[and Anna's not hard to find, what with her 5'10" frame and robotic legs (though at first glance they might just look like really messed up stockings) and dirty, but still very white, hair. she doesn't like being in her workout clothes, especially this early and in this weather, but her tanktop and gym shorts at least make her feel like she's in the right place. she doesn't yet know how much she's gonna miss having these muscles.]
Hey. [she waves casually and greets her sparring partner with a smirk. there's a katana sheathed messily across her back, wrapped up in a black sling that crosses her chest. people apparently don't notice it anymore. it's fine.] You ready to kick my ass?
[Rinka has the distinct impression she has seen Anna somewhere before, though she can't quite pinpoint where. Though, for all she knows she's passed Anna a couple times in the grocery store. She grins at the older woman as she returns the wave.]
Hey! I will certainly try my best! I got the room at the end.
[Once they get to the room, Rinka sets her gym bag down in the corner and takes out her batons. She's started to get a feel for the balance of the weapon in the few weeks she's had them. At the very least, they feel 'right' in her hands.]
I've only gotten one memory of her using these so far. But it's also the only memory I've gotten of her fighting where she didn't lose. So... probably a good place to start?
[she's not much of a talker on the way to the room, with her hands in her pockets and her gait about as casual as it gets, but once they get there she starts taking stuff seriously.]
Sounds like a plan to me. Let me see how hard you swing those things first before I decide whether I gotta bring this thing out.
[and she takes the katana off her back and gently leans it up against the wall, then looks around for some pads to put over her forearms so she doesn't risk shattering her bones in case Rinka's some kind of damn prodigy. once they're on, she falls into a stance, putting her arms up in front of her body and clenching her fists. and then she decides to push her guard out a little further from her body.]
Aim for the pads. Had enough face trauma recently.
[Rinka snaps the batons open, the steps forward to face Anna. She brings her arms up into a ready position, just doing what feels natural. It's a rough approximation of a guard position, her left baton forward to protect her body, her right baton closer in. Then she steps forward, her right baton coming out to swing at Anna's left forearm.
There's some strength in the swing, thanks to her tennis playing. But it's still within normal range for an non-powered human teenage girl.]
[Anna turns her head slightly to actually get a visual on it once she processes the side it's coming from, then provides enough resistance to tank the hit and keep her arm steady. she's strong, sure, but getting whacked with one of those things still hurts. she doubts she's at risk at the moment, but powers kick in all the time, yeah? there's respect in her tone after the smack dully resounds through the room.]
Not bad. Good guard, too. I used to leave myself wide open before I learned. [and she glances at Rinka's right arm. there's a couple things she could ask.] You right-handed, or you lead with that one on purpose?
[It hadn't even occurred to Rinka that Anna's field of vision wasn't the same as hers, until she saw Anna turn her head. And by that point she couldn't pull the strike. In hindsight, it's obvious, and she feels a little bad for starting off on Anna's blind side.]
I'm right handed, yes. Sorry, I didn't think about your eye.
[it gets a laugh from Anna, perhaps unexpectedly, and she shakes her head.]
No, it's good. Use that to your advantage. You need to be cutthroat out there, even if it's not really who you are. [and she nods and readies herself again.] Look for your opponents' weak points and go for them. Not everyone's gonna have a big sign on their face saying "hit me where I can't see you".
[Rinka's not sure how cutthroat she's capable of being. Sure, there's that memory of her trying to kick that woman in the face... but that same woman had some sort of teleporting power, so in a way it might have been justified.
Only, that was past her, not current her. Maybe past her was able to be cutthroat, but what about the her now? Rinka can't deny that Anna has a point though. She needs to find her opponents' weak spots.]
Okay. I'll try.
[She brings her batons up again and takes a deep breath. Then she starts swinging. Left, right, left, switch swing direction and left again.
Two of the many things she learned from tennis, how to constantly stay in motion and how to breath well.]
[and it's the last one that gets her. she can see the motion and assumes that Rinka's going to keep alternating, but just a simple mix-up catches her off-guard. she does her best to deflect it at the last second, but can't quite pull it off; she tanks the hit to her side like a champ.]
Good!
[and she actually sounds excited; there's a grin on her face. and if Rinka can mix things up, so can she. Anna won't put all her strength into fighting back, but she can still fight with her fists pretty well and ends up lunging forward, a right and then a left with intent to get her sparring partner to block things quickly.]
