Fantasy The Divide

[Magikarp]

Haru Yukimura: The Ai Oni


Haru shrugged when Sapire commented on that being rude as his main focus was Akio and Koharu. Both of them were planning something, most likely exchanging information, maybe borderlining scheming. Whatever they were talking about it was probably serious and important. When they came back Haru glared at both of them from underneath his raven like mask, he didn’t trust them one bit, well he didn’t really trust anyone but still, they were near the bottom rung of his trust scale.


"Thank you but I won't be eating," Haru responded simply.


Haru didn't have much of an appetite to begin with and it worsened now that illogical thoughts were swimming in his head and threatening to impair his judgment. He figured that he'd mediate on this, besides now that he was staying with a Guardian he couldn't even go on his nightly hunts.

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Morning- 09:30 AkuNo's Edit -it's Saturday


The Guardian and her party, Koharu, Haru, and Akio, had returned to her large home, still covered in snow on one side and uncleaned. After a bit of grumbling she made dinner, they each went to different rooms, and rested the night. The next day came, each wearing their various costumes of norm, and their host made breakfast. It is now 9:30 AM, the time of beginnings, the sun is up and people are waking... or already awake, as is their ilk, and a fresh coat of snow has fallen. How shall the day begin?

 

[Akio]

Akio who had been sleeping suddenly started waking up as light from the outside finally bothered him enough. He opened his sleepy eyes and stretched looking around. Today would be the first day, he'd have to start earning their trust today. He had heard base value descriptions of them but he knew this would be more complicated then that. 'I wonder what kind of people they are.' He thought to himself and he went went into the main room.

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Saphire looked up as she began placing the meal down. A small smile, so someone will be up for breakfast for once? She finished placing the plates down before nodding at him. Turning around she went into the kitchen, hair swaying as she did so. Quickly she returned with the rice and fish, as well as a plate of eggs, placing them down on the table. I don't expect him to notice me, so I'll do my best not to get in the way. I'm sure my food's only average anyway, so he'll probably quickly eat and go. A soft groan as she realized that she'd have to shovel a day's worth of snow off of half of it. And that she'd need to lecture some of her other guests.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna went home immediately after the confrontation, which seemed to run her a little later than she expected. So much so, that her brother was soaking in the bath tub, doing his best to loosen his muscles up after his practice. Oh, how Johanna detested this penthouse condo that her mother decided she must have. The master bedroom came equipped with two separate bathrooms, each with their own respective sink, toilet, shower and bath. The floor and design of it was marvelous, way beyond that of the normal bath in Japan. Intricate designs in the marble of the floor, to the mere handle of the toilet. It seemed, a bit excessive. Yet, as a business exec, it was whatever the mother Mizoto wanted.


The other bath didn't fail to meet the expectation set by the one described previously, on the contrary. It matched, if not exceeded it. The issue being, was the only other bathroom in the living space, that took up a whole building floor, that had a bath in it was shared by two siblings. This baffled Johanna beyond all ends. Why would her mother, a single woman, need two bathrooms when her children had to share one? Then to top it off, she usually locked the door to the bathroom. The nerve of that woman.


But tonight, she wasn't home. Tonight, Johanna was going to use that bathroom. So even in her tired stupor, she found herself taking several products from her room (and with google search on how pick locks) before eventually over time getting the door to open. This brought a smile to her face as she bared her body and wrapped it in a towel. She would subject herself to being submerged in the steaming water, of course, after she had run it. She sat, for a couple of hours, falling asleep even. It was when she heard the elevator open that she woke,"Damn." It was the only thing she managed to say.


She couldn't have her mom find out she had broken in her room to bathe, so with her in human speed she got out of the bath, wrapped the towel around her, ran out of the room(closing and locking the door behind her) and into her bedroom. Her mother hadn't seen any of this, but she heard the sound of her own door closing a rose a brow.


