Chapter 20: Down D. Stairs

Monitoring Shanks' crew for a month, Tyr could confidently say that they weren't going to do anything.

'I guess I can leave the island now and let them protect it if crap goes down in here.' Tyr decided to come back to Shimotsuki to learn more with Koushiro.

After all, he just finished the basics with Kuina and Zoro.

"Tyr! Can you play me a lovely tune on the piano again! Nobody knows how to play it and the crew plundered it anyways!" Uta suddenly appeared.

"Hah, Uta. Why do you always ask me to play every day? Don't you get tired?" Tyr patted her head and she giggled.

"Nope! Especially that piece! Yeah! Dearly beloved!" Uta was like in a sugar rush.

"Hah, sure, sure." Tyr sighed. "Oi! Stop hogging big bro Tyr!" Luffy confronted her.

"Yeah, you're not his little sister. Why should he hang out with you more than us?" Ace nodded at Luffy.

"It's easy, because I'm much cuter than you two, bleh!" Uta blew raspberries on them.

"Ha! Tyr and our big sisters said I'm adorable back then!" Luffy countered.

"Pft." Ace held in a laugh as that wasn't cool at all.

"Heh? Look at you, you're stinky and dirty all the time. Tyr nii-sama is an established gentleman. He should definitely hang out with me!" Uta butted heads with Luffy.

"What'd ya say!?" Luffy glared at her and they were about to fight.

"Shh, how about you come with us for now and see what we do at Shanks' ship?" Tyr pried them off each other.

"Hmph!" Uta and Luffy harrumphed and Tyr smiled wryly.

'I guess they get along.' Tyr carried them on his shoulders.

"Ahh." Tyr heard Ace gasp a bit, so he scooped him up with his wing.

Tyr extinguished his flame on his back and put Ace on his nape.

"Come on, let's go." Tyr flied slowly and they forgot about their grievances.

"This is what Uta asks me to do every day." Tyr sat down on the seat of the piano.

"Ehhh, this is boring. Staying still will bore us to death." Luffy complained and Uta whacked him immediately.

"Shhh! Shut up you numbskull! He's going to start." Uta glared daggers at him and Luffy went quiet.

Tyr started playing a piece called peaceful sleep.

At first, the two boys were bored out of their minds. But they began relaxing after several seconds.

"Wow... I don't know why, but you make that piece feel like drops of water falling into a tranquil pond." Uta was fascinated.

"Hmm, maybe next time, I'll teach you how to play it." Tyr chuckled and he continued playing.

When he ended the piece, they all fell asleep. Clutching each other peacefully.

"Aww, they're goddamned adorable." Tyr took a picture of them.

"You're goddamned right." Shanks suddenly appeared and he stared at them with a smile.

"I'll leave the island to you, Shanks. I have to go and do my own thing." Tyr stood up and gave him a copy of the picture.

"Really? What happened to you dislike me?" Shanks snorted.

"I dislike you and you're obviously playing the role of an idiot. But I know better. That doesn't mean I can't trust you with their safety though." Tyr shrugged.

He left a message for them and went to the deck. Tyr then flew towards Shimotsuki.

"What a really scary guy. Ohh, I mean kid. Can't believe he's just a year older than Luffy." Shanks squinted his eyes.

__Shimotsuki dojo__

"Yo, I'm back." Tyr greeted Kuina who was training.

"Tyr! Where in the world did you go?" Kuina raised a brow and he shrugged.

"To do some things." Tyr didn't exactly answer her question.

"What things?" Kuina raised a brow. "Stuff." Tyr shrugged again.

Kuina almost popped a vein. "And what stuff is that?"

"Things." Tyr gave an eye smile and Kuina attacked him with her bokken.

"Shut up! If you don't wanna say, then just tell me so!" Kuina puffed her cheeks at him.

"Well, you're gonna pry anyways. So, how's Zoro and your rivalry? I hope you still kick his ass daily?" Tyr raised a brow at her.

"Hmph, as if mosshead will beat me!" Kuina had a smug expression.

"Once I learned how to use my strengths more, Zoro lost much more easily." Kuina grinned.

"Atta girl, I told you that you'd be better when you don't conform to the norm." Tyr ruffled her hair.

"Where's Koushiro by the way? I think I'm an amateur swordsman by now. It's time to learn more advanced tech." Tyr looked around.

"I'll go fetch dad, oh boy. I can't wait for you to begin developing your sword skills for real!" Kuina excitedly ran away.

