arcanarumlogs | Daily dance of bleeding sword...

Entry tags:

Daily dance of bleeding sword...

Who: Minato Arisato and you
When: November 1st - but if there's another later date you want to find him practicing or drawing, it's okay!
Where: The training area, in a clearing near the edge of the woods, on the coast somewhere or by the lake.
What: Minato is attempting to either curl up somewhere and draw or, in the afternoon, practice with a sword. Interruptions are highly encouraged.
Warnings: None for now. Mild violence of sparring?

[ Today is a day wherein Minato finds himself unable to really stay in one place for too long, but even so he tries. By the lake shore, by the ocean, in the park - he finds places to sit with his notebook and draw. But then he finds himself not drawing the scenery so much as drawing other less pleasant things, like werewolves and Shadows and so on, and so he stops and moves on elsewhere after a while. It's a futile effort to avoid his thoughts, but he keeps on trying anyway.

However, eventually he reaches a point where he concludes stillness simply isn't an option. And then, he goes to the training grounds, carefully sets his bag with sketchbook and pencils aside and draws one of his swords, beginning to practice. He messes around a bit with Thanatos' blade but ultimately settles on using the katana a friend had procured for him some months ago. He's not averse to using western swords and has plenty of times in the past - but it just seems easiest to go with what is most familiar to him.

... want to watch? interrupt? join in? Feel free! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Prussia has come by the training grounds and is surprised to see them in use. He's even more surprised to see a kid swinging a sword about. He misses using weapons. He hasn't been able to practice a lot lately. In fact, the last time he held a sword was when they built the boat.

He watches a bit wishfully for a little while before noticing the second sword. It's not one that he's too familiar with, but with centuries of sword use under his belt, he's pretty sure that he could pick it up fast. A couple of practice swings to get the balance and then he decides to interrupt]

Oi! You! [he realizes he actually has no idea who the kid is] Whatever your name is! Spar with me!

[ Minato pauses when he catches sight of someone else picking up his other sword, and when the vocal interruption comes, the boy blinks and lifts his eyebrows at Prussia. Well... he's certainly direct...

But it doesn't particularly bother Minato, so he nods and holds up a hand as a 'just one moment' signal while he goes to carefully deposit his mp3 player and headphones with his other things. It's one thing to listen to music while he goes through practice routines. It's something different to fight with it on, and while he can do it and has done it in the past when fighting Shadows, he tries to be a little more careful with it here.

With that done, however, he turns to face Prussia, stepping out in the open space again across from the man. And then he bows politely before slipping into a ready stance, waiting for Prussia to make the first move and dictate how he wants this spar to go. ]

[he watches the kid put away that... whatever it was and move across from him and then bow. He bows awkwardly back, mostly because he's never done it before a fight]

Kesesese~ [he moves into a ready stance. He observes carefully and then darts forward going for a diagonal slash]

[ That's because he has no manners. ... well not really. Minato just likes being very polite.

In any event, he plays defensively at first, stepping back and to the side to avoid the slash and study Prussia's movements. He's not nearly as experienced as any country in arts of war (not that he necessarily knows this man is Prussia, of course), but he tries not to make the flaw of rushing in over his head too quickly. He's fought too many shadows where doing just that would get you killed.

So defensive it is, until he gets a bit of a handle on how Prussia fights. ]

[he fights fast with quick movements, though they're a little clumsy from the unfamiliar balance of the sword. He does get better as he moves, though. Additionally, he has a single-minded focus on the fight, nothing is going to distract him]

[ that clumsiness saves Minato at first, but alas it's not to last, as soon he's struggling to keep up and not get run through. It's pretty obvious that even though he's got some talent with the sword and a good sense of timing, he's lacking the skill necessary to take someone with as much experience as Prussia, especially as Prussia gets more used to the sword.

Still, Minato tries, and he manages to keep himself going for a while, but one wrong move or one too quick slash from Prussia, and he's done fore. ]

[it's good for Minato that this was only a spar. And he quickly realizes that Minato's only human, a skilled human, but not as skilled as a nation with hundreds of years of experience.

