I maintain eye contact with the woman as I slowly reach my hand up and push the sheathed blade away from my throat. Everyone in the tavern turns their eyes towards us.
Noah: "I don't really know anything about you, but you made fun of me first."
Noah: "How do you know that I'm an outsider anyways? Maybe I just live in the hills."
I watch the woman slowly pull her arm back and set her blade back by her side.
???: "Not even country bumkins would wear clothes that ugly. Anyways, for an outsider you sure arrived at a good time. Are you here for the tournament in a few days?"
Did she just insult me again and change the topic like it's nothing? This lady is more bitter than her drink. She also brought up the tournament. She seems strong and has a sword, I wonder if she'll be participating?
Noah: "Well, I didn't plan to be, but I'm sticking around for it. You seem strong, are you going to be participating?"
???: "Participating? I'm the star event, I'm the champion of the sword clan. I'm gonna slice the life out of anyone I'm matched up against. I've even surpassed Master Polka in power."
So she is participating then. It seems we may have your fight eachother soon. It wouldn't feel right to keep it a suprise, but I don't want to ruin the conversation.
Noah: "I'm Noah by the way. What's your name?"
The woman would set her mug of sake back down after she took another gulp.
???: "I'm Scarlet, Scarlet Ootsuki. You'd be wise to remember it, so you can chant it from the crowd."
Noah: "Ootsuki? That explains the clothing. You're from Wano County. I remember my Grandpa telling me a story about that place years ago. It was raided by the World Government, right?"
End of Noah's POV...Start of Scarlet's POV:
My eyes dim as those words come out of his mouth. "Wano Country".
What does he even know about it? Shit! Now my arm aches. Why can't this stupid kid just watch his mouth.
I clutch my empty sleeve as I look away with a scowl on my face. The waiter walks away after dropping off his childish drink.
Scarlet: "Yeah, I'm from there, so what? Don't make light of me just because the World Government took over my home."
Noah: "I wasn't doing that at all. I said you seemed strong earlier, right? I think samurai are cool."
I turn my head back and look at him as I remove my hand from my sleeve.
Didn't he mention his grandpa told him stories about Wano Country? Does that mean his grandpa was there at some point?
Scarlet: "You said something about your grandpa earlier, right? Is he from there or was he a marine, maybe a pirate or something?"
My eyes would remain firmly on his waiting his answer. His eyes would seem to hesitate as he took a long sip of his drink.
Noah: "Well, you can say that. My Grandpa was pretty well known, so..."
My eyes gaze up at his forehead. I don't know how I didn't notice it before. That bandana on his forehead, I recognize the design. Oh my god! He's the grandson of the "Boot of Zeus", Cain Kotzer.
Before I can say anything his hands would move up and cover my mouth and he shushes me loudly to overpower my voice.
Noah: "Don't say it, okay? The man you're thinking of is my grandpa."
He would remove his hands from my mouth and reach up and would yank his bandana off and tie it around his wrist.
Scarlet: "From what I've heard your grandfather was a bad man."
I would watch with a blank face as his eyes would darken. His eyes would shift down to his drink as he looks at his reflection.
Noah: "I know that. There's never been a rumor of a genuinely good pirate. He wasn't a bad man."
I'd continue to look at him as he spoke. He right about the rumors, however, if they're false I wonder what he was truly like. Maybe I shouldn't ask though?
Scarlet: "I'm not the biggest fan of rumors, so I'll take your word for it. Why not just wear the bandana on your wrist, so you won't be recognized?"
Noah: "That's a solid idea. I just never wanted to wear it like I was ashamed of it, but you're right."
I smile proudly to myself as I watch him tie the bandana around his wrist and stand up.
Noah: "I'm gonna head out. See you at that tournament. You better not waste too much energy slashing your prey."
I look him up and down, he's taller than I remember when he first walked in. I drink the rest of my mug of Sake. I slam it down and look over at the waiter.
Scarlet: "Another one, now!"
Waiter: "Yes, right away, madam Scarlet."
Scarlet: "I'll show you that even the grandson of a yonko commander is nothing to me."
