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Post by Ishida Sai on May 17, 2012 23:17:50 GMT -5
The morning was bright and it slightly irritated his eyes. Being a denizen of the streets and the darkness, it was a great annoyance with the obnoxious rays shining upon him by an equally contemptible laughing sun. But the heat was now non-existent. Like as if an oppressive skin that dissolved away within days. Of course, he didn't obtain a tan from the resistance. Sufficient application to sunscreen was enough to keep his skin color as it should be, despite that it was a pain to continuously make use of since it drains his measly income.
But that was the least of his worries now. There were even more important matters to consider.
Stepping into a large arena, Ishida Sai stared with an impression of surprise at the amount of equipment set up in the area. Ropes, platforms, traps (not deadly, of course), and other materials were all meshed into huge obstacle courses of varying difficulty. There weren't a number of students attending at the moment. Not surprising, seeing that it is an off-day today. But then again, it's something to cherish since it meant more opportunity and time for practice.
Practice of the art of being a ninja. Taihenjutsu. Known as the Body Moving Technique. It has been stylized by Hollywood movies of old, inevitably giving the misconception of that ninjas are invisible in today's world. That isn't so true. It really is just the art of sneaking in any terrain. In a sense, it is pretty much like France's Parkour. The art of getting from A to B.
One would've thought he'd have gotten to the basics of it by now. Though, frankly, the Ishida's are a bit different. To begin with, they're a family of mainly bodyguards descended from the Koga style ninjas of the Sengoku Era. Because of this, more of the basic ninja skills have been regarded as secondary from the beginning of training. Instead, more combat-related skills such as taijutsu and other martial arts of the times have been ingrained in him.
After experiencing the previous events regarding the Zoo and the situation with the Demon Bike Wyrd... It was evidence enough that he had to bulk up a bit, somehow... Just plain speed wasn't going to cut it. Lately, it may be best to learn how to get to places after all... Seeing that the late enemies he had faced were evidence of this.
As he walked around in the midst of the empty field reserved as a resting area, the teen observed which to try out... But at the corner of his eye, someone with familiar blue hair and yellow eyes seemed to enter the area...
Rick Fader. His recent friend/acquaintance. The notorious foul-mouthed troublemaker of Shibusen. Presumably Black Star's supposed new successor in terms of personality according to rumors. But such did seem to fit. However, Sai never gave too much stock on them to begin with. Especially when knowing him more personally... Sort of.
"What brings you here?" the teen called from his position, loud enough for the bluenette to hear.
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 13, 2012 23:20:05 GMT -5
A tall, blue-haired teenager walked towards the obstacle course. A grumpy expression overtook his features as he walked towards it. Rather than his usual choice of clothing, a simple blue t-shirt, black tracksuit pants, and a pair of blue sneakers were on his feet. Over his shoulder was a gym bag containing street clothing.
Rick Fader had finally arrived to train himself in Parkour. A few days ago, he had asked Sid if he could get training in the art of running away like a Frenchman. Unfortunately, he waved him off, telling him to learn it on his own. "Useless fucker. . .", muttered the weapon as he walked in. So he had done the second best thing: gather tutorial videos and manuals on the subject, then study them as best as he could.
The weapon spotted a familiar face. Sai, the guy who assisted him in dealing with those Heretic Cabal assholes that were beating down the NOT kids. The boy addressed the weapon, asking him what brought him here. Before answering, Rick dropped his bag at his feet, then slid it under the bleachers with a gentle kick.
"Me? I'm just here to train in Parkour. . . on my own. . .", said the weapon, clearly grumpy. "Because Flat Nose McFuckface decided to wave me off to self-train in this big bag of shit. . .", thought the weapon bitterly. Secretly, the weapon guessed that it was some tactic Sid used in an attempt to discourage him from learning this shit, all because of a few minor incidents during missions. But no, Rick decided to do research on his own.
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Post by Ishida Sai on Jul 14, 2012 9:27:45 GMT -5
It looked a bit out of character for Rick in his physical wear, donning attire for the sake of exercise. The delinquency the Electric Chair excluded really warped Sai's sense of his image. After all, a huge potty mouth in the likes of him, is really easy to pick out as a mere delinquent. The huge gym bag in hand was easily sent under the bleachers with a simple kick.
"Me? I'm just here to train in Parkour. . . on my own. . ."
Sai set his hands akimbo against his hips while slightly leaning to the side on his right foot. Quizzically, he raised a dark eyebrow as if to question the peer's decision to practice in it. Running away didn't certainly seem something he would do... Why...? That was the question.
