The Marionette

Chapter 4: Bonds That Tie

You hit the ground, the air being knocked straight out of your lungs as you gasped in pain. A warm liquid rolled down your cheek as you instinctively reached up and touched it with your fingertips, your fingers smeared in red. You huffed as you fell onto your back, your eyes rolling up to look at the blue sky above you, your chest rising and falling while you focused on regaining your breath.

"I win, again," a male voice snickered as he came more into view, Diamante smirking while standing over you. "How many does that make?" He grinned, his light brown locks swaying as he sheathed his sword.

"128 losses for me," you groaned in defeat, your cheek beginning to bleed more from the cut he gave you. "Damn it, I feel like I've barely improved!" You had to admit, it was pretty frustrating constantly losing to the same person over and over again.

"Hey now," he laughed, "you've become stronger." You sighed as you stood up while patting your clothes down, shaking off the dirt from the ground.

"That's easy for you to say, you've barely broken a sweat," you plainly said while grabbing a towel you brought with you to wipe your face.

"Oh, well, I mean if you say so," he gushed, clearly enjoying the praises from you. You watched as the ground which was once rippled from his devil fruit gradually morphing back into its normal shape. He cleared his throat, "anyways, the young master has requested an audience with you!"

You paused, your lips pursing as you thought of the last time you even last spoken to him. It had been a few weeks, but you figured it was because he was giving you time to adjust to your new life here. You nodded your head as you threw the towel around your neck, "very well."

You casually strolled away from your training area, Diamante following behind you with his hands tucked into his pockets. The walk was silent, but you enjoyed it as usually Diamante would talk your ear off about how great his position in the family was. But you've noticed anytime Doflamingo was brought up, he'd suddenly become more curt.

You entered the castle, the walls inside shifting as a high pitched voice greeted you. "Hi Pica," you waved with a straight face while walking down the hall. You had only recently met him, but were warned not to laugh at his voice. Although hearing it didn't spark any emotion for you, it was simply just another test of your father's training regiment.

The familiar doors to Doflamingo's office was right in front of you, however this time you were less nervous. It has only been six weeks since you've arrived, but you were starting to learn the ins and outs. You tucked your sword onto your back, the blade sheathed to look less threatening. Diamante grinned as he opened the doors, Trebol already inside alongside with another person whom you haven't met yet.

"Diamante," Doflamingo smiled as he turned around in his chair, his elbow propped up on the arm chair while resting his cheek in the palm of his hand. His head tilted as he turned his attention to you, "how's the training been?"

"Diamante is a strong opponent," you admitted while fiddling with your fingers, "I have yet to win a single time." To you, this felt like an absolute blow to the gut. It made you feel useless if you can't even beat a single person.

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Doflamingo laughed, "Diamante here is one of my top officers. His swordsmanship is nothing to scoff at, that's why I put him up to the task of training you."

You glanced at Diamante, a wild look of pure bliss on his face as he reveled in the appraisal. "I understand," you awkwardly replied while crossing your arms over your chest.

"Viola here will also assist you in some training," Doflamingo gestured towards the young girl who you hadn't met yet, she looked to be a few years older than you. "I'm sure you two will get along nicely," he chuckled as a gleam of light reflected off of his glasses.