Stock and Starved, The Journey begins!

"I'll get you the translated notebook so..." Ayane began... but Yanagi had already run off "She's sure an energetic one... Anyhow, back to work~"

Ayane pivoted and went right back to working on the engines, the joy of tinkering blanketing all else and giving her singleminded focus on the task at hand.

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Up on deck Onaka was back at work managing the crew, but Yanagi would be able to observe Serena was on deck now too, practicing with a sword of much higher quality than most of the others on board. She was going through various forms, but none of them were from the same style. It was like she'd taken a move from all the different schools of swordplay and stitched them together into a patchwork style of her own. It was weirdly efficient, but sloppy.

An experienced swordsman like Yanagi could see that despite Serena's natural talent having strung together copied moves that fit well together, the lack of understanding of why each move worked the way it did hindered her. She was only copying, she lacked the knowledge to execute her moves properly. With a proper teacher though, she could become quite skilled.

Serena ended her sequence of moves with a slash that sent a cutting pressure wave out over the side of the boat and into the sea. She hadn't noticed Yanagi yet it seemed, as she simply retook a starting stance and began practicing again.

Serena glanced over to Yanagi, a mixture of emotions rising up in her, she settled on quiet annoyance though. She hadn't fully forgiven Yanagi for the earlier incident, but she couldn't make a snarky comeback when she knew the girl from Wano was right about this.

"I didn't get to learn how to use this from a teacher or family member" Serena said bluntly "I learned while fighting to survive by taking what people used against me or against each other around me and copying it for myself. I know perfectly well it's not an elegant style, but it works. Even if it's a mess. So unless you're offering to provide those missing pieces I'd appreciate you not insulting me for making do with what I've been given."

Serena observed as Yanagi drew her blade and swung it in a circle multiple times, before taking a ready stance. Clearly this was someone with formal training. She'd fought people like that before, but she never overcame them with just her sword. It was always her devil fruit that saved her in those situations. She'd tried learning the blade from Isabelle... but the old Mink had a very reactionary and defensive style that worked well for someone with her enhanced senses and decades of experience... but it didn't work for her. She'd taken a few bits and pieces from it like she had everything else and moved on.

Now there was another trained swordsman to teach her, maybe this one would help her learn a style that worked for her... or maybe it would just be another thing to steal moves from. Either way... she'd benefit from this.

Taking her blade, Serena slashed down at Yanagi, striking forcefully but at a sloppy angle. She intended to knock Yanagi's blade down and then transition to a thrust, a move she'd stolen from some fencer or something. But the execution was all wrong, relying on brute force rather than technique and leverage.

Serena staggered back, of course that wouldn't work, not against someone bigger than her with actual training. She could've overpowered someone bigger if she were using her fruit, but she couldn't keep relying on that. Gritting her teeth with frustration... mostly at herself... she stepped in again, this time going for several rapid fire thrusts. It was a decently executed move this time, fast and deadly. But the situation was wrong, as this move wasn't suited for an opening strike against a skilled target who could just deflect them all.

Serena's frustration only grew as she continued failing to even pose a challenge. That tone of disappointment and concern irritated her... but the only way to get rid of it was to step up her game. So be it then, she'd do just that!

Before Yanagi's eyes, Serena would vanish into a blur, reappearing behind the tall swordswoman as Serena used Shave to accelerate around her, then spun with a horizontal slash at her backside. There wasn't any fancy form or trick here, just relying on her speed and power to score a hit, or at least dispel that infuriating tone looking down on her.

"It's a technique higher ranking government officials use" Serena said "it's called shave, it's one of I think seven techniques they can learn. My version is imperfect though. The real thing is much faster, still it's a good technique that does help compensate for everything else I'm lacking."

Serena took another ready stance "I still have no clue why you keep making flirty comments like that towards someone like me, but if you think they'll make me hold back you've got another thing coming" she said as she charged in, slashing again several times. She wasn't relying on her imperfect Shave now, instead just poking and prodding at Yanagi to learn from how she defended herself from everything. Her words revealed more than her moves though, it seemed she had a complete lack of awareness as to why someone like Yanagi would be interested in her, just assuming it was some sort of ulterior motive driving it all.

Serena was observing each move Yanagi made, trying to learn from them, but the continued flirts distracted her further. Eventually the distraction proved too much, and her next slash suddenly packed a lot more force behind it than the others, enough to knock Yanagi back several feet as Serena unleashed kinetic energy stored up by her devil fruit into the attack unintentionally.

"Stop it. I don't know what your game is, but enough is enough." Serena said angrily "seeing what you've seen, no sane person would want any sort of relationship with me. If you just want to have a fling then just come out and say that, don't go around trying to get me thinking there's anything more than that in my future. I know my lot in life, and a relationship ain't part of it."