"I see," the meister started out slowly, "Figures you'd be here for that. Since it's an obstacle course. But anyway, I guess we could both practice on it...? I'm here for that too pretty much."
The teen jabbed a thumb at the field of obstacles along the way with a slightly hung lip in an awkward manner.
"Wanna try out the easier one?"
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 15, 2012 20:29:37 GMT -5
It did not take any effort on the autonomous weapon's part to tell what Sai's expression meant. It was practically the same as the inquiry he received from that bastard, Sid. The truth was that Parkour was not only good for looking cool and running away, but an efficient way to overcome and even take advantage of obstacles to get to the objective quicker. That, and sometimes one needed to just run the fuck away, whether the enemy was too tough, or there was a bomb in the area.
Not like Rick was going to tell his fellow student that. Not without tarnishing his reputation as another meat-headed delinquent poisoning the halls of Shibusen with his stupidity and trouble making ways. Despite the fact that they somewhat had each other's backs during that encounter with Wyrd and Pariah, Rick didn't trust him enough to maintain the secret. Hell, he was already cutting it too close with that one weapon knowing his secret, and for some reason not ratting him out to those who had been tricked into taking bets against him during exams.
"Because Parkour is fucking badass!", he told Sai with a lopsided grin.
Sai told him that he was here for practically the same reason. Rick's grin widened at the sound of that. The black-haired meister pointed towards the obstacle courses. The weapon briefly surveyed the courses, all varying in difficulty. He could tell they were riddled with safe traps.
The ninja meister asked if he'd like to try the first course first. "Yeah, sounds fucking good to me, brah!", replied the weapon.
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Post by Ishida Sai on Jul 17, 2012 12:15:10 GMT -5
"Because Parkour is fucking badass!"
Sai had to tweak a smile at Rick's statement of the skill. If running away could look great, it would be parkour. Though, rather, he was hardly here for something like that. It was simply to just help himself to further his knowledge in ninjutsu, of course. But training with a friend side by side like that... That wasn't bad. At all. To train with a peer would be rather a first experience, and possibly a pleasant one too as he felt a tad bit of excitement blooming inside his interior.
They had a consensus to start with the easy one. But, as easy as the obstacle course seemed, it didn't mean that it'd be any easier with two people at the same speeds were going to attempt to do this. Perhaps one more consensus could be made?
"Hey Rick," the meister started with one hand in his pocket while rummaging through it, "This thing doesn't look big enough to hold one of us. So let's do it one at a time... And time ourselves, eh?"
The callused fingers procured a dull quarter from age. From just seeing that, the Electric Chair should know what he's going for.
"I call heads."
He threw up the coin and let it float. Somersaulting the air and then finally dropping with a clunk, on the flat side...
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 18, 2012 19:09:52 GMT -5
Rick watched as Sai smiled at what Rick had to say. Even though his statement was bullshit for the most part, Rick couldn't deny that Parkour looked awesome. Obviously, Sai was learning for practical reasons, just like Rick was in reality. "See? You know what the fuck I mean!", commented Rick with that stupid, lopsided grin.
Rick took a look at the easier obstacle course. Needless to say, it was standard fare for any obstacle course. It didn't seem like there were too many traps to be had on the course, but with plenty of places to trip up and fuck up, especially for beginners. However, Rick was not going to bank on that alone. He had the gut feeling that someone spiced this simple obstacle course up to Shibusen specifications, especially with two EAT students at the helm.
Sai, of course, brought up the meager size of the obstacle course, and how piss poor it would be for two students to go at it at once. So before Rick could propose a solution, he was already digging one out of his pocket. Eventually, a dulled quarter surfaced from the murky depths of his pocket. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together would know what Sai was about to do.
Sai himself called heads, leaving Rick with tails. As if in slow motion, the coin flipped through the air, giving each of them the fair chance to go first. Within seconds, the quarter hit the ground on it's flat side. Heads was the side visible on the ground, granting Sai the right to hit the obstacle course first.
"Ladies first~", commented the Demon Chair, still grinning.
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Post by Ishida Sai on Jul 18, 2012 20:09:05 GMT -5
"Ladies first~", Rick had stated the facts in a singsong voice.
Sai stared at the coin with a slight frown, as if disdainful of his own fate. Regardless of that, it was equal probabilities for them both. Meaning they had equal chances. Lady Luck chose him. There was no room for argument. He slightly cocked his head to one side and then the other, stretching the muscles. While doing so, raising his arms in the air to soften the muscles for the activity ahead. Then bending down to prepare the back for the shift in movements. The meister ended the "ritual" by rolling his ankle in the air, relaxing the muscles in each.