The brunette haired woman walk to her door, twisting the knob to try to push it open to no avail,"I could have sworn..." Reaching into her purse, she grabbed the key, inserting it into the keyhole, and unlocking the door. As she walked through her room, she went to the bathroom that Johanna was just in, noticing the tub full of water. The door was locked, and only she had the key so she couldn't blame her kids, and just summed it up to her getting old and forgetting to drain the tub.


Johanna had already fallen asleep by this point....


That was her night, but her morning started with a message from Koharu informing her to meet him at Saphire's mansion, even offering the address. It was only 8, and she had no interest in going, but was curious to see why that she needed to be there. So she started her routine for getting ready as she did previously, this time sans the shower and school uniform. Instead, she opted opted for black denim jeans, and a emerald green long sleeve t-shirt that exposed most of her midriff. She slid on a pair of black boots that went half away up her shin, and seemed to be more heel than utility boots for snow. This would all be capped by a light black hooded jacket she adorned, letting her hair fall freely.


On her way to the elevator to leave, her mother had spotted her and would make a half ass attempt to be a parent,"You're going to catch a cold dressing like that."


Johanna merely scoffed at her before replying as the elevator doors were closing,"What's it yo ya hag."


Her journey wouldn't be too long, the mansion wasn't too far from her home. That's a joke, she left her house by 830, took the train half the trip, and cab the rest of the way, and it still took her about an hour. She did live on the other side of the city from the mansion. She would soon, arrive and walk inside,"Hello?" she inquired sniffing the air, catching the freshly cooked food.

 

[Akio]

"Good morning." He said with a nod to saphire. He looked at the food and actually heard his stomach rumble. He sat and took a plate and started eating after nodding to her in thanks, he didnt seem to be in a hurry. He ate for a bit silent before looking at the door when Johanna came in. "Hi, there's food."

 

[SaphireTsuki]

"Come in, Johanna was it?" Saphire said, looking up from her plate and waving her in welcomingly. "We've more than enough, I always make too much. Or rather, just enough for me and my guests, but usually no-one comes down until after I go to class. Or have already finished the chores for the day." The last part was half-grumbled, but the entire time she smiled pleasantly. Amiably she patted one of the seats next to her, yet another silent cue to come in and take a seat.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna's brow rose as she was greeted by the two people she had met the night before. She didn't remember their names, nor care to pretend she did. she only gazed at them as they looked to her, welcoming her in. She managed to scoff again before taking in a deep breath and walking towards the rest of them,"It's Johanna.." she confirmed, managing to reach in and take a plate of food, before sitting far away from the two as she possibly could.


She started to eat, enjoying the bit of food that was prepared, though she understood it wasn't prepare for her specifically. She had stirred a bit in the coat, not lifting her eyes from her food because she felt the situation was a bit awkward. She only came because Koharu had beckoned and the brat was nowhere to be found. So she was there, by herself, around a bunch of demon apparitions and fallen angels. She was not having a good time, but she did appreciate the food,"Thank you..." was the only thing she said gently. The German in her accent came out stronger than it normally would, perhaps because she was a bit timid at the moment.


She would manage to remove her phone from her jacket pocket, perusing through all of the apps she had on there. From the social networks, to the simple ones, before she would close the phone and let out a deep sigh. Who was she kidding, it was 930 on a saturday, her friends were sleep.


Koharu had spent the night at the mansion as he promised, Saphire. He was able to escape the cold, which was a great sigh of relief for him, and once he stirred for the first time in the morning -which was 730 am- he managed to yawn. He sent a message to Johanna asking her to come to the mansion, and would clean himself up before slipping into a simple masculine black kimono.


He walked through the halls barely making a sound, with his eyes closed and hands behind his back. It wouldn't be long before he entered the room with everyone else and smiled,"Morning."

 

[Runcible Spoon]

He stood there in the Chudan stance, panting lightly in the heavy bogu, that is padded armor that protects all of the vital spots, they were required to wear in practice. It was heavy, it was hot, but right now it seemed like it was the best thing in the world... Especially with how hard some of these guys seemed to hit.


