Sword

Chapter 1

"Don't worry, Riri! I'll save you!" Shoko shouted from the trees, holding her yumi steadily as she aimed an arrow for her target below. Ririka grinned and put her book down. She twisted her body so that she could peek around the tree she was hiding behind.

Of course she wasn't worried; this was only a game of pretend after all. But she loved to watch Shoko shoot her yumi: the seriousness she always showed on her face as she focused was impressive to see on a girl her age. Most of the other eleven-year-olds in Shells Town were all too silly to even be allowed to play with weapons outside of training. It was for this reason that while most other children were expected to help their families with chores while away from school, Shoko's mother allowed her to practice with her bow in the woods, as long as Ririka accompanied her.

Today, Ririka played the captured princess while Shoko the Marine Fleet Admiral shot at the trees—the "pirates"—who held her captive.

Shoko released the arrow and Riri cheered as it hit the nearby tree squarely in the little face the girls had carved into the tree's bark.

"You saved me Fleet Admiral Shoko!" Riri squealed, pretending to swoon dramatically as Shoko dropped down from the tree branches, giggling furiously.

"Of course I did! I'm going to stop all the pirates!"

"All of them?" Riri asked, "What about the nice ones?"

Shoko frowned at her sister, suspicious of some kind of trick. "Yeah right, Riri. Anyways, you weren't supposed to watch me shoot! You're supposed to be hiding," Shoko pouted, but her eyes still shone with pride for her shot.

"I'll do better next time," Riri promised. "I just had to see you take down the Pirate King today! But next time is going to have to wait. We have to go home now and help Mom before the dinner rush at the restaurant."

Shoko frowned, tugging on the arrow embedded in the tree. "I wish I could stay and practice. When I'm eighteen like you, I'm going to spend all my time practicing. I hate cooking at the restaurant."

"I know, Sho," Riri said sympathetically, then smiled brightly. "But when you're eighteen, you'll be on your way as a Marine. You'll be way past practicing on trees by then!"

Shoko beamed, imagining her future self as a Marine, going on adventures and fighting evil pirates. Even if working at the restaurant wasn't exciting, she knew it was just a step she had to take now as she prepared for her dreams.

...

"Shoko, I need you to bring these drinks to that table by the door. Ririka, we need two more bowls of soup!"

"Yes, Mom!" the girls responded obediently, hurrying around the kitchen.

Shoko balanced several drinks carefully on a tray, setting them down one by one in front of the young Marines at the table she was serving. Shoko loved when she got to serve tables of Marines. She loved quietly listening in on their gossip about the Marine Base in town, always grasping for any knowledge she could get so she could know what to expect when she herself would become a Marine once she was old enough.

"What do y'all think of the new Captain?" one of the Marines at her table today asked his friends. Shoko slowed what she was doing ever so slightly. She hadn't realized there was a new Captain at the Base and wanted to hear the others' responses.

"He seems kind of... rough around the edges if you ask me. I don't imagine him being the very forgiving type."

"Well yeah, just look at 'im- he's got an axe for a hand! There's no way you could expect him to be a softie."