"Why, thank you, my good sir." he sarcastically responded back as he started to enter the field.
Upon entering, a loud and short alarm rang. As if to herald his arrival in the midst of a playing field. Yet, there were no outside audiences to watch him besides Rick. An empty and human-less space. His breathing thickened for one puff, preparing himself. The timer turned on, all zeros accounted for.
3...
He licked his lips.
2...
He gulped the air.
1...
His feet tensed. And the bell rung. It begun.
Sai bolted. His legs pumped against the ground harshly as the meister ran towards the first challenge of the obstacle course. Five horizontal poles lay in front of him, blocking his path. Tapping into the the adrenal gland, he quickened the pace.
Arriving at the first pole, the teen jumped over with feet retracted to his chest as he passed through it. Before touching the ground, his hands grasped the next, craning him over the obstacle to the space in front of him.
As his feet touched the ground, immediately, he hopped over to the next. This time, he grasped with one right hand to pull himself over while the left pushed him off away from the complete obstacle---
An approximate of ten seconds passed in the action. Yet, he took no heed to the timer as Sai moved to the next...
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 19, 2012 18:53:22 GMT -5
Rick noticed that Sai was frowning at the result. The weapon honestly didn't understand why he would be disappointed with going first. If anything, Rick wanted to try out the course before Sai did. He should've been the one frowning, not Sai. But Rick somehow prevented himself from frowning, probably in part by the sarcastic response he had elicited out of his friend.
Rick walked over to the bleachers as Sai got into position. The sounds of the bell resonated through the room, Rick sitting his bony ass onto one of the front rows. Rick waited in anticipation for the clock to start up. Three seconds of watching Sai getting into position, steeling himself for what was to come, no matter how minor.
And then it began, Rick's eyes on Sai's form. Rick watched as he vaulted over the bars in question. Rick observed his form carefully, noting the transitions used to get over them. And ten seconds later, he was over the obstacles.
"GO GO GO!", shouted Rick, encouraging his new friend. Unlike the last comment, Rick's tone was truly an attempt to encourage the ninja. After all, this was not only his teammate from that first encounter with the Cabal, but his newest friend, and frankly one more he was grateful to have.
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Post by Ishida Sai on Jul 19, 2012 19:22:29 GMT -5
"GO GO GO!"
Sai was deaf to his new friend's urgings as he was enveloped into a trance in completing the task ahead of him. The adrenaline crawled in the network of arteries and veins as he pumped his legs for additional speed. The dust bloomed in each solid step. A small ladder lay in front of him, bravely standing in his path. Yet, it was only served as a minor obstacle as the meister jumped up to its second bar and smoothly jumped up from the position over it. Landing with the dust roused into the air more.
He didn't stop there. His feet continued to smash against the ground as swerving towards the pair of stilted-like structures. They jumped onto the bright white bridges all the while teetering through at a balanced and moderate pace.
Having passed the test of balance, what came next was his strength as Sai found himself swaying in the air as his face blushed a slight red from the exertion. Strength has never been a strong point of his, and a result, he slowed a bit and became only slightly fatigued as he finished...
Nevertheless, he passed by the next obstacle, climbing up the ladder and easily dropping himself down al the while slowing his fall by catching the ropes periodically. Running up the ramps at the next challenge, he dropped down at the dust, rolling a couple of feet before jumping through the square hole ahead of him feet first...
It wasn't long until he finished through the ditch and the tires, in where he filled his feet against the holes while traversing by, giving him a complete two minutes and forty-five seconds.
The alarm rang, heralding the end. And so he finished... And waited at that same spot for Rick to try.
"Your turn, Rick."
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 19, 2012 20:23:35 GMT -5
Rick continued to watch as he went through the obstacles before him. A simple ladder completed the first third of the course. A simple test of balance, followed up by some monkey bars, which seemed like a challenge to Sai, and would obviously be one to Rick. After that, a simple ladder, a ramp, a hole and a wall, a ditch, and a series of tires finished off the course.
After two minutes and forty-five seconds, Sai was finished with the course. It was now the weapon's turn at this. Rick got out of his seat, and hopped down to the ground. As he passed by the ninja meister, Rick gave him a nod. The weapon slowly made his way towards the starting line of the obstacle course. Once again, the alarm rang through the mostly empty area.
3. . . Rick looked down the obstacle course intently.
2. . . Rick crouched down into a running position.
1. . . The weapon was about ready to bolt.
