[Voice, Action for the Straw Hats]

[seakingbait]

[Keimi stands on the deck of the ship, a small tanto in her hand. In front of her is a mannequin, reinforced with leather. She grips it tight, bringing the blade above her head and, eyes shut tight, she swings it downward.

And misses by a mile.

She falls, but catches herself on the mannequin. With the assistance of a bubble, she is back on her tail. This time, she won't miss. The same stance, the same shut eyes, and with another swing, she sticks the blade into the mannequin's shoulder.

And when her eyes open to see what she has done, she gasps, releasing the blade's hilt and falling onto her rear in terror.]

----

[Later in the day, after she's cleaned up her mess, she takes to her journal.]

What... kind of weapon do you use... if you don't really want to hurt someone?

Comments

[yourotherleft]

Uh.

[that is a very good question. Zoro faces her, looks over the pole, and then shrugs]

Try to hit me.

[seakingbait]

Oh, um...

[She grips the "staff" in both hands and... sort of swings it at his arm?]

[yourotherleft]

[Poor Keimi. Lazily raises his arm to let it hit him in a safe spot, but doesn't try to disarm her or anything. He actually knows what he's doing.]

Try to find your balance.

[he has no idea how to advice a mermaid how to find a good stance on her tail, so Zoro's intention is to let her swing at him until she can do it comfortably, in her own way.]

[seakingbait]

[The thing about a mermaid's tail is that it's always a balancing act. Yes, it's all muscle, but without a second one to steady yourself, you're always one wrong move from falling over. It can be exhausting to stay on it for long periods of time, and Keimi likes to avoid the back pain it causes. Because let's pretend that's the only reason she has back pain.

Still, she does her best to lean forward into some kind of stance.]

How's this?

[yourotherleft]

You tell me. [such a good teacher he is. Not.] Slide your hands a little farther apart on the pole, and then see if it's easy to swing it from your stance.

[Free invitation to whack Zoro!]

[seakingbait]

[She takes his advice, but it feels a bit strange holding her arms so far apart.

This time, she swings for his shoulder.]

[yourotherleft]

[definitely less power there, easier to raise his hand and catch the end of the pole before it hits]

Hmm. Maybe adjust it some and try again.

[He knows swords, not polearms. But he does know when he sees someone off-balance and awkward.]

[seakingbait]

[And she does just that, bringing her hands closer together and aiming for his shoulder once more. Are you going to catch this one too?]

[yourotherleft]

[he lets this one hit, so he can see how much power she has]

Ohh, not bad. Does that feel better?

[seakingbait]

Hm. A little bit.

[She sets the stick on the ground, leaning it against her shoulder, and looks down at her hands. They're red, and sting. Maybe she was gripping it too hard?]

[yourotherleft]

[Good lord Keimi!]

Ah, right. You haven't built up calluses yet.

[seakingbait]

...Calluses?

[Is that, like, some kind of disease?]

[yourotherleft]

Yeah.

[he holds out his left hand, which maybe doesn't look all that strange, but his palm and fingertips are well-worn and tough from years of gripping his swords. His skin isn't soft like an untrained person's.]

It just takes time. The more you practice, the more you'll get used to it.

[seakingbait]

[...Ew. Is it okay if she doesn't want her hands to look like that?]

Sanji-chin's hands don't look like that.

[yourotherleft]

[well gee if she doesn't want to be as hardcore as Zoro...]

The cook doesn't fight with his hands. Or a weapon, for that matter.

[seakingbait]

[No one can be as hardcore as Zoro. Especially Keimi.]

...Do, um.

Do his feet look like that?

[Feet are like hands, right? Hands you walk with?]

[yourotherleft]

Nah, not quite. [wait, did he answer that a bit too quickly?] I mean. He doesn't fight barefoot, so...you know. Probably not.

[seakingbait]

Maybe I shouldn't fight barehanded, then.

[yourotherleft]

I guess you could wear gloves, but... [headscratch] Sometimes it makes for a bad grip. Your weapon could fly right out of your hands.

[seakingbait]

It was doing that without gloves too.

[yourotherleft]

...ahaha. [d'awww Keimi]

Practice is all you need. Really.

[seakingbait]

Okay. I'll keep trying, Zoro-chin.

[Brave face for her sensei.]

[yourotherleft]

Good.

[now that she's found some confidence, he settles into a ready stance and raises both hands up, palms flat, to serve as targets]

Keep trying to hit me. Aim here and here. Don't worry, I can take it.

[seakingbait]

[Okay, Keimi. You can do this. She brings the staff up over her head. You have two targets. You just have to hit one. As hard as you can. No pressure.

She shuts her eyes tight, and brings the stick down as hard as she can.

...Right between both hands and towards his head.]

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro is so intent on being a good teacher that he doesn't realize what's happening until the last second. He tries to flinch out of the way but still gets cracked hard on the head.

Good thing he's used to Luffy headbutts.]

OW DAMMIT! THAT WASN'T WHAT I MEANT!