Sword

Chapter 3

From somewhere to his left, Zoro heard the soft twinge of a bow string. He turned just in time to knock this arrow away with his second sword.

"You have great reflexes," Shoko's voice came from a completely different direction. Zoro whipped his head towards the sound and caught sight of her as she drew back her bow string, releasing another arrow at him, this one aimed a little lower than the previous two.

Again, Zoro was able to knock it away easily. "Do you want me to ramp it up a little?" Shoko asked.

Zoro replied with a grunt, having his sword in his teeth. Shoko leapt through the tree branches silently. Zoro was able to follow her movements with his eyes, but she was far enough away where it was difficult to see when she was preparing to shoot. Her next shot was followed within seconds by a second arrow, forcing Zoro to use two swords to defend himself.

Shoko began shooting much more frequently, but Zoro noticed that as she sped up her shots, she wasn't able to move through the trees quite as frequently, so he was beginning to be able to predict where the next arrow was coming from.

Still, Zoro was giving every ounce of focus he had to deflecting the arrows as they began coming at him faster and faster. As the two of them began falling into a rhythm. Shoko would sometimes drop from the trees and shoot at him from the ground, also allowing herself to pick up arrows Zoro had already deflected. Zoro began moving behind trees, making himself a more difficult target.

Both of them had had a couple of close calls; Zoro had two or three small scratches on his arms where an arrow had grazed him. Shoko missed him completely a couple of times as he began moving around more and more, and at one point, she had even fallen from the tree branches when her foot had slipped. Luckily, she was able to land on her feet and move back into their dance of shooting and deflecting until she eventually dropped hard and sat down in the dirt.

"Take a break?" she offered, panting slightly.

Zoro nodded, a little out of breath himself. He sheathed his swords and plopped on the ground, resting against a tree. Shoko brought him a bottle of water and slumped over next to him, setting her yumi gently on the ground and taking her quiver of arrows off her back.

They sat in silence for a moment, resting their bodies and listening to the sounds of the forest around them. It was evening now, so different birds began chirping and the hum of insects filled the air.

"So why do you want to practice with a human target?" Zoro asked eventually. "You plan on shooting anyone in particular?"

Shoko laughed humorlessly. "There is this one guy..." but she didn't elaborate who she meant. Instead, she continued, "I want to be a marine, so I'll have to fight lots of pirates. That's what I'm really practicing for. I want to be able to shoot at people without fatally injuring them. What about you? Why do you train so hard with your swords? I've never seen someone who could use three at the same time."

"I made a promise to a friend," Zoro said. "I'm going to become the best swordsman."

"So you'll have to fight a lot of people. It's definitely not just going to be roses," Shoko noted. Zoro didn't respond. "Would you become a Marine?"

"Eh," Zoro shrugged. "Not my thing."

Shoko nodded, slightly disappointed. She looked up at the forest canopy above her with her head leaning back on the tree they were sitting against.

"Hey, do you have a place to stay tonight?" she asked Zoro suddenly.

"Just on my boat," he said.

"Do you want me to see if you could stay the night at my place?" Shoko offered, "It's kind of crowded, with my sister and her daughter, but we can probably make a space in the living room."

"Oh uh, that would be great, thanks," Zoro said, giving a small appreciative smile. He had been sleeping on the hard wood floor of his boat for the past month, and while he could sleep just about anywhere, he couldn't pass up the chance for a good night's sleep in a proper living space.

Shoko stood and offered him her hand. "You can shower, too," she said with a grin, and pinched her nose for show.

Zoro huffed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She laughed and stood up. "I'm teasing. Let's get going. My mom will never let you stay if she thinks you're keeping me out too late." Then she grabbed her things and began walking back through the woods. She turned back and waved for him to follow. Zoro checked to make sure he had his three swords, then followed after her.

A tiny smile pulled at his lips. He hadn't gone to sea to make friends, but maybe having someone around for company and friendly training wouldn't be such a bad thing.