tunein | 04 ❥

It is. Personally, I prefer to do my reading at home. [School time was, to him, better reserved for seeing friends. He had plenty of other chances to do his homework, anyway.

The rumors, on the other hand...that the Midnight Channel still persisted to some extent to this day still bothers him. It was supposed to be dealt with, wasn't it? So why was the other world still there, then...? It would be safest to assume it was the goddess' work, but assumptions could turn out painfully wrong when he least expected it.

He paused to consider her question.]

Just to watch. You looked great out there. [She'd definitely wind up being the star of the club before long.]

True. That's where I usually do it, as well...

[Even though she's a little behind. She's hardly the star of the year or the best in the class but she always gets whatever is asked of her done on time. Even it requires some flailing, miracles, and long nights, coupled with long phonecalls to her brother or Laurent for help. Fortunately that had only happened once. She would be more prepared for midterms. She hoped, anyway.

She had to do well. She needed to pass those entrance exams.

She smiled at the praise, though it remained humble.] Thank you. It isn't much... if I gave it more time, I'm sure it could be better... experience is what counts more, sometimes.

[She could probably use his help then as a fellow 3rd year, and vice versa. College was on the horizon, and if he didn't pass, he couldn't become the teacher he decided he'd be after tutoring Shu.

Souji nods in agreement.] You'll do fine as long as you keep at it. [The effort to improve was a factor all on its own, after all. He himself knew this.

He's silent for longer than normal after he speaks, musing over something...]

[It's likely she could. At least after one set of exams passes, she'll be aware of his capabilities, though she'd never exploit it. Solving things together was simply more beneficial, on occasion. Or even just being tutored in what you found the most difficult to master.]

As with all things. [It's true enough.

She notes the silence, but doesn't call him out on it. She herself is comfortable with it; it's not awkward, so she allows him to muse as much as he wants, if he has something further to say to her.]

Hmm.

[It's a moment longer, before he decides to speak up proper -- over the last few, he found himself thinking: what reason would he even have for him to learn from her that would actually sound convincing? It definitely wouldn't be 'because I fight black blobs that kill people when the fog lifts in a strange world'...

...Ah, there's an idea.] You wouldn't mind teaching me, would you? In the event that there's a competition and there aren't enough heads.

[Hopefully that sounded like it would work. August wasn't exactly close or anything, and he'd have to divert time from his basketball practice...but in the event that this small club did try and go to any sports events, it'd probably help to have a backup member ready.]

[She's surprised, if only because competitions are a long way off for something so small, but if there's interest, maybe there'll be a possibility. Maybe. She isn't going to turn down an offer, though.]

Not at all. It would be a pleasure. I've not done much in terms of Kendo, but I have prior experience in sword arts, from home. Some things interweave, but not all. It'll be a learning curve, I think.

[Slow as it might have been in a rural town like Inaba, there were plenty of chances for things to suddenly pick up. Besides, with a little persistence, they could find a coach for the club eventually...]

I don't mind putting in a little effort.

Then, I don't mind at all.

[With a nod, he looks around for a free bamboo shinai -- he'd need one if he was going to practice with her, and it was a weapon he'd basically become associated with amongst his TV world-venturing friends. When he does find one that can be spared, he puts himself into a habitual form; shinai drawn back to his hip, feet wide, perhaps too much so from her perspective, and leaning slightly to the front as if ready to charge at any moment.

It's probably not hard for her to pick apart his posture, especially since she's practiced enough...or to pick up on the fact that he looks like he's been through a fight or two himself, though never actually practiced.]

[Lucina watches as he does, and as he adopts his stance. She can tell straight away that he has more experience in this than any of the other boys in the room, even if it's still raw and unrefined, too loose to be fluid and ill advised, but at the same time, not loose enough to cause disaster.

She's hardly the most trained, but she has a keen eye for it. Many hours of swordsmanship and you pick up being able to scrutinise posture and whether someone is completely new to this or has an idea of it.

She'd vote on the latter. Where is another question. She decides not to pursue that line of inquiry.]

Hmm. Not bad... you might fall if you were blindsided, though. Balance is crucial. [Not that that would be an issue in Kendo, but it's a fair enough comment.] Other than that, your form is fine.

[She transitions easily from standing to a refined stance, holding the wooden bat in front of her, tilted upright.] Alright. Try to hit me.

[He nods again, taking in that one piece of feedback and keeping it in mind for later. It was a start. If he made any mistakes, surely she'd point them out as they went.

When she gives the signal, he steps back a few to give breathing room, and lunges forward, swinging right to left as he re-closes the distance. There's more than there should be in the swing, and a fair bit of wasted movement -- definitely signs of a lack of refinement.]

[Lucina waits, motionless, watching. It's an easy movement to predict, and the wasted movement is her opening - she blocks the stroke with ease, parrying and pushing it away with enough force to send him stumbling back, if she were so inclined, and if he didn't, enough to distract to have to rearrange his grip.

That opening is really all she needs. You might find the wooden tip against your chest, Souji, though without the same level of impact. No, this one is just a message, for show. She smiles, though. It's a good start.]

You need to focus your swing. The more precise, the better... otherwise this can easily happen.

[The deflected shinai registers a little late -- though not enough to knock him over, it's definitely enough to force him to recoup. At least, until he finds himself with the tip of Lucina's wooden weapon pressing against him; that was enough to make him bring himself to relent.

