The entire next morning felt like a blur; [Name] woke up early, her mind too restless to sleep longer than the three hours she received. After throwing on some clothing she had found crumbled in the corner of her room, she went down into her store and began to bake. Every recipe was her own creation, so it luckily didn't take much for her hazy brain to manage.
When she had gotten home that night, after the party, she went straight to her laptop to look the young millionaire up. Doflamingo- young millionaire. Her heart dropped to her gut as results came up immediately, not having to stray any farther than the first page of results. The title alone in the first article is what immediately made her regret going to that fucking party.
Doflamingo Donquixote- Now One of The Seven Warlords
One of the powerful humans in the continent that is sworn to aid in the military if the government requests it, also meaning one of the few people not in the actual government that is legally granted a devil fruit. Not only was this bad for her personally, but it means he's strong and has a devil fruit.
This means he truly could make good on his claim...
She swallowed hard, fighting the shaking in her hands; she tightened her fists, pinning them to her lap. Her victory, was not taking her eyes away from his face as she asked, "are you going to kill me, then?"
His laughter shook the room, and he settled into the cushions of the couch, re-crossing his legs.
"I'd like to have a word alone with Miss. [Last]," just like that, they were alone. She sat still, because despite Doflamingo losing his (who she assumed) bodyguards, she knew he was probably the largest threat. She hardly felt safer.
"[Name]?" The tray she was holding clattered to her feet, a startling contrast to the silence that surrounded them. Stunned, she hesitated to pick it up, giving Viola enough time to bend down to do it for her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!"
"No, no, it's my fault." Even her voice sounded distant, slower than normal. Viola placed the empty tray in the sink nearby, before turning to face [Name], her thin brows furrowed. [Name] showed a tired smile, "what did you need?"
Viola stood across from her, watching carefully, and [Name] tried to focus her attention elsewhere; in the two years they'd known each other Viola was always able to read her in ways that she could never understand. Viola put a hand on her hip, her own features grave-perhaps [Name] would have noticed if her mind wasn't so occupied. "You saw the news, then." [Name] kept her eyes down, trying to recall whatever event Viola was referring to. The news from a couple days ago? "I was actually going to come over to ask if I could take this personal day because that.... New victim..."
Viola's voice cracked, and [Name's] mind instantly cleared. The taller woman, who's known for her quick remarks and leveled attitude, was holding back tears as she talked to her. "I knew him, s-so-" Viola's eyes widened as she was suddenly caught in a warm embrace; her face was forced into the crook of [Name's] neck. There was only a moment's pause before Viola embraced her back.
"I'm so sorry. Yes, of course you can take the whole week off if you want!"
"Thank you, [Name]. That won't be necessary, but I appreciate it."
"I'm not going to kill you, what I have planned is going to take months, years, even." Each word felt coated in poison, a death sentence. "I'm going to make him slowly watch as I take away everything from him, starting with you."
This was the first time in a long time that Sweet Haven was empty, and [Name] blamed her bad luck and the pouring rain. What she would give for a busy day to distract her mind. Instead, she had a couple random orders or pastries, all which were taken to go.
She leaned against the counter, fingernail between her teeth as she thought about the news. After Viola left for the day, [Name] had immediately searched for whatever news she could find about the story. With Viola she had been able to fake her way around the story, blaming her mood on the news. In reality she had no idea what Viola was referring to. And then she found out.
There was another murder last night; the victim was a middle-aged man named Derek O'Bryan, and [Name] recognized him. He was an informant, and the only reason she knew this is because she'd heard Viola mention him once to Rebecca. Weren't the friends? Or were they rivals? Regardless, [Name] could only imagine the pain the woman must feel. [Name] zoned out as the news story began to blame the death on illegal devil fruit users, as the body was disfigured. It's sad, and awful. But what made her chest hurt the most, was that despite this terrible news, all [Name] could think about was Law. Should she tell him what happened? Is there even anything he could do? More importantly... If Law knew how dangerous that man is, why didn't he fight harder to have her miss that party?
"Go home, little mouse." Doflamingo's attention moved to something across the room, his expression growing serious. That almost terrified her more. "But don't forget that I own you now, and you have no one but that doctor to blame."
[Name] locked the café doors behind herself, wearing her [colour] rain jacket and dark rubber boots. The rain had subsided for the moment, but the cracked sidewalks were littered with pools of water, and the air clung a cold dampness. No wonder no ones out right now. Despite closing the café an hour early, it was still dark by the time [Name] decided to leave, so she walked under the street lights as she started downtown, towards the clinic. After texting Law to confirm, she found that he was indeed staying late at work because of the recent murder; it was after his quick reply (earlier that night) that [Name] had decided she had to tell Law. In person.
[Name's] shoes emitted a light click on the pavement, as she descended down the stairs of the subway station. Of course, it would have been smart of her to have told him that he should be expecting her, before she lost signal underground... She stood nearly alone in the station, aside from a couple of stragglers that seemed to be heading home for the night. Feeling more relaxed, she moved to sit on one of the wooden benches in the middle of the platform.
There was a middle-aged woman dressed in scrubs near the end, a coffee in hand; she muffled a yawn with the back of her hand. Near her was a tired-looking gentleman, holding a briefcase. Three younger boys- maybe sixteen to seventeen years old- stood on the other end, joking around with each other.
There was one more man, slouched over, wearing a black hoodie that hid his face. [Name] tensed as she saw him; he seemed to appear out of thin air. He sat on the far side of the bench she was on, only an arms length away. She hadn't even heard him sit down!
Her fingers suddenly crept towards her keys, finding the small cylinder that was connected to them; pepper spray. There was something about him, aside from his unannounced presence, that made her feel on edge. [Name] slid as far away as she could, trying not to arouse his attention. As her side hit the metal arm of the bench, he twitched. [Name's] grip tightened as his hooded face started to slowly turn towards her, dipping down at an awkward angle, giving her a glimpse of a broken, wild smile.
