eswareinmal | Log: Training Day

Entry tags:

Log: Training Day

Characters: Ryo Ashihara and Bakura Ryou
Open? Nope
Where: The castle training grounds.
When: Morning of the 4th of Rebirth's Decline
What: Combat training!
Warnings: Mild punching action, mostly.

The night before had been a rather difficult one for more reasons than one, and Ryo was glad it was a new day. He felt a bit better now that he was both away from the party atmosphere and awake and away from that dream. Moving around helped shake the overall oddness of that event, and so he was glad for the chance to get some exercise.

He didn't know if he'd actually be a decent teacher, but it was worth a shot. It hadn't taken him too long to get directions to the training grounds, and so he waited there for the kid he'd talked to at the party to arrive. Not that he yet knew the kid's name, but it had just never come up.

When Bakura arrives at the training grounds, he'll find Ryo pacing a bit as he waits next to a large straw-stuffed punching bag.

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Bakura had had his own restless night, complicated by the memories that had escaped from the spell of forgetfulness due to the nature of the dreams he'd walked through. But he did his best to push it all aside and focus on the here and now. Not thinking about it would help... right?

He gave a wave as he spotted the person he had set up to meet, making a mental note to ask for his name this time. "Good morning!"

"Good morning!" Ryo gave the kid a wave in return. He wasn't about to ask how he slept; the topic of sleeping and dreaming wasn't something he was willing to get into at this point. "You ready to get started?" Ryo looked like he was ready to go; he'd changed into some simple loose-fitting clothes, the sorts of things that would allow him a full range of movement. Wearing the armor he'd been given up on arriving wouldn't do him any good, even if it wasn't very heavy armor.

In contrast, Bakura was wearing a button down shirt and and pants that were as close to jeans as he could find in the kingdom, his regular clothing. "Un, I am!" he returned cheerfully. "I hope I won't disappoint!"

"Alright, then..." Ryo really didn't have too much of an idea as to what to do next, as fighting was nothing he'd really been taught. He'd just picked it up...while fighting. And he didn't think taking a sudden swing at the kid to gauge a response would be the best idea in the world, so he went for the next best thing. "Okay, let's see where you are with this to start."

He gestured to the punching bag. "I want you to take a swing at this. Let's see where you stand as things are now."

Bakura nodded, taking a deep breath and flexing his fingers a moment before making a fist, pausing to correct where his thumb was in it, and throwing the punch.

It was painfully clear that he'd likely never gotten into a fight in his life with how non existent his form was, and the small wince he made when his fist connected. Total newbie.

Ryo winced upon watching that punch. There was just so much wrong with it. So very, very wrong.

"Alright, look, when you throw a punch, you want to do it like this." Ryo hauls off and hits the punching bag, which rocks back a little bit from the force of the blow.

Oh, wait. Lessons. He was supposed to demonstrate how. "See how I'm holding my hand? And you want to stand more like this, so you can put more of your weight into it." Right. Such a clear explanation. Surely that would help.

Bakura blinked, watching closely before attempting to mimic the stance. "Like this...?"

Ryo studied the kid's form. It was better than what he'd started with, at least..."Well, you're getting closer...move your leg back a little there and try hitting the punching bag again."

Bakura nodded, shifting slightly before attempting the punch again.

And getting pretty similar results to the first try.

...this isn't working. Ryo sighs. "Okay, we're going to try it a bit differently this time..."

How? He doesn't know yet. And he's still thinking that trying to get the kid into a real fight would end terribly.

"You ever do anything athletic back home? Any sports, anything like that?"

"...not really..." Bakura admitted, looking rather embarrassed. "The only thing like that I'm any good at is running." And that was from practice after he'd left home!

"Okay..." Running was good, maybe it had built up leg muscles and he should start with kicking practice?

...no. Not the way this was going.

"Alright, the first thing you have to remember is in a fight is that you don't pull your punches. Assume the other guy's really got it out for you--that's how you survive. And you want to put your weight into it; if you keep throwing a punch like that you're going to strain your muscles."

He thought for a moment. Maybe he needed a different approach. "Anyone ever made you so angry you wanted to let them have it?"

Bakura paused, looking thoughtful. "... there was only really one person..." Though that really wasn't that sort of situation. "Aa! And Madarame-kun, that one time!" he recalled. The memories of the City were still pretty hazy, but he actually remembered them now, thanks to that dream.

"Then try picturing them when you punch that bag. See if it makes any difference." Ryo hastily assumed proper punching form again. "Just stand like this before you haul off. Try to watch your shoulders."

Bakura nodded, shifting position again before focusing on the punching bag.

Only to stand there, hesitating.

Why wasn't he getting angry...? Thinking of the Ring, of the things the Ring had done...

only to have those memories supplanted by stranger half remembered ones. The Voice with paint in his hair, grumbling. The sullen slouch in a coffee shop. Awkward conversation at the restaurant.

Bakura's shoulders slowly went slack before he reached up to rub at his forehead. More memories from the City...? But...

...did he strain himself from all that? Something wasn't right.

"Are you okay?" Ryo had prepared for a bit of extensive training, but he hadn't expected the kid to wear out so soon. "Here, I've got some water, if you need it."

"Aaa-- I'm fine, I'm fine!" Bakura assured, rubbing the back of his neck with a small laugh. "Just thinking of something, that's all. With everything yesterday, I don't think I got a good nights sleep!"

Ryo grimaced. "Funny you mention it. I slept terribly last night, myself." Really, the reason he'd come out here was to forget all that...

"You too?" Bakura blinked. Could it be that... "Did you have a lot of strange dreams that weren't at all your normal ones as well?"

Ryo was quite surprised to hear Bakura bring that up. He gave a slow nod. "I've had dreams with that sort of subject matter before, but...none quite like that." It didn't play out the way any of his Gills dreams played out, that much was for certain. "It felt...real, almost."

Bakura frowned slightly. "Mine... was some of the things I'd forgotten..." he said slowly, feeling a bit unsure. "And more real than most of my dreams ever are! Almost like I was back there... even if everyone else wasn't."

Ryo gave the kid a slow nod. "I was...fighting." A safe enough way of putting it, really. He didn't need to know about that first part... "But it wasn't like anything I'd ever fought before." He frowned deeply. "It kept dancing just out of reach. And when I woke up, I felt like I'd been fighting the thing for real."

"I wonder if anyone else had a dream like that... something like that... if we both had that happen, it might have affected everyone. You're staying at the castle, right?"

Well, this was interesting. Quite interesting. "It might be worth finding out. The way I've been told things work here..." Ryo trailed off and took a lazy swing at the punching bag.

"Yeah, I'm at the castle until I find somewhere else to crash." He made a face. "I need enough room for the horse they gave me, too."

"Maybe some sort of spell, then..." Bakura mused. "If the witch wanted to cause further trouble, it wouldn't be a stretch to do something like that..."

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