#delaw

Delia continued with the preparations, trying to ignore Law and the instinct to drop everything and return to the Polar Tang. But she couldn't, she had now made a decision. He had made a decision.

Still she couldn't concentrate: she had now retied that knot three times in a row and all three times the knot didn't seem secure, which is why she kept untying it and retying it. She then decided to face the problem and then return to her preparations and her mission.

"We had a deal: once we landed in a safe port, if I had the chance, I had to make my own way. This was your decision, remember?"

"I do remember. I also remember that you never considered me as your captain, soー"

"But it is your duty as a captain to protect your men. From dangers, from people… like me."

"I don'tー My men don't want you to leave."

Delia looked away and smiled bitterly. She sighed, while searching for the right words.

"I am the heir to a corrupt and sick system, Law. I am the niece of a criminal."

"We are pirates, Delia-ya. Technically, we are all criminals."

"You know what I mean. I can still hear the voices of the souls of Dressrosa… those souls who have endured years of abuse and suffering... because of me."

"We all have ghosts in our past. None of us is. ー"

"Not your men. Not you. You have always done it for survival. I... I chose to close my eyes to that suffering, I silenced my conscience."

"For you too, it was a matter of survival..."

"No. I was-I am an accomplice. I'm more like my uncle than you think... That's why I better..." Delia didn't have the strength to finish the sentence. But the idea that by staying she could make suffer the people who had saved and welcomed her gave her the courage to go through with it: she would leave and face the ghosts of her past.

Finally she managed to tie a perfect knot. With her foot, she pushed herself to move slightly away from the coast.

"You're wrong, you are the exact copy of your father." Law was trying to convince her to change her mind. His sense of gratitude towards Corazon had always been about his own survival. His life was a gift, the last gift from Cora-san, which should not have been wasted. However, since he had discovered that Delia was Cora's daughter, it was as if that duty had extended to the girl's life. He felt terribly guilty for believing her to be a traitor and he couldn't accept to let her out of his sight.

At those words, Delia smiled. It wasn't her usual mocking smile, but a genuine smile, veiled in sadness and nostalgia.

"You knew my father better than me. That's a compliment to me. In fact, I hope you are right and that this side of me will eventually win. But that's something I have to find out for myself."

"I don't want you to leave." The words came out of his own mouth without Law could even realize it.

Those words hit like a dagger in Delia's heart. The girl, however, tried to remain firm on her decision, convinced that her presence would only mean the ruin of the people who had become dear to her.

"I don't want to stay. I don't belong to the Heart Pirates." Delia thought back to the moments spent on the Tang, a brief interlude in which she had truly felt at home, like in a family. That's why her voice broke when she said that sentence.

"You're a terrible liar, Delia-ya."

Delia was slowly but inevitably moving away, both from the coast and from him. Law could have done it, he could have used his Ope Ope fruit powers and brought her back to the coast.

The girl smiled. Now the distance between them was growing more and more. Law took a deep breath and placed his hand in the position he knew all too well. He was about to activate his room when Delia, after a sigh, told him

"You have something that belongs to me, Law."

Law was surprised by those words. His body remained suspended halfway through the activation of his technique. He squinted his eyes slightly, trying to understand the meaning of that sentence.

He became irritated when he saw that Delia looked amused. The girl shook her head and, without ever turning off her smile, added:

"I don't want it back, you couldn't even if you wanted to. I just ask you to take care of it."

Law was getting increasingly confused.

"Delia-ya, whaー" His heart sank when he realized that this was a goodbye: Delia had no intention of going back, nor now or ever, and it seemed like she was heading for a journey with no return.

"Trafalgar D. Water Law" Delia spelled out Law's full name as if she was pronouncing a sacred formula, an oath. "You have my heart. And you will have it forever."

With that, the girl disappeared behind the door of the rescue submarine, which quickly submerged, leaving Law only with the memory of her beautiful and loving smile.