"Kiiiiya!" came the shout, filled to the brim, it seemed, with fighting spirit as his opponents shinai came down in a deadly arc toward his men. Woods moved to defend, his own shinai moving from his mid-guard to parry the blow, directing his opponents weight and momentum to the right. A quick pivot and he was behind his opponent with his shinai planted firmly on his migi-do, or the right side of the torso, his own kiya's fading into the background.


"Point Match, Woods-san is the victor with two points to zero!" cried the captain of the Kendo Club, who was currently refereeing the practice matches. There was a big inter-school tournament coming up, so the captain had pressed most of the more serious members into coming in for extra practice on the weekends. Woods didn't mind, most of his school friends were in the Kendo Club anyway. Just meant more time to hang out, even if they were exhausted by end of it.


Alexander, or Woods-san as he was often called at school, bowed to his opponent, "Domo arigato gozaimashita." Thank you very much. One of the many phrases he'd learned in his time in Japan. It's far from the only phrase he knew, he'd been in the country for months now, and had a strong grasp for the language by now. Which was good, because the unforgiving world of Japanese academics was unerring in it's usage of Japanese both spoken and written in text books. It was every American for themselves.


Woods had taken off his men, that's the bulky helmet kendoka (students of kendo) wear during practice and competition, to get a drink from the large water bottle he'd learned to keep on hand at all times during practices, the bogu can get unbearable hot during extended sessions and dehydration was something every kendoka fought against. Meaning everyone had their name written on their water bottles. He was in the middle of a long draft of water when the captain called him over to speak.


"Woods-san, you've improved a great deal since you started practicing here in the club." the captain said calmly, simply stating a fact.


This drew a wary nod from Woods, skeptical as to where this conversation was headed, even though it had only begun. "I suppose I have, Hidori-senpai. But so have a lot of others..."


Hidori shook his head, running his hand through his coal-black hair which seemed typical with most of the Japanese. It was the same in South Korea, the country he'd lived in before moving to Japan. "When you walked through those doors, I could tell something was different about you. More than your height, or your hair... But then you actually picked up a shinai and showed how hopeless you actually were with a sword."


Woods grinned awkwardly at that, he knew he had been terrible. Walking in with the typical ignorance of a novice, expecting to pick up a weapon and instantly become a warrior god, taking on hordes of opponents alone. He'd tried fencing in Korea, but hadn't had much luck... Strict schedules with school and the military base had left him unable to learn anything more than the basics, which were drastically different with kendo.


"The point being, Woods-san, that while the others have improved as well, they had already been practicing for years. You've reached your level of skill in such a short amount of time, through sheer effort and practice." Hidori said with a slight smile. "It's good we have you in the club, you help push the others to try harder. I doubt any of the others would have progressed as far as they have if not for you. I would like you to represent us in the upcoming tournament."


Woods started to protest, "Surely there are more senior members who could do bet-" He was cut off by a raised hand from the captain.


"It's not as if you'll be the only one of us participating. There'll be three. You, Nakamura, and I will be entering." Nakamura was the co-captain, so it made sense he'd be going. "I want no arguments. You can take a short break, afterwards I want you performing kata with Nakamura. You've gotten a lot better, but your technique is still sloppy."


Woods nodded, taking a seat on one of the benches that bordered the room on all sides, his men resting beside him and his shinai across his lap.

 

[Elegy]

Zakura

The previous had been a busy one, as it was the first day that Zakura was a teacher at Takashi Kazuya high school. He was to teach both Japanese history and World history for only two classes. This was either because his superiors wanted to see Zakura teach proactively before giving him more responsibilities or they doubted him due to the fact that Zakura passed himself off as being blind. He had shown his superiors that he could easily interact with his environment and teach a class while not seeing anything, but they porbably still had some lingering doubts. The day had gone by smoothly, and Zakura had taught both his classes in the morning periods with skill. Zakura was knowledgeable and clear, so his explanations were often easy to understand and informative. Zakura's enhanced sense also let him pick up on any little pieces of mischief that might have gone on, and there was indeed quite a bit of misconduct as the students believed they could abuse Zakura's supposed blindness. They were proven sorely wrong. Zakura was strict and stern, and small misconducts merited harsh punishments such as extra assignments or subtle humiliation. Because of this, the students began to rather fear Zakura as a teacher, as none could escape his range. Though the students despised him, Zakura's superiors had apparently been incredibly impressed with his showings, and it seemed that Zakura would be at the school to stay for a while.

