Time Off From Piracy

[Dandead10]

Shandra took her gifts rather nicely although instead of wearing it on her neck, she asked if she could wear it on her belt. “Of course you can Shandra-Chan. I'm not here to dictate what you can and can't do.” She said it as if her seated officer were being silly at the moment. The dancer explained how wearing it on her neck would get in the way of doing things such as flipping or more intricate movements. Shandra put the tone dial in her pocket at the moment as she seemed rather happy Ruhe could say. It was then that Ruhe decided to ask if Shandra liked vibrant things. The timing couldn't be more perfect as when the woman was about to answered, the fireworks rang off into the air. When Ruhe explained what the fireworks were for, Shandra seemed more than happy to join it at a later date.

Ruhe had asked the officer if she wanted to go back to the ship and have more fun there, but it seemed the plan was changing as she was lead off somewhere else. She was lead with a few annoying wrong turns here and there and then finally they arrived at their location. Ruhe had been quiet the whole time as the fireworks died down gradually. She didn't know what Shandra had planned, but wanted to indulge her if possible. The Pirates had soon found themselves in front of a place known as Stairway to Heaven. It looked like some sort of dance hall mixed with a bar. Before they went inside, Ruhe felt her shoulders grasped as she was taken aside by Shandra. She wanted to teach Ruhe how to dance by the looks of it. While Ruhe had been joking about that at the time, she decided why not try? Besides, perhaps the captain and officer could bond together and get closer this way. Ruhe had no formal dance training of her own, so perhaps this would be a new learning experience for her anyways.

“I'd be glad to learn from one of the best hmm Shandra? So, what's the first thing you'll be teaching me?” Ruhe stood at attention as she smiled brightly. Little did Ruhe and Shandra know that several officers of the law had been attending this place as well as a familiar marine officer who had several face wounds. He was still sour about being kicked in the face several times, but that was past right? Ruhe adjusted her clothing by patting it with both hands. She would begin to stretch her body generally as Shandra would explain the tasks she needed Ruhe to do. The two young ladies had a lot cut out for them tonight if they weren't careful about it. Shandra seemed eager to get started, so Ruhe would be waiting for her answer with both hands crossed over her torso. The thought of drawing attention to herself honestly sort of made herself herself a little nervous. It was then, from the club a loud new song had played from it's depths. Inside, the Marines had began to dance in unison as they sang along. Generally, the marine officers were having a great time. However, the marine officer mentioned before did not as he was sitting in the corner pouting. A female marine had suddenly slapped the man. "Come on Monty! Lighten up! It's not every day we get to celebrate like this! Dance with me and enjoy some food!" The marine officer now identified as Monty grudgingly followed as he was dragged to the middle of the club. "Clarrisa. I swear without you, I'd have never become a marine in the first place."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

[Greil9]

Since the two didn't have too much time for the teaching, Shandra decided to only focus on the most important aspect. "Well, we don't have time to learn an entire routine, but I'll keep it simple in there. Just follow my lead and we'll turn some heads. Now hat we do need to work on is the end to the chorus AND the routine during solo. Those are the moments people remember, so you gotta show your best moves if you want to be the center of attention at the end." First was to see if Ruhe had any natural talent for dance. The dancer was pretty confident seeing how skilled the samurai was at moving in a fight, but it was best to verify anyway. Tapping a simply rhythm, she told her captain "Okay, try to keep up with this at first."

Shandra then began to make a few simple movements, mostly one leg steps to forward and sides, punctuated with a short hop in the middle as her landing with both feet at once. Along with this she sang the lyrics quietly, trying to keep herself in the beat while giving something for the captain to follow. "It's time to shake it up, So stir the pot baby, dish♫ Come on and face the music, time to shine, just make a wish ♫ You got so many problems but the night is young♫ Let's take one down and pass it round, from dusk till dawn let's have some fun♫" With a single spin and a rather audible clap, she finished the short routine she had set up. Now turning back to Ruhe, she explained "Okay, that was pretty basic so you should be able to follow it even on the fly. Give it a shot and I'll see if we can move onto the big finisher. This doesn't need to be exactly as mine, but the big ones are what's what you're gonna need to ace one hundred percent." Smugly throwing her hands behind her back, she claimed "My usual is a eight-times rapid spin in place, followed by an immediate pose. Works every time. If you pull the simple part off, I'll let you in on the secret of doing it perfectly."

