Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
Author's Note: So, what I've said last year didn't come true... Well, couldn't help it. Lots of things happened. Why am I explaining? I-It's like I wasn't guilty or anything... *grins sheepishly* Oh, and I update my stories first before proofreading them. It's a very, very bad habit, but... *sighs in defeat*
I'm so, so sorry the seventh chapter took this long, guys. Whenever writer's block attacks, it stays like it's on a grand vacation. The result? Longer time to update. Again, I apologize for the delay. I wasn't able to fulfill my promise because of it, and family reunions are in it for the partial blame.
Without any further ado, here's chapter 7, Heart's Hatred, Part Three
"Yo! Trafalgar-ya!"
Law looked out of his room's window and spotted a figure wearing a bright red coat from the distance. Long arms waving up very enthusiastically and painted lips stretched out in a wide smile, the teen wondered just where the hell the woman have been for the past four days. He quickly sprang up from his study ad dashed out of his room.
"Korazon-san,"he greeted with a smile of his own as he bowed, but a hard smack on the head greeted him instead.
"It's 'Kora-san', ya jackass! Kora-san!"she yelled at him loudly and grabbed him by the collar to shake him roughly. Law laughed and apologised, only to be cut off when the taller woman crushed him in her arms for a hug. The teen struggled to be freed but to no avail for the woman just tightened her hold on him.
"K-K-Kora-san!"came Law's muffled yell from the overly excited woman's bosom. He couldn't breathe, and he did not want to elaborate the reason why!
"I miss'd ya so much, li'l Lawsie~!"Kora squealed, sniffing exaggeratedly as she forced his face further against her chest. The overjoyed woman then proceeded to rub her chin against the top of his head, exaggerated tears cascading down her cheeks like a waterfall. "Din'ya miss me, too?"
Law could only respond with a muffled scream of "Do you want me to die of asphyxiation?!" to which Kora replied with a "Yeh miss'd me, too? Oh, I fuckin' love ya!" and cuddled him even tighter if possible.
The teen struggled to free his arms and flailed around. His hands soon found her shoulders and he forcefully and finally managed to pull himself free from her death clamp. "Are you trying to kill me with your breasts?!"he shrieked at her as his eyes traveled south. To his great embarrassment, he saw that the top buttons of her coat were unbuttoned, revealing white and barely covered...
Kora's loud guffaws sent Law's cheeks burning a very bright red. He covered his face with his hands to hide his shame, surprised that his nose refused to bleed yet. "You shameless woman..."he muttered through gritted teeth which just sent the receiver of the jibe into another rounds of laughter.
"You're lucky, though,"Kora said moments later after calming herself. "You're the very first kid to ever have received my 'Hug of Love'. Second, if truth be told."
"A death clamp, more likely,"he grumbled under his breath. But the sadness contained in the woman's last sentence did not escape Law's ears. "Second, you say? Who's the unlucky first?"
At his words, Kora snapped out of her untimely daytime reverie before letting out a face-splitting grin as a familiar growl rang behind her. From within the forest in front of them came Pawsie, the large polar bear which was Kora's most faithful and possessive, Law added, companion. At the sight of the bear, Kora immediately tackled her beloved pet for a hug. "Pawsie, o' course~!"
But Law was quite sure that his rambunctious friend was hiding something from him as he remembered how a mixture of sadness and hatred flashed in her eyes as she spoke earlier. And he would be a hypocrite if he wouldn't admit to himself th at they got him very curious as to how a merry and obnoxiously loud woman came to feel such emotions.
"A~nyways,"she said after a few cuddles and praises she gave Pawsie, "Ah've go' summat fo' yeh, Lawsie."
From within the satchel she was carrying, Kora pulled out a small wooden box and handed it to him with a wide smile. The teen accepted it, wondering what the thing in the box might be. With an encouraging smile from her, Law lifted the cover and marveled at the thing the box contained.
"It can't be..."he muttered in amazement as he picked the thing up and studied it close.
