Chapter Text
Trebol was on the upper floor of the half-century-old house inherited from his family. His black hair looked messy and unkempt. He wore a long dark grey coat and trousers, topped with a bowler hat, clutching a cane in his right hand.
The telephone mounted on the wall began to ring. "Who is it?"
A shrill voice answered from the other side. "It’s me, open the door."
Trebol turned to Diamante, who was busy tending to the cannabis. "Go to the door."
Diamante wore bright red trousers that matched his red cape and a beige shirt with all the buttons left open. His brown curls spilled down to his shoulders from under a light-colored hat.
The door could not be opened from the outside; for extra security, a cage had been built around it. Diamante went downstairs and locked the cage before opening the door. When he entered the code, the door finally swung open.
Pica walked in carrying a bag of fertilizer. His eyes were yellow, his hair short and lavender-colored. He wore a white sleeveless t-shirt and black pants. "Open the damn cage."
It was obvious he had been in a fight. "Where is the money-counting machine?" Diamante stumbled under the weight when the large man handed him the bag.
"Trebol said he needed fertilizer."
"We need a counting machine too. This money has to be moved by Thursday."
Pica ignored him and headed for the stairs, with Diamante trailing behind. When they reached the top floor, Pica dropped the bag on the floor in protest. "Where is Rosi? I can't count the money alone."
"She’s in the room drying marijuana." Trebol poured a black liquid from a measuring cup into a beaker.
The noisy hum of a fan could be heard from inside. Pica pounded violently on the door. Rosi opened it and pulled off her gas mask. She wore a red sweater and beige pants. Her blood-red eyes stared at him intensely, as if demanding an explanation.
"I need help. Pica didn't get the counting machine."
She stepped out of the room, closed the door, and picked up a notebook from the table in front of Trebol. "Counting money or fertilizing cannabis is not my job."
"I know, but this money has to be out of our hands by Thursday."
Rosi’s eyes scanned the room. "Where is Doffy?"
"He went out with Corazon. They have a small problem to handle."
Seeing Pica, she moved to write in her notebook, but Pica answered before she could even ask. "He mocked my voice."
Rosi put her hands to her head in shock. She scribbled quickly and messily in the notebook: "You beat up the old man? He was the cheapest fertilizer dealer! What do we do now?!" Usually, it was Rosi and Pica who handled the fertilizer runs.
Trebol laughed as he cleared the table. "Behehehehe. You’ve got enough money in your pocket to close Liberia's budget deficit. You're going to die of stinginess, kid."
Rosi held up the notebook: "10 dollars is 10 dollars."
Diamante was arranging chairs around the table. "Uhahahaha! What do you do when you can't get fertilizer? Print money?"
Rosi rolled her eyes and put her mask back on. Diamante rushed over and pulled the mask off. "Please. There are only two days left!" He grabbed her shoulders and sat her down, kissing her hair with a wide grin. "I love you, kiddo."
Trebol dumped the cash onto the table.
The phone on the wall rang again. Trebol stopped counting and stood up. "Who?"
"Tell Rosi to grab her rifle and come down. She’s going to practice with Corazon."
Trebol hung up and turned to Rosi. "Get ready. Corazon is waiting for you at the door. You're going hunting."
Rosi finished counting the pile in front of her, put it in a sack, wrote the amount in her notebook, and handed the paper to Pica. She entered the room she shared with her brother while Trebol went downstairs to open the door.
When the door opened, Doflamingo greeted them with his usual smile. He had two earrings in his left ear and a pair of goggles perched on his forehead. He wore a massive pink feather coat and thin, curved white sunglasses with red lenses. Trebol turned to greet the man waiting in the car. Vergo was wearing a white quilted trench coat that ended just below his knees.
Rosi came down the stairs, having put on a black coat. Doflamingo stood in the doorway and moved to hug her, but Rosi ignored him. She put the rifles in the trunk and sat in the front seat. The smile on Doflamingo’s face faded; he realized he had to get used to this attitude. He took a deep breath, closed the door behind him, and went upstairs.
