Someone doesn't want a Jungian adventure

[mindofathief]

Who: Duster and anyone
Where: Hero Training Facility
When: Month of November
What: Not only is Duster anxious about how his Shadow might act, he's also upset at Santa's betrayal during the Night of the Thirteen Moogles. He's not sure what to do apart from sulking alone, but he does have his job at the Hero Training Facility he can't ignore.

The cold wind did not help Duster's mood. It bit at his nose no matter how often he readjusted his red scarf. It covered his ears, increasing the regret of not bringing a hat. Not that he cared about going back home to grab one. Every morning, he felt that the heat of his frustration would fuel enough warmth. Every morning, he realized that it was not to be so.

A man from a warm seaside town will never be used to Aqures Ixen weather.

Thankfully, the building that house the Training Facility was warm, and Duster felt relieved to be in a comfortable place that did not demand self-reflection. No secret side to confront, no former friends to split off from. All that he needed on his mind was tactics. All that he needed to do was to kick things hard and teach people how to kick things hard.

He took up his usual spot at the end of the room, setting up a red punching bag, and warmed up with several easy kicks. The sign outside pointed out to potential students where hand-to-hand combat lessons were being taught.

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

That old almost-a-haiku was still up.

Comments

[mindofathief]

Duster paused his training when he saw Reno. He hadn't spoken to him much, but the other Hero was familiar enough that Duster didn't put much effort into looking like he was alright. He wasn't.

"Hey."

He hooked his thumbs in his pants pockets and diverted his gaze towards the swinging dummy. Reno was either here to spar or to talk, and Duster hoped it was the former.

[shinra_dog]

Fortunately for Duster, Reno wasn't the best at serious talks, either.

"So, I heard some bad shit happened -- I mean, besides the obvious."

Because necromancers and zombies and those damn evil moogles again?

"I figured you might wanna beat on someone you didn't hafta hold back on." Reno rolled his shoulders and smiled. Since Santa wasn't an option.

[mindofathief]

Duster continued to look away from Reno, though he pulled his hands out of his pockets. Despite the offer, he was certain that if they maintained eye contact before the actual spar, he'd be stuck with explaining himself.

"Sounds good," he finally admitted with a shrug. He stepped back until he stood in the center of the matted area and held his arms up, prepared for a fight.

[shinra_dog]

Reno nodded and took his shoes off to match Duster before standing across from the other man. Whereas Duster's stance held a proper defense, arms up and ready, Reno's was loose and informal. While he'd certainly been trained in other martial arts styles, he still felt more comfortable in the old habitual ways -- just honed by the exposure to diversity. Besides, he'd always been more of one to dodge and outmaneuver his opponents; he didn't have the sheer strength Rude did to push through people.

He didn't know everything that happened, he'd only heard bits and pieces. Johnny was closer to Duster than he was. But this man before him wasn't the same one fretting about his feelings in the aftermath of mind-controlled murder (which was still pretty bad). This sullen, sad... thing... It was so obvious something happened. And Reno liked Duster enough to feel bad.

If this could help, what was the real harm? A little physical pain? Meh.

Reno gestured for Duster to come at him, ready as he'd ever be.

[mindofathief]

Duster shifted his weight. Most trained in the martial arts focused on punches. Wess believed that the hands should be free for items, and Duster should learn to attack primarily with his feet. Reno would notice that the stance was an unusual one, especially if he had fought many hand-to-hand specialists.

Even without the speed granted by various Jobs, Duster was fast. He bent forward as he rushed towards Reno, aiming for a low kick once he was close enough.

[shinra_dog]

Ah... so this really wasn't going to be a traditional fight. Good. Reno found himself grinning as both of their stances defied the "normal" hand-to-hand form he'd frequently seen. It made things interesting.

Duster was fast. Faster than most of the people Reno had faced, except for perhaps the Remnants. They hardly counted as real people. It was a good thing Reno was fast, too, as Duster came up on him and Reno realized what he was going to do. It was a close dodge as Reno jumped the kick and sent his own toward Duster's shoulder. If the other man was as good as Reno thought he was, he was sure it would be blocked. Still, he was a show-off.

[mindofathief]

Duster shifted to the side, along the direction of Reno's kick, and lifted his forearm to block the attack. He hadn't equipped the Monk Job in months, not after being possessed, and he could feel Reno's leg pushing into his skin. He'd done something wrong when switching out Dragoon for Santa Claus.

