closed || everybody was kung-fu fightin'

[complementing]

WHO: David, Faolan, Yoon-sung, Laurent, and Minako
WHERE: Utsuki Dojo
WHEN: November 21st
WHAT: Two bodyguards and their students meet up for an afternoon of sparring.
WARNINGS: None foreseen for now!

[After the establishment of the monthly fight club, Utsuki Dojo became a popular place for people to train, especially if they don't like crowds. For smaller groups like this one, it's also a chance to socialize on top of that.

The room Minako has reserved for them has plenty of room for them to break off into pairs if they need to, or just to take a break and observe, so help yourself to the water bottles she brought and then start stretching!]

Comments

[complementing]

[Minako will be her usual animated self while she's sparring or chatting with someone, but catch her while she's meditating or doing yoga when she's not otherwise occupied...and it looks like she's really tired.

You can try to confront her about it. No guarantees on how that will turn out.]

[anguinous]

[ Laurent waits for a quiet moment to approach Minako, rather than trying to chat to her while she's focused or stretching. He doesn't want to throw her off, but he does want to say hello! He's carrying a bottle of water to cool off, and holds out a new one to her with the cap still secure. ]

Here, I've been lectured on the importance of hydration before. How often do you train?

[ You look tired, but he's going to sidle up to that. ]

[complementing]

[She inhales deeply, pulling herself together before looking up and giving him a bright smile, taking the bottle with a nod of thanks.]

I try to get in two or three days a week if I can. Sometimes with David, mostly on my own. Ideally it'd be every day, but my schedule doesn't really allow for it.

[anguinous]

Too busy? You do look tired.

[ He opens his own bottle of water and takes a sip, considering her. Minako does seem terribly driven. He can imagine she'd be the kind of person who might taken on too much. ]

[reticence]

[Faolan isn't about to attempt sparring with Minako himself. For one thing, he had arranged this meeting for Laurent's benefit as much as anything else. And for another, he can see it there. In the circles under her eyes and the way she holds herself, when she thinks no one is watching her.

It's too bad for her that Faolan is. It's too bad for her that he remembers their conversation previously, about her headaches. He waits for a moment in between her yoga poses, so as not to startle her, before he approaches.]

Training hard?

[complementing]

[She slowly straightens from her pose, exhaling out a muted 'hah' meant to be a laugh.]

Or hardly training, depending on what you think of yoga.

[reticence]

[Faolan flicks her the quirk of a smile in response to the comment.]

Don't put yourself down so easily, it counts. More an exercise of discipline than of the body in some instances, but it still counts.

[He gives a moment to let the thought linger before he steps a little closer, sticking his hands in the pockets of his workout shorts.]

Thanks. For agreeing to all of this. How've you been?

[negativism]

[ After a couple rounds with the others, David sits down next to Minako, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head before he's seated. Admittedly, he had been so caught up in things he didn't notice the bags under her eyes until now. ]

You alright?

[complementing]

[She presses her face into his shoulder, soaking up his warmth.]

Better now.

[negativism]

[ He reaches around to wrap his arm around her shoulder and tug her in a little. ]

Anything else I can do to help or just want to use me as a pillow for now?

Open of course! c:

[anguinous]

[ Laurent has never attended a proper self-defence class before, but he is very acutely aware that this is a good idea.

He has Faolan to protect him, of course, but he cannot rely on the man entirely. There will always be a chance they will be separated, or -- as his dreams have offered -- that Faolan will make a mistake.

Despite his rich-boy, spoiled, and generally overly refined attitude Laurent is taking this seriously. He's dressed in easy to move in clothes that he usually wears to the gym, and moving through a series of careful warm-ups to stretch himself out. ]

I've never done this before, but don't feel you need to be gentle. Bruises are the best way to learn.

[ No pain no gain, and Laurent dislikes being treated like something fragile. ]

[vendettastool]

[ This was going to be a bad idea, maybe. Yoon-sung knew that his other had been gentle in most of the fighting memories he got back. He knew that the other pulled back his attacks, but Yoon-sung wasn't as confident in the skills he got from the other. But what better way than to actually push himself to keep his skills under control than face someone less skilled? He just hoped that any slip ups on his part won't land Laurent in the hospital. [

Just tell me if I hit too hard; I don't need to break bones.

[ Like Laurent, Yoon-sung had dressed in causal workout clothing, though he had continued to wear a track jacket over the loose tank top and sweats for a large part of his warmup routine. But now facing someone, he pulled off his jacket, tossing it over and tugging on his shirt as if it would hide his scarring any better. The thin scars along the back of his arms and back were probably inflicted by knives, while the small depression on his chest and the larger, nastier one on his shoulder were caused by bullets. The weirdest thing about the scars was they were never there until a week or so ago. ]

I mean it. I'm still learning how to judge the commando moves.

[anguinous]

[ Break bones? That's alarming.

Still, beyond lofting an eyebrow slightly Laurent keeps his reaction muted. He's determined to do this, and if that means being injured until he's good enough to avoid injury so be it.

... Although Laurent has never broken a bone in his life, so of course he wouldn't be concerned about that. ]

That's fine. Just show me what to do.

[ Should he stand a certain way? Do something specific? He really means it, he has never done anything like this before. ]

[reticence]

[Faolan is dressed in his workout clothing as well, shorts and a tshirt, his regular jogging attire that is now being put to a different use. He raises his eyebrows at the other man's words, moving to put his hands on his hips as he does.]

Well, I'm not intending to hold back on you, but I'd rather no one gets injured, if it's all the same to you?

[He understands the all or nothing approach of learning, but at the same time, if he pushes himself too hard, or if Faolan pushes too hard himself, then he will hardly learn much self-defense that way either.]

[anguinous]

I was hardly hoping for someone to injure me purposefully.

[ He just doesn't want special treatment. Laurent links his hands together and stretches out, frowning at Faolan. ]

What are we starting with?

[ Since Faolan is the experienced one here, after all, he should lead. ]

probably before their other chat;

[complementing]

Glad to know you and I are on the same page. And you better not go easy on me because I'm a girl.

[Minako shoots him a playful grin to ease the sting of the warning, raising her arms up above her head to stretch as well.]

Can't guarantee that I'll be a good teacher, but I'm more here to be your sparring partner anyways. Wanna show me what Faolan and David have taught you today?

[anguinous]

I wouldn't dare.

[ She's better than him anyway, surely. He can't afford to try and go easy on her. ]

If I say yes, will you warn me you might break my bones as well?

[ It's on a list of things Laurent will never forget. 'Oh I can teach you how to fight but I might accidentally break your bones.

Honestly. ]

[negativism]

[ Meanwhile, David's either helping train one of the others in some proper self-defense techniques or trying to focus on himself considering he's still not completely used to the fact that he can kinda grow scales at will or set things on fire with a touch. Thankfully there's been little in the way of actual disasters by this point.

He's also open for sparring practice should someone need it. ]

[anguinous]

[ Laurent is in desperate need of teaching.

Yoon-sung has tried, but Yoon-sung has no experience actually teaching after all. He also simply gained all his skills by the grace of Retrospec, which doesn't help matters.

Laurent is taking a break, and drinking from a bottle of water to try cool off, when he approaches David. ]

If I ask you for your time will you also tell me there's a chance you could break my bones?

[ He jerks an eyebrow quizzically, and takes another sip of water. This has not been reassuring so far. If people can break his bones accidentally what chance does he have when he isn't sure he could bruise someone purposefully? ]

[negativism]

No?

[ David wrinkles his nose at the question, but having seen Laurent and Yoon-sung earlier, he can only assume what had happened earlier. ]

Depending on where you want to start, I wouldn't even be actually touching you. Part of it on my end is being able to hold back enough to simulate the experience rather than actually going through with it.

[ Martial arts discipline and all that. He'll only strike as hard as he absolutely needs to if he has to. ]

[reticence]

[Faolan has been holding himself back from truly facing off against the trainees, considering his position. But things with David are different. They're both bodyguards, they have both trained for this. But neither of them have faced off against each other just yet, because of their schedules and their charges and their lives in the city being as they were.

There's a first time for anything, and now's as good a time as any. Faolan steps forward, his hands in the pockets as his shorts as he offers a smile at the other man.]

Why don't you pick on someone your own size for a change?

[negativism]

[ David laughs at the quip, grinning and raising an eyebrow. He'd admit that this was a thing that he wanted to have happened earlier on, but with everything going on, it wasn't exactly easy for the earlier mentioned reasons. ]

Size doesn't matter, I thought?

[vendettastool]

[ Yoon-sung first stepped into the private room dressed in designer workout gear and with the distracted expression of someone who was only there because his arm was being twisted. Given the fact that David had been trailing after him like a sheepdog, it would be totally fair to push him into the category of spoiled guy with a bodyguard even if the faint fighting scars across his hands had hinted more. But after greeting everyone with a wave, he spent some time quietly stretching or hitting a heavy bag. He did attempt to try teaching a few things to Laurent, but he knew that his skills were not exactly the easiest to teach, so he backed off.

Taking off his jacket, Yoon-sung's thin tank top did not hide the scarring he had from bullets and knives, or the fact that his body had gain wiry muscles. It was also apparent that he was fighting against some of his more instinctive reactions as he shadow boxed, before making a face and throwing himself in a dramatic sulk near his water bottle. ]

This bites.

[complementing]

[Minako opens one eye to look at him, arching a brow. She'd just started her meditation, so she doesn't particularly mind her focus being broken.]

What does?

[vendettastool]

I know what I want to do, but I'm having problems trying to process it still.