The Markswoman's Princess
(Disclaimer: I don't own Fena: Pirate Princess. All properties go to Kazuto Nakazawa and other well-respected owners. Please support the official release.)
Ch2:
Take A Shot!
Down below the ship's armory, Karin was sitting down polishing and carefully inspecting weapons. The weapons she was mainly working on were her guns. Making sure they're in tip top shape for the time being. "Alright…That should…do it." She quietly uttered, as she had just put on the finishing touches. After finishing up, she stretches both her arms upward, hoping to make herself loose after being in a chair for a while. "Took a while to do, but got it done."
Unbeknownst to the Markswoman, someone was standing behind the door. With a few short knocks, the raven-haired pirate turns her attention to the doorway. In said doorway, was Fena, who looked a bit curious to say the least. "Hey, Karin." She waved to her crewmate. "What have you been up to?"
"I just finished up with maintenance." Karin replies back to her captain's question.
"Oh, I see." The white-haired captain said. "How well did that go for you?"
"Everything seems to be in order." The raven-haired girl replying back with a confident smirk. "All polished and should be functional if we have to fight again." Knowing that the weapons she had worked on are able to do the job, was something that caused Karin to be a bit self-reliant in a way. However, there was something she was a tad confused about. "So, what brings you here, Fena?"
With that, the princess started to tap her two index fingers together as though there was something on her mind. "W-Well…you see…I was sort of wondering…" At that point, the white-haired girl seemed rather nervous. It seemed as though she was too scared to ask something. "Would you…try teaching me how to use a gun, again?"
After asking the question, the markswoman looks back at her captain with an expression of annoyance. "Seriously?" Karin questioned with a sigh. "Don't you remember what happened last time? You almost broke my nose as a result!" That was a day the raven-haired girl remembered for a while and not for the better.
In desperation, the captain clapped her hands together in front of her face, closed her eyes tightly and slightly tipped her head forward. "Please, can you teach me how to use a gun, Karin?!" The white-haired girl pleaded, hoping to please the markswoman. "I'm still very sorry about what happened before! I promise it won't be like that again!"
As she continued to look back at Fena in annoyance, Karin couldn't help but feel a little bad, seeing the other girl like this. Her captain didn't want to take no for an answer. On one hand, the raven-haired girl didn't want a repeat of what happened last time, but on the other hand she would like to get a bit closer to the other girl. So maybe training wouldn't be such a bad idea. After a few seconds thinking, the markswoman sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine." She slightly groaned. "I'll do it."
Upon hearing that answer, Fena eyes popped out in surprise as she was taken back a bit. "R-Really?!" She tries to confirm what she had just heard. "Y-You'll actually train me?" The princess wasn't expecting that kind answer at all.
"Yes, I'll re-train you." Karin groaned a bit yet again as she had to repeat herself. "But you better make sure you're ready this time! Got it?!" The markswoman sternly told her captain. She couldn't stress this enough.
"Thank you so much, Karin!" Fena thanked her crewmate and slightly smirked, clapped her hands again and winked back at the markswoman. "You're the best."
After hearing those words, the markswoman blushed. Thus, causing her to be a bit flustered as a result. "W-Well…Just be ready by tomorrow, ok?"
"Yes ma'am!" With one salute from the captain, the white-haired girl walks out of the room feeling a tad excited about the upcoming training tomorrow.
After the other girl left, Karin couldn't help, but sigh in thought as she felt a little anxious and a bit hopeful about the whole thing. Though she was uncertain, she wondered what tomorrow was going to bring. Hopefully for her, it would be good for both of them. "Let's hope this turns out well this time."
S
As the day next was upon them, the two female pirates were early in the morning on top of the Banito 2, doing as they promised. Karin was once again training Fena how to use a gun.
"No, no, no!" Karin yells in disappointment. "All wrong, again!" Needless to say, things were still pretty difficult like last time. "If you're going to do it, do it right!"
"Yes Ma'am!" Fena shrieked as she was panicking a bit while holding a rifle. She was pretty tense as a result.
Looking through the ship's hatch were Tsubaki, Makaba, and the twins, Enju and Kaede. Needless to say, the crew were a bit intrigued, yet a bit confused. "So…Why are they doing this type of training, again?" Tsubaki decided to be the first to ask.
