[YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL, KEITH!! Like a deadly butterfly.]
Mm. Understood.
[He adjusts his posture as instructed and goes ohh quietly, as if the change in how he's holding the knife and how he holds himself suddenly makes sense.] Someone I know fights with knives as well, though his style is different from yours.
[He hesitates, but only out of habit, and then he calmly nods. It's Keith, he can tell Keith.] That is correct. Joker is like-- our group's leader. He's very capable.
He is here as well, but I am not certain how much he has told other people about our situation... or if he wants his full identity known. Forgive me if I just give you his code name for now.
Hey no, that's fine. Some secrets aren't ours to tell, right?
[Though Keith has a fairly good guess. Yusuke has one friend and one not-a-friend from home here. And the one friend he does have is Akira, who Keith has, in fact, had a knife fight with. Logic puzzles! But he won't say anything about it anyway, especially since Akira seemed pretty keen not to talk about why he knew how to fight with knives.]
So. Want to see if you can come at me with the knife? Same movements, but with a target.
[Yusuke gives him a soft kind of smile at that, nodding once, and then back to SERIOUS FACE. Time for KNIFE FIGHTS. Training. He shifts, considering both knives before he mentally decides to try it with two. He will keep trying, see how it works out before he makes a decision to go one or two-handed.
He doesn't have enough EXP to take a feat yet so.]
[Keith will snag up a second knife as well if Yusuke is trying the two out. He drops into defensive stance, but there's a grin on his face. Exciting. He enjoys training and sparring, and getting a chance to do it with a friend is extra exciting.]
[Yusuke nods as he tightens his grips on the knives... and he moves forward! He is quick, used to combat, but... he is used to a weapon with a longer reach and he almost immediately frowns when he realises he has to get closer to Keith.
He's going to have to work this into strategies as well.
However, he swings the knife at Keith, doing his best to emulate what Keith showed him.]
[Keith sees that little hesitation. Right? Knives are much closer. Quicker, more unpredictable, arguably more dangerous because of this. That may be why Keith likes them so much.]
Good...
[He pronounces even as his blade shoots up to deflect, moving with Yusuke's motion to twist away and turn to face him.] Like you mean it. Try to cut me.
[Yusuke hesitates again as he moves, twisting to face Keith in turn. Well, it doesn't feel good to be attempting to cut a friend, but he understands and appreciates the intent behind it.
...So he will do his best not to let him down.
He moves in again, a bare shimmer of yellow in his eyes as he forces himself not to focus on the proximity but how to cut even with it. His eyes, for that moment, are similar to how they look when he uses his abilities and has the mask over his face. He's getting into that mindset, not so much Yusuke as Fox.]
[It's okay, Yusuke. He just wants you to give it your all and not
worry about injuring him in the process because that will lead to
hesitation and holding back. Keith is pretty confident in his own ability
to at least hold Yusuke off.
He sees that little flash in his eyes, and frankly his thought is
how familiar and Galra that is before he's refocusing and
turning his attention to fending off the other boy's knives, nodding to
himself.]
[So he refuses to accept that better! He will not accept it until he actually manages to do what Keith has told him to do. It isn't as though he's a completely new fighter, at least.
...But this is learning a whole new style. He moves quickly, though still obviously getting used to the reach. Two knives are comfortable, though. It isn't strange to follow up one blow with a swipe of the other.]
[Oh. Yusuke is that sort of over achiever, huh? That... Keith likes that. Okay? Can't help it. He'd feel the same way honestly. And it is a brand new style for Yusuke, one that he's taking too quite well.
So Keith only grins and shrugs a shoulder at him.]
[He is, absolutely. Though he wouldn't call it overachieving, okay? He has high expectations of himself and he also wants to live up to Keith's expectations of him, as someone who he respects as a friend.
He narrows his eyes at the challenge... okay so he's a bit fired up by it, for sure!
He moves in, more and more confident the more they do this, lashing out with both daggers.]
[Keith reacts, quick, but Yusuke is getting the hang of this, and the next blow he only barely deflects, twisting away. For now he stays on the defensive, letting Yusuke continue.
Closer and closer really.
And eventually Keith's blade will miss a deflection.
Which honestly will only make him grin all the more.]
[Keith did tell him not to hold back, and he meant it. This is what he wanted to see, wanted Yusuke to give everything he had. And Keith is still grinning, even as he sees too late the way the knife is coming, and it strikes true, catching his upper arm before he twists away, falling into a defensive stance, blades up.]
Good!
[And he's bleeding. A little. Which is great. Yusuke is a natural.]
[Keith informs him with a grin, half challenging half actually
playful. ...what? He likes sparring. It takes his mind off the thousand
other things it's stuck on since he wound up here.]
[Keith won't hold back, Yusuke. That wouldn't be fair to Yusuke, right? Especially after Yusuke says that. Keith's grin stretches over his lips, but he nods.
He lifts his own blades, his own and the borrowed knife, letting his balance shift before all at once he's in motion, a feint to the left before he comes at Yusuke hard in the other direction.]
[Now here, see, is where Yusuke will excel... after all, he doesn't need to be good with his new weapons in order to dodge Keith. Or, well, he has already found out Keith is no opponent to be underestimated.
And it would be a waste not to put his new weapons into play.
So he shifts his grip on the knives, watchful eyes on Keith--he anticipates the feint and moves at once to meet it, not clashing their knives so much as deflecting. Can't do this with a katana, they're delicate weapons but he's confident in the durability of these knives...
[Deflecting is good, and Keith moves with it, a bit relentless at the moment, coming at Yusuke without a break, always in motion, varying which blade he attacks with, a quick slash up, a longer arc across, eyes bright to watch Yusuke block.
The other boy is a good fighter, even if knives are new to him. The skills are transferring.
Keith thinks he's doing good anyway, a fact that is probably obvious by the grin on his face.]
[Yusuke's lips twitch. It's a challenge, Keith is a challenge to fend off... but he doesn't mind it at all. It's enjoyable, and Yusuke never thought of himself as someone who really enjoyed sparring, so.
He keeps up with the knives, finding defending with them not as difficult. He's getting used to the length of them, though after a while he's definitely starting to tire out.
Keith's good, okay? Wearing him down. At that point, he starts to move, putting footwork to use now in order to duck out of the way of moves.]
[Keith is pretty determined, honestly. Better to have Yusuke learn how to defend fully when it's him, and not someone else, someone who's actually trying to do him harm. Besides, he might be enjoying this a little too much. And it might be pretty obvious, because he really can't stop smirking.
Why are you friends with him, Yusuke? He's kind of terrible.]
Your footwork is good. But watch your hold... [He informs him as he goes in with sweep of his own knife to try to catch him at an off-angle for how he's holding the knife, to try for force a block and then to knock it free of his grip.]
[It's a startled and dismayed sound, as his fingers loosen around the grip of the knife. Yeah. He let his focus slip for a second and one of the knives drops from his hand. He quickly backsteps and frowns, more at himself than anyone else.
Okay. One-knife fighting, then. Bring it, Keith. He's apparently not ready to quit.]
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Mm. Understood.
[He adjusts his posture as instructed and goes ohh quietly, as if the change in how he's holding the knife and how he holds himself suddenly makes sense.] Someone I know fights with knives as well, though his style is different from yours.
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Better.
[Keith comments on his posture before looking curiously at that.] Oh yeah? Who's that? They here?
[Or is it someone Yusuke knows from back home?]
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[He hesitates, but only out of habit, and then he calmly nods. It's Keith, he can tell Keith.] That is correct. Joker is like-- our group's leader. He's very capable.
He is here as well, but I am not certain how much he has told other people about our situation... or if he wants his full identity known. Forgive me if I just give you his code name for now.
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Hey no, that's fine. Some secrets aren't ours to tell, right?
[Though Keith has a fairly good guess. Yusuke has one friend and one not-a-friend from home here. And the one friend he does have is Akira, who Keith has, in fact, had a knife fight with. Logic puzzles! But he won't say anything about it anyway, especially since Akira seemed pretty keen not to talk about why he knew how to fight with knives.]
So. Want to see if you can come at me with the knife? Same movements, but with a target.
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He doesn't have enough EXP to take a feat yet so.]
Yes. Please allow me to do so. [STANCE, TAKEN.]
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[Keith will snag up a second knife as well if Yusuke is trying the two out. He drops into defensive stance, but there's a grin on his face. Exciting. He enjoys training and sparring, and getting a chance to do it with a friend is extra exciting.]
Great. Ready when you re.
[Come at him, bro.]
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He's going to have to work this into strategies as well.
However, he swings the knife at Keith, doing his best to emulate what Keith showed him.]
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[Keith sees that little hesitation. Right? Knives are much closer. Quicker, more unpredictable, arguably more dangerous because of this. That may be why Keith likes them so much.]
Good...
