Note: *preemptive bow of apology for Law's behavior in this chapter*

THE FIRST DAY, PART TWO:

WE ALL KNOW THE MASK

WILL SLIP BEFORE 5PM...

I promise 'em that you're different and everyone makes mistakes

(But just.... don't)

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The young girl kept her chin sunk low, squeezing her eyes shut as she internalized the hum of the car engine. She hid a flinch when she felt the vehicle swerve gently, heard the crunch of gravel beneath the wheels as they pulled into a parking lot. The driver let the car idle for a few moments before cutting the engine, plunging the cramped compartment into an uneasy silence. The girl's anxiety immediately spiked.

"Arisa?" a familiar voice called out from up front. "We're here."

She curled up further as much as her seat belt could allow her, trying her best to make it seem unintentional. But Mom was never one to be fooled so easily.

"I know you're awake."

Arisa cracked her eyes open to narrow slits, blinking several times to clear her bleary vision. Mom was rummaging through her purse, tugging at the knot of her expensive scarf beneath her chin as she often did when she was deep in thought. Despite the clouded weather, a pair of oversized sunglasses sat perched on her small sloped nose.

Mom never left the house without those sunglasses... not even for work these days. Arisa never understood the point. Hiding her face did nothing to deter those annoying journalists. Especially since after Dad's divorce.

"Arisa?"

Mom had turned in her seat, peering at her intently over the rim of those stupid glasses.

Arisa turned away and swallowed hard. It did very little to ease the sudden dryness in her throat.

"...I can't," she whispered.

"You will." The exasperation in Mom's voice felt like a knife to the heart.

"No."

"Honey, we've talked about this. We came all this way –"

"I don't care! I don't want to, alright?" The young girl kept her face averted, muffling her outburst into her sleeve. "This is so stupid, Mom!"

"Remember – this will be the last one we see for a while. Then you can take a break again, I promise."

Arisa shook her head stubbornly.

"No... I can't." Against her best efforts, her voice began to waver. "Don't make me go, Mom... Please don't. It's not going to work!"

"This time will be different. I'm sure of it."

Mom was always saying things like that, never seeming to understand how empty her words came off with each repetition. 'We won't know until we try'... 'Maybe it'll work next time'... And worst of all, 'It's not a loss as long as we don't give up!' After a certain point Arisa began to internalize these reassurances as flippant dismissals, and who could blame her? Maybe that was the worst part of it all throughout this whole nightmare – this feeling of being overlooked.

Never alone, but always ignored.

There was no reason to believe today would be any different. Arisa felt angry and sick and just wanted to go to sleep again. More than anything, she wanted her mother to listen. But of course she wouldn't; she never would, right?

Because Uzuki Towa was born a fighter – a perfect encapsulation of that cutthroat mindset which drove her to the highest echelons of the film industry. Too strong, too popular, too ambitious to even fathom the prospect of earthly mortality.

Too perfect to understand what it meant to be weak and helpless and afraid.

"Arisa?" Mom prodded.

Arisa shook her head again. The seat belt dug uncomfortably into her neck as she curled up tighter, but she was beyond caring at that point.

"No. I can't. Please don't make me." Her stomach kept roiling and she wondered if she might actually throw up from the anxiety. "I can't, I can't...!"

Maybe Mom said something else, but Arisa wouldn't have known either way because she was crying by this point – crying openly like the small, scared child that she was, gasping to breathe, trembling as large heaving sobs wracked her frame.

She heard the side door open, and then Mom was at her side – arms engulfing her in a familiar embrace, bringing close the scents of expensive fabric and the faintest notes of perfume.

"I hate it!" Arisa burst out, muffling her sobs into the front of Mom's coat. "I hate it so much."

"I know you do, honey... I know. It's just awful."

"I d-don't care if it kills me. I'm so sick of this and I'm done. I want to be done!"

"Shhh. It's alright. Everything will be alright."

"I... don't want to live like this anymore...!"

"I know. I know. It's so unfair. And I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry..."

For the first time, Mom's voice shook a little as she tightened her grip, holding her closer.

"If we could switch places, you know I would in a heartbeat."

Outside, a lone rundown building awaited them at the end of that empty lot – appearing completely abandoned by all accounts. A slip of paper tacked to the criss-cross of aged wooden boards nailed over the doorway served as the only indication of past inhabitance. The note fluttered once against the lonesome winter wind, before settling back down to reveal the printed words in full: 

CITY OF SPHINX

BLUE PHOENIX CLINIC

– CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE –

──────────────────

As Uzuki Towa's daughter, Arisa would have liked to have considered herself more immune to the trappings of star power than the average person. So it came as a mild shock to find herself as flustered as she was when face to face with the Hospital Director – even more so, when considering the extent of her one-sided familiarity with the man.