However, teaching did not really interest Zakura, what piqued his interest was the kendo club.

Any show of swordsmanship interested Zakura, and more so if this swordsmanship had a formal school attached to it, as Zakura's style of fighting was shaped purely by Zakura's needs to survival and was thus not "formal".

Today, Zakura spent his time watching the Kendo club practice rigorously. Zakura was knowledgeable in Kendo, but did not practice it and had few opportunities to see it practiced, even if he did use a katana. The movements of some of the better club members were concise and fluid, with distinct defensive postures and defined parries. Although Zakura did recognize the skill of these members, he noted that they were all too mechanical. They could pick up new techniques quickly, but they couldnt improvise and formulate their own movements in the heat of the moment. All of their movements had been practiced before and was just muscle memory recited. There was one person though, who could actually think for himself, who could improvise and actually apply what he had learned and improve upon it. This was an exceptionally rare trait that few swordsmen actually had, and was the defining line between a good and great swordsman.

Standing up from the corner of the gym where he had been analyzing the kendo club, Zakura walked towards Woods and waved a hello to the coach before stopping before Woods and speaking.

"Greetings young man. I am a new teacher here at this high school. My name is Zakura,and, as a man interested in Kendo, I would like to ask. How long have you been practicing Kendo?​

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

in the roleplay world it is Saturday, please adjust any posts as necessary. Often, clubs may meet at schools on the weekend, and they usually must have at least one teacher present (a long with a teacher sponsor of the club) Thank you for participating.


-Your Friendly Neighborhood GM.

 

[Elegy]

in the roleplay world it is Saturday, please adjust any posts as necessary. Often, clubs may meet at schools on the weekend, and they usually must have at least one teacher present (a long with a teacher sponsor of the club) Thank you for participating.
-Your Friendly Neighborhood GM.

I noticed that, but isnt the coach there for Woods's scenario?

 

[Runcible Spoon]

Woods lay back against the wall, breathing deeply and attempting to relax and come down from the adrenaline high of simulated combat without utterly exhausting himself. He'd been up since five in the morning, the usual time his mother insisted on waking him on a daily basis. Naturally he developed the keen instinct one acquires with such rituals, or so it seemed to him, snapping awake moments before his mother pressed a remote button which sets off an especially loud alarm. His mother currently resided at the American Naval base in Okinawa, Japan, one of the many islands around the country proper. Woods, however, lived in out of a hotel in Tokyo, paid in full by the U.S. military for the duration of his education in Japan.


His mother insisted on keeping him to his regular wake-up calls, regardless of where he slept. In this instance it proved a fortuitous habit as it gave him the opportunity to be alert and ready by the time he showed up for the extra Kendo practice, unlike many of his dead-eyed and droopy-tailed friends. They were fine after a few warm-ups and practice fights, but he still had a jump start.


Which proved to work against him, even though his body was used to less sleep, it wasn't used to being pushed so hard, so early in the morning. He usually reserved his solo kendo practice for the late afternoon on Saturdays, after some Aikido practice with his Sensei at a dojo in Tokyo, when his body was awake and already loose. It wasn't too bad, and the breather the captain gave him was helping a lot, so he wasn't worried about a terrible backlash from the extra exhertion.


He was half-resting, half-meditating with his eyes closed when Zakura approached him. Kendo is a noisier martial art than most, given the constantly shouted kiyaas! from those in practice matches, and the clack! of shinai, so he didn't hear him until he spoke. He started in surprise until he opened his eyes and saw a relatively unassuming man, clearly Japanese, oddly with his eyes shut. He had called himself a teacher, and since neither the club's sponsor or the actual coach had protested his presence, he relaxed, certain it was true. Though there was something... odd about him that Woods couldn't quite place... It set him a bit on edge, but he tried not to let it get to him.


