Angella, now eating her food, shades of great fear adorned her petite face. sitting reclined on a wooden chair, looking evidently at loss, while taking gallops of the meat soup, her thoughts seemed to be drifting somewhere else
Matthew eyed her silhouette in pity, how the 5 idiots lost her is beyond his understanding, her appearance after all, is not easily overlooked, her scrawny legs, her thin looking arms, her falling hair was… gorgeous, snow white with a few light blue little ones sticking out, healthy white skin, delicate eyes and a princess-like nose…
Her eyes, which at some point held traces of willfulness and hope, now looked like a terrified kitten's. She looked brilliant, beautiful, surprisingly charming for a girl at her age, with her haggard stained clothes ruining the impression.
Matthew could not empathize with her, as he never had anyone truly close to his heart be in such danger before. One thing that also baffled him, is how she made it this far through the forest, the grassland around here was filled to the brim with the not so peaceful wild life, even the plants near his house were almost as venomous as tabacco.
"... Say Angella, how did you make it this far through the forest?"
"... I have no idea… not too long ago, my life was threatened by some wild boar… I felt a strong surge of energy and power radiating from my body… once the hog came close, it stopped moving… gradually losing its mind, its eyes turned cloudy and hazy, before the beast's body dropped to the ground… I kept running, without looking back… The same phenomenon happening to the surrounding animals…"
"... Interesting"
'... a power strong enough to knock out even big oaf, doesn't it sound like a buffed version of my bloodlust?' Matthew's passive title skill somewhat had a similar effect… the strong feeling of domination evoked from being bathed in blood, the wrath that follows it, the desire and need to… annihilate and conqu–
' wait wait, so you're telling me this kid somehow awakened her conquerors haki?' from what he remembers, having someone awaken this particular color of haki is quite rare, 'one in a million chance' as stated by oda, so very few people did actually have it, and most of them were world-known legendary figures.
Garp, hero of the marine… sengoku, the current fleet admiral… monkey D dragon, leader of the revolutionaries… Mihawk, strongest swordsman… gol D Roger, king of the pirates… the four yonkos… Donquixote Doflamingo and boa hancock from the 7 sea warlords… and the protagonist of the story, luffy the strawhat.
"... What's your full name?"
"... Excuse me?"
"... Family name, you've got one?"
" it's angella, just Angella. My f-father used to call me 'little snow princess' but angella is my real and only name…"
"... You mentioned having a father…"
"... Yes, my mother died from an unknown disease, as the physician declared. My dad is the village butcher, Michael woods, a gentle brawny man, known to serve pig and goat meat in his shop…"
'how amusing, is she perhaps not his real-daughter? An illegitimate descendent of the D family tree?' Matthew thought silently while gazing at the frightened white kitten, something about that fear bothered him…
" say, white kitten. Why the fear? Do you love your father that much…"
"... What--- Quite bold of you to assume that I don't, may I ask why you would think that?" her gaze turned fierce for a second.
"... If so, why escape? , did your so called love and resolve only amount to this much?, did you fear so much that you left your beloved father to rot with the pirates?"
"... My dad…he's an honorable man… I won't allow you to insult him!!" her manner of speech was entertaining Matthew a lot, considering it comes off from a village brat.
"... Defending your father's honor, is that your end goal? Or a stepping stone for your true ambition? Do you fear for your own death? "
The girl had unnatural determination and a strong will, Matthew could tell. All he needed was to trigger it.
"... what are you trying to say?" now thinking of the situation, maybe he was right? Maybe if she wasn't so weak, her family wouldn't have suffered? Maybe if her resolve was strong enough she wouldn't have ran? Resentment slowly starts building up in her heart, anger of her hopeless situation, willingness to end this tragedy, targeted at her useless-self… slowly but surely, an assertive and a domineering reddish halo made its appearance…
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Matthew did nothing but fuel those hidden feelings, but he wasn't the one who planted them.
' yes, go on… I would be damned if I don't milk all that potential dry, and then add you to my future crew…' Matthew, not getting fazed a bit, finally took note of her status
{ Name:
Str: 5
Agi: 10
End: 5
Wis: 10.2
Luck: 00
Current state: frightened, self-loathing, warm, well fed…
—--skills: passive—--
Conqueror's haki (S-rank/ can be further upgraded): the infamous king of all hakis, allowing the user to impose their will on others, cannot be attained through training
/effect: a reddish aura manifests around the user, affecting every being in range. Range can be expanded.}
"... Weakness, is it the issue? The reason for my tragedy? The cause behind my cowardness?..." she spoke elegantly, which was a very strange sight, considering it came from a villager.
