Training time (open)

[realmenknitplushies]

Who: Kanji and anyone who runs into him!
What: Training time for Kanji and his duo
When: Sometime after the fourth wall business
Where: Around Traverse Town, ending at the Fourth District
Warnings: Nothing so much?

Kanji wasn't much of a magic user. Okay, so perhaps he'd had to step into that position during the skirmishes with Nightmare Moon, but he'd never had the power to keep it going, never had the force behind his attacks some did. It was his own strength that he trusted most, and it was that that he wanted to work on, right now.

With his Dream Eaters by his side, he was working his way around the town, checking out the usual spots for Nightmares to be found; Plum and Jet (as the Meowjesty had come to be known) taking care of business with their usual speed, and with various treats being thrown around at the end of it all... they deserved it.

In the end, he could be found in the square at the bottom of the hill in the Fourth District. Around the place, some of the barrels and crates that seemed to be omnipresent, piled up. (And a few with Nightmares' - or even Nightmare Moon's - face drawn on them.) While the Spirits were playing on the steps - time for a bit of target practice.
With his typical yelling, he rushed the barrels, swinging his shield around viciously - but not with any regard for what it was supposed to be, not with any finesse, just another blunt instrument to be wielded. How long before any of his targets broke under the onslaught? Not the most elegant training method, but ...
...well, he'd make do.

Comments

[unrecovered]

All Wash really wanted was a little time not to think about things. He wanted a day when he didn't have to worry excessively about anyone's well-being (excessively being the key word there - he could handle the normal amount of worry), or spearhead a campaign, or be responsible for anything that didn't coincide with what he wanted to do.

Basically, he wanted a vacation.

Of course, he wasn't about to get one, so taking his Spirits out for a bit of Nightmare hunting would have to do. Evidently he wasn't the only one who'd had that idea. He paused on the stairs, watching Kanji attack barrels for a few seconds, then leaned down and handed a few munny to Melody, who meowed and bounded off in the direction of the local Moogle. Carmen took the opportunity to pounce on Plum, meowing an enthused greeting.

Wash just folded his arms and leaned against the wall, watching Kanji work.

[realmenknitplushies]

What he'd be seeing would be a whole lot of enthusiasm, but not a lot of style. Trial and error, as much as anything. Definitely no sign that that shield would ever get used for anything like defence. Still, it was working well enough for what he was trying; the first of the barrels just about exploded at his last hit. He stepped back to put the shield down for a moment, take a swig out of a drinks bottle, and get back to work.

Plum, on the other hand, was plenty distracted by the new arrival. Hey! Whatcha doing here? it squeaked back, enthusiastically. Jet dropped down from hovering nearby, but didn't add anything quite as yet.

[unrecovered]

Kanji's strength was impressive - especially since Wash was pretty sure physical augmentations weren't a thing where Kanji was from - but it was pretty obvious he didn't have a damn clue what he was doing with that shield. It wouldn't take much for a more skilled opponent to turn that against him.

That was about when Melody returned with a full bag of fresh popcorn. She received ear scritchies and a few kernels for her efforts and settled down next to her person to eat the popcorn, keeping an eye on Jet the entire time. Not that Jet had done anything wrong - she just didn't trust Meowjesties on principle.

Carmen, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. She's playing, duh! She wiggled her rear and launched herself up, doing her best to leap up on top of Jet.

[realmenknitplushies]

Well, fine, if Melody was going to be like that... Jet rolled away as Carmen leapt, waving his stubby paws in the air. Harmless, see? Plum gave what passed for a giggle from a Pricklemane. Sillies!
...No, not fooling anyone, there.

"'kay... next one, can do it quicker," Kanji muttered. Swinging again - managing to hit specific points pretty accurately, at least, though that was all his style had going for him.mStepping back this time, though... wait a second.

"Hey, I wasn't expectin' an audience!" he ... didn't exactly yell, yelling at the guy in the armour probably not a good move, but he was certainly sounding a bit less than happy.

[unrecovered]

Melody was going to sit right here and enjoy her popcorn and make sure her person didn't get run over again, thank you very much. She was doing her job.

Carmen's eyes widened when Jet rolled, and all six paws flailed wildly in the air as she collided with Jet's side and bounced off, yowling the entire time. You moved! No fair!