"Liked it? Bet'cha do!"she chirped, a wide smile on her face.
It was the same Devil Fruit Law had been dreaming of finding and taking for himself. Now, it was in his possession, mainly because of the woman in front of him. Law stared at the Fruit, then at Kora, and finally back to the thing itself. Questions swam in his head, wanting to find out how and where she found it.
"Where did you find it? How did you get it?"the teen asked almost breathlessly.
Kora gave Law a knowing look and placed a hand on her cheek. She scratched the back of Pawsie's ears when the bear whined for attention, her eyes filled with mirth and the rush of the adventure she must have encountered during the days she spent away from the teen.
"'Find' is da term tha' comes las', laddie. 'Search' is the 'propriate term ta 'xplain mah brief abs'nce,"she explained enigmatically.
Law frowned with confusion at her words. "I don't get it, Kora-san. Can you please, er, get straight to the point?"
"Yeh're not one fo' beatin' 'rounda bush, aren't ya, Trafalgar-ya?"she laughed, enjoying the look on his face. "Well, if tha's wotcha wan'... I din' actually come 'cross it. I look'd fo' it. Fo' yeh!"
"Y-You did that for me?"he asked then found himself struck dumb when she nodded. "Kora-san..."
The woman just grinned cheekily at him. "No need ta thank me, Lawsie. Remember mah pr'mise to ya 'bout 'elping ya kick Vergo-ya's ass- Ah mean, ge' strongah?" When he nodded his confirmation, Kora placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Well, it star's now. Actually, it star's aft' ye eat tha' Fruit."
Law looked at Kora then returned his gaze on the Devil Fruit he was holding. If he did eat the Fruit, he'd gain powers that would be handy in future battles since he aimed to be his own pirate captain once he turns seventeen. But being the user of a Devil Fruit had its one main disadvantage. In contrast to being a man of the seas who wields the powers of a Devil Fruit, he would lose the ability to swim or even float in seawater. Even a spray of it would prove troublesome. Law weighed the powers the Fruit will give him as well as the consequence along with it. The teen frowned with concentration and without any more thoughts took a bite off the Ope Ope no Mi.
Nasty was not enough to describe how bad the Devil Fruit tasted. Law choked as the taste lingered in his mouth. He motioned to spit the portion he took but Kora quickly clamped his mouth shut using her hands. The teen's eyes widened with protest and he tried to push her away but she just tightened her hold on him.
"Don't even think about it!"she warned him but Law strongly shook his head. When he made no further actions in consuming the rest of the Devil Fruit, Kora snatched it out of his grasp.
"It's disgusting!"the teen said awfully, wiring his mouth with the back of his hand. "I'll never try to eat that thing, let alone attempt to finish consuming it!"
Kora looked at him with disbelief. "But I searched for this, for you! You can't just ignore my effort... And besides, you wanted this, right? You wanted to be strong!"
"I don't think I can handle taking another small bite out of that thing."
"Yeh must!"Kora yelled exasperatedly. "Yeh wan'ed dis Devil Fruit, ah kno' it! Dis suits ya an' on'y ya alone, ah bet no otha' can ut'lize its ab'lity as best as yeh wou'd. C'mon, li'l Law. No pain, no gain, r'member?"
Law wanted to consider what she told him and thank her for having faith in him but being the stubborn teenager he was, he grimaced and shook his head once more. And being called 'little Law' insulted him, he had to admit. He watched as Kora's expression became stern and determined. Unbeknownst to him, he just triggered an idea in her that made her want to prove the last words she spoke literally. She sighed.
"No pain, no gain, it is."
Before Law could predict what might occur next, Kora grabbed him by the collar. She then gripped him against her, pried his mouth open, and to Law's shock, forced the Fruit in his face's orifice. He had not realized that the Devil Fruit was gone in a minute and that Kora finished force-feeding him at exactly the same time she let him go with a slight push. The teen coughed and choked while trying to grasp in his mind what had just transpired.