Koushiro appeared with Kuina and he sighed at Tyr.

"Why'd you suddenly disappear like that?" Koushiro raised a brow.

"Just some stuff that came up." Kuina frowned at his answer.

"Don't ask anymore, dad. He'll just deflect your questions." Kuina rolled her eyes.

"Right..." Koushiro gestured for him to follow him and they went to the garden.

"Kuina told me you are developing your own style, Tyr." Koushiro asked him and he nodded.

"No offense to the Shimotsuki-ryu. But it's too defensive for my taste." Tyr explained and Koushiro nodded.

"Then I have nothing more to teach you. Just the missing basics that Kuina isn't privy of." Koushiro admired his talent.

Tyr just listened to him for now. "Look at this paper. Do you think you can swing a sword at it and not cut it?" Koushiro asked him.

"Ha? Isn't that impossible? Wait, that's a trick question, isn't it?" Tyr realized that weird shit like devil fruits existed there.

Of course a swordsman can swing at something and not cut it like magic.

Koushiro chuckled and he drew his blade as he tossed it in the air.

He slashed at it in the middle and Tyr felt him use armament on the blade.

"I see. So you used haki and made the sword an extension of your will or something?" Tyr theorized as haki is one's ambition or will.

"Exactly, you truly are destined to be great. So young, yet already have such mastery with haki." Koushiro thought he was a monster.

"There are also two types of thought in swordsmanship. The rigid, strong style. And the graceful, soft style. All swordsmen use a mix of both. But the former is used for cutting and the latter is essentially for parries." Koushiro explained.

Tyr nodded and thought that made sense. And everyone has a balance that they would prefer.

"I think I'll stick to a perfect balance of both. Though I imagine it'll be extremely difficult." Tyr sighed.

"Yes, balancing them perfectly will absolutely take an absurd amount of skill." Koushiro affirmed.

"Thanks then, Koushiro. I'll continue to refine my technique. I still have a long way to go." Tyr shrugged.

"You're already better than the majority. One can never stop learning." Koushiro was pleased at his mindset.

Tyr decided to take a stroll for now and he saw a ship at the docks.

He then saw Zoro swing two live swords behind an old man with a weird hair style.

"Hmmm? We have a rare one here. A resident of the red line." The old man didn't even turn and Tyr's eyes went as wide as saucers.

'How the hell did he know I'm a celestial dragon?' Tyr frowned heavily.

"Do not worry, I'm just a retired old man." He just kept on fishing.

"Who are you?" Tyr squinted his eyes. "Yare, yare. The youth are rude nowadays, no matter. I am Shimotsuki, Kozaburo. The founder of this village."

"Tyr... Just Tyr." He looked at Kozaburo warily. "Look, Tyr! I got some sweet swords!" Zoro showed it to Tyr and he patted his head.

"That's good, how about you challenge Kuina? You still haven't won you know?" Tyr redirected his attention.

"Ahhh! Yeah!" Zoro ran towards the dojo and Tyr stood beside Kozaburo as he flared his haki.

"Old man, how the hell did you know I'm a celestial dragon?" Tyr gave him a side eye, thinking of killing him.

"Huh?" Kozaburo actually blinked at him. "Huh?" Tyr was confused at his genuine cluelessness.

"You're a celestial dragon?" Kozaburo was the one who was surprised now.

"Wait, what did you mean by a resident of the red line?" Tyr face palmed.

"You're a Lunarian... They used to live on the red line." Kozaburo explained.

"Lunarian huh? So I'm kind of a rare race or something?" Tyr flapped his wings and Kozaburo locked in.

"Now... What the hell is a celestial dragon doing here? I doubt you'd be able to get out of Mary Geoise." Kozaburo squinted his eyes.

"I escaped of course. And I'm gonna destroy Mary Geoise someday." Tyr snorted.

"Hoh? What family are you from?" Kozaburo was greatly amused at the irony.

A celestial dragon, gods above the earth. And one of them rebelled, vowing to destroy their paradise.

"Warcury." Tyr uttered and Kozaburo blinked again.

"Topman!?" Kozaburo was really shocked now. After all, by extension. Tyr is a part of the gorosei. The supreme rulers of the world government.

"Yes, he's my father." Tyr affirmed and Kozaburo laid down his fishing pole.

"Young lad, you're in deep shit." Kozaburo knew he was most likely being tracked down, left and right.

"I am, that's why I'm training. So they won't be able to use me for their dastardly plans." Tyr clenched his hand.