He eases up a bit from the attack and actually allows himself to be disarmed]

[ That -- confuses Minato. And he stops once Prussia's been disarmed, panting for breath and giving him a puzzled look. ]

You... would have won.

Kesesese~ It was just a practice match! [he gives a grin]

[Hajime spent a lot of his time hanging around the training grounds in some fashion. It was one of the few places he could vent his frustrations and just smash into some training dummies or other targets without dealing with things like collateral damage or annoyed housemates.

Minato's training catches his attention. He doesn't fight much with a sword, but one of the very few people he respects back home does. He watches rather unsubtly from a distance, mentally comparing the technique.]

[ At first, Minato doesn't notice Hajime, being rather focused on the routines he is going through. However, when he turns to begin another set, that's when he notices his observer, and the boy pauses, watching Hajime right back for a few moments before sheathing his sword and reaching up to pull his headphones off. (Training to music is clearly where it's at.) ]

... can I help you with something?

[Hajime hadn't really expected to be noticed despite his complete and utter lack of stealth. Not that he seems particularly fazed when Minato watches him right back.

He shrugs nonchalantly.]

Just seeing if there was any worthy competition around here.

[ Minato lifts an eyebrow at that. It's not quite challenging, but he's definitely curious what exactly Hajime is thinking. ]

And is there?

[Hajime considers this, then delivers a curt shake of his head.]

Not so far.

[ Interesting... ]

What would be worthy competition for you?

[Another shrug.]

Something that could stand against one of the Undead from my world. Then I might be interested.

What are the Undead like?

[Hajime resists the urge to tell Minato he's looking at one.]

They're...strong. Created only to battle. The stronger of them can assume a human form, but their true forms, the ones they do battle with, are rather monstrous.

... I've fought monstrous things before, but nothing created only to battle.

[ And not without the support of personas that he is lacking here... But he's quiet for a moment, just looking at Hajime. There are two possibilities with that mention of a human form. Either this guy is one of them, or he fought them. Or... well, a third possibility is that he simply observed, but the talk of wanting someone would stand up to them makes Minato think that this man must have done battle before.

Either way doesn't really matter to him, however. He's just curious. ]

I take it you fought with the Undead?

[He definitely looks interested at the mention of fighting monstrous things.]

What sorts of monstrous things have you fought, then?

[And at that question, he nods.]

Many times. You could say it's what I live for.

Ah... they were called Shadows. They took a lot of different forms...

[ Everything from a table to an immovable tower ~~that could somehow still dodge things~~ to just a blackish blob to still other strange things. ]

They're... manifestations of the human subconscious. Parts of it.

Interesting...

[Hajime's considering this.]

...but I'd have to wonder how strong something that came from a human like that really would be.

It varies. Some are very strong... One I knew called upon a power that very nearly destroyed the world. He couldn't truly be defeated. Only sealed away.

[Power to destroy the world? Check. Can only be sealed away? Check. Congratulations, you've described Hajime himself, and now he's very interested. There's a noticeable shift in his posture at that; he's definitely more interested. Possibly even a bit tense, like he's getting ready for a fight himself.]

There's one Undead very much like that...it doesn't look like you'd be strong enough to seal that one away. What was this Shadow like, aside from powerful?

[ Minato picks up on that change but ... does not shift his own stance accordingly. On his own, he knows he's not strong enough. He doesn't think he could enact the same miracle twice, given what it had cost. Besides, without more of his personas' abilities, he's not sure he could even manage to fight particularly well, anyway.

However, at the question, he's quiet for a moment, and he smiles just a little. ]

... a moron. But also a good friend.

[That answer confuses Hajime somewhat.]

You would call something that could end your world a friend?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Daily dance of bleeding sword...

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

whoops I got horribly distracted and am late. I'm sorry. :/

That's okay! It happens! ^^

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject