Chapter 5: The Moss-Head and Kuina
A few days later, they finally arrived at Shimotsuki Village.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Master Koushirou's dojo?"
"Oh? Are you here to learn swordsmanship too?"
"Yes, I came after hearing his reputation."
"Just follow this road and you'll find it."
"Thanks!"
Eric led Akame along the path. "What a peaceful village," Akame said with a sigh.
"Is it?" Eric replied. Since he hadn't experienced the chaos and darkness of Akame's empire, he couldn't really relate.
Along the way, they spotted a few people in gray cloaks—one of whom had a face too big for the hood to cover.
"Wha…" Eric was startled. He didn't expect to run into members of the Revolutionary Army, including the okama king, Emporio Ivankov. (Eric had only read the manga and watched the anime. He knew most of the main plot, but skipped the cover stories and couldn't recall all the details—don't blame him, it's been over ten years.)
"Hm? What's wrong, boy?" Ivankov noticed Eric 's gaze and facial expression.
"Ah, I was just shocked to see such a huge face," Eric quickly composed himself and apologized. "Sorry about that."
"You're a polite one, boy~ No worries. This world is full of strange and wonderful people, boy~ You still need to sail around more and broaden your horizons," Ivankov said casually. They were setting sail tonight anyway, and even if someone reported them to the Marines, it would be too late.
"Understood. Thank you for the wisdom."
Once they were out of earshot, Eric glanced at Akame again. If he hadn't summoned her, she would have left the empire in her original story, joined the Revolutionary Army, and become the ace of their assassination unit, Night Raid. That meant she too had the will to overthrow a corrupt empire. What if, one day, she came to him and said, "I'm going to overthrow the World Government, so I'm joining the Revolutionary Army. Thank you for everything," what would he do?
"What's wrong?" Akame tilted her head cutely, puzzled by Eric 's silence.
"It's nothing." Eric , a terminally single man for nearly thirty years in his previous life, suddenly fell into despair. He didn't know how to win over girls, couldn't say sweet words, and had no charm to make someone stay. If Akame wanted to leave, he had no way to keep her onboard or stop her from chasing her dreams.
Perhaps sensing his unease, Akame gently took Eric 's right hand in both of hers and smiled. In that moment, even the sunlight seemed warmer and the air fresher.
"What are they doing?" a child's voice suddenly interrupted the moment.
"No idea," said another child.
"Are they gonna kiss?" said a third child.
Snapping back to reality, Eric looked at the three kids in training robes holding bamboo swords. He clicked his tongue and scowled at them.
"Wah! So scary!"
"Run!"
The three kids bolted down the road toward the dojo.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
...
The two arrived at the dojo's entrance and saw a short-haired kid in a white T-shirt practicing swings on a straw-wrapped wooden post. Sharp thwack sounds echoed with each strike.
"Hey little brother, is the master here?" Eric asked.
The child looked up and glanced at Eric . "Huh..." Eric blurted out, stunned. 'Isn't that Kuina?! Crap, I called her wrong!'
"What's with your eyes?" Akame said, annoyed at Eric 's inability to tell genders apart.
"Little sister, is the master here?" Eric asked again a smile .
"He is. Follow me," Kuina said as she put away her bamboo sword and went to find Koushirou.
When they met Koushirou inside, he asked, "And you are?"
"I'm Darren Eric , and this is Akame. We've come to learn swordsmanship at your dojo," Eric said, taking out 1 million Berries. "This is the tuition."
"That's too much. You don't need to pay that much," Koushirou waved his hands in refusal.
"It also covers our meals. Please accept it. If it's not enough, we'll pay more." After a few days together, Eric fully understood Akame's appetite. If she ate the dojo into bankruptcy, that wouldn't be good.
After some persuasion, Koushirou finally accepted the money.
At that moment, Kuina said, "You use a sword, right? Spar with me so I can see your level." Though she resented being a girl, she was also mad at Eric for mistaking her for a boy and saw this as a chance to vent.
"Kuina! That's no way to speak to a new student!" Koushirou scolded her gently.
"It's fine. I'd also like to know where I stand," Eric stood up.
"Kuina! Duel me!" a fierce voice shouted before the figure appeared. A scowling, green-haired kid barged into the dojo.
'Wow, even with that mean look, little Roronoa Zoro is kind of cute,' Eric thought.
"Wait a bit, I'm fighting the new guy first," Kuina said, grabbing a bamboo sword for dueling.
"Bow to the shrine."
"Bow to each other."
"Begin!"
Kuina raised her sword and launched a straightforward downward slash. 'Heavy!' Eric thought as he blocked it. He countered, but Kuina leapt right and slashed horizontally. Then came an unrelenting barrage—simple cuts, thrusts, and slashes—but they flowed together seamlessly.
Within a minute, Eric was purely on defense, unable to find an opening. 'She's just a little girl, but her sword skills feel like they've been forged through countless battles. She's even incredibly strong... Wait—is she angry I mistook her for a boy?!' Eric finally realized this wasn't about assessing his skills but payback for the "little brother" comment.
In just a few minutes, he was completely overwhelmed. Unable to keep up, he shouted, "Shave!" and vanished before Kuina's eyes.
"He disappeared!" both Kuina and Zoro were shocked.
Thwack! Eric reappeared behind her and knocked the bamboo sword from her hands.
"Alright! Eric wins," Koushirou announced.
Kuina silently picked up her sword and ran off. "Kuina!" Zoro shouted, chasing after her.
"Is she okay?" Eric asked, a bit concerned.
"She'll be fine. Kuina's a strong-willed girl. She wouldn't do anything rash," Koushirou said with a smile . Then he asked, "That was the Marine's Six Powers, right?"
"Yeah. I saw someone use it before, so I practiced it on my own," Eric said with a straight face, lying through his teeth again.
"Incredible. To learn just by watching," Koushirou praised.
"Nah, my swordsmanship isn't that good. If it weren't for my physical skills, I'd have lost just now." Eric finally blushed—he knew the truth.
"Your swordsmanship isn't close to Kuina's. You were being completely outclassed," Akame added from behind with a blunt remark.
"Then please, Master! Teach us swordsmanship!" Eric bowed.
"Of course. That's what you came here for, isn't it? Are you ready?" Koushirou smiled.
"Girls become weaker than boys when they grow up. Soon, you'll surpass me," Kuina said with her body turned slightly away.
"Zoro, you always say you want to become the world's greatest swordsman. But my father told me girls can't achieve that."
"I understand. I've always known… but still… I don't want to accept it! Zoro, you're lucky because you're a boy. I want to be the best swordsman in the world too. My chest has even started developing." She placed her hands over her chest, making Zoro blush bright red.
"If only I were a boy too…"
"You've beaten me 1,682 times already! Stop whining! That's just unfair! You're my goal!" Zoro shouted angrily.
"Male or female—what if I beat you someday? Are you going to say that again? As if I didn't win with my own strength! Wouldn't that make all my hard training meaningless?! Don't say that again!"
"Promise me—one day, either you or me, one of us will become the world's greatest swordsman! Let's compete to see who it'll be!" Zoro held out his hand.
"…Idiot, you're so weak."
"It's a promise!" they both said, sealing their vow under the sunlight.
(END CHAPTER)
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