melodiesoflife | Lessons in fighting

Entry tags:

Lessons in fighting

Who: Duster, Open
What: Duster is giving out hand-to-hand combat training
Where: Aqures Ixen, Hero Training Facility
When: June 16
Warnings: None for now

[Duster wakes up surprisingly early this morning. The recent battles he went on and the news yesterday about the murders must have messed up his sleep cycle, and now he's waking up in the morning like a normal person. Huh. He finds that his shoulders are too tense and his mind unfocused to go out and earn money through battles, so today has to be a resting day. For a moment, he thinks of practicing the double bass all day, but a letter he forgot to clean off of his desk grabs his attention.

Ah. That's right. He promised Chrom to teach some lessons at the training center. Now that's something he can focus on instead.

Anyone arriving at the training center will find a handwritten sign by the entrance, words written neatly and spaced out like a poem:]

Self Defense Classes
Learn martial arts from Duster
Taught here all day today.

[There's an extra syllable at the end, but no one on the Nowhere Islands can write a proper haiku.

Duster can be found in one corner of the grounds, kicking a leather dummy. Each of his strikes hits the target in a regular, focused fashion, as if Duster is making sure he keeps a steady beat.]

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No, no! You don't have to beat me up [He's prefer not to.] but it's more of...blocking practice, throwing punches at the dummy.

[He tilts his head at at the slightly beaten up sack on the other side of the room. It was already used when he found it, but he added a few more dents to it before Santa showed up.]

There's a trick, but you to have the right stance for it. [He steps back and looks at Santa's feet.] Show me how you get ready for a fight.

Oh. Ok.

[He's not really sure what Duster means by 'get ready for a fight'. Santa was born ready. It's not really a process he goes through. He stands in front of the dummy. ~~The sack one, not the one training him.~~]

You ready for this, punk?! [Trash talk counts as battle prep, right? Santa isn't gonna admit it, but he usually loses the fights he gets into.]

[In terms of stance, he's not doing anything special. His feet are planted shoulder-width apart (and his shoes are really stylish), and his chest is puffed out a little at his 'opponent'. He has his hands drawn into fists.]

[This won't help when you get murdered tonight.]

...Um. [Trash talk takes up a whole turn, which gives the opponent an opportunity to strike first. It's completely wrong, the worst way to start a battle--

Duster shakes the voice of his father out of his head.]

That's completely unbalanced. One hit'll knock you to the ground. Your feet are a good distance away from each other, but everything else needs work.

[Just like with teaching Aoi proper stretch techniques, Duster stands in front of him and pushes down on his shoulder.]

Don't be so tense. If you let yourself bend, it's easier to roll away from the blows. And move one of your feet closer to the dummy than the other. Are you right handed?

[Yep, one swift suckerpunch will do it. The thought kind of takes the fun out of this exercise.]

Truth, I'm right-handed.

[He lets Duster maneuver him into position and places his left foot closer to the dummy without even making an obnoxious comment about ways he could bend and work off some of his tension.]

You know, 'm not ever gonna have a job where I gotta fight close up. 'S not really my style. [So there's probably no point in wasting Duster's time, really.]

Like that.

[Aoi's a quick learner. Duster steps back, checking up on any other obvious mistakes that need correction.]

Just because it's not your job doesn't mean this'll come in handy. What if you run into someone on the street and don't have time to work on a spell? [Satisfied with what he sees, he pushed the dummy closer to Aoi.] I have a friend on the Nowhere Islands who has some of the most powerful PSI attacks I've ever seen. She can take out armies with lighting or meteors or fire, anything. But she still worked on her hand-to-hand skills and carries a knife around just in case she runs out of the mental energy to use those attacks. Even though I'm the one who focuses on physical attacks, she doesn't let that stop her.

I'm quick. Why can't I just run?

[He jabs a punch at the dummy, but it's mostly to punctuate his point.]

Yeah, maybe on your weird world with sentient fish roe monsters, you gotta learn to shank and do magic, but where I'm from, most people don't get attacked on a daily basis.

[And when Aoi did get punched, it was because he had to, so he'd never bothered to learn to prevent it. Time paradoxes were weird like that.]

Edited 2016-06-19 05:09 (UTC)

[Duster's gaze lingers the spot where Aoi punched the dummy, watching the dent fade away. The leather hide pulls back, and the surface becomes smooth as before.]

Running is always an option, but some enemies won't let you escape. [He turns to Aoi and folds his arms.] There's monsters roaming around all over the countryside, just like chimeras in my world. It's not normal, but what's happening to this world isn't normal in the first place.

["Normal" being subjective when Duster comes from a world where doors could be opened by dancing. However, crystallization was not a thing most worlds live with on a daily basis.]

This class is meant to keep yourself safe in case you run into trouble. [Like buffing your offence rather than leveling up.]

[Aoi throws another punch at the target, all the while trying to keep in the proper position and not look like a total loser in front of Duster while doing it. It's not as easy as Duster's trying to make it seem, which pisses him off.]

This isn't gonna work. You're a Hero, you protect me if I get attacked by some monster I can't run from.

[He's basically sulking now. But hey, if it worked for Akane, maybe letting someone else rescue him for a change is a valid option. It's just as dumb as trying to learn to protect himself from weird monsters and shit in a single afternoon by punching a bag.]

[You protect me. That's what his role was supposed to be in Tazmily: to protect the princess and the village. Well, Kumatora turned out not to be a princess in the first place, and Tasmily did the wrong thing by removing everyone's memories of the old world, but that was Duster's purpose in life. To be a knight.

