Yami's eyes narrowed as he gripped the hilt of his sword, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips. It had been a peaceful week at sea after leaving port with no more information than they already had, and so of course this meant that they were bound to run into trouble soon-and it was safe to say that the pirates attempting to forcefully board his ship from their own was the sort of trouble that he'd been expecting. Honestly, he wouldn't have been looking forward to this so much if it wasn't for the fact that this would be Joey's first encounter with hostile pirates, and he was genuinely curious to see how the taller blond would handle himself in a real fight. (Of course, he would also be keeping an eye on him just in case things took a turn for the worse, but unless Joey's life looked like it was in danger he wasn't going to step in and help.) As soon as the pirate king drew his sword, his crew took that as a wordless order to ready their own weapons-and with that, the battle began.
Joey was a little confused at first, which was to be expected since this was his first time fighting this many people at once. He'd been in more than his fair share of fights in his life and knew how to defend himself though. The biggest difference between those fights and this one were that in those he simply knocked out his attackers and ran for it; in this case it seemed expected that he actually kill his opponent. Even though these were ruthless black-hearted pirates, the notion just didn't sit right with the young man and he avoided slaying anyone. Mostly he dodged cutlass slashes and hit men with the flat of his own sword. In fact, this was also the first time he had battled with a sword and it was becoming a pain. He ended up stowing it away in its sheath and fighting with the style he had always used: his fists.
Yami kept Joey in his peripherals at all times as he fought, noticing right away the blond's hesitance to inflict any fatal blows-in fact, the boy seemed adverse to using a weapon in general, and while most might consider it foolhardy to take on armed opponents barehanded, Yami couldn't help but be impressed. Thankfully, while the pirate captain couldn't do much to cover Joey's back, Yugi was already on it from his position in the crow's nest, and a smile briefly worked its way onto his face as his brother took down an enemy pirate who tried to attack the blond from behind with a well-aimed shot to his shoulder. Though Joey didn't know, the majority of Yami's crew was of the same opinion regarding killing their opponents, and so most of them fought by disarming their opponents and knocking them overboard-of course, the pirate king had a reputation to uphold, so he couldn't be as kindhearted as the rest of his crew. Once the last of the hostile pirates had been forcibly expelled from his ship, he gave the order for his men to board and loot the enemy ship before turning to face Joey with a smirk. "You did fairly well for yourself, considering this was your first serious fight. Your swordsmanship could use some work, though-perhaps starting with actually keeping your sword out of your sheath," he teased.
"Hey, this is the first time I've even held a sword. I have no idea what I'm doing!" Joey complained about the pirate captain's criticism of his fighting style. It was true though; the blond really did need training on how to use the weapon. Fighting with his fists would work against low-grade pirates like the ones they had just fought, but against stronger opponents Joey would find himself food for the fishes.
"I can see that," Yami replied with a touch of amusement. "I suppose I should have one of my men give you some lessons on how to properly wield a sword, otherwise you may end up finding yourself in a dangerous situation down the line." In the blink of an eye, the pirate captain had his sword drawn and pointed at the blond's neck, the tip resting right under his chin as he continued to speak in a conversational tone. "After all, it only takes one swing of a sword like so to take an amateur down, and you won't be able to find your sister if you're resting at the bottom of the sea." Yami pulled his sword back and sheathed it with a smirk. "And perhaps with enough training, you could even give me a decent challenge. You seem to have a natural talent for holding your own in a fight."
Joey was too shocked to move when Yami suddenly placed the sword so near his throat. He dared not even breathe or the tip might have punctured his skin. After the pirate removed the sword and sheathed it Joey could speak without fear of injury. "That sounds like a good idea," Joey replied. "And I bet I could beat you one day," he couldn't resist adding.
"Yami couldn't help but laugh at the bold declaration-not out of mockery, but out of genuine amusement. "If you keep that attitude and train hard, then you may just be the first person to defeat me someday," he agreed with a smile. The pirate captain turned his attention away from Joey briefly when his crew returned carrying hoards of treasure chests and other rare items, and he nodded with a satisfied expression. "It seems that they were hoarding even more treasure than I expected. This should last us a long while." Turning his attention back to Joey, he gestured to the treasure chests where the rest of the crew were beginning to gather. "Go ahead and help yourself to a little reward for surviving your first battle."
Joey had to stop and stare at all the riches laid out before him. He'd never seen this much treasure before in his life. How was he supposed to choose anything? After a few minutes of contemplation, he picked out a pretty gold necklace with a beautiful emerald in the center. "For Serenity," he said, "When I find her," he looked off at the horizon of the ocean as he said the last part.