SKREEEEEET
[Name] jumped to her feet, paled, as the train barrelled into the station, filling the ominous silence with it's deafening screech, before coming to a quick halt. [Name] nearly ran towards the doors, her heart hammering as she dove into the train's bright lights. Turning around, she frantically turned towards the bench, half expecting him to chase her. Instead, there was nothing. No man. That's even worse! Her wide eyes quickly scanned the compartment around her, but nothing. No creepy, grinning male with teeth that looked rotten from drugs and poor hygiene. Instead there were just a couple average looking humans, giving her a wary stare as if she were the dangerous and alarming one.
Well, she probably did look a little concerning.
But she had good reason to, even if nothing technically happened.... [Name] took a seat, rubbing her arms as she willed her goosebumps to go away. After a couple of peaceful moments, she fully relaxed, instead of turning her attention to the music that still blasted through her headphones.
[Name] had visited Law at his work a couple of times before this, so as she got off at the correct station her body went onto autopilot, her mind consumed with thoughts. How do I tell him? More importantly, why am I even going there? [Name] couldn't tell if it was to ask for help or to get mad at Law; after all, he should have gave her a bigger warning! Something like, 'hey! Don't go to the event because I've recently screwed over the owner, and he might use you against me!'
[Name] paused on the sidewalk, silently shaking her head.
"You don't even know if he knew this could happen!"
[Name] sighed, before her attention focused on the area around her. Law's clinic was directly in front of her, just at the end of the block, where the road started to curve. It's grey, cement walls contrasted against the other tall, brick building surrounding it. But being in an older area of downtown, anything with a new appearance will stand out.
Click, click.
[Name] slowed her pace, reaching up to take one headphone out.
Click, click, click.
"what....?" She whispered, slowly looking around herself. Chills crept up her spine as [Name] glanced around the street, trying to find the source of that odd noise; she hadn't realized it until that moment, but she was the only one on the street. Aside from a couple of parked cars. One vehicle in particular looked relatively odd, parked almost half a block away on the same side she walked on; it was new amongst the old. A sleek, black SUV.
Click-click-click-click-click
[Name] turned around again, irritated, to face the darkness behind her. But there had to be something creating that noise-her body froze when she finally saw it, the light reflecting from the quick motion of the switch blade being flicked open and closed, almost in an agitated motion. His dark clothes made him blend into the shadows, but she now saw his wide, yellowed grin. He followed me?!
[Name] turned around and ran, her throat suddenly too dry to scream. The sound of his fast-approaching footsteps nearly caused her heart to stop. "Come here, bitch!" She started straight towards the cement building, praying for any God to send help.
The black SUV opened it's car door, and [Name] let out a whimper of relief, "Help!" A long leg stepped out, and [Name] naively ran towards them. He stepped out of the vehicle. She ran so fast, so scared, that she couldn't stop herself from running into his chest, even when she attempted to stop upon realizing who it was.
Despite herself, she was relieved to see him.
And Doflamingo was an arrogant bastard as he wrapped his free arm around her frame to bring her closer against his chest, while the other hand extended a pointed pistol, aimed at the wild man with a knife. [Name] could hear the maniac scream as he skid to a halt, cursing. Doflamingo was grinning; grinning as if wielding that weapon in his hand held no weight. He shot it, and the sound was deafening, and [Name] yelped, flinching into his hard chest. It all happened so fast. She didn't want to look, couldn't.
There was a pause of silence.
"Don't worry little mouse, it was just a warning shot." And his words were deemed true because when [Name] took a peek over her shoulder, she could see the fast-retreating figure. She let out a breath of relief. When her gaze trailed up, it was met with the darkness of his glasses- she hated how her body shook. "Now he knows to never lay a hand on my employees." Her mind was racing, but all her mind could focus on was:
"your employee?"
The sound of door opening caught both of their attention. Doflamingo looked over his shoulder, and she watched as his smirk... changed. He looked more deviant, crueler. And as he spun around, taking her with him, she realized why. Law was standing only half a block away, at his doorway. The gunshot must have caught his attention. [Name] panicked, feeling Doflamingo suddenly bring his arm around her neck; her hands reflexively clung to his arm.
He waved, gun still in hand, at the paled doctor. "Law! It looks like I finally got your attention."
"L-Law!" The name ripped through her throat, and she hated how weak and small it sounded. Law flinched at the sound, but [Name] was too far away to see his expression. She could, however, hear his strangled voice.
"Don't you dare drag [Name] into this you bastard!" Law sounded so pained, so angry. But before she could think anything else, she was suddenly tossed into the backseats of the SUV. One threat dodged, only to be tossed into another one.
"You'll be hearing from us, traitor." [Name] sat up in time to see Doflamingo enter after her, slamming the door shut. The car doors locked, and the engine roared as they took off, towards Law. He ran towards the street, screaming. She slammed her hands against the opposite window as they approached him, his name ripping from her throat as they drove past him.
Time felt like it slowed, for that one brief moment as the SUV passed Law. [Name's] body was riddled with fear, her eyes wide and pleading as they connected with Law's. In that moment they were only a meter apart, and [Name] could see the fear in Law's eyes as their gazes connected. His face was pale, his eyes wide with the same fear she felt.
Is this goodbye?
The moment sped up.
"LAW!"
Smack!
There was a brief moment of pain that throbbed through her head, before her vision grew hazy.
"[NAAMEEEEEE]!"
Law's pained, angered scream was the last thing she heard, before slumping into the cold, leather seats of Doflamingo's vehicle.
[Name] had one clear thought, as the darkness claimed her.
Is this how I die?