The Women in One Piece rely far to much on the men, even when they don't need to. It's a pain and an agony to watch sometimes. What on earth happened to Robin, Why did they change her so much? I don't know. Anyway I thankfully don't own One Piece, It would probably have turned out very differently.

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Tashigi's Heart: A Sword's Soul

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I ran as quickly as I could back to the shop where I dropped off my katana. I had to prepare for what was about to happen, a fight with the East Blues most famous Bounty Hunter. I would be lying if I went around and said to everyone that I wasn't nervous, I was, but at the same time I was thrilled by the idea of meeting someone with such legendary skills. How on earth does one fight three sword style anyway? Wouldn't the extra sword just get in the way? Did he have a third arm or did he carry it in his mouth. Bizarre. I finally came round a familiar street corner and reached the shop. I ran in and up to the front desk.

"I'm back! Did you finish polishing my Shigure?"

Wait! What was that? Green? I turned to look to my right and there he was as tall as I remember. Mr Bad Attitude.

"Ah! You're Okay! I was worried about you." Well that's one less thing to worry about. "You see, some marines where attacked earlier right where you had been mopping the floors. You were gone though, so I naturally assumed you had been kidnapped. Thank goodness you're okay though."

Wait a minute...

"The fact that your here means you must have run away. Sad, you really must have no idea how to accept love when it comes your way. Do you? So here's your stupid money back I don't need it, I can't accept money from a heartless ingrate. Besides! Look, I already got some new glasses."

I put on my new glasses that one of the officers had had ordered for me, and was about to carry on talking about how people don't often get chances like the one I gave to him, when the sword on the front desk caught my attention.

"Hah!" Wow! What was I seeing? "That sword looks just like the 'Wado Ichimonji'. Is this really the sword?"

I couldn't help but reach out for it and hold it up to the light. If it was Wado Ichimonji the sword has a pure-white hilt with a circular hand-guard. The sheath is painted white and the type of the blade is suguha or the straight blade. So I pulled it out of it's sheath. I was not disappointed.

"It's beautiful! This has to be one of the 21 O Wazamono Swords." I reached into my pocket to grab my notebook of different types of swords.

"Hummm, See! Look at this! It says here that this sword is worth no less than ten Million Berries." Wow! What luck! Did he had had any idea of how expensive a sword he was carrying around with him, to lose it would be like losing a lifetime of savings. I glanced up at the man before me and noticed he was giving me his full attention.

"But you're broke. How do you have this legendary sword?"

"Ahhhh!" I turned back forward to a red faced store owner. "You just had to keep talking didn't you?" He yelled, "I'm going to sue you ass for obstruction of business!"

"Obstruction of business?" Okay, Now I'm confused how does giving accurate information Obstruct business? I pulled my glasses back down from my forehead over my eyes to stop the spit that was coming from his anger from going into them. Don't get angry be polite... "I sorry, I don't know what I did, but please forgive me."

"Here! I've finished polishing your precious Shigure for ya'. Now just take it and get out! I don't want to see you in my store again!" and with that he threw my katana right at me, I tried to catch it, but it was in an awkward position and it upset my balance, causing me to collide headlong into a stack of swords.

"Just get out before you tear my store apart!"

I felt so embarrassed.

"I'm so sorry."

He turned back to his first customer, "Did she ever help you dodge a bullet? It is a complete waste, to have such a legendary sword attached to someone who has no idea of its true value. You can pick from our lovely selection of barrel swords for fifty thousand a piece. Pick any two you like!" What an arrogant and horrible man. No wonder he wasn't getting many customers.

It dawned on me that I really had no idea who this young man was, with a sword like that he could be the last of his family, the sword being passed on from father to son for generations, he could be a run away, he could be a thief, or on a more positive thought maybe a collector, freelancer, or supplier, who was broke... maybe not. He turned away from the store manager walked over to the barrels of swords in the corner. He caught my eye for a second and I could have sworn he looked worried. Worried about what?