By this point, Wash had removed his helmet and was munching on popcorn, steadfastly ignoring his flying teal troublemaker of a cat. "You're training in public, on a highly used road, in a very small town, less than a hundred feet from the tea shop. What exactly did you think was going to happen?" He gave that a few moments to sink in. "That shield's not your primary weapon, is it."

[realmenknitplushies]

Kanji at the very least looked a spot awkward at being called on it. Good point, but he didn't figure it was that interesting. "Well... ain't like I can go over to Twilight or the ship at the moment, right?" he attempted to defend himself. "Gotta do it somewhere... but... heh."

"And this thing? Well..." He shrugged. "It does the job. It's easy enough t' carry round with me in case anything happens. That's pretty much why I'm usin' it."

Ah, ah, didn't say there were rules! Jet teased gently, and rolled back to where he'd been.

[unrecovered]

"Point." Wash shrugged and munched another handful of popcorn.

He swallowed and just stared when Kanji offered that explanation. "You're kidding. That's the only reason you're carrying it?" He closed his eyes for a moment, doing his best to bite back sarcasm. "You know that's more likely to hurt you in battle than help you, right?"

Carmen had at least landed on her feet. She shook herself and hurtled towards Jet, howling a battle cry. Oh, it is ON!

Melody watched, unamused, and lightly pawed at her person's knee. She'd like more popcorn, please.

[realmenknitplushies]

"I've been doin' this for a while, now, okay?" Kanji responded sharply, giving Wash a wary eye and turning away slightly. If it was good enough for Shadows... "I get used to swingin' whatever I can find. So far, it ain't hurt me," he finished.

For a big Dream Eater, the Meowjesty seemed to be keeping the dodging up. This time, literally up, while his companion bounced in laughter.

[unrecovered]

"So far, you haven't come up against a skilled opponent," Wash shot back. "It's only a matter of time until you do, and if you don't know what you're doing, they'll use it against you. Either learn to use that or get something that actually suits your fighting style. Since I don't think you're going to become Captain America anytime soon, you should probably get something else."

Melody got up on her hind legs and pawed at her person's thigh. Seriously. Popcorn, please.

Carmen skidded to a furious stop and leapt straight up, going after Jet. She is going to get him!

[realmenknitplushies]

Captain - Captain who? He's not even from America!

"You ain't seen what I've fought!" Kanji retorted, glaring. "You don't like what I'm doing? Fine - but -" throwing the shield down and his hands up - "What the hell should I do?"

Meanwhile, Jet slowly started to tail-hover his way up the steps, just trying to stay that tiny bit out of reach.

[unrecovered]

"I just told you," Wash replied, fighting to keep his tone even. Yelling at the kid wouldn't do any good - not yet. "Get a weapon you can use. If your whole strategy is to hit it 'til it dies, fine, but get something that'll work for it." He let out a breath, slow and controlled, before continuing. "There's a Moogle just over there. Go change your shield out for a club or a nightstick or something."

Melody gave up and sat back down. She'd get some more popcorn eventually.

Carmen just stopped where she was and shrieked. Not fair, dude!

[realmenknitplushies]

"Told ya. It'd been workin'." He sighed, scowled slightly. Still... it would be worth a try, maybe. "I'll... go have a word with it, okay? I don't know what sorta stuff they've got."

After a moment more teasing, Jet settled back down. Aw, he's done now. C'mon.

[unrecovered]

"It was slowing you down. You'd have broken your arm if you'd hit something wrong." And it would have been ugly. "Go ask. I'll watch the Spirits."

Carmen sat down and turned her nose up. She was totally done too. She doesn't play with cheaters.

[earthshatter]

Shields aren't really a weapon with which Aeleus has had much practice in. He's seen them used, yes, but for actual pointers on it, one might have been better suited by going to Even. But as Even was unlikely to stir himself out of his laboratory, it might well end up being Aeleus.

For now, however, he simply watches silently as his Meow Wow noses its way closer to what's going on. Not enough to get in the way but perhaps enough to at least indicate that someone might be watching. But other than that, Aeleus simply watches. If he is going to end up giving pointers then he'd be best served by seeing exactly how Kanji is going about it.

