up and patted her dress free of dirt. "Now, why don't I tie these guys up, while you get yourself together. Then we'll go back to your room." He nodded and let her do as she said.

The silence between them during the walk back was strained. Luffy, tired from having to keep his haki in check, and Violet, thinking to herself about the boy's revelation. How much of Luffy's confession should she tell Doflamingo? She knows that her Young Master enjoys knowing how much the boy grow as a fighter, so any form of strength is welcomed. But would it put the boy in more danger? There has to be a reason why Luffy hasn't said anything about being able to hear those voices and why he's been keeping his haki hidden.

She shook her head. There was no way for her to keep his Conqueror's Haki hidden, with how he took down the pirates and the other people around them. The boy's haki is strong for it to be leaking out just after taking a step outside, now that she's realized what that oppressing aura was that she felt earlier.

When he returned to the dungeon, no one said anything to the boy. They could tell from his expression that he didn't want to anything to do with anyone. They were relieved when he returned back to his normal smiling self the next morning.

-*/-*/-*/

"Young Master is very pleased with your work yesterday," Violet announced the next day. "He's allowing you to go out as you please, on the condition you wear this." She showed him an anklet, one very similar to what he wore before.

"Don't wanna go out," Luffy pouted to her as she placed the tiny bomb on his left leg.

"How about I show you a place that's far from people?" she offered. "It's a beautiful place full of sunflowers."

He hesitated before agreeing, wanting to get some fresh air and maybe see more of the island. "Can we avoid people?"

"I'll show you a route you can use. There are people and toys but not many," she assured him.

He sighed in relief once they reached the top of Flower Hill. From here they were far enough away from civilization that the voices were just below a murmur in the background of his mind.

"It's pretty here," he said before falling back first into the ground in the middle of the sunflower field. "I like it here. Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it. You can come here anytime you want to get away from the voices if it ever becomes too much," she knelt down to take a seat next to him. The tall foliage covering them from anyone viewing from above.

They continue on like that in peaceful silence until Luffy shot a hand out and grab something that jumped over him. He stared at what he caught, thinking it to be a bug of a sort, only to widen his eyes in surprise. "It's a tiny person?"

"Tontatta," Violet covered her mouth in surprise.

"Ton-what?"

"Viola!" the Tontatta exclaimed before biting Luffy's hand to free itself and jumped onto Violet's chest in a hug.

"Leo? What are you doing so far from Green Bit?" Violet asked.

Luffy sat up to watch the tiny thing in interest.

"Looking for Princess Mansherry," Leo said desperately. "Have you seen her?"

"I'm sorry," she said sadly, "I haven't heard anything about her. I've been assigned to take care of this boy." She gestured to Luffy, who was sitting cross-legged with his hands over his ankles, flapping his knees.

"Hey, is this Manshy princess a small person like you?" Luffy asked.

"Princess Mansherry," Leo corrected before nodding.

"Hmm. Kinda hard since I've never met her, but I sense some tiny people in town. They're worried. I'm guessing they're like you, looking for her too."

"You can sense that far away?" Violet's eyes widen in surprise. Really, the more she learns what he can do, the more he surprises her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "The whole island. I can tell who is who if I've met the person before, but I'm far enough away that I can't hear them as loud." He gave her a sheepish smile. "That reminds me. I'm hungry."

Violet looked up the sky for a moment. "It is past lunch time. Why don't we go back? I'll get you something to eat. I'll keep an eye for Princess Mansherry in the meantime, all right, Leo?"

-*/-*/-*/

Since he was given permission to go out as he pleased, Violet stopped locking his cell door. He gave a slight push on the door and shivered at the effect of the seastone. The door opened easily at the slight touch. He walked out and kicked the door close, intent on exploring the castle above.

It's been a week since his first visit to Flower Hill. He debated on whether he want to go back today, but decided on exploring the building instead. Maybe he can find this Man-person. He skipped along the halls, peering through each room, not finding anything that caught his interest.

"What are you doing?"

Luffy turned in mid skip to see Buffalo talking to him. "Exploring. Today's my free day," he explained. He turned back around to continue on, before he stopped and turned back around. "By the way, where's the toilet? I gotta pee."

"Go straight down that way, turn right at the second hall, it's the fourth door on the left." Buffalo was taken aback by the boy's carefree attitude.