That didn't go as planned. He always depended on his friends to help him out in a pinch, to rescue him when he was kidnapped or went missing. If Lucas was being protected for being a child, Duster was protected for getting himself into bad situations.

Can he be the protector this time?]

Both of us are Heroes with different strengths. Of course I'll help you out if you're in any trouble. That's what we do. [As friends.]

[Aoi scowled at Duster, his cheeks going a little pink. How could he just say shit like that without feeling like a complete nerd? He was supposed to tell Aoi to man up and quit whining, and here he was, considering protecting him.]

You're such a weirdo.

[But his mouth twitches up in a smile, unbidden.]

C'mon, then. Am I supposed to just punch somebody that's comin' after me, or are you gonna show me how to block?

[He gestures for Duster to hurry it up already, geez. Weirdo.]

[Better a weirdo than a moron. Duster smiles and stifles a laugh.]

Sure, we can work on blocking. [He turns to face Aoi, right foot in front of his left and arms held to his waist.] Punch me, and I'll show you how it's done.

Oh, you will, huh?

[He may not be good at actually fighting, but Aoi's fast, just like he warned Duster. He ducks and darts to the left, lashing out with a punch that had more enthusiasm than power behind it. He doesn't wanna hurt Duster, just poke at him and see what reactions he gets.]

[Duster was trained to have fast reflexes. Better to get the first hit on the enemy rather than let them get a surprise back attack. Wess made sure to drill that into his young mind. He shoots his arm up and knocks Aoi's fist to the side.]

Yup.

[Oh. Well, that was...smooth. Competent. ~~Kinda hot.~~ Duster's such a dork, with his weird colored clothes and his eternal good cheer, it takes moments like these for it to actually occur to Aoi what's hiding beneath. Duster's tall, and tough, fast, and strong. He could be deadly, if he wasn't so damn nice all the time.]

[Aoi's throat has gone a little dry, and he gulps before he tries to speak.]

Um, nice. That was good. [He doesn't know if he should keep sparring or run for his life before he does something stupid.]

[Duster must have surprised Aoi, because he's awfully nervous and quiet. He wants to ask what's wrong, if he's too afraid to continue on with the lesson.

...Then he realizes that the expected answer to that would be a scowl and denial, then a demand to continue so he can show off how cool he is. ]

I can show you how to do it. [He speaks in a smoother, quieter tone to calm down Aoi.] See, as long as you hold your forearms up during a fight, you'll be able to react fast enough to block it.

Like this. Hold them up.

[He puts his fists closer to his face.]

[Shiiiiit, that voice is new. Duster's gone into teacher mode, and 'complicated' doesn't begin to touch on Aoi's issues with authority. He's torn between asking Duster to position him again, or disobeying to see if he can get scolded in that same quiet but authoritative voice.]

[But he's still got his pride, damn it, so he huffs out a little breath and holds his arms up to put a barrier between him and this goddamn bassist. If his cheeks are a little pink, Duster'll probably chalk it up to physical exertion.]

'Kay. Hit me with your best shot.

[ Very pink. Totally due to all of the exercise and focus on fighting. Duster can be dense at things like this.

He juts his arm out, not to got Aoi, but planning to pull back just as it nears his body. Kicks are more of his forte, so the punch isn't as perfect as he would like it to be, but it's straightforward and easy for Aoi to push aside. ]

[At least that weak-ass punch is something to draw his attention away from...whatever it is about Duster that's got him so on edge. He uses his arm to block the punch, scowling as he does it.]

Your best shot sucks. [He points out flatly.]

Want me to go harder?

[Without a warming, Duster feints another punch, this one quicker and lower.]

Edited 2016-06-25 00:46 (UTC)

[If he's doing this on purpose, Aoi swears he's gonna strangle Duster.]

[But he did grow up with Akane, the queen of unintentional innuendo, so there's a chance that he's just talking about fighting. Which is almost worse.]

Shit! [He has to move quickly to block the second jab. Now that Duster's really going, he can't afford to be distracted.]

[Considering how introverted Duster is, it could be all on accident. Or it could be all on purpose. Aoi will never tell.

Just like he'll never see this gut punch coming. Don't worry, it's not hard enough to make him keel over, but he will feel something.]

Ffffff- [The punch itself is not that bad, but it brings back the memory of a much harder punch. This is what Duster's supposed to be showing him how to prevent!]

Asshole! [He forgets about blocking and pushes his arms out to shove him instead. Not really the point of the exercise, but if he's gonna be a maybe-flirty asshole, then Santa's not playing by the rules either.]

Hey! [Duster takes a step back and quickly readies himself. Fortunately for Aoi, Duster doesn't fight back.

...He rubs his shoulder and squints.]

Let's try that again. Slower, so you can see how I move.

[Ugh. Was that even necessary? Duster's pretty upset now, despite how much he tries to hide it when he stands in front of Aoi again.]

[He frowns at Duster, but it softens a little when he resumes instructor mode. He didn't drive him away with the asshole act, huh?]

Ok, just...not there. [He doesn't wanna associate Duster with anything that Ace...Hongou...did.]

[He might activate his Illusionist's Imitation skill to help him mimic the move. It's probably not cheating.]

[Still irritated, Duster feints another punch at Santa's chest, expecting him to block it like before.

He doesn't expect Santa to strike immediately afterwards with the same punch. He hops backward as he knocks his arm away.]

Woah! I guess you're learning fast! [Sweet, innocent Duster. He doesn't know about the power of an Illusionist.]

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