So it's well documented I'm a lazy person, so the fact that this update took until the New Year should surprise no one. I don't work fast unless I'm inspired. If I'm not, I'm a slug of a writer. It's just facts.

Enjoy!

"497."

"498."

"499."

"500."

Nami watched the redhead doing his push ups, wondering when she should interrupt him. She figured as he got up after the 500th one she could talk.

"Hey," she greeted. Simon turned at her voice, still wiping his forehead with a towel. He didn't have a shirt on either, his chiselled body glistening with sweat.

"Nami?" He asked, returned his face to the towel for a moment. "What are you doing here?"

"Came for a check up," Nami replied as she walked farther into the gym, raising her right hand. "You know what I mean?" Simon grimaced at this, nodding quietly.

"I do," he said.

"How does it work?" Wendy asked as she undid the bandages. Nami stared at her new prosthetic hand, slowing flexing her fingers. It felt so real.

"It works," she said incredulously. Wendy nodded.

"I can see that," she replied. "Does it respond to you? Can you move it normal and everything?" Nami tested her new hand as she was asked, seeing if everything was okay. It seemed good so far.

"You did a good job, Wendy," Simon said from the other side of the room. "I knew you could do as good a job as Porlyusica."

"Well, I don't know about all that," Wendy replied. "After all-"

"I can't feel it," Nami said, interrupting them. She looked towards Wendy fearfully, still flexing her hand. "I can't feel the hand at all. It works, but I can't feel it!" Wendy frowned at this.

"As I was saying, there's a limit to what I can do," she said. "See that ring of black near your wrist?" Nami looked down to see what the woman was referring to. "When Simon cauterised your wound, he burned your nerve endings, killing them. I can't fix that. You'll never feel that hand, no matter how well it works." Nami stared at the Doctor in surprise at this, a cold lump settling into her stomach.

"But-" she started weakly, "that's my sword hand." This only made Wendy's frown deepen as she looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said. "There's nothing I can do. The hand will never feel anything."

"Is it still bad?" Simon asked her. Nami nodded as she flexed her fingers, not feeling a single thing.

"Yeah," she said. "No feeling in it at all." She absentmindedly traced her finger around the blackened skin on her wrist, paying no mind to Simon's pained expression.

"I'm really sorry about that," he said quietly. "It's my fault?"

"Your fault?" Nami asked. "That I'm not dead? That I didn't bleed out and die on the battlefield that day? Yes, it is your fault I survived. I hope you plan on making that up to me by letting my save you one day."

"Don't be sarcastic."

"Don't be a dumb ass," Nami retorted quickly. "It's not your fault. Don't feel bad for saving my life just because there was an annoying repercussion."

"Can you even swing your sword?" He asked her. Nami frowned at this as she rested her left hand on the hilt at her waist.

"I'm training with my left hand," she said. "Have to get used to it eventually."

"How's that been going?"

"Like relearning everything," she admitted with a weak chuckle. "I'm a righty, so it's a little weird." Simon responded by spawning a blade into his hand.

"Care to practice with me?" He asked as he waved it around. Giving him a smirk, Nami drew her blade, albeit awkwardly.

"Don't go easy on me," she said, "I hate that."

"I'd never dream of it," he replied. "No magic, just blades, got it?"

"Got it," she said. The two went silent and circled one another, eyeing both the stature and movement of the other. Nami had to actively prevent herself from thinking like she used to, having to remember where her blade was.

Simon struck in that moment. He surged forward and swung his blade in a upward arc, slicing through the air going up and to her left. A smart move, as a strike from the right going that direction would be hard for her to parry efficiently. She dodged backwards as his blade hissed past her, swinging her own into his now empty defence. Simon fell towards her left to avoid the horizontal strike, rolling and getting back to his feet as she struck for him again. Their blades met, her bearing down on him as he pressed back against her. Simon forced his way back up, Nami's inexperienced hand feeling the pain from the pressure be forced back on her. Falling back for her own good, she pushed her advantage as Simon's stance was now bad, pushing him back as he tried to regain his footing. He parried every blow, and even more annoyingly, sometimes switched hand to get a better block.

Raising her blade above her head to the right around her neck, Nami feigned a diagonal strike and ducked the second she saw Simon's arm twitch to defend her, getting under his arm in that split second and coming up to be inside his defensive circle, his blade now behind her. Simon wasn't one to be taken advantage of so easily, though. He slammed his free hand into her chest, pushing her backwards before she could claim a victory. He smirked as they circled each other again, looking for an opening.

"Any better yet?" He asked.

"Don't annoy me," she replied. "I'm trying to kick your ass."

"You do know we were ranked as equals in a recent poll in Sorcerer Weekly? Apparently our fight from the Grand Magic Games was pretty exciting."

"Didn't know you read trash like SW."

"I don't, Steph does. She told me that it-" Nami used the distraction to rush towards him, plunging the blade forward towards him.

Simon's reaction was so instinctual in pissed her off.

