petite reprise - part 5

[mekachu04]

Chapter 5

Despite a love of slashing things, Zoro's fighting style is very different than Killer's. Honestly, the fellow supernova is closer to some mix of Sanji and Luffy; kicks and flips and fast darts and dodges. He had skill with weapons, but with his punishers he hits more like punching.

So Zoro doesn't really know what to make of the audience of two boys he gets when he does his stretches and katas in the morning. He has no idea what Kidd gets out of watching him - the boy is just as much a bare knuckle brawler now as he is an adult. But the little head tilt on Killer means the boy is definitely studying him for something.

A few days of it, and even Zoro has to admit, he's curious. He turns to his audience, and asks if they want to learn or something.

Kidd 'tchs' in derision, but pointedly does not look at Killer, effectively hiding the little smile as he clearly wants something to happen. Killer starts to get up, and Zoro frowns at the mask.

"Maybe when you're feeling better," he hedges, gesturing to the cloth. Kidd doesn't turn his head, but he's lazer focusing in on Zoro. Killer touches his face in confusion, tiny hand of the cloth as he mulled it over.

Hesitantly, he pulled the mask off, toying with it in his hands, before holding it to Kidd.

The self inflicted scratches are mostly healed, and Zoro doesn't see any sign of new attempts, so at the ends, it looks like the mask is working.

Kidd takes it, sitting up straighter to watch, and tiny little Killer faces off against Zoro; who admittedly, had been wanting a rematch, but this was far past his scope of imagination. As he walks Killer through his exercises, he can tell immediately the kid has had some kind of training already; his stance needs no corrections and his balance is far beyond what even Zoro's was at that age.

He finally starts to get somewhere when he ask Killer to show him what he already knows and is fascinated by the fluid set of moves that as pure muscle memory for the child. Kidd is watching, but he's watching Zoro, meaning that this is something he already knows.

What Killer and Kidd remember is a jumble at best- but it seems like they are pretty set in the memories that they had at 8. so Kidd knows Killer, but Killer doesn't know Kidd, not really. He's running off instincts at this point, but seems to trust Kidd completely in a way only children can.

He doesn't move the way a child should though, and Zoro fights the frown he can feel trying to furrow his brow, and understands he needs to choose words carefully. He wishes Robin was here instead.

"You are very talented," he goes with in the end, "you must have worked very hard to learn that set."

Killer's bangs and forever smile make it very hard to judge his face for a reaction. Glancing up, Zoro saw Sanji smoking on the deck above, face just as blank.

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Zoro approached Sanji after lunch, under the guise of cleaning up after the meal. Once he was sure the youngest of the group were out of earshot, he casually dried the plate Sanji handed him. "You have thoughts."

"Hmm?"

"This morning. You saw it too."

"I saw two sword dorks training."

"He doesn't move like a kid should."

Sanji stopped, looking in the soapy water. "No. He doesn't'"

Zoro thought about Kuina; she'd kicked his ass soundly at that age. With a sword, she'd still probably win, but Killer had hand to hand training, and to the extent that he moved without having to think about it already. It took years to get to that point.

Killer does not move like a child who been trained from a young age; Killer moves like a child who was trained and was using those skills from a young age. A child solider taught to kill before pesky things like morals or empathy were learned.

Sanji scrubbed harder a the plate in his hands if only to keep his hands from clenching in anger.

 "You can't have him, he's mine now !" Kidd had said.

And while Sanji had been running away because he wasn't a child soldier, he remembered the cruelty of his brothers.

Nothing like the stoic child that followed someone as rambunctious as Kidd. Still and quiet.. and forgotten. A stealth killer.

A child who followed Kidd, but didn't know him yet.