[Rinka lets out a startled yelp as she's forced to take a step back. Her brain is working overtime as it tries to figure out the most efficient way to use these sticks. Stopping an attack straight on requires much more strength than she has... but the point is to not get hit, rather than to stop an attack cold.
Of course, in the time her brain figures that out, Anna's able to clock Rinka with that left.]
Oops.
[She shakes out her arm, then tries again. Left, right, backswing with her left... while at the same time trying to pay attention to what Anna's doing.]
[Anna takes no joy in hitting her opponents when she's trying to actually help them get better, but she's glad to see Rinka dodge at least one of them. she'll have to pull her punches a little more, but right now her attention is on Rinka's offensive. her head is turned so her right eye is slightly more towards the front, and it's hardly the ideal fighting situation, but it's what she's dealing with, isn't it?]
[she blocks the first two but isn't expecting the backswing and takes that hit as she jabs out, trying to mix things up, trying not to hit her partner too hard, playing to the strengths she sees in Rinka and her weapons by not throwing out anything wild and letting her get in as many good blocks as she needs, if she's not just trying the "dodge everything" method instead.]
You're pretty nimble. [she's talking with an elevated heart rate and that same look on her face, but it's trending more towards appreciative.]
[With each strike and block, it's like the batons are feeling more and more comfortable in her hands. Rather than trying to stop Anna's attacks cold, Rinka begins to use her batons to direct Ann's strikes away from her, even as she stays close enough to Anna to counter strike, though she doesn't yet.]
Tennis. Have to be quick.
[But the way she's moving her feet is looking less and less like tennis, and more and more like aikido.]
[sure. Anna grins, glad that there's something she can apparently do to actually train people; she's sensing the changes in Rinka's movements too, after all. and her eye, in between blows, darts down to her opponent's feet to get an idea of where her skill level might really be coming from.]
Is tennis all you do?
[which is maybe the politest way of calling bullshit she's ever managed, she thinks, still idly trading blows.]
Uh. I do do track and field, too. My event is the mile.
[So, mostly just running in circles.
Of course, that's when the memory fizzle to the surface.
Rinka, past!Rinka, sparring with her father in a park. No weapons, just their hands (and in Rinka's case, her feet as well). Something had happened. She was upset, angry, because she hadn't been able to do anything. She didn't know which direction to go next. And then something small and fast drops both her father and her.
[Anna recognizes that look; a lot of times they hit her the same way. she stops immediately, freezing mid-swing, then pulls her fist back and relaxes her stance. once it's clear they aren't actually sparring anymore for the moment, she speaks up.]
[Rinka blinks a few times as she tries to figure out what the memory means. Sequence of events is one thing. What those events mean is something else entirely.]
I was sparring with my father. I was... frustrated. Something had happened, and I felt like I had... failed. And I didn't know what to do from there.
[she frowns a little and looks down at the batons in her hands]
I don't know what happened, but I think it was a bit more than failing a class in school. I felt like... I'd tried my hardest and still hadn't done enough...
[interesting. Anna tilts her head slightly, trying to make sense of it. she doesn't have the highest opinion of fathers to begin with, so pardon the venom.]
Yeah, well. Dads are easy as hell to disappoint. Ask mine. [don't, actually.] If it's any consolation? You're definitely not failing here. You're picking this shit up pretty well for someone who's never fought with those things before. Told you you wouldn't get your ass kicked.
[Rinka is fairly certain it she hadn't disappointed her dad. But with all the missing context, it's just really hard to explain.]
I don't think it was him... He seemed kind of... happy they were sparring? I think he was trying to comfort her even...
[She looks down at the batons dangling from her wrists.]
It kind of feels like muscle memory. Like my body is remembering how to do this. Which is really cool, but really weird at the same time.
[Then she points at her head, careful not to whack herself with a baton]
But she still got her ass kicked, sort of. Someone small and fast appeared. Took down her dad and then took her down. Though... I think it was a throw? She wasn't hurt, just surprised.
[yeah, Anna gets that. that's how it felt when she got her sword stuff back. it wasn't really an all-at-once thing for her, and she struggled for, like, a solid month not knowing how to use it, but. that's all in the past now.]