In one swift movement he dodged her blade, slammed a fist into her hand. Grunting from pain, Nami dropped her blade and it clanged to the ground. Simon then pushed her again, her offensive stance now working against her as her balance was off, sending her careening onto her ass.

The sound of the battle ending echoed across the empty gym, and although no one was there to see it, Nami felt pretty embarrassed.

"Fuck!" She shouted angrily. "This damn hand has ruined me! Everything feels wrong! If I was still a righty that wouldn't have worked! You would've-!"

"I couldn't have punched the back of your hand and made you drop your blade," Simon finished, "it would've been an awkward and inefficient move." Nami pouted angrily, still taking his hand when he offered it to help her stand up. Picking up her blade, Nami stared at it angrily, slamming it back down into it's scabbard.

"I guess I have a lot to work on," she muttered angrily. She hated this. Although she knew it wasn't Simon's fault, or Wendy's, she was still livid. Having to fall so far behind everyone else because she had to relearn stances, balance and the basic feel of her own sword because of her hand was so fucked up. All because she'd lost her composure against Ares. This was what she deserved for not doing her ambidextrous training as a kid. "What will you do if you lose a hand?" Her mother had demanded.

"As if!" Nami remembered saying. "I'll be the greatest swordswoman who ever lived!"

She wished now she had listed to that.

"How do you do it, Simon?" She asked him suddenly, making him turn to look at her. "You switched hands in the middle of the duel, I saw it. And you can duel wield too. How do you use your non-dominant hand so well."

"I don't have a dominant hand," Simon answered. "I've been using both for anything as long as I can remember."

"How do you do it, though?" Simon made a face.

"I don't know," he admitted. "It's just instinctual at this point. I've been doing it for so long. Just remember the most important rule to swordplay. The blade is an extension of you, not a weapon you pick up or drop when you need it. Remember that."

"I know that," Nami replied, "but it doesn't feel like apart of me anymore. I hate it! My blade when from being apart of me to being some alien concept that mt left hand can't learn. It's the worst. I went from being the ace of Mermaid Heel to some reject who can't handle her own blade..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Simon said. "You're still more powerful than a lot of people, my friends probably included. Don't discount your Gravity Magic."

"Who cares about that?" Nami demanded. "My thing was using both together. Without the swordplay, I feel chopped in half. Imagine if you lost the use of your weapons and armour. How lost would you feel in a fight." Simon made a face.

"I see your point," he admitted, "but the only way to get through it is to practice. Is it really too hard for you to use the right hand?"

"Yes," Nami replied as she glared down at the numb prosthetic. "You know how sword-fighting is, Simon. Feeling your blade in your hand is important. Not to mention, without the nerves in my hand working right, my reactions and swordplay is sluggish and, seeing as feeling will never come back, won't ever improve. I'd be dead weight in a serious fight." Simon hummed at this.

"Agreed," he said. Nami tried to not take that personally. Simon seemed to think for a good long while, not really saying much. Finally, he smiled. "I have an idea," he said.

"I'm all ears," Nami replied.

"I don't know how much you know," he said, "but soon we're going on a mission to make Nashi whole again. I'll be scarce on the details so you don't feel inclined to come, because I won't let you."

"Buzzkill."

"So, for the next three days at least, I can help you improve your left-handed swordplay. Does that sound good to you?"

"It'll take a lot longer than three days of work to get me back to where I was," Nami said.

"True, but you'll be a lot better off than before," he said. "And besides, who better to help train you than a perceived equal?"

"You say perceived like I don't think that," she said, making him smile. She reached her hand out, clasping Simon's in hers. "It sounds like a plan to me."

"Then it's settled," he said. "In three days, we'll make sure you can at least keep up with me. Beat me, though? I doubt it."

"Just dare me to surpass my limits, Scarlet. Dare me."

Ultear felt like it had been ages since she had seen Simon at the guild hall. She knew from speaking to the others where he was, which was the gym nearby, but she hadn't gone over there to see him. She knew he was probably overworking himself in preparation for the mission soon, which he might come on. She had no idea if Heavenly Body Magic worked well on Demon Lords, but she knew her Dad was probably going. If she knew Devil Slayer Magic, then maybe she would get to go as well.

Well there was an idea...

"Ul," a voice said, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up from her drink to see Erza standing over her, a smile on her face.

"Hey Erza," she said cheerily. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Simon at all the past few days?" She asked. "I haven't seen him."

"No one told you?" She asked, "he's practically been living at the gym for the last little while.

"Let me guess, working himself to death?"

"Most likely." Erza looked irritated at this.

"I swear, that kid needs to learn to relax a little," she hissed. "Want to see me berate him?"

"Always?" Getting up, Ultear followed after Erza as they left the guild hall, heading for the nearby gym.

"We'll know where Zoka and Ruli are soon," Erza noted. Ultear nodded.

"We will," she said.

"And from what Damien said, I've been banned from going." Ultear chuckled at the woman's irritated look.

"Literally only my Dad was given permission from the get go," she said, "he said we'd figure out a team to go with him. After all, it's like Damien said; if anyone too strong goes, Zoka and Ruli can create a Shade of them to fight us. I shudder at the thought of fighting a Shade of you or Laxus."