Yami's expression softened-for Joey to choose his first reward not for himself, but for his sister... the pirate captain knew then and there that if he still had any doubts about allowing the blond to travel with him, they were completely for naught. No one who looks at a pile of gold and thinks of a loved one before thinking of themselves could ever be a danger to my brother or my crew. With a satisfied nod, Yami instructed his crew to begin organizing and storing away the treasures before making his way over to one of his crewmen and pulling him aside. After speaking with him for a moment, Yami led the brunet over to Joey. "Joey, this is Tristan, one of my most trusted men. He will be teaching you proper swordplay in between your regular duties, and will be acting as your sparring partner until he feels that you're capable of holding your own in a sword fight."
"Good to finally meet you-officially, anyway," Tristan responded, clapping a hand on Joey's shoulder with a smile. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just 'cuz you're the captain's new favorite," he added teasingly, ignoring the glare that Yami shot at him-he was one of Yugi's oldest friends, and thus one of the only people on the ship who had the privilege of being able to tease the captain without fear of being thrown overboard or worse. "So, have you ever used a weapon at all, or are we starting from the ground up here?
Joey had of course seen Tristan around the ship, but had never actually talked to him. "Only if my fists count," he replied, throwing a mock punch at the young man. He didn't mean to actually hit him, but put a little too much force behind the punch and ended up actually making contact, knocking Tristan over. The blond grimaced when he realized what he had done. "Sorry," he apologized, helping the taller man up.
Tristan wasn't prepared for the mock punch, nor was he prepared for the strength behind it-which, while not enough to really hurt him (he was a bit of a brawler himself, so he could take a punch without much trouble), was still enough to cause him to lose his balance and fall backwards with a yelp. Regardless, he couldn't help but laugh as he accepted Joey's hand and let the blond help him back to his feet. "It's fine, it's all good." Once he was steady he grinned and gave his crewmate a teasing punch in the shoulder in return. "It looks like I don't have to worry about training you for strength, at least-I'm sure once you pick up the basics, you'll be one hell of a swordfighter."
Joey was glad that he had not injured Tristan, or made him angry. He really didn't need to make any enemies on the ship. He twisted slightly when Tristan punched his shoulder but had taken enough hits to stand his ground. "Well, when do I start?" he pulled out his sword, looking at it skeptically, "I have no idea where to even begin," he mused.
"We'll start with your grip and your stance," Tristan replied as he drew his own sword. "Think of the sword as an extension of yourself when you're fighting. You know how you can hurt yourself if you punch someone the wrong way? It's basically the same thing with wielding a sword-if you're not careful, you could get hurt." He held his sword up so Joey could take a proper look at his hold on it, before doing a few demonstrative swings through the air. "You want to hold it tightly enough that you won't be easily disarmed, but loose enough that you can swing it freely without hurting your arm. Understand?"
"I think so?" Joey said quizzically. It sounded easy, but he wasn't sure how easy it would be in actual practice. The blond swung the sword around experimentally, getting a feel for its weight and size.
Tristan watched carefully as Joey swung his sword around, stopping him at intervals to adjust his grip and stance until he was satisfied with the blond's performance. "Alright good, now next is actually fighting against an opponent. It's the same as a street brawl, in a sense-you have to read your opponent's movements and counter before you can get hit. Only real difference that you have to be conscious of is the distance, since your sword is going to be doing the fighting instead of your fists." Tristan took a stance opposite Joey, pointing the tip of his sword in his direction. "Practice trying to block my attacks first, and then we'll work on your counterattacks. Defense is the best offense, especially when fighting against someone using a weapon."
Joey parried Tristan's blows well, at first, but his natural instinct was to take the lead and fight back as hard as he could. He went a little far and ended up slicing a small cut in the arm of Tristan's jacket. "I'm sorry," he apologized, taking a step closer to see if any blood had been drawn, "I'm too used to taking the offensive."
Tristan was a bit caught off-guard as Joey suddenly pushed back, slicing through his jacket nearly close enough to break skin. As the blond drew closer, Tristan swung out, disarming Joey in one move before pointing the sword at his throat with an amused grin. "Two rules: one, don't ever let your guard down, and two, learn to listen to what your teacher tells you to do or you're going to get your ass handed to you." He lowered his sword and bent down to pick up Joey's sword off the ground before tossing it back to him. "I already know that your offense is fine, and I get that you're used to punching first and asking questions later-but that kind of fighting style won't work here. Knowing how to defend yourself and how to push aside the instinct to rush head-first into the fight can be the difference between life and death here."
Joey deftly caught the sword Tristan threw back to him. "Okay, let's try this again." He took a defensive stance, ready and willing to give the sword training another shot. He was just far too stubborn to give up after only one failure.