What, she got surprise judo-ed? [wow, what a dumb way for Anna to say it!] But if she didn't get hurt, I guess it wasn't supposed to be an attack. [or. whatever. she shrugs. it's not really her place to analyze other people's memories.]
Either way, this is how it kicks in. Eventually you'll start feeling like you've been doing it your whole life. My first week knowing how to use a sword, I went out into the forest and just hunted panther monsters for a while. [a beat as her eye glances away.] So don't get cocky.
[she turns her back and keeps her ears open in case this is one of those instances where she's gonna get snuck up on. and really, she'd be proud of her. but if Rinka isn't planning to ambush her, then Anna will be glad to carefully unsheathe her blade and show it off in its off-white glory. it's not really anything special as far as katanas go, but it definitely used to be whiter.]
[Anna shrugs. she's extremely helpful. this blade is important to her, yeah, and she has some pretty good ideas as to why, but she doesn't really know much about the blade itself.]
It might still be steel, just stained white or something? Well. Used to be white until I actually started using it. I still haven't figured out how to get panther blood out of it, and it was just kind of downhill from there.
It was the first thing I killed when I got A2's sword skills back.
[she nods, handing over the blade and making sure Rinka knows how to stick the pointy end away from her. it's a lightweight sword, just a standard katana meant to be used by androids. you know, your everyday future blade! for robots! god her life is weird. Rinka shouldn't have too much of a problem lifting it, is the point.]
Or was it when I got the robot legs...? [it's a rhetorical question. it definitely was.] Either way. Zee needed me to do stuff, and I did it.
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she doesn't yet know how much she's gonna miss having these muscles.]Hey. [she waves casually and greets her sparring partner with a smirk. there's a katana sheathed messily across her back, wrapped up in a black sling that crosses her chest. people apparently don't notice it anymore. it's fine.] You ready to kick my ass?
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Hey! I will certainly try my best! I got the room at the end.
[Once they get to the room, Rinka sets her gym bag down in the corner and takes out her batons. She's started to get a feel for the balance of the weapon in the few weeks she's had them. At the very least, they feel 'right' in her hands.]
I've only gotten one memory of her using these so far. But it's also the only memory I've gotten of her fighting where she didn't lose. So... probably a good place to start?
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Sounds like a plan to me. Let me see how hard you swing those things first before I decide whether I gotta bring this thing out.
[and she takes the katana off her back and gently leans it up against the wall, then looks around for some pads to put over her forearms so she doesn't risk shattering her bones in case Rinka's some kind of damn prodigy. once they're on, she falls into a stance, putting her arms up in front of her body and clenching her fists. and then she decides to push her guard out a little further from her body.]
Aim for the pads. Had enough face trauma recently.
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[Rinka snaps the batons open, the steps forward to face Anna. She brings her arms up into a ready position, just doing what feels natural. It's a rough approximation of a guard position, her left baton forward to protect her body, her right baton closer in. Then she steps forward, her right baton coming out to swing at Anna's left forearm.
There's some strength in the swing, thanks to her tennis playing. But it's still within normal range for an non-powered human teenage girl.]
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Not bad. Good guard, too. I used to leave myself wide open before I learned. [and she glances at Rinka's right arm. there's a couple things she could ask.] You right-handed, or you lead with that one on purpose?
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I'm right handed, yes. Sorry, I didn't think about your eye.
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No, it's good. Use that to your advantage. You need to be cutthroat out there, even if it's not really who you are. [and she nods and readies herself again.] Look for your opponents' weak points and go for them. Not everyone's gonna have a big sign on their face saying "hit me where I can't see you".
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Only, that was past her, not current her. Maybe past her was able to be cutthroat, but what about the her now? Rinka can't deny that Anna has a point though. She needs to find her opponents' weak spots.]
Okay. I'll try.
[She brings her batons up again and takes a deep breath. Then she starts swinging. Left, right, left, switch swing direction and left again.
Two of the many things she learned from tennis, how to constantly stay in motion and how to breath well.]
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Good!
[and she actually sounds excited; there's a grin on her face. and if Rinka can mix things up, so can she. Anna won't put all her strength into fighting back, but she can still fight with her fists pretty well and ends up lunging forward, a right and then a left with intent to get her sparring partner to block things quickly.]
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[Rinka lets out a startled yelp as she's forced to take a step back. Her brain is working overtime as it tries to figure out the most efficient way to use these sticks. Stopping an attack straight on requires much more strength than she has... but the point is to not get hit, rather than to stop an attack cold.