"Did you just..."he spluttered and wheezed as he gasped for air. "...did you just force-feed me?!"
Law's demeanor was screaming disbelief, but the look on Kora's face worried him a little. Her face was blanched the slightest and her gaze far away as if ashamed for what she just did. But the tone of her voice told him otherwise.
"Hafta,"she briskly replied. "Tho' I knew yeh'd change yer mind an' eat it, one way or anutha', I still felt tha' ah had ta force it on ya. Outrigh' reluctance an' rejection scares da shit outta me, Trafalgar-ya." She took a deep breath to compose herself, sniffed, and locked her crimson eyes with his. "Sorry."
The teen blinked. He was shocked at his friend's sudden actions but he was never angry. He only gave her a subtle nod and she was quick to accept it as pardon for her impudent acts. An awkward silence then settled over the two, the only noise present was Pawsie's whines for its master's attention. To the bear's disappointment, even his most demanding noises seemed to not reach his master's ears.
"So, uh,"Kora started awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head gingerly, "I think we shou'd start wi' yer trainin' th' day afta' 'morrow." Upon seeing the questioning look on the teen's face, the older woman continued, much calmer this time. "Ah haf' ta r'port t' Young Master 'bout da task I jus' clear'd. Ya wanna come wi' me so ye can see 'im?"she then offered.
Law had expected for her to commence their training as soon as possible. But seeing that she would have to engage with some 'business' matters first regarding Doflamingo, he agreed. What the teen hadn't expected was Kora's invitation of taking him with her. If truth be told it thrilled him for he would be able to see his older brother again for quite a long time. The idea of meeting yet another friend, a very close one, that is, excited him, too.
"Sure,"he replied, trying not to sound too excited. But upon remembering his 'caretaker', Law's spirits dropped just as quickly as it had risen. "I have to tell Vergo-san first..."
And talk of the devil, a man wearing a white trench coat stepped out from the very doors Law passed through earlier when he ran out to meet Kora. With his face set in its usual stern expression and gloved hands behind him, Vergo approached the trio quietly. The man ignored the polar bear's threatening growls, much to Law's annoyance. The teen grimaced. Whatever on earth intimidated Vergo?
"Yo, Vergo-ya,"Kora casually greeted the newcomer, secretly studying Law. The teen was looking at the older male with apprehension and contained anger, perhaps from the memory of what the 'Demon Bamboo' subjected the younger into a month and a half ago. "Lookin' as dashin' as evah, eh?"
"Korazon." Vergo greeted back neutrally in response. He did not even spare the teen in front a glance but chose to fully lock his attention to the woman opposite him. "What business do you have here?"
Law noticed a flash of annoyance in Kora's eyes when Vergo referred to her using her real name. He was surprised when she just let it pass like water sliding off a duck's back and continued with a wave of her hand. "Aren't ya even gunna compl'ment me fi'st 'fore askin' tha'?"she asked in a slightly flirty tone but went on with her priority nonetheless. "Was jus' askin' Trafalgar-ya if he wanna accompany me on da nex' island, is all." When Vergo raised an eyebrow in question to her exact purposes, Kora merely shrugged and looked at the man blankly. "Dat island wou'd be mah rend'vou' point wi' Doflamingo-sama. I wanna bring da littlest one wi' me in case Young Masta' wan'ed ta see da kid. An' yeh dun' hafta worry 'bout da lad, I'll take full 'spons'bil'ty over 'im in da island, so don'tcher worry. I'll give 'im a good beatin' if evah he disobeys me,"she added when Vergo attempted to speak. Law did not fail to notice the barely contained sarcasm in Kora's voice though when she mentioned the last sentence, causing him to smirk and cringe inwardly afterwards as Vergo cast the teen a dark look.
"Very well,"Vergo said a few moments later. "Send my regards to him. And Law..."he added and gave the teen a final look.
