ィ𓂃𓈒 𝗥𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗮 𝗭𝗼𝗿𝗼

- he snatched the back of her shirt, growling lowly to stop her. “I ain’t runnin’. Now, where is this place?”

- on his tongue. Thoughts of sake slithered through his mind, keeping his words at bay. Otherwise he would have snapped and pissed her off. Best to shut up and go.

He picked up the pace as she let go, running behind her with a grumble. “Oi! You ain’t gotta go so fast!”

Once they hit pavement, -

Mossy brows pulled together in annoyance, not noticing that he was trying to lead them in the wrong direction. He waved it off like she was being ridiculous, letting her lead him off the ship by the hand like a damn puppy.

But his stomach rumbled for food, the taste of bar food already simmering -

- fight to stay alive.

“Off the ship.” He nodded, starting in the way with a smirk and a shake of his head in that direction. “Let the cook wonder where we’ve wandered off to.”

Watching the hesitancy on her face made him proud. She needed to be on guard in case he wasn’t actually ending the training session. That counted for a few things she’d learned in there sessions, which she needed to stay safe. He appreciated the part of her that was always ready to learn and -

|| Updated username.

“I think that’s enough for today,” he responded, bending down to grab both of his other swords without taking his gaze off her. Slipping them back into their sheaths, he then crossed his arms.

“Wanna grab some food or somethin’?”

- he teased with a smirk.

Jaw tightening as she hit his jaw, he grunted, letting go of he waist as she escaped, proud of her for being able to get away. His broad form stumbled a bit, lifting his hand to remove Wado from between his teeth and tuck her back into her sheath.

“Good job. At least you can do that much,” -

- grabbed her waist, holding tight as he stared back at her, dark brown eyes watching. Not only was it important to attack but to escape.

Chuckling between his teeth around that familiar hilt, the taste of cloth and steel, he was proud of her efforts to keep trying.

He tilted his head to block her first try, hand grabbing her strike as he leaned in speak around his sword.

“Mhmm. Now see if you can get away.”

His other hand -

- swords on the ground.

His hands lifted in fists as he shot her a burning glare, biceps and forearms twitching under tanned skin as he gestured for her to come on.

A low annoyed grunt fell from his lips as the bitch knocked his swords off. His hands grabbed for Wado, catching her before she could hit the ground. He’d never let harm come to her if he could help it.

Placing her between his teeth, he could use her to ward Nami off, not reaching for the other -

- his defensive state.

- It could throw off an opponent.

Just not him yet, but he didn’t expect her to be quite there yet.

He twisted his left arm to block that attack coming toward him, shifting a bit so he could tug the hilt of his sword to block the one coming to the right before stepping back but staying in -

Huh. Well it seemed she did listen to him, interesting. It was good for her to be finding opportunities to attack and in watching out for her, she found those.

A grumble was his only response, eyes watching her every move to see the planned fake attack before the real one. That was good. -

- I help you again, 𝑤𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ.”

Steady on his feet, he was ready, sliding his hand to Wado’s hilt and letting his foot move to the side to balance.

“Swing it.”

Losing his balance at her sweep, he grabbed the rail of the ship and shot her an angry glare. He was trying to do this without hurting her, cause yeah he cared, but fuck that.

His anger only simmered for a moment though before he pushed off the rail and placed his hands on his hips.

“See if -

- good idea, leaves you open,” he teased, wrapping a strong arm around her and helping her down to the ground.

- way she moved upward but then paused, smirk growing upon his lips as he saw exactly what was about to happen before it did.

Bursting into laughter as she dangled in front of him, he moved closer and leaned forward to untie the rope from her foot.

“I don’t think getting tangled up is a -

Chocolate hues stayed on her as she moved, taking in every single sway of her body. Fingers gripped Wado just in case, ready to pull her out for a block of need be, though he figured it would be another sweep to the side based on her movements.

He had to admit he was a little impressed with the -

- landing the one on his face either.

His hand shot out as she fell, grabbing the back of he shirt to keep her from falling to the hard surface of the deck.

“Good try.”

Lifting her to her feet, he stepped back and gestured for her to try again.

Good correction going to his right and not the left, one that he acknowledged with a soft nod of his head. Smart to come after that side where he would draw his swords.

Instead, he lifted one of them just enough to block the foot coming for his hand, body turning to keep her from -

- happen.

“Alright. Try to hit me”

Taking a step back, one hand settling on Wado’s familiar hilt as he watched her every move. He didn’t need to fight back yet, choosing to let her try her best with swings that he could easily dodge.

With a roll of his eyes, he reached out to grab her hands, helping her to her feet and making sure she wasn’t going to fall before letting go of her.

If she had been an enemy, her staff wouldn’t have gotten so close to him, but this was Nami. If it made her feel a bit more confident, he’d let it -

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