Donquixote Doflamingo was a household name, after all – and not only in Dressrosa. Even in Wano, his name and likeness had been plastered over every billboard or brochure advertising the hospital's services, beamed onto televisions with commercials doing the same between news or live sports segments. His signature smile had become a staple in those overproduced ads, always emerging near the end when he posed with his "team" of medical professionals (because apart from Dr. Diamante, who regularly made appearances, Arisa was almost convinced the rest of them were actors) and parroted banal, predictable lines like "Here at Dressrosa Hospital, we treat our patients like family~"

Back home, Arisa and Shiori had shared many a laugh over those god awful commercials. The cheesiness was easily the most memorable thing about them – though perhaps that was the whole point. Maybe it was even endearing to some people.

Meeting the Director in person, though, this affably campy quality – though still apparent in some respects – was completely overshadowed by a certain commandeering aura which was as magnetic as it was intimidating. Everything about his appearance – from the styling of his spiky blond hair, slanted glasses, black gloves, and maroon double-breasted suit – should have stuck out like a sore thumb in a hospital setting... yet he somehow not only managed to pull it off, but make everyone else look out of place (not to mention woefully plebeian) in comparison.

Had she not been standing already, Arisa would have rocketed up to her feet as proper manners dictated. Channeling her inner Shiori, she straightened her posture and flashed her most enthusiastic customer service smile.

First impressions lasted forever, and heavens forbid she squandered hers on account of some moody resident's social blunders!

The Director returned the smile and came forward, a hand outstretched.

"Murasaki Arisa-san, is it?" His voice sounded just like it did in the advertisements – warm and jovial, sans the exaggerated empathetic affectation perhaps. Arisa immediately felt herself relax, some of her nervous tension melting away under his friendly charm. "Welcome to Dressrosa Hospital! It's wonderful to finally meet you."

The cool-toned ceiling lights made his hair seem even lighter in color – almost platinum in shade – ...but still. Blond hair. Just like with Dr. Trafalgar's tattoos, that reminded her of –

Agh. Quit projecting!

Arisa really could have shaken herself – now was the worst time to reminisce over past misfortunes! Forcing down that sudden wave of sadness before it could show on her face, she accepted the Director's handshake.

"It's nice to meet you too!"

What a strong grip!

"I'm sorry we're a little late, Arisa-san," another voice piped up. "Hopefully we didn't keep you waiting too long."

Arisa brightened, feeling another rush of relief when she recognized the man accompanying the Hospital Director. Dr. Yotsuji from the Internal Medicine Department... A familiar face, finally!

"Oh, no." She shook her head and gestured to her belongings with a small laugh. "I just got here myself!"

The Hospital Director looked over to the table. Arisa felt her smile falter as she followed his gaze, remembering exactly who was still present with them.

"Law," Professor Donquixote said, not unkindly. "I'm glad you could make it."

Trafalgar – maybe it was petty of her, but Arisa couldn't bear to consciously refer to him by his proper title yet – said nothing. He merely took another bite of rice cracker, his unnerving stare still affixed squarely to Arisa as he chewed.

...talk about poisoning the air...

Dr. Yotsuji's smile grew strained as he pulled up a chair next to the delinquent resident. Arisa herself fought the urge to squirm, some of her old irritation bubbling up again. Returning to her seat, she did her best to keep her expression cordial.

It was only the Hospital Director who seemed completely unaffected by the gross impropriety. He took a seat at the head of the table and leaned in over his elbows with an understanding chuckle, as a parent might chide a misbehaving child.

"Fufufu... As much as it encourages me that you were willing to join us, you should remember my expectations regarding... professional behavior." He nodded at the senbei box. "Eating during meetings... especially in front of guests –"

"Oh!" Arisa flushed and hastily stood. "I'm so sorry, it isn't his fault!"

Trafalgar paused mid-chew, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly to betray a befuddled look – almost as if to demand why the hell she would even bother.

Arisa gestured somewhat lamely at the box, hoping that her burning cheeks weren't as visually apparent as they felt.

"Those rice crackers... I-I brought them as a gift from home. They come in different flavors, feel free to try some if you'd like..."

She started to trail off, words suspended in uncertainty. But the Director saved her from further embarrassment with another one of his disarming smiles.

"Ah, so it was my misunderstanding – my apologies! A gift from Wano, you said? How kind of you!"

"Thank you very much for this!" Dr. Yotsuji joined in, the corners of his eyes crinkling pleasantly behind the thin wire frame of his glasses. He reached over and took a packet, to Arisa's secret relief. "You really didn't have to."

"Fufufu, we should consider ourselves in good hands, to have found someone so gracious and thoughtful~"

"Oh, no... not at all!" Arisa shook her head with another nervous laugh. (If she wasn't flustered before, she was getting dangerously close to it now.)

"And this brand..." Dr. Yotsuji's smile widened as he examined the packaging. "Ah, this really takes me back. Wouldn't you know it, this is one of my favorites!"