"Okay. Thanks." Luffy followed the direction he thought he remembered, only to find himself lost. He randomly opened doors in hopes of relieving himself.

During his search, he found Doflamingo in what looked like the library, reading a book. The man looked up and was surprised to see who disturbed him.

"Hi, Mingo. Where's the toilet? Gotta pee. Buffalo gave me wrong directions. And I gotta go now!" he whined as he started to dance in place. He frowned at the laugh he got in answer. "I'm not joking. I have to pee. You know what? Forget it. I'll go right here." Luffy made to take off his pants.

"Wait, please don't," Doflamingo frowned in distaste. "Why don't I take you there?"

"Really? Yay!" The boy ran in a circle with his arms in the air as he cheered. "Hurry!"

When Luffy finally emerged from the bathroom, he found Doflamingo leaning against the wall, waiting for him. "Thanks. I feel better. I'm gonna continue exploring now. I'm on a new adventure!"

Doflamingo placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, stopping him in his track. "Come join me in the library. I hear you enjoy reading."

He thought about it for a moment before happily agreeing and followed the man back to the library. As Luffy read, the Shichibukai studied the boy before him, amused and slightly confused as to why the boy would readily agree to spend time with him. Does the boy not understand that he's technically a prisoner there?

"You seem awfully comfortable," Doflamingo found himself saying, startling the boy who was reading and kicking his legs back and forth. "I hear you've made friends with the prisoners. Are you not afraid? Don't you want to run from here?" he asked, voice taunting.

Luffy tilted his head in thought before shaking his head. "I was told, 'If the world gives you a bird, you turn it into dinner,' or something like that. Besides, I can't run. You won't let me." He pointed to the bomb anklet.

Really, the overly large smile sent his way made Doflamingo frown in confusion. "You are a strange one."

"I hear that lots. I wonder why?"

"You have a screw lose," the man before him deadpanned. Luffy only shrugged and continued reading.

"Leaving already?" Doflamingo asked a few hours later when the boy hopped of his chair.

"Dinnertime," was all Luffy cheered before leaving with his book. Only to come back a few seconds later, looking sheepish. "I don't know how to get back."

The man sighed as he closed his book and got up. "I'll take you back."

Once they arrived to Luffy's cell, they both stared at the door, ignoring the glares and yells from the prisoners to their tormentor. "I guess I should have left it open," Luffy tilted his head as he tried to think of a way to open the door.

The only thing Doflamingo did was to face palm. How could he forget that he placed seastone bars in the prison? "How does Violet open the door?"

"I don't know. Normally?"

There was a light laugh from behind them. "There's a small space on the bar where it's not coated in seastone. I'll tie a towel there for you to use next time," She moved to open it to show them and handed Luffy his dinner as he entered with a thanks to the both of them.

"You're awfully friendly with Dofalmingo," one of the prisoner said suspiciously.

"He said I can come and go as I want, so I am. And I was told that I'm a great source of headaches, so I'm trying to prove my family right," Luffy laughed along with the others.

-*/-*/-*/

The next week Doflamingo settled himself in his study, speaking to someone on the other end of his Den Den Mushi, when there was knock on his door. Without waiting for him to answer, the door slammed open with a loud, excited yell, "Mingo!"

"Is everything all right, Young Master?" the man on the other end of the call asked at the same time Doflamingo slammed his hands on his desk to yell, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"I'm sorry, Young Master," Gladius said, fear lacing his voice. "I found the brat raiding the kitchen for snacks, while looking for you."

The angry man turned his glare to the boy, who had his arm full of various fruits, make himself at home on the couch with a happy smile. The man sighed and waved the masked man away.

"Is that all you have to report, Vergo?" he asked once the door closed.

"Yes, sir," the man replied before Doflamingo hung up on the call. He got up from his chair to stalked towards the boy and towered over him.

"Next time, wait for me to answer before barging in. I was on an important call," he growled.

"Sorry," Luffy laughed, not looking a least bit sorry. "This castle is huge. Got lost looking for you. Then I found the kitchen and thought you want snacks." He held out an apple that he'd taken a bite out of to the Warlord.

The man sighed in defeat and slumped himself into the couch across from the boy and picked up a banana. "Why would you be looking for me?"

"Just because," the boy shrugged.

"That's not an answer."

