When Zoro returns in the fall he starts in the advanced class. They will now be training alongside each other. Koshiro helps him pick two katana from school's stores so he can start practicing using real blades.
They resume their now normal routine of sparring in the evening. He seems a bit wound up as they square off to spar for the first time, but he doesn't say anything until after peremptorily acknowledging his second loss.
Then he fetches the book that she loaned to him.
He looks serious and yet excited, like he is about to say something very important. The book is one of her favorites, but she's still surprised he seems to have liked it so much.
'I'm gonna do it,' he declares as he hands the book back to her.
She takes a moment to try and decipher his statement before giving up, 'What?'
'I'll be the greatest in the whole world,' he gestures at the book, 'like him.'
She is taken aback by how his matter of fact tone doesn't at all match the boldness of the claim he has just made.
'You'll have to beat me first,' is all she can think to say.
He just crosses his arms and nods, 'Well yeah, but I already promised to do that a long time ago anyway,' he states sounding almost bored. Then he smirks at her. Little brat.
She is torn between not wanting to step all over his enthusiasm and the absolute conviction that he cannot be allowed to best her. 'Well,' she decides to make a leap. She mimics his cocky pose, crossing her arms and lifting her chin with a smiling, 'You can chase me. And be second best.'
Zoro straightens up and scowls, puffing up a bit at her mockery of his bravado. But when he sees the amusement in her eyes at the predictability of his reaction, he relaxes with a snort and states more seriously, 'We'll see who's right. First to the top wins.'
'You're on Shrimp,' she agrees.
At the time she is mostly responding to the fact that getting to his goal is going to involve getting by her, but she finds herself thinking about it frequently over the next few days. What does being the best swordsman in the world actually involve?
It's is going to require a lot of practice, obviously, but that's only the beginning. In The Tales of Ryuma the hero travels all over the world, he encounters all sorts of strange people and fights monsters of every sort of description. She loves the book but she never really bothered to consider how much of it is actually true.
She starts to work her way through the books about famous swordsmen that are collected in the study along with various training manuals. She wants to get a handle on what could be out there.
The stories vary quite bit in style, some are absurdly over the top and others are so dry they manage to make battles between thousands sound as interesting as steaming rice. Some of them have maps in them, but they only match in the broadest features. All in all, it doesn't seem like much to work with.
She asks her father about devil fruits, since they seem to be the source of the many of the stories' most unbelievable aspects. He tells her that devil fruits are real, but he admits he doesn't know much about what they actually do.
That uncertainty is a revelation in and of itself, because she also never considered that there are worthwhile questions to which her father doesn't have the answers.
It takes Zoro and Kuina a full hour to get through one or two fights now. They plop down afterward, both trying not to be too obvious in their attempts catch their breath. Kuina brings up some of the stuff she's read.
'Most of the battles seem involve fighters who are way bigger than regular people. I wonder if there really are 12 foot tall warriors out there. It's hard to imagine.'
He thinks for a few seconds and then snorts a laugh at somethings he's imagined, 'That would make fighting easier, but the rest of the time you'd be ducking through doorways and sitting with your knees to your chest.'
Kuina chuckles at the image.
'Even if it's true it won't be a problem,' Zoro continues dismissively, 'I'm already used to fighting people way taller than me.
'Yep, who knew being a shrimp could be to your advantage,' she agrees cheerfully.
'I only just turned ten,' he defends, crossing his arms, 'It's not my fault none of the kids my own age bother to keep up with me.'
Zoro has been sparring with the oldest students at the school since the winter session started. Last week, he even scored a point on one of the instructors. He is absurdly strong, even compared to most adults, and others often do not know how to effectively block his strikes.
As the weather is just starting to warm up again they are offered an intriguing look at the possibilities out there.
The students come outside in the morning to find that an impressively fierce looking four masted barque with dragons twined along its sides is anchored in the village's little harbor.
The ship towers over the one and two story buildings nearby. A large number of people can be seen moving around on the deck, probably more than actually live in Shimotsuki.
Koshiro leads the other men of the village down to the harbor to see what the strangers want.
Zoro and Kuina stand at the front of the group of younger students left behind at the school. They have disobeyed her father's orders to stay hidden inside so far as to watch at a distance about half way up the hill to the school. Kuina brings Wado Ichimonji and Zoro has the two swords that have been given into his care. He's wearing them at his waist and has to keep them tilted back with his hand so they don't drag on the ground.
The other villagers stay back as her father approaches the ship alone. It's a positive sign that whoever is on that ship has waited till the villagers come down to disembark.
However, the man who comes down the gang way is anything but reassuring. Forget 12 feet tall, this figure has to be near twice that. He's wearing a spotted hat with rounded ears on it and carrying a book nearly the size of an end table.
Koshiro stands hands at his sides as the man approaches to a few yards away and sits down so he is only around twice her father's height. He starts to talk, gesturing to the village. Koshiro nods and gestures in return. After a few minutes, her father steps forward and shakes the man's hand. The gesture is awkward, but reassuring.