Law immediately understood what Vergo wanted to tell him. The teen nodded his head in affirmation. "Yes, Vergo-san. I will behave myself and not give Kora-san any sort of troubles."
The two then, along with the polar bear, marched off towards the island's port after Vergo gave them permission to leave. Law let out a sigh of relief, glad that he would be out of the older male's shadow even just for a day or maybe only for a few hours. He quietly planned his routine for the day and gathered all the things he learned to be able to relate them to Doflamingo. His thoughts were soon drawn by Kora's excited chatter.
"So, yeh'll hafta behave once we board da ship, 'kay, Trafalgar-ya?"she teased him good naturedly, doing a poor imitation of Vergo's voice and expression which elicited a chuckle from the teen. "Ne, I won'er if Navigator-ya's da one steerin' da ship. I always liked tha' chap, 'e's sucha polite guy. Jus' count off dem constant apologies and instant defeat stuff..."
At the sound of the familiar nickname, Law tilted his head to look at Kora with excitement. "Navigator-ya? Do you mean...?"
"Oh, yeah! Da map maker."She confirmed, grinning as she lighted a cigarette. "Yer li'l friend."
By 'little' she meant tall. The teen's eyes sparkled with anticipation before he broke off into a run in order to quickly reach their first destination. Kora laughed behind him before she followed suit to catch up to him.
Bepo!
+.+
Kora's training regime did wonders for Law's fighting skills. She taught him how to fight using a sword and also to utilize such fighting style while using his Devil Fruit powers.
The teen was surprised when Kora displayed broad knowledge regarding the Ope Ope no Mi. The way she asked him to use his ability after the other was not in a commanding tone but a polite and friendly one thus Law found no trouble doing things since she wasn't ordering him around.
Today, the objective of their training was to fully incapacitate his trainer in any way possible. Law thought it an easy task since Kora just dodged and jumped out of Room whenever the chance presented itself. The teen thought it best to try and widen Room's coverage to overwhelm her.
Kora gave him a congratulatory grin when he succeeded in the feat. She landed on the snow-covered ground gracefully, seeing that there was no point in trying to escape out of the blue sphere given that it was now covering their entire battlefield. Said battlefield was a large clearing on the eastern part of the island's forest. The woods were the battlefield's border, and none of the combatants were allowed to retreat on the trees. If one of them did, they will be crowned the loser.
Law gave out a grin of his own as he drew the katana Kora lent him out of its sheath. He slashed in the air, directing the blow on the woman's weapon hand so as to disarm her using Shambles. The teen smirked; he could almost see her hand holding her weapon disconnecting from her arm. But he was instantly proven wrong for thinking that taking her down was an easy thing to do.
Before the blow struck Kora, she swiftly withdrew her weapon of choice: An unnaturally long nodachi that was the same length as her body's. She deflected the blow lazily and stood her ground unscathed, an equally lazy smile on her painted lips. Law's grip on his sword almost slipped after witnessing how she effortlessly blocked his 'supposed' attack.
"Neva' heard o' Haki, Trafalgar-ya?"
The teen gritted his teeth. The only users of Haki he knew were Doflamingo and Vergo. They possess Haoshoku and Busoshoku Haki respectively. Given Kora's precise dodges and how she seemed to predict his attacks earlier, Law presumed that she perfectly knew how to use Kenbunshoku Haki. He readied himself when she clashed blades with him, pulling and leaping away when her strokes came too strong for him to block. She was quick to follow his movements, however, and when she sent a kick powered up with Busoshoku Haki at him, Law almost got hit but his use of Shambles to switch a small boulder in his place to escape from harm's way saved him in the last second. He watched cautiously as she casually dusted herself off after pulverizing the rock, grinning as she chewed on the butt end of her unlit cigarette sticking out of her mouth.
Her overall speed, agility, and mastery of her weapon of choice that added up to her strength proved that Kora was a difficult enemy to deal with. Law did not doubt that she can easily defend herself against Vergo and even Doflamingo.