"Really now? Fufufu, now you're making me curious." The Director took two packets from the box and tucked one away in his inner jacket. He smiled at Arisa, one eyebrow quirking downwards as if he'd just winked at her. "If you don't mind. My secretary loves to try different foods from abroad. I think she'd be interested to try this as well."

"Oh... of course!"

"The persimmon seed crisps are great, Director."

"Yes, that's a popular one! The nori-wrapped ones are a classic, too–"

Trafalgar loudly tore open another packet, cutting short the pleasantries without uttering a single word (nobody seemed to have noticed that he'd finished one serving and taken another).

Dr. Yotsuji cleared his throat deliberately. Reading the unease on his face, Arisa couldn't help but feel a bizarre sense of solidarity. Compared to the inscrutable Hospital Director, the internist at least gave off the impression of being thrown off kilter by Trafalgar's presence as much as she had been.

"Right... So for this meeting, my plan was to go over the two trials you'll be managing. Before we get started on that, though," Dr. Yotsuji glanced over at the Hospital Director and cleared his throat again, "Professor Donquixote... You wished to have a chance to speak with her, right? To go over an unrelated... opportunity."

"An opportunity?" Arisa blinked, piqued.

Maybe she was just hearing things, but the way Yotsuji said that word made it sound more like punishment.

The Director's smile widened.

"Fufufu, that's right. But first, have you two properly met yet?" He turned towards Trafalgar, gesturing vaguely and letting loose a chuckle. "This is Trafalgar Law from Surgery. I always tell my colleagues to keep an eye on him – he's truly one of our rising stars!"

...he sure doesn't look the part, Arisa thought darkly.

"It's nice to meet you," she said aloud with a pleasant smile.

Trafalgar wordlessly dipped his chin.

"Law here is an indispensable member of our Devil Fruit practitioner team," the Director went on. "He's played an important role in developing some of our latest breakthroughs. Isn't that right, Yotsuji?"

Wait... what? He's a Devil Fruit user?

Arisa suppressed the urge to look back over to the surgeon, now more out of confusion than annoyance. She racked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever caught a clear glimpse at his neck when she'd come in. Most likely not – she was sure she would have noticed if she'd seen the glow of the Devil Fruit inhibitor chip, which had to be more prominent in the darkness. Wrong angle, perhaps.

More puzzling than that was the fact that Arisa herself had never heard of him. Given her own career interests, she was more up to date with the latest happenings surrounding Dressrosa Hospital than the average layperson... and as renowned as their Devil Fruit practitioners unit was, she would have liked to have claimed to remember all of their current members.

But nothing about this man's (absurdly long) name or face rang a bell. No staff listings, website articles, social media posts... nothing.

"I'm sure you're aware of the attention our hybrid Devil Fruit treatments have been getting... especially in Surgery," the Hospital Director went on serenely, interlacing his fingers. "That obviously has translated to a larger volume of patient referrals over the last couple years. The growing public interest is a great thing of course, but...given how selective we are with our residents, it has unfortunately led to a situation where we are a little short staffed on the front end. I think Law can personally attest to that."

"It's manageable," Trafalgar answered between chews, his tone perfectly neutral.

Arisa found herself wondering how it was possible for someone to irradiate such a menacing energy while doing something as mundane as scarfing down a soy sauce-flavored rice cracker.

She also observed that he hadn't looked at the Director once this entire time. Wondered if she should assign any meaning to it. Then she scolded herself for allowing her mind to wander and reflected over what the Director had been saying again.

Short staffed, huh... I think I can see where this is going?

Luckily, this doesn't sound like anything I can't handle.

The Director was watching her closely, his gaze laden with unspoken expectation, but Arisa needed no further prompting. Now that she understood the gist of what was going on, she felt a hundred times lighter already.

"I understand!" she said enthusiastically, pulling out her agenda notebook. "If it's okay with Dr. Yotsuji, then I'd be happy to assist with that. Front end work... so referral management and scheduling, I assume?"

Dr. Yotsuji looked as if he were about to say something, but the Hospital Director beat him to the chase.

"Fufufufu... Well. Not only that."

She blinked, her pen stilling against the blank page.

"Oh?"

"The main thing is, we'd like you to sit in for some of the preoperative consultations."

Her mind went blank for a second.

"...sit in?"

"It's for the sake of our younger residents, mainly the ones training to join the Devil Fruit practitioner unit. The longevity of this program relies on a flawless track record, you see – both in recovery rates and patient satisfaction. That means holding our trainees to the highest standard on the technical side of things... but also when it comes to bedside manner." The Director smiled knowingly. "I think your work at Kōzuki Instruments lends you a valuable perspective in patient communications, and all of our residents can benefit greatly from your guidance."

Arisa nodded along reluctantly. Though much of what he was saying made sense, she couldn't help but suspect that he was hiding something. Something about his tone gave it away...

Too diplomatic, perhaps?

"I understand," she answered slowly. "So... it sounds like this would be more of an advisory role."

