Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. But in my dreams... -sighs-
The smile on Doflamingo's face vanished this time.
Business? What kind of business was it this time? The blond remembered the times he was the one talking like this and not Law. He would take delight in the raven-haired youth's controlled voice, how the latter would react after every mission wherein Doflamingo would only give him scraps of information after obeying all of the conditions he had to give him during Law's every task coming from him. And with much effort, the Surgeon of Death will do them, no matter how restricted he was. For the sake of the information Doflamingo offered him, Law will do them. Every time. Just for the information.
And if the young pirate succeeds, Doflamingo gleefully listens(or watches whenever they had the chance to meet) to the sound of Law's clinching teeth with frustration. Why so? Scraps of information. Information that barely had connections to what the raven-haired youth actually wanted.
Doflamingo liked, if not always, to leave Law hanging.
But right now, with the man's turn of talking business, something akin to dread started to form in Doflamingo's gut.
"Fu... Fufufufufufu!"the blond laughed, putting a hand on his forehead as if the very thought of it was actually funny. He leaned down a little, his smile forming once more on his face. "Law, calm down! A kid shouldn't be acting like an adult! Where are you now? Don't anger me now...!"he said, voice dripping with honey as he spoke, but with the last sentence the honey turned out to be poisoned, lethal and cold enough to send even the toughest of pirates crying for their mothers.
The den den mushi continued to sneer up at him, giving him a look of mock innocence. He could clearly picture Law having the same expression on his face. If it amused him before, it clearly wasn't working now. It only started to build up frustration in Doflamingo's chest.
"Anger you? Right now, your most important business partner is one of the Four Emperors..." A dramatic pause. Then... "The great pirate 'Kaidou the Beast'. You're the one who shouldn't be angering this guy!"
Doflamingo grinned a grin so lethal that it can actually kill someone if possible. He wasn't amused anymore. With the fact that Law managed to enter the SAD production room, it almost equalled the idea that the latter destroyed it. The blond took a deep breath then eyed the den den mushi intently, waiting for Law to continue as he sat down the deck.
"What will happen if he finds out you can't make anymore 'SMILE'?" Doflamingo noticed Buffalo made a somewhat surprised look as he, too, listened to Law.
"He's not the kind of guy you can just talk with!"someone yelled from the other line, making Doflamingo tilt his head up a little.
"It'll be a harsh battle,"Law continued as if he wasn't interrupted. The blond was about to grin at the words, but the raven-haired youth's next sentence made his eyes widen with annoyance. "You'll be wiped out."
The Shichibukai leaned forward towards the den den mushi, face almost scrunched up with frustration as he pointed a long finger at the invertebrate, as if he was pointing at the man instead. "Hey, stop joking, Law! What do I have to do to get Ceasar back?"he barked, gritting his teeth as he glared. Doflamingo hated the fact that it had come to this, but he doesn't have much of a choice. "Hurry up and state your terms!"
The den den mushi continued staring up at him with that annoyingly calm gaze. A few seconds passed, and Law dropped the bomb.
"You'll quit being a Warlord!"
Beads of sweat started to form on Doflamingo's forehead. He, the Ten-Yasha, who also happened to be the most influential king of the country Dressrosa, will quit being a Warlord? What kind of a sick joke was that?
But knowing Law, the blond knew that he was serious.
Damn it. Damn it to hell.
If there was one word to describe Doflamingo's situation right now, it had to be damned. He was damned to hell, and Law was the major cause. He dropped his gaze down the raft's wooden deck, clenching his fists with fury that it almost drew blood. It felt like every fiber of his body started to tremble with an attempt to control his raging emotion. Doflamingo closed his eyes and saw in his mind's eye a child wearing a furry, spotted hat, almost begging to be carried. He wanted to smile at the memory, but the child in his mind was immediately replaced by a man smiling ever so slyly at him. He fought the urge to destroy everything in sight just so he could nullify the anger that was slowly consuming him.
In front of him, he heard Buffalo and Baby 5 gasped with shock.
"This kid!"Buffalo bellowed angrily, teeth gnashing with uncontrollable anger.
