Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.
Chapter 13
Control
It had only been a few hours when Nami was removed from the cells. She kept as calm as she could as Diamante unlocked her handcuffs in the next room, not wanting to tip him off to how furious she was inside. She nodded graciously as he complimented her on how good of a job she did with the prisoner. He was whole heartedly impressed by her acting abilities and what an incredible show she put on in there.
It became clear rather quickly that Diamante wasn't aware of everything that happened to Nami while in Germa. Either that, or he was too dense to put together that her reaction was completely genuine. Either way, she wasn't going to hold her anger against him. There was only one person she was angry with right now, and she was about to make sure he knew it.
They came to a stop in front of Doflamingo's office, and Nami turned to address Diamante. "I just want to say thanks for having my back during all of that. I know that it's your job but I appreciate it none the less, and I'm sorry for what's about to happen." Before he could get out a response, she looked over his shoulder, eyes widened in surprise. "What the- Is that Vergo in a chicken costume?"
The second Diamante turned back to look down the empty hall, Nami mustered all her strength and kicked open the heavy door to the office.
"Kaido isn't going to wait forever for you to-" Doflamingo promptly hung up the den den mushi, cutting off the voice coming through the transponder snail as Nami stomped up to his desk.
"Lair!" she growled between clenched teeth. The accusatory finger she pointed at him was shaking with rage. Diamante was quick to follow. He pulled her back by her wrist and waist, halting her just before she reached the king.
"That's quite an accusation." Doflamingo's smile was slight, annoyance threatening to overcome his amusement at her display.
"You said you didn't know his name! You knew exactly who he was, you bastard!" She was scrambling and twisting with all her might to break free from Diamante's grip.
"I told you he hadn't spoken his name, not that I didn't know it." Doflamingo stood from his desk and calmly made his way around to her. "You already knew that, though, didn't you?"
Nami stopped struggling but continued staring daggers into the king.
"I understand why you are angry with me, but to be fair, I don't think either of us knew the extent to which you would be affected by him." His gaze fell briefly to her neck before moving back to her eyes, reminding her of her actions in the cell. She pushed a heavy sigh out through her nose, pursing her lips as she looked away from him. She hated how right he was. He knew she would have some kind of reaction, but she hadn't even known herself that she would become so afraid. She really hadn't had any time to process all that happened in Germa, and she didn't want to. She just wanted to move on and forget.
"You could have warned me." Her voice was softer now, shifting from anger to defeat.
Doflamingo sent Diamante a pointed look. He immediately released Nami and moved himself to the back of the room.
"We could have done a lot of things differently, Kitten, but it doesn't do any good to dwell on the past." He put a friendly hand on her shoulder. "What you should be focusing on is what incredible success you had despite it all, and in just a few hours."
She moved out of his reach and slid into a chair with a huff. As much as she was angry with the situation, she had to admit that he was right. She knew it couldn't have gone better. She could have Sanji eating out of her hand in days. She was just angry that it came at her expense. Her stubborn side was winning against reason, though, and she folded her arms across her chest as she pouted like a child. She was ready for him to scream at her, even punish her somehow for the way she boldly insulted the king, but instead, he was comforting her. Arlong would have chained her to a desk or taken to hurting her loved ones. Whether Doflamingo was manipulating her or not, she found that she preferred whatever this was.
"So you were watching, too?" It didn't cross her mind that anyone besides Diamante was watching the footage from the hidden surveillance snail at the time, but it should have been obvious with how eager he was for her to begin.
He hummed in agreement, pulling a chair to take a seat beside her.
"Why don't you take a while to rest. If it's too much, we'll find someone else to-"
"Don't be ridiculous." Her voice was cold and stern as she cut him off. Whether it was a genuine offer or not, Nami didn't really care. The whole situation left her with a sickening feeling of weakness in her gut. If nothing else, she needed to finish this for herself, to know that she could be in control. She needed to prove to herself that her past experiences weren't going to dominate her life or her mission. She needed to know her feelings were temporary, that she wasn't broken.
Nami stood and turned toward the back of the room. "Diamante, are you up for a midnight shift?" She needed to get back in control of herself, and she knew she wouldn't get a wink of sleep until she did.
Diamante grinned. "I'm always ready for an encore."
Nami made a quick stop in the restroom before heading back down with Diamante.
She splashed some water on her face in an attempt to clear her mind. Her next meeting with Sanji would be easier than her first. She was certain of that. She knew what strategy she would take next, and she was more determined than ever to see this through. So, why were her hands still shaking?
She toweled off her face and looked up in the mirror, gasping loudly at the unwelcome form suddenly standing behind her.
"Dammit, Viola! What are you doing? You scared me half to death!" Nami cursed through clenched teeth as she gripped her heart.
This whole situation must have really been getting to Nami. She couldn't remember the last time a regular person was able to sneak up on her.
"I did not mean to frighten you," Viola stated softly. "I just wanted to see if you were alright. After seeing him."
"You were watching the surveillance footage?" Nami questioned. It was clear Viola wasn't referring to her visit to Doflamingo's office.
"No, I- er, Yes," Viola stumbled. "Listen, I also wanted to apologize. For leaving so abruptly. And for suggesting you wear that jewelry."
Nami tilted her head as she continued to study Viola through the mirror. She was uncharacteristically on edge, and Nami was certain that her remorse was genuine. Nami just wasn't sure why someone like Viola would care.
"I'm fine," Nami replied curtly. Even if her apology was genuine, she didn't trust Viola. Besides the fact that there was too much she didn't know about her, Viola was clearly one of the closest of the family to Doflamingo, which made her intentions that much more unclear.
"I will not keep you any longer." Viola let out a short breath and regained her composure.