"Fufufu... Yes, exactly. And of course, you'd be compensated liberally for each of these 'spillover' cases."

For some inexplicable reason, she found herself stealing a look over to Trafalgar. He was slouched back in his seat, staring distrustfully at the drawing on the senbei box.

Still silent...

An uncomfortable feeling churned at Arisa's gut. She didn't see the point of his presence here at all... but there had to be one, right?

"And just to be clear, Professor..." She cleared her throat and looked up with a neutral smile. "This would be a team effort, correct?"

"Excuse me?" One blond eyebrow shot upwards.

"Well, since the whole point of this is to mentor the residents, I'd expect I would have to be in contact with the supervising attending to report their progress... Do you have an idea of how who–"

"It isn't that complicated," Trafalgar broke in bluntly, not raising his gaze. "Just attend the consultations and say what you need to say. Then we'll handle the rest."

Arisa narrowed her eyes at him.

"...say what I need to say?" she repeated slowly.

"Yeah. To get them to sign the consent form."

"Trafalgar..." Dr. Yotsuji muttered with a warning glare.

Trafalgar didn't even spare his colleague a glance.

"Isn't that the whole point? Streamlining the process. I get more patients to cut; he –" with a flippant glance towards his superior, "– gets material to publish, and you get paid. So there, everyone's happy." He raised his chin, lips curving into a sneer to counter Arisa's scowl. "...what's with the face?"

Unseen below the table, Arisa's hands curled into fists on her lap.

"I guess... It's just the way you put things," she answered with an icy smile, assuming the most measured tone she could muster. "I don't quite agree with it."

"I hear that a lot."

Arisa's smile nearly twitched into an open grimace. For a moment, one burning question wavered through her mind, holding her hostage: Was it really worth it... getting into a verbal spat on her first day? In front of her boss, nonetheless?

And that hesitation lasted for all but a fraction of a second. As appalled as Arisa was by this point, she really couldn't help herself when it came to a matter that hit so close to home.

"Well... It just feels rather mercenary, you know?" she said slowly. "Patients should be treated as human beings first and foremost... not data points in a figure set."

"You should tell that to him," Trafalgar muttered with another sideways glance at his boss.

"Trafalgar!" Yotsuji seethed out again, but the Hospital Director chuckled and halted him with a wave of the hand.

"The way I look at it," Arisa forged on, "the purpose of the consultation isn't to get the patient's signature. It's to put their mind at ease. Equip them with the knowledge they need to make an informed decision about their condition."

"This all sounds like a roundabout way of saying 'to get the form.'"

"Well, the way you put it sounds like coercion –" Arisa stopped short, clenching her jaw in annoyance as that incorrigible smirk widened.

Was this bastard openly snickering at her?

"Coercion. That's funny."

"You just told me I should say what I needed to say."

"Yeah. I was talking about the needless personal connection bullshit."

"Needless?" Arisa gaped at him, stunned. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It's human decency to establish a base level of understanding and trust, especially with someone in a vulnerable position under your care! What part of that is needless to you?"

"What part of that requires a medical degree?"

She shook her head.

"I... don't know what to tell you, sir. At the very least, all patients deserve to feel supported."

"Supported or coddled? I didn't go into this field to become a glorified customer service representative."

"Law," the Director finally spoke up, his tone deceptively amicable, "watch your mouth."

He was still smiling, but Arisa sensed a distinct shift in his aura. Even though the admonishment wasn't addressed to her, she felt a chill snake down her spine.

More prominent than that, however, was her horror over Trafalgar's words. She had dealt with her fair share of 'nightmare doctors' in Wano – arrogant, abusive assholes who went about as though their medical degree made them God's gift to mankind, but even they at least put in the minimum effort to be perceived as professional!

The fact that someone as crude and awful as this could be considered a doctor in this society... the same society which had scorned and tossed aside– !

No! Arisa ground her teeth together at the injustice of it. She couldn't even make the comparison between the two men in her mind without seeing red.

Even fathoming them to be on the same level felt like a sacrilege.

"I think you have a sorely misguided perception of your own responsibilities, Dr. Trafalgar," was all she could bring herself to say.

Trafalgar sneered again and pushed his chair back.

"Don't worry. I'm well aware of my responsibilities when it comes to this place." He stood, taking his laptop. "Thankfully none of them require sugarcoating or a pretty face... Would be in a lot of trouble otherwise."

"Alright, that's enough!" Dr. Yotsuji snapped, half rising from his chair.

"Spare me the hysterics, Yotsuji-ya. I'm not in the mood for another one of your lectures."

Trafalgar started to turn away, only to stop in place when the Director spoke up again, still wearing that inscrutable smile of his..

"Where do you think you're going, Law?"

"It's been fifteen minutes. That was the deal." Trafalgar glanced over to the Director for the first time, an arrogant grin tugging at the corner of his lips. "I forwarded you the quote Nico-ya sent me for the CO2 laser scalpel. I want it delivered by next month."