"You can't come to Dressrosa again!"Baby 5 fumed, voice tinged with mixed emotions; anger for Law and surprisingly, concern for Doflamingo.
On the other line, Law continued to speak, not giving the blond more room for argument. "Throw away the status you've built up for the last ten years...and return to being a regular pirate. However, this means that the admirals of Marine Headquarters will hunt you down. Your time limit ends with tomorrow's newspaper delivery."
Doflamingo almost let out a harsh breath but he controlled himself and waited for Law to finish.
The den den mushi smiled at him with mock innocence. "If the morning newspapers say you have withdrawn from the Seven Warlords, I will contact you again. If it says nothing of the sort...negotiations are over! See you."
The slamming sound of a transponder snail being dropped down on the other line snapped Doflamingo out of the shocking terms he just gave. The Warlord now in question lifted his head up harshly to look at the den den mushi, face set in a horrible display of surprised anger. "Hey, Law, wait!"
No response.
A trickle of sweat dropped down from Doflamingo's creased forehead. His jaws were tight, teeth gnashing with rage. He dropped his gaze down the raft's wooden deck, lips slowly carving a wide, venomous smile filled with fury. Slowly, he breathed harsh breaths, more sweat beading his face and neck as he clenched his fists tightly. Eyes wide behind the purple-tinted glasses, enough to see anything yet their owner was now blind with rage.
"Young Master..."came Baby 5's worried voice. Or was it only worry he heard in her tone? He caught fear in it, he was sure.
Doflamingo looked up at his two henchmen, face set in an expression of mad fury.
His anger overflowed.
Thirty minutes later, the Warlord, filled with anger, reached the island called Punk Hazard. There, he was met by a group of G-5 Marines headed by Vice-admiral Smoker. But he wasn't interested with them. The Warlord wanted only one person, a man he once treated as a younger brother. Yet as expected, that man wasn't there anymore.
Wanting so much to vent out his anger, he attacked them. He gave them a taste of his Haoshoku Haki which instantly sent most of the lower-ranking Marines down. Those who were able to resist that burst of power, however, were very much unfortunate.
The Vice-admiral in charge of the group tried to stop his underlings who were brave enough to attack a Warlord, much less an angry one. They were instantly wiped out without much effort. The Warlord, mad with fury, shouted the question he wanted to be answered.
"What way did those shitty bastards go?"
"..." The vice-admiral gave the Warlord a determined look, his cigar emitting plumes of smoke. "I've got no idea, 'Joker'."
That answer alone was enough to make the Warlord see red. But the vice-admiral still wasn't done speaking, as he was soon to find out.
"There was nothing I could do but stand by and let them go... I'll have to apologize to Base Captain Vergo..."
The Warlord clenched his fists with anger. "... They're gone, right? You..." He lifted his gaze to look at the vice-admiral, a deadly glint appearing in his eyes. "...you know just a little too much!"
The vice-admiral's underlings could only watch and shout in horror as their leader's blood stained the pristine whiteness of the snow-covered ground...
After explaining to Strawhat and his crew about their plan, Law wondered if the alliance he made with this pirate crew was worth it. He knew that Doflamingo will not turn out to be am easy enemy, even if the latter will agree on the terms he stated. Ceasar was an important person, within Doflamingo's circle, that is, but Law had to be certain. He had to be sure that his infernal boss would give in and do as he says and if not...
The raven-haired youth closed his eyes and stopped any negative thoughts from rushing in his head. There were many things that he had in mind and one of them, surprisingly, was about Doflamingo's feelings. Law covered his face with his hands, seemingly with shame.
To think that somehow, somewhere deep within the recesses of his heart, he still cared for the person he once called his brother.
Law sighed, allowing his mind to drift back to the years long gone...
...when they were still connected.
PurpleMoonshine - Thank you for reading and reviewing. I definitely agree: Smiles are in. :)
I was thinking of including Law's trip to memory lane in this chapter, but then again, why not do that in the upcoming chapter?
(I'm having writer's block. -_-)
Yep, I'll do just that. Chapter three, exclusively for Law's trip to memory lane only.