'... now I feel bad' something about her fragile figure, reminded him of his childhood. The young Matthew who got abused daily, by the orphans, learned his own shortcomings, quickly improved by reflecting on his own weaknesses, and after coming a long way, he was now able to beat the bullies, sounds pleasant right? Unfortunately, it wasn't the case, the child Matthew felt weird… the sense of accomplishment never crossed him, he didn't quite get it. Yes, it's great that he's now safe from all the trauma-inflicting incidents, but… What about the others? What about the chubby Marcus? What about the 'evil' bunch that cause the suffering? They still exist right?
Everyone wants a hero in their life, yet we don't necessarily need one, do we? Because after everything, we are the ones who inflicted the said pain on ourselves, we are the ones who bullied others, and we are the ones who will 'save' them… It's a weird way to look at it… maybe the many-faced god is the real malevolent and benevolent, he was truly onto something… saving the foolish from 'themselves', huh?...
"... Ever tried swinging a sword?..." he said as he threw her a hand-made wooden sword
"... No? As far as I remember, no such thing happened..." again with the fancy speech, the white haired Angella looked puzzled, her expression was funny to look at, well, if we take out the tear stains out of the picture…
" your misplaced hate, towards yourself and your 'uselessness' , shows a lack of faith, experience and more so maturity… little kitten, you should believe more in yourself, your resolve is a raging fire, not easily extinguishable… you should have more faith in death, when you encounter it you say 'not now, not tomorrow, never', that's the secret… your state is, quite frankly, pathetic to look at…"
"... How do I swing it?... How do I get rid of this fear as you say? " she asked, her voice trembling.
" fearing death is nothing to be ashamed off young Angella, for it could turn into a useful weapon, you have to carefully hone it. make it sharp. make it deadlier. make it the 'weakness' that you will get rid of… Fight your fears, darling, don't avoid them, face them with a 'carved-from-stone' face, like a real swordswoman…"
Her eyes suddenly had a weird shine to them, it made her full of life... full of elegant love... full of emotion... it slowly shaped her into the person she desired to be .
"... I am full of hate, full of fear… I ran from my problems, my family was abandoned… I ought to have a weakness, please help me get rid of it… " now her voice, which was at breaking point in the beginning, began to show unnatural determination, fierce resolve. The grief truly hit her hard, and Matthew was planning on further aiding the little doe.
"... You are, to address me as 'sir matthew' from now on, young doe… You are, to practice your swordsmanship and movement… you are, to hone your skills…"
"... Yes, sir matthew… i shall learn under you…" her peculiar manner of speech kicked in once again, bringing Matthew close to laughter.
—--
And so, days passed and Angella grew. She spent her whole time training her sword, polishing it, getting it almost ready to finally slay her fear, her hate.
" Rudger… William… the 5 pirates… I will burn them all... "
She vowed to avenge the fallen ones, her sword oozing wrath and justice, her eyes finally regained their initial shine. The young no-longer frightened kitten had truly been reborn.
Under Matthew's guidance, her might has reached new heights. Strength, speed and endurance rapidly increased, and so did her ittoryu skills. Her fear has long since vanished.
What Matthew had taught her quickly raced through her mind:
"... Your sword ought to be fearless, swift as a tiger, crafty as a sewer rodent, calm as the unmoving wind, fierce as a wolverine, quick as a snake, quiet as the shadows, self-willed as the shining moon… death is sharp, for it can cut sharper than the finest blade… death is mercy, and fearing it will bear no benefits… "
"... Your sword is not a mere piece of metal, it's a 'being', a part of your soul. And it's calling for you... You have to hear its 'voice'..."
She traded blows with the spear-wielder, masking all unneeded emotions. As Matthew's cold voice reached to her , resonating with her '...your sword speaks for your mouth, hears for your ears, tastes for your tongue, smells for your nose, feels for your skin... you are the conductor, and this wooden sword you hold, is your precious baton… '
"... Now for the world energy training, imagine the boar you faced when you made your escape, your hate and anger will act as the perfect fuel for your conqueror's haki. Little snow princess, Make it the greatest one you have released yet…"
And so she did as commanded, thoughts of refusal and rebellion has long since been beaten out of her. she sharpened her gaze, as the halo manifested itself, shaped from pure rage, elegance and all sorts of fine emotions…
"... Kill them all… make them pay in blood... "
Looking at the now polished gem, a result of days of blood, sweat and tears, he felt quite proud and accomplished. Immediately, he released his own bloodlust, getting ready to counter the incoming attacks from his young disciple…
-----
"... I sense a beast… No, a demon… " in the now leveled village, a rough voice was heard. William was getting excited, anticipation slowly killing him from the inside…