"Fufufufu... Fine. I'll take a look later."

Wait. Arisa's jaw nearly dropped. Was this guy actually bribed into attending this meeting? With a new piece of equipment?!

She looked helplessly over to Dr. Yotsuji, wide-eyed, but he seemed to be actively avoiding her gaze.

"Oh, and by the way." Trafalgar leaned over to snag two more packets of rice crackers from the box. "These were pretty good."

Arisa felt her heart inexplicably freeze in her chest when his sharp grey eyes flickered back to her. He smirked.

"Look forward to working with you, Murasaki-ya."

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"Still waiting?"

Chopper muffled a yawn into his hoof and peered up groggily from beneath the brim of his hat.

It was the nice pretty nurse lady from earlier... She'd come back to check up on him! Chopper instantly perked up, encouraged by the familiar face. He hopped up from the bench.

"Oh hey, uh..." He momentarily panicked, realizing he'd completely forgotten her name, before his eyes latched onto her ID card. "Hi Ms. Resslich!"

The nurse put a hand up to her mouth and let out a small tittering laugh. It was a pleasant sound, almost like chiming windbells, the sort of laugh that just invited you to join in. And even in her scrubs, she looked so effortlessly cool... Just like all the lady nurses here! If Sanji were here, Chopper was sure he'd be rhapsodizing about how this place was heaven!

"I told you before, sweetie," the nurse was saying. "You can call me Kotone."

"R-right, Kotone. Hehehe... I forgot, sorry~!"

Chopper blushed, giggling nervously.

"Aren't you the cutest thing?" Kotone chuckled again. She adjusted her grip on her clipboard and peered over the GLU student's head to the darkened window of the office door across the hall from the visitor lounge. "Still no sight of Dr. Diamante?"

"Yeah... It's been a little over an hour, too..." Chopper gulped. His flush deepened as his stomach rumbled loudly.

"Are you hungry? I can take you to the food court."

The offer was tempting, but the Chopper still hesitated.

"Well... I don't know. What if I miss him?"

"You can always send him another email. Or I can run down one of his colleagues for you. Have them pass along a message... – Oh. Speak of the devil."

Kotone's gaze had settled to something over Chopper's shoulder, her expression growing closed off. Chopper turned to see, then perked up when he saw that a tall, dark haired man in a lab coat had rounded the corner and was heading in their direction with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He walked at a slow, meandering pace, feet almost shuffling along the floor.

"Who's that?"

Kotone muttered something almost unintelligible beneath her breath. Chopper barely caught it, but sounded an awful lot like the word "trouble."

"...what did you say?"

"Oh! Nothing." Somehow, her smile seemed more forced than before. "That's Dr. Trafalgar from Surgery! One of Dr. Diamante's colleagues, actually."

Oohh~ Surgery Department, huh? Chopper's eyes turned into stars. This Dr. Trafalgar obviously wasn't a part of the elite Devil Fruit practitioner team – Chopper knew all of the members by heart, of course! – but still... any attending physician at Dressrosa Hospital had to be worth their salt, right?

He looks kinda half dead, but still!

I bet he's super smart and accomplished, like all the doctors here!

This is Dressrosa Hospital, after all!

The surgeon had noticed them from afar, and his pace quickened. Chopper had to crane his neck back to take him in fully as he approached.

"Kotone. I was looking for you."

Wow! Even his voice sounds cool!

The nurse's lips gave a minuscule twitch, and Chopper noticed for the first time how viscerally disgusted she looked. It was to the point where he was almost convinced she was on the verge of throwing up. He immediately stiffened in alarm. Was she okay? Maybe she had a stomach ache?

"I still haven't forgiven you for last week," Kotone said stiffly.

"Yeah, I figured." Dr. Trafalgar dug into his pocket, then tossed something at her. "Here."

She caught the object midair, fingers closing around it with a loud crinkle of plastic. Shooting Chopper a puzzled look, Kotone opened her hand and wrinkled her nose down at the small package nestled within. She held it up in the light.

The clear plastic wrapping encased a familiar sight. Chopper's stomach rumbled at the glimpse.

"Rice crackers...?" Kotone muttered.

"Peace offering."

Oh... he gave her rice crackers! What a gentleman! Chopper thought, his mouth drooling. And man I'm jealous, those are so delicious!

Ahh, the spicy persimmon seed ones are my favorite~

"...I don't even have the energy to be offended... or disappointed for that matter," Kotone was saying, her voice flat. "Let me guess. You stole this from a catered event, right?"

Dr. Trafalgar only shrugged.

"Take it or leave it."

"...you're hopeless." She shook her head with a sigh and placed the package against her clipboard.

Now she looks more lonesome than anything else...

Chopper still didn't have a clue as to what was going on, but now he felt rather sorry for her. He was half in the mind to ask what he could do to make her feel better, as Sanji most certainly would have done...