"Tha' all yeh go', Lawsie?"
Law snapped out of his stupor when Kora zoomed towards him, the tip of her nodachi barely piercing his chest as he lifted his sword to swipe it. A few strands of strawberry blonde hair flew upwards as the teen's blade feebly and too reluctantly attempted to cut through her shoulder. Kora grabbed his sword arm using her free hand and gave it a sharp twist, intending for him to drop his weapon but Law resisted and tightened his grip. She grinned darkly and swung her blade to cut him but the teen quickly copied what she did earlier and tightly gripped her weapon arm. The two combatants were locked against each other.
Law's mind raced as he quickly assessed the situation. Their training was a very serious one since the elder asked him to go all out and attack him with the intent to injure. The teen was reluctant at the thought of hurting his friend but when Kora insisted by means of reminding him of Vergo, Law yielded and made a promise to himself not to truly hurt her. During the earlier moments of their fight it was always Law who took the offensive, but when the tide changed with him widening Room's coverage, it was then that he witnessed that Kora intended to show him that she was truly serious about her intentions of a genuine fight. His thoughts were immediately cut short when Kora's knee shot up and hit his stomach real hard. The teen wrenched his hand free and pulled away, face slightly contorted with pain. The crimson-eyed woman slashed her nodachi at him with an almost inhuman speed and Law failed to block it using his sword. The cold metal sliced his free arm as he lifted it up for defence.
The sound of ripping fabric and the teen's hiss as the blade bit his skin made Kora's eyes flash momentarily with worry but it was quickly replaced with frustration. She pointed her weapon at Law and stepped towards him, to which the latter responded by walking farther away from her. Kora lunged forward and sent rapid, multiple hacks and slashes at the teen who immediately lifted his sword up to defend himself. Her eyes caught sight of the trees which were now only a few meters behind the youth. If Law did not want to take this fight seriously without having the intent to injure, she might just as well end it in a fitting manner. However, she wanted him to keep going and improve. The lad was just having second thoughts since she was his 'friend', and a woman no less. That irked her, though.
"If yeh won' take dis s'riously, Trafalgar-ya, ah migh' jus' well end dis."
Law's eyes widened when Kora gave him a sharp kick on the stomach, the force strong enough to send him flying towards the trees.
Towards the... trees?!
Adjusting the sword in his hand, Law planted the blade firmly on the ground like an anchor so as to sharply stop his motion towards the border. He dropped down and clutched his stomach with his free hand, panting from all the exertions their training was giving him. The teen looked up at Kora who was surveying him through narrowed eyes. She sheathed her nodachi back to its scabbard then shouldered it as she turned her back to him.
"We're dun' fo' t'day,"she told him blandly as she started to walk away.
Law gasped before he stood and quickly followed the woman. "Why? I haven't lost yet... I haven't given up yet!"
Kora stopped on her tracks and spoke without looking at him. He watched as she fished for her lighter in her coat's pocket before lighting her cigarette. Law watched as plumes of smoke floated in front of her, wrinkling his nose a little as the scent reached him. He disliked her addiction to smoking, and maybe the next time she does after this, he will demand for her to break the bad habit. He did not want her to suffer from possible lung ailments. In doing so, he must show her the health risks in being a chain smoker...
"Kora-san-"
"I'll be leavin da otha' day, Trafalgar-ya. Dun' kno' when I'll be back,"she told him blandly, back still turned on the teen. Law's expression turned to that of surprise, his grip on the sword loosening a little. "Goin' t' da New World, back ter Fozha*. Tomorrow'll be our las' trainin' day, but no' really da final one."
Law's eyes widened with surprise. "You can't just leave!"
"I must. Doflamingo-sama's ord'rs. Gods, Vergo-ya's gun' be 'appy. Wan's ta check yer progruss when he foun' out ah've been trainin' ye. See how leth'l y'are in a figh'. Tch. I wanna answer 'im meself but da fucker wan's ta see fo' 'imself." Kora shook her head and walked away. Law blinked with confusion before his mind finally processed what she really wanted to say. He stormed after her in anger and grabbed her sleeve, pulling hard to make her face him.
