"I expected better of you... dear cousin."
Your eyes narrowed before you even had a chance to school your expression, knuckles a tight white on the receiver. "What do you want?"
"And so harsh too." Donquixote Doflamingo sneered toothily on the other end of the line. "Hardly the way to treat family, don't you think?"
Family. That's what he used to tie you together. As leashes go it wasn't the strongest, nor the most reliable. But perhaps that had been what he'd been going for.
You weren't family. At least not directly. Putting aside his Warlord status and how his father denounced the World Noble title, pretty much everyone of noble blood were related in one way or the other. Couldn't taint the blood of gods with any form of commoner filth after all... No wonder they were all so distorted and delusional.
It was only by sheer miracle that Mother enjoyed playing with male slaves enough for you to end up relatively normal.
But that was besides the point.
The first time you'd ever met Doflamingo was in one of the Warlord meetings. The first you'd ever attended since coming back to Marie Geoise. You hadn't needed to go, and Garp had encouraged you to not, but you'd insisted. You needed to get used to the power balance, or so you said.
Looking back now... it may just have been a sick curiosity to see who you could turn to your side.
Needless to say, the pink cockatoo had latched onto you as soon as he'd seen you. Claiming you were 'family' so you should 'stick together'. Otherwise...
"Need I remind you that I can release your secret at any given moment." The snail's smirk deepened. "I'm sure the Celestial Dragons will love to know that the mutt of the family has had their flesh tainted."
Yeah. That. Damn strings and their wanderings... Still. It wasn't as if you were on completely uneven footing.
"Really now?" You forced your face to smile. "You would give up your beloved cousin whom you rely on so very much just for a newspaper article? I could say I expected better of you, Joker."
The desert wind howled around you, doing nothing to dissuade the terror you were trying so despirately to bury.
"Hah..." The snail sniggered gleefully. "Nufufufu... As sharp as ever I see. How I have missed our little chats..."
"Get to the point already." Pale gold flickered over the horizon as the sun slowly seeped into view. Hopefully Vivi and the others had made it in time. "I don't have the time to make idle conversation."
"Ah of course of course. How is Alabasta by the way? I heard it's been a little... dry recently."
You weren't surprised that he knew where you were. It would be naive of you to think that the underground information network he'd supplied you with would not feed your actions back to him in return. Trust was a virtue paid for in gold in your world. A few beli and allegiances could shift in an instant.
You'd exploited that fickleness more times than you could count.
"Well you know how it is." Your teeth ground into a fine line. "When someone seeks to overturn one of the founding families, affiliated with the government or not, there has to be consequences."
"Is that so? How very noble of you. " He didn't buy it for an instant. Great.
"Quit the bullshit." Your lips pursed. "You know that I have no patience for your little games. Why are you calling me now?"
YOU ARE READING
Broken Faith
Fanfiction[F!ReaderxASL] It's hard sometimes to accept who or what you are. That thought came to you when you were only six years old. Because being one of the infamous World Nobles wasn't enough, now you have to live with a robotic arm after the fire that de...