And then it was go time. The weapon wasted no time in heading towards the first obstacle, making good use of his running speed as he dashed towards the vaulting bars. As with Sai, Rick would have no trouble with this, as this was easily handled by the vault he had researched and had practiced short brick walls. Using his left hand to grab the bar, Rick jumped over the white horizontal pole, lifting his legs over it handily. The next three poles would be handled the same way, quickly transitioning from pole to pole. The final pole would get a flashier finish, Rick performing a somersault over it to complete the obstacle.
The next obstacle would be no problem for the weapon, quickly jumping onto the second bar and vaulting over the top bar, just like Sai before him. A thin plume of dust manifested as Rick's sneakers hit the ground. That was when Rick ran over to the second third of the course, two bridges in order to test balance. As an EAT student, the test should've been no problem for him as he quickly navigated it as quickly as possible, nearly losing his balance three times. Eventually, Rick got to the monkey bars, which would take some time for the weapon.
The weapon navigated the bars, his lackluster upper body strength causing him to have slipped up three times before eventually and barely succeeding. The weapon took a breath for a moment before dashing towards the next obstacle, another ladder connected to a climbing net. Once again, this was elementary for the weapon as he climbed up the ladder before making a quick drop to the ground, bending his knees and landing on the balls of his feet safely, a bigger plume of dust being kicked up.
The weapon then darted up the ramp, descending down the shorter drop quickly before rolling through the gap in the wall. Finally, he just had two more problems on his end. The ditch, and the set of tires. The weapon bolted towards the gap, swinging by the ditch on the rope handily, transitioning back to the ground easily. Finally, he managed to get his feet through the tires, ending the course.
Unfortunately, due to time lost on the monkey bars, and the seconds he took resting between and afterward, his time clocked in at four minutes and seven seconds.
"Shit. . .", muttered the weapon as he grabbed his knees. The weapon slouched, catching his breath before even going to his friend.
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Post by Ishida Sai on Jul 19, 2012 22:30:24 GMT -5
Rick was for a better set of words, "Not bad". Approximately two minutes slower than himself. Given that he has asthma, his peer could actually hold his own. Sai couldn't help, but feel a bit impressed for this individual. Seeing that he was hyperventilating to regain his breath, it didn't look as so if the timer wasn't around. Yet, it showed his effort into it at the least.
"Not bad," he admitted, he threw a water bottle. Procured right off from the vending machine close by, bought in the middle of the Weapon's attempt to dominate the challenge.
"C'mon, Rick... We aren't done yet. We got other stuff to do."
__________________
Sai gasped desperately for air as his limp body sprayed across the floor eagle-spread. Dead and spent from the attempts to beat the rest of the fields as sweat drenched his shirt from the opening for the neck down to the middle of his chest... Even more of it was starting to dampen the floor, threatening to form a puddle.
"...You... Wanna..." he struggled to piece together coherent words despite the exhaustion, "Call... It a... Day?"
From his own dialogue, it felt as if he strained himself even more unnecessarily as it assisted in his lack of breath. Regardless of whatever Rick said, he decided on his own that this day was for sure over...
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Post by Rick Fader on Jul 19, 2012 22:56:12 GMT -5
Sai's comment on his performance snapped Rick back to reality. Just in time for a cold water bottle to come flying towards him. The weapon stretched out his hand to catch the bottle. Immediately, the weapon cracked the bottle open, and bringing the open end to his lips. The cold, refreshing liquid felt good coming down his throat.
"Could've done better. . .", noted the weapon as he closed the now three quarters full bottle of water again. However, the meister told him that they had more practice to do. The weapon grinned at that notion. Like hell his condition would stop him from any of the action. If it didn't stop him from getting into EAT, then it wouldn't stop him from learning Parkour.
______________________
Both the weapon and the meister were exhausted from the run. While Sai lay on the ground, the weapon slumped against the wall, fishing out his asthma inhaler from his track suit pants pocket. That last course had ended with him starting another asthma attack. Thankfully, it was all over before the attack could hinder him.
Rick, now coated in his own sweat, simply leaned against the wall. Bruises scattered his body from various falls he had taken during the harder courses. Rick watched the exhausted Sai from his position, asking if they should just end it here. "Sounds fucking good to me. . .", replied the exhausted weapon. "You go on without me, I'm just. . . I'm just gonna sit here for a few minutes. . .", continued the weapon.
The weapon would preferably get up once Sai had either left without a shower, or had finished up in there. After all, he didn't want to have his friend get hurt in there.
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Post by fiction on Jul 20, 2012 13:40:59 GMT -5
MUUUUURR
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