6 Years Ago
A younger Kuina sat in the Shimosuki Dojo. Today was the day that the lower-rank pupils challenged each other to progress through the ranks. Kuina couldn't care less about those matches. Sitting near the back of the dojo was her rival, Roronoa Zoro. Even three years younger than Kuina, he was the second strongest pupil in the dojo.
That would be nothing new. Kuina and Zoro had sparred literally thousands of times. And Kuina had always come ahead in those battles. 5000 to 0 in Kuina's favor. Both Zoro and she were at the top of the class. Both of them were able to defeat the grown adults at the dojo.
Normally she wouldn't be worried about a sparring session with her longtime rival. But the thing she feared most was beginning to manifest. Her rival had hit their growth spurt. And his muscles had begun to grow with him. She noticed in her last few duels with him that his strikes had become harder to deal with. There was more strength behind each of his swings. Nature began tipping the odds in his favor. Although Kuina had been training harder than ever before,
Kuina gripped the legs of her pants as she felt old insecurities rise up in her chest.
Kuina's father clapped his hand as one of the students took victory in the bout. 'Alright, everyone. That's enough for today." Her father used the calm yet curt voice he had cultivated for speaking to pupils. "We will meet back tomorrow. And don't think about skipping. The two best swordsmen in the class will be sparring tomorrow!"
The other students picked up their weapons and made their way out the door. A vibrant buzz among the crowd. Zoro stared down Kuina as he stood up. The two agreed to meet in the usual spot for their duels.
After the rest of the dojo members had gone to sleep, Kuina made her way out to the edge of the training grounds. She walked out to the decommissioned forge where her grandfather used to work when he was alive. Zoro was sitting in front of the now locked forge room. Zoro sat on a tree stump. His two swords were sheathed on the right side of his waist.
On her waist, Kuina gripped the handle of her knife. Her sword hilt was wrapped in a white cloth. "Are you ready for your next loss, Zoro?" Kuina slowly drew her blade.
"Hmmph. I wouldn't be so confident if I were you." Standing from the log. The once smaller Zoro now stood a few inches taller than Kuina. Standing just above 5'9". Forcing Kuina to look slightly up to meet eye contact. "Well, if you still want to go, then I'm ready for you." Zoro drew both his blades. Zoro assumed his two-sword stance.
Seeing this, Kuina fully drew her sword. She assumed her fighting stance. Her legs spread with one in front and the other behind. She held her blade with both hands. Pointing it at Zoro. She was prepared for Zoro to go on the attack.
Predictably. Zoro did take the opportunity to attack first. Zoro raised his arms and swung them to the left. Zoro leapt into the air as he proceeded forward. The green-haired boy swung towards Kuina. He brought both swords and his falling weight down in his swing.
Kuina had more than enough time to react. She raised her blade to block the double sword slash. Once in the clash, Kuina swung her sword to break away from Zoro. Pushing him back. His shoes hit the ground and slid in the dirt back twenty feet. "Quick as always. But I could feel you buckling under the pressure. Let's see if you can stop this!" Holding his swords low to the ground, he ran forward with his swords pointed straight forward like two horns on a devil's head. "Devil's Gambit!" Zoro used one strong push from the ground to propel himself forward. Barreling towards Kuina.
Kuina immediately saw through the technique. Zoro was trying to bait her into blocking straight on. But doing so would put her in a worse position. The move would allow Zoro to clash with her using one of his swords. And swing at her with his other blade. Kuina instead dashed towards him. She held her sword down by her side. She launched herself into the sky. She aimed her sword at Zoro's head. Falling towards Zoro, she swung in a strong arch when she was right in front of him at an awkward angle for him to strike at her.
Zoro saw her at the last second. Kicking the ground to move to the left. Letting Kuina slice into the ground. "Fun trick. But are you ready to face me as a real swordsman?"
Zoro smirked as he turned to face her. Zoro held his two katanas. "I thought you'd never ask!" The two ran towards each other. They were prepared to confront each other head-on. Neither of them showed any hesitation. The two raised their swords and exchanged blows. The sound of metal clashing and parrying filled the air. The two made exchanges with each other. Kuina hated to admit it, but Zoro's strength was superior to hers now. She would have to win the fight with technique.
Just as Kuina had that thought, Zoro swung his right sword, prompting her to block with her blade. Zoro's sword was near the tip of Kuina's. Zoro then swung his left blade onto her already blocking stance. And using his strength, he pushed down on Kuina. The motion caused her knees to buckle from the pressure. Dammit! He's too strong! I can't hold on. If I don't move, he'll cut right into my chest.
Zoro's push against her body was palpable. Kuina jumped back. Her sword got taken by the two blades. Zoro immediately capitalized on her bailing from the altercation. Zoro chased her down while keeping both swords pointed forward.
