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Law casually sat on the table, sweeping aside the silverware and picking up a butter knife. He put one boot and then the other on Judge's chair and smiled.
"Hello, father-in-law."
"MMMPH," Judge said behind his gag. His hefty body strained against the chains uselessly. His wrists were bloody from where they chafed from his efforts to escape, cuffed to the armrests.
"Comfortable?" Law asked. He stabbed the dull knife into one of Judge's hands and the big man howled through his gag. Law twisted the knife on the way out for good measure.
"I'm sure you're wondering why we're here. It's simple, I've offered to kill you." Law smirked and Judge's watery eyes widened in fear. "Told San-ya I'd give him your head on a platter as a wedding gift."
Judge whimpered.
"Yes," Law agreed. "A shame. I'm actually a fan of your work."
He swiped the blade across Judge's cheek, wiping the blood off on the man's moustache. The man cringed pathetically and turned his face away. And this is the man who wanted to be called supreme leader and emperor. Law would laugh if it weren't so sad. Behind the curtain of artificial mages, cutting-edge sygaldry and the propaganda machines, was a little man, a coward.
"Wanna know why?" Law asked conversationally.
Judge didn't answer, but of course, Law didn't care.
"It's not because you're not a nice man. That doesn't bother me. I'm not a nice man either," said Law as he ran the knife lightly over Judge Vinsmoke's decorated uniform. The myriad medals clinked against the blades. The blade still had a bit of blood on it and in Law's hand, it sketched a neat perforated square on Judge's chest.
"You made two mistakes. One," Law stabbed the other hand, for symmetry, and Judge screamed through the gag again. In the dark and high vaulted-ceiling of the empty dining hall, the sound caught and echoed back in every direction.
"You tried to rip the heart out of someone who is all heart. On your orders, your own child was beaten and half-drowned, experimented on and isolated. Punished for things he couldn't help, and then punished more when he cried. And then you called him worthless, a failure, locked him away and forgot about him until you wanted to use him. He has nightmares to this day, and his nightmares are of you."
Again, Law twists the knife on the way out. Judge screams again. The echoes fade into blood dripping onto the floor, along with Judge's laboured breathing.
"Two," Law leaned in, pointing the knife right between Judge's eyes. The man's eyes crossed comically to look at the blade. "You gave him to me , and now I care ."
Law stared for a long moment at Judge, and Judge stared at the blade hovering so close to the vulnerable parts of his face.
At length, Law sighed.
"But, and I don't know how , your son is a good man," Law said, wiping the knife on Judge's sleeve and putting it back on the table. He put an empty hand flat on Judge's chest, over the medals decorating Judge's uniform. "He asked me not to kill you."
Judge drew a shaky breath of relief. Then his eyes widened and he started spasming and struggling in the chair. Blood flowed onto his lap from the heart now in Law's hand.
The organ beat a few times more, emptying itself onto its owner's uniform, wringing itself out like a sponge. Inside the man's chest, there would be a nice hole filling up with blood, but the man was still conscious. He would be for a few very short, terrified moments more. His eyes were so wide they might as well be all white, and he made panicked pleading noises at Law.
"So," Law said, dropping Judge's heart into the man's lap to pat him on the shoulder, leaving a bloody handprint. "Let's agree this was an accident, yeah?"