"Since I transfered to this school about six months ago, but I practice every day without exception. It's not the only martial art I'm studying, and I do the same with them. Be it here, at a dojo, or at home." He said calmly, eyeing the man warily.

 

[Akio]

"I know your name." He said after taking another bit of his meal. "And if you have forgotten mine its Akio." He said just about finished. He wondered who was gonna explain the whole deal with the training of the guardians, him or the one who conscripted him. He finished up his food. "Thank you for the meal." He said waiting now, one way or another things would happen soon.

 

[SaphireTsuki]

Saphire had smiled proudly when Johanna expressed gratitude. "Anytime, Johanna. Call me Saphire, I insist." It didn't bother her that Johanna might not remember her name, nor did she much care. If she told people upon meeting her the second time what to call her it usually never came up, anyway. And it was so awkward to always be forgotten, so she tried to avoid that as much as possible. "Good morning, Koharu." She said, waving at the newly arrived Spirit. "That kimono looks good on you. Would you like some breakfast?" Always notice the changes in apparel of others, it makes them feel special. Just like Mom taught me.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Koharu shook his head at the offer for breakfast, before nodding to her gently, since she complimented the Kimono,"Why thank you." Koharu took a seat, somewhere between Saphire and Akio, looking over to Johanna, who seemed to be avoiding contact with everyone, not showing any bit of interest in what was going on.


This irritated Koharu a bit, she was such a pain to work with, but he didn't let it show. He would appease Johanna so she could leave, and go about doing whatever it was that trouble makers tended to do. He took in a deep breath, before looking off to Akio,"Starting tomorrow, Akio here will be training you and Saphire. He will be paying special attention to you Johanna, as you are very destructive and we need you to tone that down a bit."


He was being honest, every chance she got, she always ended up killing the demon instead of just incapacitating them, even if it wasn't necessary to kill them. This worried her superiors, particularly Koharu, because he wasn't sure if that was just her nature, or was it the destructiveness of the demon side of her coming out. "I know your burning question, and yes you may leave Johanna."





Johanna hadn't said much the whole while, just eating her food. She didn't care to hear what Koharu had to say, she was there because she was supposed to be. He explained that she was to be trained by him, and she was opposed to it though she didn't show it outwards. With a deep breath she began her walk out,"Thanks for breakfast," she uttered calmly before vanishing altogether. That speed of her's, it almost seemed like teleportation these days.


She was headed to school, they had morning basketball practice, lunch, then evening basketball practice.


It wouldn't be too long before she arrived at school, walking towards the girl's locker room. She changed out of her clothes, and put on the black and gold practice uniform of her high school. She was leaning over to lace her shoes when she could hear the kiyaa's and the sound of wood colliding in the background. The Kendo club. She had been to several Kendo dojo's, but out of the arts she saw, it was her least favorite.


She looked over her shoulder, before tying her long coal hair into a ponytail, before making sure her shoes were secured. She got to her feet,and headed out of the locker room, going towards the source of all of the noise, before peeking her head into the room where Woods and some teacher she didn't know was.

 

[Elegy]

Zakura raised his eyebrows slightly as he heard the timeframe in which the man before him had learned Kendo. To have the skill the man before him had with just six months of training was a formidable feat for a human, and Zakura began to develop some respect for the man in front of him.

"That is quite the formidable leap of progress you have made indeed. Although your technical skill in Kendo might not be as refined as your peers, you have creativity. Which I enjoy witnessing. I can see why your captain has chosen to represent you in the upcoming tournament. I wish you the best of luck, although I do not have doubts that you will most likely have little challenges along with a clean path to victory. If memory serves me correct, I will most likely be teaching your history classes from next week on if you have it in the morning, and I look forward to your presence there. Your breathing, form and movements indicate to me that you lead a disciplined lifestyle, and such a lifestyle is conducive to success in both swordsmanship and education, so I applaud you for maintaining your lifestyle."

Zakura had deduced that the man in front of him had led a military influenced lifestyle from the smallest of hints which he had picked up through their conversation and the kendo matches. It was an unearthly insight that would surprise many people, as very few could actually deduce so accurately the aspects of a person from the infinitesimally subtle hints they gave off in their actions. Zakura had felt that the man in front of him had a tiny misgiving somewhere in his mind, but Zakura was unsure of this. Zakura highly doubted the man realized Zakura's true state of existence and stowed the feeling off as simply a natural misgiving that one gets upon seeing someone unfamiliar.

"Well then, I do not want to encroach on your valuable practice, so I will let you continue." Said Zakura as he stepped away, walking towards the corner of the room where he had previously been watching the matches. The man showed promise, and Zakura's interest was piqued. He would observe this man when he could through his regular visits to the club that he planned. This was when he noticed a presence that was detached from the others. Probably another Kendo student. Zakura faced the direction student was at for a short second or two, confirming her presence before waving towards the student to come into the Kendo room, as she was probably there to practice it and Zakura wanted to make clear that his presence was not a problem.​

 

[Runcible Spoon]

It was Woods turn to raise his eyebrows. He was no stranger to praise, or insult for that matter-he could always count on his Aikido instructor to keep him from getting too big a head-but Zakura's words had an old world air reserved for scholars and monks. The sort of people you always envision as wizened old geezers with twinkly eyes and gentle smiles. Or grumpy old things, he'd met a few monks in China that were far from kind... Is was a trip, a sort of vacation, rather than a move. To pick up a some techniques from some monks at a temple there. He'd been fourteen. And alone.


But that was a story for another time, and at the moment he had to snap out of his mental tangent and respond to, it seemed, his new history teacher. "Thank you, Sensei. The coach and captain try their best to keep any ego I might develop from getting too big, and I do my best to maintain it as well as I can, though homework is a constant thorn in my side." He smiled while he had said it, though he couldn't help wondering how Zakura had managed to see all of that with his eyes closed. Was he blind? No, he'd have to be able to see, there was no other way he'd know so much. So, what? Was he doing it to mess with people?


Just then, Nakamura called from the corner of the room. "Yo, Woods-san? Are we going to do some kata, or what?"


"Oh, ah yes." He was brought back to earth by Nakamura's shouted inquiry, which was more than necessary in any den where kendo was being performed. "Thank you, Sensei, for your kind words again, but I believe I'm needed elsewhere."


He stood, bowing slightly as Zakura returned to where he was before, though he had waved at something that had apparently caught his attention. His eyes were still closed. Woods narrowed his own eyes. 'What could he possibly have se-' He followed Zakura's line of sight, to see a girl, half-Japanese half-something... Maybe a European nation, judging by the cheekbones and jawline... dressed in Takashi High basketball gear. He quirked an eyebrow... he was half-certain he'd seen her before.


"Woods-san," Nakamura said, having crept up to him while his attention was elsewhere. "Captain said we were-" Nakamura stopped after Woods held a hand up for silence, which both confused and pissed Nakamura off. He knew Woods wouldn't do that without good reason, but it still pissed him off, he didn't like being shushed. Woods pointed in Johanna's direction, alerting Nakamura to her presence. Understanding immediately dawned. "Prospective recruit, eh? Star of the soccer team, too. Mizoto Johanna."


Woods snapped his fingers in realization, which amounted to a dull thwap! as he was still wearing his kote, and which was a feat in of itself as the kote were more like padded mittens than gloves. "That's where I've seen her! She's in my class, but she skips so many class periods that I barely see her. I used to wonder why she never got in trouble, must be because she's a star athlete."


"Either way," Nakamura grinned somewhat savagely. "I want her..." Woods gave him a pointed look. "Ah, in the club, of course."


Woods chuckled. "I think I'm a bit more suited to recruiting this one than you, Nakamura, I look more like her. She'll be more inclined to listen to me. It's basic psychology."