[He pronounces even as his blade shoots up to deflect, moving with Yusuke's motion to twist away and turn to face him.] Like you mean it. Try to cut me.
[INTENSE.]
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...So he will do his best not to let him down.
He moves in again, a bare shimmer of yellow in his eyes as he forces himself not to focus on the proximity but how to cut even with it. His eyes, for that moment, are similar to how they look when he uses his abilities and has the mask over his face. He's getting into that mindset, not so much Yusuke as Fox.]
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[It's okay, Yusuke. He just wants you to give it your all and not worry about injuring him in the process because that will lead to hesitation and holding back. Keith is pretty confident in his own ability to at least hold Yusuke off.
He sees that little flash in his eyes, and frankly his thought is how familiar and Galra that is before he's refocusing and turning his attention to fending off the other boy's knives, nodding to himself.]
Better.
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[So he refuses to accept that better! He will not accept it until he actually manages to do what Keith has told him to do. It isn't as though he's a completely new fighter, at least.
...But this is learning a whole new style. He moves quickly, though still obviously getting used to the reach. Two knives are comfortable, though. It isn't strange to follow up one blow with a swipe of the other.]
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So Keith only grins and shrugs a shoulder at him.]
Then land one. Come on.
[Keith drops back, flashing a grin.]
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He narrows his eyes at the challenge... okay so he's a bit fired up by it, for sure!
He moves in, more and more confident the more they do this, lashing out with both daggers.]
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Closer and closer really.
And eventually Keith's blade will miss a deflection.
Which honestly will only make him grin all the more.]
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And in the heat of the moment, he grins too, sharp and wild as he darts, following Keith's missed deflection and lashing out with the knife.
...He's confident that, even if he scores a nick on him, it won't be much. But Keith essentially told him not to hold back.]
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[Keith did tell him not to hold back, and he meant it. This is what he wanted to see, wanted Yusuke to give everything he had. And Keith is still grinning, even as he sees too late the way the knife is coming, and it strikes true, catching his upper arm before he twists away, falling into a defensive stance, blades up.]
Good!
[And he's bleeding. A little. Which is great. Yusuke is a natural.]
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...I admit I am surprised I was able to hit you so soon.
[He's not apologising because that's what they were aiming to do!! He does ask:] Are you all right?
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Don't get used to it.
[Keith informs him with a grin, half challenging half actually playful. ...what? He likes sparring. It takes his mind off the thousand other things it's stuck on since he wound up here.]
I'm fine. Want to try defense this time?
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Yes. Let's see if you can hit me.
[He's got some fancy footwork he's all ready to put to use.]
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He lifts his own blades, his own and the borrowed knife, letting his balance shift before all at once he's in motion, a feint to the left before he comes at Yusuke hard in the other direction.]
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And it would be a waste not to put his new weapons into play.
So he shifts his grip on the knives, watchful eyes on Keith--he anticipates the feint and moves at once to meet it, not clashing their knives so much as deflecting. Can't do this with a katana, they're delicate weapons but he's confident in the durability of these knives...
and if they break he has like 6 more]
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[Deflecting is good, and Keith moves with it, a bit relentless at the moment, coming at Yusuke without a break, always in motion, varying which blade he attacks with, a quick slash up, a longer arc across, eyes bright to watch Yusuke block.
The other boy is a good fighter, even if knives are new to him. The skills are transferring.
Keith thinks he's doing good anyway, a fact that is probably obvious by the grin on his face.]
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He keeps up with the knives, finding defending with them not as difficult. He's getting used to the length of them, though after a while he's definitely starting to tire out.
Keith's good, okay? Wearing him down. At that point, he starts to move, putting footwork to use now in order to duck out of the way of moves.]
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[Keith is pretty determined, honestly. Better to have Yusuke learn how to defend fully when it's him, and not someone else, someone who's actually trying to do him harm. Besides, he might be enjoying this a little too much. And it might be pretty obvious, because he really can't stop smirking.
Why are you friends with him, Yusuke? He's kind of terrible.]
Your footwork is good. But watch your hold... [He informs him as he goes in with sweep of his own knife to try to catch him at an off-angle for how he's holding the knife, to try for force a block and then to knock it free of his grip.]
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[It's a startled and dismayed sound, as his fingers loosen around the grip of the knife. Yeah. He let his focus slip for a second and one of the knives drops from his hand. He quickly backsteps and frowns, more at himself than anyone else.
Okay. One-knife fighting, then. Bring it, Keith. He's apparently not ready to quit.]
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