The villagers start to disperse and the village headman comes forward, probably to negotiate any trade the visitors are interested in. A few less remarkable looking sailors come down the gangplank and start to mingle with the crowd.
Zoro strides past her and she immediately starts following along. Some of the other students call out or trail uncertainly behind them.
When they get to the edge of the open area near the harbor they stop again. Both the ship and the man are even more imposing close up. As they watch, the towering man stands up and turns to head back toward his ship.
Another sailor with a massive perm of curly purple hair and a magenta leotard comes to lean against the railing. He calls down in voice filled with declamatory drama, 'Kuma dearie are you sure we couldn't liven this place up a bit? These people need to be riled up before they suffocate on their own complacency.'
The bear eared man, Kuma, shoots the purple haired man an unamused look and starts in a surprisingly soft spoken voice, 'Ivankov, you know the captain…'
Ivankov interrupts him with another sigh and a dismissive wave of his hand, 'I know. I know. For a revolutionary our dear captain is quite a stick in the mud sometimes.'
He leans disconsolately on his hand as Kuma continues up the gang way and disappears into the ship.
Zoro and Kuina venture a little closer. Kuina wants to get a closer look at the fearsome looking dragons decorating the sides of the ship.
Ivankov sees them and perks up, eyeing them with interest.
As they reach the edge of the dock, he suddenly handstands over the railing of the ship, which has to be a good 35 feet above them. He lands neatly on stiletto boots, plants his hands on his hips, and leans forward at the waist to stare Kuina right in the face.
Kuina clutches her sword and lifts her chin, staring back. Although this person is not nearly as tall as his shipmate, he is still far taller than anyone else she has ever seen before.
Also, his face is huge and much too far into her personal space right now.
'An odd one out, eh?,' Ivanov straightens up and throws his hands in the air, 'Fantastic!'
Kuina's brows come together in confusion.
Ivankov flexes his gloved hand in front of himself while continuing to look at her thoughtfully. Kuina forces herself not to fidget and continues to stare back while trying to ignore the sweat running down the back of her neck.
The man places a finger to his lip, 'So, I'm curious girlie, do you ever wish you were someone else?' Ivankov points at Zoro, 'Like him, perhaps.'
Kuina frowns, 'Why would I want to be him? He's lost over 1800 duels to me so far.'
She ignores the clatter as Zoro tightens his grip on his swords.
Ivankov makes an amused moue, 'That's not quite what I meant.'
The man's fingers suddenly elongate into needles. The sound is so alarming that she has Wado Ichimonji out in front of her before she fully realizes what she is seeing. At almost the same time she hears the ring of Zoro unsheathing his swords as well.
But instead of attacking her, Ivankov smiles in amusement and jabs his fingers into his own side.
Kuina tenses up in surprise as Ivankov's body warps becoming slimmer and far curvier, filling out the leotard in an entirely different way. After a few moments the person standing in front of them is now, to all appearances, a woman.
She is not quite sure how much time passes, but eventually she regains control her jaw and remembers to breathe again. He – or wait – She is watching them in amusement at their slack jawed reactions.
Kuina's slowly recovering train of thought is derailed again. She had never had to give thought to which pronoun to apply to a person before. Is it okay to ask? Should she just know? She doesn't want to be rude.
Ivankov gives her a knowing look, ' 'He,' 'she,' I don't care what people call me. Even if they call me crap.'
She doesn't mind being insulted? That seems – admirable in a way, but -
'Except don't call me crap!'
Kuina jumps at this sudden exclamation, 'No, uh, mam, of course not.'
Her brain seems to have decided this person is female, despite thinking they were male when she first saw them. She feels like something has been shaken loose in her brain that she always took for granted.
No time to think about that now though. Male or female, Ivankov is not the sort to stand being ignored for long.
'It goes the other way too,' Ivankov grins down at her while wiggling her still pointed fingers in a little wave, 'So, what do you say girlie? I can reshape you to fit the space you want to fill,' she snaps, 'simple.'
Before Kuina can muster a response, Zoro snorts and their attention turns toward him. She sees that he has indeed drawn his swords and stepped sideways to cover her left without getting in her way.
She has to fight down a smile, especially when, rather than explaining, he struggles to put his serious face back on, though the corners of his mouth are still twitching up.
The distraction allows Kuina to collect herself enough to say, 'No…Thank you,' after a moment she can't stop herself from adding, 'You don't seem the sort who's interested in fitting in…unless the rest of the world is even stranger than I thought…' She clamps her mouth shut, that last bit was definitely rude.
'Oh girlie, you have no idea,' Ivankov seems amused at Kuina's naiveté, but she turns more serious as she continues, 'But that's not the point. Fighting the world is one thing, fighting yourself quite another. A person should be comfortable in their own skin.'
Another snort from Zoro, but this time he explains himself, 'She is aptly named after a striking water bird. Everyone else at the school is terrified of her speed and precision.'
