gavemyword | three // [action]

[The lack of Zoro may have only been felt by a select few, but the angry looking child walking around the village proper should be of some interest to anyone just kind of hanging around. Clad in a slightly raggy outfit, leaves sticking out of his hair, he doesn't look like he's had a proper bath in days. But don't worry, folks, moldy green is his natural hair color. Strapped to his back is a familiar white katana; on his face: an equally familiar dark scowl.

If he looks a bit twitchy, forgive him. He's been hiding out in the forest and Luceti hasn't been very kind to him these last few days. He'll just be wandering around town, peering curiously through shop windows and trying to pretend he wasn't lost.

At some point in the day, he's gonna find that he's hungry enough to go ~~begging~~ demanding food at Seventh Heaven ~~or wherever Sanji is at the moment orz~~. Maybe they'll let him chop wood in exchange for a meal. Hmm, hmm.]

((ooc: The boy arrived September 30 so feel free to run into him when/wherever. Replies will be coming from

zorichan this time around. Have at!))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[That snaps him out of it a little.] Ye-YEAH! I AM! [He turns to show off the sword on his back. He doesn't draw it because that would be rude, but mostly because he still can't quite do it right and he kind of doesn't want to look foolish in front of this guy. For some reason. Hmm.]

You wanna fight? I lost my other shinai in the forest but I'm sure I can find something else... [He starts looking around excitedly, as if he'll just suddenly find some discarded swords lying around.]

[...oh sweet fucking mother of mercy, will you stop that? ~~How does he children??~~ Thankfully, none of his rampant confusion makes it to his face, nor his conflicted reactions to the boy's attitude.

This is eerie in ways he'd much rather not think about, thank you very much.]

What's your name?

[The question has enough severity in it to make it almost an order, but not enough of his usual flair to make it into A Question. It's complicated, alright? It's all a matter of priorities and a careful image to maintain.]

[He looks at Mihawk, cocking his head to the side curiously.]

Zoro. Um, Roronoa Zoro. [Proudly, but with the gravity of a young man who knows just how heavy dreams can get, he adds:] You'd better remember that, mister. I'm gonna be the greatest swordsman in the world some day.

[...yeah, someone's gonna be hitting the booze hard and fast today, to the point he might actually get drunk. Nonetheless, he merely offers the boy a rare smile. Barely at twitch of lips.]

I see.

[He ponders for a moment longer, before casually folding his arms over his chest.]

I will make sure to wait for you then, Roronoa.

[Let's see if he catches the implications of that.]

Oi! What do you mean by that? You haven't even seen me fight-- I'm real good!

[I think that whooshing sound just answered your question, ey? Sorry, Mihawk, they don't teach subtlety at the dojo.]

[Mihawk can't help but scoff a little.]

You're not.

[Another of those twitches of lips that might or might not be a smile.]

But you'll be. Eventually.

[Yeah, um. What? Zoro's not sure if he was just insulted or challenged. ~~Knowing Mihawk, it's both.~~]

I-I didn't say I was the best yet! [He flushes at little. Mihawk was a little too quick with that whole NOPE thing, sob. But after eating two-thousand and one slices of humble pie, Zoro supposes it's not so bad.] You mean I'll be good if I keep training, right?

There is as much distance between you and "good" as there is from "good" to "best".

[Unforgiving deadpan, sorry.]

It is a possibility.

[Really, Mihawk? You're gonna make this kid try and figure out your weird-ass verbal gymnastics?]

H-HEY! [... because, yeah. He's just gonna default to anger after realizing he has no idea whether those comments were meant to be good or bad.] Fight me first! I'll show you!!!

[He's actually gonna try pulling Wadou out right over his shoulder. Good luck with that, kid.]

[Yes.]

I will fight you when you master the skill of unsheathing your sword.

[There is a distinctly sardonic undertone to that. Deeply sardonic. It's his only defense to the disaster he's witnessing right now.]

[While some (very, very) distant part of him is filing this moment away under "reasons to commit facepalm harakiri", the actual physical part of him somehow manages to twist and dislodge his sword. SUCCESS. ~~BUT AT WHAT PRICE.~~]

DRAW YOUR SWORD! [Because even at this point in his tantrum, he's still lucid enough to remember that honor had to come before defending his honor.]

[Mihawk deadeyes Zoro a little, resisting the urge to facepalm. He, of course, does not draw his sword.]

That is not mastering the skill of unsheathing your sword.

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! [He actually stomps his foot in frustration.] I SAID FIGHT ME!

[Well. He's starting to reevaluate his impressions of Zoro. Namely, he's clearly matured a lot from when he was a little kid. Also clearly, someone should have curbstomped the stupid out of him at some point.]

Roronoa Zoro, you will cease this crass display immediately.

[Oh shit son, this is the cranky teacher voice.]

IT'S NOT CRASS!!! [Says the boy who is two seconds and one more bitchy comment away from chucking his sword at the greatest swordsman in the world.] DRAW! YOUR! SWORD!

[Well. You've done it now, son. He's officially using the YOU ARE WORTHLESS SCUM AND WILL LEARN YOUR PLACE glare.

~~He looks like a goddamn vampire and no one would blame Zoro for expecting ominous lightning to soon follow.~~]

GGNNGHH...!!! [ok so he is sort of kind of freaking out a little because holy shit you are one scary motherfucker and he is all of eight

BUT

YOU KNOW WHAT

that extra thrill of fear is exactly what propels him into drawing his sword and rushing at Mihawk with all his might. YOU HAD YOUR CHAAAAANCE]

[You are kind of really slow, Zoro. Even if Luceti has halved his usual speed. He's gonna sidestep that attempt.

And then he's going to kick you in the face, because you're being really dumb.]

[Zoro and his sword both go flying but Zoro has rage and training on his side so he rolls over, unhurt.

Well, no, his nose is bleeding pretty badly and he has a twitch in his eye but that doesn't stop him from picking up his sword and trying again. He has it up, this time. Guarding!]

[Mihawk sighs. This is gonna take a while, doesn't it.]

Must you embarrass yourself so?

[It's kind of embarrassing to him too, by proxy, dammit. He sidesteps again, this time reaching out to trip Zoro off his feet. You will notice he's still not pulling out his sword.]

[He goes sprawling, sword once again falling out of his hands. In a fit of rage, Zoro whirls around and grabs at Mihawk's outstretched leg.

He's not sure what he's doing anymore but DAMNIT YOU ARE GOING DOWN.]

[Mihawk looks down at Zoro with a very put upon expression on his face. Kid, he didn't sign up for this when he agreed to be your teacher. Hell, he's not sure the whole teacher thing is still a thing, given the current state of affairs.]

That's enough, Roronoa.

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[action] NOTE: retconning this thread to October 5th!

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