[Dandead10]

Ruhe listened intently to Shandra to hear her instructions. It seemed that they would not have had time to learn a full routine, but she would still need to try her best to learn what Shandra was feeding her head. Shandra talked about how it was all supposed to be about how to draw attention to herself and become the center of focus, but thing is Ruhe really wasn't about that life in terms of social bragging rights. The older teen tapped a simple melody for her to dance to assumably as she told her to keep up. The dancer was now her choreographer it seemed as Ruhe saw her dancer perform a few simple movements for her to follow. Even though Shandra was whispering, she could still hear her mutter some of those lyrics.



Ruhe would wait for her to do the dance movements once before following and performing them after her. She tried her best, and she was sure she did decently in mimicking the movements, but it was her first time dancing and it was dark. Somewhat hard to see the movements Shandra was performing in actuality. However, after she finished she was told to dance for Shandra exactly what she had saw seeing that the dance was so basic, she should be able to do that anytime. She had done so efficiently enough before she stood in confusion to see if she pleased her. “Tada?” Ruhe was foreign to the art and didn't know how well she did seeing it was new to her. She was doing her best though if not to appease Shandra, then to experience something new herself. The young captain waited for a critique on her dancing before she could ask her next question.



“So Shandra-Chan. What is the next step? I’d hope that you have only the best planned for me.” The captain kicked her left foot back and forth as above them the street light flickered back and forth. Ruhe was a little bit bored to some degree as she wanted some excitement. She also just wasn’t that great with expressing her emotions with her body movements. She typically was much better at doing that with her blade, words, or even music. Focusing her inner mind however, she would bear through this. She should just be grateful that her friend had been wanting to take her to this place and that she was willing to help train her in the skill that was dance. The music was still playing, but was starting to die down as it progressed to the next song.

[Greil9]

While by no means impressive for the veteran dancer, Ruhe did perform adequately. It was just harder to impress someone who considered herself the greatest dancer in all of the four Blues. Though seeing as the captain did do well enough, Shandra considered her ready for step two. With a hesitant seeming nod, she replied "Okay, good enough. But for this one, 'good enough' won't do. You do it perfect or you do it over again. Now watch and learn from the master." 

Once done with her explanation, Shandra turned her ankles a bit before spinning in place eight times in quick succession. The speed at which she spun would definitely be impossible for an amateur, but she figured all the experience fighting would give Ruhe some leeway. Finally ending without having moved an inch from her staring position, the dance posed with her right arm angled upwards around 45 degrees as she looked the other way cocking her left arm on her hip. Feeling satisfaction over pulling it flawlessly once again, she tossed her hands behind her neck as she gave her captain a smug smile. "That's how you finish a dance. The trick is to start the motion at ankles to make sure you can keep moving and keep your eyes on one point the entire time so you don't get dizzy. Though I think doing four might be enough for you, wouldn't expect you to catch up with the master on your first time." 

Now was a good time to clue Ruhe in on what their ultimate goal was. After all it might be harder to get a plan done if someone wasn't in on it. Captain was a sweet enough girl to deserve to have a few more friends. Pacing back and forth in front of her, she explained "So once you get that done, it ought to easily garner some attention. Get attention, people are wanna talk to you. And when you get talking, you get friendly with people. Not rocket science, seeing as even I get it." 

[Dandead10]

Shandra was not impressed it seemed as she looked at Ruhe before saying she performed adequately enough. The samurai captain was complemented in her mind seeing that was her first time ever dancing. However, it seemed the next move was more complex and needed to be done perfectly or not at all. The young girl was somewhat nervous as she imagined for a moment that it was something death defying or terrifying. The dancer had taken a stance which Ruhe tried her best to observe. It was highly impressive for the young captain to see her dancer spin in such succession without flaw not once or twice but eight times! She watched very movement in gross interest before she blinked upon it’s completion. Giving several light claps, Shandra would begin her explanation on how to perform this dance movement.