"Hm. Because there's nothing else to do. So I wanted to play with Mingo."

"Go play with someone else. I'm sure one of the officers have time to spare for you. I'm busy."

"Aww. Fine." Luffy finished up the rest of his snacks in one gulp, not leaving anything for Doflamingo, before getting up and leaving the room to once again roam around the castle.

An hour later, Doflamingo was once again disturbed by a loud noise outside his study. Stomping towards the door, the slammed it open to peer out and give the person a glare. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded of the stone head that appeared on the wall.

"Hide and seek with Luffy," Pisca squeaked.

"And why are you using your ability inside the castle? You're making too much noise. You're disturbing me!"

"It's faster this way?" the stone user squeaked before a loud boom came from the floor below them.

"What now?!" Doflamingo threw his arms up in frustration, then proceeded to the stairs going down. Turning a corner, he found Baby 5 with her arm in a shape of a large pistol pointing at Luffy, who was rubbing his head in pain.

"Look, Young Master," the woman gushed upon seeing him, "I found Luffy. That means I won."

"Out!" Doflamingo roared. "Stop making a mess inside the castle. You're giving me a headache. Play outside!" He stormed his way back to his study.

Week after week, Luffy spent his free days playing with each of the officers, getting to know them better. Two months later, he found himself wondering the halls and not finding anyone to play with. He opened a random door to find himself in the library again.

Doflamingo looked up from reading some files to see Luffy walking towards a shelf and picked out a book and sitting across from him to read. "You're being awfully quiet today."

"Can't find anybody to play with, and you don't like it when I bother you. So I'm reading," Luffy shrugged

Doflamingo studied the boy for a moment before putting his paper down and setting his files away. "I hear you go to Flower Hill everyday after breakfast."

Luffy looked up from his book and gave the man a smile. "It's quiet there. I like it."

"Why don't you spend more time there? Like right now, instead of being cooped up in the castle."

"Wanted to spend more time with you guys and get to know my new family."

"New family?"

"Uh-huh. That's what you guys are, right?" Luffy tilted his head. He was pretty sure that's what they called themselves.

Doflamingo smirked. "That's right. We're your new family. Say, have you met any of the Tontatta Tribe?"

"Tonton? You mean the tiny people with tails?" The man nodded. "Yeah! They're so cool. I caught one flying over me. He said he was looking for some man princess. I don't really get it. I don't really see many when I go in the mornings though. They must like to sleep in."

The man looked thoughtful for a moment before asking what else he talked to Tontattas about.

"Nothing much. When I do see them, they run away," Luffy pouted. "It's not fair. I wanted to talk to them more. They're so cool!"

"Come in," Doflamingo said when someone knocked on the door, and Trebol entered.

Luffy made a face at the man and scooted away from the gooey man as he walked around his seat to Doflamingo's side.

"Here's the latest test result from Ceasar," the goopy man handed over a file.

"Good. Leave us," the Shichibukai waved the man away with an amused glace to Luffy. "Don't like Trebol?" He asked once the mentioned man left.

"No," Luffy crossed in arm and huffed. "He's slimy and gross." The boy made a face and stuck his tongue at the door.

Doflamingo chuckled as he studied the file that was handed to him. "If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?" the man interrupted the boy's reading once more.

Luffy gave him an excited look, "I want to be the Pirate King!"

"Really?" the man said thoughtfully. "That may be a little hard."

Luffy shrugged. "Why?"

Doflamingo leaned back into the couch. "There's going to be a huge competition in a couple of months. There will be contenders from all over the world, all strong. Pirates, warriors, you name it, they'll be there. The winner of the competition will get anything they wish for. You will be entering to make sure no one outside the family wins."

"You're rigging the competition?"

The man grinned at the lack of accusation on the boy's face, there was just pure curiosity. "That's right."

"Oh, okay." It was as simple as that.

"Try to think of another wish. Something that I can easily grant. This will also be a good chance for you to fight others that are strong and gain their abilities." He looked down to the file on the table before coming to a decision, while Luffy went back to reading. "Also, I'm going to have Ceasar work on you to make you stronger."

"Hm? Okay," came the distracted reply.

"That's it? You're not going to protest?" Doflamingo asked with an amused smile.

"Why? Do you want me to? You're going to do what you want anyway," Luffy gave him a confused look.