[realmenknitplushies]

There's nothing of Even's expertise and style in what Kanji's doing here. He's got the thing gripped completely wrong, holding it by the edges rather than in any method that could conceivably be useful for defence. About the only thing he has going for him is raw power and enthusiasm.
But it's what he's used to. Isn't that something, at least?

It takes a while, with Aeleus being as quiet as he is, before Kanji registers that he's got a visitor. "Uh. How long've you been there?"

[earthshatter]

"Long enough," Aeleus answers with a shrug. He hasn't really minded either. Not when he always has been given to a surfeit of patience and doesn't mind the silence either. Or what passes for silence in this particular case.

"However, if I may, I have some suggestions that may help make that particular choice of weapon easier to handle."

Shields are for defense, primarily, and he's seen very little of that here. And if it's not actually defense that Kanji is looking for, Aeleus does know a few weapons that might be suitably destructive.

[realmenknitplushies]

It's never been about the defensive ability for him, that's for sure... It's just always been what he's been able to sling around. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kanji looks thoughtful for a moment, and nods. "Yeah, sure. If you've got anythin', I'll listen." He gets the feeling that Aeleus knows what he's talking about (seriously, he's got to be bigger than half of the guys in armour - definitely a good sign here)... so it's worth a shot, at the very least.

[earthshatter]

In that case, there probably are better weapons to use. But they'll get to that point when they get to it. If they get to it, perhaps. Right now, however, there are other matters and once Kanji agrees that's all that go ahead that Aeleus needs.

"The purpose of a shield is for defense. To protect oneself from incoming blows. Thus, it should be kept between you and your enemy most of the time. In addition, it's not meant to be gripped by the edge, as you have it. It should have a handle in the back."

Or a handhold at the very least.

[realmenknitplushies]

More nodding as he takes in Aeleus' instructions, and looks at the shield - "Huh. Yeah, I see it. I get what ya mean, but ...man, it's habit, okay? I've been usin' it to swing around 'cause ... well, it's what I could get my hands on back home."

Nevertheless, he's going to give it a go. He grabs the handle and, a little awkwardly and hesitantly compared to his bold swings the wrong way, tries moving it around.

[earthshatter]

"If you'd wanted something to simply swing around, you might be better suited to find another weapon. Shields aren't primarily intended to be offensive weapons."

Especially given such broad swings as Kanji had been favoring earlier. But all the same he watches Kanji's latest attempt with a eye to anything that might need further correction. If Kanji has his heart set on a shield, then he owes it to Kanji to at least make an attempt at making sure that he gets on the right track.

[realmenknitplushies]

"Huh. You got any suggestions?" he asks, though he's still giving it a shot like this, trying to barge at the barrels. Ugh, this has him totally thrown. There's no reach any more, using it the 'right' way, and he's not sure that he likes it... he steps back for a moment, frowning.

[earthshatter]

There's a solemn nod at Kanji's question. "I do."

But it's probably better to simply show him, as opposed anything else, and so Aeleus summons up Skysplitter without so much as a blink. It's probably a little larger than anything Kanji might be able to handle easily, but the idea of it is clear enough, or so Aeleus is hoping.

"This is the weapon I use, and if you simply wanted to make sure things stay hit, something similar might suit you."

[realmenknitplushies]

Damn. He just stares for a moment - he's seen keyblades summoned before now, so calling on weapons rather than Persona isn't entirely new to him - but that's something else.
He's impressed. Smiling slightly -

"...ain't ever seen one'f them before, man."

[earthshatter]

"It's not a commonly used weapon, even back home. However, the more common variation would be something akin to a hammer, or perhaps an axe, both of which it might be easier to obtain from the moogles than something like this."

It would, of course, not be entirely surprising if the moogles could manage something like an axesword (if perhaps built to a smaller scale) but something more commonly used is almost certainly going to be easier. And possibly less expensive as well.

[realmenknitplushies]

"Huh." Kanji comes closer, lowering his shield slightly, taking a better look. "I ... ain't ever really used anythin' that was, uh, designed as a proper weapon. But guess I could give somethin' like ya said a try. That thing's just badass."
It'd be a lot different, he's sure - but since when has he run away from a challenge?