It’s all in the ankles you said. I understand. I’ve never done something quite like this so I’ll try to go easy and step by step. Now...focus on one point so I don’t get dizzy.” Shandra said that four times in a circle would be sufficient for her, but she was not supposed to get dizzy and or mess up. That was fine enough of a challenge to have Ruhe reinterested in these trials. Standing on the the balls of her feet, she had focused right on Shandra. However, she stopped when she heard the intentions that Shandra had. To get Ruhe some more friends and to get her to be more popular was a nice gesture, but she didn’t really know if she felt comfortable in this situation. Ever since she was a young girl, she was not a social butterfly. The naginata wielder was always more of an introvert who trained by herself and didn’t really have companions throughout her life to spend time with. “Shandra-Chan. I’m not really the type who enjoys attracting attention to myself. I’m fourteen and I have you with me for a friend...and maybe some of the crew. I don’t really know if I want to do this to “make friends.” However, if you really want me to try and dance, I wouldn’t mind.”


Resuming her stance, she had spun off the balls of her feet to focus on the older teen in front of her. Spinning faster on the second spin, and yet faster still on the third. Ruhe felt inspired to make Shandra happy, but she honestly didn’t know if she was really wanting to do any of this. It was for the sake of fun after all though right? On the fifth, the novice dancer in training had almost tripped on her feet before dangling her arm with her other arm mimicking the former body language the dancer showed her earlier. She then almost stumbled backwards onto the ground as she struggled to retain her balance. The descendant from Wano was a fighter not a dancer. Not really knowing how well she had performed, she looked to Shandra for a critique. Maybe she didn’t do so great, but maybe she performed adequately enough. “I don’t know how you do this Shandra. I feel so dizzy and it seems so hard to express yourself with your body. I express my feelings better through solid steel clashing against steel more in my opinion.”

[Greil9]

Ruhe being none too excited about the plans put almost a complete damper on Shandras own enthusiasm. There seemed to hardly be a point in showing her best if it didn't serve a point... this time that is, any other day she'd still be going in to show her best moves and bask in the glow of attention. But if it was just her wanting it and not the captain, it was better to call the whole thing off. Disappointing too since she was looking forward to it. No point just going in and dancing, it was all or nothing when it came to Shandra. With a frustrated sigh, the dancer began walking off back towards the ship as she just said "Well, guess that's pointless then. I'll just see you back at the ship then. Maybe someone else on board likes clubs, I can always come back later." 

Since that was supposed to be their last stop, there was nothing left on their great day, even if this song and dance ended on a sour note. With the mood gone down, the conflict seemed to ground the dancers legs since she didn't feel like doing anything for the evening either. Though since captain had reached the goal set for her, she had to lay down a compliment. "Not bad for a first time though. As little point it has for you, I bet you could learn that in just a few weeks with some dedication." 

As she walked off, Shandra thought briefly of the question given. Very briefly, as she mostly gave the answer that didn't pass by any filters in her brains. The answer was much like the methodology in that sense. "I just do what comes naturally, feels like I just gotta let something inside me out. Thinking about that just makes it too difficult. Same when kicking someone. In fact I don't really like overthinking anything, it's much easier to just go with what comes to mind first and see where things go. That's usually more interesting too."

[Dandead10]

It was a good place that Amalia took her, or at least that's what Ruhe thought after initial appearance. It seemed Ruhe's insecurities had saved the two pirates a LOT of trouble. Entering that dance club would have probably been the last thing the pair of pirates would do with their lives. Ruhe liked Shandra, she really did but when Shandra gave a frustrated sigh the captain was a bit worried she was about to lose a friend. The friendly dancer was disappointed and claimed that there was no purpose in them going in there and dancing if Ruhe really didn't feel like it. The older teenager had turned to walk away from the younger girl saying she was going back to the ship. When Shandra had complimented her, she felt incredibly guilty and so she voiced her thought. “Wait! Don’t leave just yet. Excuse my blatant disregard for your feelings. I don’t want my decision to tear apart our friendship or cause you to leave. I just made you as a friend and I don’t want to be alone again.” The desperate samurai ran up to Shandra before gripping her wrist as hard as she could. Her cerulean eyes stared deeply into the eyes of her comrade. They say the eyes are the gateway to the soul and if that was true, Ruhe’s eyes were desperate and fearful.

Despite being a powerful warrior and a decent leader in terms of battle strategy anyways, she was an amateur when it came to social interaction. She grew up in a dojo on this island with no friends, a father who was constantly unhappy with his daughter longing for a son, and a mother who was often abused by said father. Ruhe knew nothing of what proper friendships were like and now that she had made a friend, she was terrified at the thought of losing that bond. Shandra was more than a crewmate, she was Ruhe’s Nakama. If they were going to be working together they needed to strengthen the bond, but with her inexperience she did not know how to do this. A thought flashed through Ruhe’s mind of Shandra telling her that friendship was not bought, and just naturally developed. Did that mean that friendships naturally devolve as well? The grip on the dancer’s arm had loosened before Ruhe had walked after Shandra awaiting a response. It wouldn’t be a good idea to make a scene in the middle of the street. They could talk about this at the ship and there Ruhe could beg for forgiveness if she needed to. She was emotionally disturbed and was struggling to control her emotions. 