"Are you trying to say that I'm weak? That I'm not improving?"he asked her angrily, grey eyes narrowed dangerously. The teen tugged her wrist harder when she didn't even move an inch. When Kora did not answer, Law got angrier. Her lack of response only added more insult to the injury and the raven-haired youth gritted his teeth with annoyance. He let go of her and stepped in front of her, looking up to meet her gaze. Damn woman for being so tall. Law was a little surprised at the lack of emotion on her face that he felt angry all the more.
"Did I say an'thin' 'bout yeh yet?"She asked him back, cocking an eyebrow. Law glared at her, balling his fists tightly until his knuckles turned white and letting his nails dig as deep as they could in his palm but not enough to make him bleed.
"It's as if you'll need to say anything. I can perfectly understand what you meant, I'm not an idiot."
"I kno' yeh aren't,"Kora said nonchalantly. Law snapped for real this time, anger for the both of them almost blinding him.
"Fine. Fine! Just leave. You don't need to come back and continue training me, you know. It's as if I begged you to do so in the first place,"he told her rudely, making sure that he was looking at her with his most resentful glare. "You're the one who offered to train me and I'm just too shy and polite to turn the offer down." That, of course, was not true. Law was ever grateful for the help she gave him, as well as properly teaching him how to defend himself. But his anger, annoyance, and disappointment got the better of him. "Don't act as if I begged you for it-"
"Whoah-ho, I dun' nid yer fuckin' at'tude, kid,"she said calmly, cutting him off with a glare of her own. "I can kill yeh so eas'ly an' skin yer puhretty ass like shit." The woman took a deep breath then reached out a hand to roughly grab the collar of his jacket. "If on'y yeh weren't so special, tho'. Not in Doflamingo-sama's eyes, fucker, but in mine- Holy mothafuckin' shit, fo'get dat ah said tha'!"she said loudly, lightly shoving him away from her. Law could only stare at her with sudden and genuine bewilderment, surprised at what she said.
He was important to her?
Law felt warm all over. No one aside from the ones he considered his family expressed how much he meant to them. Doflamingo always told him when he was younger, and he vaguely remembered Vergo show Law he was important to him, too. He didn't expect Kora to look at him the same way the two older males did when he was a kid, considering that they don't actually spend most of the days together.
Two days after Kora helped him out of the forest and patched up his injuries, Vergo came to her house and brought Law back to their base. It was after a week when Kora showed up, and she only had the briefest time to tell him where, when, and what time Law would meet her to start their training. The next training days became rare after for whenever Kora arranged a schedule, Vergo would pop out and give her orders from Doflamingo. The dark-haired male would then look at Law with the littlest of mocking smiles, making the teen think that he(and maybe even Doflamingo) was doing it on purpose. It was as if they did not want him to be close to the woman. But Kora would always find a way and make sure that if they do meet, Law would be a more than decent fighter then. They rarely talk about themselves, and if truth be told Law barely knew anything about her and her life, who she really was and the simplest facts about her(except for her being so fond of smoking, her working for Doflamingo, and her having a jealous and possessive male bear for a companion). She doesn't seem to know much about him, too, aside from the knowledge that Doflamingo raised him and that Vergo currently was the one looking out for him. So how could he just be important to her?
Law jerked when Kora lifted her free hand up, looking as if she wanted to hit him. He closed his eyes, ready to receive any repercussions but the blow never came. He opened his eyes and saw her crying, her arm covering her own eyes from him.
"Kora-san!"Law exclaimed with worry, stepping forward towards her and holding her hand clutching her nodachi. Why was she crying all of a sudden?
"Y-Ya li'l rascal,"Kora whimpered at him, refusing to lower her arm to look at him. "Promise me yeh'll figh' me fo' real dis time! Figh' me like yeh wanna kill me, like yeh wanna rip mah 'eart out!"