Of course, in the time her brain figures that out, Anna's able to clock Rinka with that left.]
Oops.
[She shakes out her arm, then tries again. Left, right, backswing with her left... while at the same time trying to pay attention to what Anna's doing.]
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[she blocks the first two but isn't expecting the backswing and takes that hit as she jabs out, trying to mix things up, trying not to hit her partner too hard, playing to the strengths she sees in Rinka and her weapons by not throwing out anything wild and letting her get in as many good blocks as she needs, if she's not just trying the "dodge everything" method instead.]
You're pretty nimble. [she's talking with an elevated heart rate and that same look on her face, but it's trending more towards appreciative.]
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Tennis. Have to be quick.
[But the way she's moving her feet is looking less and less like tennis, and more and more like aikido.]
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Is tennis all you do?
[which is maybe the politest way of calling bullshit she's ever managed, she thinks, still idly trading blows.]
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[So, mostly just running in circles.
Of course, that's when the memory fizzle to the surface.
Rinka, past!Rinka, sparring with her father in a park. No weapons, just their hands (and in Rinka's case, her feet as well). Something had happened. She was upset, angry, because she hadn't been able to do anything. She didn't know which direction to go next. And then something small and fast drops both her father and her.
Rinka drops her guard in confusion.]
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Anything interesting?
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I was sparring with my father. I was... frustrated. Something had happened, and I felt like I had... failed. And I didn't know what to do from there.
[she frowns a little and looks down at the batons in her hands]
I don't know what happened, but I think it was a bit more than failing a class in school. I felt like... I'd tried my hardest and still hadn't done enough...
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Yeah, well. Dads are easy as hell to disappoint. Ask mine. [don't, actually.] If it's any consolation? You're definitely not failing here. You're picking this shit up pretty well for someone who's never fought with those things before. Told you you wouldn't get your ass kicked.
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I don't think it was him... He seemed kind of... happy they were sparring? I think he was trying to comfort her even...
[She looks down at the batons dangling from her wrists.]
It kind of feels like muscle memory. Like my body is remembering how to do this. Which is really cool, but really weird at the same time.
[Then she points at her head, careful not to whack herself with a baton]
But she still got her ass kicked, sort of. Someone small and fast appeared. Took down her dad and then took her down. Though... I think it was a throw? She wasn't hurt, just surprised.
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What, she got surprise judo-ed? [wow, what a dumb way for Anna to say it!] But if she didn't get hurt, I guess it wasn't supposed to be an attack. [or. whatever. she shrugs. it's not really her place to analyze other people's memories.]
Either way, this is how it kicks in. Eventually you'll start feeling like you've been doing it your whole life. My first week knowing how to use a sword, I went out into the forest and just hunted panther monsters for a while. [a beat as her eye glances away.] So don't get cocky.
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[says the girl planning to spar blindfolded with James the very next day]
Could I see your sword? I've never really seen up close one before.
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[she turns her back and keeps her ears open in case this is one of those instances where she's gonna get snuck up on. and really, she'd be proud of her. but if Rinka isn't planning to ambush her, then Anna will be glad to carefully unsheathe her blade and show it off in its off-white glory. it's not really anything special as far as katanas go, but it definitely used to be whiter.]
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[Rinka doesn't have a sneak attack in mind (this time???). Instead she takes a look at Anna's sword.]
Wow. What's it made of? That doesn't quite look like steel.
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It might still be steel, just stained white or something? Well. Used to be white until I actually started using it. I still haven't figured out how to get panther blood out of it, and it was just kind of downhill from there.
[she looks up and smirks.]
Wanna give it a swing?
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Panther blood? That happened here?
[On the one hand, she's remembered kicking a hippo. On the other, panther.]
But, um, yes!
[She holds out her hands, keeping in mind the sword is likely going to be much heavier than her batons.]
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[she nods, handing over the blade and making sure Rinka knows how to stick the pointy end away from her. it's a lightweight sword, just a standard katana meant to be used by androids. you know, your everyday future blade! for robots! god her life is weird. Rinka shouldn't have too much of a problem lifting it, is the point.]
Or was it when I got the robot legs...? [it's a rhetorical question. it definitely was.] Either way. Zee needed me to do stuff, and I did it.
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