Eventually the unfinished ship, the Beating Heart was seen in the distance. It's dragon head ornament stared at the two on their way onto the partially finished deck. The moonlight shined down on the two as they traveled through the oak walls and stairs. Eventually they would find themselves in Ruhe's room. Sitting on the stool to her piano, she awaited news from her dancer before she would announce her thoughts. "After this ship is completed, we set sail with our crew. We will stop by whatever island is next to restock and plan our first true act of piracy. Thank you...for being a good friend to me Shandra. Goodnight." Thus Ruhe had slept, relaxed that night in her bed. The ship would be completed sooner or later, and thus would begin the true journey as pirates. She dreamed of future plans and great battles with the only sound in her room being light breathing and the rolling of the waves.  

[Greil9]

While Shandra was already casually walking off, Ruhe seemed to suddenly be distressed over her disappointment about the end of their day. “Wait! Don’t leave just yet. Excuse my blatant disregard for your feelings. I don’t want my decision to tear apart our friendship or cause you to leave. I just made you as a friend and I don’t want to be alone again.” Not even giving the dancer a chance to reply, the captain ran to grab her arm with enough strength to leave a mark. Whether she intended to do this or just couldn't control he strength, it didn't make the slight pain any better. This was enough for Shandra to yelp in both pain and surprise. "Owch! What the heck was that for?" 

Looking over the captain, Shandra seemed completely baffled, trying to figure out if Ruhe was pulling her leg with the over-reaction. Yet her expression seemed completely earnest so either she had the greatest poker face known to man or she was actually being serious. And in some bizarre way the dancer was leaning towards the latter. "Wow, you're really taking this way harder than you should. Is one disagreement that big a deal around here?"

Thankfully they weren't too far from the streets, meaning Ruhe let go most likely as to not cause a scene. Not that she hadn't caused one between the two already, but Shandra lived in a building where alcohol was sold, so this rated 2/10 on that scale. Gently rubbing her sore wrist, she remarked on the sudden action "Remind me to reject you gently in the future, you got a real crocodile grip." Rather than follow up on the minor incident, the samurai seemed to just hold her silence. Yet with how little Shandra herself though of that, she didn't really dwell on it either. There just wasn't anything to even get mad over, so her focus was already wandering off to another subjects. Mainly looking over where to go on her own later, as well as commenting on a few places to her captain.

"You think service in that restaurant is good? Heard a few people complaining, but I had no problems with it the other day. Maybe it's just they kicked up their service since I'm so pretty. The waiter wasn't too bad either. Think I'll ask him out once while we're still here. Would that place over there be a good spot? Well, I guess you're not at that age yet to know. Though maybe..." Her monologue guising itself as discussion went on all the way back to the ship, partially since Ruhe seemed unwilling to cut in or contribute in any way. Not that it bothered Shandra too much, seeing as she didn't share the view of something being wrong between the two.

Eventually the two returned to their ship, Ruhe later calling Shandra to her room for some announcement. "After this ship is completed, we set sail with our crew. We will stop by whatever island is next to restock and plan our first true act of piracy. Thank you...for being a good friend to me Shandra. Goodnight." 

Despite not wanting to admit it, Shandra herself felt a bit tired as she stretched her limbs. Though that never stopped her before as she explained her own plans for the night. "Nah, I don't feel like heading to sleep yet. Think I'll go out for a while, see how the citys night life is. Assuming it has one. Maybe when you're a bit older I'll take you with me. Assuming you're up for it at the time." Whatever bothered Ruhe earlier, she seemed to already be over it so Shandra saw no reason to bring it up again and sour the mood.

Despite considering them friends, not a large milestone on the dancers part, she still felt her knowledge of Ruhe to be lacking. The samurai didn't make herself easily approachable despite seemingly being desperate for friendship. Maybe that'd come more naturally later, maybe Shandra would just make good on her promise to bail with a part of the crew treasury after tiring of it. Time would tell, just like she always liked it.