"Who's this?" Dr. Trafalgar's pointed voice had his thoughts skidding to a halt. "Patient?"

Oh... he's noticed you!

"Diamante's new intern, apparently," Kotone answered.

"...an intern?"

This is your chance to make a good impression, don't you dare screw this up!

Chopper bounced back a step to peer up at the doctor.

"My name's Chopper!" he said enthusiastically. "I'm a pre-med student at GLU... and yeah, like she said, I'll be interning under Dr. Diamante this term! It's nice to meet you!"

Dr. Trafalgar only narrowed his eyes a little, offering no immediate response. Chopper began to sweat a little in the drawn out silence afterwards.

Yikes. Was that too much?

"Um..." He gulped. "Sorry... Is there something wrong?"

Dr. Trafalgar still said nothing. He shot a skeptical glance at Kotone, who by now seemed to have fully recovered her previous unaffected front. She gave a careless shrug, as if to wash her hands of all liability.

"Hey. He has the email chain to prove it."

"...email chain."

"Y-yeah..." Chopper unlocked his phone and pulled it up. "See?"

Dr. Trafalgar accepted the device without another word and began scrolling through the exchange.

His nerves getting the better of him, Chopper continued to ramble on in an attempt to fill the silence.

"I, uh... It's like a dream come true to be able to work at Dressrosa Hospital, you know? Part of me still can't believe I'm here. I've always looked up to Dr. Diamante, and..." Chopper let out a nervous giggle and scratched the back of his head self-consciously. "Hehehe. Well, it's a little foolish to admit it, but I might have gone back to my dorm room and cried a little when he responded. Don't tell anyone! But I did... because that guy's always been my idol! I've always wanted to be a doctor, but struggled a little with self-esteem knowing... um, knowing the way I am with my Devil Fruit abilities. So you don't know how inspiring it was, seeing the positive reception for his first paper on the Hira Hira Technique! Finding out that there are doctors out there like me, who can use their powers to actually help people, that there could be a future where people won't be scared of us or view us as freaks...

"Hehe. Well, anyways, I've kept up to date with all his publications ever since and... and I just think it's an amazing thing, the work you guys are doing here! I don't want to take this opportunity for granted, I just wanna try my best and–"

Chopper trailed off mid-sentence, realizing that Dr. Trafalgar didn't even seem to be focused on the emails anymore. He had his head tilted back ever so slightly, eyes closed as if to ward off a headache.

"You're too loud," he said bluntly.

"Oh! Sorry..." Chopper flushed pink again. "I guess I'm still a little nervous, you know? He's left me waiting for so long... I just hope nothing bad has happened to him."

Dr. Trafalgar opened his eyes and scoffed.

"I wouldn't worry about that. It's more likely he's taken the day off to f–..." he stopped and lowered his voice, catching Kotone's glare. "...fool around with one of his mistresses."

"...hah?" Chopper blinked.

...he couldn't have heard that correctly, right?

"Anyways. A word of advice. This email you sent him..." Dr. Trafalgar leveled one tattooed finger at the phone screen. "...it's absolutely horrendous."

"Eh?" Chopper was so stunned by the sudden pivot that the sting of those words didn't properly register at first. "...really?"

"Yes, really. No PI in their right mind would consider a candidate who writes like this." Dr. Trafalgar glanced back at the screen, scrolling back to the original message. He flipped it around to show to Chopper.

"Look. No flowery adjectives, for starters – especially if you can't even spell them correctly. And don't bother with these long, dense paragraphs. It's exhausting to even look at, you think we'd want to read it? Be direct and concise – two, three sentences max. In fact, the ideal length would be short enough to summarize in the header. Some people don't even bother to look at the subject body."

"B-but... –"

"And all this blather about research? Cut it all out. It's a waste of time. We all know you just skimmed the abstracts for most of these anyway."

Wow...! Chopper heroically blinked back his tears to gaze at the surgeon wide-eyed. He's reading me like an open book!

Yes, these words were terribly harsh... but Chopper considered himself mature enough to recognize the merit in them. This was constructive criticism from a doctor at Dressrosa Hospital, after all. How could he be complaining? This was an opportunity! A learning experience! And Chopper was determined to make the best of it.

"T-thank you very much for the advice, Doctor!" he stuttered out, bowing his head repeatedly. "I'll try my best to improve next time! Man... Dr. Diamante must be so generous! To have agreed to mentor me, when I bothered him with such an unprofessional email...!"

"Oh, yeah. About that." Dr. Trafalgar made a face as he handed Chopper back his phone. "I'm pretty sure he just forgot about you."

Once again, the words didn't properly register at first. Chopper felt his heart plunge to his stomach.

"...what?"

"He forgot about you," Dr. Trafalgar repeated bluntly. He reached into his pocket, fishing out another packet of rice crackers and tearing it open rather tactlessly.

"Law..." Kotone let out another sigh.