"Normally, one doesn't want to be experimented on."

"Well, it is my body. I kinda like it, but I trust you not to kill me. You want me alive anyway," the boy brushed it off and went back to reading, causing Doflamingo to laugh at the boy's trust in him.

-*/-*/-*/

A week after the experiments started, the men in the prison started to notice a change in Luffy. Sure he was still smiling and talking to them like usual, but the smiles were more strained. Then a few days later, a lot of them were supporting deep bruising and wore a lot more bandages than before. He wouldn't answer their questions of what happened, only brushing them off and changing the topic. Luffy had gotten more violent during their matches in the coliseum.

As the days and weeks passed, the boy had gotten more distant with them, no longer talking or sleeping with them, just huddling in the corner of his cell, shivering. Sometimes he would hold his head as if it was in pain. There were days when the boy would go out of control in his own cell and almost attacked Violet but back down just moments before, looking like he was having a hard time controlling himself.

On one of Luffy's free day, Doflamingo carried the boy back to his room, with Violet following behind him, both looking grim. The boy looked so out of it that the prisoners demanded to know what the deranged man did to their sunshine. The man just ignored them and placed Luffy on his bed.

Violet was actually surprised that Doflamingo actually offered to take the boy back to his cell and had been careful with his handling of the boy. She was even more surprised at the concerned look on the man's face after placing the boy on the bed. Sure the boy's reaction to the latest drug Ceasar injected into the boy is a cause for concern, but to see Doflamingo, of all people, to show worry is strange.

An hour after the injection, Luffy had collapsed. He wasn't unconscious, but he couldn't carry himself on his own two legs and started to babble about everything and anything. Nothing he said had made sense, so Doflamingo decided the boy should go back to his cell, since it didn't sound like the boy would be saying anything important. Even after being laid down, the boy didn't stop his babbling.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Doflamingo murmured to himself as Violet closed the door behind them to leave the boy to himself. "I should ask Ceasar about this."

Just as they were about to go up the stairs, there was a loud, inhumane scream followed by a sound of something being broken. The two of them ran back to Luffy's cell to find his bed had been thrown into the bars between him and the other prisoners, now broken in half. The boy was huddled with his back into the corner with his head in his hands, crying.

"Help me," he wailed. "Someone help me. The monsters are coming to get me. Please help. Ace, Sabo, Trao, anybody, please," his trailed off as he sobbed, his shoulders shaking in fear.

"Hallucination," Doflamingo said as he watched the boy with a frown.

"What should we do, Young Master?" Violet asked.

Doflamingo wordlessly opened the door and shrugged off his feathered cape and draped it over the delusional boy and held him close. The boy started to struggle in his arms, trying to get away from the monster he kept screaming about. Unsure of what to do, the man placed a hand on Luffy's head in what he thought would comfort the boy. "Luffy, it's okay. You're safe now," he said quietly.

Luffy stopped struggling to turn his head to Doflamingo's, his eyes wide in fear. "Mingo?"

"That's right. I'm here to save you from the monsters. Why don't you spend the night with me so the monster can't get you? I'll be sure to scare them away."

Luffy sniffled and nodded, fear still in his eyes.

"Violet, get this place cleaned up by tomorrow and replace the bed," he said to the woman before heading out of the dungeon.

"Ri-right," she stuttered, surprised at the gentleness he was showing.

-*/-*/-*/

The next morning Doflamingo found himself panicking when he didn't see Luffy where he should be. Why he was panicking, he wasn't even sure. Why should he care where the boy went? Hell, why did he even let the brat sleep with him? The brat should have taken care of his own meltdown for all he cared.

The brat was just one of his tools. His tool that he needs in one piece and not broken. He groaned into his hand, got up, dressed, and started his search for the boy, which didn't take very long. As soon as he opened his bedroom door, he found Luffy sitting with his back against the wall across from his door with a thoughtful look, complete with his finger and thumb on his chin.

"What are you doing?" the man sighed.

"Trying to remember how I got to your room," was the answer he got.

Doflamingo ran a hand through his hair and sighed once more. "It's fine if you don't remember. Let's just go get breakfast. And then I need a word with Caesar," he growled the last part.

-*/-*/-*/-*/-*/

A/N: I have over 300 story followers. (๑´ω`๑) Thank you~ (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)⁄