Nakamura protested vigorously, but Woods was already on his way over, his curiosity refusing to let Nakamura botch the recruitment.


He walked up to Johanna, still clad in his bogu, sans the men, and cleared his throat to announce his prescence had she not noticed him and smiled, saying. "Good morning, Mizoto-san. What bring you here to the Kendo Club?" She probably wouldn't recognize him, even if he was the only six foot tall American in her class, let alone the school. Even if she did, it was doubtful she'd remember his name.

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna had stepped into the room gently when she was waved in, but kept her eyes on Zakura's face. She studied it, surveying every inch of it as if it were an uknown creature and was a bit perplexed. His eyes were closed, weren't they? Was he blind? She thought it rude to ask, but had confirmed with herself that even if he was just squinting, his eye sight must be bad and it still would be a stretch to see her as she had only had revealed so much of her head.


"Ohayoo gozaimasu sensei," she offered to the man she overheard to be a teacher for history, even managing to bow a bit in respect. She didn't much care about him being a teacher, she hadn't cared much about school in the least bit. She wasn't a terrible student, having about a 2:3 ratio of B's to A's, with the occasional lone C, but she never bothered to show up to class much. School was not an interest to her, and if it wasn't for sports she'd probably had been punished a while ago.


Leading your High School to the finals of a nation wide soccer tournament came with its benefit she supposed.


Johanna had managed to stop, only covering half the distance between where she stood, and where Nakamura and Woods were now standing. She knew of him, it was hard for someone to miss one of the taller guys at school, and he was American. It wasn't exactly that many of those running around.


She looked him over once, giving him the same scrutiny she had given when surveying Zagura's face, but instead giving attention to his entire body. He was rather toned, masculine. Something many of the males in Japan seemed to lack. Not to say they weren't fit, but a lot of them chose to carry themselves in a less masculine way compared to the western cultures. Not to say she lived in Japan her entire life either, and maybe she had just been around men who more so resembled him, she still felt her analysis remained true.


"Morning Woods," she returned gently, purposely stopping short of any honorific. It didn't flow from her mouth naturally to follow such a name with an honorific, Woods-san? It sounded awful.


Truth be told, she only knew of his name from hearing it so many times from the other girls at the school.


"Mizoto-chan have you seen the amerikanjin? He's so dreamy."


"Mizoto-kun, you think I should ask him out?"





It annoyed her so, that girls would so easily fall over a guy in that manner. She had better things to do, like improve herself at soccer.

 

[Elegy]

"I understand young man, I too had suffered from overbearing pride, but that has long since past. The best cure to such pride is the taste of defeat, and I am sure you shall face a challenge even you cannot surpass.... perhaps even in the near future." said Zakura as he involuntarily very slightly raised his eyelids to reveal his black scleroses, but not more than that and even then for perhaps half a second before he closed his eyes again. "Nonetheless, I have no doubts you shall learn greatly from whatever challenge you face. I wish you pleasant tidings for your aspirations today and days after." continued Zakura with a calm, monotone voice that projected with both strength and serenity. It was a mellow voice that had hints of fleeting power beneath it.

Zakura strolled calmly with decisive, even steps towards the corner he was in to once again observe the club. However, he focused most of his attention on the girl that walked in and Woods.

"Greeting miss, if you are here for the Kendo club, I shall hope that you take a liking to it." said Zakura as he bowed back to the girl.

Zakura could immediately sense the girl hadn't practiced Kendo much, but she was interested in it. The woman also had a capable and agile physique as well as a rather casual voice that hinted in a level of disinterest towards things. Zakura did not pay much attention to the woman, and thought that Woods was a much more interesting human to observe. Perhaps he would be proven wrong. In any case, Zakura did not want to interrupt their conversation, and retired to his corner. Zakura sat down cross legged, focusing on imagining the room and everything that happened inside it.