When he was within hearing distance of me he said, "AH! What is that guy's problem?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that question so I didn't. But something else crossed my mind, Two Swords?

"You must lose a lot of swords if you think you need to carry three around. Unless you like that famous pirate hunter."

"Pirate Hunter, Yeah..."

Maybe he had never heard of him.

"He's quite the legend, His name is Roronoa Zoro."

"Oh yeah, him."

"Yeah, He's known throughout the East Blue, for his amazing swords skills, but he's not a good person. A swordsman who's just a bounty hunter is no honorable swordsman at all. Everything is backwards, it's to bad for a real swordsman. Pirates and Bounty Hunters as swordmasters, it just doesn't make any sense. They have most of the world's most legendary swords too. It's a real tragedy."

"Hm, I don't know, it's the kind of thing you have to look out for on a case by case basis I guess. You never know what people are capable of."

What did that mean? Does he think it's okay to steal, to cheat, and to manipulate someone into doing something they shouldn't just when the situation needed it. That wasn't right. What was he buying his swords for? For Decoration?

"This is my Shigure! I'm going to work as hard as I can to perfect my skills and then one day I'll take back all of the legendary swords, because the filthy hands that hold them have no right to wield them. Yes! The twenty-one 'O Wazamonos' I'll find them all!"

I don't know why I got so anger, or why I felt like sharing my most secret and treasured dreams with a complete stranger. What was I thinking. I suddenly felt a little bit sheepish. He probably thought I was a sword sociopath, a nut case. When I looked up I was suprised to see him grinning back at me. Something inside me clicked and it was like I had just caught sight of an old friend.

He caught my gaze with his own issuing an unheard challenge. His tanned hand was on the hilt of his sword, his fingers brushing it as his thumb flicked it up 2 inches. "And This one? My Sword. The 'Wado Ichimonji'?"

"Ah... I'm not trying to get back the swords for my sake I just don't want criminals to have them." Please don't get the wrong idea. He might think I'll try following him around everywhere. Gosh, this is embarrassing.

He grinned at my discomfort and turned his back on me to continue looking for an average sword in the barrel of junk, dull Blades. Then I saw him stop, stiffen and lift up one that was exceptionally beautiful. What on earth was that doing there? Keen to redeem myself and be helpful, I reached for my book again.

"I think that's... let's see... Just as i thought! Kitetsu! Kitetsu the third. It's predecessor Kitetsu the second is an Owasimono sword, and Kitetsu the first before that is listed as a top O Wazamono sword."

He held the sword out infront of him just looking at the hilt for the entire time I spoke to him. Finally he drew it out of it's sheath and revealed it's beautiful rare handiwork. Wow! I turned back to the owner.

"Hey! Are you really only selling this one for 50 thousand Berries?"

"Yeah.."

"Unbelievable! That's an authentic Wazamono." Wow! You have to buy that sword! It's worth at least a million berries or more.."

I looked back toward the sword and the man holding it. He had a suspicious expression on his face like he wasn't quite sure of what he was holding and gaging it as if measuring the weight of it's strength simply by holding it. I remember I did a similar thing when I found Shigure. I call it sensing the soul. He didn't looked thrilled though when I had held my Katana for the first time I beamed and I couldn't stop my smile from spreading from ear to ear. However, that was not the case here. He scowled and kept staring at the sword, like my mother would have done upon being offered a rare and sweet desert rather than enjoying the sweetness, she'd be giving herself a headache by counting the calories she would be getting from one bit.

I tried to convince him before the manager changed his mind. "You can't passed it up it's to valuable."

"Damn It! I can't sell it!" Here it comes, I knew this would happen. Once a profit is found he is the sort of man who can't refuse trying to get everything out of it.

"I didn't think so, I knew there must be some mistake, this is a legendary sword after all."

"It's not what you think!" Why was he sounding so panicked?