I look back curiously as the sallon doors swing closed. Why should I save my energy? Does he know something that I don't, or...don't tell me that he's gonna...no, an outsider could never learn that quickly, right?
Waiter: "Hey, get back here, Sir! You didn't pay!"
End of Scarlet's POV...
...
Noah returns to Sokai's seaside house late at night. He sees all the lights off, so not wanting to make any noise, Noah walks over to his ship and jumps over the side, so he can head inside and get some rest.
The following morning when Noah woke up he hurriedly brushed his teeth and ate a few pieces of alligator jerky to satiate himself before he begun his training today.
Noah: "I wonder how the 'Spirit Clan' fights anyways. I mean, it can't be as simple as I'm thinking."
Noah would head outside and jump off his ship back onto land. He'd look over at Sokai's house and see Both of them are already up and waiting.
Sokai: "Late night, young one?"
Noah: "Yeah, I stayed out longer than I wanted to. A walk turned into a tavern trip and I met th-..."
Noah would look up at Sokai as she falls asleep as he talks.
Noah: "IF YOU'RE GONNA FALL ASLEEP, THEN DON'T ASK!"
Azar would step down onto the sand and approach Noah.
Azar: "Enough with her, it's time to begin your training. You need to learn how to fight with your spirit."
Noah: "I always fight with my spirit."
Azar: "It's not quite that simple. This is fighting using your spirit, not with it."
Noah: "what's the difference?"
Azar: "Just watch, and I'll show you. Don't pass out once you get impressed."
Azar would stand across from Noah with his fists by his sides. He'd drop his stance and keep his legs wide. Azar would rapidly punch his hands out and on the third punch and ember would emit from his hand before it began to smoke slightly.
Noah: "Wow, your punches could light a cigarette. I don't know if I want to learn how to do that."
Azar: "THEY CAN DO WAY MORE THAN THAT!"
Azar takes a moment to breathe deeply.
Azar: "Look, fighting using your spirit means manifesting your spirit in a physical manner, such as fire or wind...maybe even lightning in some cases. You have to decide which one to learn. It's incredibly complex, so it's important to think it ov-."
Noah: "Yeah, I'll think I'll go with wind. Fire looks pathetic. I'm guessing lightning requires too much time to figure out."
Azar: "YOU COULD AT LEAST LET ME FINISH! DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME EITHER!"
Azar would have to calm himself down with another deep breath.
Azar: "Wind, got it. Follow me, I'll lead you to where you'll train and tell you what you must do."
Noah would follow behind Azar as he led him to a narrow cave entrance. Azar would light a torch with his fist before he continued walking. Once they reached the end there was a large, multicolored cube seemingly made of compressed scrap metal with numerous jagged edges.
Azar: "This is it. You'll train by punching this for 8 hours a day. You'll need your bones to be strong in order to manipulate the air around you. No food and water until you're done."
Noah: "I have so many questions. Why does this have to be done in a cave? 8 hours a day, I'll break my hands, no? Manipulate the air around me, I thought you said it involved manifesting your spirit? Why no food or water?"
Azar: "Hmm...let's see. It's done in a cave, so when you cry out in pain, no one will hear you. If you break your hands, then you're overexerting yourself and you're spirit will dwindle, so you'll be unworthy. Finally, it's metaphorical, okay? You do this training to change the shape of your spirit, then you apply it to fighting, so it's basically fighting using your spirit. Don't ask so many questions. I may be younger than you, but in the spirit clan, I'm your elder."
Azar would scoff before he would set the torch down in a holder. he turned around and started walking out of the cave. Noah turns his head towards the large, dense metal cube.
Noah: "YOU DIDN'T EVEN ANSWER MY LAST ONE!"
Noah takes a deep breath and calms himself down because he knows it's going to be a long day.
Noah: "Well, 8 hours, huh? The sooner I finish the sooner it will end. Here goes nothing."
Noah would remove his shirt to make himself sweat less as the torch heats up the area. All that remains are his pants and bandana tied to his wrist. Noah squares up with the metal cube and slams his fist into it.
Noah: "YOUCH! HOW DENSE IS THIS THING?!"
...
End of Chapter 4...