A new beginning
(1 year later, Shimotsuki Village)
The first light of dawn painted the sky in soft hues of pink and orange as Sora woke up to find Zoro's feet unceremoniously on his face. Zoro's snores were like thunderclaps, and it took all of Sora's willpower not to bury him with a pillow.
"Hey, Wake up!" Sora yelled as he shook Zoro awake.
"Huh? What?" Zoro mumbled, groggily sitting up.
"Come on! We have a lot to do today!" Sora's enthusiasm was boundless.
Together, they got dressed and walked out of their little house in the woods, just a few minutes away from the Isshin Dojo. The morning air was fresh, and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees as the two made their way toward the place they spent almost all of their time.
'It's been a year already, I wonder how those guys are doing' Sora breathed in the fresh air while stretching.
A year ago, he came to this village to meet with the one who was to prepare him for his journey, Shimotsuki Koushirou, a swordsman, the owner of a dojo and its only master.
Although it was his first time away from his family, Sora's outgoing personality allowed him to quickly blend in with the other kids and even made friends with his roommate and the daughter of the master. The trio got along pretty well since their end goal required them to leave this place as fast as possible, him to travel all around, and the other two, to become the strongest swordsman/woman.
The condition given by Koushirou to leave was thus the same for the three of them: defeat him in 1vs3.
The trio tried at first, thinking that they could beat him by sheer number and being overconfident, Sora because of his newly aquired devil fruit, Zoro and Kuina, thinking that they should be able to win as the two top students, especially since they had the numerical advantage.
But all it took was a look from Koushiro for them to faint, not even knowing how they lost when they woke up.
"Glass-freak" Sora grumbled in frustration, feeling that it will take years before he could finally set sail.
"What?"
"Nothing" Sora shook his head ."What should I ma-" He turned around and stood speechless seeing Zoro walking while snoring, a bubble coming out his nose.
"Sleep or walk, choose one!" He shouted
They arrived at the kitchen where Sora started cooking breakfast. It was his job in exchange for food, a roof and training. The sizzle of eggs and the aroma of cooked rice filled the air. Zoro helped but was constantly yawning and mumbling about why he had to make breakfast for everyone.
"Don't the other kids have parents at home? Why can't they eat there?" Zoro grumbled.
Just then, the kitchen door swung open and a figure covered in a sleeping blanket walked in before slumping on the table.
Zoro, not finding enough place to put the dishes looks at the pile on top of the table "Kuina, move over!"
"Shut up mosshead" came a muffled voice from under the sheets.
Zoro, having none of it, shoved her off the table, making her roll out of her blanket. The young girld ended up on her back her arms and legs spread out in a star shape, she looked out at the ceiling with a blank look, dark bags under her eyes "Who am I? What am I? Where am I? When am I? Why am I?"
She tiredly glanced at the boy with green haire and murmured "You're so dead Roronoa"
"Kahahahaha" Sora burst into laughter, his boisterous guffaws echoing in the kitchen. This riled up Kuina, who sprang to her feet and lunged at Zoro who threw away the dishes he was carrying and punched the young girl.
A cloud of dust formed, kicks and punches were thrown.
Sora laughed even harder until Kuina pulled him into the brawl by the collar, "Is that funny?" And the kitchen turned into a three-kid battle zone.
Koushirou walked into the kitchen and sighs while looking at three kids on the floor, covered in egg batter, Sora chomping on Kuina's head, the girl chocking Zoro with her legs and the latter punching Sora's leg. "You guys" He rubbed his head in exasperation before
"GET UP AND CLEAN UP THIS MESS!" A roar resounded throughout the entire village, the villagers chuckling while glancing at the dojo with fond smile.
"The three little devils are at it again"
"Poor Koushiro-san"
"Well at least, they liven up the dojo, ever since the death of his wife, the poor man's been so serious it was hard to talk to him".
The three children were often seen playing around in the evening after their training in the village. They would come down and play with the other children and even prank the rest of the village.
Back at the dojo, after breakfast, the three trained separately from the other children who only wanted to learn in order to defend themselves or just for fun. The morning session was usually reserved to physical training to build their body.
Zoro was training with weights to build his muscle, Kuina on the other hand was like a whirlwind, her agility training making her look like she was flying around the forest as she jumped from one tree to another, sweating profusely.
Sora was of to the side of the dojo, also building muscle but lacked the intensity and zeal that the other two displayed. He would take longer break between every set and just look at the clouds dreaming of going on an adventure.
