HEYYYY! I'm finally back after 4 days of camping! Sorry to keep you guys waiting, I'm going to try and update as much as I can today! Without anymore waiting, let's begin!
I collided hard with the wooden floorboards of the Merry, Zoro's katana falling next to me. I couldn't breathe; my lungs felt like they were being squeezed and about to burst! Zoro stood there, holding Kuina's in his hand, sighing. It wasn't necessarily that he was going all out on me, it's just his way of teaching was harsh. We were learning the basics of blocking attacks, but I barely kept up with that. He went pretty fast for a beginner like me, so there was a few times I had almost gotten sliced to bits by him. Eventually, after blocking so many (I had lost count...), I couldn't take it anymore, and just fell on the floor. "How am I supposed to teach you how to use a sword if you can't even keep up with that?" he frowned, putting the katana in it's sheath for now. I opened my eyes, staring up at him. "I-I didn't k-k-know how to keep u-up..!" I wheezed out, chest heaving.
I'm assuming my loud connection with the wood didn't go unnoticed, because several crew members came up, worried expressions on their faces. "What was that noise?" Nami asked, rushing over to the railing to look out on the deck. Sanji came out from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a rag. "Is everything alright out here?" he asked. His gaze had reached my sprawled out form on the deck, and the worry vanished, and transferred to anger when he saw Zoro standing next to me. "STUPID MARIMO, ARE YOU HURTING A LADY?!" he seethed, running down to us. He had already aimed a kick at Zoro, which Zoro ducked down and avoided. I wanted to speak up, but my lungs weren't agreeing to that idea. I continued trying to catch my breath, while watching the two monsters fight. "Stupid dart-brow, I didn't do anything!" Zoro snarled back, blocking another kick from Sanji.
"Then why is Lisanna-swan on the deck looking in pain?!" Sanji yelled, stopping his assault for a split-second. "Because she asked me to train her, dumbass!" This only added fuel to the fire, and Sanji began his assault quicker and fiercer this time. "YOU TRIED TO TRAIN LISANNA-SWAN WITH YOUR INSANE METHODS, MOSS-HEAD?!" Sanji roared, kicking. Zoro got even more agitated, and pulled out his two swords that were on him, and began fighting back. "I DIDN'T HURT HER, ERO-COOK!" I slowly got up on my two feet, hands on my knees. 'I'm so out of shape...' I sighed, and I looked at the two. "Sanji..?" I managed to wheeze out, and Sanji was immediately by my side. "What is it, Lisanna-swan?" he asked, all anger gone and replaced back with worry, as he was trying to help me stand.
"I-It's not Zoro's fault... I-I'm just.. out of.. shape is all..." I managed to smile, as I looked at him. Sanji processed this through his mind, and he seemed to have calmed some. "Are you sure? Are you not making this up to defend that idiot?" he asked, earning a glare from Zoro. I nodded. "Yeah.. I asked him to.. so if anything happens.. it's on me.. okay?" Sanji wanted to protest, but kept his mouth shut. "If you say so, Lisanna-swan.." he glared at Zoro. "If I see ANY cuts on her, I'll kick the green out of your hair, moss-head." he threatened, which didn't work on Zoro. "Whatever, dart-brow. Go cook." Zoro retorted, watching Sanji as he walked back up the stairs to go back to the kitchen. Nami sighed, watching the whole fight, and she went back to drawing her maps in her room.
Sighing, I nervously glanced at Zoro, who wasn't looking at me at the time. "So... a-are we going to continue..?" I asked nervously, bending down to pick up the katana that laid on the deck. "Are you not going to fall over this time?" he asked me, turning around to face me. I didn't answer at first, not sure myself, but then slowly nodded. It probably didn't look too convincing, as I heard a sigh emit from him. I frowned a little, and gripped the hilt of the katana tighter than necessary. "Sorry.." I mumbled, looking to the ground. "Alright, we're going to continue with blocking." he pulled out Kuina's katana.
We continued with the blocking training for another two hours, until I had successfully gotten a grip on how to block any sort of attack thrown at me. Once he had done his last attack, which I successfully blocked, he stopped. "I think you've got a good understanding on how to block now, so good work." he had a small grin on his face. I smiled widely, holding the katana tightly in my two hands. I was extremely proud of myself! "Thanks Zoro!" I beamed. His small grin had widened a bit. "I think that's enough for today, unless you wanna keep going?" he asked, waiting for my answer. It took a minute for me to decide, but then I had my answer. "I think sword-on-sword is enough for today, but do you have any small weights I could lift..?" I asked, shuffling my feet. It felt kinda weird asking him for such a thing, but I wanted to get stronger!
He thought for a moment, until he looked back at me. "I'd have to check first, but if I do, feel free to use them." he replied. I nodded, smiling still. I walked up to him, holding out his katana to him. "Thanks for l-letting me use this.." he took it with his own hand. "It's fine. We just need to get you your own sword first. You wouldn't be able to use this in combat." he replied. I frowned a little, nodding. We heard the kitchen door open up, revealing Sanji. "Nami-swan, Robin-chwan, Lisanna-swann! Lunch is ready! And idiots, get in here! Lunch is ready!" he called out. I couldn't help but smile, as I began walking to the kitchen, Zoro following behind me.
'Just you wait, everyone! I'm going to get stronger!"
Done! I felt bad for making you guys wait so long for this chapter... But here it is! Enjoy, and reviews are appreciated!