"From what we heard; Fena wanted to get stronger." Enju spoke with a brief explanation.
"So, she decided to ask Karin to help her." Kaede added on to his twin's explanation.
"I see…, but didn't things not end too well, last time?" Tsubaki asked again, as he remembered the first time the Markswoman tried training the captain.
"Nope." Makaba agreed.
"Come on!" Karin yelled in frustration directly towards the princess. "You're not even close to holding it right!" The markswoman pointed out. "Remember what I said from before, put your back into it!"
Doing as she's told; the captain tries to properly posture herself with the rifle. "Like this?" she asked in an unsure tone.
"You're way off!" The raven-haired girl said in a disappointing manner. "Now focus!" As Karin kept on instructing the other girl, she got a bit closer towards the captain. "Try keeping those elbows up, relax your shoulders and keep the barrel straight!" Like the first time they were training, the markswoman was re-adjusting the white-haired girl's stance to make it correct. "I want you to practice on getting a proper handle on this! Do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes ma'am!" Fena saluted.
"I can't hear you!" Karin yelled.
"YES MA'AM!" The captain yelled in return.
As the two girls kept on training, the crew continued to look on at the scene in front of them. "So... Who bets this won't go so well?" Tsubaki decides to ask, as he and the others were feeling uncertain.
"Me." The twins agreed in unison.
"Nope." Makaba silently agreed.
S
As the morning had passed, the afternoon was upon them as the sun was close to dusk. With the sound of slight heavy breathing could be heard. Said breathing was coming from Fena as she was placing both her hands on her knees, feeling exhausted from training with Karin all morning. Needless to say, it was stressful.
"Come on…" The raven-haired girl sighed while crossing her arms. "Don't tell me you're giving up on me."
After a few more seconds of panting, the princess was able to catch her breath before finally saying something. "N-No…I'm not…done, yet." The white-haired girl speaks as she keeps her breathing steady. "Let's keep on going!"
Karin was a bit caught off guard upon hearing that. "Are you sure?" The markswoman asked in a bit of concern. "We can stop for today and pick up where we left off tomorrow."
"NO!" The captain yelled in an outburst, causing the dark-haired female to take a step back a bit. "I got to do this…I got to get better!" She raises her head slightly upward. "I've been hopeless for a long time." She spoke softly as her bangs covered her eyes. "I feel like I was always in everyone's way." After she had said that the female captain gritted her teeth and her face looked as though she was angry. "That's why I got to do this!" She righteously said. "To fight alongside you and keep each other safe!" Telling from the expression Fena had, she was serious. You can see the literal determination in her eyes.
Seeing this kind of thing from the white-haired girl kind of made the markswoman a bit more intrigued. As a response, Karin just sighs in defeat once more. "Alright…We'll keep going." Granted she can see that her captain is being a bit stubborn, but she knows that Fena's not going to give up like before. So, arguing with her wasn't going to be an option. "If you think I'm going to go easy on you this time, then you have another thing coming." The dark-haired girl gave the captain a stern look. "I want you to get fired up! Do I make myself clear?!"
"YES MA'AM!" The captain yelled at the top of her lungs with confidence.
And so, the two of them continued where they last left off. With each frustrating move, Fena's determination begins to burn brightly throughout her training. Sure, she was still having difficulty, but she wasn't giving up. In fact, as she kept on trying to aim and position the gun, it would seem her posture was almost on point. As though she was improving from that point.
Seeing these changes from her captain, Karin gently smirks upon this. "That's it!" The markswoman tries to encourage the princess. "Keep it up!"
"Yes ma'am!" The white-haired girl replied.
With each second and minute of improvement, the pirate princess' training was going from bad to good. Her posture was on point, and her aim was precise. All that was left was one thing that Fena and Karin knew the most.
For the final trial, the other girl held her captain in position. The white-haired girl's posture was at the right angle and her shoulders were relaxed as the dark-haired girl held her in place. As the princess took aim, she waited for the final order. "Steady…Steady…Steady…" As the markswoman helped her friend with aiming, it was time to say the command! "Now...Take the shot!" In an instant, the sound of gunfire rang throughout the area as Fena fired the gun.
