Chapter 19: "Opening Up to Each Other"

**Chapter 19: "Opening Up to Each Other"**

A few months had passed since William had begun mastering his Dragon Zoan powers in secret. The arena fights continued, brutal as always, but there was an unspoken camaraderie now between him and the three sisters—Boa Hancock, Sandersonia, and Marigold. They were surviving together, training together, and for the first time since his capture, William felt a sense of connection, a fragile alliance between them that was starting to evolve into something deeper.

One night, after another exhausting day of survival, they found themselves sitting together in their cold, cramped cell. The flickering torchlight cast long shadows on the stone walls, but there was a strange comfort in the darkness, a sense of safety in each other's presence.

Hancock, who had been unusually quiet for the evening, broke the silence. "William," she started hesitantly, "We've never told you how we ended up here, in this cursed place."

William, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed, glanced at her but said nothing. He'd grown used to the sisters' cautiousness around him. Despite the growing bond, they still feared him, and that was fine with him. Fear kept people alive.

Hancock exchanged a look with her sisters before continuing. "We are from Amazon Lily Island. While out at sea with the Kuja Pirate, we were captured and sold like animals by slave traders. We've been here ever since."

Marigold and Sandersonia nodded, both looking down, their faces filled with bitterness. William could see the pain in their eyes. He understood it. He had been living with that same agony for years.

"I can still hear the screams," Sandersonia whispered, her voice trembling. "We were scared... We didn't understand what was happening. it was our first time sailing—" Her voice cracked, and Marigold reached over to hold her hand.

"We lost everything," Hancock said, her voice hardening. "Our freedom, our friends, our dignity. Now we're just fighters for their entertainment, slaves to monsters."

William listened quietly, the flicker of emotion that had been buried deep inside him stirring. He had never cared about anyone's pain but his own. He'd seen the worst of the world, and he knew that caring for others only led to more suffering. Still, hearing the sisters' story, he couldn't help but think of Robin—how helpless she had looked, how she had suffered alone, just like he had.

William took a deep breath, his gaze hardening. "You're not the only ones who lost everything."

The sisters turned to him, surprised that he had spoken at all. William wasn't one to share his past. He had never told anyone about Ohara, about what he had been through. But tonight, something was different. Maybe it was the way they had opened up to him, or maybe it was because they had become more than just fellow slaves. Maybe it was because, for the first time, William felt like he wasn't alone.

"I wasn't always a slave," William began, his voice low and rough, as if the words were being dragged out of him. "I was born on an island called Ohara."

He paused, feeling the familiar weight of rage bubbling up inside him. "It was a peaceful place, filled with scholars and archaeologists. We were seekers of truth, learning about the history of the world... until the World Government decided that our knowledge was dangerous."

William's jaw clenched as memories of that fateful day flooded back. The flames, the screams, the destruction.

"They called it a 'Buster Call,'" he said, his voice shaking with suppressed anger. "The Navy sent ten warships to obliterate Ohara. They destroyed everything. Everyone... all gone in an instant."

Marigold and Sandersonia gasped, their eyes wide with horror. Hancock looked at William, her expression filled with a mix of shock and empathy. She could see the pain behind his cold exterior, the hurt he had been carrying for so long.

William's hands balled into fists, his knuckles turning white as he continued. "I fought back. I tried to protect them. But I was weak. I couldn't save anyone... not even her."

He took a deep, shaky breath, his emotions overwhelming him. The anger, the rage, the sorrow—it all came flooding out. "They took everything from me," he growled. "Everything I loved, everything I cared about. And now, all that's left is this... this hollow desire for revenge."

William's voice cracked, and for the first time, the sisters saw him not as a brutal fighter, but as someone broken by the weight of his past. The silence in the cell was heavy, filled with the ghosts of Ohara and the pain of lost innocence.

Without saying a word, Hancock moved closer to William. She hesitated for a moment, then gently wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I'm so sorry for everything you've been through."

William was stunned. He had never been comforted like this, never been hugged since he was a child. He looked down at Hancock, her face buried against him, and for the first time in what felt like forever, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Hancock looked up at him, her blue eyes wide with surprise. "You... smiled," she said softly, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Don't get used to it," William muttered, trying to maintain his usual gruff demeanor, but Hancock could see through it. She smiled back, though tears were still in her eyes.

Just as the moment grew tender, William's expression changed. His aura shifted, growing cold and terrifying, his eyes narrowing with rage and madness. His voice was low and menacing as he spoke. "Don't feel sorry for me, Hancock. You should feel sorry for them—the ones who caused this. Because I will make sure they regret what they did to Ohara. I will make them pay, with their lives."

Hancock stared at him, her body tensing with fear as the air around him grew thick with killing intent. Just as William's anger began to rise, Hancock pinched his waist, interrupting his dark thoughts.

"I will take everyth....Ow—what are you doing?" William said, even though it didn't actually hurt.

"Stop that. You're scaring the girls," Hancock scolded, her voice light but firm. Marigold and Sandersonia were watching from the corner, clearly unnerved by William's sudden shift in demeanor.

William scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Right... sorry about that," he mumbled to the two younger sisters, who nodded quickly, still wary of him.

Hancock, seizing the moment, teased him with a smirk. "You know, you should smile more. You're kind of cute when you do."

William raised an eyebrow, pretending to be annoyed. "Cute, huh? Is that what you think?" He crossed his arms, but the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement.

Hancock giggled, and for the first time in what felt like an eternity, William and the sisters laughed together. The tension that had gripped them for so long seemed to ease, just for a moment. 

As their laughter died down, William reached out and gently tucked a strand of Hancock's hair behind her ear. "Thank you," he said softly.

Hancock blinked, surprised. "For what?"

"You didn't need to ask," William replied, his voice softer than she had ever heard. "You already know."

She didn't respond with words. Instead, she hugged him again, her arms wrapping around him as he gently stroked her long black hair. In that moment, the cold, harsh reality of their lives seemed distant, and they simply enjoyed the silence, comforted by each other's presence.

From that night on, their bond deepened. The sisters began to understand the depth of William's rage, the unyielding drive for revenge that fueled him. And Hancock, more than anyone, saw something else—a glimmer of vulnerability beneath his terrifying exterior. She found herself falling for him, drawn to the storm of emotions that raged within him.