[Voice/Action]

[dancing_flames]

[It's been a few weeks since the draft, and what they'd seen there in Zompania still isn't sitting well with Shuda at all. As a former Demon Card general, he's no stranger to leaving destruction in his wake just to make a point (Garage Island being one such example); it's hypocritical of him to be bothered by it, he knows.

But those bones he'd helped Rin bury, with those strange markings on them... they were more unsettling than anything he'd seen Demon Card be responsible for, and he hates it. He hates that there was nothing he could do.

Well-- nothing he could do there. But maybe there's something he can do here to help keep a situation like that from happening again.]

Since it seems to be the popular thing to do now, I'm offering sparring practice or lessons for anyone who wants to learn how to use a sword. I won't go easy on you, so if you're expecting some leisurely exercise, don't bother signing up.

[Then, as an afterthought:]

I can also try helping people contact Eferin if they want to learn from him. Seems like getting him to teach you is a rare thing, so I might as well offer help in that too.

I'll be in the barracks for a few hours if anyone wants to drop by. Just remember that I meant what I said about not going easy on anyone.

[Sure enough, if anyone happens to venture to the barracks after this announcement, they'll find Shuda there going through kata with his katana. Strike, thrust, parry. Strike, thrust, parry. There's a sort of comfort in the familiarity of the routine, a sense of control that he hasn't felt since they'd returned from Zompania. If he can hold onto that, maybe he can shake this feeling of unease that's been plaguing him.]

Comments

[dancing_flames]

And I don't use the sims, so it sounds like we both need a change of pace.

[deathsdoctor]

[Preach it, man.]

Any particular place you prefer to meet up? I'm good with anything, myself.

[dancing_flames]

You know where the barracks are? That's where I usually practice.

[deathsdoctor]

Yeah, sure do.

Name's Trafalgar Law by the way.

[dancing_flames]

Shuda. Nice to meet you.

[He likes you already, Law.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Likewise.]

Pleasure's mine.

How's three tomorrow sound to you? [Gotta work earlier, but...]

[dancing_flames]

Sounds good to me-- it's not as if I have anything better to be doing at that time.

[That's one of the blessings and curses of a place as quiet as Luceti.]

[deathsdoctor]

Great. I'll see you then.

[dancing_flames]

Looking forward to it.

[And when the time they'd agreed on rolls around, Shuda will be waiting in the barracks, dressed in a pair of track pants and a shirt, his katana sheathed at his side. He doesn't exactly look to be the friendliest sort, but then again, it's not as if that would deter someone like Law.]

[deathsdoctor]

[Hell no. It's not like many pirates look more inviting. It certainly doesn't bother this one as he strolls up.

Law is similarly casual in dress; jeans, a t-shirt, boots, and customary hat. He's shouldering his nodachi, while his tanto is strapped horizontally on his belt at his back.]

Oi! [A wave.] Mister Shuda?

[dancing_flames]

Shuda.

[The correction is automatic; being addressed as 'Mister' just feels odd to him. It's far too formal for a situation in which titles don't matter.

Law's swords draw his eye immediately, and his smile quirks upward the slightest bit further. Good, so this man uses a similar style of sword to his own. That will make the spar that much more interesting.]

Looks like we have the same taste in weapons.

[deathsdoctor]

Shuda, then. [No one here wants to indulge him on his honorifics. Which Luceti keeps translating, Shuda-ya.]

We do. [A katana. A well made one to Law's eye. And bearing all the little marks a swordsman would recognise as a weapon much used and loved. Law's appraising gaze turns to the man himself. Yes, he's good. He doesn't need to fight him to tell.] I've never loved another style of sword quite as much as this one.

[dancing_flames]

I'd actually never used one before I got this one.

[His grip on the hilt tightens slightly, almost imperceptibly, though it will no doubt catch Law's sharp eyes.]

It was a gift from an old friend.

[deathsdoctor]

[Oh. That kind of gift, if he's judging the grip right.]

Aa. [Not sure if he wants to ask. He's just met the guy.] I see.

[dancing_flames]

[That kind of gift indeed. Law's assessment would be right on the mark.]

I've heard it said that it's a demon sword. I don't know its true background, and I don't care either. Maybe it really is one.