What Could Never Be

Mira had always known there was something...different, to Law. Something more than the Donquixote pirates could ever see or hope to take exploit. Something dangerous. Something...instinctual. Doflamingo may have lifted him from the rubbish to join the little group they called a 'family,' but she knew he was destined for other things, someday. Somewhere. Her Ōra Ōra No Mi made sure of that.

His eyes had been...steely. Cold. So very wise and cynical for someone so young. And despite only being 9 years old at the time, she remembered how they had scared her the moment she'd seen their dark gray hue from underneath the fur of his spotted hat. Of course, being tasked with making sure he was healthy and uninjured before he fully joined the crew meant she had to get up close and personal with him on his first day of being recruited. A task she hadn't been eager to fulfill at the time.

He'd remained silent the entire time her hands hovered over his person, his gaze off somewhere else while she used her ability to check his body. Despite some bruising and a few cuts here and there, he had been otherwise fine. Incidentally, despite being terrified of the solemn new boy, she couldn't help but be curious as to where he came from. What he'd been through. So, pushing a little deeper with her ability, hands glowing a faint white as she extended her reach past the physical plane, she'd touched the very edge of his psyche.

Blood. Darkness. Screaming and crying out from the ashes of burnt buildings. Terrified citizens, running in fear. Gunshots and the shouts of foreign men. Tears that fell and disappeared into the dirt beneath his feet as he carried a little girl to safety. His sister. She was sick. So was he. A fire. The air was so hot, too intense. White and black with the distinctly out of place splash of red mixed in. A rosary. And then the putrid smell of the dead.

Mira had recoiled in shock and disgust at the images that had flashed through her mind. She'd never experienced something so...horrific. Law had looked at her strangely afterwards, but of course he had no way of knowing what she'd even been doing in the first place. Her ability left no sensation to the person she used it on.

With a mumbled 'You're healthy' and downcast eyes, she'd run from the Donquixote's infirmary and hid in her room, curling up in bed with her arms wrapped around her knees. The images would linger clearly for days afterwards. Jora had asked after her to see if she would be joining them for dinner, but Mira had refused, not wanted to talk about it at the time. They chalked her sad mood up to Law being callous again, and gave it no further thought.

And yet despite his troubled and dark past, he didn't seem to let it take hold of him. Law had integrated well into the 'family's' dynamic in the days after. Lao G and Diamante took up the responsibility of conducting most of his training. Gladius had offered his services, but after one session he'd been too irritated with Law's snarky personality to bother continuing. Besides, most of the crew agreed that for the time being it would have been best to keep explosives away from the wicked child.

Her curiosity eventually won out over her fear, though. Buffalo and Baby 5 had no problems talking and making fun of Law as soon as he'd joined their 'family,' but Mira had always been shy. Doflamingo had urged her to talk more. To socialize, lest she lose her edge as their perfect infiltrator. But it was never easy and always the thing she disliked most about her duty.

So she'd done what she did best; blend in. Always following Law and the others at the edge of their vision, she watched. Watched and listened to everything they said and did. Baby 5 talked the most, normally about what she thought of places and people that came to her mind. More than once, Mira got to hear the young girl insult her and her 'unhelpful abilities.' In each instance, Buffalo had always agreed, usually following up with a laugh and another jab at her bland personality. It always made her sad, to know that she was so disliked by the children of the 'family.' The adults seemed to think that her devil fruit was a great thing, helpful and useful, but Mira knew in a fight it wasn't much use. Her strength lay in deception and infiltration.