I turned around again when a heard a swinging motion behind me, the blade was now pointed towards the floor. And Mr. Attitude was still glaring at it. Was he always glaring at things.

"The Sword's cursed."

What? What did he mean by that? A legendary sword being cursed.

At least his statement surprised and calmed down the store owner. "How do you know?"

"Just do."

"The Kitetsu Swords are superior in all respects, but they've been cursed since their beginnings you have to believe me. There are stories from all over of master swordsmen who have met their deaths after taking up a Kitetsu Sword. Nobody is stupid enough to even touch them these days. You'll fall under its curse as well if you decide to take it. I'm scared to let you buy it I'm afraid it'll curse me too. Just leave it alone."

I shuddered at the thought of thousands of men dying for taking up a forbidden weapon. Master swordsmen too. How was that possible? I had read lots of stories about cursed weapons and treasure, but this was the first time I had actually come across one. What was I supposed to say? What was I meant to do?

"How horrible! I'm sorry I even brought it up. It'll be death to take up that sword."

"Sounds Great! I think I'll take it!" The grin came back to his face, but this time I wasn't sure whether it belonged to him or not. For the briefest moments I imagined him already under the spell of Kitetsu the third. Had he already been cursed? I had never witnessed a curses' take over before.

"I can't sell it you fool! 'Cause if something happens to you with that sword the curse could come back to me!" The man's voice blurred into the background as the possibly cursed man had my full attention.

"Well We'll see... How about we find out which one is stronger, the swords' curse or my good luck."

With those words he threw the cursed sword up into the air sending it into a spin. He then held out his left arm and shut his eyes.

"No!" I yelled to him, but my words didn't reach him. It seamed as if time itself had slowed down, and the blade was spinning.

Spinning

Falling

"Don't You'll Chop your arm off!"

I couldn't move. What was he Doing! This was ridiculous. What was he trying to prove? I could do nothing, but hold my breath, and I did as if his life depended on it. I could easily imagine the mess a clean and heavy cut like that would leave. Blood would be everywhere, he probably wouldn't survive long enough to get to the nearest hospital.

Why?

Why are you doing this?

It spun round tip over hilt over and over again... and missed him as if he was coated in an invisible armor. The sword fell to the ground and sunk deep into the floor, the sharp tip and edge piecing the wood with ease.

His eyes opened and he looked up at us, the grin came back to his face.

"I'll take it." He bent down to pull his new sword out of the floor, it was buried almost up to the hilt, and glanced over at me. "Hey! Pick out another you've got a good eye on you."

I didn't know how to take this all in. He was Amazing, stupid, crazy, and...wait he had just said something. I needed to reply,

"Okay." WHAT! Why wasn't anything better coming out? What is wrong with me?

The swords-smithy / store owner dashed as fast as he could up stairs and brought down a very expensive looking sword. He and the Swordsmaster exchanged words and the sword was just given to him.

He was a Swordsmaster there was no mistaking it. The way he handled the weapon, held it, lifted it, and threw it all confirmed what I needed to know about him. He was extraordinary. I didn't feel so confident that I could berate him as I had been doing just a little earlier. He could cut me into little pieces effortlessly. He caught my eye just before he left the shop and smiled.

"See you around, Kuina."

What? That's not my name? Who is he talking to. That brought me out of my daze.

"Wait! I didn't catch your name!" I called after him, but he was gone.

"That's weird. Who was that guy?" ... What... What am I doing muttering to myself on the floor! I need to get back to headquarters! I'll be in big trouble if they can't get a hold of me in this crisis.

It's nice to know there are decent people, ... well slightly decent,... who treat their weapons with respect,... What! throwing your sword in the air is respectful. Well right now I'm not sure what I think of him. All I know is that he is one amazing swordsman. It's nice to know there are other people who can carry legendary swords and have the right to wield them.

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Longest Chapter yet. still many more to come... can't wait! I hope you enjoyed it!