"NAMI! Can I have some money?" Luffy called.
"No way! Why don't you use your own money?" Nami was mad that Luffy had interrupted her intense scrutiny of the magazines.
"Because I don't have any money!"
"And why's that?" Nami picked up a magazine with a colorful cover. It was called "Pirate Life".
"Because you took it all to buy a ring for Sanji!"
Nami bit her lip. Yes, she had taken his savings of 10,000 beri towards a ring for Sanji, and yes she still hadn't paid him back. But she couldn't. That command just didn't exist in her brain. Well, it did, but she just didn't like paying people back.
She sighed and took out some bills from her purse equal to half the amount she owed Luffy. "Here," she said, motioning at the bills.
"YAY!" Luffy said, rushing over and taking the money from her. Then he ran back over, picked up the thing he was going to buy and took it to the cash register.
After paying, he walked over to where Zoro was looking at some swords. "None of these are half as good as mine," he muttered. "But, I guess it would be good…"
"Whatcha doin'?" Luffy asked.
Zoro jumped. "Don't sneak up on people like that," he said.
"So what are you doing?" Luffy repeated.
"Just looking," Zoro answered. But he looked uncomfortable.
Luffy, naturally, didn't notice. "Okay!" he said, indifferent. "Want to play this new video game I bought with me when we get home?"
Zoro looked at it. It was called "Return of the Pirate Armada". "Sure," he said, mostly to keep Luffy from crying.
Just then, Nami walked over, having made her purchase. "You guys ready to go find the others?" she asked.
Zoro shook his head. "You guys go ahead. I'll come in a minute."
Nami gave him a look that said you better not get lost and walked away. Luffy followed a minute later.
Luckily, Zoro still had some money, so he didn't have to ask Nami for some in front of Luffy. That would've been awkward.
He looked around for another minute or so, then finally chose a sword with a black sheath and a white hilt. The blade was pure steel and slightly blunt.
He picked up the sword, weighing it.
Zoro nodded satisfactorily. It had all of the necessary elements that a sword needed. Balance, weight, and material.
He walked up to the cash register and made his purchase. The cashier put it in a large box upon request. Zoro thanked him and walked out.
He found the others, miraculously not getting lost. Of course Luffy wanted to know what was in the box, which made Zoro very uncomfortable. But he managed to keep it out of Luffy's reach and avoided telling him what was in it.
-x-x-x-
The second Luffy stepped in the door, he ran to the living room and put his game in the system. Everyone else just filed in and went to do whatever they usually did during the day.
A minute later, Luffy wailed, "NO! NO! I DID NOT WASTE MY MONEY FOR THIS NOT TO WORK!" he began sobbing.
Zoro walked by and saw Luffy crying. "What happened?" He asked.
"It won't work. Now you can't play it with me."
"That's fine. I have something to show you. Come out to the garage." He was fidgeting inside. He wondered how Luffy would react. Plus, he knew why Luffy's game wouldn't work. He had unplugged the system earlier today to clean behind it and had forgotten to plug it back in afterwards. But he would tell Luffy that later.
Luffy perked up. "A present?" He jumped up.
"Yeah, come on!"
-x-x-x-
Zoro pulled the long slender box out of a corner. "Open it," he commanded. "Carefully."
Luffy, jittery with excitement, took the lid off of the box.
He gasped. "A sword? But I don't know how to use it…"
"I'm going to give you lessons," Zoro announced. "In Ittoryu."
"COOL!" he picked up the sword in one hand.
"Careful," Zoro reprimanded. "Don't hurt yourself. Use two hands at first."
Luffy obeyed, so excited to be learning swordsmanship that he would do whatever Zoro said.
He walked over to Luffy and corrected his form. "Place your legs a little farther apart, like this," he moved Luffy's legs apart, "And hold the sword out in front of you, angled upwards."
Luffy did so, amazed at how powerful he felt. "It this what it feels like when you use your swords?" Luffy asked.
"Yeah, only tripled," he answered.
Luffy eyes bugged out.