The teen lowered his gaze, cheeks turning pink. "But I don't want to hurt you..."he muttered timidly at her, slightly startled at how unsure he was. But his words, they were much true. With what little time they were spending with each other, he learned to actually care for her. It was very rare for Law to feel attached to others, but the sincerity Kora had made him truly care for her and trust her. The teen also always saw the loneliness in her eyes that she was trying to mask with her rambunctious personality. Law never usually cared for such people, but she was just so... different. It was as if Law already knew her for a very long time, and not just as an acquaintance to him.
She felt like an older sister to him and to Law, it was just so right.
"Then I wun' leave ya 'ere wi' Vergo-ya! I kno' wut he's plannin', he'll jus' beat yeh up again an' tell yeh tha' yeh're not r'ly improvin' at all!"she yelled at him, lowering her arm to look at him through the tears in her eyes. Law gaped at her indignantly. Oh, she said it, she rubbed it on his face! He was about to yell at her and tell her that he was training on his own whenever she was away and whenever he had the chance but stopped himself since she still wasn't done talking.
"Ya kno' wot's he doin'? He checks on us, da bastard di', by means o' lookin' if I've got cuts in me. I'm worried tha' the bastard wan's to lower yer self-confidence. Wot worries me most is dat he'll 'urt yeh... Tha's why..."
"That's why you wanted me to fight you with the intent to injure,"Law finished quietly for her, letting her hand go and looking straight in her eyes. She did care for him. Law felt that it was real, and his heart was glad for it. More than glad to be honest. "But that's not the basis in proving that I really improved or not. I know I did, Kora-san, I did improve. You're a very great mentor, the best, and none can compare. You drove me to unlock my skills on my own without you telling me whenever you're away." The teen lifted his left hand up as a small sphere of blue light appeared on top of his palm. He surrounded the two of them with Room and under Kora's tearful gaze, he lightly thrusted his hand on her chest, directly where her heart is.
"Wot da-?"
Law walked past her and picked up something from the snow-covered ground. With a confident smirk he faced her, holding something out for her to see. His grey eyes twinkled with amusement upon seeing the shocked look on her face.
"Let's go back, Kora-san,"he told her, chuckling as her mouth opened and closed like a fish's out of water as she tried to speak but cannot find the right words to do so. "We'll show Vergo-san the proof that you lost to a mere brat like me!"
+.+
Kora watched as Trafalgar Law happily walked away, leaving her rooted on the spot. She had never met anyone who genuinely never wanted to hurt her and who truly cared for her. It made her cry even more for the kid just so reminded her of someone who was long gone from her...
"You fucking bastard..."she whispered, her sobs beginning anew. "I didn't know you could be alive in someone else's..."
She laughed, a true laugh that she never did all those years ago as the teen glanced back at her and shouted for her to follow and to stop crying her eyes out. Kora wiped her tears and smiled as she jogged towards him, poking him hard on the head and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Law did not complain and smiled, leaning closer to her, and it brought a smile on the woman's own lips. She gazed at what he was holding in his hand and shook her head with amusement and nostalgia.
Stole my heart the same way you did the first time I've ever laid my eyes on you, she thought as she gazed up at the heavens with a smile, her hand squeezing the young man's shoulder affectionately. Kora giggled as Law snorted with amusement, nudging an arm on her ribs which she, in turn, lightly knocked her head on his. Mind you, this brat really did.
Literally.
*Fohza - an island I just made up. *grins sheepishly*
The last part of Heart's Hatred comes after this. What happened thirteen years ago that made Law hate Doflamingo that he wished to see the blond he called 'brother' die even if it costs his own death?
Chapter Eight would be very long, I'm pretty sure. And... it would be long before I update, I guess. I hate myself for it.
I hope my own take in it would be okay with you, my dear readers.
Currently listening to: Find Me Tonight by Everyday Sunday