Star of the Grandline

Chapter 2: Training Begins

I sighed as I sat up from my bed, stretching my arms to pop my stiff joints. My magic was fully replenished after a 2 hour nap, so it was time to call Capricorn.

I sat down at the table and called him out. He appeared with a length of paper and a pen, and sat down beside me.

“Alright, I was thinking of having Cancer teach me swordplay, now that I have a proper pair of swords. then you can help me with fighting strategy and endurance. Loki and Scorpio can help me train my hand to hand and Taurus can help me with strength. Also I was thinking of training with all of you personally to try and get all of your Stardresses. How does that sound,” I asked him, scooting closer so that I could see what he wrote down.

He nodded, writing down their names and what they would be teaching me.

“Alright then Mondays you will train with me, Tuesdays with Cancer, Wednesdays with Leo and Scorpio, and Thursdays with Taurus. Then Fridays and Saturdays will be Stardress training. Sunday can be a rest day.”

I nodded agreeing with him. Once he finished the Time table, I took the paper from him and posted it up beside the front door.

“Well, since today is Monday you and I should begin our training,” I grinned, spinning around to face him.

✹✹✹✹

“Again”, Capricorn ordered as I broke through the treeline. 

I huffed, trying my hardest to catch my breath. We have been training for the last 6 hours and I felt like I was about to pass out. We had started out simple, with some yoga and stretches. Then we moved on to jumping jacks, which he made me do until my legs felt like jello. Then he told me to run into the forest, up to the peak of the mountain, then back down. I've been doing that, over and over again ever since.

I groaned, before turning tail and hauling myself back up the mountain. My legs were shaky due to overexertion, but I made up for it in my sure footing. I have run this road so many times in the last several hours, I was almost running on autopilot. My feet found sturdy rocks and tree roots with ease, and within 30 minutes I was crashing through the tree line again.

I hunched over, breathing heavily as I supported myself with my hands on bent knees. A hand placed itself on my shoulder, causing me to look up through sweaty hair and exhaustedly hooded eyes. Capricorn nodded, giving me a proud look.

“You did well, drink some water and do a few more stretches to loosen up your muscles. After that you are free to shower, eat, and rest. I will see you again on saturday for stardress training,” He said before closing his own gate.

I slumped to my knees, a small laugh spilling from my lips.

“This week is going to be hell.”

The next few days went as well as you would expect. Tuesday Cancer started by teaching me the basics of swordplay, before throwing me into a sparring match with him. He was gentle for the most part, not going too fast so I had time to react. He didn't use the back of the blade though, so whenever he managed to land a hit, a small shallow cut was left. It was fine though, I had fought with much worse and I’m glad he didn’t treat me like a baby.

Wednesday was pretty simple. Loki, Scorpio and I sparred for most of the day, with each of them giving me pointers on how to adjust my form and how to put more power behind my attacks. They also tooks some time to show me better ways to dodge and block in order to give myself the upper hand, as well as some simple grappling techniques.

Thursday consisted of some major strength training. everything from push ups, to sit ups, to pull ups and squats. Taurus also had some dumbbells, which were charmed to get heavier the stronger I got. He said that once I was able to do 1000 reps of each, he would begin to add extra weight until I was strong enough to match him. According to him, that would be the only way I would be able to gain his stardress, because I would need to be strong enough to wield his ax.