The Pirate Ninja

Chapter 5

"Alright! Lesson one." Hana sat on the front deck of the ship with her legs crossed. Ace sat across from her in the same position. Placing her hands together in a circle, Hana closed her eyes. "Now we meditate."

"Meditate? That sounds so boring." She could picture his pout making her smirk. He was so like Luffy. "I thought we'd do something cool!"

"Meditation is vital. You must relax your body and focus. A clear mind makes a dangerous warrior." Hana could still feel his stare on her face. "Close your damn eyes Ace and breathe."

They sat in silence as Hana meditated and focused on her chakra, letting it flow to every part of her body. It helped her with chakra control, and releasing any blocks she had.

"I'm boreeeeed."

Hana tried her best to ignore the pouting and whining ravenette. A few other crewmates swung by to watch the division commander fail at meditation.

This dragged on for more than an hour before Hana gave up and dismissed Ace to go do whatever he wanted. The man ran away so quickly to bother his crewmates leaving her all alone.

Taking a deep breath, she went back to meditating. A body sat down next to her, the calm aura of Marco. He didn't say anything but she could tell he was trying to meditate as well. It does help relieve stress and clear the mind. With what they've gone through recently, he needs a lot of meditating.

It was calming having another person join her meditation sessions, he wasn't annoying or loud. He stayed silent and attempted to meditate with her.

"Calming isn't it?"

Hana broke the silence first, opening her eyes to stare at the orange sky. Ah the sun was rising, she didn't realize how much time had passed.

Marco sighed from next to her, "Yeah, thanks for letting me join you-yoi." Hana could see how less stressed he looked, from the relaxed pose of his shoulders.

"Anytime. I usually meditate in the mornings. Great way to start the day and unblock chakra points."

"I'm surprised you got Ace to sit still so early-yoi."

Hana snorted and gave him a lopsided grin. "He was mostly asleep. He doesn't do well with sitting still and being silent." Both laughed at that, it was so true.

Both stood up and stretched, heading off to the gallery together. No words spoken, the morning bustle soothing. It made Hana miss the Thousand Sunny, and her crew.

Marco and Hana found Ace eating, barely stopping to offer a wave. Used to his brother's antics, seeing him act like Luffy just made her heart clench. Luffy, man she missed her Captain.

"Since you failed at meditation this morning. We can start some hand to hand combat after breakfast."

With the wicked grin she shot at Ace, the others felt uneasy. "I'm not going to go easy on you just because you're Luffy's brother."

Once breakfast was done, a crowd grew on the main deck. Even Whitebeard was present for the training session.

Hana stretched her body out, relaxed and ready to teach Ace he's nothing compared to her. He needs to be beaten down before being built back up.

"Alright Second Division Commander, show me what you're made of."

Ace didn't hesitate to come at her, but having lived with his Devil fruit for so long he wasn't great at hand to hand combat. He had the height and weight advantage, but she was quicker and packed a mean punch.

Hana was going extremely easy on him, she didn't want to hurt him too bad. "Come on, keep light on your feet." Hands tapped his feet, "Stay light on your toes. Relax, sense your surroundings." A hand jabbed into his side, "Focus."

It continued like that, Hana lightly sparring with him but also critiquing his form and technique. She demonstrated some moves and how to deliver the most damage to the enemy.

A few crewmates were watching her methods and started practicing among themselves. Hana wasn't exclusive and happily corrected some forms. She floated around the deck to the sparring groups and helped them out.

The red-haired woman demonstrated and moved arms. What was meant for one person ended with a mix from different divisions, all eager to get stronger.

Once dinner rolled around, Hana sat between Marco and Ace as they ate. The lads were starving from the workout, while she giggled.

"That was day one lads."

A collective groan broke out with the loud laugh of the ninja ringing through. She was going to have so much fun with this.

Hana stalked the ship's musicians and had them play some music for her. She hadn't danced in so long, she was dying to.

Giggling, she pulled Ace to dance with her. Her slim body flowed with the music, twirling and moving fluidly. Each time she went to the edge, she pulled another crewmate in. The 16th division commander Izou was next, he was happy to dance with her.

Her home country in this world was known for their dancing, Hana all too happy to share it with this family. One by one the division commanders were pulled to dance, as red hair swished back and forth with each movement Hana made.

It was a glorious night. One of happiness and laughter, brought on from one single little woman. This is what she was good at, helping others be happy.

Sure the lads mostly had no rhythm, it wasn't the point. The point was the smiles and teasing between them, the bonding and remembering that they were okay.