the Donquixote Family.
And tonight, the palace was loud.
Inside the executive lounge, glasses clinked while a jazz record scratched lazily somewhere in the background. The atmosphere should've been relaxed. Instead, every executive in the room looked varying levels of exhausted.
Because their king had found something interesting.
At the center of the room sat Donquixote Doflamingo himself, one leg crossed over the other, pink feather coat spilling over the armrests like some predatory tropical bird. He swirled wine in his glass, grinning.
That grin was always dangerous.
“Fuffuffuffu… she’s pretty.”
Silence.
Not shocked silence. More the kind of silence that came from everyone collectively realizing their schedules were about to become their problem.
On the couch nearby, Trebol sniffed loudly. “Behehehe… so ya want her brought here?”
Doflamingo tilted his head.
“No.”
That single word loosened the tension slightly.
Then he smiled wider.
“I said I’m interested. Not stupid.”
Immediately, tension came right back.
Near the doorway, Pica stood with arms crossed, massive and silent as a fortress. Beside him, Diamante leaned against the wall with his usual smug expression.
“She’s just passing through Dressrosa?” Diamante asked.
“Mm.”
“And you want us to… what? Stalk her?”
Doflamingo laughed.
“Watch over her.”
Trebol snorted mucus into his sleeve. “That’s stalkin’, Doffy.”
“Semantics.”
A vein pulsed in Diamante’s forehead.
Across the room, Baby 5 nearly sat up straight enough to launch herself off the couch. “Do you need me to eliminate any suspicious men around her?!”
“No.”
“Do you need me to follow her every second of the day?!”
“No.”
“…Do you need me to compliment her outfits from a distance?”
Doflamingo paused.
“…Actually, maybe.”
Baby 5 lit up like she'd just received divine purpose.
Meanwhile, Gladius pinched the bridge of his nose hard enough to look painful. “Why are we doing this.”
“Because,” Doflamingo said lazily, “I’m curious.”
That word hung heavier than expected.
Curious.
That was worse somehow.
Doflamingo rarely focused on people unless they entertained him, threatened him… or fascinated him.
And apparently the girl wandering Dressrosa had managed to do that simply by existing.
Trebol leaned forward. “What exactly caught yer eye anyway?”
Doflamingo rested his cheek against his knuckles, sunglasses reflecting the chandelier light.
“She looked at me.”
“…That’s it?” Gladius asked flatly.
“She looked at me,” Doflamingo repeated, smile widening, “like she wasn’t afraid.”
The room went quiet again.
Diamante chuckled under his breath. “Maybe she just doesn’t know who you are.”
“Maybe.” Doflamingo sounded entertained by the possibility instead of insulted.
Then his smile sharpened.
“Which makes this more fun.”
.. “Trebol.”
“Beheheh?”
“You’ll watch the harbor.”
“Ehhh?! Why me?!”
“You blend in with trash piles.”
Diamante barked a laugh while Trebol gagged in offense.
“Pica.”
The towering executive straightened immediately.
“If she’s threatened, intervene quietly.”
Pica nodded once.
“Diamante… gather information.”
“Got it.”
“Baby 5…”
“Yes!!”
“No proposing to her.”
Baby 5 deflated instantly. “Awww…”
“And if Buffalo encourages you again, I’ll kill him.”
From somewhere down the hall came a distant, horrified: “WHAT'D I DO?!”
The room dissolved briefly into chaos.
But through it all, Doflamingo remained relaxed on his throne-like chair, fingers tapping slowly against the armrest.
Like a spider feeling vibrations in a web.
Outside, Dressrosa glittered under evening lanterns. Streets danced with music and performers, unaware that several of the most dangerous people in the country had just been assigned to shadow one random traveler.
And somewhere in the city, executives of the Donquixote Family were already beginning their work.
Trebol lurking through marketplaces in a terrible disguise absolutely nobody believed.
Baby 5 aggressively complimenting civilians to “practice.”
Diamante bribing bartenders for information.
And that girl was you...