As a result, the captain was steadily breathing as she looked on at what she had done. "D-Did I do it?" She asked as she lowered the weapon in her hand.
At first, the markswoman didn't answer. She was a bit silent after witnessing that. Needless to say, she was thinking about her captain's performance. After giving it some thought, Karin turns towards the white-haired and warmly smirks. "Not bad." The dark-haired girl finally spoke. "I'll admit, you really pulled it through near the end." As she said that, the markswoman placed her hand on the other girl's shoulder as she continued to smirk. "You passed." After saying those exact words, Fena's expression had changed from that of exhaustion to that of successful joy.
S
As the day was done, the night had finally taken over. Taking a leisurely stroll through the ship's halls, Karin stretches her body in exhaustion. "Man, what a day." She yawned in thought. Training Fena was a pretty long day. Not only for her and the crew, but her captain as well. Needless to say, it was time to hit the sack. However, before she could go into her room, she noticed that the hatch to the upper deck was still opened. Needing to close it, the markswoman walks towards it, then climbs on up.
Gripping onto the handle of the metal hatch door, she pulls it downward to close it. However, as soon as she poked her head out, she noticed something, or rather someone on the deck. That person just so happened to be her own captain, Fena. Who seemed to be…still training? From the looks of it, the princess was trying to handle the rifle she was using with the same type of training exercise she was doing earlier. A tad baffled by what the other girl was doing, the dark-haired girl decided to walk on up and see what's going on.
"Uh…Fena?" The Markswoman spoke, causing the captain to be a bit startled by her presence.
"Oh, Karin." Fena responds back as she turns her attention to her crewmate. "Sorry, did I disturb you?" She asked in a concerned tone.
"No, not at all." The dark-haired girl calmly replied back. She wasn't really bothered as much. However, she was a bit curious though. "What are you doing out here so late?"
At first, the captain didn't really say much as she was looking down at the gun she was wielding. However, she had an answer to the other girl's question. "Well...to be honest…I sort of felt like I could've done better during training today." Fena admits as she holds tightly onto the grip of the rifle's handle. "So, I guess you can say I'm doing some extra night training…Until I get the hang of using it better, of course."
After hearing that brief explanation, Karin became a bit impressed. She certainly wasn't expecting her captain to do some late-night practicing. At this point she started to admire her friend's determination. "If you say so." The markswoman responded as she turned around with both her arms up and both of her hands were on the back of her head. "Just make sure not to overdo it when you're doing this." She tells the other girl. "Remember, we all have our limits, even me." The dark-haired girl said as she started to slowly walk away.
However, before Karin made it to the hatch, Fena had something on her mind. "Umm…Karin." The princess uttered, grabbing the other girl's attention. "Can…you help me on my form again, to see if I'm doing it right?"
After she had asked that question, Karin stopped walking and lightly blushed upon hearing that. Needless to say, the markswoman was a bit flustered in thought. She normally wouldn't have a problem with something like that, but since the other girl had asked, it felt completely different. However, she knew Fena was determined to get better. With that, the dark-haired markswoman tries to hide the red on her face and turns her attention towards her captain. "Alright."
Like before, the markswoman tries to work on the other girl's posture. Slowly trying to fix the way the white-haired girl held the gun. "Elbows up...shoulders relaxed…" As Karin whispered and held her captain in place, Fena was aimed and ready. "Now…take the shot." Like earlier before, the princess successfully fired as the sound of the gunshot echoed throughout the night.
As soon as it was over, a thought popped into Karin's mind at that point and moment in time. That one thought that's been eating at her for a while now. After thinking about it once again, the markswoman had come to a conclusion. "Next time…" She thought. "Next time, I'm taking my shot!"
To Be Continued
(SN: That's the end of this chapter. Two more left. However, before I go, I just want to say thank you for those who like reading this. I appreciate it. As for those who are think negatively about my typing, then piss off! If don't like the story/ies, then DON'T READ IT! Sorry to those who are nice, that was a small rant I somewhat, wanted to do. That would be all, thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.)
I hope you guys enjoyed this story. More chapters of this be worked on every time I get to it.
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