•Black Hat•

•35•

"How is Luffy?" Pearl asked the people beside her.

"He seems to have activated a new gear of his power". Law replied and got up. He started walking towards the edge of the Flower Field to have a better view of the fight that was now taking part in the heart of the city.

Pearl rushed to get up as well and ran close to him. Robin tried to grab her hand and force her to sit down but something told her that in would be in vain so she let her go hoping that Law would sent her back. She creeped beside him silently and stared at the ruins of what used to be a glorious town trying to make out Doflamingo and Luffy. It didn't take her long to spot them she just had to look at every building that fell down. Luffy seemed to be having the upper hand and Pearl couldn't contain a sigh of relief seeing that. Law turned around, taken aback from the fact that someone had managed to creep beside him without him noticing and when he saw her his eyes widened in frustration.

"You're not my parent shut up!" She rushed to snap at him and before he could snap back she added: "Luffy is winning!"

"He's using too much Haki!" Law replied and looked pretty skeptical about it.

"What does that mean?" Pearl asked as her eyes followed the two men beneath her as they fought. She held her breath as she saw Luffy throwing Doflamingo to the ground and getting ready to give him the finishing blow.

"That he might not be able-" Law started saying but stopped. Luffy seemed to shrink and all of the sudden he collapsed to the ground "-to use his Haki for some time. Fuck!" He finished his sentence and in a brief second he teleported himself beside him.

Pearl closed her eyes and traveled with her observation Haki beside them. Luffy was laying flat on the ground unable to move even his little finger. Quickly she snapped out of it, returned to her body and started running towards them. In her hurry to get there as fast as possible she tripped and started rolling down the hill. She brought her legs close to her chest as well as her hands up to her face to protect herself and landed on the city's stone-made road. Her body was filled with dirt but she ignored it completely as well as her aching limbs and kept running towards Luffy. She could see that they were trying to escape from Doflamingo and she took a few turns trying to guess where they were going to go next.

Skillfully she climbed on a building that was still left standing and from its room she looked around the city. Immediately she spotted the duo and rushed to them.

"Give him to me!" She said to Law as she started running beside him.

"What?" The man asked surprised to see her there.

"Fight Doffy and give Luffy to me! He's done for!" She explained.

"He needs ten minutes to regain his Haki and then he'll be good to go, we just need to hold that bastard down!" Law said.

"Okay then! Give him to me and keep Doflamingo busy, do it! I can hide my presence he won't find us!" Pearl shouted at him and got ready to carry Luffy on her back.

Law hesitated for a moment but in the end he threw him at her and unsheathed his sword to fight the man he despised the most once more. But to his surprise hundreds of other men showed up as well. The were all ex-gladiators and citizens of Dressrosa that Doflamingo had taken advantage of. So for a moment he felt slightly more safe and steady.

Pearl told Luffy to wrap his arms and legs around her and he obeyed.

"You came for me!" He told her as they were running away.

"Don't talk!" She hissed feeling her legs ready to give up. They entered an abandoned house, a common one, that didn't stand out too much and pearl tried her best to conceal both of their presences.

"Pearl!" Luffy spoke her name and reached out his hand to grab her from her wrist. She looked at him but remained silent. "Be my nakama!" He said and before the girl could disagree he continued. "You took me and ran away so I could regain my strength. You could leave a weakling like me to die, you didn't have-"

"I had sworn an oath, that's the only reason I came for you!"

"An oath to a dead man. You said it not me!" He hissed before she could attack him with her words. "So I guess that oath still means something to you?"

These words brought tears to her eyes.

"Of course, it means everything to me" She muttered and looked at the boy lying next to her, as tears started running down her cheeks. She hated crying. But at that moment she was so exhausted, so scared that she couldn't hold her tears back

"Then why did you leave?" He asked her again referring to how she had abandoned him on the way to Fishman Island, knowing that the previous answer she had given him was certainly not true.

"I promised to you I'll become strong enough to protect you. But I'm not even strong enough to protect myself!" Luffy forced himself to sit up beside her as he still held her hand inside his. "I swear I left to protect you! And that's the only time I managed to do it successfully!" She confessed trying really hard not to break down. Luffy understood that and placed a hand on her cheek cupping it gently. Pearl leaned against it finding some comfort to his touch, and closed her eyes letting her tears slip through.

"Protect me from what Pearl?" He asked as he rubbed away her tears from her dirt stained cheeks with his thumb.

"I can't tell you Luffy. You have so many enemies already! I can't burden you with mine as well!" She protested lifting her head from his palm and opening her eyes again. They immediately met his and she stopped talking when she noticed the way Luffy was gazing at her.

"You've never burdened me, you hear? Never!" He almost shouted, surprising her and making her eyes glimmer more on the dim light that creeped through the holes on the ceiling. "Not when we ran out of impel down, nor when we fought side by side at war, or when you came to visit me in Ruskaina!" He said and his voice began to soften towards the end. "I wanted you beside me!" He muttered still gazing deep into her eyes.

These words changed the way Pearl viewed Luffy drastically. The boy beside her had suddenly transformed into the kindest man she had ever met.

She grabbed him from his chin and kissed him. Her lips touched his and Luffy could feel her tears staining his cheeks as well. Her forehead touched his shoulder, when their lips separated. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close while she had began crying like a baby in a way she had never cried before.

And they sat there. In the middle of a ruined city, while everyone else was fighting for their lives, feeling more peaceful than ever and one may say even safe.