But that didn't mean he'd give up. Duster took the opportune moment to take advantage of Reno's vulnerability and reached out to grab him by the shirt for a follow-up attack. He'd twist the man around and kick him.

[shinra_dog]

Reno had to remind himself that this was part of the plan. Not that he was planning on throwing the fight and letting Duster win, because that was just insulting. That, and Reno wasn't sure he was capable of it. His pride was strong. But sparring against another skilled person simply meant that sometimes you'd land a few, sometimes you'd take a few.

Reno took this one. Still, he had to applaud Duster's reaction -- internally, at least.

As the other man's leg connected with his middle, Reno curled in on it and latched on. If nothing else, he'd take Duster down with him.

[mindofathief]

Reno was a better fighter than Duster expected. Most other Heroes could barely block an attack without help, but here was a guy that knew what he was doing. It had been a long while since the last challenge. Without forgetting his training, Duster adjusted his center of gravity by crouching.

But this put him at a disadvantage. With his leg trapped, he was limited in his attacks, though Reno was unable to leave the ground during that. He rolled backwards. If Reno were to get up, Duster would have a better time lying on his back than on his front.

[shinra_dog]

Ah. Well that was helpful. Reno rode the inertia of Duster's roll, moving with him and releasing to briefly straddle the man. With a little kiss to Duster's nose and a sassy wink, Reno was gone again, kicking off to continue tumbling forward over Duster's body.

He rolled to his feet close by but waited for Duster to rise before making another move.

[mindofathief]

Duster prepared to block an incoming attack, raising his arms for a punch. Instead, the kiss broke his concentration, and he threw a punch at Reno's face. Not much thought put into it, but he was not in the mood for fooling around when he just broke up with his boyfriend a few days ago.

It was a good thing Reno waited for Duster to get up, because he needed time to recover from that dirty trick. He rolled to the side before pushing against the floor, arching his back as he leaped back onto his feet.

With renewed vengeance for that kiss, Duster gives Reno's knees a strike from the side.

[shinra_dog]

“Whoops!”

Should have seen that punch to the face coming. Reno barely dodged it, but it would seem his plan was working. Duster was getting good and angry. No one said it was a good plan.

He wouldn’t be able to jump over or dodge that kick, though, and using a smoke bomb would be cheating though, he supposed, so was the kiss. He’d just have to absorb it. Bending into his knees, he stepped into the attack and caught Duster by the leg, sliding it up and against his hip as he twisted in a parry. Instead of punching his partner in the face, though, he moved to just push Duster to the side and unbalance him.

“C’mon, c’mon,” Reno egged him on, trying to dance back out of range again. “You can do better than that!”

[mindofathief]

Duster stumbled, his bad leg bearing the worst of the teetering, but he refused to fall. He glared at Reno and his frustratingly smug face. He was going to wipe that grin off, and not in the good way.

This time, along with a knee to the side of Reno's gut, Duster grabbed hold of Reno's arm in the attempt to knock him off-balance this time.

[shinra_dog]

Reno couldn't block that one as Duster grabbed his arm, pulled him. He grunted as Duster's knee connected with his gut, the air forced from his lungs. Yep... that was a good hit. As he fell, he tried to at least recover by curling into a tumble.

Had to get up... keep going. Let Duster whale on him some more. He didn't want to throw the fight, but even if he did, it couldn't be obvious.

He rubbed his side. "Lucky shot..."

[mindofathief]

There was a strong urge to kick Reno when he was tumble. Get him when he was vulnerable. That would be satisfying, if a bit dishonorable.

...A compromise was made. When Reno started to get up, Duster rushed to him and gave him another swift kick.

[shinra_dog]

"Shit!"

There really was no way to block another kick when he was already half on the ground. Moving up would just give Duster's leg more momentum; using a Smoke Bomb would be cheating, and as sorely tempting as that was, Reno was really trying to avoid it. There was only one thing left to do -- Reno dropped back down onto his face to get under the kick, then rolled. Away at first, but if Duster pursued, he'd go back and try to grab for the bard's ankles.

[mindofathief]

It felt so satisfying to feel something hit his foot and roll away. Even if it wasn't due to the force, watching Reno move in the direction of the hit gave a sense of accomplishment, as dirty a move it may have been.

"Are you done?" he called from the spot he remained, preparing another defensive position but without as much fervor as before.. If Reno continued to fight, he'd fight back. And he'd do so gladly.