"What? You know it's true." The doctor's impassive grey eyes swept back over to the reindeer as he began crunching on a bite of rice cracker. "This happens every few years. Some clueless kid cold emails him for a research opportunity, he falls for their flattery and accepts immediately... then promptly forgets about them for the rest of the term."

"No, that's...!" Chopper shook his head, wild in his desperation to defend Dr. Diamante's honor. "That's ridiculous! I don't believe you! He wouldn't!"

Dr. Trafalgar took another bite and began to chew. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it," he answered nonchalantly. "You'll just be assigned to a different mentor. A resident if you're lucky, since most of the attendings here are actually –"

A commotion interrupted them at this junction. A door was wretched open at the far end of the hall, letting out a stream of hollered obscenities from the offices within.

Dr. Trafalgar paused for a moment, before continuing to chew rather purposefully with a small frown of concern etched over his face.

Crunch, crunch.

Kotone pressed her lips together and took a step back, her eyebrows shooting upwards. Chopper raised his head in confusion, watching on as two figures presently came lumbering out from the doorway – one smaller, one larger.

" – about you quit apologizing and explain yourself!?" the smaller one barked.

"I'm s-sorry!" a small, plaintive voice cried out.

"Are you deaf? I said to quit repeating yourself! This is fucking unacceptable!"

Crunch. Crunch.

Chopper's eyes widened as he took in the two in. The smaller figure was clearly a doctor – the stark white lab coat and stethoscope hanging around his neck gave that away. He was quite tall – maybe a few centimeters taller than even Dr. Trafalgar! – and dressed sharply in a checkered dress shirt, tie, and slacks beneath the coat. A pair of round, shaded glasses hung on his nose, giving his ashen-tinged face an almost insectoid appearance. Though perhaps his most noticeable quality was his thick, icy blue hair – styled into long, elaborate spikes which protruded rigidly from his skull like icicles.

Chopper recognized him in an instant... and was struck speechless.

Could this angry, cursing man standing before him really be the famous Dr. Gladius from the elite Devil Fruit practitioner team? Dr. Gladius... the genius oncologist who developed the infamous Pamu Pamu Technique? Dr. Gladius' Devil Fruit – the Pamu Pamu no Mi – had been feared by the public for the longest time due to its destructive potential, and its usage had been regulated heavily by the World Government until very recently, when Dressrosa Hospital unveiled a new technique utilizing its unique rupturing qualities to target tumors and cysts.

Like Dr. Diamante and all the other members of the Devil Fruit practitioner team, Chopper had idolized this man as a trailblazer in medical research. Had always dreamed of the day he could meet the esteemed doctor face to face and thank him for all his contributions...

So to see him like this now... The disparity was so overwhelming that it felt too absurd to be real.

...this all had to be a dream, right?

The other figure – a polar bear Mink dressed in scrubs – was nearly in tears. He started to stammer something, but the blue haired doctor silenced him with another glare.

"No. Don't you dare spout another meaningless apology at me!" he snapped. He waved a tablet in the air for emphasis. "No more excuses – I need an explanation! Who the fuck changed this post-operative report?! You were the one responsible for compiling the patient file, so you should be able to figure it out!"

Dr. Trafalgar was standing very still at Chopper's side. His inscrutable grey gaze flickered repeatedly between the two figures.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch...

"I-I'm so..." The bear swallowed hard and scrubbed furiously at his eyes. "I promise, Dr. Gladius, but I r-really didn't do it! You can ask the other nurses here, I h-haven't touched that report since you last submitted it –"

"If it wasn't you, then who else could it have been, you incompetent dolt? Hah?" Dr. Gladius snarled, shoving the tablet into the nurse's chest. "Quit stammering and speak the fuck up up!"

Chopper's instincts screamed.

This is... this is power harassment! Why won't someone say something...?

It was only then he realized that the crunching noises had stopped entirely.

Dr. Trafalgar had brushed past him and Kotone, chucking the half-eaten rice cracker packet into a waste container as he passed it.

("...that's the recycle bin," Kotone deadpanned beneath her breath.)

" – just sick and tired of these goddamn excuses." Dr. Gladius threw his hands up in exasperation. "Look up the version history and show me!"

"I can try, but... I-it's just, when it's in this format, I don't think it –"

Dr. Trafalgar strode up to the pair and wordlessly plucked the tablet out of Dr. Gladius' hands.

The latter bristled and wheeled around. His expression froze momentarily, eyes slitting in recognition.

"...you," he hissed.

Dr. Trafalgar tapped a few times on the tablet and began scrolling through.

"Oh... This patient." He nodded, letting loose a dark chuckle. "I remember now. Yeah, this was me."

"...what?" Dr. Gladius spat.

"Are you deaf?" Dr. Trafalgar retorted. He shut off the tablet and jutted it out in the polar bear's direction, who hurriedly scooped it up and scuttled back to the far wall. "I told you, I'm the one who changed that report."

"Why the fuck would you do that without telling me?" Dr. Gladius barked. "You made me look like a fool in front of the patient!"