When they reached the forest, Corazon took the rifles out of the trunk. Rosi took a napkin from her pocket and wiped the sandwich crumbs off Corazon’s cheek. Corazon smiled slightly at the gesture. It was almost impossible not to smile when Rosi was around.
Rosi put the tissue back in her pocket. "Did something bad happen?"
Corazon had learned sign language to communicate more fluently with Rosi. In the early days, he even acted as a translator for Doflamingo. "No, don't worry. We just need to practice with you a bit, that's all." He handed her the rifle.
"Why was Doffy’s face so sour?" she asked while checking the weapon.
"The usual problems. Tesoro is insisting on 15%." He exhaled tiredly. "But I don't think Doffy will lower it."
They began to move slowly through the forest, listening carefully to their surroundings. Corazon noticed movement a little further ahead and alerted Rosi by touching her arm. Rosi aimed and fired, hitting a fox in the bushes. She then shot two more foxes that began to flee from the sound of the gunfire. When she turned to get the bag to carry the prey back to the car, she couldn't see Corazon.
Fear surged through her body; she began to tremble. Her heart felt like it was hammering against her ribcage as she stuffed the prey into the bag. She slung the rifle over her shoulder and began looking around frantically. Her head was spinning. As she walked toward the car with the bag, the panic intensified. Corazon was not by the car. She collapsed to her knees and buried her face in her arms. She wanted to cry; she felt like she was suffocating.
"Rosi? Are you okay?"
Rosi suddenly bolted up. Corazon was kneeling beside her, reaching out a hand. As she began to hit Corazon in frustration, she felt her cheeks wet with tears.
"I’m sorry! I didn't think you'd be this scared!"
Rosi wiped her tears with her sleeve while Corazon put the bag and rifles in the trunk. "I'm sorry."
Rosi got into the car without 'saying' a word.
When they returned home, Diamante opened the door. Rosi took the bags from Corazon and headed for the kitchen. When Corazon went upstairs with Diamante, he saw the money was ready on the table.
"How was the hunt?"
"Her hands don't shake anymore and she doesn't close her eyes. But the moment I left her alone, she had a panic attack."
Doflamingo took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Don't leave her alone in the kitchen for long. She might burn herself." When Trebol went downstairs, Rosi had already skinned the foxes and was peeling onions. Trebol put the pot on the stove and lit the flame.
Outside, the wind strained the decaying boards of the house, while inside, a heavy, faint smell lingered. One of the two rooms on the upper floor was reserved for drying cannabis hanging from ropes on the ceiling; the sharp scent leaking through the doorway had permeated every corner of the house, creating a veil of mist that made it hard to breathe. Downstairs, Diamante and Trebol were arguing over Trebol’s snoring. The metallic sounds of Corazon cleaning his gun could be heard.
In the second room, Rosi and Doflamingo were on a narrow bed. Rosi was still trembling from the crisis in the forest. Doflamingo had spread his pink coat over the quilt, wrapped one arm around his sister’s neck, pulling her toward him as if trapping her in a cage.
Rosi stared at the cracks in the ceiling. She couldn't speak; with every trauma she experienced, her tongue grew heavier, and an invisible lock was fastened to her throat.
Doflamingo whispered while stroking Rosi’s hair, "See, Rosi? How helpless were you when Vergo left you? That's how this world is. Without me, you can't even breathe."
Doflamingo's hands run along the naked skin of Rosi's waist and thighs making her shiver.
She shudders. She’d like to say it’s all revulsion, but… there is something about her brother. She wants more than anything to push him away, but something stops her. Something primal.
She’s terrible at telling her brother no.
He looked at her with a smile, and he tilted his head, leaning in to press open-mouthed kisses along her neck, making her shiver as she held onto his shoulders, lips parted open as though she wanted to say something.
There was rustling then as he shifted in his position, slotting himself right between her legs, his thighs keeping her legs apart, keeping her exposed for him. He pressed the head of his cock to her folds then, rubbing against the slick and sticky skin, pushing until he could press against her clitoris, forcing another sharp breath out of her.
His thrusts were hard and fast and all he could think about was how good this felt. His hands gripped her hips, her thighs, and Rosi could feel the bruises start to form.