"Admirable, but a word of advice. Your journey hasn't even begun yet. It might be even more perilous than Roger's journey that cemented his name as pirate king." Kozaburo nodded sagely.

Tyr went quiet. "Then let them come." He used a bit of his conqueror's haki.

"You're full of surprises huh? If only I was younger, I would've made you a sword." Kozaburo stroked his beard.

"Just you wait, old man. I'll change this world." Tyr looked at the direction of the red line.

"Hmph, I'm not long for this world, youngster. The old generation is now dying out. It's time for the new generation to carve their own legacy." Kozaburo took out a pipe and lit it.

"You're training to be a swordsman, right? Then remember this, the peak of swordsmanship is simple to achieve." Kozaburo grinned at him.

"Once your sword becomes an extension of your will. Then there is nothing that you cannot cut. As long as your will is sharper than the obstacle in front of you." Kozaburo huffed and puffed.

"You shitty geezer. That's only simple in words. But that's almost impossible for everyone else." Tyr laughed.

"Is it false? Refine your skills, young man. The way of the sword won't betray you as long as you sharpen it. And remember that you're only as good as how much you hone it." Kozaburo advised.

"Thanks old man, but I'm not a young man you know? Just a kid of 7 years of age." Tyr laughed as he left.

"Reality truly is stranger than fiction." Kozaburo picked up his rod to fish again.

Time flowed freely as Tyr tried to refine his sword techniques.

"Tch, this is hard as hell." Tyr still can't bypass something even though he infused his haki into the sword.

"Hah, I did learn how to use shigan and rankyaku upon learning the principles of thrusts and slashes." Tyr thought it wasn't entirely useless.

He then heard someone sneak around. "Hmm? Zoro?" Tyr felt Zoro's aura and he spied on him.

"Kuina, I kept count of my losses. This will be our 2001th duel. Fight me with live swords." Zoro thought it would be different with that.

"Sure, let me get my sword." Kuina sneaked into the storage room and took the sword she was to inherit.

A named blade. They had different grades, signifying their quality.

Her blade, Wado Ichimonji. Belongs to the great grade blades in which there are 21. The highest; supreme grade blades have 12. And the skillful grade blades where there are 50 of them.

Kuina unsheathed her uchigatana with a white tsukamaki.

They went for a stand off and the two clashed against each other.

Unfortunately for Zoro, even though he was stronger and faster. Kuina was simply more skilled than him.

Pressuring Kuina with his two swords, Zoro thought he got her.

Kuina suddenly went closer and made his blade slid towards her tsuba. She then flicked them after his momentary loss of balance and whacked him on the temple with her sword's kashira.

"This is my win again, Zoro." Kuina grinned at him as she stabbed the ground beside him.

"Curses..." Zoro put his arm above his eyes as he started crying in frustration.

"It was good to try and lock blades with Kuina, Zoro. But you have to be more careful with high risk maneuvers like that." Tyr walked out of his hiding spot.

"Tyr?" Zoro sniffled as he quickly wiped his eyes.

"Yeah, you're too impulsive, Zoro." Kuina smiled wryly at him.

"Don't get discouraged. Try, learn what went wrong. Then try again." Tyr smiled at him.

"Tch, Kuina... Don't think you'll be better than me much longer! Let's make a promise!" Zoro raised his swords.

"Either one of us will be the strongest swordsman. We will fight in the future to decide it." Zoro grinned.

"You're on." Kuina nodded at him and Tyr ruffled their hair.

"How about me? Aren't you forgetting someone?" Tyr chuckled.

"You're not included, you're obviously a cheater." Zoro huffed at him.

"Is that so? Then I'll be the God of swords that whoever wins between you two will try to usurp." They laughed and Zoro returned back home.

"Come on Kuina, get some rest. You've been training until nightfall." Tyr gestured for her to enter her house.

"I'll be the greatest swordsman, Tyr. And then I'll take your title as the God of swords." Kuina yawned and Tyr pinched her cheek.

"Not if you lose sleep and stay as a squirt like Zoro." Tyr snickered.

Kuina tried to whack him with her sheath. But she missed as expected. "Tch, see you tomorrow!" Kuina ran towards the house.

"Rowdy little guys." Tyr smiled as he went to his temporary home in Shimotsuki village.

In the next morning, Kuina rubbed her eyes as she prepared to train for another day.

But due to her late night excursion yesterday, she was still a bit sleepy and slipped.

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Thanks for reading everyone, ciao.