"You could have avoided it by reviewing the damn thing yourself. Does that sound familiar to you?" The surgeon scoffed. "It's funny how you keep refusing to learn, no matter how many times you fuck up."

"Hah?!"

"For this very case. If you'd studied the charts beforehand, you would've known the patient's heart tissue was prone to hemorrhage. You calling for 4-0 instead of 3-0 for the final anastomosis is what caused that artery to rupture soon after you unclamped it... That was a lot of fun to clean up." Dr. Trafalgar sneered. "Though maybe I am being too generous. Knowing your piss poor suturing skills, it's likely that whole debacle was unavoidable to begin with. But then you still had the audacity to turn around and accuse my scrub nurse of handing you the wrong thread to save face."

(Kotone had pulled out her hand mirror and was examining herself in it.

"I would take a step back if I were you," she suddenly said aloud.

"...huh?" Chopper blinked over to her, bewildered.)

Gladius' eyes bulged in rage, his hair bristling; for a moment, he looked as if he were about to erupt. Then, his posture suddenly slackened. He let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Refusing to learn, huh? Ironic to hear that from a miscreant more familiar with the walls of a jail cell than his own apartment."

"It isn't half as bad as you'd think," Dr. Trafalgar answered with another unnerving smile. "Could even consider it an improvement to this place in some respects."

"Unsurprising to hear from you! Filth seeks filth, after all."

"Not so much that... I just haven't managed to find a single person there less qualified than you to assist in a coronary bypass."

Dr. Trafalgar kept smiling while Dr. Gladius began to laugh quietly. The polar bear Mink was practically deflating in size as he slunk further and further away down the hall, the tablet hugged close to his chest.

"And here I was, thinking you might've learned a lesson or two from last week..." Dr. Gladius' voice swelled with scorn. "Grow the fuck up! You've got the gall to be acting so high and mighty now, but what do you think will happen once the Director kicks you to the curb?"

Dr. Trafalgar's smirk only grew.

"Yeah... keep laughing. But I'll have you know that you're still walking on thin ice after that stunt. If you knew what was truly best for you, you wouldn't be taking the Director's patience for granted."

Dr. Gladius' eyes gave off an ominous glint as he leaned in closer, his words dripping with venom.

"After all... we already have one convicted felon dragging down our reputation," he hissed. "It'd be an awful shame if we were forced to add to that number, don't you think?"

Convicted felon...? What does he mean by–?

The question had barely formulated in Chopper's mind when his gaze drifted back over to Dr. Trafalgar. He felt his blood freeze over in his veins. The surgeon had gone very still again, but the murderous intent smoldering in his eyes was all too evident.

("Don't do it, don't do it..." Kotone muttered in a sing-song voice, her knuckles blanching over the edges of her clipboard. "Remember you have another surgery in two hours...")

"...so let's play nice from now on, agreed?" Dr. Gladius smiled coldly, clearly pleased by the perceived victory. He started to turn away.

Everything following that moment seemed to play out in slow motion; every last detail was ingrained forever into Chopper's memory, like stills from a movie reel.

Dr. Trafalgar's foot came sweeping outwards at the last moment, hooking Dr. Gladius' ankle and throwing him off balance.

A muffled curse pierced the air. Dr. Gladius tottered, then started to stumble forwards –

A thin, tattooed hand closed around the back of that spiky blue head mid-descent.

With one powerful shove, the front of Dr. Gladius' skull had been plunged straight into the wall with a bone-crushing splat – the sound almost resembling that of cracking eggs.

Bits of glass and stray blood droplets scattered through the air.

Chopper's jaw hit the floor. Tears were streaming down the Mink's cheeks.

"Son of a bitch," Kotone seethed out, lips stretched wide in an artificial smile.

"Oops..." Dr. Trafalgar deadpanned, taking a step back as his colleague's body slowly slid to the floor, leaving a large blotch of crimson staining the dented wall.

He looked up and flashed a bone chilling smile, rubbing his knuckles with feigned sheepishness.

"My hand slipped."

Notes: ...annnnddd so it begins.

Anyways. I'm going for the "(mostly) negligent rich father vs. rebellious problematic brat" dynamic between Doffy and Law. Doffy himself seems pretty tame right now, but that's just because he's better at hiding his true diva nature from strangers. Also, Arisa's perception is still a little skewed... bc ofc, charisma.

He is def unhinged in his own way tho, and you'll see that side to him soon enough, don't you worry~

Also, in the canon universe, Gladius is actually taller than Bepo which was insane to me when I looked it up. But here in AU-land, I'm just gonna have the humans be "realistic" sizes lol.

All in all this is easily the most... uh, unhinged story I've done in recent years so it is a little intimidating to put out... >-< but please let me know your thoughts/suggestions if you have any! I'd love to know your opinions thus far hahaha.

As always, thanks for reading & see you next chapter- <3

-shiba