This is high praise coming from Zoro. Kuina snaps her attention over to him for second before refocusing on Ivankov. What he just said is only the truth, but she can't quite fight down a smile this time. She's not quite sure if Zoro missed the point or not.
If she were a boy she would indeed fit in comfortably with the other upper classmen… but she's never been much interested in making others or herself comfortable.
The vague sense of dissatisfaction that has been building in her heart for a long time crystalizes.
Know yourself, know your world. If the other students cannot accept what was standing right in front of them, it only underlines their own weakness.
Ivankov seems to take note of the steel that enters her gaze. She smiles as if she has finally been given the answer she was looking for.
'Oh, Mmm fu fu fu, Well,' she claps and rubs her hands together as the needles retract, 'more power too you girlie! Somebody certainly needs to stir this place up. And old grumpy bear will be upset if I do it. You two should come join the revolutionaries in a few years when this island gets too small for you.'
Kuina stands up straighter, 'We're going to be too busy, one of us is going to be the greatest swordsman in the whole world.' Zoro smirks and nods in confirmation.
'Probably me,' she adds.
Just as Zoro turns to her and takes in an indignant breath to reply, Koshiro's voice calls out sternly from the other side of the square, 'Kuina, Zoro, where are you supposed to be right now?'
Several 'Eeps!' and the pattering of feet fade from behind the crates where their classmates were hiding. Zoro and Kuina shrink down slightly as they turn to trot obediently back to their teacher.
Behind them Ivankov starts laughing again,'Mmm fu fu fu' as she pulls a list out somewhere on her leotard and heads toward the village head man.
It's so funny to see the nonplussed expression on the normally cantankerous elder's face when Ivankov starts asking him questions about supplies that Kuina momentarily forgets how much trouble they are in.
'Since neither of you has any sense of self preservation,' Koshiro declares as he ushers them back up to the school, 'I'm going to have to make sure someone keeps an eye on you.'
'We waited until you shook hands to come down the hill,' Zoro grumbles indignantly.
'That's right father,' Kuina confirms, disappointment, prompting her to defend their actions, 'We were being careful. It was safe.'
'First of all,' their teacher responds sharply, 'I told you all to stay in the school. Instead, you were on the hill, where you could clearly be seen if the people on that ship turned out to be hostile. Secondly, I think declaring them 'safe,' just because they aren't planning on looting the town is being more than a little generous.'
'You're both going to give me your word that you'll stay up at the school until that ship leaves.'
Kuina tries to think of an argument that will work, 'But father…'
He stops and turns to look at them and she can tell instantly that he isn't going to budge. The look on his face isn't just stern; there is fear in his eyes. In her shock, her protests dry up. She nods her head, 'I promise.'
She hears Zoro grumble the same beside her.
Kuina has plenty of time to think over the course of the day as she and Zoro help the school's staff with any and all chores they can come up with. When they are finally let loose at sundown she gets her practice sword and goes through her exercises to clear her head.
She can see Zoro up on the hill hefting rocks about. Three other students who have taken to following Zoro around sometimes are looking out over the water and exclaiming loudly about the ship down in the harbor. Zoro is ignoring them.
The next afternoon Kuina is out in the courtyard pumping water when the wind chimes hung along the school's eves start to clatter loudly in a strong breeze coming off the water.
She has just finished her fourth trip to fill the laundry tubs when the chimes go silent.
Kuina walks out to the railing that lines the cliff overlooking the harbor in time to see a figure with a cloak and a leonine black mane of hair stepping off a small Florian rig, a standard sailboat except for the dragon figure head.
The man immediately turns and calls something up to the barque, while holding up a large bundle he is carrying in his arms. People start to move around on deck and the traveler quickly disappears onto the ship.
The wind picks up again. It's blowing from inland this time.
Just one ship, but even from what little she has seen it contained not only answers, but questions she never even thought to ask. And now it's gone.
Kunia works herself to exhaustion wailing on the training dummies and then goes to meditate.
When Zoro shows up for the evening fight she jumps up and quickly shakes herself out.
They bring their swords up to signal the beginning of the duel and she charges immediately. Her footing is careless and Zoro's counter nearly knocks her off balance.
As the fight continues she isn't diverting his strikes as efficiently as usual, so by the time she finally scores a point on him her back and shoulders are on fire from the strain.
It's the closest she has ever come to losing.
She plops down on the ground and crosser her arms over her knees.
A moment later Zoro drops down next to her, 'It was just one ship. We'll go see it all for ourselves someday.'
She huffs and drops her head onto her arms with a self-deprecating laugh at her own obviousness.
She supposes he's right.
In case you're wondering about why Ivankov and Kuma make an appearance in this chapter, (and basically steal the chapter,) their presence in the village is canon (see manga chapters 589 and 794.) Once I realized that I had to include them.
I recently edited this chapter, I wasn't quite happy with my original version. I was trying to not to spend too much time on Ivankov, but he is a character that demands space.