She lowered her voice and whispered one last thing to Nami before she turned to leave.
"If you find yourself in danger again, if they come for you." Viola's eyes were deadly serious. "You know where to find me."
It had been hours since the sun set, and she still had not returned.
Law was pacing, wearing down a path inside Nami's room. He assumed sneaking in at this hour was the best chance he had to find her here. He was wrong. He hated being wrong. Perhaps this was for the best, though.
We can't keep finding ourselves like this when we're back on Dressrosa.
Nami remaining distant should've been a good thing for him. Distance meant Doflamingo would be less likely to figure out how close she had become to him, which meant she would be less likely to be used against him when it came down to it. In the slim chance that Law failed in his true mission, no one could think that Nami was his accomplice. The best way to do that was to make sure that she truly wasn't involved. He had to keep her in the dark. He had to keep her safe.
I will do everything I can to protect you.
Did he really need to contact her to know she was, in fact, safe? Now that Doflamingo had the research from Germa and Vinsmoke Judge's missing son, he wouldn't need Nami to be involved anymore. He just needed Law to identify why the enhancements didn't work on the blond. No doubt to be sure that it would work when Doflamingo finally ordered Law to perform the procedure on the king. Law was close to solving that mystery, and he was exceptionally pleased with what he had already found. The information he kept hidden from Doflamingo didn't need to be revealed to give the king what he wanted. It wasn't the reason the enhancements failed.
It just makes me that much more grateful that I got to you when I did.
That vital piece of information. As long as he remained in Doflamingo's service, as long as he remained in charge of research, and as long as it remained a secret, it would ensure Doflamingo's ultimate demise.
You have no idea how critical it was that we got you out in time.
Law was the next and final piece of Doflamingo's plan. He was sure of it. But if that was true, where was Nami right now?
She went to the lower levels with Diamante hours ago. He had no way of knowing which level and for what purpose. Surely, whatever they were doing wouldn't take all night. Surely, whatever they were doing wasn't related to his research. There were too many levels to search without anyone becoming suspicious of him. Even if Monet didn't follow him, he didn't have access to all of the floors she could be on. No, the safest way to find out what she was doing was to ask her himself. He needed to be alone with her. The only way for him to know she was still safe was to see her again, to look into her eyes when she wasn't putting on a front for everyone else around. He needed to feel her relax in his arms, knowing from just his touch that she trusted him to keep her safe. He needed to know she still believed in him.
He finally stopped pacing and scanned the room. Even though she wasn't there, everything around him felt like her. Her drafting supplies, her tasteful yet expensive jewelry, her unnecessarily massive clothing collection. The room even smelled like her. His eyes paused on her pillow case, and he frowned, remembering what Monet saw Ichiji take from their apartment on Germa. If he was able to save her from that fate, he could keep her safe through this. He was so close. In the past, he never bothered to think about what he would do after Dressrosa. Now he had no doubts. Once he was finished with Doflamingo, he would fight her demons next. He would keep his promise.
He let out a sigh and ran his hand over his face. He was getting nowhere here. He could always try to get a few hours rest and come back later. He had barely stepped into the hallway when he saw the last person he wanted to see waiting for him.
"In there getting a whiff of her sheets, too?"
Law rolled his eyes at Monet. "I'm starting to think you're as obsessed with me as you think I am with her."
"We all want what we can't have." She flashed a cruel smile. "You were in there a while. Swipe anything interesting or just leave her a love poem?"
"I had a few questions for her." Law shrugged, putting on his best nonchalant façade despite his ever increasing anxiety over the situation. "She complained so much about getting her beauty sleep in Germa that I figured she wouldn't miss it here."
She hummed lightly, a strange mixture of flirty and condescending. "You want to know what the young master has her doing down below."
"I think I have a right to know if it's going to impact my research."
"Lucky for you I know exactly what she's doing."
"Well? Spit it out." Law struggled to hide how interested he was in what she knew about the situation. His worry for Nami had left him sleeping even less than usual, and it was all starting to catch up with him.
"Hmm, what will you give me if I tell you?" She slid her finger suggestively from his chest down to the waist of his pants.
He could tell by her change in expression that she didn't even see his sword until it was unsheathed and resting dangerously at her throat.
"How about I let you keep breathing?" Law wasn't proud of how quickly he lost control, but there was no backing down now.
Monet's shock dissipated in a flash, and she slowly retreated her finger as she let out a light-hearted laugh. "Don't be so dramatic. Diamante is helping her map out the lowest, unused levels underneath the castle. The layout of this place is crazy, and the young master wants to get the most out of her while she's here. She's only good at two things, stealing and drawing her little maps. What did you think he had her doing down there? Stealing his own stuff to give back to him?"
Law waited a moment before retreating his weapon. It made sense. He didn't know everything that took place on the lower levels, but he had heard that the lowest underground had been unused for years. He was actually surprised he hadn't considered that possibility already.
"Glad to know she won't interfere with our work?"
Law gave her a short nod and started retreating back to his quarters.
"Interesting, though, that she isn't in her room now. I saw her come back up with Diamante a few hours ago." Law's feet betrayed him as he froze at her words. He didn't have to turn around to know a devious grin was spread across her face. "He took her straight to Doflamingo's office. I wonder if she's still there now..."
He couldn't move his feet even as he heard her cackling while she walked away. He could feel his fingernails breaking his own skin with the force he clenched his fists. The small relief he felt knowing all Nami was doing was making maps was gone. He knew Monet was only suggesting what she did to rile him up, but his anxiety was winning out against reason. He had to know what was happening to her. He already lost control once. If he didn't get it together soon, he was going to break.