"Don't forget the moment you shot that fox," Doflamingo said, his voice coming deeper in the darkness. "That finger pulling the trigger is my will. You are my most precious weapon." he growled, licking over her pulse and threatening to bite her jaw.
Doflamingo pressed his lips to Rosi's forehead.
The next morning, Rosi ran to Trebol and Diamante, who were reading a bank contract. She would tell Diamante whatever she heard on the street: fixed matches, doped horses, point spreads. On weekends, she would bet on his behalf and they would split the money.
"How did you get Oklahoma-Michigan? No one took Oklahoma-Michigan... How did you pull it off?"
Rosi dropped an envelope on the table and began to speak in sign language. "That’s why they paid so much money."
"What, what? What did she say?" Trebol hadn't managed to learn sign language in five years.
Diamante’s grin widened. "See? She won't tell me anything. What are we doing next week?"
Rosi placed a newspaper on the table. "It's a bit early. I think Thursday would be good."
Corazon stepped out of Doflamingo’s room. "You’re going with Pica and Diamante to collect the rent for 116th Street from Machvise. Doffy wants you to observe how things work."
Diamante’s smile faded; he stared blankly for a few seconds. "Are you serious? She’ll just be a burden, she’s useless for anything else."
Corazon ignored Diamante. "Tell that to Doffy." He turned to Trebol. "Are you finished reading?"
To get rid of the money they earned, Trebol had taken out a mortgage from the bank, and Diamante had acted as his guarantor. Trebol would buy land with the money and not repay the loan. In return, the bank would seize Diamante’s "black" money through the legal process.
When they got out of the car, Diamante turned to Rosi. "You stay back, I’ll handle this."
Pica took a sledgehammer out of the trunk and handed it to Rosi. "Are you sure?" Pica asked as they walked toward the apartment door.
Diamante rolled his eyes. "I always collect the rent from Machvise, there won't be a problem," he said and knocked on the door.
When Machvise saw Diamante, he slammed the door shut. The moment Rosi smashed the door open with the sledgehammer, she lost her balance and was thrown into a corner of the room.
Meanwhile, Diamante ran after Machvise as he fled to the bathroom. As Machvise tried to close the door, Diamante’s foot got stuck in the gap. When he reached inside to grab his neck, Machvise bit Diamante's hand. "His head is right here!" he shouted.
Then Pica took the sledgehammer from the floor and broke the door by hitting the spot indicated. Rosi stood up and went outside. When Machvise fell to the floor, Diamante began kicking him inside the stall. Rosi returned with bandages and signaled them to Pica, who was standing in the bathroom. Pica held Diamante back. While Diamante spat curses, out of breath, he sat down next to Rosi, who was sitting on the bed. Pica grabbed the bloody Machvise by the arm and lifted him up. Machvise pulled the street rent out of a bag. Rosi couldn't help the corners of her lips curling up as she bandaged Diamante’s hand.
Machvise handed over the money. "I'm sorry. I..."
"Shut up, I don't care about your excuses!" Diamante counted the stack and gave the rent money to Pica, who was standing by the door. He pocketed the rest of the cash. "You won't get off this easy next time."
When they returned home, Diamante was still angrily rubbing his hand. Pica delivered the money to Corazon without any issues and left the room.
Rosi closed the door and approached silently; he looked up at her.
Corazon was sitting at the table keeping records of the rents. "Did something happen?"
"Diamante pocketed Machvise's share."
He put down the papers and turned to Rosi. "And what can I do about that? Diamante represents Doflamingo there; he can dish out punishment."
"But Diamante is not the person who should be giving the punishment for such a personal matter."
Corazon examined her carefully. "Even if the matter is personal, Machvise had to be punished."
Rosi rolled her eyes. "Yes, but he is not the one who should make the decision. If people hear that someone close to Doflamingo, like Diamante, decided such a thing without consulting him, they will start to doubt Doffy." Her wrist was cramping now from the signing.
"Why do you care so much what people think?"
"Doubt brings chaos, and chaos brings the end."
Corazon remained silent. "Fine. I’ll relay this to Doffy."
Rosi left the room without another word.