One Piece One Shots [x Reader]

A Promise (Doflamingo x Reader)

Warning: Mild suggestive themes (No Lemon!)

Dedicated to -cora-san because she's a sweetheart and also, obvious reasons :D

You'd always thought about how you might die.

Most of your life,  you had imagined some disease would probably take your life. Your home  country had been nearly destroyed by war back when you were young and  those left alive – including your mother, your little sister and you –  had subsequently suffered from poverty and waywardness. The poor  hygienic standards, periods of intense hunger and criminals should have  been enough to eventually settle your fate.

But they hadn't.

Somehow,  both your family and you had survived everything that had come your way  – so far. But since the world government had long given up on your  country, snubbing out all hopes of a better future, you'd always known  drastic measures would have to be taken in order to stay alive.

So,  when one of the most notorious criminals of your country, a warlord  named Gozaburo, had offered you money in exchange for a life devoted to  him, you'd accepted. As long as your mother and sister were free, you  would be able to cope with whatever was thrown your way.

You  weren't a soldier, but you were quick, quiet, and – if necessary – more  than able to defend yourself, characteristics typical of an excellent  thief or spy.

Of course, you hadn't told your mother what work  you were really doing while you spent months away from home, executing  tasks your boss had assigned you with.

So far, Gozaburo had kept  his word – your mother and sister were both officially under his  protection as well as being provided with food and regular income.
What  was left of the money, you took for yourself, but you didn't need much.  Dreams of luxury and opulence were something you hadn't ever been able  to afford.

However, for a while, you had actually been naïve  enough to imagine a future where you wouldn't need to carry out illegal  activities to survive anymore. You'd started to put away money, to save  it up for you and your family in order to move to a different island one  day, to start anew – but those hopes had quickly found their end when  your boss had told you about your next mission.

The mission you were currently on. The mission which would probably – most definitely – get you killed.

Up  until this point, you'd never actually questioned the origin of the  weapons your boss provided his customers with. You'd noticed he didn't  own any armories himself, sure, but you'd always thought they were  stationed on different islands, as to not alert the government or the  navy.

The little map you'd constructed in your head about how  things functioned had rapidly been crushed and rearranged when you'd  found out your boss wasn't actually the boss. Far from it.
As it turned out, your boss wasn't just a small fish, he'd also managed to upset the biggest shark in the tank.

Joker.

They'd  been trading for years, to what extent, you didn't know. Maybe it was  just the weapons, maybe there were drugs, or, god forbid, human  trafficking, invoved as well. Your boss hadn't told you, and after your  initial disappointment, you'd seen it as a blessing in disguise. If you  were being honest with yourself, you didn't even want to know. It would  only make you hate yourself for having supported such vile human beings  for so long.

But what you also understood was that this  was how the world worked. The wealth and power of those in charge  depended on the exploitation and abuse of the powerless. You'd learned  that the hard way.