The kendo club was indeed his favorite place to be. The sound of clashing shinai was a pleasing sound that trumped all music that Zakura had heard. The sword and all aspects of it was a major part of what Zakura was, and his long life was based almost entirely on it as had his father and his ancestors' lives had been.​

 

[Akio]

Akio nodded at the spirit leaders acknowledgement. When he told Johanna she could leave he said. "Meet here at 6 pm we will begin training then." He said as she vanished. He picked up his plate and put in in the sink. "Saphire did you ever go to school or have you just been running this place." He asked. If he was gonna train these girls then he needed to know what he had to work with, so his question was honest.

 

[SaphireTsuki]

"I went to a regular school, much like... well, most humans." Saphire shrugged, picking up her and Johanna's plates, leaving the rest on the table for now. She stifled the urge to sigh, school was... and is, mostly just a place for learning... things. Not even important things, but still... "Right now I take a couple of classes at one of the local universities, but only once or twice a week. As for my skill with the bow, sword, and naginata? I was taught by my parents. It took them a while to get her to actually practice combat, rather than sports weapon use. Eventually she did though. "I'm probably not very good, certainly compared to older demons, angels, and Fallen who've lived longer than my parents"

 

[Akio]

"Hmph human school doesent go for much, not in this profession." He got up to make himself coffee. He never understood why most made with so much sugar, though he didnt drink it back ethier. "It seems like their are a few gaps in both your educations in terms of magic physical combat. When Johanna comes back here at 6 i want both of you to go back to that clearing where we met, you will be tested there." He poured himself a cup and got ready to leave, he wouldnt hold back. "Thank you for the heal." He walked out and spread his wings and took off into the air.

 

[Runcible Spoon]

Woods quirked an eyebrow, it seemed as though she had heard of him. That was a relief, there's nothing more awkward than explaining who you were... especially when you knew who they were. It's like meeting a celebrity, and you know their name but they haven't the faintest clue who you could be. Which is probably why celebrities seem to only rub elbows with their own kind... But that analogy was a bit of a stretch, and was far from the point.


The point being that the girl, Mizoto, hadn't answered his question. He wasn't sure the significance of that yet, perhaps she was just nervous. An active kendo 'dojo' could be pretty intimidating. With so much noise and so much goin on in such a small space, it's enough to overwhelm just about anyone. And it couldn't have helped that one of the tallest and well-built students in the school had just approached her in full gear.


Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, in hindsight. Oh well, too late now.


"No honorific?" He asked, his eyebrow still raised now given a reason, it seemed. He shrugged. "Sounds weird to me anyway."

 

[AkuTheWolfOkami]

Johanna watched as Zagura retired to a corner, before shrugging a bit. She hadn't had a bit of interest in kendo, she was just interested in the people that was there, and their skill. "Kendo is rather boring," she admitted to him, her greenish eyes finding his face before offering a subtle grin,"I came just to see what type of people weer in the kendo club, and it seems I found the amerikanjin." She meant that a term of endearment, not so much an insult nor a description, but to remind him that he wasn't from here. Though, she couldn't exactly say she was herself. Germany, her birthplace, be a far ways away to be trying to isolate anyone as an outsider.


Her eyes closed as she could feel adrenaline began to rush through her body, her free hands beginning to shake, and so she decided to tame them by forcing them behind her back. "So, dansei-kun," she offered not really sure if she was older or younger, but making sure he understood that she wasn't like the other females that attended the school, he was just another male to her,"Why Kendo? Admittedly, you'd probably defeat me if we stayed with the rules of the art, but I've beaten a many-a-high ranking kendo students. the art isn't special."


At this point, she was sounding disrespectful, but it wasn't intentional. Her arrogance was showing, and he was a guy she had no plans on letting up against. It was almost as if she, a female, was sizing up him, a male, for a bout. She lacked tact at times, it wasn't hard to miss, but she was good at what she did. She managed to smile walking away from him, before turning back,"My iaijutsu versus your kendo, you think you'd win?"


What an arrogant brat she could be, but, she was confident in her sword fighting. She had reason to be, but in the same token, it was unnecessary.