Kuina was pushed against the locked door of the workshop. Zoro rushed forward. Zoro pushed his swords into the door behind Kuina. Zoro strategically placed his swords on either side of Kuina's waist. Zoro's face ended inches from Kuina's. Both of them breathing heavily. Sweat trickled down the sides of their faces. "I—I did it! Ha-haahhahaha!" Zoro turned away to celebrate his first victory against his oldest rival.
All Kuina could do while Zoro celebrated was fall to the ground. Sliding against the door until she was sitting on the ground. A feeling of emptiness filled her chest as she processed that she lost. "I can't believe it…it was just like father said…"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Zoro turned back to face Kuina.
"You're a boy… You've gotten stronger than me because you're hitting puberty. It's just like Father said. I'll never be the world's greatest swordsman." Zoro's eyes shrank as he listened to Kuina speak. "And it's all because I'm a girl!" Kuina wiped her eye with her palm as she felt tears start to form in her eyes.
"What are you crying about? This is the first time you've beaten me in five thousand duels!" Kuina looked up at her longtime friend. "I beat you because I worked hard and trained every day, not because I was born a boy! Are you trying to make me look bad?" Zoro got onto one knee and put out a hand for her to grab.
"We're the only two here to give each other a real challenge! Let's make a promise. Someday it'll be down to one of us to become the greatest swordsman. And then we'll face each other for that title!"
Kuina smiled as she grabbed his hand. "Fine. It's a promise." Grabbing Zoro's hand, Kuina helped herself up. The two returned to their rooms for the night.
The next morning, Kuina made her way out to the dojo. Her father was standing in the courtyard. "Kuina… I'm so sorry. There's been an accident."
Her father guided her to the main hall, where the other students had assembled. "It's Zoro. He woke up early to grab a grindstone. And he fell down the storage stairs." Kuina walked into the hall. Kuina saw Zoro's lifeless body lying on the floor, with a cloth covering his face. And a blanket over his body.
Panic ran through her body as she ran forward. "No! He can't be dead! He made a promise last night!" Two of the older male students grabbed her before she got to the body. "You can't just run away from our deal!"
Kuina's father put his hand on her shoulder. "Humans are fragile things, Kuina. Perhaps…later tonight we could talk again about your future here at the dojo." Tears freely fell from Kuina's face as she had to hear her father yet again try to trample her dreams.
"I have a promise to keep…" Kuina forcefully pushed away the others who were trying to hold her arms. She turned and walked out of her dojo. "A promise the two of us made. I'll become the world's greatest swordsman for the both of us. Even if I am a woman!"
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Present Day
Kuina breathed heavily as her eyes were glued to the men with guns. This can't be it. I still have to keep my promise.
On the fourth floor of the marine tower, Lance caught his breath as he made it to Helmeppo's room. "Whew! Alright, got here without any bullets. Now then, Brat. Which one is her sword?" He held up the idiot son only to find him dizzy from all the running Lance had to do. "Alright. Looks like you've run out of usefulness." He discarded the unconscious body to a vacant corner in the room.
Looking around, he saw that this brat had a pretty nice room. Nothing is better than anything that a celestial dragon has. But the space clearly wasn't a peasant's room. The room featured fine purple wallpaper and fancy furniture. The only thing out of place was a sword propped up against the wall. It was a white sheath with a white cloth wrapping around the hilt.
"Well, if it isn't this. Then I don't know what I'm looking for." Lance grabbed the hilt and looked out the window.
Lance saw two of his girls being held at gunpoint by the marines. And his heart sank into his stomach. "Damn. I'm cutting it close on this one. He put the sword onto his back as he took a few steps back.
Drawing his two axes, he made a mad dash for the window. Pushing himself out the window with his shoulder. Sending himself barreling in between the marines and his girls.
Kuina stared down the marines who were focusing their guns on the redhead and her. "Ready…aim…" The captain called from the back. He lifted his axe to indicate the moment of firing.
During his pause, the sound of glass shattering came from behind them. And they all saw the crumpled form of Lance as he fell towards the ground. "Crater…" Lance held his two axes close together behind his head.
The gunmen all looked at the crazed man falling through the sky. "What are you doing? Get ready to fire on my mark!" The marines scrambled to get back into firing position.
"...Impact!" As Lance got close to the ground. He swung the two axes in tandem at the dirt. Causing a large cloud to kick up from the mix of the impact and the weight of his fall.
"Fire!" Morgan issued the command just as Lance hit the ground. He caused his men to fire blindly into a cloud of dust.
After the rounds had been emptied into the dirt cloud, it began to dissipate. Letting Lance clear the cloud first. Holding his two axes, he held a wild glare at the sailors. "Now then, which of you clowns shot my, Mary?"
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If you enjoyed it, please leave a review or comment! Let me know if you want to see more of the Harem Pirates. And if we get to 100 stones, I'll drop the first cover story.