"I know it makes sense," Erza mumbled, "but it still pisses me off. I feel like this entire fight has just been you kids, and we've been letting you take all the burden."

"Literally every time we would have needed you most you weren't allowed to go," Ultear said. "They would've fired their satellite on Sabertooth had anyone too old left for Magnolia, and the other time they did the same. You know, when..." Ultear trailed off at this, the sounds of Simon destroying his own hands trying to break through a door echoed in her mind.

"No more of that," Erza said. "After this, we help anyway we can. I've grown so antsy sitting on the sidelines, I could throttle the whole of The Olympians by myself. What is that kid doing?" After reaching the gym and walking inside, the two women came to realise there was two voices shouting inside. Reaching the open court, Ultear saw that Simon was actually sparring with Nami. The two's hands moved so quick she could barely see them, blurs of red, black and steel filling her eyes.

"Hey!" Erza shouted over the commotion. "Simon!" Simon cast a glance over at them briefly, which Nami used to her advantage and pressed the attack. She slammed her blade down on Simon's, causing him to drop it in surprise.

"Damn it, Mom!" Simon shouted in irritation. "You distracted me!"

"Learn to fight despite that," Erza replied as she walked towards her son, wrapping him in a headlock despite Simon's pleas. Erza raised a fist and began to rub it viciously into his skull, making Simon squirm as Ultear and Nami laughed at him.

"Stop it!" Simon shouted as he freed himself. "Don't do that!"

"What're you two up too?" Erza asked as if she hadn't just annoyed the hell out of her son. "Training?"

"Yeah," Nami said, "Simon's been helping me get my sword skill back, since, you know..." Nami trailed off and waved her prosthetic hand around. Ultear knew she'd lost a hand, and Wendy hadn't been able to replace it perfectly. She could only imagine how hard it was to essentially start over.

"How's that going?" She asked. Nami shrugged.

"I feel more confident than I did before," she said, "but I'm not anywhere near where I was."

"That's tough," Ultear admitted, "you can do it though, I believe in you."

"And you, Mister," Erza said to her son, "how many times do I have to tell you? Training nonstop without giving yourself a chance to relax is bad for you." Simon rolled his eyes at this, which would've got him a smack on the head had he not been her own son.

"I can't just relax," Simon said, "we don't have time for that."

"It's not being lazy to just give yourself a break," Erza said. "Besides, you won't get a massive amount of progress in a few days."

"It all makes the difference," Simon answered. "Did you just come here to give me shit, Mom."

"Mostly," Erza admitted, "but I did want to see how you were doing, seeing as you've been living here like I said."

"I'm been helping Nami!" Simon said in exasperation. Nami was no help.

"Oh please, Erza," she said sarcastically, "he's too hard on me! Save me from his wrath!" Simon rolled his eyes again.

"You're all out to get me," he grumbled as he rubbed his head in irritation, Ultear giggling.

"Any news on the Nashi situation?" Nami asked as she stretched her arms.

"We should have news either tomorrow or the day after, Damien said." Erza explained as she crossed her arms. "He said that's what Xisplate told him."

"So we've got a few more days to train," Simon said. That was the wrong thing to say. Erza grumbled under her breath at this, a sword spawning in her hand.

"If you're so desperate to train, you maniac," she said, "you'll be sparring with me." Simon didn't seem too thrilled by that."

"Uh, I think I should keep helping Nami actually..." he mumbled to himself.

"I'm okay for now, actually," Nami said as she ran from the responsibility Simon tried to dump on her. "I'm sure you'll be okay though!" Ultear watched as Erza didn't give her son the chance to breathe, engaging him in a fight before he could tell her not too. Soon enough he was on a wholesale defense, not able to get a single slice it at his mother.

"Do you think you'll be going on that mission?" Nami asked, "to save Nashi, I mean."

"It's possible," Ultear said. "Although I doubt I'll be picked. I'm not super effective against Demons. My Dad hasn't taught me Devil Slayer Magic."

"Really? I figured he would have. Not interested in learning?"

"It's not that, I guess I just haven't asked him," Ultear replied. "I should though."

"I'd say so," Nami said, "given it'll probably be a deciding factor." Ultear knew that, but talking about it with Nami made her realise how much more true that was. For all she knew, Devil Slayer Magic would be really helpful even after they put Nashi and Luna back together. After all, Laxus had told them the Demon Lords planned on taking her back. So, it would be better to ask than to not ask at all.

"I'll talk to him about it," she said. "After this, of course. I don't want to miss Simon getting his ass kicked." Nami snickered.

"Me either," she said, Simon stumbling past them shouting for mercy.

This chapter is a little weird, as I realise a while back I never really gave closure on Nami's hand. So, I figured I could dedicate a chapter to it, and sprinkle in some other info that's important. Also why I decided to double upload chapters, so that you guys aren't left with this weird one-off for however long it takes me to upload next.

I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!

Chapter 372: Sisters