Koushirou observed from the side, his sharp eyes taking in every detail. He saw Sora's lack of passion compared to the other two. When he tested his strength a year ago, he was surprised by his level in the Rokushiki and his power that allowed him to use electricity and summon a sword as strong as a famed one. His power at that time was not something a normal adult would be able to handle, not even some strong bandits or marine trainee. That was proof that the kid trained hard.
Yet, after a year here, his progress has been quite lacking. Although he was passionate at the start, his efforts became less and less as the weeks went by.
He knew that It was natural. The boy's heart yearns for the open seas and adventure, not for the sword. Unlike the other two, his strength is just a means to an end. And until he realises the importance of having strength in order to accomplish his dream, then his progress will be way too slow compared to the other two.
After the intense training session, the trio was tasked with cleaning up the dojo and moving training equipment to the storehouse. The air was thick with the smell of wood and sweat as they labored in silence. Well, almost silence.
Sora laid on top of a mattress, his shirt off, revealing his developing muscles, and closed his eyes. "Another day, we live, tomorrow will come sooner so let's savor this moment of freedom my comrades," he declared with a dramatic flair.
"Come and help, I want to shower," Kuina grumbled, carrying a stack of bamboo shinai to the second floor.
"When has he ever helped us," Zoro glared at the sleeping orange-haired boy as he put two dumbbells, the size of his body, on a shelf.
"That's righ-" Kuina was also about to complain when she suddenly tripped on a stair and started falling down.
Her body instinctively was about to correct her posture to land safely when she felt a pair of arms supporting her. She looked up to see Sora's worried face.
The two started to fall, but Sora lightly used the chair to jump back and safely land on the mat.
The two looked at each other for a second, black and orange eyes staring at each other.
"What are you doing?" Kuina asked quietly, feeling her heartbeat quicken.
"I don't know," Sora answered, not even knowing why he went and saved her when she could have easily landed safely. After all, she was the most nimble with the best balance of the three of them. His body just moved on its own the moment he saw her fall down those stairs.
The two stayed in that position for a few seconds when Zoro called out, "What are you guys doing?"
Thud
"Ouch!"
That was all it needed to break the tension as Sora hurriedly let go, making Kuina fall on her behind.
She rubbed her sore bottom and looked at Sora in anger. "What's wrong with you? Don't you know how to treat a lady?!" she shouted indignantly.
Sora, still feeling weirded out by the previous situation, also shouted back, "Who's a lady? Comparing you to a gorilla would be an insult to the gorilla itself!"
Their shouting match was interrupted by Koushirou calling them in for dinner, and as they walked into the dining room and started making dinner together the awkward tension between Sora and Kuina faded slightly.
After they set the table, Sora, with a mischievous glint in his eye, looked at Zoro who was about to eat his sandwich.
When he took a bite, Zoro's eyes bulged and turned red before he opened his mouth and breathed out fire.
"Water! Water!" Zoro hollered as he ran around the room frantically.
"Here" Koushirou offered him a glass of water, but Zoro, blinded by the heat in his mouth, didn't register it and bolted out of the door towards the lake at the back of the dojo.
"Kahahahaha, it always works," Sora was laughing so hard that tears came out of his eyes. But his laughter was cut short as he took a bite of his own sandwich and felt the heat in his mouth.
"Always works indeed," Kuina watched in glee as Sora's face turned redder and redder.
He glared at her and hurriedly accepted the water from Koushiro before he spat it at the laughing girl making her freeze in shock. She hurriedly spat out the water that got in her mouth in disgust and rushed at the young boy.
"SORA!!!!!"
Another cloud of dust formed as Sora, Kuina, and Zoro, who had magically reappeared, started fighting again.
Koushirou couldn't contain himself and laughed seeing his three students as lively as ever. He then picked Sora and Zoro up by the backs of their shirts, lifting them up like kittens, but that didn't prevent Zoro from trying to hit Sora while the latter only laughed and stuck his tongue out.
"Alright, stop it kids. I have something to say," The older man said in a calm voice, making the three stop and look at him curiously.
"I have some things to handle for a few days, so I'm leaving tomorrow morning. The dojo will be closed for the week. I left you enough money for the food in my room, Kuina."
"Don't worry, boss, as the man of the house, I shall take care of the dojo in your absence," Sora dramatically saluted while still dangling in mid-air.
"Since when were you the man of the house?" Zoro yelled from Koushiro's other arm.
"Since I'm the oldest, and the most handsome, my young friend," Sora said, his eyes closed, pretending to be a wise old man.
"But it's my house..." Kuina called out.
"Gorillas don't have a house, let alone... whatever you are" Sora retorted.
"SORA!"
Koshiro just sighed as he watched the fight which Zoro, yet again, somehow managed to get dragged into, hoping that the three wouldn't burn the house down in his absence.