As he listens to her, he finds himself rubbing his temple a bit. No wonder it was so easy to slip up -- had he done less, it probably wouldn't have led to him floundering the way he did...or had his strike so easily pushed aside, in this case.

He makes room again, turns around while reorienting his grip, and tries a few practice swings to try and get the feel of it. There's that feeling he's still doing something wrong -- moreso when he finds himself repeating the stroke that led to him being thrown off in the first place.]

It...probably wouldn't look like this, huh.

Not quite, no.

[But she's willing to teach. The basics are there, the problem is the experience... he clearly has it if he's struggling to correct the mistakes. They've probably never been pointed out to him before.]

I think it'll be easier to demonstrate.

[She moves so she's stood alongside him, to do just that, so it's near his perspective.]

Like this.

[She swings with precision and accuracy, nothing wasted. All sharp, certain. There's no room for error. It would cause the opposing party to have to defend, rather than to deflect and parry.]

[Definitely not, though not having someone that could actually correct them until just now probably factored into it. He watches her carefully, moreso when she makes her swing. Was that all there was to it? If it was, he's definitely been doing this wrong. It wasn't like he didn't do okay the way he handled it, but seeing her do it gave him a sense that he'd been mishandling the various swords or makeshift ones he'd picked up. And pretty badly, too...

He goes over it in his head for a moment, then takes a deep breath, trying to follow Lucina's demonstration closely. He fumbles just a bit -- it was going to take some time to unlearn how he'd used it before, after all -- but he does make a stroke that didn't leave him a sitting duck.]

[Again, Lucina watches. Yes, he does have aptitude for it. It's similar to when she first began her lessons, alongside her brother. The difference was they had no prior preconceptions. Their ability was moulded, crafted, it didn't require unlearning and going back to basics. He was good - but there were little flaws, just little things, that broke apart his defense.

He gets better with each stroke, at any rate. The last one is probably the closest. She nods.]

Try it again, like that. I'll aim to block, but keep going. I won't push you back unless there's a gap in your defense.

Alright.

[He takes one more practice swing in the same fashion that he'd done when he got close enough to the way she did it, just to make sure it stuck -- before he stepped back to give her room. Once there was enough of a gap, he moved in again, taking a stroke at her as before, and this time there was going to be much less of a hole for her to work with.]

[It was indeed. She drew herself in a defensive position, to block, mentally checking his stance, his stroke - not perfect, but enough that there was little option than to block. And to block again, if he takes another strike.

Blocking is a later lesson - it's something that takes time to perfect and equal amounts of intuition, and also understanding this very process they were going through right now. If you didn't understand how you should be fighting, you couldn't pick apart a defense.]

[And strike again he does, not about to stop his momentum short. It was definitely different, fighting against another person with the same weapon -- Shadows were so much easier, but then with Rise providing support, it was probably no surprise he could pick up on things so quickly, making the most of his friends' strengths.

This time, he'd have no such help -- not that it would be allowed, anyway.]

[And each time, she brings the makeshift blade up to stop its advance. Any angle, any height. Occasionally she falters, expecting one but him performing another - but she never breaks her own guard. Or his, for that matter.

Perseverance, then.

It's at least another full minute before she sees an opening, and as she said before, she takes it, parrying instantly after she blocks.]

[As soon as she parries his swing, he brings himself to a stop as soon as possible -- though he definitely has to take a moment pulling it together, heaving out a breath of relief. That was...definitely different from how he'd been fighting prior; it didn't feel comfortable to him, but that was just time talking. He could definitely work with this.

Another deep breath, and he lowers his shinai for the moment, working out the rush that left behind.] ...This is going to take a little getting used to...but I like it already.

[Likewise, she lowers her own, wiping her brow with the back of hand. It's probably unseemly but it's effective, so she's not really bothered about the image that presents. Right now she's not a princess, nor the voice for those who do not have it. Concentrating like that for any period is enough to get adrenaline pumping through her veins.]

If one short session gives this kind of result, then you'll go far. [She smiles. She's glad he's taken to it.] That should be enough for now, I think.

[Souji returns the smile with a faint one of his own and nods when she says it's a good place to stop -- for such a short session, he'd gotten into it quickly, but that was probably because he put his mind to it for the sake of being ready to help out. Not that it wouldn't see use if something happened, but that was the main point. He and Kou had plenty of chances to go putting a different kind of ball into a net when the Soccer team lacked members. What reason does he have to not spread out his horizons some more? And if there was something he wasn't, it's judgmental; surface appearances mean little, when she's been so welcoming of his presence for their past few meetings.

> You feel like your relationship may grow closer soon...]

I've still got plenty of room for improvement...but thanks.

Edited 2013-10-01 06:13 (UTC)

It's the potential that matters. [Lucina nods once.] But, you're welcome.

[She turns when she hears one of the other group members calling her, though. They seem to be having a little trouble replicating a move and one of them was told to remind her when an hour was up, which it is.]

Hmm. We can probably call it a day, then...

[There's a murmur of agreement and Lucina nods again, and they all split off to their respective corners to collect belongings and to take off the protective gear. Lucina returns to Souji.]

Should I expect to see you here again sometime soon?

[Out of courtesy, he hands over the shinai he'd been using to one of them, before returning his gaze to her.] Mm. ...Whenever the basketball team isn't taking up my time, anyway.

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