Zoro unsheathed one of his swords, placing the rest down on the ground off to one side. He copied Luffy's stance.
"Now, I want you to try to defeat me," Zoro instructed. "The blade is kind of blunt, but not completely, so be careful and don't stab too hard. And avoid all vital organs, please." He emphasized this last part.
Luffy grinned. "Okay," he said. Then he rushed at Zoro and thrust his sword in an upward stroke, hitting the bottom of Zoro's.
Zoro easily pushed back down and deflected the shot. "That move would work on beginning swordsmen," he said, "But only if they have little to no experience. Try feinting left and attacking right."
"Okay." Luffy backed up and ran at Zoro again. He pretended to strike left, and his insides jumped when Zoro's sword moved to follow his strike. Then at the last second, he jabbed right, hoping to stab Zoro in the shoulder.
Zoro chuckled. "Good try," he said. Zoro had blocked this attack just as easily as the first.
Luffy pouted. "I'm going to attack you," he said, "And you won't see it coming." He backed up to the opposite side of the garage.
Zoro smirked. "Okay," he said.
Luffy held his sword straight out, the tip level with his nose. He ran at Zoro, sword still straight out, until a second before impact, when he swung his sword right after feinting left.
Luffy had expected Zoro to easily defend this attack as well, but Zoro's defending strike was a split second too late, and Luffy's sword sliced his shoulder.
Zoro hissed in pain.
Luffy, scared, dropped the sword. "I thought you s-said the blade was b-blunt?" he backed away, afraid that Zoro would be mad at him.
"It is. Just not completely. It can still do damage." Zoro took off his shirt and made a bandage.
Luffy's lip began to quiver. Seeing this, Zoro walked over to him and put his good arm around his shoulders.
"It's nothing major, Luffy," Zoro said. "I'll be fine."
"I d-didn't mean to hurt you, Z-Zoro," Luffy stammered.
Zoro frowned. Luffy was shaking.
"Luffy…hurting people with your blade is the art of swordsmanship. Well, that and training."
Luffy swallowed. "I don't t-think I'll be able to b-become a swordsman," he said. "That r-really shook me up."
"That's because it's your friend that you hurt. Now imagine if it was your enemy. How would you feel then?" Zoro rubbed Luffy's back.
Luffy thought. "I'd be disappointed, I guess, that I didn't kill him."
"Exactly."
Luffy stood up a little straighter and stopped trembling. "I'm going to become a swordsman," he said, "But how will I train? You're hurt."
"Fighting with an injury is something else you'll have to learn, Luffy," Zoro said. "Besides, it's not a major injury."
Luffy hesitated. "But what if you make it worse?"
"Luffy, I have lots of experience with fighting with injuries. Trust me." He stepped away from Luffy and walked over to the other side of the garage.
"Okay, Zoro. I trust you." Luffy picked up his dropped sword and stared at the blood at the tip. Then he took the tip and pricked his finger with it, drawing a drop of blood.
"C'mere, Zoro," he said.
Zoro walked over.
Luffy shoved his bleeding finger under the bandage and pressed it against the wound. "I solemnly swear that I'll never give up on swordsmanship," he said.
"A blood oath," Zoro muttered, surprised. Luffy must really be serious about becoming an Ittoryu swordsman.
Luffy withdrew his finger. Then he used a towel sitting off to the side to wipe Zoro's blood off of the sword.
He took his stance. "What are you waiting for, Zoro?"
Zoro smirked. He walked over to his spot and took a defensive stance. "En garde," he said.
Luffy laughed. "Sounds like we're fencing," he said.
"Yeah," Zoro replied, not for one second losing his focus. "Now I'm going to charge you, and you defend."
Luffy gulped. Zoro's sword wasn't blunt. But he swallowed his fear and nodded, muscles tightening.
Zoro saw these emotions pass Luffy's features and said nothing, though inside he was proud. Luffy was a brave guy.
So? Do you think Luffy could become a swordsman? Hehe. I do. I think he's 100% capable of it.
